Travelling-an experience for lifetime
Travelling to, or living in a different country always is an experience! After I had been in school for 14 years straight, graduating from the gymnasium(high school) was a relief. Before further studying, getting a job and having to be all grown up and responsible, I decided to take a year off to do some travelling.Today a lot of youngsters travel around with a backpack on a low budget; this is a good and cheap way to see various places, but instead of travelling to many different countries and getting to know them…let us say, more shaIlowly, I wanted to stay in one country and get to know it very well! Then the question was where to go? After a lot of thinking I chose…Rome – THE city! I have now been living here for 3.5 months, and will be leaving soon, but before going back to my home country I am taking a look back on some of the things I have learned from my stay living in a different country. Both good and bad!
First of all I would like to underline it is not so much about where you go. No matter what you choose you will have difficulties in the beginning. For example I studied Italian for 3 years before going here, still it was a bitch finding an apartment. I understood niente of what the land lord was saying, but finally I got a room in a shared apartment with 3 Italian girls and a Spanish girl. Travelling around you usually only stay in each place for a relatively short period of time, but when you saty for a longer period of time you get to know the local people better. The cultural differences become very visible when you live with people from another country for a longer period of time. For example, where I am from it is more or less normal to walk around half naked at home, but after doing it here I now know it is not accepted in all countries.
Living in another country you learn how to adjust- you simply have to. The mentality is often totally different- thank goodness we are not all the same; you should not expect the local people to change themselves for your pleasure, but instead you are the one who needs to adjust to their way of living- though you are not a normal tourist you are still a visitor.
Like I said I have learned many things from living abroad. Small and stupid things like not wearing high heels when I know I am going to walk around a lot; Your feet will be all swollen and numb, because the streets of Rome are not very comfortable, but I have also learned more important things: I was always taught by my parents that you should be open, out-going, and friendly to everybody you meet. But I have now learned you also can be too friendly. It might be a clich�, but never go with strangers, although they are wearing a wedding ring and have a baby seat in the back of their car, it is dangerous. Also before you give out your phone number to someone you do not know well you should consider what consequences it might have. In Italy they say Sbagliando si impara – You learn from your mistakes. Of course you should not shelter yourself from the outerworld, approach people, but also always be careful where ever you go!
Though most of the time living in a foreign country has been nice, it has not been pure pleasure- At times I have felt lonely as hell, espcially in the beginning where I did not know a lot of people and I missed my family. I have been wanting to leave, simply pack up my crap, and go back home, but then I stop and think about what a great opportunity this is and how much I am learning every day- What does not break you down only makes you stronger! I have seen a lot of things and met a lot of interesting people. This is one of the beauties of travelling, you meet new people, make connections, and often find friends for life. Travelling opens up your mind; you learn how to understand other cultures and mentalities which is something a lot of people do not know how to. I think everybody who gets the chance to travel should do it. Also today it has become very easy and cheap to travel (thanks to online booking and low cost airlines) so why not go. I chose to go to Rome, but no matter where you choose to go, travelling or even staying in a place for a longer period of time is going to be an adventure and an experience for life. Go go go!
