If someone had told me that the biggest challenge in Germany wouldn’t be the language, the weather, or the academics—but learning how to make eye contact with strangers—I would’ve laughed. Yet here I am, months into my student life, still…

When I first landed in Germany, the cold hit me harder than the jet lag. Everything felt unfamiliar — the language, the food, even the silence. Back home in Pakistan, streets buzzed with noise, laughter, and chai stalls. Here, the…