Greetings and Lesson from Gelsenkirchen

What is worth sacrifice is experience, they said. But what would experience worth if it never make you understand and learn?

Greetings, my name is Reika. I am an ordinary 20 years old Communication student who are lucky enough to get a student exchange scholarship at Westfälische Hochschule in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.

It has been nearly two months since I live 11,211km away from my family and friends. The hardest thing that I found out to adapt is probably the way of living. I may be adjusted to live abroad and get easily adapted to local cultures due to my previous life where I follow my family from one country to the other for their job. However, the whining such as “If only the sun is not too hot” and “It would be much better if we don’t need to pay 1€ to use the public toilet”, also the comparison between what you have here and what you have back in your country, like “I can buy drinks waaayy more cheaper in Indonesia!” and other struggle especially when it comes to comparing prices is inevitable.

The word “learn to live” may not be simple as it sounds because instead of just learning to live by my own, I also learn how to survive. There were critical moments that we faced, it was where we can not depend on anyone and in the same time we have to deal with uncertainty of our days ahead. But hey! Those days had passed and we made it out alive safe and sound.

Furthermore, I learn couple of things that no one would expect to be taught in a survival mission. Due to this experience I learn how to control, to decide, to estimate, to understand, to empathize and to accept. These are not probably the things that you would be seeking in your greatest journey, but for me, I learn that sometimes the way you could get a step closer to yourselves is by taking a thousand step away from it. Because there are few obvious things that would be seen more clearly when you are apart.

In this situation, my circumstances, where everything else seemed so far, I tend to see what I have around me and actually reachable. I have a semester ticket which allows me to go anywhere with public transport in NRW area for free, I have only four days each week for classes with great lecturers, I live in a student house which are only three minutes walk from my campus, and the last, yet the best that I could think of is the three Indonesian companion for my whole staying in Gelsenkirchen; Rachel, Ardelia, and Gloria, my seniors from Atma Jaya Jakarta Communication faculty, the sisters I never have.

Who would ever thought in a country full of strangers you could find new friends and even families. Among diversities you could find something in common and make a good relation upon it. Also, in the middle of chaotic situation there will be something to put back a smile in our faces.

Maybe that was the best part from everything that had happened, I was never alone. All of the good and bad thing that I have been through, I was not alone. There are always someone I could share my laughter nor complaints, either it is someone here to talk face to face nor someone that I have to call within five hours differences due to the different timezone. Maybe we are lacking of private spaces, but maybe what we have is what we actually needed, it is to not be left alone.

So again, I am here in a new city that I have been living for two months, still finding hard to believe the reality of my journey. Even we were here just for a short period of time, it did not stop me from looking back and recall the moments we had from yesterday or even a month ago. Those moments are priceless, those moments made me learn, and the moments that we had now is not even a half from what we will experience for the couple following months. Who knows that the worse and best are yet still approaching.

The next following note from Gelsenkirchen will be a row of exciting moments in our journey. 

Stay tune for more :)