Welches ist das richtige Sabbatical für Sie?

Dem Arbeitsalltag entfliehen und sich eine längere Auszeit gönnen: Immer mehr Berufstätige in Deutschland können sich das vorstellen. Für jeden zweiten klingt die Vorstellung verlockend — und immerhin jeder Fünfte nimmt tatsächlich ein Sabbatical. Zwar sind die Unternehmen nicht dazu verpflichtet, ihren Mitarbeitern eine solche Verschnaufpause zu ermöglichen, bei vielen gehört es mittlerweile aber zur Strategie in Sachen Work-Life-Balance dazu.

Doch wie sollte man die Auszeit nutzen? Für eine Reise, und wenn ja, für welche? Oder doch lieber für ein größeres, eigenes Projekt? Finden Sie im Test heraus, welches Sabbatical zu Ihnen passen könnte.

Zum Test…

 

 

5 o’clock in the morning, in a pub in Nelson

The smart phone was ringing. It was 4:30 a.m. and it was still dark outside but the chirping birds couldn’t be ignored. They were welcoming the new day. It was time to get up. These days it was all about Rugby, a very important sport in New Zealand like soccer in Germany. The radio program has been dominated by Rugby, at least for days, if not even for weeks. The day might become amazing for New Zealand. It was still Saturday in Europe but already Sunday in New Zealand. The Rugby World Cup Final 2015 was going to be played between New Zealand and Australia in England.

Not quite awake my host family and I took the car, arriving at the pub still in time. The pub was already crowded and we were lucky, having reserved a table in advance. It took me some effort to find my way on crutches through the crowd to our table. Probably, most of the young people have stayed awake the whole night looking forward to the final. There were even some Germans around. At 5:00 o’clock the final started on time. Every attack of the All Blacks, the New Zealand team, was accompanied by great applause, screaming whistles and noisy clapping. After the first half the All Blacks were far ahead but the game was still open. The turning point didn’t come until a few minutes before the game time was over when the All Black got the crucial 7 points through a try and the following conversion. The atmosphere was breathtaking.

People were hugging each other and stood up, clapping and noisily cheering. What an amazing result. New Zealand, the first team with three rugby world cup victories and even twice in a row. Congratulation, New Zealand.

The rugby rules are a little bit strange. Both teams have 15 players. The goal is to put the ball behind the opposite line. If your team has the ball you can run forward. The opposite team will tackle you to prevent you from getting behind the line. You can pass the ball to one of your team members but only backwards never forward. If you succeed in getting the ball behind the line then your team will immediately get 5 points and a further chance of an additional 2 points. For the additional two points the ball must be kicked from a specific point through the goal posts which means it is something like a goal  in a soccer game.

18,466 km away from home — New Zealand the other world

It was on a Monday four weeks ago that I escaped the daily business in Germany. It was a late summer day, hot, more than 30 degrees. The drive to the airport took more than 1 hour even though it was not more than  50km. Bumper to bumper. The normal traffic congestion during the rush hour on a motorway in Germany. Nothing special. The flight was on time and after a stopover in Tokyo and Auckland I landed 28 hours later, a little bit tired and stiff but very curious what the next few months would bring, in Nelson, New Zealand. There was a lovely warm welcome by Cath and Simon, my host family, at the airport. The trip was continued with a car ride along the coast with a beautiful view across the sea. It wasn’t really warm, perhaps about 13 degrees, IMG_5072as here in NZ the spring just started at the beginning of September. However the seemingly endless view over the sea with all the different dark and bright blue tones and the sunshine made me instantly feel warm and good. After a while the IMG_4943car took its way through downtown of Nelson with all the shops, bars and restaurants. In comparison with Germany the traffic seems to relatively light and well organized. No traffic jams, just a smooth run. But of course there is one thing which really appears to be strange, all the cars are running on the wrong side. Eventually, after a very steep winding summit climb of about 1 km, I arrived at my host family’s house. 18,466 km by air away from home and 11 hours ahead of Germany, IMG_4934at the opposite side of the world with the newly  started spring and a second summer to come. The main reason for me to come to New Zealand is to improve my English, in a beautiful environment and after my first impressions, I think I could not have made a better choice.


Nelson Nelson is located in the north west of the South Island of New Zealand and with a population of about 50,000, the city provides all that you need for daily life. It is the sunniest region in New Zealand.


The first two weeks in Nelson were just to settle down and get used to life in New Zealand. From the morning until early afternoon I attended the English School and after school I went to work at Study Nelson for about two hours.
As an IT guy, my job encompasses introducing new IT processes to provide  better support for daily business to help the organization become more efficient. To accomplish this goal, the first step is to get to know the business processes by means of interviews with the different business owners.
The second step will be producing a blueprint  followed by the final implementation of the new IT processes. As I live on the outskirts of Nelson on a hill, I wanted to get more mobile and bought a mountain bike and a car as well. School ends at noon on Friday only, and so I still needed to get third party insurance for my car to be ready for traveling and discover the area around Nelson on the coming weekend.
However it turned out quite differently. For some reason on this Friday morning we had an outside lesson during our English course to get to know the other students better and while we played some games I broke my lower leg. I did a very good job. So surgery was necessary and, as per my doctor´s instructions, I ‚m not allowed to ride a bike or even drive a car for at least the next 3 months. Well done. It wasn’t my goal to have such an experience but now after the surgery, sitting in the sun, enjoying life and looking back  it wasn’t all that bad.
I got a lot of visitors during my hospital stay and the nurses were very nice and after all, I could improve my English in a special environment. After the prescribed two weeks elevating my leg,  I’m looking forward to going to school and work again. 

Kia Ora!

Kia Ora ist eine der traditionellen Begrüßungen der Māori, des indigenen Volkes Neuseelands. Die Wendung ist heute selbstverständlicher Bestandteil der Alltagssprache und wird sowohl zur Begrüßung als auch zum Abschied verwendet. Wörtlich bedeutet Kia ora in etwa Mögest du gesund sein oder möge es dir gutgehen.
Und genau das wünschen wir Norbert, unserem ersten Berater auf Zeit in Nelson, Neuseeland:
Eine wunderbare Zeit in Neuseeland mit einem Sprachkurs zum Auftakt und dann weiteren 3 Monaten in einem Projekt!

Wir freuen uns auf deine Berichte!