Departure from Pakistan, and arrival in Germany. My journey began on February 13th from Jinnah Internation Airport in Karachi, I felt a mix of emotions, excitements from my new adventure in Germany swirled with anxiety about travelling solo internationally for the first time and being away from my family for an extended period. It was a challenging but thrilling experience.

After enduring a 21-hour journey, I finally arrived at Frankfurt Airport, at that time I was super tired and exhausted, however the warm welcome from Victoria, representing SoFiA e.V., lifted my spirits. Her kindness and affectionate greeting made a wonderful first impression. First impressions matter!

After one to two days of arrival, I met my entire volunteer group. Everyone welcomed me warmly. I was unable to join the class for the entire month because I arrived 12days later than the rest of the group. But I felt like I was back in school life daily classes, shared lunches and camaraderie, it was truly wonderful.

Home Away from home, Filled with endless love

Similarly, I only spent half a month with my host family, but my host family was very nice. They made me feel like part of their own family, not just like a guest. They treated me just like one of their own, guided me about German culture, rules and important things. We also went to a restaurant with the whole family once, and I was somewhat astonished to see that they prefer walking almost everywhere. But which was a lot of fun. trying octopus was a bit shocking to me, but was an experience and, I had also made a Pakistani dish with love for my host family. We would also go shopping together and my host mother would give me helpful tips about shopping, which was really informative to me.

At the start of March, our volunteering service began, and we were given a best wishes party. In it, all the volunteers performed their cultural dances and shared related information, everything was wonderful.

Welcome to my humble abode, where I live

I’m living in Cusanushaus during my volunteering service, and this place is truly amazing because its home to students from all nations like Pakistan, India, Nepal, China, Korea and more. what I love the most about this place is the unity and love we shared. We all live together like one big family, taking care of each other and helping whenever someone’s in need. Sometimes we cook together and eat together and when someone’s birthday comes around, we surprise them. We hung out together, went on outings & this has been my best experience ever.

Project Overview

March 10th was my first day on the project, which was really exciting. We were planning the first communion for kids, and it was an amazing task. I packed gifts for the kids first communion, which was a nice experience but the best part was serving at the altar with my team during the ceremony.

My colleagues are great and very cooperative, and I really enjoy working with them. Peter is the head of my project and Nicole Enders, Pamela Diederich & Christine Herrig. Christine is also my supervisor and is very cooperative with me, she always helps me and is really great.

First Seminar Spotlight: Kyllburg

We had our first SoFiA-Seminar in Kyllburg that was fantastic. It was a one-week seminar that was really relaxing and peaceful, a great break from our daily routine. The topic was intercultural communication, and it was amazing to learn about different cultures from around the world, like Bolivian, Rwanda, Jordan and Lithuanian. Since we were all working on projects in different cities, this seminar gave us a chance to spend quality time together. We had a great gathering, and I met Paula, Jessica and Martin for the first time. They were very sweet and cooperative, and we played a lot of games, shared cultural dances and even had a barbecue evening. One of the craziest things was when we played badminton for 6-7 hours nonstop with just one shuttle among four of us, it was exhilarating. This experience was truly unforgettable. And now I’m super excited about our next seminar in Berlin.

Viva Bolivia Charity Run

After this seminar, I went to Trier and participated in a Charity run for Bolivia - Viva Bolivia. It was a new experience for me, And I ran 2km. At first I was shocked to see people of all ages including Children, and those on wheelchairs, running and participating with enthusiasm. But in general it was inspiring to see that nothing is impossible. After this event, I spent the entire week working on my project with my team in the city. It was a great experience, and I got to interact with locals, Children, and families. Everyone was happy. I also got to spend quality time with my team, which was amazing.

Then I got the chance to visit Echternach, Luxembourg’s oldest town with my team. We went hiking, which was a new experience for me, but hiking is a big part of my project. At the beginning, I felt really exhausted because I had never gone hiking before. It was quite challenging for me, but now I’m used to it. I enjoy hiking a lot now. And it’s also good for my health, so thanks to my project. We started the hike at night from Irrel, and I was a bit Scared at first, but the experience turned out to be amazing. As we hiked through the forest, we crossed a bridge that was really scary because it was over a river and swaying a lot in the wind. And, it was dark, and I couldn’t see much. When we reached the top, I felt like I was dreaming nightmare. During the hike, we took breaks, played games and shared food. We hiked around 6-8Km and reached Echternach at around 4am. The view of the city from the forests height at sunrise was breathtaking. I really loved this experience.

After that at 6am, we attended a mass at the Echternach Basilica. Then there was the Echternach spring procession, a cultural event in Luxembourg recognized by UNESCO, featuring traditional music and dance. We all wore white shirts for the event and danced to traditional Polka music. While walking around the town. It was absolutely beautiful.