What do you want to do?

So, you are in a new place. The world lies open. Time to pick your chances and find opportunities to work, learn or volunteer. Some tips from experienced global professionals might be worth sharing: A pile of plans. Having a plan A is good. Having a plan B is even better. And having a plan C and an excess amount of uncertainty tolerance is an absolute must! For sure learning the language, building your network and staying open for opportunities is a given. Never say no to an invitation! You might not find the person asking you to join for a coffee to be your next potentially super close friend. But you might be in for a surprise. Maybe this new person has other friends that could help you on your path. Maybe he contains more than you initially see. And maybe - just maybe - you will learn something valuable from that 'unusual suspect.'One of the many wonders of expat life: Shoe size, nationality, background, age does not really matter. We share and learn from each other and often just a brief encounter can change the scope and dreams for the life that we all share.This is turning quite philosophical and so be it. here we are is a network inspired by existential philosophy. We think we can learn a lot from the old guys ;)…Trust is not of our own making; it is given. Our life is so constituted that it cannot be lived except as one person lays him or herself open to another person and puts him or herself into that person’s hands either by showing or claiming trust.By our very attitude to another we help to shape that person’s world. By our attitude to the other person we help to determine the scope and hue of his or her world; we make it large or small, bright or drab, rich or dull, threatening or secure. We help to shape his or her world not by theories and views but by our very attitude towards him or her.Herein lies the unarticulated and one might say anonymous demand that we take care of the life which trust has placed in our hands.This was said by the Danish philosopher K.E. Loegstrup in his book, The Ethical Demand from 1956…Think of it. Attitude matters. One single (kind) action can change a person's life.We all have memories of persons that somehow or the other impacted our way of seeing things or our understanding of life as a whole.We look forward to share the personal encounters that help shape professional development paths. Who knows, maybe you will get additions to your pile of plans - or choose to scrap some of them in exchange for something much more exciting. Jannie Aasted Skov-Hansen is a Global HR professional and the founder of here we are.