A Relocation Travel Tale: From Mexico to Poland

Most Cisconians can tell you exactly where they were the moment they heard (or read) the words, “Congratulations! We’d love to offer you the role of …” and it was exactly those words for me that started my journey not only towards a new role at Cisco – but a new country as well – as I accepted a role as a Problem Manager in Security at our Krakow Customer Experience Center.

A new role is exciting – although, yes, they come with their own fresh set of nerves. Throw on a new country to that, and, well, you understand how it can be quite a challenge. As I prepared to move from Mexico to Poland, I was so happy to have the Cisco relocation team on my side. But, of course, even though most transitions are well planned and organized, there is always something that tests the reaction capacity of a team. This story (my story) is about that.

The day had arrived and the suitcases, passport, visa, and flight tickets were ready. It had been raining all the week in Mexico, but I had a positive attitude as I prepared to trade my tortillas, tamales, and chilaquiles for pierogies, zuerk soup, and zapiekankas. My Polish lessons had been started, and I was trying my best to get used to saying “Cześć.” I was ready to take off to my new home.

While on my way to the airport, we noticed the road was flooded, and some were just impassable. Things got even worse when the rain started to pick up again and the traffic began to back up. It was at that moment when I realized I may miss my flight!

And that was exactly what happened.

Frustrated, sad, shocked – I made my way back to the home I had already said goodbye to. I now had to send an email to my relocation team (my new manager in Poland included) to explain to them that I missed the flight, and I needed a new one for the next day. My mind was racing, “How was it possible that I had missed the most important flight of my life?”

That’s when a 7.1 earthquake shook Mexico City and brought me back to reality.

It’d perhaps be easy to be disheartened during this time, and I certainly had a difficult time with what felt like hit after hit, but when you have your Cisco teams behind you – you realize how powerful our connections are. It’s easy to say you have a great team when everything is going well. It’s in the trying times where a great team shines, and I was thankful to have my team’s support and that of the Cisco relocation team.

After they spent all night working to get the proper approvals, I was booked for a new flight the next morning. 18 hours and 3 countries later, I finally arrived to the ‘earth of dragons’ – I had arrived in Krakow, Poland – my new home!

I am sure there are many more adventures ahead of me in this new role, but I needed to start by thanking those who supported me. It was truly inspiring watching the relocation team work their magic (I am convinced they are one of the best teams at Cisco.) and witness our culture unfold before my very eyes.

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