My name is Thamizhselvam Velmurugan, a volunteer at the German Red Cross, at Billerbeck, Germany.

I am working as a caregiver at HausBaumgarten where 24 people live. My role at my workplace is to go for a walk with the residents, help the cook to prepare meals and to take the residents shopping.

I am staying in an apartment near my workplace, at about 650 mtr distance, along with 2 other volunteers from Tanzania.

January was a normal month – the same work and tasks and I attended a training at their Head Office on how to care for people with Down’s syndrome at HausBaumgarten. In the 1st week of February, I went with some people to a city called Oberhausen. There, we went shopping at Cenro shopping complex and to Tiger Jump sports park, which was really a new experience for me, with new people.

In the middle of February, one of the Red Cross volunteers met us in our flat and we had fun and games there. At the end of February, I went to Kempten and Munich to meet my German friends and then took a small trip to Austria also, with my friends. Those days are some of the most favorite days of my life. Beautiful mountains, fully snow covered and people skiing in the mountains. In Munich, I went to an Indian restaurant and a Samurai show.

In the first week of March, I visited Amsterdam with my friends. It’s a really beautiful city in the Netherlands. There, we ate some special, famous foods, i.e. Apple Pie and Wafers with fresh caramel. I spent the whole day in Amsterdam.

Mid-March, we have mid-term seminar at Greven, with the Red Cross. That day, we really enjoyed ourselves because, after 5 months, all the other volunteers met together and we shared new learnings from our experiences. One day, we went climbing the big walls near Munster. On the final day, we had a small party at Greven. At the end of the month, I went with some people to Spring Welcoming Market, at Dülmen .

In the first week of April, I visited the Munster Zoo. That was a big experience for me at the zoo with so many people, lots of new animals and a dolphin show . For the first time in my life, I saw a penguin.

When summer starts in Germany, there is a time difference and a climate change – a new experience because from 4:30 am in the morning to 10:00 pm in the evening, there is sunlight. Every day it’s a new learning for me, in Germany. Thank you, FSL-India for giving me this wonderful opportunity.