Getting There

How my journey to the majestic Europe began....

It was already late! The deadline for the DAAD WISE scholarship, which I had been flaunting, was fast approaching. For starters, the WISE (Working Internships in Science and Engineering) scholarship is a prestigious program funded by the German Academic Exchange Service, aimed at supporting students for research internships in top-notch German institutions. I had exams to prepare for, and the application required numerous bureaucratic formalities. Luckily, the deadline was extended, allowing me to efficiently mail a couple of research proposals in diverse fields, primarily focusing on gravitational waves: a topic I had significant experience with. To my delight, I narrowed it down to two professors in Hannover and Jena who were willing to host me. In the interest of the project, I chose the one offered by Sebastiano Bernuzzi, a leading member of the LIGO collaboration, at the Theoretical Physics Institute in Jena. After countless hours of painful editing, form-filling, and back-and-forth formalities, I finally submitted the application, thanks to the emotional support from my appamma, friends (Padmapriya especially!), and my mentor at IUCAA, Apratim Ganguly, who is truly a gem!

One fine day, after spectacularly long delays, an email finally arrived. I was auditing a class on gravitation when I received the news: I was selected for the project on analyzing gravitational waves! Life definitely comes full circle at times, doesn't it?

With that settled, I decided to book my flights and managed to snag an Emirates ticket for about half the price of the travel allowance (lucky me!). At that point, we weren’t sure about the monthly stipend or the travel allowance because the official ZAV was not available. I had the official email confirming my selection but no details about the financials. Despite this uncertainty, I booked my tickets and started looking for places to stay. After going through numerous options and emotions, I decided on a place recommended by a senior who interned the previous year. To my delight, it turned out to be wonderful! The owner, Ruprecht, was very kind and friendly, and I admired his charisma deeply. The view from the house was amazing: I had a window to the stars, literally! The house was a blend of modern and antique, showcasing rich German architecture, and it was situated atop a hill, very close to my university. Little did I know that I would never be at home for a whole week, constantly tripping on weekends!

Speaking of trips, I managed to book a few through pm2am to keep my weekends occupied. Nihal anna introduced me to student trips, and I was eager to go. These trips offered rich experiences, allowing me to socialize, interact, and have fun with a diverse group of people. The first trip was planned to an amazing experience in the beautiful and pristine Switzerland, exploring its richness, including Titlis and Interlaken. I then decided to proceed to another weekend in Paris. There were already plans to visit Nihal in Hannover and attend the Hamburg Port festival the weekend I arrived! Although I initially thought Paris was overrated and too much to explore solo (I was wrong!). I also planned trips to Zurich, Berlin & Potsdam, and made travel arrangements from Hannover to Hamburg. I made it clear that I was here to have fun on the weekends while doing justice to my awarded project during the week. The trips were a fantastic decision, especially since I had booked a Eurail pass (thank you, past Nishkal, for the lifesaving decision) and a 49€ D-ticket to help with commuting.

During this time, amma came to my college in Pune with Nishchith to shop and prepare this rag-to-riches transformation (yes, me!). It was a unique shopping experience and a lot of fun. The VISA appointment was expedited by DAAD, and I had to go to the consulate in Mumbai. The train journey, the stay, the rapid experience (a slight taste of luxury), roaming around Mumbai, and the return journey with fellow Kannadigas was lovely.

With the VISA finally in hand, it was time to go! Once I was back home, we hurriedly shopped for the remaining items and started packing. My god, it cost us everything. It was definitely one of the terrible experiences of the whole process. We had to pack and unpack numerous times, each time checking the weight. After a billion times of weighing and discarding all the ready-to-eat meals that my mother had ordered, we brought it down to the 35kg weight limit. Well, the trouble didn't end there. Apparently, I needed to have a residence card for the on-arrival visa I was hoping to get. And yes, the panic set in. As I mentally prepared myself to sleep over at DXB International Airport, pappa's friend managed to secure some emergency visas at the last minute, though it did cost quite a bit.

Here we come!