Meet Balu Jagadeesh, a PhD researcher from Rajagiri Business School in India, who arrived in Slovakia through the National Scholarship Programme of the Slovak Republic with little knowledge of the country beyond a Hollywood movie reference. During his three-month stay at the Faculty of Management, Comenius University in Bratislava, he not only advanced his research, but also discovered snow, poppy seed bread, punctual buses, and a quiet Slovak kindness that completely changed his perspective. Read his story in his own words.

The view from Bratislava Castle. Not a bad welcome for someone whose passport was gathering dust.Before September 2025, the entirety of my knowledge about Slovakia came from the movie Eurotrip (2004). If you have seen it, I am sorry. If you have not, please do not watch it as preparation for visiting Slovakia.

I am not a traveller. I have visited a handful of Indian states, never been abroad, and until recently, my passport served the same purpose as a very expensive bookmark. So how did a confirmed introvert from Kerala end up spending three months doing research in Bratislava? The honest answer is: I was lovingly, persistently, and very effectively tricked.

In The Secret Life of Walter Mitty, there is this beautiful motto: "To see the world, things dangerous to come to, to see behind walls, draw closer, to find each other, and to feel." Walter Mitty had to jump out of a helicopter. I just needed a very persistent Slovak professor.

Halusky at Budatín Castle, courtesy of Lenka Ma’am. Love at first bite.During an International Teaching Week at Rajagiri Business School, I was assigned as a Teaching Assistant to Dr. Lucia Vilčeková, Vice Dean at the Faculty of Management, Comenius University Bratislava. She casually mentioned I should apply for a research stay and that she would host me. I assumed she was being courteous, the academic equivalent of "We should get coffee sometime." So I smiled, said thank you, and did absolutely nothing.

Lucia Ma’am followed up. She actually followed up. She helped with the paperwork, answered every doubt, and when I arrived in Bratislava, she had arranged transport, accommodation, and even packets of rice. My roommate used to joke he was jealous of my supervisor because of the gifts. Back in India, Dr. Arun Elias, then Dean of Rajagiri Business School, and Dr. Kishore Gopalakrishna Pillai, FPM Chair and Dean, gave me the encouragement I needed to finally hit "submit." It took two countries, four mentors, and one introvert who ran out of excuses.

Here is my controversial opinion: Slovakia is paradise for introverts. Nobody makes small talk with strangers. At bus stops, people maintain a respectful distance we would never see in India. There is never a crowd anywhere, except perhaps Kaufland on a Saturday afternoon. And the public transport! I took Bus 33 every day and fell in love. The buses are not crowded, they run on time, and nobody pushes. If I lived in Slovakia, I would never buy a vehicle. This is genuinely what I miss most.

Someone once said that some people may not seem nice, but they are genuinely kind. That perfectly describes Slovaks. They might not flash a big smile at a bus stop, but the moment you need help, they are there. It is a quiet kindness, the most reliable kind.

Everyone back home warned me the food would be the hardest part. "It will be bland. Cook Indian food. Find an Indian restaurant." My mother was worried I would lose weight.

I gained 10 kilograms.

The bread aisle. Approximately one-tenth of the options available.I tried halusky during the SAIA/EURAXESS Explore Slovakia trip to Žilina, and it was love at first bite. Dr. Lenka Bugáňová from SAIA bought it for us at Budatín Castle. Lucia Ma’am suggested vegan options I loved. The strudel was excellent. And the bread! Slovakia has more varieties than I thought possible. The poppy seed bread was an acquired taste, but by the end of my stay, I was buying it routinely.

My dormitory was a miniature UN General Assembly. Roommates from Turkey, Kazakhstan, China, and Germany. One of them played a Punjabi song and asked me to translate. I had to explain that I do not speak Punjabi. I barely speak Hindi. India is like a subcontinent, much like Europe: each state has its own language, food, and identity. Thanks to these conversations, at least a few people now understand that.

My only reference points for Slovakia were Eurotrip and Anthropoid. Neither paints an accurate picture. But then, I can only imagine what people think of India from social media. I spent a good portion of my stay pitching Kerala to anyone who would listen. The real Slovakia was nothing like what I expected: quieter, greener, more beautiful, and full of castle ruins placed there specifically for dramatic photographs.

Devín Castle ruins, looking appropriately dramatic under moody Slovak skies.SAIA was incredible. The scholarship arrived before the 7th of every month, no delays, no red tape. The travel reimbursement was a lifesaver. And their programmes were genuinely enriching. It was on the Budatín Castle trip that I met Lenka Ma’am, who went far beyond her role to help with my tattoo research, volunteering as a participant and finding more interviewees, including her sister Linda. When I was researching the NSP, I noticed very few Indian scholars on the list, and even fewer PhD researchers from Management Domain.Now I know If anything, that should have been a reason to apply, not a reason to hesitate.

I also took a couple of teaching sessions at Comenius. I have taught for about five years in India, but this was an entirely different and unforgettable experience. The Comenius faculty were uniformly welcoming, curious about India, and kept offering me food. It is, I think, a universal academic language.

A striking piece at a gallery in Bratislava. The art scene is full of surprises.I chose the autumn-winter cycle deliberately because, coming from South India, I prefer cold to humid. The bonus was experiencing seasons that do not exist where I come from. I saw snow for the first time. I will not pretend I handled it gracefully. I did miss Onam, essentially the Christmas of Kerala, but Slovakia felt like a fair counteroffer.

I went to Slovakia expecting cold weather and came back with warm memories. I went expecting bland food and came back 10 kilograms heavier. I went expecting awkward silences and found a quiet kindness I have grown to deeply respect.

If you are anything like me, someone who does not travel, who thinks research stays abroad are for other people, my advice is simple: apply. The worst that can happen is you discover a country with better public transport, better cheese, and people who surprise you with their kindness.

As they say in The Secret Life of Walter Mitty: "Beautiful things don’t ask for attention." Neither does Slovakia. But it deserves yours.

Acknowledgements

My heartfelt thanks to Dr. Lucia Vilčeková (Comenius University) for making this entire experience possible; the Faculty of Management, Comenius University; Dr. Lenka Bugáňová and SAIA for extraordinary support; Dr. Arun Elias (then Dean) and Dr. Kishore Gopalakrishna Pillai (FPM Chair and Dean) at Rajagiri Business School; Dr. Sinimole (Research Guide) and Dr. Sreejith, Rajagiri Business School, for their constant support and for pushing me to make the most of my time in Europe when I had the chanceand the FPM Office for making the mobility possible.