Wendel - Reflective Diary

Today the young people from the club took us on the Berlin tour. We went to the Brandenburg gate, the memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe and the Berlin wall. I was very shocked that one man had so much power to kill so many people just because of who they are. I learnt that Germany has a lot of history but even though they are not proud of it, they show it, maybe because they are scared of happening again. It also made Germany a very closed country and they seem very scared and intimidated by other cultures.

Gina - Reflective Diary

Today the young people took us on a Berlin Tour. We went to the Brandenburg Gate, The memorial to the murdered Jews of Europe and the Berlin wall. it was an educational experience. I was very shocked that one person had so much power to kill so many people for no reason. To create so much hatred on one group of people as he spread his virus all over europe. To let the Jews believe that they were going to a better place when they was going to be killed. I learnt that Germany has alot of history that now dictates how they live and perceive their everyday living i.e. Allowing different cultures into their country, separation within their own city (Berlin Wall.)

Jasmine - Reflective Diary

I enjoyed sightseeing in Berlin, understanding the history, soaking in all the emotions. It made us realise that whatever we thought was bad that we are going through was nothing compared to what these millions of people suffered in the past. I think that really hit home for them in terms of their circumstances, the young people's circumstances, background and state of being, seeing the terror and the war made them think that everything is possible, to just keep on going. I think something good came out of a bad experience.

Wendel - Reflective Diary

Today's activity was about relationships and what the young people classed as a relationship. They walked in small groups of three to identify "what's a relationship?" What is a good relationship and what's a bad one. the five most important parts of a relationship or bad parts. I was happy they got stuck in so fast and had so much to write and say. Alot of the young people see sex as a very important. My next session will be on sex, S.T.I's and contraception.

Gina - Reflective Diary

Today's activity was about relationships and what the young people class as a relationship. They had to work as small groups to identify, what is a relationship? What is a good and bad relationship. Then what they thought were the 5 most important things in good and bad relationships. They also gave us a mini history session on the German history and had very strong views on it. I was quite surprised at some of the young people view as a relationship and why they picked them for the five important things in a relationship. I enjoyed the mini history lesson and what the young people thought about their country's history. I've learnt that the young people in Germany believe that sex is important in a relationship, regardless if it was enjoyable or not. I also learnt a bit more about the Germany history which as made me want to do my own research on it. My next session is going to be on sex, S.T.I's and contraception. On my last day in Germany I would like to do a presentation on one of the countries that my family is from and let the young people do a presentation on Germany.

Sergiy - Reflection

Jasmine - Reflection

Wendel - Reflective Diary

I ran two activities Mat challenged the young people in two very different areas. First we played Chinese whispers which they had to use their communication and memory skills also work as a team, second I ran a cookery lesson. I felt very confident and happy that the young people got involved in the activities and challenged each other. I learnt that young people like being challenged and pushed. Also, to be very patient as communication makes things much harder then they should be. Also, that the young people are used to not doing anything so running activities is a challenge itself. In the future I will plan carefully and always keep the young people in mind when planning.

Gina - Reflective Diary

I got the young people to participate in a game called Chinese Whispers. They had to use their communication and memory skills, they also had to work as a team. They worked very well as a team to make sure they got the same outcome as the picture they were copying. This made me feel happy because the young people really enjoyed the activities and got very competitive. I've learnt that I'm very patient when it comes to working with young people as they don't always want to participate or they may not be used to having activities set out for them. I've also learnt to be more prepared, to set up activities before hand and to find out if the facility has the materials that I may need for my activities.

Wendel - Reflective Diary

Today I got the young people involved in a geography test, to test their knowledge. The aim was to check their awareness and the incentive was whoever got all the answers correct would win a prize. I was very impressed that the young people actually liked it and got involved. I also felt like I challenged them to learn and test themselves. I learnt that some of the young people want to get involved with what I plan or set out but some don't. The language barrier comes up very often which makes it hard to communicate with the young people. I wish to learn more about Germany and to find out what they like and try to run activities around that.