Yanina Rier is a postgraduate student at the Department of History of Belarus and the Eastern Slavs. From September 2017 to February 2018, she underwent a scientific internship at the University of Eberhard and Karl in Tübingen, Germany. Yanina says:
— At the end of 2016, I was able to participate for the first time in the program of international academic mobility of Erasmus+. To apply for participation in the program it was necessary to write a motivation letter in which you had to prove your desire, and most importantly, the need to pass an internship in Germany (in my case, it was easy, since a huge number of sources on the topic of my thesis is located on the territory Western Europe, in particular in Germany), describe their goals and the possible benefits of participating in such a project, compile an autobiography, fill out a questionnaire and send the documents for consideration.
After my candidacy was approved by the host and, most importantly, the scholarship fund, I was sent an official invitation, with which it was possible to issue a national student visa and prepare for a trip. I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that I was issued a German student visa free of charge. And both the department of international relations of our university, and the so-called “Welcome Center” in Tubingen helped with joy to solve the emerging organizational issues.
The main problem that had to be solved on the eve of the trip was the search for housing, which was rather difficult in a small university city. I should say that the university in Tübingen, in the south-west of Germany, is more than 500 years old. It is one of the most prestigious international universities in the country, and the population of the 90-thousandth city is 60–70% of the students and teachers from different parts of the world.
Find a free room for a month or two before the winter semester is almost unreal if you are not ready to pay fabulous sums, and some even have to go to school from the small neighboring townships. In this respect, the host country, which advised the university hostel, intended for undergraduates and graduate students for 350 euros a month was very helpful. The amount, of course, is rather big. But in West Germany as a whole, everything is more expensive than in the East or in other neighboring countries (with the possible exception of Switzerland, where prices are even more biting), so compared to rooms of 400–500, I can say that I have saved a little...
As for the conditions offered in such hostels, this is a modern high-rise corridor-type building, from 10 to 14 rooms on the floor. In the room there is a set of new furniture of IKEA, a washbasin, a good view from the window (this is, however, matter of chance), plus a common kitchen and showers. There were four showers and four toilets on the floor in my hostel, which was quite enough. A common kitchen, equipped with all the necessary utensils, from plates and frying pans to a microwave and a toaster, became almost a favorite place by the end of the internship, as it was there where you could meet your neighbors and chat about the latest news.
The only unusual moment of life in the hostel for me was a hard sorting of garbage, which the Germans pay close attention to. As many as five containers for different types of waste and strict control over compliance with instructions (of course, everyone gets used to it quickly, but you need to show proper attention, otherwise you will be punished with an impressive fine).
So, after I signed a preliminary contract and paid for the first month of residence, I moved to a new city for myself, to meet new impressions and discoveries. On arrival, several days were taken to implement all kinds of administrative procedures, from registration in the student office and city government to purchasing a sim card and opening a card account for the transfer of the scholarship. By the way, the local government met me very warmly. During the registration, the representative even gave each "guest of the university" a special booklet with tear-off coupons to visit free of charge city museums, get a discount in certain shops or cafes, attend a welcome event, a meeting with the mayor of the city, traditionally arranged on the eve of a new semester.