Dreams

"Jean, I want to work overseas!" expresses my Russian friend. "I want to see the world. I don't want to work here, in Moscow, with traffic jams, an old and cramped apartment, an overcrowded population."

I smiled. "Don't we all think the same?"

Having worked in Dubai, studying in France and travelling halfway across the world, I learnt that there is a growing population who desire a better life out of their own countries. There are French who want to work in America, there are Americans who want to work in Germany, there are Germans who want to work in UAE, there are Emiratis who want to work in the US, there are Malaysians who want to work in Russia, and there are Russians who want to work in and live in Iran.

Each of us have our own dreams. We always think that it's better outside. It's greener, it's bluer, it's richer, it's funnier; it's cooler, it's brighter, it's more sunny, it's more liberating. In short, everything is better out of the borders of our own homes.

As I walk in the apple gardens of B... ya, I stop myself and catch my ever fluidizing thoughts in thin air. "Stop!" I will it. "Is it truly like this?"

My Russian friends think that Moscow is overpopulated. I say "Come to Beijing! You'll see the true definition of overpopulation."

They say "oh look! A local organization decided to stop funding university research projects!" I say "Fancy you even have that! Come to my country! An academy for scientists and researchers, does it even exist?"

One day, one of them had a look at Google map of my place and exclaimed, "Oh ! Wow! It's so green!"  which caused me to think that Moscow was a grey, polluted city without greens, only buildings. But imagine my surprise when I my friend brought me to Gorky park and we walked around this **hectar area, along the river, cycling water boats, admiring sculptures and fountains, with young and old, dancing and playing musical instruments, to swaying flowers, trees and leaves! Honestly, this was not the Russia I imagined.

As if hearing my thoughts, my friend who's walking with me breaks in, "Really?! What did you expect then, before you came to Russia?"

Embarassed, I blushed. Abashed. "Actually, I imagined the streets to be filled with weapon-wielding youths, street gangs, and stone-cold  men and women affected by the World War II with un-smiling faces."

(Ok. I may have exaggerated there, ever so slightly.)

Instead, I see men and women, young and old, happily cycling under the sun, talking, couples lying around on fluffy air bags in the grass, children singing, teenagers playing the guitar, dancing to Russian folk songs. Happily and gaily, I might add.

And so, I realized that our perceptions have been very much pre-conditioned by mass media. Whenever I visit a new country, time and time again, I am reminded that to have a feel of what it really likes to be a citizen in a country, you have to be there physically and live there for as long as you can. Never, ever, be influenced by what you read on the internet or newspapers, or what you watch on television news or movies. And please, do, interact with the locals as much as you can, for then, you will view life through the lenses of an authentic local, not just through the perspective of tourists or tourist guides.

In addition, don't assume that just because there are migrants or foreigners working in your country, it symbolizes that the living conditions of the home countries of these migrants/foreigners are bad. There are many factors which cause people to work overseas, be it in the business sector or service industry. These factors can range anything from low salaries to an official excuse for a family escapade. With the increased population of students with higher degrees graduating from schools annually, the location of work for today's youth is no longer confined within the limits of their own home country. The youths of today eagerly seeking to achieve what their parents lacked, an ocean of options, the luxury of carving out the challenges of their imaginations and living up to their individual expectations.

The youths of our future are a hopeful generation, filled with zest, passion and a vision. They know exactly what they want. Let us not quench their enthusiasm. Instead, let us fan their burning embers and fire them up to create a world of endless possibilities.