25 Years Ago, When I Was 25 Years Old…

Charlotte, of Charlotte’s Web wrote a meme about what happened in her life when she was 25 years old.

25 years ago, I was 25 years old. It strikes me as a nice idea to write up my own meme…

When I was 25, I graduated from a fine Canadian university as an electrical engineer. I was older than most of my fellow graduates because I retired from my professional ballet career a few years after they graduated from high school.

When I was 25, I decided to fulfil a lifetime dream and travelled to China for six weeks. China had only recently opened up their borders to travel tours. It was not possible to travel as a single tourist. I chose a very small (10 person) travel tour and invited my mother to come along with me. Thus making the total number of strangers I had to accustom myself to, to eight. My mother was not only a good companion, she was a living library of knowledge about Chinese history, literature, and art.

When I was 25, I decided to leave Canada and try and find a job in Europe. I had a feeling it was either now-or-never. Many friends thought that I was crazy to give up the job offer at a company in Montreal and go off to where?… (nowhere specific) to what?… (no concrete job).

When I was 25, I realised that taking a leap into the unknown scares people and even though they only want what is good-for-you, they don’t really know what that is.

When I was 25, I found out that, despite of what others had told me, the working language in engineering departments at international corporations in Germany, was NOT English. It was not even German, but the local dialect.

When I was 25, I took my first job interview in German, even though I didn’t speak any German. I made up a list of fifty words or phrases (e.g. really!, how interesting, yes, of course, fascinating, very good, definitely) and then repeated them over and over again throughout the hour interview and tour of the production plant.

When I was 25, I discovered that the technical German language was COMPLETELY different to English. This fact astonished me; for French and English words are similar to the point of just using different accents (e.g. resistor/resisteur, capacitor/capaciteur, you get my drift?). Imagine my surprise to learn that resistor was Wiederstand in German, and it just gets worse from there on.

When I was 25, I found out what it was to be lonely. No spoke to me during my work day, I knew no one to speak to outside of work, and I only knew enough German to order a cup of coffee. That first winter was the loneliest in my life.

When I was 25, I discovered that the saying “books are your best friends” can be very true.

When I was 25, I learnt that desperation can be a wonderful tool for breaking down language barriers. A dear Brazilian woman, Cenira, who only spoke Portuguese, and I, who spoke no Portuguese, formed the most lively instant friendship possible. To this day, whenever I hear the expression “speaking with her hands and feet” I think of those first months of our friendship.

When I was 25, I learnt how rude people can be towards strangers (foreigners) looking to rent apartments. I also learnt about pure generosity from a near stranger (the wife of a colleague), who took it upon herself to help me find an apartment to rent, by posing as the potential applicant. (After note: she and I are still close friends after all these years).

When I was 25, I discovered my passion for sitting in cafés and passing the time away.

When I was 25, I planted the seeds to some of my dearest and closest friendships. Those seeds have grown and grown and they have spanned decades and geographical distances.