One remark to start off with: I am portraying my personal impressions, it may not all be based on exact facts, but personal observations can contribute to a better understanding, too. Perhaps for some it has already moved a bit out of view, but over here the Nicaragua crisis from April is still clearly present. It is quite hard to keep track of the flood of crises around the world. Besides, from a German perspective it seems terribly far away. While I’m sitting in front of th

What is the first thing that people think of when we talk about Germany? Some may think of the famous sausages, many of the great variety of beers. Others may think of buildings and big companies and, of course, that well-known stereotype of Germans always seeming angry because of their tone of voice. I’ve been living four months in this country, specifically in the capital Berlin. It’s a multicultural place full of people, churches, and trains. In this short time, I’ve notic

I will be honest and admit that before starting my volunteer service I too was unaware. In Germany I never had any experience of this side of the social welfare system and I decided to take it as it comes. Prior to my work experience I heard comments from those working in the sector such as “When I help out sometimes I come home in tears” or “Under no circumstances should you get too attached to the children”. Thus on my first work day I had a lot of anxiety about this – as h