The NierenBlog

In the Bush of South Africa

 

My trip to South Africa continues to be wonderful

Above where we visited the small country of Swaliland which has the most beautiful countryside.

At the right, here I am shopping with Margaret and her daughter, Ellie and purchasing some of their wonderful bracelets before we go out on our second game run of the day.

This morning already, I have seen elephants, giraffes, zebras,monkeys,rhinos, hippos and the highlight--a cheetah--and of course, many other animals that I have no idea what they are.

What an education every minute I am here!

 

Culture History and Wine Country In Capetown

 
Continuing on my wonderful experience in South Africa, today we had a great cultural tour where we learned where it all started and what has become different since Nelson Mandella was released from prison. We also were able to experience some of the local community and here I am in front of Vicky's B&B-- South Africa's Smallest hotel! Vicky is also an amazing woman in what she has accomplished in the last 12 years helping her community and also showing tourists what a wonderful place South Africa is to visit.  We also visited Langa, the oldest formal township and the highlight was visiting a school and having a wonderful singing and dance show put on by the students. They were truly amazing and what voices and dance steps they had-- "Dancing with the Stars"--watch out!

Our afternoon was a visit to this historic  town of Stellenbosch filled with wineries.After walking through the town that has all Cape Dutch architecture, we headed to a wonderful wine tasting session and I will now finally know what type of delicious South African wine to order.

Truly a wonderful day with absolutely wonderful and interesting people.

 

Capetown is Magnificent!

 
It may be hard to see the African penguins in this picture--however they are there--and there are many of them.Here I am during my wonderful trip to South Africa, in Capetown's  section- The Boulders which is the world famous colony of Penguins and wind sheltered beaches.

This is one of the few sites where this endangered bird can be observed in very close range as they wander in protected natural environment.

Since my arrival on Tuesday, it has been a whirlwind of a couple of business meetings and opportunities, a workshop at a wonderful company that I met on line (yes, social media works!) and then joining a wonderful tour and meeting absolutely terrific people!

Today as we toured through the beautiful city of Capetown, we saw so much including the grand finale of going up to the top of Table Mountain which is slated to become one of the new Seven Wonders of the Natural World. We also visited The Cape of Good Hope Nature Reserve where we saw baboons and Cape Mountain zebras.

So many wonderful observations so far-- and I'm excited to continue my journey. I loved Kenya when I visited there five years ago and can see how I'm also loving the experience of South Africa.

I will continue to write and share a few of the highlights of this wonderful trip.

 

A Powerful Keynote from Lt. Colonel Michael J. Devine lll

 

I had the opportunity to attend the first anniversary of the Keller Graduate School of Management of DeVry University where I am excited to be on their advisory board.

Besides the extremely educucational meeting where academia and business came together to discuss synergy and how to make the new graduate school even better then it already is, it was great to see my co-author on our book "Networking for The College Student and Recent Graduate" and friend, Dr. Michael Faulkner (above on the right) and all that he has accomplished in his many roles at DeVry.

The bonus though of the evening was listening to Lieutenant Col. Michael J. Devine lll, (above on the left) deliver one of the most powerful keynotes I have ever heard. Every student, professor and businessperson hung on his every word as he weaved in powerful lessons on learning and leadership.

In his 'day' role, he serves as the United States Army Product Manager for Force Projection Enablers. What that translates into is that he is responsible for leading the execution of 97 information technology infrastructures and services projects valued at $414 M annually and in excess of $1.7B  across the Army budget cycle-- in essence, he controls a tremendous budget and works for the largest organization there is!

I only wish that I had been able to record what he said-- I walked away a better person for listening to his message.

"Women's Initiative of Nutley, New Jersey"

 
Last night was a fun event where my friend and former client, Angela Buro-to the right of me- (formerly with New York Life- and an extraordinary executive) invited me to speak at the "Women's Work" Career Fair.Also in the picture is Kathy Rempusheski who is the mayor's assistant.

The Women's Initiative of Nutley (WIN) was founded in 2001 by Nutley Mayor Joanne Cocchiola.  WIN is a volunteer organization that offers events and programs during Women's History Month in March and throughout the year which highlight the accomplishments of women.  On March 15th WIN sponsored the Women's Work Career Night at the Nutley High School.  The event brought together regional employers and candidates and offered workshops with topics including networking tips, resume writing, interviewing skills and image consulting.
 
It was great to see so many women come out and support each other with advice, tips and suggestions and all the participants in each of my sessions were terrific and the great 'aha' was that everyone walked away with action plans and ideas to implement. I also walked away learning alot from everyone I met- which I always do and that is the best bonus of all!

 

Meet The Modern Day- "Emily Post"

 

My friend, Vicky Oliver-(who I met through my other very dear friend, Vicky Amon) is clearly "The Etiquette Maven"-and like Emily Post--however much more fun!
We were catching up yesterday over coffee and Vicky was saying that 'according to etiquette rules, everyone needs to receive her food before anyone starts eating". However, I was just ordering coffee due to lunch soon after so we did 'relax' the policy to wait.

As Vicky and I joked, in New York-with everyone's hectic schedules, there is a lot of pressure to order something in a restaurant even before all the parties arrive-- as she says--"don't buckle to the pressure and let's bring politeness back!"

Here is the cover of Vicky's latest book ( her 4th to date) and as I read through it, I learn something new on every page.  She writes with humor and substance and this book- "301 SMART Answers to TOUGH Business Etiquette Questions" is a must read for everyone.   Just today -I was browsing at Borders at Time Warner--and her book was also listed in the "Top Recommended" list! Pick it up or order on line--it is a terrific reference tool!

Top 10 Networking Tips for the College Student and Recent Graduate

 
Recently the new book that I wrote with Dr. Michael Faulkner had the top "Networking"tips for college students on the PEARSON Publishing blog that went out to universities and colleges around the country.

Take a look at the article:

Originally posted on the Pearson Higher Education blog <hyperlinked to: http://www.pearsoncustom.com/blog/2011/02/23/top-10-networking-tips-for-the-college-student-and-recent-graduate/ > on February 23, 2011

 As always--let me know your thoughts.