A Bundle Of Contradictions

One, two, three, The verdict's out, And you are free, From the anticipation of anxiety;
But it's not what you'd hoped, And you're now left to cope - With a loss, Of the greatest magnitude;
At first, you see not the pitying stares, You hear not the words of comfort; You only feel, Absolute emptiness; 
After a while, The reality sinks in, You - who had the most radiant of smiles - Finally break down and cry;
You despair,  Over how miserably you've fared;  You blame the entire universe - For conspiring against you; 
Then your mind begins to feed, You with fierce, formidable fears, Of not being able to succeed, In the task you just miserably failed in; 
Then a while later, You realize, That time is a prize, A treasure not intended to be wasted, On wasted tears, Or irrational fears;
Slowly, you rise, Shakily at first, Then growing firmer, As you take the next steps;
Then, without looking back, You give your all - Hard work, passion and grit, To see that you finally get…

Pehli baar ek hi baar aata hai! (The 'first time' experience comes only once in your life) - Amitabh Bachchan in English Vinglish The first thing that would come to your mind is: 
Why is Archie (who's been a very tardy blogger lately) beginning this blog post with a very oh-so-filmy quote? 
Well, it's because I (finally) got a chance to go to Germany for a radio project after endless days of dreaming, wishing, hoping and despairing.


Which is also why I haven't been a very regular updater of this blog. 
Also there's the fact that I've been very tardy and I feel like the content I'm coming up is shit.
Never mind that. 
The thing is, after I'd posted last, I got busy with the tickets, visa appointments and the entire packing frenzy. 
Every single day went from the constant messages with "Congratulations, dear! I'm so proud of you!" to the even more regular drilling of "It's going to be very cold in Germany, you have to wear really…

It started off as an innocent call from one of my mom’s oldest friends. 
Let me stage the scene for you, dear reader. 
It was around ten in the night. I was deeply immersed in my studies, cramming for the exam the very next day. My mom was lying on the 2004-era sofa and chatting with her old friend. 
Then suddenly, my mom spoke to me, breaking me out of my reverie, “There’s a website called Internshala where you get to apply for internships during the summer.” 
“Oh, I have an account there,” was my reply and I plunged into my books, frantically trying to memorize the gist of the whole chapter. 
“You know, V* Aunty said that doing internships is a good thing for summer.” Mom said, completely used to my last minute jittery behaviour. “You’ll get certificates and work experience – which will help you for better job offers and post-grad options.” 
“That sounds cool,” I noted. “I’ll definitely apply for one this summer.” 
And thus, dear reader, began Archie’s Great Internship Saga, Summer…

Languages - you love 'em, you loathe 'em but you can't live without 'em.  (You actually can't live without languages. Unless you're a silent movie actress or a miming artiste)
Let's face it, learning languages, perfecting pronunciations and fighting a gruesome war with the grammar can be extremely taxing. 
But somehow, readers, learning a new language is actually fun. I know what your reaction would be: Dear Archie, Were you dropped in your head when you were a toddler? We don't mean to be rude, but... ARE YOU ACTUALLY INSANE? HOW CAN YOU SAY LANGUAGES ARE FUN?!?! LANGUAGES ARE SO BORING! Much love, The readers who think you've lost your head. And my answer to that would be: Dear readers, No. I'm not insane. My parents actually had me tested when I was two. (But that was because I never spoke and people like my nursery teacher thought I was dumb and I suffered from Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder) (But the doctor who tested me said that…