Practical training blog by Ashiat Viinikainen

My practical training led me on a journey to the beautiful sunny south of France, to be called home was a small and cozy village called Mandelieu la Napoule one of the most beautiful places i have ever gotten the Privilege to experience.  I remember my first moming walk across the beautiful beach that was only a few meters from my new home, I was at a loss for words at the magnificence and beauty that surrounded me.  Beautiful mountains sourrounded the scenery  pregnant with oceans of blue and Castles that looked as if they were drawn right out of a fairy tale.  It was really a sight to behold.  Working with GI Simons and living in Mandelieu was an Adventure for me, both professionally and personally, lots of learning curves and a huge opportunty for me to develop myself in all areas.  GI Simons creates game based cultural learnings, creates workshops to teach professional and students in the cross-cultural learning field.  While there i got to experience different cultures and expand my culture scope, I got more knowledge of the French culture and some German culture, my roommate and colleague was from Germany.  I also got to learn more in depth about  American culture as one of my colleagues was from California USA.  Communicating with locals while in France was not difficult for me as I speak French already, I had lived in a French speaking country before moving to Finland so communicating with people was nor much of a hassle. The locals were also very nice friendly and polite  .

My track is cross cultural management, so the experience fits well to my intended professional pursuit.  During my stay we organized a gamification workshop at the Montpellier business school in February.

This experience allowed me to first handedly organize, experience and be a part of a cross cultural game based training event.The initial duration of my stay in france should have been till June 2020 but unfortunately had to be cut short because of the pandemic. I had to return to Finland but continued to work remotely while back in Finland.

France was an amazing experience.  I learned working with a diverse team, enhance my professional skills and expanded myself creatively.  I currently continue to work on projects with the diversophy team. It has been an immensely growing experience.

Author: Ashiat Viinikainen