I Started to Miss My Home Country

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Abstract

feeling that everyone around me was in a rush, always wanting to achieve more, with the eyes towards the future. Soon, I found myself in the same situation. Lockdown did not help either, as I became busier than ever, and a pure workaholic. <a href="https://readmedium.com/my-semester-abroad-in-israel-2dd047ee1387">My semester abroad in Israel</a> came at the right time. The culture of Israelis is very similar to that of Albanians. People there seemed to be so full of life, singing in the streets, dancing, partying, and loud. There was not much order, rather chaos on the streets and lots of traffic, and I fell in love with it, and that’s when it hit me: <i>I was terribly missing home</i>.</p><h2 id="7918">Being spontaneous and flexible</h2><p id="0885">Albanians are so spontaneous and flexible, that we love to change plans last minute, or not even plan at all. Our culture allows for so much spontaneity and flexibility. I do not need to plan ahead meeting friends, I can simply send a text and get to meet them in less than an hour. Before, I found this way of living too loose, too chaotic. However, <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/how-are-germans-really-aa22896d62f">after living in Germany for more than two years</a>, this was exactly what I was missing. Not having the constant pressure of knowing my next steps, and planning ahead my future, but rather leaving space for flexibility and spontaneity, for change of plans, for the unpredictable and the uncertain. The truth is that life cannot be planned, and we might as well try to embrace the beauty of it a bit more.</p><h2 id="4f8e">Having lots of sunny days</h2><p id="1463">Only after living in Israel for a while, did I realize how much I had missed the sun. It made me feel way happier, more energetic, and enthusiastic. As many of you know, the German weather is not the best, often being grey and cold. I never noticed its effect on me, until I lived in a sunny place again. Now I know that I am a happier person and way more optimistic when the sun is out. And sometimes, I even miss the 40 degrees Celsius summer days in Albania.</p><h2 id="8bf5">Being with my family</h2><p id="a6f7">Missin

Options

g my family was never an issue for me when I first moved to Germany. Having left home at the age of 15 to move to the capital of Albania for a year, I got used to being away from my family, therefore, it did not hit me hard when I moved to Germany. Instead, having that independence and living alone were some of the reasons for studying abroad in the first place. So I did not really miss my family much until I became an aunt. Right now, I take every chance I get to visit my little nephew. Through the years, I have also learned that my family is what keeps me grounded and reminds me of what matters most in my life, therefore I do miss them now, way more than before.</p><h2 id="56d7">Conclusion</h2><p id="f528">In the end, I cannot really say that the culture of one country is better than that of the other. Actually, I do need both. I need the flexibility and spontaneity of Albanians and the <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/how-germany-teaches-self-responsibility-to-its-citizens-b03d8c94917d">planning and risk management of German</a>s; I need the fun and long coffee shops hours in Albania, and the hard work and hustling hours in Germany; I need to live in the present, and plan for the future; I love my independence, and I also love being with my family. However, there is one choice I would make, I would choose sunny days over grey ones, even though I would miss the snow sometimes.</p><p id="a9d8">-</p><p id="e724">Join <a href="https://keis-newsletter.beehiiv.com/">my monthly newsletter</a> where I share learnings and tips about living a more fulfilling life based on research and Stanford classes.</p><p id="4315">Want to be the first one to be notified about my upcoming article? Then subscribe <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/subscribe">here</a>.</p><p id="e2ee">I hope you enjoyed reading this. If you’d like to support me as a writer, consider signing up to <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/membership">become a Medium member</a>. It’s just $5 a month and you get unlimited access to Medium. If you sign up <a href="https://keihysi.medium.com/membership">using my link</a>, I’ll earn a small commission. Thank you!</p></article></body>

For the same reasons, I decided to leave

Last summer for the first time since I moved to Germany, I started to miss my home country, Albania. Actually, it was during my semester abroad in Israel that I realized it. Interestingly, most of the things I started to miss, were the reasons why I decided to leave in the first place. I even wrote an article called What Made Me Leave My Home Country more than a year ago. I know, it might seem contradictory, but I will explain. First, I want to tell you what I missed the most about my home country, Albania.

The mindset of enjoying life and being present in the moment

It feels like Albanians are naturally good at truly enjoying life and being present. We love spending time with friends, eating good food, drinking, dancing, singing, throwing big weddings and parties, relaxing under the sun at the beach, dressing nicely, spending hours in coffee shops gossiping and talking about the most random things, and simply not really worrying too much.

Three years ago, I defined this as pure laziness. I thought people were wasting so much of their potential by being way too relaxed. I did not like it. I wanted to be surrounded by people who were ambitious, and hustlers, who worked hard for their dreams. And that’s how I ended up in Germany.

In Germany, I found what I had been looking for. Everyone around me was really ambitious and hard-working, and I felt like I finally belonged somewhere. People seemed so busy I had to send a calendar invite a week (or more) in advance to meet my friends. It did not take long for me to become one of these busy people. I was doing two degrees in parallel (and I still am) and working part-time, and it often still felt like it was not enough. I had the feeling that everyone around me was in a rush, always wanting to achieve more, with the eyes towards the future. Soon, I found myself in the same situation. Lockdown did not help either, as I became busier than ever, and a pure workaholic. My semester abroad in Israel came at the right time. The culture of Israelis is very similar to that of Albanians. People there seemed to be so full of life, singing in the streets, dancing, partying, and loud. There was not much order, rather chaos on the streets and lots of traffic, and I fell in love with it, and that’s when it hit me: I was terribly missing home.

Being spontaneous and flexible

Albanians are so spontaneous and flexible, that we love to change plans last minute, or not even plan at all. Our culture allows for so much spontaneity and flexibility. I do not need to plan ahead meeting friends, I can simply send a text and get to meet them in less than an hour. Before, I found this way of living too loose, too chaotic. However, after living in Germany for more than two years, this was exactly what I was missing. Not having the constant pressure of knowing my next steps, and planning ahead my future, but rather leaving space for flexibility and spontaneity, for change of plans, for the unpredictable and the uncertain. The truth is that life cannot be planned, and we might as well try to embrace the beauty of it a bit more.

Having lots of sunny days

Only after living in Israel for a while, did I realize how much I had missed the sun. It made me feel way happier, more energetic, and enthusiastic. As many of you know, the German weather is not the best, often being grey and cold. I never noticed its effect on me, until I lived in a sunny place again. Now I know that I am a happier person and way more optimistic when the sun is out. And sometimes, I even miss the 40 degrees Celsius summer days in Albania.

Being with my family

Missing my family was never an issue for me when I first moved to Germany. Having left home at the age of 15 to move to the capital of Albania for a year, I got used to being away from my family, therefore, it did not hit me hard when I moved to Germany. Instead, having that independence and living alone were some of the reasons for studying abroad in the first place. So I did not really miss my family much until I became an aunt. Right now, I take every chance I get to visit my little nephew. Through the years, I have also learned that my family is what keeps me grounded and reminds me of what matters most in my life, therefore I do miss them now, way more than before.

Conclusion

In the end, I cannot really say that the culture of one country is better than that of the other. Actually, I do need both. I need the flexibility and spontaneity of Albanians and the planning and risk management of Germans; I need the fun and long coffee shops hours in Albania, and the hard work and hustling hours in Germany; I need to live in the present, and plan for the future; I love my independence, and I also love being with my family. However, there is one choice I would make, I would choose sunny days over grey ones, even though I would miss the snow sometimes.

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