Novo poglavlje života naše volonterke Božane u Berlinu

Pozdrav, dragi prijatelji.

Sigurno se još uvijek sjećate mene, vaše volonterke iz prošle školske godine. Ako ne, pročitajte na blogu, pisala sam u vrijeme mog boravka i rada u Zagrebu i vašem centru. Kada ste otišli na školski raspust, moj period volontiranja se približio kraju i odlučila sam ne vratiti se u svoj grad, Tuzlu, nego otići dalje. Zašto? Hmmm...Više je razloga za to...Prvenstveno, jer sam uvidjela da mi odgovara život u većem gradu, gdje je življe, gdje ima više sadržaja i mogućnosti. Pritom mislim i na posao i na društveni život. Zagreb je krasan i grad koji je uvijek u mom srcu, ali već duži period sam planirala otići u Njemačku i provesti neko vrijeme tamo, tako da sam u lipnju odlučila da je pravo vrijeme za taj pothvat. Berlin se nametnuo kao najbolje rješenje iz praktičnih razloga; imam rođaka koji je već nekoliko godina u Berlinu, jako dobro ga poznaje i koji me pozvao da dođem živjeti s njim. Također, većina osoba su mi rekli da je strancima koji tek dođu u Njemačku i žele se postepeno adaptirati na novu sredinu, novi jezik i sve ostalo, Berlin nekako najprikladniji, jer je uistinu šarolik, prepun stranaca, a njemački kojim se služe Nijemci u Berlinu je standardni, bez narječja, stoga ga je najbolje učiti tu.

Kako rečeno, tako učinjeno, krajem lipnja oprostila sam se sa svojim prijateljima u Zagrebu, spakirala kofere i doputovala u Berlin. Prvih dana, kada sam krenula upoznavati grad, doživjela sam pravi šok. Toliko je ogroman, ubrzan, glasan, šaren, da sam sve vrijeme imala osjećaj da sam statist u nekom filmu. Onda sam se malo privikla i počela istinski uživati. Iako je grad, kako sam već rekla, ogroman (900 ), vrlo dobro je povezan i javnim prijevozom (bus, tramvaj, metro) lako se i brzo stigne do bilo kojeg dijela. Ono što me najviše fascinira jeste svakako arhitektura, svaki dio grada u kojem sam do sada bila je drugačiji i poseban, ali zbilja prekrasan. Ima jako puno parkova i izvrsna je ta ravnoteža između „gradskog sivila“ i parkova, zelenila, biljaka... Također, ponovno sam razbila stereotip koji sam stekla u našim krajevima, a to je da su Nijemci hladni i rezervirani ljudi. Stekla sam već nekoliko prijateljica i prijatelja tu i možda sam samo imala sreću, ali svi koje sam do sada upoznala su vrlo srdačni, blagi, strpljivi i prijateljski nastrojeni. Inače, na ulicama, ljudi su toliko prirodni i neopterećeni bilo čime osim svojim svakodnevnim obavezama.

U Berlinu se mogu čuti doslovno svi europski jezici. Engleski se isto jako puno koristi, ali odmah po dolasku sam počela obnavljati svoj njemački, kako bih ga što prije usavršila i bila spremna na neke nove korake. Uistinu je puno lakše kada ste stalno i sa svih strana okruženi nekim jezikom, od supermarketa, javnog prijevoza, televizije i svega ostalog. Krenula sam i na online tečaj, tako da primjećujem napredak svakoga dana. Toliko dragi prijatelji za sada. Pisat ću vam i ubuduće, kada će vjerujem biti više novosti i zanimljivosti. Naime, iskustvo volontiranja u centru Slave Raškaj će mi vjerojatno koristiti u zaposlenju u jednom edukacijskom centru ovdje. Vidite, volontiranje i stjecanje novih iskustava i vještina se uvijek isplati. Do novog javljanja, šaljem vam i nekoliko fotkica. Ostajte mi dobro i sretno u novoj školskoj godini!

Božana Barušić

Hello, dear friends.

You probably still remember me, your volunteer from last school year. If not, read it on the blog, I wrote during my stay and work in Zagreb and your center. When you left for the school holidays, my volunteering period came to an end and I decided not to return to my city, Tuzla, but to go further. Why? Hmmm... There are several reasons for that... Primarily, because I realized that living in a bigger city suits me, where it is livelier, where there are more facilities and opportunities. I mean both work and social life. Zagreb is a beautiful city that is always in my heart, but for a long time I have been planning to go to Germany and spend some time there, so I decided in June that it was the right time for that venture. Berlin imposed itself as the best solution for practical reasons; I have a cousin who has been in Berlin for several years, knows him very well, and invited me to come live with him. Also, most people told me that for foreigners who have just come to Germany and want to gradually adapt to a new environment, a new language and everything else, Berlin is somehow the most suitable, because it is truly colorful, full of foreigners, and the German used by the Germans in Berlin is standard, without dialects, so it is best to learn it there.

As said, so done, at the end of June I said goodbye to my friends in Zagreb, packed my bags and traveled to Berlin. In the first days, when I started getting to know the city, I experienced a real shock. It is so huge, fast, loud, colorful, that the whole time I had the feeling that I was an extra in a movie. Then I got used to it and started to really enjoy it. Although the city, as I said before, is huge (900 〖km〗^2), it is very well connected and by public transport (bus, tram, metro) you can easily and quickly reach any part. What fascinates me the most is certainly the architecture, every part of the city I've been to so far is different and special, but really beautiful. There are a lot of parks and the balance between "city gray" and parks, greenery, plants is excellent... Also, I once again broke the stereotype I acquired in our region, which is that Germans are cold and reserved people. I have already made several friends there and maybe I was just lucky, but everyone I have met so far is very warm, gentle, patient and friendly. Otherwise, on the streets, people are so natural and unencumbered by anything other than their daily duties.

Literally all European languages can be heard in Berlin. English is also used a lot, but immediately after my arrival I started to improve my German, in order to improve it as soon as possible and be ready for some new steps. It's really much easier when you're constantly and from all sides surrounded by a language, from supermarkets, public transport, television and everything else. I also started an online course, so I notice progress every day. So dear friends for now. I will write to you in the future, when I believe there will be more news and interesting things. Namely, the experience of volunteering at the center for education Slava Raškaj will probably benefit me in my employment at an Center for education here. You see, volunteering and gaining new experiences and skills always pays off. Until I hear from you again, I am sending you a few photos. Stay safe and happy in the new school year!

Božana Barušić