Post by Christel van der Boom

A year ago, we landed at Schiphol. Time flies, and I can hardly believe it’s been a full year since we left the Bay Area. I still miss life in California, but I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities moving to the Netherlands has offered. Bureau Zuidema has been an important step in the career I’d been working toward fast-tracking things through what I was already building: facilitating communication training and providing leadership coaching. Bureau Zuidema gave me the guidance I needed to feel confident in this role, and it also became part of a team of amazing people. And there’s more: I’m currently taking seven weeks off from work. I’m in Asia because my spouse received a U.S.Fulbright grant to do research in Vietnam. When I asked my manager, Tim, if I could take a longer summer vacation, he didn’t miss a beat and said yes, because he deemed it an opportunity I shouldn’t pass up. In the U.S., it would have been unthinkable to request so much time off in your first year of employment, let alone have it approved. The transition has come with challenges, but I feel grateful for all it’s opening up. This trip is also a reminder that taking time off, and really checking out, re-energizes a person. I’m actually eager to go back to work after this much time off!