Summary

We did a great job! At least our opinions and emotions in social portals prove me that.
When im attending seminars like this, im usually not interested in making new friends - im going there to study, to learn something new etc but somehow it always happens. Im always leaving those countries with a little sad feeling that i might never meet them again and huge dose of hope that we will meet anyway and that we will be successful people in our working areas someday. And that is just something amazing. Im attending those events as a selfish fish, but leaving it all with worries and thoughts about all of us.
Im finally back home in Latvia and while im packing out those souvenirs for family from my luggage, im realizing how heavy baggage i took with me in my head. Now i know how useful and necessary social media is in business nowadays, i know that first three pages in business plan are the most important, that its very important to KISS (=keep it simple stupid), that England is amazingly beautiful country, that in every country there are powerful youngsters - potential businessman who know what they want be and do, that i need to remember - what i see is what i get.
And my way to seminar gave me possibility to visit Dublin, Ireland too.
I realized that im full time adventurist, that my characteristics are good enough to become a businessman one day, that i looove and enjoy rural areas in every single country and that my power is my family. Its not like i didnt know these things before but now i feel more sure about it all, i feel more confident.
Thank you, Prep Team, thank you participants - my new colleagues! What an unforgettable, irreplaceable and just awesome experience it was!
Greetings from very happy and very inspired Alma in Latvia. Its time to do something! (:

It`s Friday and im in love

After Thursday`s amazing night with WYFC, morning for me was a little bit tough. Brain didnt want to work properly but at the end was ok - i made my very fast version of business plan (wrote bout my plan of feeding service/ restaurant in my rural area), presented it, then watched how three best business ideas presented their work to all of us. Denmark bout oil industry, group two (Estonians and Swedish guy) bout supporting people to find tradesmen and Finish girl bout making clothes from recycled materials. The second presentation was interesting to me because i was in conference in Czech Republic not very long time ago and there guy from Brussels told us about similar system and problems which it causes. But Finish girl with her business is my hero of the day and i really hope she will be successful and everything will work out well there.
Then all together we did seminar`s evaluation which was full of positive feedbacks, thanks, group love, laughs and even tears. We were an amazing team! :)
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Then Nicola (i was so happy to see her again. her laugh is contagious!) from NFYFC came to visit us - im not able to post any photo now but she was a wedding planner and our Slovenian and Welsh girls got married tonight (unfortunately i missed it out because of my flight to Dublin). Before i left, i realized that there`s gonna be massive, lovely, unforgettable party tonight. Hope it worked out very well and all participants are satisfied bout their last night in venue.
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Canteens women gave me my last dinner before i left venue. Well that was veeeeery delicious, i enjoyed my last meal fully. ;D Canteen staff all week and especially today was soooo lovely and nice people! I said them thanks before and im saying thanks now. I really appreciate all what they offered and gave and just did for us.
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Few seconds before i left, i got my certificate from Claire, that very lovely small_letter_envelope from Kadri and big, sweet group hug from all participants. It was amazing. I felt a huge dose of love around me.
Only then i truly understood how great and unforgettable this week was, and how many awesome, lovely people were around me all these 6 days.
Gareth took me to the train station, i jumped into my train to Birmingham New Street. Halfway i opened that little envelope, read all those good words and wishes from other participants and felt like the luckiest girl in the world. i looove those "omg, LIFE IS SO BEAUTIFUL" moments in my life. And that was a big one.
People were looking at me like "why the hell she`s smiling all the time" and i just couldnt stop it. Amazing feeling.
Then, at Birmingham`s train station, i missed my train to airport... twice! after many fast runs (still with my happy face on) through station, i finally got myself into train to airport. And i realized that im calm even when im stressed, haha.
Got my flight to Dublin, came to Dublin - it`s Friday night and drunk youngsters are everywhere. Im sharing my hostel room with 5 men (not nice at all) but i still feel like the happiest girl in the world. Im really lucky. And really glad i was able to visit England and take part in this seminar.
Irreplaceable experience.
Thank you very, very much! Prep team, Latvian Young Farmers` club, all participants, those 3 Latvians...
This was an amazing week. You cant even imagine how useful and enjoyable it all was to me.
Best wishes to everyone who was involved in it all. I know we can! :)

Thursday

Another beautiful day in England!

We went to Worcester - of course i`ve never been there before so i tried to enjoy it fully. Dont know why but i was a bit tired all day long but anyway - weather loved us again just as much as we loved it and English houses are beautiful everywhere - it`s not important if it is in rural area or city.

After visiting that massive and very beautiful cathedral, i went to check out riverside in Worcester. Saw a loooaads of swans there: 

Day was great, people were happy, city was (and still is) beautiful. Im glad we were able to see it all. Happy alma is happy.

Then i met other participants from Latvia who represent Latvian 4H. Last hour or two we spent together. I didnt know them before this seminar, so another great thing about it - new contacts even in my own country. Im always happy to meet new faces. We didnt have that much time in Worcester so i tried to enjoy it fully - who knows when and if there will be next time to see that part of England.

Then we went back to venue where venue`s owner Nick and John Hardman from NFYFC and HOPS shared their stories, opinions and experiences. Two totally different people, but both interesting. I even wrote down some quotes, but i will check all my seminar notes only when i will be back home. It`s always great to know other people ways, how they got where they are now.

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At the evening guys from WYFC entertained us. Was great. Now i know some more ice braking games and i found out that Ueli is an amazing dancer. Veeeery good night. (:

Im reading The Alchemist

So maybe these 10 quotes might be useful to some of you.

1. "The secret of life, though, is to fall seven times and to get up eight times."
2. "We look around at all those who have failed to get what they want and feel that we do not deserve to get what we want either."
3. "...and someday you will learn that our countryside is the best, and our women the most beautiful."
4. "The world was huge and inexhaustable;"
5. "It`s the simple things in life that are the most extraordinary; only wise men are able to understand them."
6. "Everyone seems to have a clear idea of how other people should lead their lives, but none about his or her own."
7. "The world`s greatest lie: that at a certain point in our lives, we lose control of what`s happening to us, and our lives become controlled by fate."
8. "People say strange things. Sometimes it`s better to be with the sheep, who don`t say anything."
9. "When you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
10. "You cannot trust a man if you don`t know his house."

Have a great day/night, guys!

Wedneday

Day started with a video bout Reggae reggae sauce appearance at Dragon's Den. Then we tried that sauce and crisps too. New information and facts for me, didn't know it all before.
Reggae reggae sauce slogan says: "Put some music in your food" and, believe it or not, but some of seminar's participants started to sing after eating it all, haha.

I don't really feel a need to inform you bout the day's hardest part - our group work for businesses, but it all ended pretty good - entrepreneurs were satisfied and that's the main thing i guess.

After it all, we went for a little hike up to the North Hill (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/North_Hill,_Malvern). Btw, I don't really have any good photo from today, but im sure Kadri or any other participant/ prep team member will come up with some good pictures later on.
Last few days im really missing my bicycle so was very happy to do some small sport activities finally. And i loooooove views like that. Up there i kind of enjoyed people inability to read my face - while i was totally in that "happy alma is happy" and "life is beautiful" mood, people asked me why im upset. Weird moments are weird but you should know that my happiness is inside and it's huge, and usually i don't feel a need to prove it, so sorry bout it, hehe.

But, yeap, every day im enjoying some "life is sooo beautiful" moments here and enjoying it a lot.
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I think Phil from Wiggly Wigglers is really inspirational example to me.
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The Alchemist is a PERFECT book for this week. Every day i feel more and more powerful.
"when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it."
Dear Alma, i know you can..

Tuesday

 Suck an amazingly beautiful and inspirational day it was! That is what i expected from this week, that is what i wanned to experience!  

All the way to the business places, mini bus windows showed me breath taking England`s landscapes. I really enjoyed all the way we spent in buses, especially when Bob, Gareth and Karl started to sing some English songs. I felt like i had a group of amazingly talented guides around me all day long and i enjoyed it fully - with eyes open and productive thoughts in my head most of the time.

And those very small roads where is only space for one car! And friendly British people in front of us, waiting for our mini buses to go further, sharing that very small "room" on the roads. (:

So now you know that i got totally excited bout this trip in England`s countryside - if you are here to search for some negative information, it wont be here, not in this post.

First of all we visited Hopes of Longtown, where woman (all my notes are in my bed, cant write all names right now) made a shop for villagers. I was a bit surprised that there is approx. 150 costumers per day - im not sure if there is that many costumers even in my village shop, but, well... we are Latvian though.

I am more interested in farming - right now trying to take decisions between sheep farming or beef cows and that`s another reason why i really enjoyed this day - two of these farms had sheeps and another two - beef cows and i was able to see and hear other farmer experience, opinions and advices.

So i went inside that shop and decided to buy a book that i never read before (that`s pretty weird cuz im reading a lot but never read The Alchemist before) - that`s how i got a souvenir for myself. Wrote some notes in the first page so now i will remember bout this week in England every time, when i will see this book in my bookshelf. Happy alma is happy.

Then we went to the place, where family is producing their own farm`s food into restaurant food. That is one of my ideas how to improve my farming too, so again - for me it was very useful and interesting. Lunch was goooorgeous, enjoyed that part too.
I dont even know what bad i could say here. Weather was perfect for autumn day, welcoming was very warm and people around me were amazingly inspirational.

Then we went to Wiggly Wigglers - well, that is one bloody serious business there! Didn`t expect that we will be able to visit something like that. Again - i was able to speak about beef cows and get to know some of those practical things better. Got some new ideas how to use brans some day and i havent been in the farm where totally all of the lands are rented before - was interesting to see things from that point of view. 

I cant wait for tomorrow`s group work and results and conclusions which we will make at the end.
If i need to me honest - im getting really tired of people around me all the time. So after dinner im usually really tired already and i dont want to do any "getting social and let`s be BFF" things. My own problem, of course.
Today was my daddy`s birthday and i spent most of the day thinking bout him, us, our family and farm. This is awesome and very useful week, but at the same time am getting more and more ready to go home and share all this information with others.

Monday

Productive day is productive!

Still have some problems with university and LYFC events which are happening in Latvia this week, so all information together goes in my head approximately like this:

But - no, information here is not too much. At least not yet.

I wrote 5 A4 pages with notes today, remembered some of those Business plan points which i had forgotten since the last lecture in economics and at the end i realized how to use social media for my own business in the future or organization work now.
Now i know some simple system how to start and write the Business plan - i will use it pretty soon and im really happy that somebody reminded me how to do, and more important - the easiest way how to do it.
I realized how many things we need to change and improve in our organization, i have an idea that we need somebody who is taking care of our internet accounts and doing more serious work with social media.
Now i know that KISS means keep it simple stupid, but SWOT shows companies straightness, weakness, opportunities and threats (really didn't know it before).
Oh, and those 3F which are needed for successful entrepreneurship- family, friends and fools.
And at the end - "what you see is what you get!" or as Gareth educated me - it's WYSIWYG. Information bout how we use this therm nowadays: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WYSIWYG (didn't know about it before too).
So - yeah - day was full of new, useful information. Now everybody is going to watch and take part in a folk dances and i think i can't miss it out.
(Btw, food is getting better and better every day. Im really glad about it!!)