Today will be fun.
Normally that's not something hosts allow:
Travelling alone in a city more than one hour away.
From Kodungallur, via North Paravur, to Aluva, to Ernakulam. Where I'll visit language schools to do market research.
It took 5 visits to Kerala reach that point, where others trust me enough that I can do it.
Because after all, life is very different here.
Let's rock!
Let me take you on a small adventure. To get a better feeling of local everyday life.
Hari
I woke up at 6 AM local time. Got ready.
Went to Hari's room. Woke him up.
I felt little bit bad. It was clear he needed more sleep.
But plan is plan.
Because waking up too early was not enough, it started to rain. Heavily. And he needed to unlock the gate.
Just like the rain didn't exist, he almost sleepwalked to the gate. Finished the job, returned to the car.
That took 30 seconds. Those 30 seconds were enough for his first shower of the day.
For him?
No problem. Gate open.
We went do the central bus station in K-Town. On the way I asked a question which I thought might be not unimportant:
"How does travelling by bus work here?"
That was the start of a hilarious introduction which just kept getting better and better and better:
Hari: "All buses indicate the directions. You just gotta read the name where it goes."
10 seconds later.
H: "Oh shit. Its written in Malayalam only."
The first word in red reads "Paravur". The second word "Kodungallur".
Intuitive, right?
So I had to visualize those patterns so I hit the right bus. No problem though for me, since even if I forget, I possess a superpower:
I dare to ask for help.
Exactly what he realized:
H: "I don't think you can get on without support."
He shook his head slightly, silently saying "anyways", and continued:
"Pink buses are faster. Blue buses are slowest. White buses are most dangerous. For others.
Usually both pink and blue buses are there..."
He took a dramatic break before adding:
H: "Only god knows when comes what."
I was laughing already from before and it got better by the minute. That it's not the easiest endeavor I realized the night before when Amma and Achan joked and told me "but you gotta come back, okay?!" hinting at an infinite pool of possibilites what could happen.
Back with Hari I asked the next question:
"And Kodungallur has one stop?"
I made him realize yet another thing.
H: "Oh. No no. It has multiple stops. And when returning from Aluva it's not even written Kodungallur." You should've seen his face. He produced a telling look.
H: "I don't understand. In old times they wrote in English also?"
For me a slight increase in difficulty was no disadvantage though. It was added value to the adventure. So I replied sharply:
F: "I like it more this way. Your probably the only one who's not relaxed."
Then I got another hilarious tidbit:
H: "Aah. Here is okay. Once you're lost, I send someone to extract."
Soso, now I knew the expectation =)) Weirdly though, I enjoyed this too much. After all the comfort of the first week, being driven around by car to all places it was time for something equally authentic: Every day life for most of the people.
I didn't dare to ask more questions because I anyways had realized that I have to rely on my skill to connect with others and find my own way. But I couldn't remain silent. And I noticed something after waiting some more time:
F: "Now the pupils are gone. That's good."
Hari understood what I wanted to say.
H: "You think you have space?"
After my Nepal trip I knew the filling capacity of a bus. I've experienced that a bus is only full, once a bus is full. With that in hindsight I was realistic:
F: "More. Not saying I'll have space."
Hari found yet another promising words:
H: "At least when I went I never had space. Oh and front is reserved for ladies. Which is indicated somewhere by 'Srigal' or 'Ladies'."
That was it. What an intro.
No need to talk more. I was as prepared as I can be. Nothing in the world could anyways prepare me:
Anything can happen. Learning by doing.
That's how I like it.
To me it shows why locals want to make sure there is a guide around and why they don't really allow such things for visitors unless they are confident we've seen enough to manage.
And my guide was actually the reason I could relax a little bit more. Because the way to Aluva was actually safe. Only the way back was not.
Because for the first leg I had a guide from which I could learn more, safely:
Vichu
Vichu came. And we went.
It was a blue bus. Here is how this one looked from the insight. For anyone who is complaining about public transport in Germany, just take a look at the condition. That's no exception, that's normal.
It was actually quite empty. In the beginning.
A couple of stops later the bus was almost full. Almost. And what that means you gotta check out for yourself:
Imagine, there are two people working per bus. One driver. One stuffer. That's what I call him. His job is purely to fill the bus and make sure they get most money out of each drive.
Did I already mention how comfortable public transport in Germany is?
My particular highlight was the man on the right with the pink shirt. Every single time the stuffer moved inside the bus from front to back, he needed to make space. How? By putting his belly into Vichus face. Vichu showed absolutely no reaction. I couldn't believe it. Man it was tough to stay serious. It did not just happen once, it happened more and more often the more people went inside. Because the stuffer collects the money inside the bus, not before entering it. Each stop becomes a Formula 1 like tire swap. Break. Stop. Get In. Drive On.
That was bus one to Paravur. A third of the way. Quite comfy though, because we were sitting.
The next buses, to Aluva, were crowded. Vichu taught me they come every five minutes. No worries.
That showed me first that public transport connections are actually quite frequent. But also how many people commute by bus.
Why? The price.
A one hour bus ride to a place 40 km away (yup, roads are bad and traffic is super slow) costs roughly 40 cents. That's less than a Bretzel.
A taxi would cost roughly 15€.
Totally worth it. But not affordable for most.
We skipped the first because it was full. The second one was full too. Third same. Fourth, we didn't care and got in.
It was actually quite empty.
I loved Vichu's comment:
"You cannot see this in Germany. Only in India."
And my reply as equally strong I felt:
"Yes! Don't give me boring. Give me real."
After some time we even got places to sit. Easy.
And then, it got a little bit hectic. Because I needed to get down. Whereas Vichu needed to continue.
And just like that I was out there. It's 10 AM. I'm on my own.
Perhaps for some too much. For me freedom.
Joly
I know this place.
It's near to a metro station in the economically strongest region of Kerala.
I'm searching online for German language schools nearby and find one right around the corner. And what I do next is where it shows that I'm German: 2 minutes by car. Five minutes by foot...
I choose to walk.
Inviting, right?
Just kidding, I even had to move past a chain but asked a security guard if it was okay. He said "sure, sure, only for cars". I indeed met other pedestrians here. That doesn't mean though I was actually allowed to walk there.
Just 500 meters further I went into the first school.
I knew I had no real clue what to expect, what I shall say et cetera. Does it surprise you that I messed this one up pretty bigtime?
I had listed a lot of questions, but couldn't articulate myself and what I want. The managing director wasn't there. I suggested I'll have food first and return.
So I did. How to find a good spot for food?
By talking to locals. First identify a good soul. Then ask where there is good food.
That's how I met Jolly.
What a cool dude. And here is a small glimpse into how local stores look like. He was so fascinated and didn't want me to leave but I was so hungry I had to at some point.
When we left Tony just entered the area, the director of the language school. They know each other, Jolly introduced me, Tony invited me in, I postponed to after breakfast. Easy going.
Joly asked whether it would be okay for me if he accompanied me to the hotel (which they call restaurants here), I said "sure, why not?", we went. He told me at least four times "But you have to come back, okay?! You have to come back!". I replied again "sure, I'll talk to Tony".
I had Appam, best described as fluffy salty rice pancake, with Egg curry and Chai. Returned. Went to Tony and got the first insights into German teaching.
The first learning:
It's a highly competitive market. But honestly, what's not, in a country with more than one billion competitors seeking an edge. The price drives the contracts. Students pay roughly 100-200€ per month to study German.
Students noticed me already. And as soon as they did they weren't to be found in their classrooms, but on the hallways. Acting busy, secretly non-secretly gazing towards me.
I'd loved to talk to them or the teachers, but I didn't position myself well enough. I had talked about providing online German courses. Obviously I was more like a competitor for Tony, no help.
The next learning:
He had something to hide. I have a feeling I discovered later what that was.
Positively, we agreed that I should reach out to him when I return, and then we can discuss how I could teach German there.
On the way out I had another conversation with Joly. We discovered that his name is very similar to mine. I had a flashback to the city hall officer in Luxembourg who froze when I gave him my ID card because his name was also Felix Ast, or my college at Pfeifer whose name was Said El-Sayad, having the same origins than my name, just in Arabic. When meeting enough people such things can be dismissed as coincidence. However, and this might just be me: at meaningful moments, I feel the higher support even stronger.
He made it very clear that he will never forget this day and with a great first feeling I continued.
This one was too close to not go there. But it was so close it was kinda closed. This joke probably only works in English. I went inside, I heard a class going on, but no one was in the office, so I didn't want to interrupt unannounced and left quickly. I got a feeling for the rooms and saw rather barren and uncomfortable furniture, simple, ventilated, not cooled halls. Students were wearing uniforms and moved I couldn't help but wonder whether that's the right environment for students to prosper. Something pushed me out and then I had a fun decision to make.
Where to go next?
I was again walking, and somehow I even managed to reach the place safely, although I had to cross several streets.
This time though I simply said I thought merely saying I'm German and I can teach German.
And that's how I met:
Faisal
He was immediately interested and in no time I was where I wanted to be:
In the middle of many many classrooms. I don't remember how many classrooms there were but first positive thing I noticed was how small the groups were. It's a really nice teacher to student ratio.
It was awesome. It felt wholesome. I was at the right place. Doing the right thing.
We had loads and loads of fun, joking constantly. The vibe was instantly there, the optimism of the students was so nice to see as they had high hopes for their future.
After those class room visits at Faisals place we talked more about business. We exchanged contact details and I left.
He has roundabout ten students, ready to get into vocational training for nursing. But he needs someone to directly establish contact.
And here is the next learning:
The DeInBridge is needed. Germany's vocational training system isn't yet fully marketed. People follow established channels and nursing is one of them. Few people know they can do vocational training in all kinds of subjects. For me this is important, because although there was optimism, in my opinion there was not as much passion.
We leave a lot of potential untapped, especially since hundreds of thousands of vacancies remain open each year.
Leaving the building I met one of the students. He taught me the next thing:
His parents invest in him. And it's no little amount for them. Price is a major pain point. Since we are building Light on German with many international language students together, we had insight here already, but talking to this point just got even more pronounced.
I had energy for one more institute.
And when bus travelling is fun, Auto-Rikshaw travelling is even more fun. The constant rattling. The motor noise. The incense smell. Feeling every hole and every bump of the street. Too good to be true.
Anna
The last school for the day was another highlight. I felt the same level of excitement.
At first I met the teachers. One of them was Anna and she would show me around.
Then more students. We played some games to practice German, I corrected some of their pronunciation issues and then we clicked the goodbye image.
I shouted "let's make some noise!" counted down from three, and then this happened:
Where I was exactly the only one making noise. I turned around, looked at them, mocked them saying "you just embarrassed me, can we do it once more, properly?"
And then we had the energy. It was like standing on a stage interacting with a crowd.
Man it was fun. For all of us.
Overall this would show me two very essential points about teachers:
Most of them are language students themselves, waiting for their visa to be approved. Mostly B2 level, ready for nursing, healthcare jobs etc. Although all of them are nice, they are students themselves. To be frank though, their level doesn't prepare the students really for Germany. I even think it's irresponsible to some degree. No wonder students get shocked by real Germany because the expectation and reality doesn't match. Native German is needed. Dialects are needed. How fitting that we provide it.
And next, the students:
They learn Correctness. Not Communication. They were either so in awe and/or so deeply in fear of mistakes, fact is almost noone spoke unless I called them. And even then they didn't enjoy it, they at times exhaled saying "oh man, why me?" Like I was an exam about life or death. I tried many communicative tools to establish instant connection, laughter and thus trust but still it was difficult. I know many have never seen foreigners. But what would happen to them when they would reach actual Germany? I believe focusing on Correctness is a huge reason why students often they end up in isolation.
And that's exactly what Tony did not want to show me I believe. He know that the level of the students and teachers is not really high. But it's their business. A pretty lucrative one.
On the way out I met an insta influencer, we recorded a funny video where I would speak in Malayalam, and they would speak in German. Let's see whether this one would also hit millions of views.
To go full circle I then traveled by Metro, talked for more than half an hour with some policemen.
Was too hungry though at that point and eventually had one of the tastiest foods in Kerala, and for sure one of the more tasty fish:
When I had food it was 5 PM when I had my lunch and I was pretty baked at that point. But that was not all, I had to get some presents, check out some more stores, before deciding how I'd return.
At some point Vichu called that he is done and that we could go back together.
Meat Transports
That made life so much easier. Although not more fun.
Because we took one more bus.
And while the morning bus was quite okay. Travelling back home, after the buses heated themselves up the entire day, is not.
Outside it had 30 degree Celsius. Which felt easily like more due to the humidity. But inside it was surely five degrees warmer.
Those 1.5 hours were a real pain.
My knees were hitting the front seat. My ankles were touching the metal rods at the bottom. To the right I was pressed against the outer bus wall, to the left Vichu, who was sleeping with his head on my shoulder. No AC. And soon really full. It's tropical, so it stays pretty constant throughout the year.
Welcome to commuting by bus. Chicken have better living conditions in Germany than people here.
This, as Mom would call it, are meat transports.
We reached K-Town, I was fully wet by sweat and just wanted to hit the bed.
What a day. Thanks for travelling with me.
What I needed to see, I had seen. What I needed to learn, I had learned.
See you in the next one.
