0:00
If anyone is planning to move to Portugal right now, what is your oneline advice?
0:05
Plan ahead. Plan ahead because like I said, everything takes longer, especially today, and lower your
0:11
expectations in terms of timing when you're going to get things done. It's
0:16
funny to say because I'm Lebanese and moving to Lebanon was a culture shock for me, but I think as you said, because
0:23
I grew up in Europe, I'm still very Europe like I have a European mentality in so many ways. I always tell people
0:30
that I am too European for the Middle East, but I'm maybe a little bit too Arab for Europe. So that's why Portugal
0:36
works well for me. It's very similar to who I am. Or southern Europe, you know, Italy, Greece, Portugal, these countries
0:43
speak more to my soul. I would say in whatever you do, just make sure that your heart is in it. Whether it's a
0:50
move, whether it's a relationship, whether it's a job, no matter what, don't listen to anyone. You can take
0:57
advice. You can listen, but the decision must be your own. And if your heart is
1:02
not in it, don't do it. That's the best advice I can give. Today's episode is all about identity
1:08
shifts, inner growth, culture shock, and reinvention. The guest is someone whose journey combines international
1:14
journalism, transformation, spiritual alignment, and relocation. Formerly a nuclear energy correspondent and
1:21
journalist, now a human design reader, energy and crystal healer, currently living in Portugal after years of living
1:27
and working all over the globe, including France, Lebanon, and the Emirates. In this episode, we'll explore
1:33
not just where she's from and where she lives, but also how she evolved and how
1:39
that can inspire or help other experts. Today on Expert Experts, Khalen Mle.
1:45
Let's start.
Guest Background, Expat Journey, and Challenges
1:54
So, Khalen, welcome to Expert Experts. It's um I'm very happy to have you here.
1:59
It's a pleasure. Thank you. I'm very happy to be here. Thank you so much. Maybe we can start a little bit from the beginning. Where are you from? What
2:06
brought you abroad in the first time? Because I know that you started pretty early in life, let's say like this. So,
2:11
let's start from the beginning. Yes. So from the beginning in a nutshell, I was actually born uh in
2:16
London. I'm originally Lebanese uh but I've lived in Europe most of my life. So
2:22
born in London. I was there until I was 10. And then I moved to the south of France until I was 18. And then I went
2:28
back to London for university until I was about 24. And then I studied journalism, specialized in the Middle
2:34
East. So I moved to Beirut, which was familiar territory. I lived there for one year, which was an interesting
2:40
experience. when you're used to Europe, living in Lebanon is not very easy. Um,
2:45
and then I I moved to the UAE. I was in Dubai for 11 years. And then I moved
2:50
back to the south of France for a year and a half. And now I've been in Portugal for almost three years. So I've
2:55
been around quite a lot of back and forward. Yeah, definitely a lot.
3:00
Uh maybe why the moving uh especially like the first early years I suppose it's more family related than you doing
3:08
that until 18. Family related for sure. Definitely it was not my choice. I mean
3:13
it was a great experience definitely. Yes, that was family related. And then obviously back to London was for
3:19
university. And then because I specialized in the Middle East, I wanted to be a journalist in the Middle East
3:24
because I'm Lebanese originally and I have extended family in Lebanon. I thought start in, you know, familiar
3:29
territory. So I tried that. It was too chaotic for me. And then I then decided
3:34
to move to the UAE because I felt especially in 2010 when I first moved there. I realized that if you want to
3:42
work anywhere in the Middle East and make good money or at least be financially independent, the only place
3:47
that's stable and where you will have, you know, a good income at least was the UAE at the time. So that's why I lived
3:55
there. But then, you know, I spent 11 wonderful years there. It was great. But I experienced co there as well, which
4:02
was a bit difficult. And that kind of fasttracked my missing nature again. I
4:07
missed my parks. I missed all the greenery I grew up around. And so I decided to then move back to the south
4:14
of France where my family is based. But again, when you're there at 18 and when you're there at 36, it's two very
4:20
different experiences. And it was good as a transitory point because it was, you know, back home
4:27
quote unquote in a way. But then I visited Portugal because I had a residency here and I had to come here
4:32
for seven days per year and it was my first time visiting and I fell in love with it and I just decided to move here.
4:41
Okay. Yeah. In a nutshell. Interesting. And in Dubai you were still working as a
4:47
journalist. I know that you did a pretty enormous career shift. So I was also wanted to place it in there. So you were
4:55
a journalist specialized in Middle East. Exactly. Come in in which kind of journalist?
5:00
So I worked for eight years at a newspaper in the UAE. Um the last five of those I I wrote anything that had to
5:08
do with diplomacy, security, defense, and nuclear energy. And then after, yeah, it's very very different to what I
5:14
do today. But it was a great experience. I mean, I definitely have that side of me that loves these things. But I mean,
5:20
it was a good experience. It allowed me to travel a lot. I was exposed to so many things. It was wonderful. I achieved what I wanted to achieve there.
5:27
And then 18, two years before COVID, I decided to start freelancing. I felt
5:32
like I had reached the ceiling at the newspaper and that you know the next step for me was to freelance and it was
5:38
the best decision I ever took because that allowed me to then live anywhere I wanted to live you see and so that's
5:45
what allowed me to then move back to Europe. I'm still a resident in the UAE.
5:50
So I still go and come back and I'm still a freelance journalist. I still work in that field. But that has allowed
5:57
me to be based, you know, I am of course between the UAE and Portugal, but I would say most of my time is spent in
6:03
Portugal by choice. Uh but it's a blessing when you work for yourself in a way because then you can live wherever
6:09
you want, you know. So absolutely. So yeah, the location independence it's Yes. came with the freelancing, let's say,
6:15
like it normally comes with it. Exactly. Exactly.
6:21
Maybe the the biggest question that I had until now is just like when does this shift of mentality it was pre-COVID
6:28
so a lot of people had this mentality. Yes. My god. So when co happened I was like okay I'm used to working from home.
6:36
I've been doing it for two years. I mean I used to go to cafes as well but still it wasn't a shock to me. I had already
6:41
had my you know you don't stay in pajamas all day long. You get up and you shower and you get dressed. I had been
6:47
doing that for already two years. So it was great and I think that that came
6:52
because like I said I felt I hit a ceiling uh at the newspaper as a journalist as a reporter. If you want to
6:59
keep growing in a newspaper you have to literally change jobs. I would have had to become an editor and I didn't want to
7:06
be an editor. I loved you know working on the ground and being this journalist that goes around and and discovers so
7:12
many interesting things. And so I just realized that okay, in order for me to maybe move to the not the next level,
7:18
freelance worked great because you can work for so many different organizations, newspapers, any anything
7:24
really. So you never really get bored and you still learn so much. So and you have the flexibility which was huge for
7:30
me. So yeah. Did did you had any moment where you said okay I'm I'm not leaving like
7:37
Lebanon in France like I will be living here forever or it was always like inside of you to say yeah I'm I'm moving
7:44
all the time. No no no I was married uh when I was in Dubai and so you know my ex-husband
7:50
lives there and so I thought really that I would build a family there and and all
7:56
of that. I I would have liked to eventually come back to Europe but I didn't think of it. Obviously my priority was my marriage back then and
8:02
then and then we divorced amicably and so I decided okay well now I can leave
8:08
now I can leave because I don't have anything really tying me down here you know what I mean it was a blessing in
8:14
that sense because I really followed my heart which was to come back to Europe I always wanted to come back to Europe my
8:20
my foundation my first 24 years were here so I am still very European in the
8:26
way I am you know this also interesting because you touch like places that are culturally very
8:32
different but at the end you also have it on your core. So at the end you come from a family that is from Lebanon. So
8:38
at the end going to Lebanon I suppose it it was surprising but it was not super
8:44
strange either. Yes. How was this whole transitions and these challenges of moving to new cultures?
8:49
I mean my parents left Lebanon in the 70s. So they really, you know, they were
8:55
surprised that I would go back there, but obviously I went there for a specific reason because I wanted to
9:00
start off in the Middle East and it felt more comfortable there. It was, it's funny to say because I'm Lebanese and
9:07
moving to Lebanon was a culture shock for me, but I think as you said, because I grew up in Europe, I'm still very
9:13
Europe, like I have a European mentality in so many ways. I always tell people
9:19
that I am too European for the Middle East, but I'm maybe a little bit too Arab for Europe. So that's why Portugal
9:24
works well for me. It's very similar to who I am. Or southern Europe, you know, Italy, Greece, Portugal, these countries
9:32
speak more to my soul, I would say. So it was a culture shock. I mean, namely because Arabic is my third language. You
9:38
know, French and English are my first and second. Arabic is my third. So in Lebanon, I was actually treated like a
9:44
foreigner. anywhere I live, I'm treated like a foreigner. So in the end, you
9:50
just believe and understand that, you know, I used to believe like I belonged nowhere and a friend of mine changed my
9:56
perspective once and it really stayed with me and he told me, you actually belong everywhere, which I thought was a wonderful thing and and now I just see
10:02
it that way. I talk about this with a with multiple guests and at the end like a lot of people has this cultural shock
10:08
the reverse cultural shock when you go back go back home and this is kind of common also like the world evolve you
10:14
evolve everything changes everyone changes even the people back home and every country that you touch
10:20
builds upon your your way of doing curious of course when does it come the whole entering the
10:27
world of energy work human design the whole more spiritual not coming from the
10:32
I went from science nuclear energy to human energy. Yeah. Wow.
10:38
This feels crazy. I mean, I started doing energy healing as a client about
10:44
10 years ago. I encountered an energy healer. I was a bit, you know, interested in it and so I started, you
10:50
know, doing like sessions with her and it started to make me feel better and it's, you know, I I my life started to
10:57
change in really positive ways. Of course, it's not to say it's it's a it's a super easy journey. No, but the result
11:04
is definitely worth it. And and I started I was creating, you know, this life that I actually really wanted more
11:10
and more and more. And so that led me to start, you know, diving into other
11:16
things that started to make me feel good like meditation, like yoga, different
11:22
practices that I started, you know, diving into and discovering, oh, this is interesting. Um and then of course when
11:29
I was married you know I had before I divorced it was it was a difficult time for me and and also we got married maybe
11:37
six months before co so it was a very like bam you know very uh harsh abrupt
11:43
awakening in that sense but so in these cases you have two choices you either go
11:49
completely nuts or you really go inwards and and you find out how you are going
11:54
to solve this issue you No, because ultimately only you are able to and you only you are responsible for for your
12:01
own well-being and sanity. So I really focused on that and slowly but surely I
12:07
started becoming guided to what you know is called human design which I studied
12:12
in the end and I'm a reader and a coach in that today and and it's basically a system that tells you who you are
12:18
consciously and unconsciously at birth and I just realized that I was helped so much 10 years ago when I was a bit lost
12:24
in my life and that if I can do that for someone else then that's you know my job here is done really. So that's how it
12:30
led to that in that sense. What what about the differences between doing a job
12:37
structured in the sense of like also probably more much more accepted one than the other also or more socially
12:46
seen definitely. Um does it affect you? I mean you're combining both so you're touching both.
12:51
I feel I feel I mean what's interesting is that now I'm actually combining both
12:57
in a job that I'm doing with someone very dear to me and I'm actually working with words in her spiritual courses. I
13:05
am editing and I'm writing things for her spiritual courses which I think what this is perfect because it blends both
13:11
worlds of mine but it's true. I feel like spirituality and anything related to that field of well-being it's still
13:18
quite naent in the world today. It's still quite young. I feel like a lot of people think it's all a bit of like woo
13:25
woo and like la mystical stuff and journalism is basically the opposite.
13:30
It's facts. It's logical. It's information, you know? And I just feel like as human beings, we are all a bunch
13:36
of contradictions. And that's what makes us so interesting, right? And I feel that for me I have these two
13:43
contradictions in me where I love everything that's logical and fact-based and source based you know but I also
13:49
love this mystical world and I find truth in both of these I find that the
13:54
reason I actually went into journalism was that I wanted to give a voice to people who needed help who wanted to
14:00
have a platform so in a way it was a way of helping people that's why I got into it and so spirituality is another way of
14:07
helping people in the sense that I'm here to help whether it's through words or whether it's through energy, you know
14:13
what I mean? So yes, like you said, it's not very common. It is gaining momentum. I think
14:19
Portugal is also a place that's very in Europe at least, it's the most open to that stuff. It attracts a lot of people
14:25
in that. And I think that we will see over the years and the decades to come that this is actually going to boom. I
14:31
feel you feel that in Portugal they have like more like a mindset that it's getting
14:36
close to it or I wouldn't say necessarily the Portuguese per se but definitely the
14:43
country and the people it's attracted it's definitely it's I mean we always call Portugal you know the tech hub of
14:50
Europe today and the well-being hub of Europe as well. It's attracted a lot of people who work in this field because
14:56
the lifestyle is very similar to what you know I don't want to say these kind of people are alike because I'm kind of
15:02
one of them but I I feel like I don't really fit in a box but it is true that living here is a very you know it's a
15:10
very nice and easygoing lifestyle. It's not like London or Dubai where or New
15:15
York where it's extremely fastpaced. That's that's not necessarily going to go very well with you know I would say
15:22
that lifestyle you know what I mean? Yeah. So there is a little bit more of like relaxation in the sense of like
15:28
living it yes calmer and that also allows probably to the introspection a little bit
15:34
I think so too. Most most of southern Europe is into this laidback atmosphere
15:39
but I think here it has attracted people who work in this field. So it's definitely on the agenda here I feel.
15:45
Yes. We already entered into Portugal. So maybe I would say we jump directly to
Life as an Expat: Fast Reply Questions
15:52
the first reply round. I will ask you the same questions that I ask every guest and then you can explain from your
16:00
own own experience. Of course that is always from you and what is your experience in Portugal so far? Yes, of course.
16:05
The first question that I have it's cultural adjustment like the thing that took you a while to adapt uh when you
16:11
arrived to Yeah. Portugal. I would say even though in Lisbon you don't need it as much. Um the
16:17
language barrier because French, Arabic, English, fine, but Portuguese this is a
16:24
whole other ball game. This is a whole other ball game. I even studied German in school. So I'm not I was nowhere near
16:31
Portuguese, you know. It's not like I studied Spanish. But yeah, that I would say was the biggest difficulty when
16:36
setting up my my apartment. You know, water, electricity, government things that they don't speak English. So that
16:42
was difficult. I would say that was the cultural adjustment mainly social life. How do you meet friends in
16:48
Lisbon? How do you So I only knew two people when I first moved here through my sister and they
16:55
introduced me to so many people and that introduced me to so many people and also
17:00
apps. Believe it or not, Bumble has a BFF option and two of my really close
17:05
friends today. I met them on Bumble BFF. They are very close to I mean, one of them keeps my cats until today when I
17:12
travel. And and people are just really warm and open here because a lot of people like my age and who live here and
17:19
who are not Portuguese in that sense, they're a bit in the same boat. So, they're very open to meeting new people.
17:25
Yeah. You touch the next one a little bit, but the language. Mhm.
17:30
I mean, I suppose in Lisbon you can get a little bit more around with English. Yes, you can definitely get by.
17:35
You need to learn Portuguese. You don't need to if you don't want to, but I would say I mean I
17:41
now live half an hour outside of Lisbon by choice because Lisbon was getting too busy for me and I all my neighbors are
17:48
Portuguese and and I love that. This is what I wanted. But if you do choose to live outside then I would say Portuguese
17:55
is more needed definitely. If you go more even more to the countryside definitely. But you know you can you
18:02
know use apps to learn as well. You have local classes and schools everywhere. But in the cities, Porto, Lisbon, mainly
18:10
English is fine. Now the tricky one always cost of living. Cost of living.
18:16
I don't know how it is expensive to live. Lisbon is becoming expensive. I suppose what is cheap, what is expensive
18:21
in the city. Incredibly expensive. I was I'm shocked compar I mean and I've only been here for almost 3 years and already in 3
18:28
years I've seen the change. I would say what is the most expensive here is rent. Rent for me is, to be honest, comparable
18:35
to the south of France, which is crazy, you know, like you can find like a
18:40
one-bedroom apartment now for maybe 1,500 or €2,000 a month, which is crazy.
18:47
Like this was never the case here. This, you know, you would pay maybe 500 before, like a long time ago, you know.
18:53
So rent is very expensive, but the good thing is that food and transport are still cheap, so that helps. Bills are
18:59
not as expensive, I would say. So it kind of balances out. But yes, I feel like life in general everywhere in the
19:05
world because of inflation amongst other things is more expensive. But it's just that yes, the cost of living in terms of
19:11
rent is the highest. I think the topic uh already next one is finding a home. How do you find
19:17
apartments right now? What is the hardest part of the process? I would say I mean the so first the best
19:23
way to find apartments is there are two apps that people usually use. I mean, one of them they're basically basically
19:29
websites, but one of them has an app that I know. One of them is called Eid Alishista and the other one is Ox and
19:36
these are the best ways to find I mean for me is how I found my places. Um the hardest part I would say today is
19:44
definitely demand in Lisbon especially and even in Porto because so many people
19:49
have moved here and are still moving here. Definitely.
19:55
So you you might visit apartments with uh 300 other people at the same time
20:00
this kind of stuff. Yes, exactly. It's sounds like a lot of cities. Yes, I hear this in Dubai today. Even in
20:07
the south of France, I'm hearing a lot of people are moving. So you have a lot of this a bit everywhere. I think also in the world there's an overpopulation.
20:14
We are too many people, you know. Yeah. Um, you touched a little bit that one
20:21
and you said that you're living around Portuguese people now or all your neighbors are Portuguese. The next one
20:27
that I have, it's living like a local. Let's say the the one thing that you need to do to blend into into the
20:33
Portuguese life. I will tell you this. I mean, because also I look Portuguese. The Lebanese and the Portuguese, we look the same.
20:38
Everyone thinks I'm Portuguese here. So, the best thing is anytime you speak with a local, just try at least to speak in
20:45
Portuguese in the beginning. like really just the basics, you know, bombia, briada, things like that. Like they will
20:51
appreciate so much the fact that you even try because they're kind of getting invaded by foreigners also. So trying
20:58
shows that you're trying to assimilate in the culture and also visiting like local local tabernas like you know these
21:05
little Portuguese restaurants that have amazing octopus and fish and like wine and all of that stuff. Really just like
21:11
avoid touristy restaurants. There are so many of those today as well. I mean I have a list of restaurants which I know
21:17
are are very local but I would say definitely try to speak the language and try to visit local restaurants.
21:24
Sounds familiar. I mean for me who I lived in Greece I'm sure for some years.
21:29
Right. It's the same are always the connection. Exactly. That's your way in.
21:35
Next one I have I don't know if you have a lot of contact with the work life and work culture in Portugal right now but
21:42
maybe from context that you know how is the work I know because of course I have Portuguese friends and and I see also
21:48
how it is here in terms of like the work life balance it's very relaxed definitely but I would say that salaries
21:56
can be very low here you know I I find this a huge discrepancy in the rent
22:02
prices and the salaries that Portuguese people get paid. It is just mindboggling
22:07
to me. But otherwise, the work life balance is still very relaxed. The Portuguese enjoy their life. I mean, you
22:13
know, we had a power outage here a few months ago and everyone just went outside in the park and they were
22:18
drinking wine like no one was stressing out, you know. So, yeah, that's more what the life is around here, you know.
22:26
Cool. Yeah. Next one that I have is getting around. You touched that it was cheap the
22:32
transportation but how do you move around like you you use car you use the metro public system
22:38
so when I lived in Lisbon walking everywhere metro trams trains all these
22:43
things were great at least in my experience even buses like wonderful I had such a good experience with the
22:48
train excuse me and the and the metro in Lisbon you can also get like a monthly pass or you know when you're in Lisbon
22:55
now because I live outside I got a car I'm half an hour from the city but I find that Even when I did live in
23:01
Lisbon, I would rent a car every weekend or once every two weeks to go out and discover because Portugal is such a
23:07
small country, but so you can go see so many things very quickly. So that's what I would say. Public
23:13
transport is is good, at least in my experience. But if you're out and quite far from a city, I would recommend the
23:19
car so you have your freedom to move around. Makes sense. Yeah. The ninth question that I have, it's
23:26
healthcare. How does the system work? It's easy to access. is good quality. Yes, I would say that yes, the doctors
23:33
are good here. Definitely. From what I've experienced, the doctors, the dentists, they're very good. It's just
23:39
that the public system, I mean, it's good, but it's just a bit slow, you know, booking appointments. Even in
23:45
private clinics sometime, it depends on the time of the year. I would say August is the best time because all everyone
23:50
leaves. So, that's the time to book cuz then you'll get an appointment really fast. But, you do have some like long
23:56
waiting times for appointments depending on the place. But I would say don't expect punctuality here. Okay. But I'm
24:03
Arab so it's fine for me in general. Not just for that but in general. Yeah. But it's still it's still good. Like you
24:10
know there's a lot of doctors. There's it's not like you're not in a developing country either. And next one. Normally it's always the
24:17
one that everyone complains. It's bureaucracy. Yeah. This is dealing with paperwork,
24:22
visas, permits. I will say because I moved to Dubai in 2010 when nothing was digital back then.
24:30
I have been really prim for whatever it is here in Portugal. I I'm immune now to
24:36
like slow bureaucratic systems. I mean living in France to be honest. The
24:41
French are quick but if they don't want to be they won't you and and they love paperwork. So it's very different but here I would say bureaucracy yes it's
24:49
slow and so I would say as much as possible start everything early as early
24:54
as possible because it really is it takes a lot of time a lot. Yeah there's
25:00
no way around it. I mean you you can pay companies who will do it for you if you have the funds but yeah otherwise
25:06
patience is your virtue like majority of places with bureaucracy. Exactly. Nowadays it's crazy.
25:12
Exactly. Tell me one country where this is not an issue. I don't remember any guess so far said
25:19
no I think Netherlands one person said true true the more you the more up north you go the the better it is I think
25:25
because there's less sun so there's more time to do these things four years in Germany and I wouldn't say
25:30
that the bureaucracy there is good oh wow and you would think right with the Germans that it would be I guess
25:35
it's just a a lot of perception yeah exactly crazy next one that I have is the best and the
25:42
worst thing about living in in Lisbon or Portugal. Best thing about living here, the
25:48
lifestyle, the people, the weather, the food that's grown here. Worst thing is
25:54
the bureaucracy. The slow, slow paperwork bureaucracy. That's the only thing I would say. Definitely.
26:00
All right. And the last one that I have, it's the top tip. If anyone is planning to move to Portugal right now, what is
26:07
your oneline advice? Plan ahead. Plan ahead because like I said, everything takes longer,
26:12
especially today. and lower your expectations in terms of timing when
26:18
you're going to get things done. Really plan ahead and have a very long fuse of patience. That's the best thing.
26:26
So, a lot of patience. A lot of patience. Cool. Yeah, Galina, I will say we jump
The Cultural Mini-Game
26:33
directly to to the next section. I prepared this mini game
26:38
which I called which country match the energy. Basically, I would give you energies,
26:44
personality traits. Um, a little bit like a one sentence and you can tell me from the countries that you lived in or
26:51
that you travel to, what country matches more that style. Maybe I start with the
26:56
four human design energy types because that's the the the base of what you're doing.
27:02
The country that feels more like a manifestator, a manifesttor. Yeah. Sorry.
27:09
No, it's okay. It's okay. Manifestate. Ah, that's such a good question. I love that. Definitely Dubai.
27:15
Definitely Dubai because it's the one that is the go-getter. It just doesn't need anyone and nothing but its own
27:20
drive. Makes sense. Generator energy. Generator energy. I would say definitely
27:26
Portugal. It like takes time for the energy to build, but when it goes, it's
27:31
off. Makes sense. Projector. Projector. That's a good one. Projector,
27:39
I would say. Hm. Lebanon because projectors are big visionaries and I
27:45
would say that the Lebanese are big visionaries because unfortunately they live in such an unstable place that they
27:50
have to come up with so much innovation and I think that they have this like third eye in that sense. So they're good
27:58
for that for sure. Interesting. Last one of the human design energies is the reflector energy.
28:05
The reflector definitely. Well, you have reflector and you have manifesting generator, which is the combination of
28:10
the two. The medium. Yes. But so reflector, I mean, yeah, actually, it's perfect the way it worked
28:16
out because I would say London would be a good reflector because it's such a melting pot of so many different
28:23
nationalities and reflectors kind of reflect the world and the environment around them. So, I would say London
28:28
would be great at that for sure, the UK. And then if we are at the last one, the manifesting generator, it will have to
28:34
be the south of France in this case because it has both energies actually. Wow, this is amazing how you did that.
28:40
It's really it has both energies. Like the generator in winter, the south of France is very, you know, stable and
28:47
generates, you know, energy slow, but then like in the summer it's that
28:52
manifesting energy and it just goes and there are parties everywhere and so many people and it's crazy. So yeah, that's
28:58
definitely it. So, you touch five countries, five. Yes. Amazing. I
29:04
I wasn't planning that. I know. But I'm telling you, we didn't talk about this before. It's amazing how it worked out. It was
29:10
meant to be that way. I prepared a couple of more generic ones outside of the energies of F human
29:16
design. These are more like the best country for let's say like this um or the countries that for you reflected a
29:22
little bit more that one. First one that I have in this section would be the best country for grounding.
29:28
That's great. It depends how old you are, but I will say obviously I'm going to use how old I am today, but I would
29:33
say the best country for grounding for me definitely Portugal. Definitely Portugal. It provides everything that
29:40
you would need to be grounded. Best country for reinvention. That's a good one. Although I will say
29:45
Portugal again, but I will say something else cuz it can be anywhere. But I would say let's say Dubai for that. It has to
29:51
be the ones I've lived in, right? Obviously. I mean if you know any other one because of any reason I have more experience with these
29:58
countries. So let's say reinvention actually definitely Dubai because it also provides you all of these tools to
30:04
reinvent yourself so many times and it's a it's a city also that has reinvented
30:09
itself so many times in such beautiful ways. Best country for creativity London. UK I mean I say UK but I
30:16
specifically mean London. I mean creativity it's the it's the name of the game there you know like you cannot find
30:23
a more eclectic place than London that will generate that makes sense a lot of pot of things going
30:30
everything I grew up with punks in the '9s it was amazing to watch that
30:35
love yes me too best country for emotional clarity
30:41
emotional clarity I would say I would say the south of France I mean because I mean you have so many beautiful
30:47
mountains, the Alps, which you also have in Italy in the north. And for me, these mountains have provided a lot of
30:54
clarity. Like you just go, you perch yourself up there on your own or you go do hikes and you get lost in nature and
31:00
that just does the whole job for you. It's lovely. I have two more. The next
31:06
one is best country for career breakthroughs. Wow. It depends what industry you're in,
31:11
but I would say I mean country for a career, but I think I would also stick
31:17
with the UAE, you know, the United Arab Emirates like there's a lot in Dubai and Abu Dhabi like you can do a lot there
31:24
definitely and I would say it gives a lot of opportunities for younger people in today's world that we live in
31:30
especially. And the last one that I have is best country for healing after a life transition. I mean, for me, this is
31:37
definitely a personal experience. It's it's definitely Lebanon. It's a combination of Lebanon and Portugal, but
31:44
Lebanon, if you don't live there, for me it's a very healing country because it also has I mean, my favorite food, but
31:50
it also has these incredible mountains as well. And because, you know, I think my roots are from there, it's a personal
31:57
thing where I feel like I'm being held by literally my mother, you know. So, I feel like it's um it's a beautiful
32:03
thing. Some kind of connection. Exactly. But it's not only Okay. Exactly. Nice. So before we wrap up the whole
Guest Promotion
32:09
episode, Alen, I want to leave you a little bit of space, let's say, to talk about develop a little bit what we
32:15
already talked about. What are you working on? What are the current projects that you are doing in I don't know anything that you're doing
32:22
right now, but also also for example where my listeners can find your your
32:27
work and what where they can get in contact with you if they are interested in. Definitely. Yeah. So what I mainly work
32:34
in I mean freelance journalism aside is human design as we mentioned which is a
32:39
a tool you know it's a blend of science and spirituality together and it tells you who you were before you were
32:46
conditioned by the world basically. So it tells you your true nature when you were born and so it's very helpful
32:52
because that doesn't change. That's how you're meant to be when you were born. And so you kind of learn, you know, how
32:59
you've been conditioned in your life and how to get rid of that. Then, you know, instead of telling yourself or asking
33:04
yourself, is this me or is this, you know, my parents who told me to be this way or school or society, you will
33:11
actually know exactly what is you? And then you can work towards becoming that again. And when you do that, you start
33:18
to attract all these incredible things that are meant for you in this life and that you want. So basically based on
33:24
your time, date and place of birth, it generates a chart that I've learned how to read. And so I do these readings for
33:31
people which are an average between three and four hours, but I don't do them in one shot. I do them in 1 hour
33:36
sessions otherwise we will all get exhausted. Um 1 hour sessions. I record the audio. I do it either in person or
33:43
with Zoom. And I then I then send the audio to the person so that they can keep it for life because there's so much
33:49
information. So you know as you grow and you evolve you will start to understand things differently. Um and then some
33:54
people also choose to continue coaching based on human design. So it's very easy to know if there's a fork in you know in
34:02
the road in your life or a big decision or anxiety regarding something we can know exactly pretty much where it's
34:07
coming from and how to deal with it you know to bring you back to your nature. So that's one thing that that uh I also
34:13
do. And I'm also a crystal energy healer. So I use crystals to like you know realign people's chakras. So we
34:20
have all these energy centers in our body and sometimes if you have physical pain or discomfort what this helps to do
34:27
is that it helps to unblock that stuck energy or it helps to release anything that wants to be released. It helps you
34:33
to feel grounded and clear again. And this I also do in person here in Portugal but I can also do it virtually
34:40
online. So how it works is the person puts the camera, they sit where I see their body from head to toe, they send
34:47
me a picture of themselves on the day and I put the crystals on their photo and I use my pendulum to kind of help to
34:53
realign their energy centers basically. So in a nutshell that's everything I do. And to find me on Instagram is very
35:00
easy. My handle is khalen by nature and then I have a website khenby nature.com
35:07
and email humanesignbycalengmail.com. But I would say Instagram is the easiest
35:12
way to do it. I mean, as always, uh, for the listeners, the links will be in the
35:17
description of the episode. So, if you're interested, you can get it there. I actually have questions because I'm
35:24
zero into this world. So, like I No, it's just like it's curious because I
35:29
had interviewed like the first episode of this new season. Yeah. Um, which is an episode that it should
35:35
be already released when this goes live. A season an astrologer. An astrologer. Yes.
35:40
Analyzes astrology. There is astrology in human design as well.
35:45
She was talking about the birth charts that they do with astrology and how this
35:51
ones changes depending on the when you move to a new country. Yes,
35:57
that's is it similar? The only thing that's similar is that there is some astrology in human design
36:03
but that's the only similarity. Astrology basically tells you the movements of the planets and how it
36:09
affects you when you move. For example, that's more like astroctography, which I also love. But what I do in human design
36:16
is that it tells you pretty much how the planets were placed, let's say, and the
36:21
stars were aligned the moment you were born. The moment you were born, that's what determines your conscious
36:28
personality. And three months before you were born, your unconscious was formed from what you took from your parents and
36:34
your grandparents. That's at least in human design how we work. So human design, it's basically it combines a lot
36:40
of old wisdom traditions. So the Hindu chakra system, there's the Cabala tree
36:45
of life, there's some science, there's Iching. Iching is ancient Chinese mathematics that were used to better
36:52
understand human nature. There's also astrology, there's human genetic coding, there's science. It's very very
36:59
intricate and all of these systems come together to speak the same language basically. I mean astrology is also
37:05
fascinating. It's just that it's a slightly different practice in that sense.
37:11
And when you have this chart like you do these threeour sessions in one hour each
37:16
you end having these recordings that it like kind of categorizes you a little bit on
37:22
Exactly. what is your nature. Exactly. It tells you, you know, the energy you were born with. Like we
37:28
discussed all the ones that we mentioned, these are energy types. So, it will tell you that. It will tell you
37:33
how to take your best decisions in life. Like a lot of times, people think that it's by using your head because everyone
37:39
told us to think about it. But in reality, there's nothing to think about. We have these very intelligent organs in
37:45
our body and they speak to us at every second of every day. And human design will tell you which one is your wisest
37:50
one for you, you know, and so how to take your decision based on that because it's very different. Some people decide
37:56
instantly. Others have to wait. It's not the same for everyone. So that's another
38:01
way of doing it. It also goes into your DNA of telling you literally it's so detailed. It tells you like so many
38:07
detailed things about your personality and consciously and unconsciously. It actually tells you what is conscious,
38:13
what is unconscious. It tells you your life purpose, how to best eat, how you take in life, how you take in
38:19
information. Like it literally, it's like a scan, your blueprint of your whole like physical vessel basically.
38:29
Thanks for the clarity. My pleasure. Yes, I describe it as a journalist. Great. I mean, combine again.
Wrap-up & Final Thoughts
38:35
Exactly. Um, Khalen, thank you. Thank you so much for sharing your story, your
38:41
transformation. Thank you. The whole uh like also the work that you are doing again for the listeners who
38:47
are interested you know in the description there will be the links to everything Instagram website everything
38:54
maybe if you have any last uh I don't know message for the listeners that you
38:59
want to share I can give you a couple of minutes more thank you anyone who who who wants to move abroad
39:06
for example and it's looking for inner peace or like finding alignment I mean yeah I you know what we can
39:12
combine both and say like life advice like the life tip the best life tip at least in my 40 years on this earth what
39:18
I will tell you is in whatever you do just make sure that your heart is in it
39:25
whether it's a move whether it's a relationship whether it's a job no matter what don't listen to anyone you
39:33
can take advice you can listen but the decision must be your own and if your
39:38
heart is not in it don't do it that's the best advice I can give lovely amazing way of closing the
39:44
episode of today. Thanks. Thanks a lot again for for being here. Thank you Mark. It was lovely to meet
39:49
you. And for all the listeners as always and don't forget to subscribe, give a little bit of love also to to the Instagrams
39:56
and social media of Khalen, not only of Expert Experts. Until next time, keep exploring. Stay curious and see you in
40:02
the next episode of Expert Expert. Thank you.