After a 3-month assignment in Geneva, my BCG consultant friend Baastian finally came back to Holland for a short stay. The first day he arrived, he called me for a catch up dinner.
We decided to go to the restaurant where we used to hang out a lot during our student days.
Of course it’s not like I was still expecting a baseball cap, sweater and Converse sneakers kind of guy, but Baastian’s makeover was somehow too radical that I almost missed him when I passed by his table. He was wearing a dark gray suit with a light blue shirt underneath. The strong colour contrast brought out all the sharp edges. As little as I knew about fashion, I could still tell this high quality fabric must be a designer piece. The metallic silver watch, which was vaguely visible underneath the shirt, must also cost a fortune. However, as soon as he stood up to give me his trademark big hug, I knew immediately he was still the Baastian I had known.
To be honest, before I went off to meet Baastian, I was a bit concerned that our dinner would turn into a storytelling and photo sharing session. As much as I love hearing stories from people going to faraway places, it can only go on for so long before it starts to lose its glamour. Therefore, instead of asking ‘how was your life abroad’, I purposefully started our conversation with ‘did you miss here’.
‘Yes, a lot,’ said Baastian, honestly. Noticing a slight surprise on my face, he explained to me that the first half year of his job was amazing in every single way you could think of. But it didn’t take that long before he realised London, Geneva or Chicago started to make no difference, as the life pattern stayed the same: arriving, working hard from morning til late at night, hanging out with other expats at ‘expat exclusive’ bars, going back to hotel, moving on to next destination. In the end, Baastian confessed to me that at this moment all he wanted was to stay grounded, to stay home.
I still remember how one year ago everybody thought Baastian had landed the perfect job – a competitive salary package with a company car, free travel, substantial international experience – which I believe is something that most young grads would still crave for. Not saying this kind of job isn’t appealing any more, but there is another side to the story that many of us hardly ever hear.
Having a job that has you traveling around the world makes for popular Facebook status updates and pretty photo albums, but is it truly as glamorous as it seems? When traveling around turns into jetting around, hotels become your home and racking up airline miles becomes a hobby, shouldn’t we give it a second thought before plunging into such a life?
Lei Li, from Shanghai, China, is recent MSc graduate in science communication. She can be contacted at: LeiLivanShanghai@gmail.com
Koerselman krijgt de prestigieuze reisbeurs voor een ondernemersstage vanwege een businessplan dat hij met twee vrienden schreef over een automatiseringssysteem voor de bloemenindustrie.
Het betreft een machine die zakjes met bloemenvoedsel automatisch op leesbare wijze aan bossen bloemen bevestigt. Nu wordt dat volgens Koerselman nog met de hand gedaan. En wel 1,2 miljard maal per jaar in alleen al Nederland. “Al bespaar je met onze machine maar één cent per zakje dan bespaar je al miljoenen euro’s. We hebben uitgevogeld dat hier een markt voor is.”
Koerselman ontvangt de beurs tijdens de Global Entrepreneurship Week die plaatsvindt van 15 tot en met 19 november. In januari vertrekt hij naar de Verenigde Staten. De reis voert onder meer langs universiteiten als MIT, Harvard en Stanford en bedrijven als Google en Mozilla.
Als ‘laatstejaars’ masterstudent wil Koerselman tijdens zijn stage in de Verenigde Staten werken aan zijn afstudeeropdracht: een nieuwe productietechnologie voor composieten. “Amerika is het grootste composietenland ter wereld”, zegt hij.
Koerselman vindt het ‘ontzettend leuk’ dat hij is geselecteerd. “Wereldwijd kun je geen betere plek vinden waar je meer kunt leren over ondernemerschap.”
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