Life on a grand scale. The love of my life is also my best friend. With a lot of clever planning and hard work we have made it a priority in life to travel the world. We are slowly knocking countries off our "to do" list. As travelers you learn so much about yourself and the world. Seeing how others do things and learning about different cultures is like having a magic spy glass with you. Once you have stepped foot on another soil your perspective on everything changes. Your life will never be the same and with every new experience it is enriched.
One of our favorite places in the whole world is Belgium. This unique and wonderful country is full of all things eclectic. A wide variety of foods, languages, people and ideas. It is the country where cultures of the world collide with enthusiasm and spirit. It is a remarkable place and just so happens to also be home of our parent company. Yes our hometown stores are connected on a grander worldly scale. Who would have thought? After falling in love with this beautifully historic country we wanted to be a part of it. It's socially aware European flare was addictive. We just couldn't let it go. So when we came home from our wonderful journey I tried to transfer. I talked and talked, made connections and sent e-mails trying to make things happen. Roadblock after roadblock I finally became too frustrated to pursue it. No one with any power seemed to share my enthusiasm. Basically everyone thought I was crazy to take such a leap and no one tried very hard to make my dreams come true. Much of the time my attempts were met with only sarcasm. I let it go .
Funny thing is that we went back. As a launching point for an even grander journey we went to Brussels, Belgium. We have friends that live there and had a blast sharing adventures, beers and stories with them. We made a new friend. He is a native of Belgium and took it upon himself to represent his county with pride, showing us Americans how to do everything "the Belgian way". What a great ambassador he was as we left cherishing every memory making moment we shared. One night while we were out in Brussels he learned of the "American way" we treat our employees of the same company. At first he thought I was so lucky when I told him where I worked. He was shocked describing to us how different things were for the Belgian employees. Apparently my company is one people aspire to work for. They are well known there to have outstanding pay, fair rights and perks desired by many. How could this be? How can there be such a drastic difference of philosophy in a company split between the large pond? I couldn't help but laugh at all the differences he described. We made a point of stopping in one of these stores just to see for ourselves and so I could come back and tell everyone at work about it.
As we headed to the airport on a Dutch bus eager for the next part of our grand adventure we drove right past the corporate headquarters. We looked at each other and laughed. For a split second I pictured myself leaping off the bus and rushing into the building with gusto telling everything to any one that would listen. I thought about explaining to them my situation and begging for a job on the spot. I wondered about how my life would have been if one single person had been on my side. If the one right person with enough influence had taken on my cause and made it possible for me to pursue a better life for my family. I could be eating a fresh baguette with French butter as my kids play in the park. I could be exploring Waterloo after work and quenching my thirst with a Trappist beer. I could be laughing with friends on the train to Ghent for a canal ride and a visit to my favorite tea shop in Bruges with my family. If only I were on the right side of the pond and the correct company building. I would be living my whole entire life the Belgian way.
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