Story of my amazing adventure in Germany with Erasmus+

Hello there!

I am Sabarinathan from India and I am an exchange student in RheinAhrCampus. I always dreamt about living in a different country and experiencing their culture firsthand. As sync, I got an opportunity to apply for the exchange semester in RAC. By going through the tough selection, I got selected from 28 students.

This is my second abroad travel. I was really excited and began my travel with lots of expectations. It’s been 6 months but it feels like I just arrived. We had lots of fun and a wonderful experience. I completed the majority of my bucket list tasks, but because of the Covid restrictions, I was unable to accomplish one of them, which is attending the offline class. However, Zoom classes were more participatory, and it was different from my Indian classes. We had lots of fun virtually “A new normal”.

But this Covid didn’t stop us from traveling, I travelled to three new European countries and three important cities in Germany.  It was a wonderful and unforgettable memory in my life.  I still can’t believe that traveling to the neighbouring European countries is so cheap and affordable. It really helped me to manage my expenses while travelling and we also got an Erasmus travel scholarship for travelling. And, most of the museums have discounts for the students, it is awesome, right?

Fallen in love with my international friends. Yes, I got wonderful friends here from a different country, I shared my room with another international student from Greece.  And we had lots of fun parties, late-night games, drinking beer at the River Rhein, and waking up with a big hangover. I am going to cherish these memories throughout my life.  I wish I could start the semester again and enjoy the student life here for a longer time.
Aside from having a good time, I also learned lot. Being in a different country pushed me to get out of my comfort zones and adapt to the new weather, food culture, tradition, and changing climate. Sometimes I used to explore the surroundings alone.  Sightseeing on my own takes self-reliance. I also learned how to navigate my surroundings, ask strangers for help, and make decisions in unfamiliar circumstances.
I also had several tough situations but I never felt left alone here. There had always been someone to lift my moods up. The best part of this exchange semester is me being a member of International Business Simulation, where we ran a sample business and I played an important role of being the ambassador of Pondicherry University, India. It was a satisfying experience to bring something new to one's home university. This exchange program provided numerous opportunities and experiences for my future career.

As you can see, I really enjoyed my stay in RAC, Germany. I did everything I expected to do, and so much more. But now, it’s time to say goodbye. As they say, all good things must come to an end. But I know that something will never come to an end: the fact that I love Germany and RAC. I will for sure come back, perhaps only for a holiday, or perhaps for longer – who knows what life will bring? So, this is not a farewell post, but rather a “see you soon Germany”.