There is always an exciting and exhilarating feeling to attend a conference outside of the country. More so that this was my first visit to Colorado Springs, USA. Most Filipinos choose to travel to Los Angeles, New York, Boston, Seattle, Las Vegas, etc., where most Filipinos have relocated because of their good weather conditions. I am no exception, since I had also already visited most of these places in America. Since I have not heard of Filipinos who have relocated to Colorado Springs, my curiosity was piqued. Even the immigration officer asked me why we chose Colorado Springs to hold our leadership conference—I could not refute quickly, why not? My quick research showed that Colorado Springs offers a number of natural geographies that are good for trekking, biking, and hiking. The best thing is that these parks are absolutely free! Added to this, most of the tourist areas are also free, like museums, recreation centers, and many others.
After we had settled in our hotel, we looked around and just saw mountains upon mountains. We were told that were supposed to trek and hike on those mountains. Deep inside, I asked myself, ‘How will I be able to survive this experience?’ Our schedule was quite full. For the next six days, we had classes in the morning—case studies, article analyses, and of course, we had to read the book, “Deep Purpose”, written by Harvard Professor Ranjay Gulati. In the afternoon, we had to trek, hike, and did some meditation. The experience became wholistic in a way—feeding our minds, our bodies, as well as our spirituality. The physical exhaustion was good to have, so that we can sleep soundly at night and overcome our jet lag. Our visits to the museums gave us a glimpse of how rich the US is as a country. Their training ground and facilities for athletes are exceptional! No wonder they have garnered a lot of gold medals during the Olympics and other athletic competitions. Colorado Springs is also a seat for three military bases, which provide employment to a lot of people. No wonder, their unemployment rate is so low. I can also feel their sense of pride in having produced a number of military personnel, who have helped the country in maintaining order and safety.
While our US schedule was jam-packed, we still had a lot of things to attend to in the Philippines. In essence, our work in Manila did not stop. We had to virtually meet our teams and address their concerns. That is the beauty of technology—it drove us to become workaholics more than ever. But no regrets, for we had one of the best experiences life can offer.
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