Workcamp in Deutschland

"Labyrinthbau am Welterbe Limes"

  in Ruffenhofen

  von Jeremy Ebersole aus den USA

Having returned from my workcamp in Germany almost two weeks ago and having some time to process the experience, I can confidently recommend it to anyone looking for a meaningful, authentic, and inexpensive way to spend time abroad. 
I absolutely loved Germany!  I will admit it was a bit nerve-wracking at first, going to a different country where I didn’t speak the language, having little idea how to get where I was going, and having no idea how the other participants would react to me.  All this compounded with the fact that I quit my job to do this and more traveling this year, and I often wondered what I had gotten myself into.  I was glad to know that everyone had trouble finding Wittelshofen, that everyone got along great, and that the work was fun and interesting. 

The camp was located in rural Bavaria in a tiny village called Wittelshofen. The 17 of us lived in a 5 bedroom, 2 bathroom apartment above the Town Hall complete with our own stork family nesting on the chimney.  The accommodation was wonderful and our cots were remarkably comfortable.  I even quickly grew to enjoy our half hour walk to and from work.  The only issues with the apartment were the shortage of bathrooms and the difficulty of using the Internet.  I have mixed emotions on the lack of computers.  I loved being able to escape them, but I also had applications for future jobs that I needed to fill out and I felt bad having to hog our very limited computer time. 
Our work was primarily spent building a labyrinth on the grounds of the Römerpark Ruffenhofen.  The work was fun and we were able to finish just on time.  Many times I have volunteered for projects only to find that they are poorly organized or over-staffed.  This work was nothing like that.  There was always work for everyone and it was never so grueling that it seemed like slave labor.  It was genuinely well-run. 
I was disappointed that we didn’t have more time to actually explore the grounds of the Römerpark.  We took a short walk around the park about two weeks in, but I really wanted to understand the history of the place and had to do that on my own time. 
I wish there would have been more time programmed in to do that.  I did, however, really enjoy that so much of what we did was programmed by us as a group. 

 
I chose to go abroad with Volunteers for Peace specifically because they partnered with local service groups.  It seemed to be much less hierarchical, bureaucratic, and regimented than other national volunteer programs and less expensive that voluntourism.  I was not disappointed.  All of our free time activities were decided on and arranged by us rather than mandated by someone on the outside.  I felt like we really got to know local people as well. 
It’s one thing to go out to eat but it’s something so much cooler to be invited to eat at a restaurant by the owner who wanted to do something nice to us to thank us for our work.  This difference is not insignificant.  I think we got a much more authentic experience by really genuinely interacting with local people.  There were more out-of-pocket expenses for meals during day trips than I thought there would be, and I wish VFP would have advertised as “most meals are covered” instead of “all,” but that’s a small detail. 

The best part of the camp was the other people of course.  It was so cool to have such a diverse group.  Most other participants knew nothing of the real America and only had ideas about the U.S. from our media exports.  Much as I was able to explain American culture outside of the stereotypes, I learned a good bit about other cultures as well.  I even brushed up on my own English (the British version)!  And I felt very helpful being able to “teach” English to many of the other group members. 
This was a wonderful trip, and I highly recommend it. 
Thanks so much for the opportunity!