Aicha’s first impressions of Heidelberg
“In here, life is beautiful. The girls hills are beautiful. Even the orchestra castle is beautiful!”
As someone who is well-versed in pre-travel jitters, leaving my hometown in the middle of a pandemic was a whole new experience. My usual routine would have been a continuous loop of checking my flight information, making sure that the location of my passport was known at all times and putting together my luggage - early enough to run out of clothes to wear around the house. The special circumstances of my latest departure added a couple of stress-inducing steps to my usual routine, namely checking the new regulations and the infection rate in both my country of origin and my destination. Add a foreign language to the mix, and the result will be an anxious aspiring-volunteer on a Lufthansa flight.
Duolingo and OLS couldn’t prepare me for the (organized) chaos of Frankfurt Airport. To sum it up, I accidentally bought regional train tickets instead of ICE tickets, ended up on a train to Munich, asked a police officer for directions, ran out of the train and across the airport, jumped on the right train and reached Heidelberg two hours later. One lesson I learned that day is to always ask for directions and information in a foreign place, even when you think you can figure it out on your own.
Now, despite the not-so-smooth start, and the occasional bump every now and then, there are very few things I’d dare to complain about when it comes to life in Heidelberg - and they’re all due to Ms. Corona. The city itself is incredibly welcoming and comfortable, with its tourist attractions and natural surroundings. During regular, non-pandemic times, the city is vibrant and alive, with social and cultural events designed to entertain even those with niche interests. If the weather is nice, you can take a walk up to the Philosophenweg, spend the day sunbathing along the Neckar, go on a biking trip to the Kollersee, or even go on a quick getaway to Mannheim. If you love the adrenaline, you can join a rock-climbing group, or try paragliding over the Königstuhl.
I am yet to experience most of these activities and events, but the hopes are high for the near future – especially for the Heidelberg Literature Festival (or Heidelberger Literaturtage), which I am looking forward to.
As I am writing this introductory article, I have already spent over eight months in Heidelberg. I have witnessed the unfortunate ups and downs of the strict lockdown and experienced a bit of freedom every time the restrictions were lifted for a short period of time. Believe it or not, last week I almost shed tears of joy while enjoying my first cup of hot chocolate, sitting in a café!
In hindsight, moving to Heidelberg to volunteer with the Werkstattschule was the best decision I made in 2020 – and arguably, the best decision I made in the last six years of my life. My experience here has been shaped by the people I surrounded myself with and enriched by the activities offered by the Werkstattschule. The incredible support I received throughout my volunteering experience is one of many reasons why I highly recommend the Werkstattschule to anyone interested in volunteering, in Germany or abroad.