We’re moving again… hopefully this will be the last time this year, I have had enough I must admit. We’re staying in the same city in the Netherlands. Our first place was only temporary, and I sincerely hope we stay here for the long term. It feels good our new place, a cosy place along the canals in Alkmaar, next to city centre, where the boots pass, especially with the summer coming, fantastic. And a warm welcome from the owner, a good bottle of red wine :-) A good new start.

I love to travel, but also many of you know, I have a passion to support destinations with influencer marketing, that’s my mission. When the request came from the Convention Bureau Napels to participate in the MICE influencers trip to support the destination, and Giovanna Lucherini, the director insisted to have me in, I said directly yes.

Jozef and Maria have found a new home… And the rollercoaster continues.. Never a dull moment despite the fact that we are now back in Belgium. The first and most important news is that my husband signed a contract and will start with a new challenge! No management anymore (what a surprise ;-) … but will travel again as a chemical engineer to support clients all over the world. He’s happy, I’m happy!

When I travel for business as a speaker for an exhibition there is always a welcome committee at the airport. Also this time travelling for ACE of MICE to Istanbul. As soon as I came out of the doors and entering the hall, I saw the sign of the exhibition, nothing special.

By moving to the United States, giving everything up what we had, taking the step and now finally moving back to the Netherlands via Belgium, it was one of the best things happened to me. Proof? I just returned from the European Meeting and Event Conference organised by the association Meeting Professionals International in the Netherlands hosted in The Hague.

Our adventure is over in Houston… The moment you receive the news that your dream is finished.... I was out of the world for 2 days when I heard that the contract of my husband came to an end. All my emotions came out; sad, anger, disappointment and much much more. We were just getting settled and now we have to go in the rewind modus… Houston Airport - Tuesday 8th January 2019

We’re approaching the end of the year, time for reflection, time to look back on a very dynamic and busy year. It’s been a year with lots of ups & downs in a very extreme way. I have travelled all around the globe for my company including India, moved from Belgium to the States. I have met amazing, wonderful people, have received lots of support and for my company and our move. In my spare time I took care of the chapter MPI (Meeting Professionals International) Belgium as the President and together with my team we organised an amazing conference. If I write it all down, I really did quite a lot.

Let me try to summarize what happened in the past month. First of all I travelled a lot in the month October… Las Vegas, Denver, China and more. And yes, I received an award in Qingdao, China as the Annual Most Influential Conference Leader. Proud!!! It’s crazy.. It’s like the weather! The month September it rained more than average, October was better, less humid and they all told, the summer is coming… November arrives and the temperature drops until 3C during the day. I never thought that I would need my winter coat. Climat change???

Indeed, that’s typically me and my life. Always something new, or unexpected is happening. I just can’t help it, it’s probably written somewhere in my destiny. Who would thought that I will contact a lawyer within 6 weeks of my stay? This was the least thing I expected. One thing I learned is ; expect the unexpected :-)

One of my missions is to open an office here in the United States, a very challenging one! It’s a lot, building up your social life, and a professional life (don’t even talk about my working permit, which is still pending for me, the spoussie..) and much much more.

It sounds all amazing and fantastic, which it definitely is (not allowed to complain) just it’s huge. By the way, it’s me myself and I (my team of freelancers are still in Belgium). Last Friday I was working and exhausted. The alarm goes off everyday at 05:30 am. I love what I do, just couldn’t find the energy anymore at 11 am to continue. This is the reality, I want too much in a too short amount of time and my body protests. I am human, not super woman (you might think… ) Took a bath, relaxed, got some energising food, finished my last mails and decided not to work anymore that day. Enough is enough.

Exciting, thrilled, curious, a bit nervous…… Actually I don’t find the right words to describe how I feel when my long desired dream is no longer a dream anymore….. It’s a been a very long journey to come this far! Exactly 9 years of waiting, trying, emotions, lots of patience we’re moving abroad to the country where your dreams come true, America! The most challenging is that we will move to Houston, a destination where we haven’t been at all. My husband has never visited Texas before.. No clue where we are going, I like it, challenging.

Do you recognize the moment when all your efforts, work, energy is done for nothing? That the ground is moving away under your feet… After following the entire procedure at the Embassy, registration, waiting, fingerprints, waiting, interview……. (tip, block at least 3 hours in your agenda!). You arrive at the final ‘interview with the consul’ and he said, ‘Madam with this visa your are not allowed to work’. I thought I’m getting a heart attack!