Preparation seminar in Germany

As I write this text, I've already been in my project for a while and I'm trying to remember what actually happened before I left. One thing I can particularly remember: a seemingly never-ending to-do list. Starting with terminating my first own apartment, through numerous contract cancellations and adjustments, to finally packing my suitcase, pretty much everything was on that list. Organizationally challenging for me was the fact that just before my flight, there was an eight-day preparation seminar in Hesse.

But eventually, the list truly came to an end, and after numerous farewells, the day finally arrived: the day I set off for the preparation seminar in Witzenhausen/Hesse.

The in-person preparation seminar took place from July 18, 2024, to July 25, 2024, at Burg Ludwigstein in Witzenhausen/Hesse. The goal of the seminar is to thoroughly prepare all participants regarding personal, practical, and socio-political topics related to voluntary service, and of course, to get to know all the fellow participants. It was exciting to meet not only the 40 people I would be going to New Zealand with but also the other 80 individuals who would be spending their voluntary service in completely different countries. I met people who would be doing their volunteering year, for example, in Finland, Denmark, Mozambique, Kenya, India, Great Britain, Ecuador, or Colombia.

Specifically, we addressed the following topics: identity and values, living and working in the host country, perception and power, gender and sexism, awareness of boundaries, racism and colonial continuities, privileges, the power of storytelling, relationships in voluntary service, media work around voluntary service. The topics were presented using various formats, such as workshops, discussion rounds, and lectures. I found an exhibition on topics related to racism particularly interesting, which included a section on the colonial period in New Zealand as well as on racist children's books. Also exciting was the documentary