Have you ever had a “starting over again” point in your career?
With Barcelona, everything actually started from zero for me..
Let me briefly give an introduction about why and how I came to Barcelona…
When I was working in Istanbul, I was spending 4 hours on the way every day. I was exposed to mobbing and also stress and concerns about the future… Eventually, I came up with only one conclusion. I quitted the job to follow my dreams.
I decided to go back to my previous consultancy business: Helping MBA students to finish their thesis projects.
Just before starting a new page in my life, I found a cheap flight ticket campaign and went to Macedonia. Why Macedonia? I have listed the countries where I could go without the need for a visa. My final decision was there due to its history (Skopje) and nature (Ohri)…
I actually had never been abroad before. After a difficult and disappointing work experience, I believed that this would be a good motivation for my next steps. Since a more challenging page was waiting for me compared to the previous ones… I was going to be a freelancer to survive, try to finish my master’s degree, and at the same time try to establish my own startup business…
Actually, Macedonia didn’t seem very interesting when I arrived there… 🙂 It was like a part of Istanbul, but actually, the experience was amazing… On a 4-day trip, I made new friends, spontaneous crazy adventures… The concept of being a tourist abroad was different…
While returning, I met a guy at the airport. After a short chat, he gave me advice. Applying to the Erasmus+ program…
I was back in Istanbul and I was going to spend most of my time at the university library for working instead of studying… In my first week, I saw the Erasmus+ program application brochure on the wall and that advice came to my mind. The deadline was that day… There was nothing to lose…
After exams and interviews, the results were announced. My name was at the top of the list. I was told, “we will pay you, find a place, and go for 2 months.”
I applied to some places. No response… Then, after weeks, only one place replied back. Barcelona…
While preparing the paperwork, I was also working more to save some money for my Spain trip since the Erasmus+ financial support was very limited for everything…
But the huge economic crisis had come in Turkey… All the money I had saved suddenly fell more than half… And that wasn’t the only problem. I couldn’t find any accommodation for Barcelona either…
On the other hand, while these issues happening, I was sleeping in the university instead of going home (it was taking 4 hours).. When I woke up in the morning, I was going to the gym of the university and take a shower and continued the day…
During that time period, I gave consultancy service to MBA candidates. Sometimes I worked as a freelance tourist guide. Imported some stuff from abroad. Also, I tried to establish a startup for personalized Artificial Intelligence-based healthy life rituals (failed..). I remember I have even found myself as a guest speaker on a famous TV program… 🙂 And also, always continued to study to master…
On the last day before arriving in Barcelona, I met a colleague who could rent a room for 5 days. The price was also affordable, 10 euros per night. I accepted.. it was the first positive news for the Barcelona adventure…
Then, he rented another flat. I also moved with him to his new flat. It was 250 euros per month. It didn’t take long that I realized why it was cheap… 🙂 The man was a nice guy, but the flat needed some stuff…
Not only need for cleaning, painting, etc but also no Wi-fi, no heating, and no living room. Let me also tell you about the existing ones. I had only a mattress on the ground and an IKEA desk…
2 months quickly passed. Enjoyed it but also worked really hard.
In the end, I liked the boss and he also liked me… I applied for a position there. 6 months later, I was in Barcelona again in April, 2019.
In my first year, in addition to my job, I already had two side businesses. Teaching coding to kids and selling hand-knitted products as last-minute gifts… Also, finally, I finished my master’s degree…
Then, COVID-19 happened, all the side businesses were down. However, this time I was a member of two COVID-19 projects in my research institute. We are doing research to help COVID-19 patients in hospitals around the world. (Spain, Italy, Mexico, Brazil, U.S).
I have also been blogging about business, lifestyle, and visual storytelling for more than a year. Now, I am writing a book about self-help…
Today, It has been the 3rd time to celebrate my birthday in Barcelona. I am very grateful for all experiences and people I had in this adventure. And, excited for tomorrow…
