Stay in Braunschweig, Report by Sourojit Saha

Guten Tag! I am Sourojit Saha. I was in Germany from July 2019 to Dec 2019 as an exchange student under the JInGEL program. I take this opportunity to share with you my incredible experience in Germany.

I boarded my flight on the 1st of July. I was excited to explore the new environment.

The firsts are always special, and my first day was a day to remember. My flight landed at Frankfurt, from here I was to catch my train to Braunschweig. I had to change the train at around midnight, and my first train was running late. I was scared. It was my first day and missing my train at midnight in a country which was new to me, where people spoke a different language was enough to give me nightmares. I had 5 mins to deboard my train, change the platform, and board the next train. Fortunately, I was able to board the next train in the nick of time. It would not have been possible without the help of fellow passengers who helped me with all the possible scenarios that may occur and what I should do. One of them even offered to help me with my luggage. I reached my house at 4:00 am in the morning. The landlord was awake all night waiting for me. He showed me around the house, we had a little chat. He had prepared the bed for me. I was tired with all the travelling and so I dozed off.

The next day I met my supervisor, Benjamin. I was given a warm welcome. I was shown around in IWF and where I would work. There I made good friends with Yannick and Rishi. Going to the mensa for lunch was a good opportunity to bond with friends and exchange ideas. The system of mensa in Germany is very different from that in India. Whenever we were tired of working, we would take a coffee-break and go to the kitchen and hang out. I really miss this.

During my stay, I along with my other Indian friends were invited to visit the village of one of our friends. It is a beautiful village. I was invited by a friend to experience how the Germans party! It is very different from what I am used to, but I enjoyed it. My favorite pass time was to cycle around in Braunschweig.  Prinz-Albrecht-Park was my favorite place to go to. I visited various other places in and around Germany. I visited Berlin, Amsterdam, Brussels, Prague and Budapest. It was a nice experience to visit these places and get to know their history.

All in all, I enjoyed my stay in Germany. It has enriched my view of the world. I return home with a bag full of good memories. I thank JInGEL for giving me this incredible opportunity.