Previous endeavors

After graduating secondary school, I took the opportunity to go to Australia. A dream coming true is the least I can say, it has been this one special lifetime event which could never be done again, or at least that’s what I thought. Whilst meeting heaps of people, scuba diving at the great barrier reaf, bunjee jumping in cairns, launching a business in sales and many more, I actually found the inner backpacker in me.

Getting closer with the locals is always the tricky thing, especially when they don’t speak English. Aussies are known for their accent and slang which makes it all the more fun having some banter. Hence, connecting with locals (bogans) and doing some local stuff (Boganism) is simply indescribable. From making boomerangs to Turkish Bourbon in the sink all the way to fishing on a boat make these experiences absolutely fantastic.

Apart from all the stuff that goes mayhem in Australia whilst going through the most amazing encounters, I found an opportunity to launch my own business as an independent contractor in sales. By doing so, I’d gain my first sales experiences as well as assertiveness in the business life.

As my sales skills grew, so did my attitude. This goal-getting attitude is one which I will always nourish due to its high impact on everything I stood for. It gave me the opportunity to become more critical, social, adaptable and self-motivating. These have been my driving factors into becoming more resilient in life and my next confrontations.

The nature.. Switzerland developed its own small ecosystem in the center of Europe. From being sunburned at the end of March to 10 cm of snow mid April. Seeing the Matterhorn, going to Interlaken, Living in St. Gallen for a good 5 months and many more, was one of the most stunning experiences I’ve went through. Switzerland holds a special spot in my memories and hopefully future ventures.

Although getting to know people is great and all, it’s the inner connect that does the magic. We didn’t only study with international students, most of our classes were a mix and match of Swiss and international students. This did not only give us the opportunity to make friends with locals but also to go and do lots of local stuff like Carnival in the capital of Switzerland, Bern. All of the fantastic experiences just kept on adding up giving us the real Swiss experience.

No mountain to high and no sea to deep to endeavor anything crossing my path, at least, that’s what I thought. After having lived abroad for almost 18 months, I quickly realised that I had been living in the world’s most prosperous countries. Meaning, I might wanted to take on more challenging areas in order to understand these economies, cultures, politics and life-habits. And so I did.

Starting from Thailand and its rice fields, going through Laos all the way to Cambodia, discovering Angkor What (6th World Wonder) and topping it of with Singapore is the geographical itinerary of this trip. Doing so gave me heaps of insights concerning how people live there, the conditions they go through, there way of reasoning and the political standards. To get to know the economy, I would have had to work here.

As for the people and their culture, I was flabbergasted learning about their poor standard of living. that’s the moment I knew that this encounter would not only be a valuable life lesson for me, but it could also give me entirely new perspectives, ones which you can’t discover by yourself due entrenched biases.

Angkor What, aka the sixth world wonder, also didn’t disappoint. Driving through the entire area with a motorbike, knowing that everything in the entire area, end-to-end, connects on the millimeter with one another. These are the aspects which put me with two feet on the ground when I think about it.

Furthermore, the wildlife, going from monkeys in the temples, to spiders and snakes in the jungle, to sharks and turtles whilst snorkeling on a long forgotten beach. There’s a bit of everything. Oh yes, they do have some friendly animals running around as well.

Comprehending a culture only occurs when you’ve actually lived there. Understanding how privileged one is, is to not only move out of your comfort zone but also, to let go of your standard of living once in a while. Doing things differently!

So here I was, undertaking this internship at Flanders Investment and Trade. Learning a great deal about the market and the economy was one side of the coin, but, where better to get thrown in at the deep end concerning politics than the public sector. This is where I got to understand the people’s way of living due to the acts of the economic and political system.

And then there was the nature, it almost compels you to keep driving around in the scenery. From a lake with a fair in salt mines, to the black sea all the way to snowy mountains and Dracula’s castle. It simply won’t stop diversifying anywhere you go. The people who live outside the bigger cities are not unknown to strangers like Asians do, but they will still look a second time whenever they think you’re not looking. Romania is a place full of hidden gems which aren’t even hidden the moment you get out of the city.