MY EVS IN “Zeimuļs”

Evs Project “Acttive Youth” 01/09/15 – 23/08/16

Name: Willi Stieger

Age and date of birth: I am 18 years old, 03/02/1997

Country: Germany! Beer, punctually, tidy… NO! These are just clichés… or not? Find out and visit my workshops!

Current occupation: Volunteer for EVS Project in Latvia, Rēzekne in “Zeimuļs”.

Graduation: I graduated school this year and just wanted to go out, to see a new country, and to develop my language skills.

Hobby and passions: Soccer. Sport. Every kind of sport. Kinder chocolate. Haribo. Nutella. Summer. Music. Nature. Latvian nature. Baltic Sea. Travels. Friends. Politic. History. Cooking.

Activities in Zeimuļs: German lessons for beginners and for children, presentations of culture and traditions of Germany, foodworkshops, project “Angel with us”, outdoor activities

“Abschiede sind Tor in neue Welten”

“Goodbyes are gateways to new worlds”

Dear reader, Привет!, Sveiki!,

with the step into the bus in the direction of Rēzekne, a new phase of my life begins. I left friends and family behind and started my European Volunteering Service (EVS) in Latvia! Here I want to share my experiences with you and I hope that so you will better understand what I am doing in Rēzekne for this year. I arrived on the 1th of September and will stay here until the end of august 2016. It is a pleasure for me to work in such a good project and building here in “Zeimuls” and I hope to have a nice time with you all! Now let´s start with my impressions…

“Every time there is a first time”- Dendemann (September, 2015)

The September here in Zeimuls was dominated by many “first time’s”. For the first time I felt like a German teacher in front of students, for the first time I was the guide of an English Conversation Club and for the first time I tried to teach in Russian, in English and so on and so on… Many new experiences break down on me like an avalanche but I really like it. It is like an avalanche of chocolate because it is the best way to develop themselves and to learn many new things. Therefore, my first impression is that “Zeimuls” is the perfect place to develop myself in many different ways. I really enjoy the lessons and like to work with you people! Hope there will also be so many in future!

Read here more about my Workshops:

German lessons for beginners

In general, the main part of my work in “Zeimuls” is it to give German lessons for beginners every Tuesday (17:00-18:00) and every Thursday (17:00-18:00) in 2.09. We already started to learn to say the name, where are you from, how you are and so on… basic staff for everyone who is interested in starting to learn German. For me it is important, that not everything is in the relationship teacher to student it is more from eyes to eyes to learn so in a better way -Everybody together! German is an interesting language and I think it worth it to learn this language. Many students come to lessons because they want to go to Germany in feature and don’t have the opportunity to learn it in school. Other just come because they are interested in this language. Nevertheless, don’t worry the door is open for everybody! There are not just youth. If you are a little bit older, you are also welcome!

German lessons for children

The youngest once felt lost in my normal German lessons for beginners, therefore I decided to have separated lessons for children every Wednesday from 15:00 until 16:00. The main reason: children learn in another way than youth and adults. In this lesson, I try to have a closer look to the needs of children. We will try to learn the basics of German language in a singing and painting way. If you want your children to learn, German in this way you are welcome in 2.09 in “Zeimuls”.

English Conversation Club

Another part of my work in “Zeimuls” is to have an English Conversation Club every Monday from 17:00-18:00. In that Club, we speak about current topics of course in English. It is a chance to practise many different skills in a setting that is more than real life. Discuss, present your own opinion and learn so English in a good way. After a little warm up there is always a topic from the field news, music, food, travel and many other. I don’t want to force topics on you so it is good to bring with you some ideas for our Conversation Club. Therefore, if you want to develop your English skills you are welcome in 2.10 in “Zeimuls”. The door is open for everybody!

Project: “Angel with us”

Before choosing my place of EFS, it was also important for me to work with disabled people. Because of my brother and many projects, which I visited, which included work with disabled people, I know how nice it is to work with them. Therefore, it is a pleasure for me to be a member of the project “Angel with us” here in “Zeimuls”. I come here every Monday and really enjoy to work with the children and to see therapy methods. It is very nice to spend time with them and it is a good possibility for me to learn Russian in a nice way!

Martinstag German Culture Special

Our society is divided into poor and rich. The poor are getting poorer. The rich are getting richer. Who owns money, has all options. Who is poor does not fit into our conception of the world and only a few people are willing to help. “Live is sharing”. Because of this I have decided to bring the “Martinstag”, a traditional German holiday, to Rēzekne. It takes place on the 12^th of November, which is somewhat odd, because the original already took place on the 11^th. However, lets take a look at how our Martinstag in Rezekne was like:

I walk into the room. Everything seems to be perfect: a mysterious atmosphere, candlelight and the first guests start to fill the room. Immediately I see the eye catchers- nice colorful lanterns, which I already prepared with a hand full of interested people in a Creative Workshop before. The evening begins with people chatting, eating some snacks and waiting for everyone to arrive. When everybody seems to have arrived, I decide to start. After a little introduction, I start with the part that took up most of the time: the “Martinshörnchen” food workshop. Like at Oktoberfest everybody got the chance to create his own “Martinshörnchen”. We grip the dough, roll it into a big square, cut out little triangles and finally create the pastries. After that, we put the croissant pastry in the oven for an estimated 30 minutes and wait.

I use the waiting time for a little culture lesson. I had prepared a little presentation, because i wanted to tell the visitors why we are here today. Therefore, I start telling them the story of St. Martin. A short version:

We go back into the year 334AD. It was a cold winter evening. The friendly soldier Martin was riding on a horse to a town when he met a beggar. Martin was known for sharing. He gave money and food to the poorest and shared everything. Because of this, everybody loved him. As he saw the beggar, Martin wanted to help the beggar, even though he didnt have anything with him. Therefore, he decided to split his red cape in the middle with his knife. Later, Martin became a bishop and he died on the 11.11, the day of “Martinstag”.

Afterwards I start presenting German traditions during this holiday: “Martinstagumzug”, “Martinsgans”, “Martinslieder”… I show how everything proceeds in Germany. At first we have a look at the “Martinstagumzug” a big parade with candles and lanterns. In the evening of the 11^th many children walk through the street and remembering Martin by telling the story and singing “Martinstags”-songs. Afterwards they meet by a big campfire and eat “Martinshörnchen”.  Oh right! What about our? They seem to be ready! We open the oven and take out the gold-brown “Martinshörnchen”. While everybody is eating and sharing, because it is traditional to share like St. Martin, we think about the loss of these “Martinstags”-values in our nowadays society. The evening ends with sitting together, talking and sharing in the sense of St Martin. Overall, it was a great evening.

“It is not a trip or a vacation-It’s a second life!”

Two month ago with the step into the bus in the direction of Rēzekne, a completely new chapter of my life began. I can’t believe that I am already 2 month in Latvia… time is running – so let’s reflect on the latest events in October!

Recently my work in Zeimuls was dominate by many new activities and experiences:

It’s October, do you know where your Lederhosen are?

On the 23rd of October, Louis and I decided to have a typical German “Oktoberfest” in Rēzekne. At first, I invited interested people to join my workshop to create some decorations for the evening. We prepared a big pretzel, which said “Herzlich Willkommen!” (Hearty Welcome!) and some other typical German stuff to decorate the room. Two days later, the “Oktoberfest” happened – everything was prepared and the atmosphere was quite nice. Round about six, we decided to begin with the first part of the evening: a pretzel Food Workshop. Everybody got the chance to create his own tasty pretzel. During the baking time, which took about 30 minutes, Louis gave a nice presentation about the current event- the German “Oktoberfest”. I had stayed upstairs to keep an eye on the nice pretzels. When the guests returned to the kitchen, we award the best-looking pretzel with a wooden trophy. Being surprised about the well tasting pretzel the room became quite and everybody enjoyed the delicious snack. Afterward we had some typical Bavarian games with a little trophy as well. Overall, it was a successful evening and everybody went home with a happy and satisfied smile. Thank you for taking part and I hope that you will also join following activities. You are awesome!

English lessons for beginners

A new part of my work in Zeimuls are English lessons for beginners every Monday from 17:00-18:00. I decided to pass my Conversation Club to Louis and to concentrate on teaching languages. With the beginners group I started to learn the basic staff (for everyone who is interested in starting to learn English): to say there name, how they are, where they are from and so on…. But there is also an advanced group with students who already have some English skills and just need some grammar and vocab support. English is an interesting language, which is quite important to know in our globalized society. Many students visit my lessons because they need to speak English when they want to go abroad in feature or get a job.  Nevertheless, the door is open for everybody! English is useful for everybody and I am happy about every participant – so join me, everyone is welcome!

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