Think Outside the Box

You read, you see, you hear and then you think: ah, the Germans are always punctual and they hate the foreigners; the Italians are loud and they eat all the time pasta and pizza; the Russians are drinking way too much…

Yes, these stereotypes and prejudices may help you to orientate through Europe or even through the whole World, but in the same time can reduce or block your open-mindedness. Actually it is not right to fill matchboxes with different kind of nationalities, but we always have some prejudices about certain countries. We put our expectations on a scale, sometimes too high, but more often we chose the lowest way. The latter case gives birth to questions like: Do you have hot water in Romania? Is Moldova in Europe? Do you have zebra crossing sings in Bulgaria? Is there internet in Turkey? And so on. Someone who lives in the mentioned countries can laugh (or cry) hearing these questions. Try to be open, not just for people and culture, but also for accommodation, nature, and lifestyle.

Don’t judge too quickly, and then it is easier to get used to the fact that in Germany every shop is closed on Sunday (So it might happen that you starve on Sundays), or that the Romanians and Hungarians at greeting are kissing (just the cheeks).

EVS it’s a journey through countries, cities, nations, people and yourself. To make this journey unforgettable just think outside the box.

Ps. what surprised you in your “new” country?