Does it change what to leave? It is a question that often comes up in different forms: what does it change in you? What does it change in your relationship to others? What does it change in your professional life? I will try to give you my feelings, which are especially valid for Canada and I invite you to react in the comments and to add your impressions to you. Let’s talk about what changes when you live abroad.
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What changes professionally?
If you move like me with an open work visa. Without being tied to an employer. And thus delivered to you even start from the premise that you start from scratch professionally. I am not telling you that it is impossible to find a job directly in its branch. More that there are great things that you have to go through less qualified jobs and may be less rewarding than the one you Have left in France. It’s sometimes a bit difficult to accept for some but you just need a first Canadian experience to quickly bounce back on something closer to your field.
For example when I arrived in 2014 I worked 3 months in shop at Massimo Dutti. I had never imagined one day being a salesperson yet I had fun. I met some great people that today still have in my life. Also, I could observe management techniques, observe how to manage teams, I improved my English. Finishing at 10pm and working on Sundays was not the most fun thing in the world, especially in the summer, but I knew it was temporary.
Changes
So if the test seems complicated here are 2 good reasons to do it: you want to reorient yourself it is the opportunity, reinvent yourself, be who you want to be. Then even if I am very career oriented you know you have to see the experience as a whole: ok this is not the job of your dreams but it is temporary, then remember that you live your dream, you Have packed your suitcases hundreds or even thousands of kilometers from your family cocoon, you discover a city and great people. See not only this detail that is finally a step to take you where you want to go.
What changes personally?
All. Honestly all aspects of your personality are questioned. All your achievements are pushed. Your beliefs are turned upside down. Your values. The one you have been for years. Say goodbye to the person you were at the departure airport, whether your experience is positive or negative that person is gone forever.
Because you will realize one of your dreams you will never be the same person again. Keep this in mind you will live your dream. You will see your prospects grow. See that the world is not reduced to your village of origin. Your country, or Europe. That the world is immense, that every person you meet has story to tell you, that this story will make you reflect on subjects that until then you seem to have acquired, stories that will challenge your pillars. The beliefs that you thought unshakeable. You will discover that there are other paths than yours to achieve success in the broad sense.
The dream
Trust me, you will live big. Imagine great, dream big, love great, cry big. Lose yourself, find yourself, go astray and make fabulous encounters. Then you ‘ll be breathless, empty eyes, lack of home, You will be looking at your land with a mocking smile, you will appreciate your new customs, you will rethink your memories, you will imagine your return to the fold, you will go Find yourself in situations that you could never have imagined, you will go out thousands of kilometers from your comfort zonem you will discover again. You are going to launch your head first in a crazy adventure without knowing all the details, you will feel feelings multiplied. You’re going to breathe in your lungs. You will live.
What does it change with others?
Another part that changes when you move abroad. There are two others. The others stayed at home and the others ready to get to know you throughout your adventure. Those who stayed at home are your friends for years. They may have seen you grow up. Love you as you are and do not all really want you to change. They are also your friends who will enjoy your great adventure for them also to take the step towards one of their dreams, they are maybe these friends who will land during the holidays to discover your new home because having someone on Place is always a good excuse to travel.
There are those with whom distance will never change. Who will tell you as if you were still living at the end of the street, who will always write to you: are you available to such I have a trick to tell you? Or who will tell you the gossips of the corner and will give you news of the places where you used to go together. These friends who believe in you and have never questioned your cravings, who are as sad as you are to be separated by so many miles but you sneak discreetly that they are super proud of you.
This kind of friends is a very valuable commodity and deserves your full attention, because they are true, authentic, fair, loyal and above all because you love them and they make you feel good. This kind of friends will feed on your life as you do theirs. Then there are those who will not know how to manage the distance and your absence from everyday life. It can do a little bad sometimes I prefer to warn you.
New friendships
Finally, there are the others in your new home, those who come from the same country as you, who will understand your references and jokes, those among whom you are no longer the prodigal child who makes the leap towards The unknown you were before you left home. They have made the same leap as you, they know, they understand and know the same issues. There is an astonishing solidarity abroad. Those who will understand your lack of bread, sausage, ravioli … ah not three quarters of France does not have the chance to know the ravioles.
To conclude, there are the others that you will meet on site, immigrants like you but from another country, the premises that grew up there. Before you stretches an unlimited field of possibilities. You will meet Miri from South Korea, Anja from Germany, Fernanda from Colombia, Laura from Ireland, Marisol from Canada, Brian from Costa Rica and so on.Enrich your energy, share your experiences, inspire yourself, Grow up, listen.
And then what has changed in me?
Without wanting to play it melodramatic. Little music in background that already announces that I will say something emotional. I would say that my first experience abroad in 2008 brought me the courage to leave for a longer time. Note: I had a 2 month internship in England. This internship has solved my blockage with English and let’s say that I was not yet loving English but I did not hate it as much. Step by step!
My Canadian experience
My first Canadian experience was a real revelation. I found out who I was and who I wanted to be. Got my first experiences in communication myself who thought I could never work inside without leaving a great school. I opened the blog that gave me a reason to write regularly. Then I opened my mind to the differences of others, I learned to love the beautiful things of my home country, I learned to become a little Canadian. Plus I learned that the fear of advancing leads nowhere, that being supported and surrounded in her projects changes everything. That one can live serenely without being afraid of all the people who look at us.
Learning with books
I learned to read books in English that I chose in the Indigo Teen section. The first year in Canada taught me that in life nothing is impossible. When one chooses to put all his energy into it and one does not accept the no as an answer. I also learned that some people are only supposed to be in your life for a certain times and not for all life, that it does not matter and that it does not take away the beauty of our memories.
My experience was beyond anything I had imagined at all levels. It made me grow 10 years in just a year, it allowed me to embark on areas that I would never have dared to explore. Oh yes and it also allowed me to learn to type on a QWERTY keyboard almost as fast as on the French keyboard;)
Life is short, do not wait.
I hope this helps you get an idea of what changes when you live abroad. And what about your experiences?
Belle soirée mes petits loups à frange.
