Haloooo!! I’m Cecilia, I’m from Venice (Italy) and in May 2025 I started my volunteering project in the culture centre Schlachthof in Bremen.
Probably this report is gonna be a lil messy cause it’s my first, mid-term and final report all at once. So, let’s start.
You’re supposed to start your journey with the honeymoon phase, that is to say the period when you’re excited about everything you see, do and encounter. To me it wasn’t like this – but it wasn’t awful either. Maybe because I lived abroad before (also in Germany, actually nearby Bremen), but I didn’t feel the typical excitement of starting new experiences.
I guess everyone has their own path when it comes to emotions and feelings – so I’d say a good suggestion is to accept where you are with your mind and heart, whatever that is.
The first week was hard cause I’m a very social person and I didn’t know anyone, plus I was one of the few volunteers that started in May – everyone arrived around September last year, so they already knew each other for a while and didn’t have the urge to meet other people or explore their new reality as I had.
That being said, I also wasn’t working my first week so that didn’t help either.
Anyway I was lucky enough to meet my flatmate who introduced me right away to new friends and got me involved in their activities!! (Shout-out to Marine<3).
Then, I started working in Schlachthof and let me tell you, adjusting to it wasn’t the easiest thing in the world.
I immediately loved the people – very kind and welcoming human beings – and their mission. However, I felt my arrival there wasn’t really organised and there wasn’t much for me to do.
During summer the centre hosts few events and people of course are on holiday so the amount of things you can do is very small.
What I did was simply ask if there was something I could do that I didn’t know about or if I could help in some way. Generally, I’d say don’t be afraid to ask them for activities to do and to tell them how you’re feeling about your staying there.
German people have their own work culture and I guess the best way to meet in the middle is to open a dialogue with them.
Last tip and then I’m done talking about work: in my opinion it really makes the difference having a good level of german (which I hadn’t) !!
Going on, I’d like to write cool spots to visit in Bremen or in der nähe: Worpswede (an artistic village), the blocklands (there’s a insanely delicious ice cream shop), Barracuda (one of my fav bar in the center) and a gem in Gröpelingen, Zum Strali, my fav bar in the neighborhood, not chic and cool as all the spots in Viertel, but more authentic I’d say. I brought there all my friends who came to visit. I kinda don’t wanna share it with you, my reader, but good things have to be shared.
What can I add?
I’m glad for all the people I met along the way, I’ll bring some of them with me for a while. When I wrote that I’m a social person, I meant that people for me are the engine of my life. This experience really offered me some precious encounters with people from all over the world. I’d like to thank them all for sharing a piece of them and their culture with me. I’d cherish those moments forever and I’d be forever grateful for that.
Last but not least: as you may have understood from the statement in the beginning, my program was supposed to end later, in April 2026. I decided to end it at the beginning of October 2025 due to health reasons. From this hard and complex situation I once again learnt to take care of myself in the best way I know: listen to me.
My wish for you is to be able to do the same and to meet wonderful people while doing that.
Ba-bye 🙂
Cecilia was hosted by NaturKultur on our project co-funded by the European Union.
If you want to experience something similar to what Cecilia did, check out our open calls here.
