When I received a job offer from Siemens in Atlanta one month before I moved to the United States more than 20 years ago, it stated that my employment came with a paid vacation. I thought I knew what that meant.

I was wrong!

Having worked with a few organizations as an engineer in Nigeria before leaving for America, my concept of what a paid vacation entails was completely different from what it turned out to be.

First, when you take a vacation in those days (we call it "leave"), it's usually for anywhere from four to six weeks. Yes, we typically did not take a couple of days of PTO. You take a few weeks to truly get away from work and recharge.

Also, when you go on vacation, you get paid 10% of your annual salary as a "leave allowance." This was not in place of your monthly salary. It's in addition to it!

I think you missed what I just said.

While you're on vacation, you not only get paid your standard monthly salary, you also get an additional amount equal to 10% of your annual salary which, in case you didn't realize it, is more than your monthly salary.

That was what I knew. So, when I was told that there was a paid vacation with my employment with Siemens, I thought it was the same. I started salivating for my extra 10% pay. But it wasn't to be.

Yes, I was disappointed when I eventually found out what a "paid vacation" meant. But it wasn't a big deal. I was just thankful that I had a good job waiting for me when I first arrived on the shores of America.

Have you ever been disappointed when something you were expecting turned out to be another thing completely?

What was it? How did you handle the disappointment?