The following is a personal experience of a German student at the Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC).
Being an international student from Germany in India is challenging. Cultural, climatical and linguistical differences are challenging. Everything is different. The simple everyday errands like crossing the street, taking the local train or getting food became adventures. At first, India was very overwhelming for me.
Hi, my name is Lisa. I study Supply Chain Management at the DHBW in Karlsruhe, Germany, and spontaneously decided to spend a semester abroad at the IGTC in Mumbai. My wish was to see something different, travel, and gain experiences that I wouldn’t get in Europe or other parts of the world. Circumstances led to this choice, so I arrived in India at the end of March.
I was excited to join IGTC and meet new people, study in a class after two years of online lectures, and feel like a part of something. From the first step into IGTC, I felt welcomed and safe. I was overwhelmed by people’s kindness. Everybody, from the first day on, was lovely and caring. I felt supported during the time I needed to settle.
The first Monday class was Financial Management. I have never heard of lakhs and crores before. It took some time to get comfortable writing the comma after two digits, to get less confused and to be able to understand the way the Indian numerical system works. Nevertheless, I recognized some of the content from my studies in Germany and was able to follow the lectures. The sums given to us helped me apply the newly learnt concepts.
On Tuesday, my second day at IGTC, I still felt a little overwhelmed by many examples related to Indian culture. I didn’t know about the names of various foods, and neither did I know much about cities and places. So, I struggled to keep up. But after some time, my knowledge expanded. I tried to let people help me get familiar with everything, and finally, I was able to be more comfortable.
Group projects help improve our presentation skills, time management and effective communication. So, participating in different groups adds variety to the learning success. It took me weeks for everything to become more routine. Being patient with yourself was the toughest part of it. I truly appreciate the support of IGTC and every person that makes it the special place it is. So far, I have learnt so much that I can’t put it explicitly into words. I guess it’ll take some more time and patience until it becomes more specific and tangible.
