A week has gone by and I am still recovering from my first international business trip which just so happened to be my first trip outside of the East Coast.
What am I recovering from, you ask. Jet lag? Diet change? European lifestyle?
None of those. And, honestly, I can’t really tell you what exactly it is. I guess it’s a combination of feelings that I wasn’t prepared for and didn’t realize I could have after such a cool opportunity.
Don’t get me wrong. Bucharest, Romania was insane in the best way. As a North Carolinian who hasn’t even branched out to Tennessee, I was walking around with my mouth open basically the entire time. It was incredible. The cars, the roads, the people, the businesses. Everything was new and exciting and strange. I soaked in as much as I could by walking just about everywhere and chatting up every single Uber driver.
I tried to translate the signs I saw in town and made guesses as to what things meant solely based on context clues and the rusty Spanish I have left over from college.
But it was an experience that left me feeling weird and exhausted in a way that I wasn’t expecting. The culture was different there as one can probably assume. It was more traditional and dated than I anticipated. As a women with a loud opinion, I didn’t really fit in. My coworkers were amazing and we had so much fun, but I absolutely felt like an outsider.
People kept asking if they could carry my things or where my boyfriend was. When I said something about being able to do what I want, I was firmly corrected that was not true. Comments were made about my clothes despite how normal and modest I considered them to be.
Now, I am 1000% aware that with the current state of American politics, I can’t be too critical of other countries misdoings or antiquated views (specifically of women, the LGBTQ community, and racial equality). I definitely fell into the cliche idea of a young American thinking Europe is all, well, European so to speak. They’re all easygoing, not worried about what others are doing, relaxing more than working, and so on. Think Mamma Mia! and shorter work days. Yeah, either I was super wrong or Romania is one of the exceptions. Either way, I was taken aback.
But, let me make sure to tell you that the Romanian people treated me wonderfully otherwise. They made sure I knew the good places to eat and even better places to drink. They gave me advice, made jokes, and tried to help me with the language barrier.
All in all, it was a great trip and I am so thankful I got to experience it. But let me be the first to say that jet lag isn’t the only thing you have to get over once you’ve returned. Your head might be a little foggy for a few other reasons post-trip.
HAN SHAW 