On January 16, I began my work with Visoneers; A non-profit startup organization that helps refugees and immigrants settle in Berlin. A place where I felt like home.
On my first day of work, I tried studying the environment around me, the local food, and social behaviors. What I realized was that Berlin is a very diverse city. You have a mixture of cultures, cuisines of different origins, and various holidays. Surprisingly, I was able to fit somewhat in! There are a lot of immigrants and refugees here, which is great for me since that's what brought me here, for starters.
I got lost on my way to work. I didn't have a working number or internet, so I searched for the directions before leaving my place. I’d put in the wrong building number and had to walk for 15 extra minutes to reach my workplace.
When I got there, two of my coworkers were making lunch, a tradition at work where two people cooked on Wednesday and we would have a team lunch. Denise, who I had been communicating with introduced me to everyone at work and gave me a tour of the building after lunch. She then sat me in the office and gave me the job description as well as what my schedule would be.
In her office was cute dog( Happy) that became my best friend. Happy gave me comfort on my not so good days.
Being there for a couple of hours, I was already in love with the environment and couldn't wait to meet the teenagers that I'd me mentoring. I worked a half day and went home to read and sign my work contract and prepare for the next 12 weeks.