In my previous Dutch post I wrote about me leaving the ONVZ (again). Now that I’ve actually said goodbye, I’d like to post a follow up on how I said goodbye to my colleagues.
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| Photo collage |
I made a photo collage with pictures of my colleagues and I printed this on a tompouche, which is a typical Dutch treat. I also printed the photo on pens and gave this to them to have as a memory. They seemed to like it a lot, which made me very content of course.
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| Tompouche with the photo collage |
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| Pens with the photo collage |
People who know me, know that I really don’t like being the centre of attention when it’s about me personally. And I don’t really care for gifts and presents, because knowing that I’m appreciated is truly enough for me. There’s no point in wasting money on me, money will be better spend on a good cause! I know this is a huge learning issue for me. My uncle always taught me that I need to give people the opportunity to let them show me their gratitude. I know all this, but it just feels awkward to me. Having this said, I had to overstep these boundaries again during the last couple of days. My colleagues -bless them- sure managed to make me feel very special, appreciated and loved by giving me these gifts:
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| Wrapped and all |
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| <3 the gesture, but there was seriously no need for it! |
I know that some colleagues were always ‘concerned’ about the amount of Red Bull that I drink on a daily base. Despite of it, I got 4x4 Red Bull to survive my first week at my new job. I seriously appreciate this well thought gesture! Just the day before my colleague Irene also gave me two cans of Red Bull to wish me luck on my new job. And I got a card from my colleagues from the Support department, where I worked before I came back to the dept department.
Two of my colleagues, Ramon & Aptul, also gave me a package of my favourite beer brand Hertog Jan. They asked chi Tram-Anh to write a Vietnamese message on the gift for me. Not quite sure if they actually know what she has written, but I love them for going through so much trouble for me.
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| Translation: Dear Bao-Nhi, The two of us are very happy to have worked with you. The two of us, Aptul & Ramon |
Because I wanted to have a memory to have for the future, I’ve asked everybody to write in my friends book. It’s very fun and so humbling to read what they have written. One of the questions in the book is ‘what is the most fun thing that we’ve done together?’. Well, all the answers contained either me chatting & laughing away with them during work or me going out and drinking with them. If you didn’t know me (and know that I’m truly a hard worker), you would seriously wonder if I ever did something at work besides from having fun ;-)
Yesterday I went out for dinner with my ONVZ BFF-crew and one of my colleagues who have become a very good and dear friend. It was a farewell/going away/starting a new job dinner occasion.
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| Robbert & Willem |
These are the people who really know me and the people who I would say that they’re my friends (different levels of friendship ofcourse). So these should also be the people who would know not to waste their money on me... and yet they were silly enough to do so!!
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| Hello Kitty lunchbox & HK notepad from Rick & Joy |
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| Since I don't really eat anything during the day, it's kind of perfect for two cans of Red Bull! ;-P |
And my sweet little angel Larissa brought me a package of Nerds back from the States. I’m not a huge fan of sweets, but there’s a story about Nerds that I’ll definitely share with you in the near future. Larissa also gave me the softest Nerds pillow... thanks so much Larizzle!!!
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| <3 Nerds |
I have returned to the ONVZ before after leaving, but this goodbye feels permanent to me. This is a good thing, because my heart truly lies with development aid and working with youth. I’m very happy and grateful to have been given the opportunity to end this chapter in such a good way before starting a new one this Monday.
No one knows what the future will bring. After leaving last year, I lost contact with a friend who became very dear to me. After my return, we rebuild our friendship and we’re in a good place at the moment. I’m not sure how it will work out this time now that I’m leaving again. I’m just very grateful that we’re in touch again and am hoping for the best. The ONVZ BFF-crew however... I know that I’ll stay in touch with them for sure, because they have entered my friend circle. Other than that, we’re all very much into the social media hype so it’s kind of hard to get rid of them actually! :-)
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| Social media 24/7 |
So this is the end of a very great chapter in my life. You know what they say: ‘When a window closes, another one opens’. I’m looking forward to Monday... let another new chapter begin and let’s hope that it will be just as great as this one!
