How To Thrive In A Foreign Country
This post is for anyone that would like to continue to grow in another country
, in a different culture, and maybe speak another language. The benefits to life that living in another country can give to you are incredible. For whatever reason - be it job, family, interest, etc. - the richness to life gained from seeing another perspective and culture adds some serious butter on your bread.So how do you make the decision to move and what is necessary as far as paperwork? One of my past posts might help with the decision, although the paperwork is a whole new bear of a post I have't written yet. I can guarantee that it will be long and boring though. Really the focus here is how to thrive once you are there. I am taking it from my experiences living in Switzerland after living in America for the first 24 years of my life.
Living in another country is not for everyone. I, like many others, have an itch to travel, experiment, experience. Often in the past I have been jealous of people who have lived in the same place their entire lives and are happy and successful. That's great for them - bravo. That is not an option for me or many others though, and we must make do with what we have the best way possible.
So, without further ado, here are my top 10 tips for thriving in another country.
1. Learn the language - I cannot emphasize this enough. Even if everyone speaks English, as many do here in Switzerland, speaking English does not get you brownie points. Yes, you can make the argument that English is the universal business language, but this will not convince anyone, especially those who see English as more of a threat to their language.
2. Use your accent to your advantage - You might be asking "what?" For the first few months here, I wanted to walk, talk, and sound like everyone from Switzerland. I felt ashamed of my non-fluency. Then something hit me - no one expects me to be Swiss. In fact, my birth country and accent makes frequent small talk (actually very important when there is not much in common between you and the others). Joke on your accent and say the others sound funny when they speak English!
3. Learn something you would not have learned in your native country - I learned how to drive manual transmission, something I find extremely impractical, uncomfortable, counter-intuitive when presented with better alternatives (automatic transmission - yeah, that's about all I know as far as differences - I'm not a car guy), but still, I learned it. It's not so hard, and who knows, some day it might come in handy?
4. Dabble in the culture - Every country has something unique and beautiful to contribute. See the sights that all the visitors see like museums, famous restaurants, landscape and nature. Actually living in another country makes me appreciate being a tourist in it even more, because I understand it better.
5. Fight nostalgia with action! - Everyone living in another country for an extended period of time probably feels some form of nostalgia. This is normal, but it should not last more than fleeting moments. The best way to fight this enemy is just to stay active, to do things that give you pleasure, and just to be around others for conversation. Especially if things turn out incredibly hard at first, nostalgia needs to be tamed - pronto.
6. Stay with your plan or purpose for living in the country until you find a better one - Assuming you have a plan or reason to move to another country (I hope, or else, God Bless!), there will be many opportunities and hardships that face you. Loneliness, burn out from learning too much too fast, dietary problems (who knows, maybe Vietnam wasn't such a good plan?), verbal opposition or hazing are just some of the examples. The first months will probably set the tone for the near future, so it is important to make the most of them. With obvious hardships staring you in the face, you must lean into them. You must tackle small problems before they become large ones. You must stay your course.
7. Party! From friends I know as far as Vietnam to Europe, everyone loves a little partying. It is important to forget every once in a while and just let go. Instead of working 14 hours a day killing yourself trying to learn the language, go out with people you have gotten to know. Socializing is the most important aspect to feeling comfortable and you will actually learn a lot more from a visceral conversation than from secluding yourself with books for weeks. Not only that, but you will make contacts.
8. Realize that the world is all within a short time's reach - It would take me the same amount of time reaching my family in the States by airplane from Switzerland as if I moved to where I was planning in the States. All the world is at your feet. There is also Skype and calling cards that are incredibly cheap. Don't ever feel trapped.
9. Keep you own inner core - There are so many ways to say this. Keep a litte place for you in your mind or in your home. Somewhere where no one else can access and something that you will always love to think about. A box of good memories might be a good example. Things only you can understand.
10. Laugh - If you are not laughing, you are not making the most of your present. Find a way to laugh, find a funny friend, get yourself into awkward situations, whatever. Just find a way to laugh. Laughing is contagious, no matter what language you speak. Bring the good feelings to others, and they will give you back the good feelings one day. Trust it.
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