Welcome to my blog
Early in our travels, we decided to start our Follow the Adventure blog to document our experiences, share how we get the most out of life, broaden our horizons, open our hearts, and have fun!
How I got to co-organise an HR Conference in Mostar
April 19 2024
I never expected that I would be organising the very first HR Conference in Mostar! Yet here we are…. May 10 is the day!
The art of letting go
February 14 2024
While 2023 turned to 2024, I learned a lesson about acceptance and letting go.
Back in the game
December 08 2023
I cannot predict the future – no one can. But it’s always nice when, based on previous experience, you can predict what’s to come. And then it does.
Self Coaching: Hiking with Oma
September 08 2023
“In life you walk your own path at your own pace”. What do my grandma, hiking and self-coaching have to do with each other?
At the base of the pyramid
August 04 2023
Moving to a new country is exciting, daunting, energizing, and can be scary as hell.
Leaving home, coming home
June 20 2023
Some say the charm of holiday is in coming back home. Think about it: what’s a holiday without a home to get back to?
East and West of the River Neretva
May 30 2023
There is probably never a good time to write about the war that took place here during 1992 and 1995. But as a foreigner who is observing life here, it’s also hard to ignore and not write about it.
10 Funniest things about Mostar
March 24 2023
We have now entered our 8th month here, so it’s time to start writing down some of these observations. Before you know it, they have become “our new normal”.
All Seasons
February 17 2023
We know it takes at least 4 seasons to really “get to know” your new environment. And while it already seems much longer, we have only been in Mostar for 6 months now. So, what do we really know?
Flying home for Christmas
January 06 2023
“Driving home for Christmas” sings Chris Rea warmly every year on the Christmas playlist. I always had a hard time to relate to the song: ever since we live abroad I have been flying home for...
Kiss me please..
December 02 2022
It was probably one of my first encounters with differences in culture; the difference in how we greet each other. In some cultures, like my own, it is common to kiss someone on the cheek..
The Expat Interview
November 13 2022
Recently, I featured in an interview with Spend Life Traveling, about living the expat life in Mostar.
Who wants to be my friend?
October 14 2022
How to settle and build friendships in new places... With Bosnia & Hercegovina being the third country we moved to, we notice we kind of “know the drill” by now. Here are 5 tips that work well for us!
Smile....you are being Vanity Scammed!
September 09 2022
So picture this…… you are a stand-alone coach. You just moved to a new country. You are working from home every day and for one reason or another you are feeling some kind of self-doubt and loneliness
Celebration time!
August 19 2022
Celebrating my successes and accomplishments is something I find difficult to do. Why? I guess there is a fear somewhere of being seen as bragging about it. Or maybe I just do not think it is..
The adventure continues
August 06 2022
When the travel section of the biggest bookstore in Utrecht, the Netherlands, does not have a single travel guide about the country you are about the relocate to, it makes you wonder...
Made in China
May 12 2022
Occasionally, when something relatively new breaks down, we jokingly say to each other: “yeah…made in China…”
My Pendulum Swing
April 15 2022
As a young kid I was truly fascinated by a pendulum with 7 balls hanging in a row side by side. Letting them tick-tock against each other endlessly....
Adapting to the flow of the river
March 27 2022
Of course, China would not be China if there was not a lesson to learn in our final months here.
Free Webinar Positive Intelligence
February 25 2022
Join this online event on Friday February 25, 2022 at 09:00AM Central European Time. Find the Teams link in the blog.
Who's messing with my head?
February 13 2022
One of my most interesting and inspiring moments of being a coach is that moment when I see a client unravel unconscious though patterns, exposing limiting belief systems and realise “it’s not me...
Happy New Year or Happy Mid Year?
January 03 2022
Living with a teacher for over 25 years, I know that teachers tend to think different when it comes to the concept of a “year”.
Up, up, up the stairs we go!
October 23 2021
During the recent Golden Week break we learned again a few important lessons about life in China.
The things we do for coffee
September 29 2021
It's funny how we often feel a bit lost and overwhelmed when we travel in China, not being able to read any sign or ask. And how every single time this happens someone just goes a long way to help us.
e-Coaching as a Game Changer
September 10 2021
The world is changing. Our clients are changing. Technology is developing faster than we can adapt, and with it, a new generation of coaching clients is emerging. It's time to reinvent coaching!
Become a certified e-Coach
September 09 2021
Are you interested to try something new? Learn new coaching skills? Coach from any place, anywhere at any time? Try e-Coaching! Subscribe now to the next e-Coaching Certification course. Start Sept 22
FollowtheAdventure is live!
September 05 2021
The new FollowtheAdventure website is live! There is a Dutch song called “I dance, so I exist”. Today I feel more like “I have a website, so I exist”
Roadblock ahead
August 24 2021
Follow the Adventure is actually a great metaphor for life. When you follow an adventure you are in for surprises. For unexpected vistas that suddenly appear around a corner.
Released! From quarantine into isolation
July 31 2021
The two weeks hotel based quarantine have finally come to an end. Today we were released and...
Seaview please…
July 20 2021
n our last blog I wrote how uncomfortable it can be not to know where you are taken to for quarantine. It made me almost wish that we could simply return to the same room from last year..
Destination unknown
July 18 2021
I’m writing this blog while flying somewhere above Ulan Bator, Mongolia. After 4 wonderful weeks in the Netherlands, where we submerged ourselves in the warm and loving embraces of our friends...
From quarantine to quarantine
June 12 2021
It has not yet been a full year since we were released from our Chinese quarantine in Nanjing, it’s been just over 9 months. But with the first school-year coming to an end, it actually feels like...
To be decided…
May 23 2021
Now that I have reached the milestone of becoming a certified coach, I wonder: is playtime over? Surely I have to get out “there” now. Find customers. Get more practice. Start my business… brrrr.
Celebrating a milestone
April 20 2021
Every journey has it’s milestones. Early 2009 we did a road-trip in Argentina and drove from Buenos Aires all the way south to Ushuaia, to the “end of the world”.
What’s in a name?
March 15 2021
Anyone who has ever worked with Chinese people in an international setting might recognize the habit of Chinese taking on an international name.
Happy Ox Year!
February 18 2021
Chinese New Year is well known all over the world. But what is it really about? We celebrated our first CNY in China and got to experience it ourselves.
Living below the Yangtze
February 03 2021
It’s one thing to live out of a suitcase filled with summer clothes when winter is coming. It’s another thing to find out early morning that your classroom does not have a heating system.
Happy New Year…“Pffjss”
January 01 2021
At the end of 2020, how I would love to be able to say: “The End”. “The End” to a year unlike any other. “The End” to a global pandemic which is still impacting so many lives today.
Funniest Home Deliveries
December 09 2020
Visiting the supermarket can be somewhat of an ordeal here in Changshu. Mainly because most of them are very local oriented. While we slowly manoeuvre our shopping cart
Serious Business
November 23 2020
After many months of taking it easy, enjoying life in the Netherlands and preparing for China we are now getting fully back on track. It’s time for serious business – back to work!
Cultural differences in the classroom
October 29 2020
Who would have ever thought that I would get back into a classroom? After my internship at my previous High School back in 2000, I kind of swore I would never do that again.
Back to our roots
October 14 2020
When Hendrik Willem got the job offer for UWC Changshu last November (which seems like ages ago!) we soon realized that Changshu is not a big international city like Shanghai. So the question I got...
Out and about
October 07 2020
Last Tuesday we were finally released from the long period of quarantine and home isolation. After 21 days in “confinement” and 4 negative Covid tests , we got the green light on a very sunny..
Finally home (well, almost…!)
September 30 2020
After 14 days in quarantine in a dark hotelroom in Nanjing, we finally arrived at the campus of UWC in Changshu! Our new home!
Quarantine in China: 14 days on 30 sqm …..Will we finally be released??
September 28 2020
Today at 10.30 our quarantine will end. Finally!! Yesterday I spent my Sunday as usual, with one big difference: I packed my bags! And this morning I was so full of energy that I got up early and..
Quarantine in China: Day #11, #12 & #13
September 26 2020
Because… We are really getting bored with the view I would really like to sit on a normal chair for a change HW is running out of series to watch..
Quarantine in China Day #08, #09 & #10
September 24 2020
Whoever thinks that the Chinese are very strict and not into anything should maybe spent some time around them. Even without really understanding each other, they are fun,
Quarantine in China day #06 & #07
September 20 2020
Yes! We past the first week! One more week left in solitary quarantine in a Chinese hotel room… It better be a once-in-a-lifetime-experience!
Quarantine in China Day #04 & #05
September 19 2020
Hang on Little Tomato…That is the name of a sweet and comforting song from Pink Martini, which my sister shared with me.
Quarantine in China Day #02 & #03
September 16 2020
Waking up from a deep, deep sleep by someone who is yelling at your door that there is breakfast…. Welcome in quarantine!
Quarantine in China Day#01 (14/09)
September 15 2020
After a so called uneventful trip we arrived yesterday morning in Nanjing, China. The airport was empty apart from our arrival and the process of getting documents cleared out..
Here we go!
September 13 2020
A long time ago we tried to travel to China. It must have been somewhere in May 1999 and we were backpacking through South East Asia. Our plan was to travel from Vietnam into China and take...
Save the date
September 02 2020
While I am not superstitious I am somewhat in doubt if I should write this post or not. For sure, our friends are all eager to hear any update about our upcoming move to China…
Living the Slow Life
August 12 2020
It’s been a while! Reason being that there is not so much exciting to report. We wanted to follow the adventure and ended up living the slow life.
Life has a funny way
July 06 2020
Sometimes life has a funny way to throw you something interesting. Something totally unexpected. Something you never even thought about. Something that makes you smile like a little boy or girl..
The Reflection Episode
May 12 2020
If this had indeed been a Netflix series we would have lost many viewers after the climax of season 1. For the simple reason that season 2 is horribly boring so far. We are indulging in nothingness..
Winding down Episode
April 11 2020
A little over 1 week ago we left Dubai in a whirlwind of stress, anxiety and insecurity. It was not a farewell we anticipated, but many people have found themselves in similar situations recently.
Leaving Dubai Episode
April 01 2020
In the Old World we would drive to Sharjah tomorrow, to catch the ferry to Iran and drive our way home from there with our FJ. In the Old World our last days in Dubai would have been filled...
The Corona Episode
March 27 2020
How else can we name an update that is controlled by the one thing that keeps the whole world in a firm grip right now?? Corona. Once a lovely light beer, now the invisible enemy that got the world...
The labyrinth episode
February 29 2020
Since recently it feels we find ourselves in a constant changing labyrinth. A Corona Virus Labyrinth to be clear.
The Consul episode
February 15 2020
When she entered his office she looked a bit tense, chattering away at his assistent who had let her in. He was the Consul, he knew had that effect on people.
A time to learn
February 09 2020
Who would have thought that preparing for a road trip is actually one big learning experience? And yes, a frustrating one at times.
Four seasons in 2020
January 09 2020
It’s not too often that a year seems almost laid out ahead of you, from one season to another. It’s like being in a Netflix series; you know it will exist of at least 4 seasons...
