What is it like as an Indian living in Germany? If you do, when did you move? What do you do? Where in Germany do you live?

17/7/2019

At the time of writing this question, I have crossed the 3-year mark of my time in Germany. I was always thinking about this question for my self, and by writing this question I want to relive this 3 year of the journey by sharing the experience with you all reader.

I moved to Germany on 18th December 2015 on the last working day of that year before school vacations. It was a good welcome for me as Christmas was just a week away and the whole country was decorated and happiness was in the air. My first city in Germany was Berlin, where I initially stayed with a German guest family. The reason behind moving to Germany was higher studies and I chose to do my Master in German taught the course, so in Berlin, I need to do my language course and after getting the required certificate I need to start my study, that was the plan I was following. I was told by the German teacher back home (she was also working in Berlin, she was on a contract of 2 months for language teaching in India), Germans are pretty cold by nature. My host or I say Guest mother (Gast mutter, she also used to introduce her as my Gast mutter when we are out) prepared food for me almost a week and showed me everything in the Hause and also markets and localities around. I enjoyed this as it was vacation time for me and I had time to know the people closely. She also invited me to the Christmas party at her daughter's place and we had a great evening. I am mentioning it as I was never away from my home till I finished my bachelor study and suddenly moving to a foreign country can have a negative impact on a person, feeling the homesick and missing family is hard for some people, here my guest mother made me my start in Germany a lot smoother. She was a teacher by profession and we used to talk during breakfast about different topics such as history, war and etc. , which eventually helped me to improve my German and also who doesn’t like stories. When I first came I had done A1 level exam and also finished the half class for A2 level, so I can understand the easy conversation, her stories made me confident to speak fluently. I stayed there for 4 months and during that time I was doing my language classes, around July in 2016 I finished my C1 class, and by end of October, I appeared for DSH, Telc C1, and TestDAF. Out of this 3 exam, I qualified in two (Telc and TestDAF), which was needed to get the admission in any German taught course across Germany. I can say 2016 was a year of learning for me, as I not only to learn the German language but also the different aspects of German culture and behavior. Being in Berlin it was also fun as Berlin is quite open and famous for it’s welcoming and colorful life.

By October I had 3 confirm admissions with me. I chose TU Chemnitz as it was directly connected with my Bachelor content. Until now everything was smooth and I was also faster than others, by qualifying exam soon and also securing admission in 9 months of time. In Chemnitz, I started my study in Germany, everything was going fine. In November I was going to India for some family function, but I fell sick and I couldn't go to INDIA. Also, I didn’t appear for the exam as I was kind of under stress because of the sudden events, which I was not expecting. This was the time where you need your family the most, as they are the one who takes care of you during sickness. Here I was dealing with everything on my own and also the German medical system is also a little bit complicated for me. I learned a lot about human behaviors and about my strength and weakness. It also made me distinguish between fake and real friends. I almost wasted 6 months in this scenario and in the meantime, I decided to leave Chemnitz and decided to start freshly Master in HAMBURG.
After skipping that semester at Chemnitz I moved to Hamburg around May 2017. This city made me fight and repair the damage done in the last few months. I started my study with a positive spirit and cleared 6 subjects in the first semester. apart from that, I was enjoying my life by taking part in different activities. My time in Hamburg was really amazing as it helped me financially, mentally and physically fit. I made lots of close friends whom I can trust. At the end of the year 2018 in September, I moved to Hannover to start my internship and thesis to finish my Master. Professors helped me finding this position and everything is running smooth. I am Automotive engineer and will start working as a full-time professional soon this year.

This is my Journey till now, I traveled a lot in Europe, tried so many fun activities, adventure sports and met some really cool people around the world. Initially my plan was to get out of my routine life in India, Master in Germany seems to be an easy and fast way, but it turned out to be a little bit longer than my stupid plan, I wanted to return back in 2 years,now I am thinking of staying 5 more years to make a strong career and than move back. A lot of things has changed in this duration. Some in my self and some in my way of thinking and taking things. I can’t go more in details but I would list the things I would like to share with you all.

You need to learn the German language, whether you like it or not? No one will ever tell this to you but you will feel it if you are unable to speak fluent German.
You need to become a rule-obedient citizen, there is no choice for you or no back door escape if you were caught in doing something wrong
Work ethics and culture is on top most priority, you need to follow it. Being punctual is one of them, which is also applicable in personal life
Not all German are racist but you may find out yourself into some situation where you feel left out
Getting a Driving license is a hell lot of work and also cost tons of money
You can’t be too casual with your friends until they become really close after (3–5 years), being formal is common here
Academics is a serious thing here, they want their students to learn not just pass the degree exams
comparatively safer country, you can easily roam late in the night in the city
various kind of bread and beer brands are too mainstream here, you will value these things when you are out of the country or visiting family back home.
you will complain often about weather especially in Winter and it also makes you depress as you don’t see the sun like you used to see back home.
Summer is like a festival here, but when the temperature is about 30° you feel more annoyed than you used to be in 40+° in countries like my homeland India.
Being a vegetarian is not that difficult but you will be left out with limited choices in restaurants. I have seen the change on this issue, but it’s still falafel or veg. Döner or fried noodles/pasta….other things are too expensive to buy or you need to prepare yourself, which is kind of fun.
Drinking can become your part of life if you like to be in the social gathering.
You will travel a lot…from Switzerland to Amsterdam and Spain, etc can be visited during weekends. And it’s also not that expensive to travel around Europe.

so, for me, it is kind of roller coaster ride and I am really enjoying it. I find myself more organized and peaceful than I used to be way back home. To summarize a good experience of my life and still counting.