Name: David
Age: 32
Country of origin: Georgia
Degree course: Doctoral Studies in Physiological Chemistry
School: Ruhr-University

Hello, my name is David and I am 32 years old. I am in the fifth semester of my doctoral studies at the Ruhr-University. I  am a PhD student at the Institute of Physiological Chemistry. I also assist the professor, e.g. supervising groups of students in their practical course. I chose this university because its institute of physiological chemistry is one of the best, leading in the field.

I used to study German at my high school and afterwards at Goethe Institut in my country, however I never practiced it and thus my german language skills were poor when I came to Germany. Today I speak quite a bit, can hold a common conversation in the Institute or outside and also can watch and understand TV, movies and different scientific-documentary films.

The most important problem I encountered from the beginning was to get an affordable appartment in the proximity of the university, as doctoral students do not get places at dormitories. It took me a lot of time and patience to find a suitable place to live together with my family. It is strange but true that PhD Students are not considered as "normal" students and they have the least priority to get a place at the university dormitories. But finally I got a nice family appartement at a dormitory for students. Now I have a problem regarding my 2 years old daughter: strangely enough, this huge university has only one small kindergarten which is really not enough. This "little" problem takes much of our time and energy, and we are not alone - many students and workers are in the same situation.

The contacts between German and International students are - without any exaggeration - really great. This environment really promotes the friendship between different nations and cultures. We really have a lot of things to share. I do not like big cities for living. On my opinion, cities like Bochum are perfect for families. It is calm, small (although you can find everything here), friendly and so green. I can get to the university by bike in 2 minutes; in 1min I can get to the shopping area, can go to the swimming pool or fitness center; in several minutes I can be in the nice forest or at the lake etc. And everywhere there is a friendly atmosphere.

After finishing my doctoral studies in Bochum I intend to do my postdoctoral study in the United States of America (since we won the Green Card of USA) and thus to pursue my scientific career.