Something strange happened today. I met a time-traveller saying he’d met my doppelganger in the parallel universe ‘The 2025-26 Academic Year.’ He gifted me a transcript of their conversation, and I’m convinced he must’ve encountered future-me. You might think me crazy, but, if you’re convinced I’m losing it, here is the transcript’s contents:
My year-abroad in two distinctive cities, working as a British Council ELA in Germany’s Ingolstadt and studying Russian in Kazakhstan’s Astana, deepened my cultural understanding and transformed my sustainable travel approach. These experiences challenged me to actively reduce my environmental impact while engaging with local communities and infrastructures shaping mobility there. I gained practical insight into UN SDGs and how sustainability unfolds in different urban contexts.
In Ingolstadt, a city balancing automotive heritage with forward-looking sustainability, I taught English at a local Gymnasium and commuted daily using the INVG bus system with my Deutschlandticket, a pass covering unlimited regional trains/buses. This significantly reduced emissions from driving or flying, especially since I used regional trains to cities like Regensburg and Nuremberg. For shorter trips, I rode my locally purchased second-hand bike, exploring Ingolstadt’s bike-lanes and the Danube’s riverside paths. My accommodation sourced renewable energy and encouraged waste-separation too, insofar the 3-Tonnen-System was implemented. I also integrated sustainability into English lessons presenting this topic as of shared relevance between cultures and nations. I designed an English debate where students discussed electric vehicles’ environmental benefits, linking discussions to SDG-11 (Sustainable Cities and Communities) and SDG-13 (Climate Action.) Ingolstadt’s position as a vehicular innovation hub, with initiatives like Audi’s electric-car pilots, gave my teaching relevance and inspired students to critically consider transport’s future.
My Astana experience was equally insightful. As an RLUS Russian student, I navigated Astana’s wide roads and extreme temperatures challenging sustainable travel. Still, I consciously used public transport via apps such as Avtobys and Smart Astana supporting contactless payments and real-time tracking of electro-hybrid buses. Walking, weather permitting, also shaped my routine, especially around the pedestrian-friendly Nurly Zhol Boulevard. For longer excursions, I took KTZ trains, traveling, for instance, to Karaganda by train instead of flying, reducing carbon footprints while supporting SDG-9 (Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure.) Habits like shopping at local bazaars with reusable bags and supporting cafes offering discounts for using disposable cups enabled sustainability in a city where environmental infrastructure is developing. Upholding SDG-12 (Responsible Consumption and Production) and SDG-15 (Life on Land), I refused to neglect vegetarianism, despite the notoriously meat-centric Kazakh cuisine of horsemeat/mutton. I didn’t let this affect cultural enrichment though, actively seeking authentic, defaultly vegetarian cuisine such as succulent vegetarian plov or delectable pumpkin manti.
What to make of this time-traveler’s gift? Through these two placements, I’ll have learned how sustainable travel requires awareness and adaptation. Cycling Ingolstadt’s bike-lanes and braving Astana’s snowy sidewalks, I’ll realise how every thoughtful choice, favouring public transport or integrating sustainability into teaching, supports broader climate goals. Time abroad will demonstrate sustainability isn’t about perfection but making consistent, intentional efforts benefiting communities and our planet.
