If someone asked me whether they should live abroad, my answer would be simple: yes, if you have the chance, do it. We only live once, and I believe we should make the most of our time by experiencing different cultures and different ways of life.
So far, I've lived in Germany for one and a half years, in Shanghai for ten years, and now I'm living in Tokyo. Each place has taught me something valuable, and looking back, I feel like every country has left its mark on me.
When I first arrived in Tokyo, the biggest challenge was definitely the train system. Tokyo has one of the most complicated railway networks in the world. It took me quite a while to get the hang of transferring between trains, and getting on the wrong train happened more than once! Looking back now, those mistakes make me smile, although no particularly funny story comes to mind anymore.
Living in Japan has also changed my personality in subtle ways. Japanese people are incredibly polite, and I think that politeness has gradually rubbed off on me. I've become more polite myself, and I naturally keep my distance from strangers or people I've just met. While I appreciate this part of Japanese culture, I also feel that it has made making new friends a little more difficult. Like many things in life, there are both advantages and disadvantages.
Germany influenced me in a different way. I really admired how comfortable people were with greeting strangers and having small conversations. It reminded me that friendliness can exist in many different forms, even if every culture expresses it differently.
After living in several places, I've come to believe that we're all, to some extent, products of our environment. The people around us, the customs we experience, and even the small habits we observe every day slowly shape who we become. At the same time, we don't have to accept everything. One of the greatest benefits of living abroad is that we can choose the values and habits we admire most and make them part of our own lives.
That's why I believe everyone should experience living abroad at least once if they have the opportunity. It broadens our perspective, challenges our assumptions, and reminds us that there are many different ways to live a meaningful life. In the end, I don't think living abroad changes who we are—it helps us discover who we want to become.