TRAVEL: The Value of Living Abroad

10/23/2020

For a total of three years now, I've had the privilege of living and traveling in Japan. With another contract signed and no return ticket in sight, I thought I'd take some time to talk about why deciding to live and work abroad was the most important decision I'd ever made and why I'd encourage you to go for it if you're considering doing the same. I'll try to narrow it all down to four main takeaways.

Stepping Through Fear

The initial challenge of making it beyond the airport runway is rarely considered when sending out a resume or application via email. The beginnings generally seem curious and care-free; maybe those documents were even sent out from the comfort of your own bed. After a Skype interview or two, a contract email, and a one-way flight purchase, things start to sink in, and the clock starts counting down. How could a series of innocent emails take someone this far? That's it?

Once you step onto the plane, you become permanently stronger.

That's it. You're off! It's an expensive and disappointing turn back now, and the only hand you have to hold is your own. The West to the East is a typically long plane ride, and you'll have a lot of time to think about a lot of things in a great deal of darkness. From this point on, how you weigh decisions is forever changed. The bar for how far you're willing to go for certain things is forever raised. Your sensory awareness is tenfold, and your focus is razor sharp. Who are you with all of these new superpowers?

Meet your new best friend.

Yourself. Now, it's just you. No one's going to console you in a language you understand. There isn't any more time for anxiety. There's only you doing your best to navigate through your new lifestyle. Certainly, you may arrive at your new home city's station to a friendly future coworker, student advisor, or some other appropriate helper, but until you get to know your surroundings, they'll be a lot more self-chatter happening than usual... and I love that. Honing that inner-connection has since brought me to many other local countries and prefectures; many of them traveled solo. Becoming acquainted with the self-encouraging, limitless you is the real reward of making it to the other side unbroken. The euphoria of knowingly being comfortable in a new country is like feeling the first chill of fall, and that pride will continue to surprise you long after month one. A journey like this forces you into a truce with your personal struggles, and it's thankfully a potent one.

Adapting to Cultural Differences

Things will be different, and more so than you probably expect. Perhaps where you're heading has a different major religion, government, alphabet, food, or even way of eating. Study the culture beforehand, by all means, but understand that coming across surprises is inevitable especially if you're not fluent in the language. Regardless, if you're like me, you wouldn't be there if English was regularly spoken.

The language barrier, no matter how narrow the gap, will consistently test your ability to handle stress in everyday situations.

It can be a struggle. What would normally be a simple errand back home now takes training and courage. You may avoid putting yourself in particularly complex situations altogether. Still, this is a fantastic opportunity to practice a potentially new skill by a means that many others dream of having: immersion. Phone apps and books aren't going to help you master anything without real-life practice, and there's no better place to hone your new language than in the country of its origin. No matter what, the locals will always appreciate you trying. If you expect others to speak your language back home, you should expect the same from yourself abroad. When you do finally gather the strength to try to handle an issue at a government office on your own, you may find that you know more than you think. Likewise, be able to laugh off your mistakes and apologize. It's a lot easier to recover from an exchange of giggles than heavy sighs.

Strangers will stare, and your presence may make workers uneasy.

You're the exotic animal out of its exhibit. You're likely now a minority. Depending on the size of the city you're in and how often they see foreigners, you may catch a lot of unwanted gazes. You may come to discover that they're often more afraid of you than you are of them. Walking into a coffee shop, you might catch your barista scrambling for help even before you've made it to the counter. This is the perfect time to try putting them at ease by meeting them half way. With many eastern countries not near as racially diverse as most western ones, this is your opportunity to be an ambassador and leave a good impression. Leave them with the praise they deserve while still respecting their cultural boundaries.

Meeting Aspirations with Clarity

Everything is new. Most of the daily issues you dealt with back home have now changed. Perhaps you're now discovering or rediscovering hobbies or interests that now take on a whole new weight in your heart. If not yet, don't be afraid to put yourself out there.

Maybe you've come to enjoy the position you've taken on.

Whether you came as a student or worker, you may end up feeling a connection with what you're doing that you thought was only a catalyst to see other things. Wholeheartedly take that on! What you maybe thought would only look good on a resume can become your calling anytime you want it to. Although some roads are longer than others, there's a career in anything.

Maybe you've picked up a hobby that you wouldn't have found intriguing otherwise.

Consider what you've invested in. Surely, there is a sport or an activity unique to the culture you've entered that seems interesting to you. If not, try giving it a shot any way. You'd probably want to try it all as a tourist. Use your promised year or two to slowly check things off the list. That doesn't mean an old interest or new universal passion can't surface. A hobby you considered silly in the west might now become a fervent connection to home. You never know what a new skill will earn you in the future.

Maybe you want to stay.

Ah, yes. Maybe you want to stay. What a feeling! Fortunately, the kind of person you may find yourself becoming can comfortably call almost anywhere in the world home. Whether you've settled into a nice job or you've met someone, there's usually some way to get permanent residency in another country. While many countries will allow you to apply around the five year mark, this all depends on the connection between your nationality and the country you're in. Also fortunately, with another citizenship, you can leave any time you want. What a life, yeah?

Becoming a Cosmopolitan

Alexandria was the greatest city the Western world had ever seen. People of all nations came there to live, to trade, to learn. On any given day, its harbors were thronged with merchants, scholars and tourists. This was a city where Greeks, Egyptians, Arabs, Syrians, Hebrews, Persians, Nubians, Phoenicians, Italians, Gauls and Iberians exchanged merchandise and ideas. It is probably here that the word cosmopolitan realized its true meaning - citizen, not just of a nation, but of the Cosmos. To be a citizen of the Cosmos...
-Carl Sagan, Cosmos

Becoming a more culturally flexible member of the planet is inevitable.

It's important to understand that knowledge of other cultures and understanding how to interact with them is essential for peace - personally and globally. I find a great deal of value in lacking as many biases and personal boundaries as possible, and I've come to find an immense amount of self-worth in identifying myself as someone, or at least practicing to become someone, who doesn't feel separate from other societies. To be like an Alexandria yourself, you identify that everywhere is someone's everyday. The lives of others in far off lands and their struggles take on a far greater value, and the ambition to know more and do more may come to take up real estate in a once previously less desirable area of your subconscious.

Or not, of course. Just make sure you leave something better than you found it.

In Conclusion

As long as you're civil and respectful, there is no right or wrong way in how you choose to use your time as an expat. With enough wisdom, anywhere can teach you anything - your hometown included. Contrary to some hopes, there are many things physical distance won't help you escape from. However, if you're looking for a way to streamline the journey towards self-discovery and maybe leave a positive footprint in the process, consider your options. Whether there's only one life or not, this one is certainly valuable.

So, don't be afraid to get your feet wet. You may just get home and realize that you can't wait to do it all over again.