your pain into something beautiful
it was three years ago I trusted one
person and I lost most of my savings
even though I had a contract it didn’t
matter
I didn’t tell my family and my friends
back home I wanted to see how I could
stand on my feet again I was going on
longer rides with my bicycle walking
four kilometers to save the money and
skipping dinner for many nice but there
was this one potato salad in the
Japanese supermarket next to Jing and
temple I was only able to serve it it
was expensive thirty Roman B I was that
broke but couple weeks later I get hurt
thirty Roman being made up of all coins
I was straight to the supermarket you
should have seen my face while I was
grabbing my potato salad it was gonna be
my dinner finally I went to the cashier
gave all my coins broke again I went
straight to my bicycle
put it in my bicycles basket carefully
and I started to cycle but it felt like
I was flying I was flying it I was
cycling so fast that I didn’t see the
bump on the road as I jumped saw did my
potato salad and fell down right in the
middle of the street I’m like no I was
going so fast that I couldn’t stop right
away
I pulled aside a bit further and I look
back Mike it’s still one piece I can
still eat it it was a busy street I was
on JAL Zulu close to voting were two
minutes away from my house I’m like I
need to get it I’m hungry and I walked
up to get the potato salad
I was girls clothes clothes getting
closer and I realized that there was a
car coming from the right with all the
lights on to warn me I step back
watching the car smashing my potato
salad all over the street Oh Mike ah I
stood back up I start to yell in Chinese
English Turkish gibberish I didn’t know
what I was saying it was just not making
sense but there is nothing to do now
you might ask me ever why do you do it
to yourself I went and sat down on the
pavement like that and I said Ephraim
like why do I do it to myself leaving
all the comfort behind and I’m
struggling why do we as experts people
who work abroad do it to ourselves
I’ll get back to that question later but
I have young audience here so I want to
tell you that to live abroad especially
in China there is some everyday
challenges right like that dialog you
take a cab
it’s a busy street it’s always busy in
Shanghai you’re so happy because you
know 20 other people were trying to get
that only cap that you’re in now and the
taxi driver goes like that
Nicci Nadia and you’re like I’m gonna do
it right I’m gonna do it right you say
why aren’t you Basu djalu I want to go
to Basu Yolo and then you look at the
taxi driver he seems confused he’s like
and then the word comes Shama I know so
you go all the photons sometimes it
works sometimes it doesn’t in my case
it’s still my problem but it’s not just
that that you only go through right
there is some serious more serious
challenges sacrifices that are to be
made but less spoken like these making
friends we feel alone among crowds we
see our parents on skype I have a friend
who does Skype with his baby and he’s
worried whether the baby believes that
he lives in the computer or not and when
you get sick it’s sometimes it’s hard to
tell the doctors what’s wrong with you
we have problems housing problems I’m
gonna tell you the story language
culture you miss your parents you miss
your family you miss the food of the
culture of your culture you know you get
lost all the time and the potato salad
story and if you you know there are some
people that they lose their blood ones
and they’re away and that’s so much pain
so there are 230 million experts around
the world going through similar problems
and nine hundred thousands are living in
Shanghai and 209,000 are in Shanghai now
China and Shanghai now as one of them
sitting on that pavement with the same
question why do I do it to myself at
that time I still didn’t have any
regrets of coming to Shanghai
why would I starving fine but being an
expert means new experiences new
challenges having a different
perspective feeling liberated learning
about new cultures new countries there
are new people new languages through
people having limitless opportunities
that’s why we do it now still on that
pavement I’m thinking I’m digging now
I’m saying that all right how can I
increase the advantages and decrease the
negative size I wanted to meet similar
minded people living close to me I
looked around there is so many
foreigners passing by without saying hi
to each other I said these are my people
we all go through similar problems yet
we feel alone it shouldn’t be this way I
said wait similar-minded people living
close to me here you go I wanted my
neighborhood connections here to see I’m
coming from a culture where neighborhood
bonds are very strong in Turkey torchy
you when you move into a new apartment
your neighbor is welcome you they bring
you food they offer help if needed I
said it’s time to trigger neighborhood
movement here in Shanghai with experts
to create a better world to start
knowing what’s happening around the city
starting from our neighborhood I believe
that when you have an idea
you shouldn’t just sit on it you have to
take massive action the next day I
started to approach people I literally
talking to people everywhere starting on
my floor in the elevator in my apartment
in the compound in the garden on the
street in the in the supermarket at the
traffic lights I was observing people
whether they were just passing by or
actually living there if I was seeing
them often and often I’m like okay so
these are my people I was going and
approaching them I was asking hey where
do you live
are you living around here and I got
amazing reactions some guys they said
why do you ask do you want to have a
dinner or something I’m like what wait
don’t get me wrong teeth
I just want to create this group and
guys in 90 days I got 90 people getting
together helping each other people found
their traveling buddies running buddies
roommates they moving to new apartment
together now close your eyes please
everybody and imagine you’re living in a
foreign country close your eyes
closer and you’re cycling on yours free
you see similar familiar faces you troll
smiles at each other you walk into your
favorite restaurant and the waiter says
hey welcome back great seeing you and
brings your your soup without asking he
knows and walking back home you run into
your neighbors and making plans for the
evening you’re living still in a foreign
country yet surrounded by amazing people
your support circles your neighborhood
connections no here we go house problems
right one day I was in my living room
watching a horror movie my friends
called horrible movie with my roommates
in a movie there was a guy breaking into
into an apartment and at that moment
actually there was somebody in our
apartment Oh
and moving in and then trying not
looking at us and just see that you
reach the like I turn it on and were
like dude who are you he said I’m the
Lord who are you
like hey you are not the landlord Bobby
is our landlord and what’s going on he
said Bobby is my tenant and where is he
we’re like we live here he’s not here
and he probably understood what was
happening and he said well as he’s not
living here I don’t know you I’m gonna
get the cops and I’m gonna get my
apartment back from you and then he left
like what just happened that’s not week
later it turned out that he was right
cops came and we learned that our
contracts it was not valid it couldn’t
get any worse right but it does we got
kicked out and lost our deposes but the
beautiful part was one couple from my
neighborhood connections they opened up
their house for me they gave me a room
they make me so comfortable they helped
me to carry my stuff I cross the street
I cook them Turkish food we had great
time isn’t it beautiful
now guys the important thing is at some
point my friends from different
districts they start to find me they
said Ephraim you know we want to join
I’m like you can it’s for Jin young
people for here and I said okay well
that’s bad and then I realized that what
I was doing was working it was solving a
problem and people value it I said I
can’t limit at Beijing on I have to
spread it to whole Shanghai I went on a
platform and soon expect neighbors was
born now soon after returnees Chinese
people who’ve been abroad studied work
and came back but mr. international
connections because of the reverse
culture they started to join us after
his business is global and neighboring
businesses they heard about us they
realized how important it is to be in
touch with their neighbors
and here you go neighborhood elements
were coming together all three we were
doing we were having amazing time and
now we are in 11 districts in Shanghai
with a unique community of 3,000 people
exploring their expat life through their
neighborhood connections we do district
in Aires we do a lot of things and this
is till now we hold 135 events and still
district dinner is people get together
they know each other people found their
ideas
there is one or two district denies
people started to exchange their
resources they found their people the
people that they can hang out with their
best friends we celebrated birthdays
Lily are you here we celebrated our
birthdays together people found business
connections business partners they even
found a business idea brainstorming in
our district dinners here we have Nick
Nick are you here
people found connections running buddies
traveling buddies cats cities they found
a working refrigerator to put their cake
in we found amazing things they found
second-hand scooters apartments with
better prices look at here picnics we
were having so good time living in a
foreign country still surrounded by
amazing people now when things got tough
people helped each other in September I
was driving my scooter going 30 with 30
I thought that I will be safe minutes
later I was up in the air a car came out
of blue hit me and I was flying flipping
and Lennon on the on the floor hit my
hat hard and I was dragged under the bus
huge evilest of a bus and got out alive
second chance but it was hard because
nobody came to help me there was a
circle but I felt horrible except a
foreigner who was just passing by he
helped me to call my friends my expert
neighbors one of the expert neighbors
ran to the hospital she was in the
ambulance holding my hand and helping me
to other expat neighbors ran to the
emergency service they brought me
chocolate ice cream Nutella amazing
combination for the emergency service
people called me they brought me flowers
and food it was amazing no here is the
thing
three years ago I was nobody
I came to Shanghai without knowing the
life the culture the people here all I
had was a suitcase in my hand and
knowing that my heart was looking for
something special
it was amazing to be out of your comfort
zone it’s great starting to learn
everything from scratch like a newborn
baby and through inspiration of
desperation you become more creative you
meet your neighbors and you expand your
whole network to the city it’s limitless
of what you can do from being nobody to
now standing on the stage which has been
inspiring me for long and being given
the chance to do the same was all
possible by taking massive action to
solve the problems to help our community
touch many lives to know our
neighborhoods or neighbors starting from
the neighborhood movement it’s limitless
of what you can do great opportunities
and through that time I’ve learned so
many lessons that I want to share three
of them with you one sometimes your
whole life boils down to one insane move
start all over again like be a complete
stranger in foreign lands the universe
will either catch you or show you why
you need to meet your neighbors – this
is differences hardships will trigger
your creativity you’ll explore your
hidden talents you’ll become stronger
you’ll find so many ideas instead of
complaining you’ll turn walls into doors
and connect with your neighbors don’t
hesitate to be the first one to say hi
to your neighbors your neighborhood
connections are one of the most powerful
form of knowledge value it it will
change your life and let me ask you with
3000 people when you have these kind of
relationships meaningful relationships
it turn turns your friends into family
members now I want to ask you if you
ever found yourself on that pavement
sitting on that pavement
knowing that your neighborhood
connections will be there for you
how will you turn your pain into
something beautiful
think about it thank you oh my god thank you