MY EXPERIENCE IN A FOREIGN COUNTRY
Until I was 22, I always went on vacation with my family. Greece, Paris, Germany, Denmark, and Turkey are a few of the countries I visited with them. Beautiful countries and great vacations.
However, there is one trip that has changed a lot for me, and that was a trip to Spain. In 2021, I had just started my studies in marketing and communication. Sometime in the second month, all students from my school received a message that we could sign up for the Málaga Business Bootcamp. A project where you would spend 14 days in Málaga, engaging in activities, having Spanish lessons every day with 30 students from 5 different countries. As a bonus: everything would be covered! What did you have to do for this? You had to write a motivation letter, create a product such as a brochure about yourself, and include a recommendation from your coach. Normally, I would let these challenges pass me by, but this year I had set a goal for myself. And that was to live with less uncertainty and to do rather than always think and worry.
So, I went for it. I asked my coach what she thought of me signing up, and she was immediately very enthusiastic and said she thought this would be a perfect adventure for me. After a week of writing and gathering everything, I sent in my application and letter.
After weeks of waiting, the day of the results arrived. We were told that the selected candidates could receive their notice until 5:00 p.m. If you didn’t receive an email, you were not chosen. As I had not received an email by 5:00 p.m., I had given up. Disappointed, I went on with my day until, a few minutes after 5:00 p.m., I received an email saying: CONGRATULATIONS! YOU ARE GOING TO THE BUSINESS BOOTCAMP IN MÁLAGA! In disbelief, I sat at the table and shouted with excitement.
Two weeks later, the day had come. I would meet all the other Dutch students at Schiphol airport, along with the teachers who would help and guide us in the first few days. I was extremely nervous. I had never flown without my family, and I had never traveled alone abroad. Upon arrival, our group of Dutch students immediately clicked, and before we knew it, we were on the plane to Málaga.
I could write a whole book about those two weeks, but there are a few things I want to highlight because they still stick with me every day. Like the relaxed culture in Spain. Here in the Netherlands, work and studies tend to take precedence over enjoying life. In Spain, I experienced the opposite: enjoying life is the most important thing, and everything else comes after. The weather, the food, the people – I fell in love with Spain on the very first day.
One of the most beautiful moments was the hike up the Gibralfaro mountain. We decided to do the hike on a warm evening so we could enjoy the view over the city. We had underestimated how steep the climb was, but once we reached the top, it was completely worth it. The view was stunning! We had gone around sunset, and we were glad we had chosen that time. When we were at the top and enjoying the view, I became quite emotional. This trip was a huge step for me. I had always been someone who quickly felt homesick and had a lot of fears. These two weeks in Málaga made me realize that I could be okay on my own, without my familiar surroundings, and that I could do more and be more than my own thoughts. With pride and tears, I stood at the top of that mountain. I called home to show the view and tell them how I felt. I received a lot of love from them , and they told me how proud they were that I had dared to take this step.
The next day, one of the boys from the group and I went to a tattoo shop where we had walked past a few times. There, I had the word WARRIOR tattooed on the top of my wrist. Since that trip, I consider myself a fighter, I dare to push myself more and expect more from myself. I’ve learned that getting stuck in your head won’t help you progress, and that fear is okay as long as you learn to bring out the best in yourself. I also discovered my love for other cultures. Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to take another trip so far, but I definitely hope to do so in the future!
I want to end with some advice for other young people:
“Don’t listen too much to your negative thoughts. Those thoughts and the associated fear will never take you far. Dream and do! Challenge yourself! Say yes to an adventure you would have said no to in the past.”
* Did you know that we also made a testimonial with Dalinja in 2021? Check her testimonial here!
