The First Few Days of Work!!

Well work is going great! Yesterday was my first day and in all honesty, I just needed a day to take it all in. 9 hours of work is exhausting mentally and physically, especially when it's in a different language. My German is improving so much because the elderly people don't know any English. My internship is also called a Sprachpraktikum which translates to a speaking internship.

There are 3 levels at the Seniorenhaus Zur Buche and the higher the level, the more severe the illness. The man who started this chain of homes is also obsessed with Lord of the Rings or Herr der Ringe. The first floor is called Hobbits 1, the second floor is called Wohnbereich Hobbits, and the third floor is called Wohnbereich Elfen 3 Schwalbennest. The last part means Swallow's Nest, but the points is, each floor is named for Lord of the Rings people. I was meant to be here. Most of them have Dementia and you might not know this but people with Dementia often try to run away. Well in Germany, they like to go by bus. So on each floor they have a fake bus stop and the elderly people sit there waiting for the bus until the nurses come. It's sad but funny, your choice! Here's what the bus stop looks like.

 I also pour a lot of coffee, serve meals during the meal times, and practice piano every morning. It sounds boring but these elderly people are the happiest and funniest people I've ever met. Yesterday, I shocked one old couple by having a full conversation with them in German. And today another old woman yelled at me because I didn't put enough coffee in, so I poured the coffee and she yelled at me again because it was too much. I already have too many stories!

We also have to wear white pants...it's pretty insane because there are always stains on them when I leave. Not to mention, you won't realize how much you wipe your hands on your pants until you wear white pants and they get completely dirty!

Well here is our little Aktivierung Office. We plan all of the activities for the old people and make sure they actually happen. We sing lots of children's songs, play games, and yes, there is bingo every Friday morning. Except this Friday, Bingo was moved to the afternoon because a local high school is putting on a play, called Toms Traum (Tom's Dream).

I work with a girl my age and her name is Salwa. She looks exactly like Rima Fakih. If you don't know her, you should. She's that beautiful! Well Salwa is helping me with my German and I'm helping her with English. So we decided that maybe in 4 weeks time, we'll be perfect with the languages!

Yesterday, we walked with a few of the people outside/pushed them in their wheelchair and planned a few activities for this week. Today, we had to split up because a dog came to visit the elderly people. She went with the dog and I went bowling. Bowling is 9 wooden pins on the floor with 2 wooden balls and a carpet.

After lunch, Tante Lisa and I went into Trier to shop around and just be outside. The weather is perfect! 70s and a little breeze now and then :) We got ice cream and in all honesty, it's not even ice cream, it's art. The one on the right is the Spaghettieis I was talking about earlier and the one on the left is Erdbeer Becher. I also found out I don't like ice cream today so that was weird. We just laid outside for 3 hours and read more children's books at the house.


I'm also reading  newspapers, watching American shows in German, and writing down new words in a little notebook so I can be totally fluent by the time I leave. I'm completely immersed and it's intimidating but worth it! It's been super fun so far and already a full week. Only 4 weeks to go!