I was blessed to have a very intense summer, filled with adventures, accomplishments, doubts, challenges and most importantly, experiences. I used to have a saying which goes like “Bad experience is better than no experience” and I am grateful to say that this summer I had the opportunity to have a very diverse and interesting set of experiences.
I need to tell the story properly as every event that occurred was the stepping stone for the next thing and in some ways, the universe guiding my path. I find it interesting that many challenges turned out to be opportunities that took me to places I didn’t even know existed.
Part 1: An Unexpected Destination
I was living in the Algarve - a beautiful region in the south of Portugal, where I had most of my friends, tons of fun activities and a wonderful community of digital nomads. My apartment was 3 times bigger than the one I had in London and got it for a fraction of the price. In many ways, I was living the dream, but little did I know that the universe had different plans for me.
About 6 weeks before the start of the summer, I received a call from my landlord stating that he wanted to list my apartment for short-term rental during the summer as it was more profitable. In the Algarve, it’s super easy to find a good apartment during the winter, but close to the summer - everyone who has an available place prefers very much to use it for the big flow of tourists coming by for holidays.
My options were very limited and soon enough I realised that it was very likely I would have to move out of the area - even the country for the summer. But they say that God doesn’t close one door without opening another. Soon after I got the news, I got a call from a friend who had a business and needed some help during the summer so she could go on holiday. I was asked to move to a country I had never been to, to a city I had never heard of. Nevertheless, I took on the challenge, packed my bags and I was on my way to Aarhus - Denmark
Part 2: Aarhus - Denmark - The vibe of the city
You would be inclined to think that the happiest city in the world is probably Vegas given its international reputation of fun and extravagance. However, Aarhus seems like a very calm city. I’ve learned that people take about 6 weeks of vacation per year, have a good work-life balance, are family-focused and know their values.
At first glance, people tend to appear cold, especially to some foreigners, but my deeper analysis concluded with the fact that they are just reserved. They don’t go out of their way to create new relationships, but at the same time, they are not opposed to it if the environment is right.
Part 3: Starting the foundation of an internationally connected community
I’ve lived in a lot of different countries and cultures and I refuse to believe that there are people in the world who do not require connection with other humans. Regardless of the culture and upbringing, that is a fundamental necessity that evolved during millions of years of evolution and cannot be reprogrammed in just a few generations.
While I was discussing with international how the social integration process was, I received an almost unanimous sentiment that Danes are generally cold and don’t take foreigners in that well. So I decided to put that premise to the test.
I teamed up with Linnea (photo) and together we’ve decided to bring the international and local community together, by organising a social event.
We had a few challenges on the way, but also an equally, or even greater degree of support for a few local organisations. The event proved to be a success and even more, it will be the stepping stone of having a connected community which is rapidly expanding.
The experience taught me that if you persevere for long enough, some doors will open for you and you will be able to achieve amazing things.
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