Living overseas through thick and thin

For three generations my family has been migrating, although I am part of the first one to do it by choice. That original mixture of cultures probably shaped my curiosity and willingness to go abroad and keep discovering. Later, I learnt that making a life in a new culture brings its challenges. In the past fifteen years, I have lived in six different countries and every time it feels easier than the previous one.

When we live and work abroad, we not only expand our geographical and cultural comfort zone. We also achieve awareness that the world is a smaller place than what we previously thought it was. Once a foggy idea of distant places only seen in movies, happens to be somebody else's natural environment. That reality may be different, but equally valid. Understanding this has helped increase my ability to move naturally and adapt quickly.

At first, our well established routines change. The homesickness, sense of isolation and second thoughts can hit us, if we are having a tough time during our expat experience. Then, it is a matter of keeping an open mind and embracing the new normal with a healthy lifestyle and a growth mindset.

It is easy to fall into comparisons with the cuisine and traditions, but there is something significantly more relevant, that is ways of thinking of the host culture. Personal experience showed me that unless we are perceptive to those tiny details and permeable to the different lifestyles, it is unlikely that positive new things come for us.

As a scientist, I am intuitively driven to problem solving. The major learning I have had living abroad is that communication and respect are key to understand problems and explore solutions. I don’t just mean being able to deliver and receive the message through a common language, but to make sense of how others are approaching problems. People look at things through their cultural mindset and we should be able to explain ideas in the terms they need. Which is why seeing the world through their eyes leads us to a position where we can begin offering our talent. We display creative and innovative skills with the enriched perspective of a multicultural background.

Today, as I intend to make a career change while still living overseas, I meet again the excitement of beginnings and the hope I will get an opportunity to help others with my skill set. One thing I know for sure, the platform previous generations created for me won’t be lost. I am determined to make a career move and find a new culture to call home too.