Team Building No. 3: eJumping Into the Woods Of Brasov

Or into the wild, better said, considering that this third team building happened at the Huntsman House we went to, last year. A fairytale-like place, with wooden swings and a hidden tree house near a quiet river, surrounded only by frosty massifs and ancient forests, deep into the wilderness of Râșnov, what can you want more?  

Signal.

Although, you know that hip saying: „there’s no wifi in the forest but I promise you will find a better connection”? Completely true.

Friday

It started on an afternoon, after we went shopping. A three days’ trip to a villa near Brașov, a place we fell in love with last year. We took off directly from the office – four cars full of excited „kids”, playing with walkie talkies on the road but having great talks about life, also – from survival instinct, society and sexism to… entrepreneurship. Yup. Meanwhile, we manage to kind of accidentally part ways on different routes to our destination. No worries, though, we’re big guys and girls.

Part of our gang freezing, but eJumping all the way to the top!

It was so friggin’ cold when we got there, but the freshest air in the world uplifted us and soon we began to unpack and prepare for – that’s right, the most awaited moment, the magical words, the BBQ parteeeh! First, we were still freezing out there, so we warmed up (just a little bit) with some good old smoked ham (as in “slăninuță”) and plum brandy shots (as in “țuică”), close to the campfire. The barbecue was in the making already, thanks to some of the eJumpers (we love you, guys!). So Friday night was all about partying and socializing, laughing and hugging, eating and drinking until the morning (sort of). There are some stories that should better remain untold, so let’s move on to the next day, shall we?

Saturday

This team building happened in the most beautiful weekend of this autumn, honestly – it was late October, when you can almost taste that sweet earthy scent of the deep forest after the rain. We woke up, ate breakfast and dressed up – as much as we could – for the long-awaited expedition: Into the wild, part 2! (part of the team has been there before, but never reached the destination: Diham Cabin, 1320m altitude, woohoo!) We walked through the forests and rivers like some wanderers, mesmerized by these huge pines, cracked trunks, vivid green moss covering them slowly and knolls like hobbit houses. And then…

The mist got thicker, while the gusty wind tried to stop us right there, alone in the wilderness – paradise on earth, but so wet and cold (argh, if only we got more sweaters!). Anyway, no fairies or mystical creatures jumped at us, but our dearest Bogdan had some nice horror scenarios to tell. What if those weird muttering, deep in the forest, was actually wolves howling? What if that movie-like mist got so thick that we couldn’t see in front of us and something dangerous appeared right then? Oh, it would have been so much fun if that parked car on the road was a hearse. And a priest. A funeral! Not.

Long story short, after refreshing our minds, bodies and spirits with those majestic views for a couple of hours, we all got to the Diham cabin and drank some hot chocolate, proud of our accomplishment. Yay! And then we got so hungry. So back on the muddy road, sometimes tree hugging, sometimes not – in one hour, we were back to our villa, having lunch or a good ol’ nap.

Warm faces checked, full bellies checked, let the funny games begin! Some of us got into a friendly – but fierce – ping pong competition, with supporters on the side, learning the dos and don’ts from the pros. Meanwhile, the adrenaline driven ones got into airsoft shootings, while others chose board games, poker, rummy and video games. Hardcore stuff!

Then, the ritual was again celebrated: music, plum brandy, campfire, barbecue, having a good time. Only, this time, because of some “unexpected errors” (can’t live with them, can’t live without them), we got to eat without dishes or tableware. Imagine 14 hungry people using glasses or slices of bread to eat salad, toothpicks to eat meat, some knives for mustard or other stuff like that. Oh well, it was like we really were outside camping and testing our survival skills – only without camping. We handled this challenge and found solutions like a real eJumper: going all the way for what we want. And then we went back to our games.

Sunday

After a well-deserved rest, this last day was just perfect for contemplating, meditating, simply enjoying the Present – call it what you want. Some of us took photos of the lovely surroundings to capture the beauty within, others were still playing table tennis or shooting with airsoft guns again or took walks in the nature, inhaling the purest air to recharge their batteries. Soon after that, we were all on our way home. Uplifted or somehow tired, happy or nostalgic, we were ready for new eJump adventures.