My life abroad

That cold morning in February, when I sat on the train for Prague, I struggled with many different feelings. Even though I had been planning my move for months, I had doubts as I departed. But, at the same time, I was also very excited about the upcoming challenge. With these mixed feelings, I was gazing out the window at my family. The hardest thing for me was to see my mother in tears – she was saying goodbye to her second daughter. My sister had moved to Great Britain after high school and now I was on my way to the Czech Republic.

My first few months were mostly dedicated to student exchange, which for me was a great starting point for life abroad. A scholarship gave me temporary financial stability and the exchange itself was a good way of getting to know new people in the new country. I was busy with an interesting education and many visits from friends from Slovenia and other countries. I was discovering Prague, reading literature about its history and overall enjoying my life in the new city. This first phase, which is simply named the honeymoon phase and is one of the stages of cultural shock for expats, did not reflect the actual life in Prague which I experienced later on.

I soon started experiencing difficulties. The student exchange had ended, so my newly acquired friends were moving back to their home countries. Plus, I started having more and more inconveniences with locals, probably because of my poor knowledge of the Czech language. I also ran out of savings, so it was time for me to find a job. Over the next few months I was frequently changing jobs and even though I enjoyed working in tourism, I invested most of my energy into socializing at work instead of my free time. Superficial friendships did not give me satisfaction and I often felt alone. Without a doubt, I admit that this second phase was not easy; it’s when the difference between both cultures starts to become more obvious and the beginning excitement gets replaced with discomfort.

After the first year's fight, I slowly began to accept Prague as my new home with all its pros and cons. I made new friends who were mostly expats and we supported each other in our common situation – luckily Prague has a strong and active network of expats. Furthermore, the company where I worked at the time gave me several opportunities for professional growth and I decided to pursue a career in tourism. From this point on things were going well and my life in Prague finally stabilized.

However, I was still thinking about home, my family, the sea, our beautiful nature, and peace quite often. Some people find their place under the sun in foreign countries, but for me and probably for many more, this was not the case. Once again, my good friends in Prague were leaving one after the other. During the past year, I stayed in Prague only because of my new, important career opportunity and my sister, who joined me for the last six months. I slowly began to understand that my Prague experience was coming to an end. My goals were achieved; I got valuable work experience and I learned that I enjoy the lifestyle in my home country more than the one abroad. Despite this I do not rule out the possibility that I might try to live in some other country again – next time the beginning will be easier and the experience even richer.

If you are deciding to leave your home, it's good to make sure you are aware of your reason for doing so and to have an idea of what you'd like to achieve in a foreign country. That's how you'll persevere in difficult moments, which won't only get you closer to your goal, but will also teach you a lot about yourself. Of course, everything might not go according to plan and there is nothing wrong if you decide to make new goals along the way. What matters is that we learn about ourselves, who we are, where we want to be, and that we improve our strengths, resolve our weaknesses, and most importantly, that we are satisfied and happy. I am truly grateful for all experiences, friendships, and adventures that life in Prague has given me.