What is it about changing to a new environment that frightens but excites us at the same time? Is it the sense of discovery of a new place? The fear of going into the unknown? Of leaving and completely losing sight of your comfort zone? Arguably, it is each and every one of these! Going to live and work in a different place is a hard decision to make. Especially if that place is 6500 km away from your home! What prompts us to make such a radical change then? Well, in my case it was the prospect of a better future than I could have, had I stayed in my home country. A leap of faith in its essence.
It is not an easy move to make. There are all sorts of legal issues involved. You have to get a passport and a visa, for starters. A visa you can only get with financial support, acceptance letter, immigration forms. In order to get such a form, you need first to be accepted at your destination university (in my case). And in order to become accepted you need to take some exams. The list seems endless… until one day it isn’t. As you find yourself counting down the days, you start to ponder the next problem: what to bring? You can’t take too much or you end up having trouble at the airport, but you don’t want to just bring a couple of changes of clothes. Finding the delicate balance between the essential and the accessory is almost an art.
So, now the day has come, your bags are packed and you arrived at the airport. After one long, tear-jerking goodbye from your loved ones (which incidentally may be the hardest part of this whole process), you are finally off on a probably horribly long flight. But you sleep it off, watch a movie, read a book and then you’re there! At long last the anxiety that’s been building for all those months starts to come off. Now your future begins. Be prepared though, things are not going to be as easy as you might think. Firstly there is the obvious matter of finding a place to stay. If you’re like me you already made arrangements before you came. If not then do not worry, surely there are plenty of places you can go for a short stay while you look for a more permanent place. Secondly, there is a new round of paperwork filing that you have to survive related to the final registration at the university and obtaining health insurance. Finally, there is the fact itself that you are in a new environment, where you know no one.
Things may get tough at the beginning. If you start to feel depressed remember that you really are in a new environment, with plenty to discover. Going out to see the sights, making friends or just spending time with your new colleagues are all great ways to help you really settle in. As you may have noticed I focused mainly on the hardships of the process. It was intentional. It is these parts that stick the most and in the process help us to become more resilient and adaptable. Surely these are essential qualities to survive in our evermore Darwinian society. Of course, the process isn’t all suffering. In fact, after these initial struggles the fun part begins. The part when you start working, studying, thinking and creating. Essentially you are forging your own future. It will require hard work and a little more of that faith to lead you to a future that hopefully contains everything you want and perhaps even more.
Only time will tell.
— Joao Moreira