The Myanmar adventure becomes real

Lyuba & LinkedIn are great friends

Now the next step – Lyuba needs to find a job. So Lyuba was starting to be very active on LinkedIn, looking for opportunities and posting in job search websites in Myanmar. She also added on LinkedIn that she’s looking for a job in Yangon. And then, out of the blue, she got a job offer in a start-up company called SERV-SMART (http://www.serv-smart.com/). SERV-SMART is a business center offering serviced offices in Yangon, Myanmar. As there are many companies entering Myanmar, there is a high need of offices for small branches of companies.

They offered Lyuba first a freelance job to set up the marketing of the company. Afterwards, once we’ll be in Myanmar, Lyuba could set up the local office as an office manager. She would be responsible to get the first clients, set up the operations of the company, manage local people,… from A to Z. Awesome J

AIESEC in Myanmar?

Another opportunity was to start up AIESEC in Myanmar. After some research, we found out that a Klaus from Germany was working to set up AIESEC branch there. We discovered that AIESEC would be very relevant, bringing experiences to local people, as the educational system in Myanmar is extremely poor…So great, ready to impact and empower the youth in Myanmar!

Excited waiting for…forever!

So…At this point (May-June 2013) we know we go to Myanmar, we both have a job…But we only leave in October, as in September there would be a month of preparation for Myanmar and Lyuba needs to finish her job and visit Ukraine…it looks like forever!! We used these months to get to know the Myanmar market, the culture and also to try to find some connections in Myanmar. And we found some, even though it was not that easy. But most of the time, we were excitedly waiting…

Of course it was also a period of connecting to our friends, having fun with them and trying to organize small parties and get together. It’s not so easy to say bye to all your friends…

First steps in Myanmar…

In the end of August, I set the first steps to Yangon for a business trip for one week. The first working day for SBE I spent on a plane to Myanmar… That’s an interesting way to get started J Once in Myanmar, the first 3 days I used to find our future apartment. And we were so lucky to get in contact through Simon, an earlier Prince Albert Fund candidate who was in Myanmar, with Myo, a Myanmar person. We immediately found a great apartment, and for a reasonable price also compared to other apartments in Yangon. As many people want to come, there is a huge bubble in apartment prices in Myanmar, which makes life in Yangon extremely expensive.

Beginning of slums in Yangon

Afterwards, I went on the first ‘real’ working day in Nay Pyi Taw, the actual capital of Myanmar. Nay Pyi Taw is an strange city, as it was built to become the political capital of Myanmar in … There are only governmental buildings and hotels, but the city has some highways with 20 lanes…With almost no cars. Really interesting to compare with the congested roads of Yangon with Nay Pyi Taw J

Pagoda in Nay Pyi Taw

Pink elephant in Nay Pyi Taw. It is considered blessed. 

Then I had an amazing boat trip up to Bagan, a city with thousands of Pagoda’s. The nature in Myanmar is amazing and really untouched. It is extremely green full with rice fields where local rural people plow the fields with water buffalo’s, just like in ancient times. Here, it really looks like time stood still…

Countdown…

After this week I came back to Belgium and on the 2nd of September…The first day of work! Starting work was interesting, preparing to get started in Myanmar. As nobody in the company knew how the job would look like, it was more inventing the job, which was a nice experience.

In the meanwhile, Lyuba was counting down the days to leave Belgium … 13th of September was D-day, jobless and free again J  Afterwards, she went to Ukraine to spend 2 weeks with her family and friends. Great to have mama-food again and to be able to practice Russian with the family J The last 3 days, I spent also in Ukraine to be fed, as Lyuba’s mum thought I got too skinny.  But also it was to  say bye to the family again for probably one year. Hopefully we’ll be back in Ukraine soon!

The last week was extremely hectic, making all the final preparations, packing for Myanmar, having a delegation of Myanmar in Belgium… We were not bored those last days we could better say…Exhausted…

We only had limited amount of time to say bye to everyone in Belgium, but still we found some time to do so, which was also not easy but in the end, we know that some people will still come to visit, and all the important people are very close to our heart…

3rd of October we were on our way to Asia. The golden land of Myanmar was getting closer and we are getting nervous…