4 years ago, I posted a photo from Saudi Arabia.

In this personal reflection, our CEO shares lessons learned from life on international project sites:

A construction container.

An exhausted project manager, surviving on coffee and adrenaline.

And a camel looking through the window.

At the time, I thought it was just another story from project life.

Today, I realize it captured something much bigger.

Because behind major industrial projects are people living a life that most people never see.

• 4:30 a.m. alarms.
• 14-hour workdays.
• 45-minute bus rides to the site.
• Windowless offices.
• Endless meetings.
• Pressure from every direction.
• Cold coffee.
• Dust.
• Heat.
• And the strange feeling of being physically present somewhere – while mentally living thousands of kilometers away with your family and friends.

People see the final chemical plant.

The successful startup.

The production numbers.

But nobody sees the expat eating noodles alone at 8 p.m. in a compound after another exhausting day.

Nobody sees the engineer missing birthdays, anniversaries, and normal life back home.

Nobody talks about the loneliness that often comes with international projects.

And yet, these projects also create something extraordinary.

• You learn humility.
• Adaptability.
• Patience.
• Resilience.

You learn how to work with people from different cultures, backgrounds, and mentalities.

And you realize something very important:

Projects are never only about engineering.

They're about people.

One sentence from my old post still captures it perfectly:

“Numbers and data explain a lot, but not everything.”

The real project status was often discussed:

• In smoking areas.
• During bus rides.
• Over late-night coffees.
• In 5 honest minutes between two exhausted colleagues.

Not in PowerPoint presentations.

Looking back after 4 years, I can honestly say:

Working abroad as an expat changes you.

Not only as a project manager, engineer, technician, operator, supervisor, specialist, project lead, or worker – it changes you as a person.

Because international projects do not only build plants.

They build people.

That’s why people from challenging projects often reconnect years later – across different companies, countries, and roles.

Not because the projects were easy.

Often, exactly the opposite.

But because pressure reveals something very valuable:

• Who stays calm.
• Who takes responsibility.
• Who supports others.
• Who can truly be trusted when things become difficult.

Industrial projects are temporary.

But the trust built inside them often is not.

And yes, I still remember that camel looking into my office container as if he understood the “madness of project life” better than we did. 😉