Hallo Leute! I’m Fabiana and this is my life as a volunteer in Leipzig!
I'm Fabiana, I'm 21 years old and I come from Italy. I have been living and volunteering in Leipzig for 2 months. When I was accepted for this project, I was really excited. Of course, I was anxious: coming here meant also getting out from my comfort zone. But I'm glad I did it! I have been studying German for 2 years, but at first it was very hard to understand people here. However, it is getting easier! At first it can be scary, but could become one of the best experiences of your life.
I'm currently volunteering in Nachbarschaftschule. I work in the after-school and I need just 10 minutes to go to work from my apartment. I usually start at 10:30, help putting something in order and then from 11:30 to 16:30 I have fun with children. They are very sweet and I love to play with them. In particular I am in the “Käfer” class with about 20 children and I have a wonderful mentor I can rely on.
This school follows the Montessori teaching method, where kids stay together even if they are not the same age. Every Wednesday there is a particular day: for example, the Halloween party. There was also the sport event and the movie day! My work colleagues are really nice, even if it’s hard to understand all.
For what concerns my daily life I have 4 incredible flatmates! We usually speak in English, also because we speak German all the day and like to disconnect for a bit. However, we decided to do the Deutschmontag, this means that every Monday we speak only German even in the house.
I still have to visit a lot of places here, but I also already had the opportunity to visit Berlin and Würzburg. In Würzburg in particular I did my first seminar provided by the association that allowed me to get to know a lot of people, to improve my German abilities and to share my feelings with people that are living my same experience.
In the evening, I usually like to go to the Open stage and to the Sprachabend, where you can choose a language, sit in that table and start to talk with people while drinking something. I usually have free time to do what I like, go shopping and getting out with people.
Since I'm here I think every day is a bit different. My routine completely changed and I did a lot of new experiences. One of my favourite was riding bike during the night with my flatmates. I felt immerged in a relaxing atmosphere and had the possibility to enjoy the view of the city. Every month we have a feedback-meeting with the association, to talk about problems or difficulties, but also to share information. I feel totally welcomed here and I hope it will continue to be like this! Of course, it's important also to do your best and try to contribute. Also asking for help can be useful in order to create bonds!
For this article is all!
Bis bald!
