“If you are lucky enough to have lived in Paris as a young man, then wherever you go for the rest of your life, it stays with you, for Paris is a moveable feast” – Ernest Hemingway

Did you ever visit a foreign country and thought: I could definitely live here! Or read a book about some country’s cultural heritage and say to yourself: I belong there! Millions of people in the world take this big step to independence. They move out, find jobs, discover themselves and build a brand-new life in a brand-new country where they know no one and no one knows them. Тhanks to some interesting doings of the universe, I’m part of those people. And to make it even more interesting my leap landed in Paris, and it lasted for 5 year beautiful years. I once heard the story of the city of lights, love, poets, writers, philosophers and… international students. Something was telling me that I will come back there and stay. Something inside me was sure that I will go back there and stay, even though our trip was ending in 5 days. But what is that something, that hides behind that big decision to move out and start a new life, far from home?

To start over with a one-way ticket in one hand, doesn’t come without a price and sometimes it’s far from being fun and easy. Unfortunately, we can’t be at both places at once, so from that time on, there will always be things we’ll be missing. The most important thing in those moments is to stay focused on our goal, on that something that is motivation in our lives, the same thing that brought us where we are.

Culture and way of life

One of the most important things is probably the fact that this foreign culture might be closer to your personality and your beliefs, than the one you were born in. when I first arrived in Paris, after the first cultural shock, the rest came very naturally. I felt an enormous attraction to the way do things “avec le souci de détails” (with a lot of attention to details) their social codes, the way they talk and do debates quoting great philosophers. The food, the history, art, theater…everything. I blindly fell in love with a city that is a dream of so many people and I completely let myself dive into French culture, which up until that point, was something I could admire from far away. Broaden horizons of the world, the will to understand people different for us and the fast speed we progress on our language skills are some of the benefits after this kind of experience.

 Personal growth

Living abroad brings us to an extremely rich and personal experience. It obliges us to adapt to things that are little or completely unknown for us and to watch things from various angles. We become independent and open to new, exciting or terrifying experiences that we would never encounter in our own country. And that is the great thing about it, the possibility to discover and upgrade yourself, because when we live far from our comfort zone, it is certain that we will discover things about ourselves that we did not know before. I personally realized that, it’s not that I’m not talented in the kitchen, but it is much easier when mum makes it all. But when she is 2000km away, with a little effort and will, I realized that not only I can cook, but also my French friends, historically famous by their distinctive pallet, love it.

Many challenges   

One of the biggest motivations for people to take this step is the possibility for work or study. Eager for the perfect job or degree, and hope that our skills, knowledge and ambitions are needed and will be more appreciated there, we dive into the biggest adventure of our lives. Good knowledge of the language spoken in the country we’re moving will double your chances for success. The modern world nowadays is a big “global village” and collaboration between companies from two different parts of the world it’s simplified to one skype call, so they are in search of bilinguals. If you speak English, you’re already on a good way to accomplish your dream. English has taken over linguistic scene and even countries like France that were known to stick to their language only, have put down their guard.

After a while, what started as a new challenge melts down into just, life. Looking back, I’m proud of every single part of my life in Paris, from the first year when just going to the grocery shop was an exciting adventure, and now when I already feel like that foreign culture as mine. The daily routines are soon enough divided between two countries, thoughts are translated in two languages, and I feel divided between personalities. The two countries represent and fulfill different parts of me, in the two countries I have people who are close to my heart and always will be, and memories I shall never forget. In both countries, I feel at home, whenever I’m residing in one of them, I miss the other.

The next big thing is to manage to harmonize the two, and to find the perfect combination that will merge into a perfect alignment. For me, the equation will be based in Macedonia, where a lot of things have changed, a lot of options have opened, and the country has gotten very Europeanized… The challenges for me are now on the home ground and are waiting for innovation and experience from abroad. With experienced eyes that see the “old” in a new light, I’m trying to transmit everything that could be useful here. During my internship in Pivara Skopje, in the department of Public Affairs and Communication, I had the opportunity to see behind the scenes of the most reputed Macedonian company, and I realized that our mentors, that so generously share their knowledge and experience with us, can “side by side” carry with its European colleagues.

To live in a new place is a beautiful and exciting experience that leaves us a lot of space to be used in becoming whoever we want to be in life. Here, there or simultaneously on both places, if permitted by conditions. Life give us big freedom of choice and curious eyes, it’s up to us to decide how are we going to use this priceless gift.