“People create wonderful experiences. People make places magical.”

This is the caption of my latest Instagram post.

What would all this be, if not for the relationships we build from ground up with random strangers, who face the exact same challenges in a foreign country, alone for the first time? What would be the purpose of all of this, if not meeting new people, creating stories which can only be created by leaving your comfort zone?

My stories start with a legendary one. One, my roommate and I will remember for the rest of our lives. The story is about where my roommate entered our apartment for the first time. I was already living there for 2 weeks, and one beautiful afternoon, while I was eating, I heard the keys turning and the door to our apartment opened. In came my roommate with his guide, a young local lady, witnessing a panicking young man running from the kitchen to my room in nothing but my red underpants. Never in my life have I put on pants as fast as in that moment just to say “h- hi, I was not ready for someone to enter, excuse me, I’m Oliver, what’s your name?”, obviously keeping in mind, I still haven’t put a shirt on…

This is how I met my roommate. From that moment on, I knew this experience is going to be amazing. Occasional partying, finding a football club where I could train like it was my own, having two ex-professional players as coaches, presenting my very own idea on a stage for the very first time, networking, improving so many aspects in my academic education, random Wednesdays having the best Side Quests by just doing something because someone living close by asks to grab a beer and do something, and many more moments, which can only show up in your life, if you are open for them, walk around with open eyes, open mind, open heart and open ears. Cheers to people.