Day 89: T minus 1 Day

Nothing Much Left To Say…

…other than the fact that it is now less than 1 day left to go before I head back to the states. Totally was a nice, easy day, mostly filled with packing and saying my final good-byes to team members. Hilariously, many of them are flying over to Sunnyvale next week, so I’ll probably already see them in about a week or so. I never say “Good-bye”, only “See you later”.

One Last Time (for now)

We had a team lunch organized as a little way to cap off my time in SiFi for the last 3 months. When asked for recommendations around the area, I couldn’t help but recommend the one place that I will miss the most in my heart — Proper Pizza! I was so happy to take the team there. I gave everyone the spiel about the sesame-seed crust and the delicious sauces and the unique Albanian presence in Stuttgart. It’s well-practiced at this point. I tried to warn everyone that the peppers they serve on the side are super spicy, but I guess certain things in life are learned best as a trial and error. Today, I went with the Benz pizza, a pizza with 3 styles, shaped in a Mercedes-Benz star. Granted, it didn’t look so exciting in reality compared to the picture (they demarcated the star using olives, not crust) and it only had 2 styles. But it was still delicious.

Last Minute Packing

I distributed the bags that I won’t be able to transport via check-in to co-workers who will come to Sunnyvale later this week and next week. I also stopped by Rewe for some last-minute food requests from co-workers back in Sunnyvale. My luggage is now packed to the brim. I also got the bike bag completed, although I’m still unsure if I assembled it correctly. I guess at this point, we shall see what happens tomorrow. It managed to fit inside the rental car and wasn’t very heavy, so fingers crossed everything works out with check-in. My first leg is with Eurowings…

Dinner

I met up with team-members in Stuttgart for a final meal and some drinks. Over Döner from Marien Grill and cocktails from Sattlerei, we talked about opportunities for improvement, methods to ensure sustainable growth and alignment, and how we can keep attacking our targets. It was a really fruitful discussion, but of course, we never have all the time that we want, and eventually, we called it a night. I’m fortunate for these moments, because it shows how committed and driven my team-members are, which just gives me more fuel and inspiration to keep pushing.

With one more day left to go, I can’t believe that my trip in Germany is now coming officially to an end.

Frieden und Lieben ❤️ (translation: peace and love)