Shivering in Frankfurt, finding my feet in BSc Artificial Intelligence

The wind on the Frankfurt platform

I am Narender, from India, living in Germany, studying BSc Artificial Intelligence. My first memory here is not a landmark. It is the wind. I landed in December. I had the best jacket I bought in India, and I was still shivering at the train station in Frankfurt. It was a windy day, so this was really surprising for me. Cold that slips under sleeves. Cold that makes you doubt your choices before you have even left the platform.

I did not know then that winter here would become part of my story. I only knew I was far from home and that the air felt bigger than me.

Learning to eat, walk, and find Aldi

The first week was a little bit hectic as I did not know how to cook. Most of my time went on making meals. Even a simple meal took me a long time, and in between I was learning where to buy things and what to buy. People walk a lot. The place I was sleeping was a little bit far from Aldi and with no direct transport, so even groceries felt like a lesson. Back home I had a bicycle at my home place where I used to travel everywhere using public transport. Here I was counting bus times and steps and minutes of light.

I do not romanticize that week. It was hungry, clumsy and slow. It also taught me that I could figure things out when I had to.

What I expected, what I found

I don't know what I was expecting when I was coming here. I was expecting it to be super developed. It is developed, and disciplined to a very large extent. Things kind of work except for the German train system. It is still really good. I feel people are more connected to nature, more walking here and the bicycling. That surprised me in a good way. The rhythm is different, the streets breathe more.

Some days I miss the noise I grew up with. Other days I hear my own feet and feel calm.

German words that tripped us

I live in Bavaria, where they do not speak Hochdeutsch but Bayerisch. In the beginning, it was really difficult. My classes are also in German in the beginning because I took a German program, so it was a little bit difficult. I was stuck. First I have to understand what they want to say in German and then I want to understand what they actually want me to understand, so it was a lot of work.

My funniest story is still from an interview. Me and my friend went for an interview and the guy said OK that someone else would be taking the interview. I had really good German skills, but my friend was also a student in the German classes and he thought he had good German skills. But when the interview came, he could not speak. When it came to test, he failed and that was really funny. We laughed later, but in the room it was the kind of silence you feel in your stomach.

Whoever is telling you you don't need to learn German is lying to you.

That is my honest advice to anyone moving. Even though you're in English speaking courses, learn German. That will make your life a lot easier and happier.

Papers, appointments, and a 20 day wait

Some things were smooth. The process went really well. I just went there with the paper and they provided me the Anmeldung on time. The visa renewal also went well. You just have to book in advance, at least two months, and things will go ahead.

Other things were not. At the bank account I had to go there, take an appointment, and they give me an appointment after like 15 to 20 days. That was really a shock to me, that opening the bank account can take like 20 days. Also they spoke in German when I met them. They did not speak English. I think that's a rule from them, that they speak in German to be clear and not get any lawsuit or something. I nodded, took notes, and learned to prepare before I walked through any door.

Finding a room, trusting a stranger

Oh, I found my first apartment using Kleinanzeigen. When I came here, I found the apartment permanently. The first apartment was from another student who was living somewhere else. It was a bit challenging. I had sent him around €500 of deposit blindly. He could have taken it and I could not have found him. That is the sentence my heart kept repeating until the keys were in my hand.

Housing here asks you to believe in emails and IBANs and your own judgment. I learned quickly to read slowly and ask for everything twice.

Work, money, and the almost empty month

I am a Werkstudent in a company, and that is how I manage my income. I can work 20 hours a week, or 80 hours a month, so this is the way I fund myself. In the beginning, there came a moment I almost ran out of funds, but everything is going well now.

I worked in many different kinds of jobs before finding the job in my field, which is artificial intelligence or IT, like many other students. The place where I am working now is really good. People are really good and I'm really lucky to be there. Getting to that point felt like coming up for air.

What is genuinely better about studying here is the calm order. Things are a bit organised. In the beginning of the semester everything is planned, when the exams will be, when you can expect the semester to end. You have a whole system running online where you can check things. You don't have to go to offices to ask. You can email them, they reply to it. You don't have to be afraid to ask anything and it's really good. Their online portal, university websites, provide almost all information you need to help yourself out. Everything is planned. You can download calendars for your classes, schedules and everything.

If you study in Germany, it could be a little bit harder because then you have to understand first German and then understand what they actually want you to understand. And then if you write it, then also if you're not a native, it's a little bit difficult. If you do it in English, it would be really easy for you. Not super easy, but a little bit easier.

The dark winter and the thought I did not share

Oh, winter is really dark here. You look outside the window, there are only two colours, black and white. The sky is mostly white, and if you see sunshine, that really makes your day. But do not get fooled by sunshine. The sunshine is there, but the cold is not gone. That happened to me: I went out and found it was even chillier.

Sometimes you get lonely and you miss your family and you think you should go back. Sometimes you don't. So this is how things play out here. So far I have not faced any discrimination. I'm lucky to be in that place that I have not faced any. But I do know some people do face discrimination. I do know that people have a lot of stereotype about Indians, and that is just based on the fact that they do not know much about the country.

There was a moment I thought about giving up and going home. So far, I have thought about it once. There was an incident that happened with me in the university and after that, I thought about going back home, but I do not want to disclose it here. I will only say this, I sat with that feeling, and I stayed.

Why I stay, and what I still miss

Sometimes I do think was it all worth it. I think yes, because I've learned a lot of things. I've grown my perspective after living in a foreign country. I've grown up to be a better person, to see things which we miss in our country and what we can do in our country. I have travelled to many places since I came to Germany, especially in Europe also in Asia, I do understand what we are lacking as a country.

The best thing about my life in Germany right now, I like the greenery, forest trails, hikes, then the extra sunshine in the summer, which is sometimes like till nine or 10. The German habit which I picked up is walking, so I walk a lot and I prefer it. I like it and I go for walks in the night sometime after the dinner. I can afford a lot of stuff here a little easier due to the currency difference. It is not big, but I do think if you are good here you could afford a lot more things more easily than what you can afford in India due to the purchasing power parity and nothing more.

And still, I miss home. The best one thing I missed is the food. We have a lot of food options at home, prepared food, and you can get more outside and eat, and it's super cheap. Right now here it is so expensive: a meal can cost you up to €20. I miss my family and friends.

Making friends, I will say this simply, I have many friends here as well as I had many in my home country, so that's not a big thing. What changed is me. I have grown a lot. I was a bit naive back then when I landed here, but I learned my way around and I understand things better. I have a better perspective on things happening around me.

It's always difficult, but it will pass too.

If I could tell my first week self one thing, it is just that. It was difficult. The first week was difficult. It's always difficult, but it will pass too. And to anyone packing a jacket from India and stepping into a windy Frankfurt day, learn German, walk a little farther than you planned, ask the question, and trust that slowly your feet will know the way home from Aldi in the dark.

Shared by Narender.