Which glasses are you wearing? What lens do you use to filter the world? If there is one thing I learned during my anthropology studies, it is that you ALWAYS look through a lens that is the result of exposure to your culture, upbringing, position, experience, personality, expectations, [...]
This is my third time visiting this beautiful country and I am still amazed by the friendly people, the great service, the wonderful, fresh food and the quality of life you can have here. From a cheap backpacking trip to a family holiday to an expat [...]
Early December I was on the inaugural direct JetBlue flight from Curaçao to New York. It’s a little over 4 hours and you’re in a completely different world! We had a lot of fun on the flight with the free champagne and the plastic emblems in the [...]
A unique opportunity: Jacqueline Kruithof invited me to give a presentation to the How Women Work network and a workshop to women professionals of Exxon Mobil. Jacqueline, who knows Doha well, promised to show me around on a private ‘business safari’. She even gave me advice on what [...]
Barcelona is such an easy city to love. I go at least once or twice a year. I feel strangely at home in this vibrant, laid back city. To have a ‘cortado’ coffee and ‘tostadas’ with olive oil and tomato in the morning at just about any [...]
Twenty years ago I went backpacking in Asia for two months with a friend. Of course we visited Indonesia. I remember how impressed I was with Bali: the beauty of the island, the friendly mentality of the people, flowers and offerings everywhere. [...]
Africa is known for its 'big five': the five large wild animals you MUST see on safari: the lion, buffalo, elephant, rhino, and leopard. While traveling through Namibia, I noticed that the desert seems so empty and that there are hardly any sights in terms of wildlife. Until a local guide pointed out the 'small five': a collection of spiders, beetles, and lizards that live in the desert. Under his expert guidance and trained eye, the arid environment suddenly transforms into a world teeming with life!
In 2015 I visited Mallorca. Read about my adventures in Dutch.
Strive, struggle & shine The life cycle of entrepreneurship Ever wondered why realizing your dream or achieving a goal you really care about is so hard? I studied the cycles I went through and identified the following steps: strive, struggle & shine. Strive is when you really, really [...]
Inspiration shot winter 2014 My central theme has always been ‘No Excuses!’ Everybody gets this idea: anything is possible! But how does it work, exactly? I recently explained the process of ‘strive, struggle & shine’ to an audience of entrepreneurs. They remarked that it applies both to their personal [...]
