unexpected update

Wasn't expecting to write for posterity just yet but this is great to be at home. The friend I had planned to spend time with this evening wasn't available - how pleasant to just hang at home for once and sip some tea - craziness.

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Got back from Germany last night and made sure to stop into Edeka to get some healthy herbal tea only the Germans know how to make. It is out of this world. The box the tea bags could have much more advanced branding, but it was again a reminder of one of my intercultural marketing courses. The French equivalent tea box in my cupboard shouts out by creative design and exotic origin whereas the German "Kräuter Mischung" artwork lays out this conservative array of leaves (sketched!) you might have been able to pick yourself. It's hilarious - what sells in Germany traditionally has one of the following adjectives attached: healthy, natural, safe. What sells in France is traditionally: creative, adventurous or French. In fact my Kräuter Mischung lures me into words like wohltuend und aromatisch and my French tea marketer friends encourage me to add sugar for a better experience. And each message is carefully tailored to the target group, which has been socially tested and overtested with different results. Is it just me, or is this fascinating?

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Moving swiftly along from tea branding, the time in Germany was very special. It was just right. In fact, it has been so special to take the time out to have vital heart to heart conversations, which are not always easy over the phone. And I must say, this has taken precedance over my inbox at the moment. In fact, the whole past week has been a significant time of clarity and honesty in relationships and it has been so very liberating to me. To crown the intensity of human dialogue, I was able to at last enjoy such a precious chat with Leens this evening. Yesssss.

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And the rest in pictures or else I won't actually sleep a full 6 hours again. ;)

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- They're out.. the new pictures from the catalogue photo-shoot are up on the web. Kind of embarassing but they're small enough for me not to worry about them that much in the end.

- A nice trio shot from Saturday with Mike and Alex just after attending the course on transition / change management put on by Le Rucher. After the course, Alex and I drove to Basel. He'll be studying in Leipzig as his YMCA days have come to an end in Geneva

(coming soon - error in uploading)

- Special snapshot of Andy and Rach from the other day. I sense some excitement in this picture!

(coming soon - error in uploading)