Nice to meet you(th) - my week in Benediktbeuren

Since starting University I have met many people who have carried out some form of voluntary work in a developing country, usually as part of a gap year experience with a well known organisation such as Raleigh International or World Challenge. However in most cases the experience is short-lived and exclusive to the period spent on the placement and volunteers often return having little understanding of the deeper issues surrounding poverty. With BOVA a strong emphasis is placed on the importance of continued involvement and education for others as a way of reaching out and extending the experience enjoyed by one person to many more.

Last year I spent 6 weeks with a Salesian community in Cebu, the Philippines as part of a BOVA placement and since returning have been keen to stay involved with the work of the Salesians. This has been made possible through various opportunities which are offered to return volunteers and in July I was fortunate enough to take part in a youth work exchange programme in Benediktbeuren, Munich.

The main purpose of the week was to bring Salesian volunteers from different European countries together and give them the chance to share and learn from their experiences, whether it be from work back home in a youth club or through voluntary placements overseas. At first I was a bit unsure of just what to expect, it sounded quite different from anything I’ve done before but the idea of meeting new people and staying in the beautiful mountain filled Bavaria was enough to get me to sign up! There were 9 different countries taking part: UK, Germany, Austria, Spain, Malta, Czech Republic, Belgium, Spain and Italy, with 5 representatives from each country (all members of Don Bosco Youth Net - find out more from the DBYN website).

So what did we get up to? The day began with a “good morning” in traditional Don Bosco fashion which each country would have the opportunity to lead throughout the week. The first day was dedicated to games, so each country would teach the group a few games played in their home country and the rest of the group would get to play the game! Sounds like fun? It was GREAT fun! Plus it was a good icebreaker to get people involved. There were some violent contributions from the Belgians and some crazy dances from the Spanish...the British contribution included eeezoom and the penguin song, neither of which I’d heard of! During the rest of the week we took part in a series of workshops on themes such as values, communication and creativity which were normally held in smaller groups. This gave everyone the opportunity to get thinking and share their opinions as part of a bigger group effort, for example in the creativity workshop members were able to take part in different activities such as dance, black box theatre, music and drama in preparation for a “variety show” which was put on in the evening. Activities would start at 9am and normally finish by 10pm with a goodnight or evening reflection. On one evening this was held outside in a nearby wood with candles, singing and a starry filled sky as the backdrop - it was really moving. However the day wouldn’t end there; every night the group would migrate down to the cellar where there would be further games, including the notorious “honey, I love you give me a smile” and “Princess Honolulu” topped off by Bavarian beer and pretzels! I feel that Spezi deserves a mention here as it was THE drink of the week and quenched many a thirst. For those who haven’t experienced its delights it’s coke with orangeade, nothing groundbreaking, but Danny in our group suffered leakages in his bag in an attempt to bring bottles back home. It is that good!

Tuesday was the outdoor day, where everyone got the chance to spend the day river rafting, with some white water swimming thrown in too. My boat, known as the “party boat”, managed to spend most of the time out of control spinning downstream and dodging trees on the riverbank and occasionally hijacking other boats! On Thursday we made a trip into Munich city where we were allocated into groups and had to complete a treasure hunt around the city ending up in the beautiful Marienplatz where we were rewarded with a stash of haribo, kinder and smarties mmmm! Aside from the fun and games there was a lot to be learnt from the week. Admittedly there were times of difficulty with language and a few cultural blunders, however this was all part of the learning experience and once overcome the group bonded incredibly well!  There were several evaluation sessions where we were able to reflect on the activities and make suggestions for the week which helped us to make the best use of the time. The team leaders were really keen to get our feedback and input so that they could accommodate for everyone’s needs and as a result we got the perfect balance of workshop activities and free time. Overall I would say the week was very practical and hands on, there were many useful topics covered such as how to create new games, ways in which to communicate ideas, Salesian values in youth work and mission and others. Everyone had something different to offer to the week as we all came from different backgrounds and had been involved in different aspects of Salesian work.

I think it is fair to say that I gained far more than I would have expected to from the week, not to mention a tan which is always a bonus! The experience was such a unique and valuable one and definitely one I’d like to have again.