Yes­ter­day we swap­ped the usu­al office atmo­sphe­re for fresh air at the boat­house in Jena and spent our annu­al team day the­re — an event that we will remem­ber for a long time to come.

Tri­cky games of skill not only chal­len­ged us men­tal­ly, but also put our team spi­rit to the test, becau­se tying knots is not so easy when twen­ty peo­p­le are hol­ding the same rope. SUP boards were available to try out, on which many of us redis­co­ver­ed our sen­se of balan­ce, and tho­se who pre­fer­red to get wet as a team were able to train for the upco­ming dra­gon boat race. Under the mot­to “We’­re all in the same boat”, we padd­led — more or less — in uni­son, streng­thening not only our mus­cles but also our sen­se of com­mu­ni­ty.

But it was­n’t just on the water, the­re were also num­e­rous chal­lenges to mas­ter on land. Whe­ther it was vol­ley­ball, table ten­nis or other team chal­lenges — the­re was some­thing for ever­yo­ne and the team spi­rit was pal­pa­ble ever­y­whe­re. Despi­te the chan­geable wea­ther, we did­n’t let it spoil our spi­rits. Spe­cial thanks go to the dedi­ca­ted orga­ni­s­ing team, who put their heart and soul and crea­ti­vi­ty into making this day an unfor­gettable and moti­vat­ing expe­ri­ence. Our team is not only strong at work, but also a gre­at com­mu­ni­ty. 💪

We brought the evening to a fes­ti­ve clo­se at the sub­se­quent fami­ly sum­mer par­ty. The tables were laden with the deli­ca­ci­es we had brought with us. We laug­hed, bar­be­cued, play­ed games and spent the evening in the best of fami­ly com­pa­ny.

All in all, our team day was not only pro­of of how strong we are as an ORISA team, but also a remin­der of how important it is to crea­te and enjoy shared expe­ri­en­ces out­side of ever­y­day working life. A real­ly gre­at day that lea­ves us wan­ting more.