As most of my friends and acquaintances know, I recently schlepped all the way from my comfy, loveable hometown of Kolkata to something a little less familiar. This was the first time I was leaving the city, let alone the country. Terrifying, exhilarating, stressful and so much more. The journey in this new strange land has only just begun.
It’s been a while since I’ve done this. Business reports, presentations, German bureaucracy and apartment hunting has kept me on my toes, amongst other commitments here and there. It’s been a continuous hustle for the months I’ve been here and the ones leading up to the flight here. Exhausting is the least I could say about it, but every once in a while there is a moment. That inexplicable moment that strikes at the most odd times. I could be doing my groceries, walking around the city or sitting in the train and then….it hits me: “I’m here aren’t I? I wanted this and I achieved it.” It usually happens when I’m exhausted or doing the typical uni kid calculation on how I can afford groceries for the rest of the month. Then when the moment strikes, it reminds me to be grateful for getting the opportunity to be here.
The previous year or so has been a shitstorm for everyone, not just me. But with both my parents being sick for the majority of the year, all of us coming down with COVID, my parents testing positive for the second time and the general depression in the news, I guess it was about time I started cherishing the happy moments.
It’s been around 5 months since my move here and life here is still just starting. The hustle has just begun, with work, classes and the insatiable urge to travel around this gorgeous continent. I have spent every waking minute in some activity or the other because at times I feel like this is a dream and I’m not ready to wake up yet. Travelling, socialising and sight-seeing are just the moments worth for the ‘Gram. The bureaucracy, the apartment search, the adulting and much more are all below eye level. BUT, I came here for the entire package and I’m enjoying every bit of the challenge.
There’s so much more to talk about, the struggle to come across, Europe during in lockdown, watching India implode from here, learning a language here, the gruelling job market and a host of other things that I could go on about. But for now, I just wanted to share a surface-level insight into how life’s been going. Until next time….. auf wiedersehen.
We Need To Talk 