Hallo, Deutschland! :-)

It has been 2 days since I arrived here and a lot has happened already. Number 1 being, I'm already facing the second phase of culture shock - disliking any and every difference between my home country(s) and the new country. I wish ice-cream could cure that, but hey, I have a cold so no ice-creams to save me either! Let's go back to the time when I started off from Chicago. Ah, Chicago... :-)

The Chicago skyline from my airplane

I was showing my parents the photos I have taken so far and my mom noticed my face light up when I showed her the aerial view of "my city" taken from the airplane. Of course it is my city! It is A CITY! But, more on that topic, later. So yeah, I started off on my journey to London, and then Deutschland with a clogged nose (I have a cold, remember?) and a much more clogged and rather heavy suitcase. Excited? Of course! I think I was more excited about travelling in and around Europe than actually working in Germany! ;) At this point, let me advise you strongly to NOT fly American Airlines at any cost. How was I to know that if I book from the British Airways website, they would put me on a code share flight?! The legroom is just not enough even for a 5 footer something like me. The seating is just hell for your back but they ended up serving deep dish cheese pizza which earned them some brownie points but not quite enough. It would also be helpful to note that British Airways ain't any good either! They (the two evil airline partners) make you stop at London Heathrow during its closing hours. There is no stable accommodation anywhere around on the terminal. They make you get a transit visa when you know going out into the city is out of bounds at 11pm in the night. All you can do is curl up on a wooden bench (yes, bench!) at your terminal without any food till the airport opens again at 5am. Well, that's life I guess.

I did meet an interesting lady named Marion in the middle of one of my naps who loved criticizing anything and everything related to Heathrow. Quite a companion, she made as I resonated her thoughts! :-D She was very amusing about the way she compared Germany to Great Britain and then of course, out of courtesy to me, America and India. We ended up talking mostly about how capitalism in America has been shaping the psyche of the common American consumer. She gave me her email to contact her in case I needed something while I'm in Germany. I think my journey was more like a prelude to what I should expect later on in terms of food. I read the staple diet of Germans is meat, potatoes and beer - only one out of which can I have comfortably. Both of my flights offered egg dishes as the only vegetarian options and I had to eat them although I don't eat egg and this was kind of a big deal for me considering how picky I am about food. :-|

The first frightening moment was the twenty minutes after I landed in Stuttgart which obviously seemed like 3 hours. I couldn't find my PhD supervisors, Philipp and Chris and  I obviously was smart enough to not have taken down their numbers to contact them. I could see no one holding a placard with my name and the lady at the coffee shop in the airport refused me from using their internet. I had no idea how I would reach Tuebingen from Stuttgart or about what I would do in case the two never turned up. I also had thoughts about whether all this DAAD RISE thing was a mistake and/or a prank that I'd fallen for and that no one was ever going to turn up, but I guess I'm just crazy like that. There was absolutely nothing that I could do there but wait and that's what I did...till  the two finally arrived!

Boating on Neckar River, Tuebingen

Yes, yes I drove to my institute in a BMW coup on a freeway without a speed limit, which means we were averaging about 170 kmph. Willkommen in Deutschland is what they said. How cool was that?! The public transport buses and taxi cabs in Tuebingen are Mercedes Benz. There is the Mercedes factory about 30 kms from this town which is on my visit list now. The countryside is beauuuutiful. I remember telling my family that it feels just like vacationing on a hill station. Only difference, I'm here to work. :-| There is a calm river flowing through the center of the town with Venice-like boats where people can barbecue/party/read/study nature/do whatever they please. People row, canoe, kayak and the likes. There is a garden in the middle of the river with trees on either side which has become more like a jogger's park now.

Just water, at a resta

Haha, for lunch I had what looked and tasted like mac n cheese topped with sauteed onions which was named kaespalte. Apparently, it was an exotic dish! Also, when I asked for normal water along with my food, this is what I got~
Neat, eh? Oh and Chris had orange lemonade mixed with Coca-cola?! I should try that sometime. I think I was just starting to discover what Germany is. They had a beer garden in the back of this restaurant where people go to just enjoy their beer amidst the trees! The people have been really nice, though. The guy from O2, where I got my sim card, the man from the bank who helped me open my bank account, the random people who helped me get a bus from the city to my dorm room and the computer store guy who gave me a free cable for laptop charger, have all been real forgiving that I don't know their native language. All I need to do is get to know their language. Philipp and Chris have also been really helpful and I hope I am what they expected me to be.

First day at work and all I'm hoping for is that my brain doesn't let me down. After having arrived all the way to this strange land, if I don't end up excelling in what I came here to do, I would end up being a big disappointment to myself, my family, Philipp, Chris and all the teachers I've ever had. Yes, the project is a little challenging for me but I hope I'm able to pull it off. I hope I'm going on the pace they want me to go in. On a completely different note, the road from my dorm to the institute is enthrallingly peaceful and lovely. Here, have a look.

Cafeteria at the Max Planck Institute

The cafeteria is even more amazing. It feels like a perfect vacation spot where you can just relax all day long to rediscover yourself and find your inner calling. Only, in this case you're expected to work! I played my first game of foosball and I was pathetic at it! I can't believe having come from the land of FRIENDS, I'd never played or even attempted foosball before. True, the only foosball table in my dorms in Chicago didn't have a ball and we were too lazy to go buy one from the store but hey, it is one hell of a game!! I would suggest all those Fifa freaks out there to go try it once. Give your wrists some exercise too, your fingers have had enough! The cafeteria food is pretty good for it's price. They send out an email every morning with their dessert menu for the day which is looked forward to by most people. I also attended Philipp's biannual progress report presentation which ended with people collectively knocking on the table for at least 15 seconds. It looked like a substitute for an applause but I'll figure out the significance for it soon. Haha, a note of caution for future travellers, the water heater can get really hot. So hot that it's possible to develop heat burns off it! Experienced, trust me! ;-)

Picturesque skyline of Tuebingen

Yes, withdrawal symptoms. I almost finished my 10oz bag of chips in 2 days, my only pack of cream cookies, one bag of korean snacks called peppero and am on my way to make maggi. I miss my city life. There, I said it. I grew up in a city and studied in a city and now find it difficult to live in a town with all this plush greenery and picturesque environment. Where is my concrete jungle? Where is my beautiful night skyline?! All I get is, this-->? Yeah, but I'm not complaining about this place. I just miss my home(s)! The initial attraction is over. The whooaaas have long gone. Yes, Tuebingen is breathtakingly gorgeous. But there are only so many times that I can see the place over and over again. I lived for 17 years in Thane and I still cannot say that I've seen it in entirety. I lived for 3 years in Chicago and the same statement holds true. I fear I will not be able to repeat the same experience in the case of Tuebingen. Will I have different ones, then?

Today, I know exactly why I like the city life. Let's see how well this city girl adapts in a small town. Challenge Accepted. Tschuss!