Yolonda van Riel, Tilburg International Club President

Where are we now?

Hi everyone! I’m typing out this edition of the president’s message with more enthusiasm than I have had in quite some time. The sun is finally shining, I’m sitting in my real office and I attended a tic event (in person) over the weekend. It feels like the clouds are beginning to part and we are emerging smarter, happier, and more appreciative of the “little things”.

While day to day life begins to settle into the old routine, it is also a chance to change that routine into something that works better for ourselves and our family. Maybe that is hybrid or remote working. Perhaps it is finding joy in new hobbies we picked up during lockdown. It could even be something as simple as taking a few minutes of each day to be appreciative of all we have in our lives. Whatever that new normal means for you, I hope you can take full advantage of making it work in your life.

Finding our new “normal”

One of the things I missed more than I realized, was in person events with my fellow internationals. I got so caught up in “screen time” and sitting at home in my sweatpants that, until I was at the holiday brunch, I had no idea how starved I was for diverse interaction with all of you! The different dynamics that come together when you attend tic events is so eye opening and stimulating. It offers a perspective of the world from someone else’s vantage point and, because my world became so small during lockdown, I had forgotten how much I needed that in person interaction. Just getting together for drinks or playing a game is so special and unique when you do it with people from all over the world.

Looking forward

Your tic board also realizes the importance of these social and informative interactions together and has been super busy behind the scenes planning events. At one point, I think we even got a bit overzealous with ideas and tried to fit as many things as we could into the calendar – sparking many a heated debate over which events to do first! I hope you are as enthusiastic as we are about getting together to share fun, laughter, and ideas. Check the website and our social media sites (you can follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and LinkedIn often for all the fun stuff we have coming up over the next few months.

I’m looking forward to catching up with each and every one of you at a tic event soon!

Happy socializing,
Yolonda