Signs that one of your colleagues has just returned to work after a coveted work trip abroad and he’s all over the place.
1. The accent
They have suddenly sprouted this accent and their language is peppered with words from the language.
“So I’m like, you know, like whatever”
2. Chocolates on the desk!
The classic. Of course they’ve “brought back treats for everyone” which are basically chocolates they picked up hurriedly at the duty-free, and they lie on their desk, a gloating reminder of their good luck.
3. Story teller
Most of their conversations now begin with “You know when I was in Paris…” followed by anecdotes from their trip that noone’s interested in.
4. Self appointed embassy
Every time a colleague from a foreign office visits, they act like their best buddies and delegate themselves as the official ambassador for your local office, making sure that everyone notices how they’re on such pally terms with a foreign colleague.
5. Tshirt love
You see a “I love <city>” T-shirt on the next chance they have.
6. Social media attack.
They check-in at the airport or post a blurry pseudo-artistic photo taken from the plane window, with a cheesier caption like “Coming back home.” They were gone for a week.
7. The fan fare
There’s a fanfare around their “welcome back” and usually a huddle of people around their desk, probably faking curiosity over how the trip was but mainly for the treats they brought back.
8. The million dollar baby
If you have an office wide mailing list, they’re probably looking to sell their leftover foreign currency, rubbing it in again.
9. Expense everything!
They can usually be seen around the office printer in a mad ramble to get their expenses duly filed lest they end up footing the bill for that expensive client lunch that they totally didn’t have to do.
10. Culture shock
Suddenly their home office is oh-so-unhygienic, unprofessional or noisy. Their complaints about the office facilities are suddenly loud. “I mean, they don’t even have “flavored mineral water!”
11. Souvenir shop
Their desk is now covered in the souvenirs of whatever country they’re back from, for posterity to know they went on the damn trip.
