by Vasilisa Pallis ’24
During my study abroad year in Bremen I was incredibly grateful to have had the opportunity to not only study in a German University and learn so much, but also volunteer. Before coming to Germany, I feared I wouldn’t get the opportunity to use my Russian as much, since I am a double major in German and Russian. But I was happily surprised when I was able to not only take classes with Russian content but also volunteer with Ukrainian refugees at the “Nachbarschaftshaus Helene Kaisen”, an open space for events, social facilities, and recreational areas in Bremen.
Glance at American Delegation at Special Olympics in Bremen.
There are numerous opportunities within this cultural center for Ukrainian children and teenagers to participate in different activities, such as learning English, and German, or simply having a place to go to after school. There I started a “Sprachcafé” (a language café) for Ukrainian teenagers, to practice their language skills. It was an incredible experience to get to meet such brave young students who have gone through such a horrifying experience and get to simply speak with them and get to know them. I loved having a chance to use my Russian as well as German, it was so cool to be able to speak almost three different languages at the same time. I am so grateful to have had this memorable and fulfilling opportunity.
American Delegation being interviewed in the city center of Bremen.
In addition to my help with Ukrainian refugees, I also had the opportunity to help with Special Olympics Bremen. It was amazing to get to help during the Host Town Program when the US delegation came to Bremen before heading off to the Special Olympics in Berlin. I loved meeting the different athletes, making them feel comfortable, showing them around Bremen, and helping with their training before the Olympics. All in all, I am extremely grateful to have experienced my year in Bremen and to have helped in any way I could while in Bremen. This was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and I am proud to say I have enjoyed and learned so much from it.
Mr. Schreiner is a member of the “Christlich Demokratische Union Deutschlands“ (CDU) in Rhineland-Palatinate, which is a successful Christian-democratic, conservative, and economically liberal party in Germany. He is the head of the ‘Klimaschutzpolitik’ for his faction, which means he has input in every form of climate protection-based policy in Rhineland-Palatinate. When I first arrived in Mainz at the end of March, I had no idea what to expect. All that I wanted to get out of this internship was to be able to see how the inner workings of German politics function. It did not take long for me to see Mr. Schreiner meet with numerous Mainz Citizens daily and work with them to better his beautiful city. On the very first night of my internship, Mr. Schreiner said to me “Come to my event tonight, it will give you a true insight into the way politics work here.”
The event was called a podium discussion, which Mr. Schreiner was the moderator of. I was unaware until the beginning of the event that the two men discussing at the podium would be Nino Haase (non-party) and Christian Viering (Die Grünen), the two men running for Mayor and at the time in a run-off race. Although it was apparent that they were competing against each other, their civility and respect for one another were incredible. Even though I might not be German it was evident to me that both candidates had the goal to make Rhineland-Palatinate better for all. The event itself was delightful and truly set the tone for the rest of my time in Mainz. The next day I was able to sit in on the CDU-Fraktion’s group meeting where they discussed what they would say at the next Parliament meeting, and then I was able to witness them in action hours later as the Bundestag met. My everyday life in Mainz was simply enhancing and unimaginable, every day was so different from the last.
One day Mr. Schreiner took me to the city of Sinzig to meet with businessmen and discuss how to avoid another possible flood. After that meeting, Mr. Schreiner drove me around the town so that I could see the impacts of the last flood and he informed me of all the tragedies that occurred in a certain area. The next day we met with two architects from Berlin and Mr. Schreiner gave them a private tour of Dom St. Johannis, the older delicate Cathedral in Mainz. I was very lucky to see the insides of this beautiful historic Cathedral for myself, and I could not believe how spooky the hidden crypt aspect was.
However, my absolute favorite experience of my internship did not even take place in Mainz. On a Friday in late March, Mr. Schreiner, his team, and I drove to a town called Würzburg in Bavaria. There we learned about the new innovative ways that people are becoming more carbon-friendly and what adaptations ‘Wine Mountains’ have made in the past few years. Both topics were insightful to learn about and everyone was extremely nice. It was tricky to understand the Germans from Bavaria because they have a very unique dialect, but I had an amazing time.
