Here and there.

The world is a book and those who do not travel, only read a page.
St. Agustine

Since the age of 21, I have lived away from my home country. 8 years in Rio de Janeiro – Brazil, the country that shaped me into a man, a few months in Boston – USA, enough to know thats not my lifestyle, Cape Verde again for a few months, to visit family friends and set my mind straight, Mexico City- Mexico, for the last 3 and a half years and soon Hamburg. Who knows where else in the future. In between Ana and me have been to more than 7 countries together, plus there where talks about living some day in Perth – Australia, Antwerpen – Belgium, London – UK, Stockholm – Sweden, Oslo – Noruega.

Yes I dream a lot, I am a dreamer so what, good thing I have Ana to help me put my feet on the ground an plan on my dreams, instead of just dreaming. Traveling a lot, has its pros and cons, like everything in life, if you are like me, and see more the positive side than the negative, and you are not afraid to give up some things, then you should definitely pack and leave, but if you are a person who is not ready to leave the comfort zone, than think twice. I came from a country known for immigration, it is said that, there are more capeverdians and descendants outside Cape Verde, than there is in the Islands, plus, my grandpa Gentil used to work in a crucer I think, and my old man(not so old) who still thinks he is a young man has travelled his entire live.

So, first let me list some thoughts  about traveling and living abroad.

Down side:
+ The distance, depending on the country, the distance can be a very negative thing, especially if going to your home country is VERY expensive as it is to go to Cape Verde, unless you are very rich of course;
+ Missing you family and friends. One of the big downsides, you will be distant from your family, friends, and all that is common to you. The first months you will still be in vacation mode, but as the times goes by, you will start to miss them all, and sometimes you can even get a little depressed, cry, and feel lonely. It helps a lot, to know people, talk to strangers, walk around with no destination at all;
+ Language barrier, uff, where do I start … specially if you go to a place, you know nothing about the language, but this can also be a motivation for you to know people and practice;
+ Leaving you comfort zone;

Up side:
+ Knowing a new place and culture;
+ New language skills, as I said, it can be a motivation;
+ If you are like me, and love food, upgrading your food list, tasting new flavors, nhum nhum;
+ Knowing new places, discovering bars in random streets;
+ Discovering new music, new artists;
+ Talking to old people;
+ That feeling when you find an amazing place, not that touristic place, everyone goes too, but that one place, that you want to take your couple there, or if you are single that one place you will only take your closest friends;
+ Really open your mind to new stuffs, new ideology, new way of seeing things;
+ Knowing new people, and learning new things from them;
+ Become rich mentally and specially in your heart.

To me, there are more positives than negatives, I don’t know about you. But if you have a different idea, let me know your thoughts.

Edino Tavares Moniz

 

“The mind that opens to a new idea never gets back to it’s original size.” – Albert Einstein