Volunteering in Germany – an unexpected and unimaginable experience: Canute John D’Souza, FSL-India’s Outbound volunteer

Volunteering in Germany – an unexpected and unimaginable experience: Canute John D’Souza, FSL-India’s Outbound volunteer

After having worked at a German language and cultural institute, working with German teachers and interns, while also simultaneously learning the language, for a total of close to 4 years, it only made sense for me to go to Germany to be in the country that I was working for and also virtually surrounding myself with.

The most practical option I found was an international volunteering project. Working for a social cause was something that I was always keen on, but I never really found the right way to go about it. This was my chance.

Combining the two – going to Germany, and working for a social cause – was the best life could throw at me at that point. Without any hesitation, I leaped forward with my applications and flew off to Berlin.

My one year in Germany cannot be merely explained with words. It was an unexpected and unimaginable experience to say the very least. My time there opened up my eyes to things that I had never really bothered to look at in the past. My job, colleagues, and clients, the other people around me, including my fellow volunteer mates from all over the globe, the old Indian as well as German friends that I had made through my previous job, the ideologies I learned about from all these and also new people, the places I visited, the social system, the infrastructure and network, and a lot more of everything else that was crammed into my one year there changed my entire outlook on life.

Once I was back, however, things did not feel quite the same. Nostalgia hit me on the very first day, and 8 months down the line, it still stays strong. Things were not particularly easy upon my return. After being in an organised, friendly, and disciplined country, all I could see now was chaos – particularly on the roads, in the infrastructure, while trying to form non-existent queues to place an order for food at restaurants or to pick up my token number at a bank, the limited open-mindedness of people etc. All these things infuriated me quickly. It made me think of how I lived here for almost all of my life, as I was now unable to get myself accustomed to the same old life.

As it was quite uneasy being back and looking at things from this newly gained perspective, I decided that I should not allow this to bring me down. My initial response was to work on going back to Germany, maybe for a job, or for studies, whichever made it possible. But I started feeling like I am not meant to go back to Germany. At least, not immediately. The whole experience made me a more aware individual in society, only equipping me with the ambition to work on changing the way my country functioned, in order to make it a better place for everyone living here, and hopefully making it similar to Germany.

Even though at this point, I am unable to channel my ambition in the right direction to make any prominent changes, I wish to accomplish the same soon. As long as my ambition for change fuels my mind, I know I would get there eventually. For now, all I can do is be the change I wish to see around me.

Comments are closed.