Hello, I’m Zehra and this is my first report, the first report that I have been postponing for days because I didn’t know what to write. I am almost five months into my project and it amazes me how fast time passes.
The fascination of the city the first day I arrived, getting lost on my way to work for a few weeks and waiting at the train station in the rain and cold, my excitement in every new place I discovered, the daily challenges I experienced even while grocery shopping, the language barrier and many others have now been replaced by walking confidently – without using Google Map – in a familiar city. Even if it sometimes brings me to the point of tears – including the dark northern German weather – I realize how much all these challenges have made me grow.
I work with special children at the Tobias School. Most of the time I participate in sports classes and, when possible, in various classes at the school. Music, woodworking or handicrafts… Since the school I work at is a Waldorf pedagogy school, you can find traces of all walks of life in one day. In the morning the children have a science lesson and in the afternoon they can come and cook or prepare for a theater performance. It is exciting to see the potential that develops in the hearts and minds of the children over time. Accompanying them on their individual journeys, being there for them when they take even a small step forward, makes the exhaustion of the day completely worth it.
To date, we hadtwo seminars, one at the arrival seminar in Hamburg and the other at the KulturHaus. I can say that both of them were very productive and fun. In Hamburg, I made many friends in different parts of Germany. It is a very reassuring feeling to know that we have a door to knock on in an unfamiliar country, in different cities, and to visit each other from time to time.
As the Christmas season approaches, our little trips to the Christmas markets, our little European tour with my other volunteer friends during the holidays, or the small fishing town we randomly visited will always have a place in my heart for the many memories we created together, big and small.
Even though I am not even halfway through my project yet, I have to say that I have traveled more by train than I have in my entire life. Dear DB will be one of the first things that comes to my mind when I think about Germany 🙂
As the spring is coming, the days are getting longer and I am getting used to this city, country and people I am getting used to, I am curious and excited to see what more they can show me in the future. As well as what I will leave behind for these people.
Thank you! 🙂
Zehra is hosted by Tobiasschule und Kindergarten e.V. on our project co-funded by the European Union.
