The not so quiet, quiet village

If you are looking for a quiet village with twice as many cafes as shops, no ATM but plenty of spirit. This place is for you.

I am volunteering in is a purpose- built village with 40% of the residents here disabled to varying degrees which in turn provides a fun and unique look on the world. Within this village there is even a swimming pool and gym for the residents to use as part of their physiotherapy. There are also trained staff around 24/7 to offer care, support and guidance. As the village only has roughly 1,400 residents, many of which live and work in the village, it really provides a community feel.

Although this village is built around the care of disabled people, its life blood are the volunteers who can come from any country and stay for roughly 1 year. Living and working in such a small village does has some downsides. We were shunned for the first couple of months because we could not speak German. Even within my workplace which had agreed to take in a volunteer from the UK, only two people spoke to me for the first two months. If that doesn’t make you question your life choices, I don’t know what will. But 8 months on and I am still here. Don’t get me wrong, I still have moments when I ask myself “why am I still here?” When I get invited to a party and then they have it and don’t tell me or when I am ignored for the whole day. I am 100% sure that they think I am moody and solemn looking. However, it gets tiring coming to work for the 4 days a week and not knowing whether I am going to be acknowledged as a human being or ignored and treated a someone there to do the jobs nobody wants.  

This is all starting to sound very negative and in a way it is. For us, the ‘auslӓnders’, but for the residents living here it appears to be wonderful. It’s inclusive, everyone is gentle to everyone as when you meet people on the street you can never be sure whether you are interacting with someone who has a disability or not.   The disabled residents are some of the kindest and most welcoming people you could find. Their hello in the morning could range from anything. A handshake, high five or even just a simple hello. But this is simply enough to get you through the day.

The ‘Bewohner’ how they are known here, add character and spontaneity to village life. There are movie nights for them on Fridays as well as dancing. A few weeks ago, the village held a live music event especially catering for the bewohner but also for the larger community. Events such as these provide an easy fun way for all members of the community to mix and spend time together.

Despite the problems here, this village is the home to some truly magical people.