The podcast dedicated to those living abroad and redesigning their career.(Available only in the Italian version)
My first experience abroad was in France, thanks to the Erasmus scholarship program: six months of complete immersion. In France, it's either you speak French or... you speak French.
There are no other alternatives. I had spent the last two years at university, studying it and thinking it would be enough to live there. However, when I arrived in Lyon, I realized I had romanticized it a bit: the sounds were indistinguishable. During classes, professors used technical terms and spoke formally, so I understood some more.
But if one of the students tried to talk to me, nothing, nada, cosmic void. "Comment?"
I learned to live on my own: counting pennies to make it to the end of the month, organizing my life around my needs, and building a network. It was tough and at times painful. But I was free. It was a beautiful period of discovery, and I remember a lot of affection and care from my group of friends.
Moving as an adult with a family was more complicated. The boldness and recklessness of my twenties had given way to a thousand questions and concerns.
In my mind, "living abroad" would bring many advantages, and I counted on a future me who would learn the language, habits, and customs in a few months. After all, the French experience had been like that. At least that's what I wanted to remember.
"Living abroad" is a broad term. We're used to hearing about "brain drain," the "American dream," and "going elsewhere to make a fortune," often associated with pictures of people on the beach sipping cocktails or backpackers exploring the world. And then, there's this "abroad," which is everything beyond national borders, not further specified.
Don't get me wrong: I also pictured myself in Bora Bora with a coconut and a food truck selling piadinas. That will be another chapter of my life. All these images evoke opportunities, novelty, and fun.
On one hand, there's a lot of excitement and enthusiasm because, after all, you chose to be where you are for many reasons. On the other hand, there are fears, uncertainties, and objective obstacles like loneliness and difficulty in understanding your surroundings.
The truth is, you've chosen to rebuild reference points, friendships, and opportunities in a different context, with a culture and way of thinking that may be very different from your own. You have to learn all over again how everything works and how to navigate the world.
Then there's the work chapter. There are so many variables. Maybe you found a job before leaving and you're entering a new reality where you have some more certainty (a role you've had before, you already speak the language, you know someone inside, the work environment is familiar, etc.). But you're in a different context, and you start asking yourself, "What if?" Or you're a partner of someone who has already found a job: you've left your profession, you want to restart in this new reality, but rebuilding your professional identity with all the challenges that expat life presents isn't so simple. It might be the time to pick up an old dream and make it come true.
In these years, I've often asked myself, "What do I do now? Do I start over? Do I change my plan? Do I pick up what I had already done?"
What I'm doing is a mix of all this: past experiences, skills acquired before and those learned in this new version of myself, led me to my current job project, that of a career coach.
#Coachforbreakfast helped me get back into the game and in touch with my work. But I also felt that there was more. I realized that I was leaving out a part of my baggage: everything I've learned and am learning in these 5 years (almost!).
Thanks to my podcast coach Ester Memeo, I focused on this awareness, which gave birth to a publishing project that expands on the first one: #CoachforExpat.
In this series, we will travel around the world to listen to the testimonies and advice of other expats and to get inspired. As in any journey, I will help you prepare your luggage with a mindset oriented towards adaptation, a map to find new reference points, and gather all the tools to create your ticket, which is your action plan for your career abroad.
In the confusion, having a guide, sharing your frustrations and experiences, achievements, and joys (I finally have an A2!) is a balm. You belong to an extended community that lives around the world. And it's a great source of support and comfort.
We arrived in the Netherlands a few days before Christmas. One-way ticket and three suitcases. We got out of the taxi in front of our new home. The garage was packed with boxes and the few pieces of furniture we had kept. My husband and I looked at each other: "Okay, let's begin."
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