My Intensive German Course

The atmosphere is very welcoming. The center invites volunteers from all over to participate in internships, language classes, the teaching program or the journalism program. Many of the people I worked with were in the "Teach English, Learn Arabic/German" program. My original plan was to arrive the summer of 2020 for the Refugee Resettlement Internship. Unfortunately, due to covid, I was not able to. Instead, my plan was to return when it was safer to do so, which I was luckily able to do this summer.

The activities at the center were great. I came in unsure of what my daily life would look like. My first day was calm, and I was quite jet-lagged. The next few days, I spent with my roommates. The next week, a number of new people arrived, who were eager to spend time together. Our first day, the center arranged a tour for us to explore the city. During the tour, we were instructed to get to know each other, with ice breaker questions. We all became so close within that day, and that closeness felt like it had developed weeks or months earlier. Halle is close to many great cities and I was lucky enough to arrive during the 9-euro ticket initiative, where it was cheaper to travel. With my center friends, I traveled to Leipzig (20min away) and Dresden (2hrs away), and also got to visit someone in Plauen.

This year, I will be doing a year-long volunteer service in Berlin, so I wanted to improve my German before doing so. I could only stay for 3 weeks this time, but my teacher Muaz was one of the best I’ve ever had. Not only did we practice grammar and vocabulary exercises in class, but we got day-to-day experience exploring Halle, meeting people, testing vocabulary on the street, in a grocery store and cafe, and having cultural conversations. It’s not what I would have expected for 3 hours a day, but so much more helpful than anything I’ve ever experienced.

Halle is a beautiful city with lots of great qualities. The architecture is beautiful while also older. Unlike some of its neighbors, Halle wasn’t destroyed in the second world war. The city community is vibrant, and community-like. Walking with center staff, everyday we’d run into someone they knew (or two or three). It’s not a tiny city, but not overwhelming and huge. I would highly recommend this program to anyone that wants to travel somewhere new, meet new people and help others!