Day 1 till Day 18 – A reflection of my feelings

In the very beginning I felt a bit lost, like a newborn, I did not really know anyone, anyplace, simply anything. So I sort of clutched at my mentor as the only person that was slightly familiar to me. Also I was living in the flat alone which seemed a little creepy and lonely at first but I got used to it and it actually did not bother me anymore after a couple of days. In the school I also did not know anyone at first and saw like a million new faces everyday whose names I desperately tried to remember day after day.

But things improved really fast. I hung out with different people, old people I knew from two years ago, my mentor and other volunteers. I had some activity planned almost every day and did not feel lonely at all. Also the flat became like a home for me where I could be my own boss and do as i please. At day 10 I felt like I really arrived here. Not only physical but also with my mind. On top of that I began to truly enjoy the work in the school. I am still looking forward to going there every day. I really like to help the students wherever I can and feel pleased and a little proud when they understand what I try to explain to them. Also in my opinion I get along great with the other teachers, especially the German teachers of course. We have an extra teacher’s cabinet for the foreign languages teachers and it seems like a cosy place where everyone feels accepted and sort of at home.

Things began to change of course when my roommate arrived. The flat did not belong to me anymore and I had to make compromises and concessions, which is naturally not comfortable at first, but yet important to live peacefully together and grow with the situation. To me we found satisfying solutions for everything and live acceptable and in more or less harmony together. The most important point to me is talking about everything, because we live so close together and actually do not have any real private space in the flat because we do not own separate rooms. So when something bothers someone or is not tolerable for one, the needs and doubts should be always shared with the other one. I am not completely sure if this already works out perfectly but I am sure we both do our very best to achieve this goal. Furthermore the little things count for me. So if one of us can do a little favour for the other it will benefit to both of us and our relationship.

Now on day 18 I feel like the beginning phase here is over and that I can start my real life here with having an everyday life: Working in the school Tuesday through Friday, doing housework and school preparation during the afternoon, having Zumba lessons twice a week and meeting with people some evenings for drinks. Of course the weekends are all different and mixed with going out, travelling and visiting friends. But it is important to have some variation in life otherwise one would get bored of oneself. Right now I am excited how my life and sensations here will develop and also keen on keeping the positive things up!