Laura - Burnley College

All about me
My name is Laura and I’m studying on the Level 2 Health and Social Care and my career aim is to become a Social Worker and later in my career become a Manager of a Children’s Residential home.
The reason for me wanting to go to Berlin was for the cultural experience and to discover ways of overcoming language barriers. I also wanted to work and meet people who I did not know and gain experiences from the different aspects of working with others. I have always wanted to visit Germany because my Mum lived in Germany and I wanted to visit the place she once lived.

The reason why I wanted to attend the exchange was to gain valuable experience and I felt this was a fantastic opportunity to work with others who are my age and gain knowledge of them personally and make long term friendships.

I hoped to gain understanding of the health and social care provision, new friends and people who I can connect with in similar circumstances. I also wanted to gain my V50 award an award that was awarded for me completing 50 hours of voluntary work and this is now part of my individual learning portfolio which I will take for my University interviews.

The reason for my interest in the Berlin work placement was to work with other young people and gain valuable knowledge and experience as well as making friends from the UK and Germany. I also wanted to experience the culture and the historical landmarks of Berlin such as the East Side gallery, Sachsenhausen Concentration Camp and the TV tower.

How I prepared for Berlin was taking part in a group life dreams coaching session working with a wacky lady called Waltraud who was is very bubbly, outgoing, fun, extrovert, knowledgeable and caring. Waltraud made the whole experience exciting and a pleasure to be a part of. She gave me and the other young people a great sense of knowledge and wisdom and key points that will make our time in Berlin easier and more enjoyable and without her the experience would not have been possible.

When I was first told about the Berlin trip by Claire, my tutor in Group Tutorial I was really interested in the visit because it was going to change my life and dreams.
On the initial application I had to complete a statement of interest and write about the reasons for wanting to visit Berlin and take part in the Leonardo Da Vinci project. Once I sent my application it was a waiting game and I was successful the dream had just begun.
The initial preparation took place over 3 days and we learnt some basic German phrases, discussed our own experiences and took part in many different team building activities to support. The life dreams coaching was the most enjoyable part of the preparation actually hearing other people telling make what sort of person I was.

On one of the preparation days Waltraud came into the college and taught us some German. This was really good and helped us when we went to Berlin to prepare for placements. In the weeks coming up to the trip we practised in sessions at college and also did tasks in which we had to find out about Berlin and what we wanted to do when we went on the visit. We also had two parent/ student advice evenings in which we learnt more about the visit and what we would be doing.
My placement in Berlin was at Mittendrin a community day centre and project that supported people within this small district of Hellersdorf. The experience I had there was very enjoyable we took part in craft workshops, fitness classes, games and basic communication with service users teaching a man to speak English. I worked with Jade in the placement and since the Berlin experience I have now become close friends with Jade and we are still at college together now studying on the Level 3 Health and Social care course.

The feedback from the placement was very good and lovely comments were written about me and the work I had done. The skills I had developed were speaking basic German, how to communicate and build relationships with people. How to become independent and also how to make a bond with people I would not normally meet and speak with.
In our leisure time we visited many places in Berlin not only with Ian and Claire but with the German Volunteers who supported us while staying at Kids and Co. We visited the main city landmarks and also climbed to the top of the Government Building the Reichstag. We went to the Berlin Zoo, Concentration camp and Freidrichstat Palace to see an amazing theatre performance called FYI . We also went shopping in Berlin went on an open top bus all in all we walked miles but saw the best bits of Berlin.

On another of our days off we visited a concentration camp. I found this very enjoyable in a very sad way seeing all the sites and hearing the experience for me was a very unique but sad experience. I saw the actual evidence of everything I had been taught at School and this was very surreal.
While staying at Kids and Co we learnt how to cook, work and live as a group in one building initially it was hard as some people were very pro active and others sat back and watched but by the end of the week we had a got together and sorted the problems by holding a house meeting and speaking about our own thoughts and concerns. Overall this was one of the highlights all of us sitting down together and enjoying social time together was a really fun experience.
What I got most of all from the experience was the friendships, knowledge and independence to become the person I want to be. I look at my life very differently now and the experience will be one I can never forget.