Training in Turkey

I got to spend a week in Antalya, Turkey for training at an all-inclusive resort on the Mediterranean. This training was the Technology and Entertainment group of PwC-Moscow (I work in Energy, Utilities & Mining) and also included former Soviet Union nations such as the Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia, etc. It was a great opportunity to meet people from all over the region and I made some new friends at this training, but most were expatriates – all expatriates seem to mix together wherever I go, whether in Guinea or Russia. This training could have been more effective if performed over three days in Moscow, but who’s going to complain about a trip to a beach resort at the end of September?

There were many interesting things to note at this training such as people wearing sandals, shorts, jeans, t-shirts to training. A partner at my table was playing solitaire on her iPhone while another partner was instructing a session. There was heavy drinking through all staff levels, up through partner, even on week nights at a club at the site (I witnessed someone pass out on a couch by the speakers). I did have a couple hangovers, and went swimming in the Mediterranean Sea a couple nights after the club, but was up every morning at 7 to eat breakfast by myself and check my emails and the news in our ever slumping economy.

One day at training there was a team building event in the afternoon where the dress code was “beach casual.” (Sorry guys – I forgot to take my camera to this.) It was unbelievable what people were wearing and no one in HR at the US Firm would have let this happen, and it was surely a sexual harassment lawsuit waiting to happen.

Anyway, enjoy some of the pictures below and the link to the hotel.

http://www.antalyaresorts.com/listingview.php?listingID=9

Me and some new friends at the club at the hotel.
There was a Pirates night on Friday night in which dressing up as a pirate was encouraged and it had a pirates theme - it was very bizarre. They had belly dancers (two of them were men) and other strange things going on.
I didn't want to dress like a pirate, but I did have some Pittsburgh Pirates gear in Moscow so I thought I'd be slick because technically I did dress up if any partners were keeping track.
One of the team building events was to try to cross this floating bridge in the pool. As you can see, Speedos are not frowned upon. (Again - I didn't take my camera, these pictures were taken by a girl.)
Tug of war in Speedos - there are girls in the background if you look closely.

A joust as part of the team building.

Unattractive women jousting - they were probably from Kazakhstan and not Moscow.