Sunday, September 8, 2013


‘Déjà vu’ - A Sneak Peek

I still remember the day I  was leaving India for Berlin for my exchange programme ,My brain too sleepy to board the midnight flight while my nerves rushed with excitement and curiosity ..Looking forward to learn and explore the new land awaiting me roughly 10 Hours away!
"Hitlers, Nazis, Concentration Camps, Tear-Gas” were words in History I had mugged scratching my head during school days. The excitement was unexplainable!
I landed in Berlin and received a warm welcome from my officially assigned Korean buddy Ingo Duelwebber who had visited Alliance University as an exchange Student and fallen in love with the Indian Culture.
The journey was way too tiring and happening than expected! I was given a map of the city metro lines...Which seemed Latin to me since I had never pronounced such words before! So here it comes -- "Deutsch" or "German" the language welcomed me !
Things settled down gradually in my assigned pretty flat and loads of housework and legal formalities followed in the first week .These minute things taught me how to be responsible for even the uncounted stuffs in our daily life!
Germans are known to be perfectionists and punctual by nature and profession! This killed me in the first few weeks and gradually, with my German study mates, I never realized how this culture made me a part of itself.

Coming down to academics and internship, my interaction with my fellow bachelor classmates, who were exchange students from all over the world, during my initial German course days was so different! Each day I had a new person to know...a new language to hear...and not to forget the long discussions we had together about their culture and stuffs with coffee and muffins (Germany is known for great bakes too!  )
This initial phase rushed away & was followed by my core subject classes which took place with full time Masters Students in Berlin School of Economics And Law. .The subjects that I had, involved a lot of group activity, paper submissions, exams and interaction with the professors! I observed during my course how the German education system works. They loved discussions and topics which involved serious political issues from around the globe. During a presentation with my study  group mates from Lebanon, Africa and Pakistan certain frictions cropped up since the audience involved people from all over the globe who gradually became aggressive to stick to their points of view ...I guess this had been the most difficult situation I had ever faced as a student .. But that’s where the challenge was!  We managed to sail through together, turning grins into casual smiles and finally bagged in the highest marks for the paper of Business Ethics. The vigorous Group and individual activities involved writing Thesis or compilation of final papers to be submitted at the end of semester for the chosen subjects. This was an all round and crisp approach of the professors to get an insight of how much input we, as students are capable of giving when it comes to restriction - free thought flow .It was not only a creative system of education but also helped the students cover up the entire subjects chosen few weeks before the final exam papers.
My interaction with Professor Gert  Bruche during my internship made me understand the corporate culture of Germany. He helped me dig into new unexplored ventures. Guest lecturers from various companies in Germany took over few sessions giving us insights of how specifically the Human resource field functions there practically. Soon exams and paper submissions lined up in the last month of the semester, and I was given a set of rules and regulations to be followed. I gasped my way to reach my professors' expectations.

"So ShweDa, When do we start our Euro trip together?" and that’s how it started... mind it the "D" is not a mistake...but was a temporary Name change by my Singaporean pal Wan Ching Huang continuously for more than a week during my stay.
It all started after the study stress was over... we planned to travel across the German States of Hamburg, Cologne, The Sleeping Beauty Castle of Fussen , Financial hub of Germany - Frankfurt, Munich  and off  to Czech Republic, the 'Old Town' lanes of Prague, orthodox church views, Poland, Spain, Madrid, Granada, Barcelona, Leon, Portugal, the beautiful port and varied sea-food of Lisbon And not to forget how we fell for  The Eiffel Tower and Disneyland of Paris where there was "Disney in the Air" for us in the City of Love !
Together we dived into varied cuisines, culture and loads of discovery of places ranging from  Antoni  Gaudis’ wonderful architecture in Spain to a sweet time along the white sand beaches watching the blue sea  ... the  perfect Post-Exam Destinations  ... :)


“Déjà vu “ used in the title of this article ,is a word from French which literally means "already seen,relating to the phenomenon of believing an event or experience that has occurred in the past,a false sense of familiarity .It signifies queer instances where i felt of having already Germany before i landed there. However to live is to experience new things and not sit still pondering the meaning of life .Obviously not everyone needs to cross Asia and see the seas to be contented and live life. True happiness lies where one feels belonged. 
While the temporary refuge from my land added on to new experiences and learning... an abstract attraction pulled me back to India each evening I spent away from my colleagues and family!
In a nutshell the international exchange programme to Berlin School of Economics And Law not only contributed educationally but also brought a lot of changes in my personality with a pinch of entertainment. During the travel I often wondered how good it is to be a little kid, feeling the blood flowing in my veins and my eyes glitter at the sight of crowded new places, smell of good food and the feeling of getting away soon from the prolonged study stress!
Now I am back from Germany to my own people and college and have memories of Berlin its beauty and the things it imbibed in me...

I thank my Professors and colleagues  for their continuous support and my college for molding me towards a brighter future.
Also much love and thanks to my readers :) have a good time !!


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