Starting a new life – do you ever think about this, who would miss you, what would happen?

Just leaving one day and never coming back, seems like such a hard thing to do, but one could take it slow and test the waters with simply living abroad for a while.

Have you ever thought about what life would be like if you were born somewhere else?

I’m not talking about being grateful because there are so many places worse than the one you’re living in right now (separate post on this), but about just growing up in a different culture.

When I was growing up I always wanted to live in the US. I don’t know something about the country in the movies fascinated me. The idea of having school teams and then going on to play for the college team just seemed like so amazing to me. All those big high schools and being one of the cool kids or belonging to some kind of group to identify with interested me. Got to admit the parties also seemed quite crazy but I got no real reference it that is actually true.

Some of my friends in school have studied abroad for a year. When they came back, most of them kept their old friends, maybe just because in school you see everybody every day. They might annoy you from time to time but you’re still glad to have them around. Then when you move on to university of something it becomes harder to keep the connection. Guess it’s about mutual effort and how everyone develops at a different pace.
Little side note I suppose.

Now with an upcoming semester abroad in about 18 months I’m once again thinking about what life would be like living in a different place since day 1.

I visited Korea this year and just recently started listening to Korean music. I enjoy the culture and am thrilled to learn more.

South-East-Asia in general fascinates me. Just watched an amazing movie about Shenzhen and I’m also interested in living in China and operating a business there.

It is troublesome. I can’t decide which of the two languages to learn. Just both? Live in Korea for a year, go travel China and see what’s possible and then live between the two countries? Then include the US and Europe and all I would be doing is sitting in a plane. Pretty awesome way to live nonetheless.

So yeah there is this crazy idea in my mind of just learning different languages and then going to the country and living there for months, maybe years. Of course I want to pursue career but with entrepreneurial ventures and the internet everything is possible.

So you could still make a pretty good living while living a life most people dream off.

One problem could present itself though:

If you travel a lot you will have a lot of acquaintances but not a lot of friends.

Something I’m struggling with even now. So the ultimate dream would actually be to operate a business with 3-4 real good friends and travel the world with them. But then you lose out on the fun of traveling alone and experiencing the real stuff like the locals do.

Oh man, guess it’s tough. If it were easy everyone would do it, plus you would play the game of life wrong.

Back to what I was talking about.

Why go through the hustle and struggle of learning the language?

Well couple reasons. One, if I want to build a business it is crucial to speak the language of the country. Now, working in an international company I might get away with English, but I would still love to do stuff with my coworkers so speaking their language also makes things easier.

Secondly if you want to speak to all the locals and get the best experience possible you will need the countries language as most people won’t be able to speak the same language as you do.

And then the most important point is the following quote:

If you talk to a man in a language he understands, that goes to his head. If you talk to him in his language, that goes to his heart. – Nelson Mandela

Known as the foreign language effect this is the biggest reason to learn other languages. For myself I would generally say that I’m quite able to express myself in English but it’s still not the same as it would be in my native tongue.

However, it’s not that big of a deal for me as it might pose a bigger problem for other people, so just do them a favor and learn the language.

But then who knows, maybe in the near future we will have this device for your ear where everybody can to everyone in his own language and the device translates it.

For now, I would like to learn the respective language because of aforementioned reasons plus it enables a better understanding of the culture.

Where to go?

Some places I would like to live include Paris (just need to refresh my French from 7 years of school learning), Hong-Kong and China in general, Seoul, NY (I would say English shouldn’t be a problem), LA. Oh my… So much to do so little time.

Apparently this coincides with the wish of wanting to be a kid again. Doing it all over again in a different country. How amazing would that be. Just to experience it.

But who knows. Maybe I shouldn’t shoot too fast here.

Still there is no guarantee that it will be as great as I imagine. There are many uncertainties after all. But that is what makes life worth living.

The quality of your life is in direct proportion to the amount of uncertainty you can comfortably deal with. - Tony Robbins

Guess I will just have to try it all out. Did you ever live abroad somewhere? Let me know in the comments.

Then the question is, what is life really about.

Is it about experiencing the most?
Contributing the most?
Having the most fun? Best career? Most stuff? What is it…

In the end we only regret the chances we didn’t take so why not shoot for the moon once in a while.

Still, there are a lot I fears I can see myself facing. I don’t want to leave my parents behind, my old friends, my brothers.

See that’s what’s awesome about having a connection with a city. There’s all the memories, the awesome stuff you experienced, the ups and downs, years of your life will come back to your mind by simply thinking about it.

Imagine having this effect in the whole world.

Just embrace the change.

Isn't it funny how day by day nothing changes, but when you look back, everything is different... - C.S. Lewis

I just wanted to share some of my current thoughts with you and hope you can get something out of it.

Stay awesome, I love you!