5 non-obvious reasons why everyone should live abroad
Travels / / December 19, 2019
Anastasia Kotelnikova, recruiters, author of a blog about career and education Interviewfit.org10 years lived abroad, in Canada and Argentina. We publish its notes of what experience gives man life abroad.
Anastasia Kotelnikova
Specialist recruitment and author of the blog interviewfit.org
1. Chat with foreign friends and colleagues - a good opportunity to fill the gaps in the knowledge of history and geography
I had two colleagues with the typical Latin American appearance and names of Fernandez and Pereira, while both of them were from India. So I learned about the existence of the Portuguese colony of Goa. Another colleague told Dutch origin of the Dutch colonization of Indonesia and how His father spent years in a Japanese prison, when, during the Second World War the Japanese occupied Indonesia. When I asked the Filipino colleagues why her parents decided emigrateIn spite of a successful business at home, she spoke about the dictatorship of Marcos and martial law in the Philippines.
Argentine friend told how in the 70s the military government launched a terror, during which "Disappeared" more than 10 thousand oppositionists and their families, and their children were given up for adoption loyal to the regime people. So there was a whole lost generation of Argentines born in the 70s, and the trials are still going on.
2. Bring a foreign language to a really high level only in the language environment
Very often the academic language is different from how they say in real life. At the time, I talked to a lot of diplomats and translators who are under the status to speak English, but they taught him at home and have never lived in English-speaking countries. Such people are immediately obvious. They say, as a rule, not very smoothly, often strung English words on the structure of their native language, use phrases too academic and does not know the common idioms. You know what stick in the mud, or once in a blue moon, or play hooky?
3. Being a long time in an unfamiliar environment, you begin a new way to perceive the world around us
According to psychologists, we find beautiful or attractive just the familiar things. Scientists call this effect attachment to the review. In other words, we unconsciously give preference to things or people only because we have seen them and are used to them.
Living abroad is largely opens his eyes and allows you to take a fresh look at the different types of exterior forms of architecture, culture and art. I used to think extremely attractive European style appearance. But after years of living in a multicultural city, I began to see the beauty of Asians, Africans and people of mixed races.
4. Radically new experiences and impressions during the slow time
Have you ever thought about why a child time passes slowly, and with the age of the days, weeks and years fly by like a rocket? As children we are constantly learning, every day discovering something new, whereas in adult life often everything goes according to the "home - work - home."
Many of the activities we perform on the machine, and every new day becomes similar to the previous one. The duration of our life - it really is a very subjective concept and is measured rather than hours, and the units of meaning. New experiences, emotions, learning something slow down over time and prolong our lives. The man who many I traveled and worked in different cities and countries, life will seem longer than the one who spent all the time in one place, even if the latter objectively lived longer.
5. Due life abroad formed a more objective and informed opinion to their homeland
People who have never traveled outside the place where they were born, often go to extremes. Someone says that their country - the best in the world and beyond live exclusively barbarians. Someone, on the contrary, believes that everything around is bad, and if you cross the border, immediately begin rivers of milk and milk and honey. In any case, when you move you lose the rose-colored glasses.
Having lived in both developed and developing countries, I realized that the Russian economic, social and political problems are not unique, but our culture and art is really only in its kind. I have become much more proud of their origins and appreciate Russian culture. Russia really has given much to the world and achieved a lot in different areas, be it science, theater, music or literature.