I’ve just come back from a short trip to London and I’ve been able to see the ravages of the crisis. And not precisely reflected in London city itself, but in the great amount of Spaniards that have left their apartments in Madrid, Barcelona or Cuenca and settled in the British capital, as in Spain the general outlook for youngsters is not very encouraging.
Seriously, this made me reflect about whether one should leave their country to look for a job or not. And note that I am saying for a job and not for a better job. This way, London is full of young Spanish people -yeah, shouting a lot, sure- and working in bars, restaurants and shops. Just some very diligent ones have a job in lines of their education.
I guess the answers to this question is up to everyone. One might think that to work in a neighborhood bar is something you can do while living at your mum’s Madrid Apartments -though the problem is that you might not even find a job in a bar here- but, personally, I am for people leaving their country at least for a season. This way, you gain a lot in cultural experience, you know: new language, new eating hours, new ways of standing the freezing cold temperatures…All this stuff. And also you get to know yourself, how you get to move around on your own, how you grow up.
Among the bad things (for me) of being an expat is when you don’t accept the fact that you are abroad. Here, two things can happen: Whether you might get depressed and fail in your attempts, as you’ll have to run into your mummy’s arms, or you might end up meeting all your fellows and hanging out solely amongst each other, creating a community of Spaniards who want to eat as if in Spain and drink as if in Spain and enjoy the sun as if in Spain and who, in fact, miss their country.
Nope, I’m exaggerating and generalising. What I come to say is that I think adapting to the customs of where you are to me is fun. It’s like changing the routine, a little bit of something different. And, hey, although it might not have been your initial idea, if you are away from home, take advantage of it, enjoy, and stop missing anything. Whenever I find myself in an unexpected situation, I like to think that casualty, many times, makes no mistakes.
Author bio
Maria Climent is a 27-year-old Catalan lady currently living in Barcelona who, after studying translation, decided her life was odd enough to study humour scriptwritting. This is how now she works as a blogger.
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