Outgoing Exchange Student Blog
It’s 1st February, I just got my visa and documents a few days back and in affect only had a couple of days to pack and prepare. I’m weighing my suitcases to check and they are way within the limit, deciding on what to wear to the airport that is comfortable but also exiting, saying goodbyes to my family who came to drop me and I’m here at the airport now, checking in.
It’s 5th July. I’ve weighed my luggage, it’s overweight. I haven’t slept all night because I was chatting (and crying) with one of my flatmates. She goes to sleep around 4 am, and I go out to my last walk in Graz. I walk out to the river, to the lock bridge, to a very beautiful city during sunrise. Dehydrated with all the crying that was happening at the lock river, I come back pick up my bags and go to the railway station where a group of our friends are waiting to say goodbye to us, not the best thing for a dehydrated person who literally has no more water left in her tear glands now. And I go off, I go off to travel back home. So much has changed in these last 5 years.
While my friends might label this as Amna gone on her hot girl summer, I would label it as nothing short of living the best few months of my life.
From 1st February to 5th July there were tons of takeaways for me; friends, getting to travel all around Europe, travelling solo, learning a discipline I did not learn before, meeting locals, learning languages. But also, struggling to understand norms and civil culture of a very western European developed nation, coming from a developing country where a simple task like crossing a busy street requires skill, intuition, calculation and also a little bit of risking your life. Austria itself was beautiful, it was rich with natural beauty. Just hop on any train and within 10 minutes of leaving Graz (the city I was in), you are greeted by green fields, cute small cottage houses, gorgeous mountain ranges, a sparkly flowing river and lots and lots of peace. Just the air, the sky is so different and refreshing. The city Graz itself is such a happening city, despite the fact that majority of the time we were there it was under lockdown, there was always so much to do. So many of our plans with friends from our student dorm would be around just hanging in one of the really pretty parks Graz has, or getting take away from somewhere and eating together, or going to museums and exhibitions together, on political marches etc. For me, even the simple days would mean a lot where we would arrange a cosy barbq dinner in our balcony, stay up at nights playing card games or just talking and laughing with each other. The friends I made there have all been so special to me. At that time, it did not feel like 5th July would come, and that this time would just go on forever. I can now say that I have friends from all over the world, whether it is Far East Asia, Middle-East, Central Asia, Southern and Northern Africa, Latin America, USA, Canada and finally- all the way from West Europe to the East. It was always such an interesting conversation with so many of us on a dinner table together.
For me particularly, travelling was another big highlight. From having visited a total of 9 countries in Europe, I am often asked which was my favorite. And I just cannot decide on one. From planning the trip, to always being in a rush to catch trains, to visiting new places, trying new cuisines, everything was just always an adrenaline rush. But perhaps, I do have my favorite. Prague, Czech Republic. The place I travelled solo. And travelling solo for a South-Asian woman is nothing short of an ideal we think we could never achieve. 5th July, and I come home with no regrets, just a gallery filled with memories and my heart filled with eagerness to try to go back, if life ever permits.