Team Member of the Month » May 2004

Name : Nora Rolker
Born : 1978
Team member since : 1999
Prior Club Mistral Destinations : Dahab, Sal, El Yaque, Cabarete, Headoffice Weilheim

This month we would like to introduce you to Nora Rolker, who left us on 31 January 2004, after completing her 2-year training as a Travel Consultant at Travel People. She is our "Member of the Month", a small parting gift, as we will miss her very much. Fortunately, we feel certain that we will see her again at some time in the future….
 

Nora was born in Mannheim in October 1978; after completing her secondary-school education, she did a VDWS training course, which immediately landed her a job in Dahab at a windsurf centre. There she met her partner Ronan, with whom she worked at several Club Mistral centres. Ronan is not Nora's sole companion; she also has a small female Cape Verdean mongrel called "Squeeze", named after the popular bar in front of which they found "Squeeze". "Squeeze" not only occupied a place in her sports bag when she is travelling but also in her heart.

After studying for a year and spending a second year training for her Diploma of Tourism and Sports Management, she became a full-time employee with Club Mistral, after working at our centre in Dahab during her semester holidays.

Nora could now devote herself fully to her beloved sport and her equally beloved partner, as the two then worked for various Club Mistral centres: Sal, El Yaque and Cabarete.

Nora next decided to train as a Travel Consultant and, in view of her many years of experience at Club Mistral centres, it was, of course, clear to Jule that she would like to offer Nora an opportunity to train at our Head Office. Nora is an excellent and very patient instructor, who has helped numerous guests to successfully master their first steps on the board and to enjoy windsurfing. She is now also a good kiter and plans to obtain her instructor's licence, too. At Travel People, she spoke with many enthusiastic guests who had met Nora at the centres and were now happy to be advised by her. As she speaks fluent French, French guests were also happy to receive competent travel advice in their own language.

Despite the extreme language barriers here in Upper Bavaria (dialect still being spoken by many people), she has settled in well. And, after several 'training camps' in mountain huts, she was able to converse with the two locals on the staff who speak Bavarian dialect. 

The 2 years are now over and we take genuine pleasure in frequently recalling the pleasant stories involving our Nora.

Nora is a 'party girl' of a special kind and is perfectly willing to travel to Berlin or Paris from time to time for a good party.

As far as possible, she spent every weekend in France and frequently left for France early on Friday, only to be found back at her desk on Monday morning, often fresh from the motorway, gazing out at Dietlhofer Lake and dreaming of the sea. Or she would be back from Heidelberg, her birthplace, after a party marathon or suchlike.

We also have to thank Nora for many a pleasant lunch break, as she often returned laden with French cheese and we were always grateful recipients! In general, meals occupy an extremely important place in Nora's daily routine. As soon as she caught a whiff of any smells or heard any noises from the kitchen (thanks to the position of her desk), she could be found at the doorway within a split second, sniffing the air with a faraway, hungry look and the plaintive query: "What's on today?" Apart from being the place in which food was prepared, the kitchen was 'enemy territory', as it had to be cleaned from time to time, the task of the poor trainee, who sometimes had to compelled to do so with 'verbal violence'. A hard time for her ….

Nora is also the inventor of an international novelty: the Camembert-cheese-sandwich diet!

Her crepe sessions are also legendary – crepes of all kinds, from sweet to sour, with shisha and French wine.

We have had lots of laughs with her and it was great to have somebody on the team who is already in a good mood and laughing first thing in the morning. Not once did we see Nora in a bad mood! We don't know where Nora is heading now, but we can be sure of one thing: it will be somewhere in the south, where the climate is warmer and the days longer. There she will certainly not feel as cold in the bare-belly shirts she wore throughout the Bavarian winter, with temperatures down to -15˚ C.
Dear Nora, we'll miss you very much! Your cheerful manner and great sense of humour made a valuable contribution to the team atmosphere. We wish you all the best for your future and for all your decisions and hope that we may be able to include you in our Club Mistral team once again somehow some time!

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