A short story about my first international travel experience as a professional:

We always have our first time doing something, like this blog post, it’s my first one.

I came from a small town in the center of Brazil called Silvânia (average population of 22,245). The market there is fundamentally dedicated to agriculture and livestock. I studied my entire childhood in a convent school (Mary Help of Christians Institute, aka: Instituto Maria Auxiliadora), where I am proud and have great memories. There, I had the opportunity to use a computer for the first time in my life. I didn’t imagine it, but that moment, that short space of time, changed the future of my life.

As you can imagine, I never became a farmer, I just realized that I really liked computers and that I would like to work with them someday.

Time passed, and I started my career as a graphic designer, worked and studied hard to finally have my first opportunity as a developer, soon after, I graduated in computer engineering.

It turns out that, in mid-2023, I was invited by my leader at FRN to take a short trip to Morocco and teach a series of classes on VTEX IO to a team at a company. The invitation was unexpected, I mean, I was a good developer, but I never imagined the possibility of leaving Brazil to work. Not because I wouldn’t like it, but I used to believe that this opportunity would be very remote. (Maybe at the end of my career?) I remember how anxious I was, the feeling that I wasn’t prepared, all my issues with the english language, cultural differences and everything you can imagine.

I decided to face it as a challenge and, before I knew it, I was on a plane heading to Morocco.

The trip was one of the most sublime experiences of my life, everything was totally different from what I thought: the people in Morocco welcomed me so well! They were extremely respectful and kind to me, from the airport until the end of the trip. My goal there was achieved and I will never forget the beauty of Rabat.

Conclusion

In a way, first attempts are special, they are unique, sometimes scary, probably filled with errors, but they also can be, surprisingly, a turning point in our lives.

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Acknowledgments

This post is a special thanks to:

• El Mehdi Mozouna from SQLI, the person responsible for coordinating my classes in Rabat, Morocco and for sharing with me the valuable advice that inspired this post.

• FRN³ Partners, especially Nathan Prestes who entrusted me the mission of managing an international training program.