[WORKSHOP] Relocation as Rite of Passage: Between Loss and Rebirth

Relocation promises higher education, professional fulfilment, the freedom of remote work and travel. Yet over time, feelings of emptiness, loneliness, and sadness often emerge, and they spare no one. This time of transformation marks both an ending and a beginning. We don’t know what lies ahead, but we continue moving forward, one uncertain step at a time.

One thing is certain, no one prepared you for this, but your experiences and feelings are valid. You are not broken. You are going through something real, a transformation from one version of yourself to another. Hidden emotions, shame, guilt, and confusion isolate us from understanding the inner changes unfolding within. It is tough, you doubt yourself and question your choices. You want to fix something. But what if this disorientation isn’t something to fix? What if it’s a passage to honour? A symbolic death that leads to rebirth?

This isn’t a networking event nor “tips for making friends abroad”. This is a space where you can finally say out loud that you have everything you wanted and feel lost. Nobody will tell you to be grateful or to think positively.

Instead, here is what we will do together:

Name what you really feel, and share experiences with people who tackle similar battles.
Understand what is happening to you. What stages of adaptation are you in? Understand why you feel this way. See that it’s temporary and it has an ending.
Meet people who understand what you are or were going through.
Create something practical, micro-rituals – simple things that help you feel more grounded and more yourself.

For whom is the workshop especially:

You miss home, but you’ve changed so much that home wouldn’t feel right either.
You can’t decide whether you should stay or go back.
You are fulfilling your dreams but feeling lost and misunderstood.
You have no one to talk to, honestly, about how you feel.

Who comes to this workshop:

People who relocated for work and miss their old life;
Digital nomads who are tired of making surface friendships;
Partners who moved for their spouse’s job;
People who returned home and found that it doesn’t feel like home anymore;
HR and People & Culture teams that work with international staff and want to understand them better.

Save your seat here: >> HERE <<

A few words from the facilitator, Sylwia Jankowska:

At 18, I moved to London full of dreams and excitement. Nobody warned me about the loneliness that follows the honeymoon phase, or the guilt of fulfilling my dreams but still feeling sad. I spent years trying to understand what was happening to me. I travelled solo, researched other women’s experiences in their inner journeys, trying to find words for it. When I decided to move back to Poland, I didn’t expect it to be so difficult. Coming back home was harder because I had changed, and Poland no longer felt like home. Only after years of adaptation, studying migration, and working with other migrants, I finally found a way to define this experience on my own terms, and I believe I am not the only one navigating this path.

Now I run the workshops I wish existed when I needed them. A space where you can say, “I’m living my dream and I’m lonely”, and nobody thinks you’re ungrateful. Because it’s not a contradiction, it’s the truth. I studied Tourism and Events Management in London and Social Change and Migration in Warsaw and Taipei. My background includes event production, NGO work supporting migrants, fostering empathy and building cross-cultural bridges. I want to create space for shared experiences, collective grief, and rediscovering oneself in a new country, or upon returning home. I understand what you’re going through because I’ve been there.

Date and Time:

26th of November 2025, from 5:30 pm to 8:00 pm Amsterdam time

Registration: >> https://shorturl.at/BmvJT <<

To ensure a smooth experience for everyone, we kindly ask that you join us on time. Unfortunately, late arrivals will not be admitted.

Investment:

This workshop is completely free; however, we kindly request that you provide honest and constructive feedback at the end of the session. Please be aware that we will not offer a recording of this workshop.

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