Sarah - Burnley College

My name is Sarah and I go to Burnley College studying health and social care. In the future I really want to be a midwife. I went to Berlin in June 2012 with my tutors Claire and Ian and eleven other learners who were studying on my course.

Why I wanted to go to Berlin
I applied for the Berlin trip to experience different cultures and work in a social care setting in a different country. I wanted to also learn how to be more independent and find out how I would cope being in a different country with new people of who don't speak the same language as myself. Also I really want to go into midwifery and so the experience I would get would look fantastic in my university application. I am quite a shy person and I knew that the trip would take me out of my comfort zone and increase my confidence.

My Placement in Berlin
My placement in Berlin was at Kids and Co in the you club. This was also where we stayed during our time in Berlin. The centre was based in Heseldorf and gave people of all ages. Place to go . It also organised classes and workshops for people who are trying to find work and get new skills to help them. I was based in the youth club which was open in the afternoon until late evening. The sessions were for children between the ages of 13-20. The session did activities such as Griffiti Art , Skate Boarding , Dance Classes and youth club activities such as pool, card games, table tennis etc. My role was to take part in all the activities and engage with the people in the sessions. This allowed me to get to know different people and the staff who worked in the centre. I also received a report at the end of the placement and a Certificate of Achievement.

Other Young Volunteers
Another aspect of the visit that I enjoyed was meeting the other young German volunteers at Kids and Co : Steven, Zeuben, Emily, Johnny , Steffi, Chris, Adrian . These were the same age as myself and it allowed me to develop friendships with them and learn about there career aspirations and lives. During out time in Berlin they organised German Speaking classes for us and a sight seeing tour. This was really good as it gave us a good introduction to the city and Heseldorf. The volunteers also came to Burn,ey in August and we arranged a re- meet and get together for them which was really good to see how they were getting on and what they had done since we left in June. We also arranged a trip to Manchester to show some of them the sights in and around Burnley.

Site Seeing in Berlin
I loved Berlin as it was so different to Burnley and there was so much to see. I stayed for e first week in a flat with three other learners and my tutor and this was really good as we soon learnt how to and not to use the trains. We did get lost a few times but eventually became really confident at using the system. We also went to visit the city and saw the TV Tower, The Reichstag, The Berlin Wall, The Berlin Zoo and A Concentration Camp. I really enjoyed visiting the Berlin Wall because it made me think about how the city was divided and how different it was for e people of Berlin before e wall came down. It was historically such a big event as it united a divided city. The wall had lots of graffiti on it whe people had wrote down ere thoughts and feeling about the re- unification and the divide.

What did I gain from the experience
Since I have come back it has made me think more about what is important to me and what is not as important. Material are not that important and friendships and family are. I could not imaging being separated from my family by a wall. The visit also has developed my confidence and although I still am quiet I think I am more confident in group situations and I can get my opinions over if I need to. I am now studying a level 3 qualification and I really want to achieve my career aspirations and now I know I get do whatever I want to do in life.