Imagine a
place where you have 0 responsibilities, where you give 0 f**cks about things
that happen, or don’t happen or are extremely weird and where you can do whatever
you want, whenever you want in any desired way.
Imagine a
place where you can go to a bar every day and the beer is cheaper than tea. A
place where every day is a new adventure and you are the main character in this
story. + you receive money for doing all
those things. If you find yourself in a place like that then there are 2
options. Either you are (whistle) or you are on a student exchange program in
Slovakia.
So how was
studying almost half of year in another country? In one word: awesome.
Living there
was an anecdote, misery, anger and surprise all merge into one. I won’t talk
this time about actual events that happened, but I will tell you some life
changing ideas that came up to my mind while I was there.
From the
moment I squeeze my life into a suitcase (or, if you’re a girl into, two),
whatever you thought ‘home’ was doesn’t exist anymore. You learn really early
that almost anything you can touch can be replaced – wherever you travel,
you’ll end up stockpiling new clothes, new books, new mugs. So you are in a new
place, where everything is totally strange to you but eventually there comes a
day when you actually feel like at home in your new place. You feel like you
will stay there forever and it feels good. It doesn’t frighten you like in the
beginning when I thought how could it be to live abroad alone. And actually you
are never alone, you have friends, new stuff, memories, plans they don’t have
to stay with you forever, but for that exact moment that place will feel like
at home, because Home is where your heart is.
From the
moment you decide to move abroad, your life turns into a powerful mix of
emotions – learning, improvising, dealing with the unexpected… All your senses
sharpen up, and for a while the word “routine” is dismissed from your
vocabulary to make space for an ever rising adrenalin thrill ride. New places,
new habits, new challenges, new people. It might feel scary in the beginning but
it’s unusually addictive.
You come to
understand that courage is overrated.
Lots of
people will tell you how brave you are – they too would move abroad if they
weren’t so scared. And you, even though you’ve been scared, too, know that
courage makes up about 10% of life-changing decisions. The other 90% is purely
about wanting it with all your heart. Do you want to do it, do you really feel
like doing it? Then do it. From the moment we decide to jump, we’re no
longer cowards nor courageous – whatever comes our way, we deal with it.
Living
abroad, like traveling, makes you realize that ‘normal’ only means socially or
culturally accepted. When you plunge into a different culture and a different
society, your normal is not normal to them anymore. You learn there are other
ways of doing things, and after a while, you too take to that habit you never
thought you’d do.
When you
live abroad, the simplest task can become a huge challenge. Processing
paperwork, finding the right word, knowing which bus to take. There’s always
moments of distress, but you’re soon filled with more patience than you ever
knew you had in you, and accept that asking for help is not only unavoidable,
but also a very healthy habit.
And then
there of course is saying goodbye to all of that.
You soon
realize that now, most things and people in your life are just passing through,
and you instinctively play down the importance of most situations. You perfect
the right balance between bonding and letting go.
Your life’s
been changing at a non-stop pace, and when you finally go home and are ready to share all those anecdotes you’ve
been piling up. But, at home, life’s the same as ever. Everyone keeps
struggling with their daily chores, and it suddenly strikes you: life won’t
stop for you.
You are
never the same. You don’t want to live the boring life you had before you went
away. And you won’t. Because now, you
don’t see problems, you see solutions.
