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Jeanne

Hello everyone, we are Maina and Jeanne, interns at ArrivalAid and we thought that maybe we could tell you a bit about what it's like to be an intern at ArrivalAid . Maina would you like to introduce yourself

Maina
Yes, very much. So I'm Maina Grondin, 19 years old, I've been an intern at ArrivalAid for 2 months now. I am French, grew up here in Germany, in Munich. Now it's your turn.

Jeanne
Yes, thank you.

So I'm Jeanne and I'm 21 years old. I also grew up in Germany with French parents. But near Cologne. We met during our studies in Lyon, France, where we were studying project management. We are now entering the third year of our bachelor's degree, so to speak. Now I'm here in Munich for my internship, which I copied a bit from you. You found it first... How did you come across the internship?

Maina
Actually by chance. I really wanted to do an internship in an NGO, and I searched around a bit, the NGOs that are here in Munich and came across ArrivalAid . And yes, fortunately, because I'm here now and it's a lot of fun. Then I told you a little more about it and I think you really liked it too, right?

Jeanne
Yes, exactly, I think what I liked was just the whole topic, i.e. escape and migration are interesting to me, I would perhaps like to specialize in that in the future and also for my bachelor's thesis.

That's why I was immediately interested and yes, we learned a lot about NGOs in our studies and are therefore a bit specialized in social and solidarity issues. Yes, I thought it was really nice that you made me do it. How do you find it now? Maina
So now with the 2 month internship, I can happily say that it was a lot of fun.

The variety of work was really great; I was also given a lot of tasks that I didn't even think I could do at first. Also the group, i.e. the colleagues: I was always happy to be here and to be able to work. I then have another month, unfortunately you don't, you're slowly approaching the end of your internship. Jeanne
Yes, unfortunately

Maina
But how was it for you?

Jeanne
Yes, it was really nice for me too, as you said.

Sometimes you might not be motivated to go to work or something. But I really didn't have that at all. I was happy to come every day because the atmosphere is just so good. What I also really appreciated is that we were able to determine our own working day, that we were able to regulate a little bit about when we arrived, when we left, what we did and when during the day. So there's just a lot of trust there and I thought that was really nice. How did you roughly organize your daily routine? What was a typical day like for you? Maina
Well, I think I was always in the office at 9:00 a.m.

I always started with a coffee. Then check the calendar and see what I still have to do today. I always wrote down my to-do's and then looked at the most important things for the day and started straight away. My tasks were also very diverse, as I said. I did a lot of research, took care of the podcast, and also a lot of social media and general project management. That was a lot of fun. Lunch break with colleagues. And yes, I think I was always finished at 5 or 6 o'clock. Then I went back home and every day was different. So not a typical exact day. As I said, it was very diverse. And with you ? Jeanne
Yes, well for me it was pretty much the same, about the same times. We often did similar things or together. But I was more involved in the general ArrivalAid team and you were also a bit more involved with AbilityAid . I just thought it was really good. A lot of tasks, which I may have done a little bit, are writing CVs, writing cover letters, sending out applications. I think I've accompanied 3/4 people in the last 2 months and met them several times. Somehow it's really nice to see things moving forward. Exactly, I also did a bit of translation in the office at Trauma Help: that was also very interesting and I think even some of the employees here don't have that insight. That's why I think it's really good. And how did you get such a good insight into all the programs?

Maina
That's exactly what I didn't expect, but I was really lucky to get as much as possible from the whole NGO, i.e. from different programs. For example, with the introductions at the beginning, what's nice about the internship is that the different programs are presented to us and so we were able to get a little bit of everything. As I said, I took part in AbilityAid and was able to get the most out of this program. But also because I could see the work of my colleagues. Even a little help could be as much as possible. And yes, exactly, which program did you get the most out of?

Jeanne
Yes, I think for me it was Jobs&Careers. I don't know if I'm assessing that correctly, but I think that's the program that's the most extensive here. At least in the office here. Since my internship companion is also Magdalena, who coordinates the project at Jobs&Careers, I think I also gained a lot of insight. I enjoyed it a lot too, even more than I thought it would. I didn't think it would be the program that interested me the most. Exactly, but yes, I found that really nice. And what I also found nice was the Akademie dates. What did you think of that?

Maina
Yes, I thought that was really great because it is a program where a lot is taught by different lecturers and different topics are covered and that is in the form of courses (online). I learned a lot there: things that: I already knew a bit about them, but I never expected that I could have learned so much more. So I really enjoyed that. And you, Jeanne, what did you like most about ArrivalAid ?

Jeanne
Yes, well I would say: First of all, the atmosphere in the office was great, I felt really comfortable right from the start.

I think that was also what motivated me: that I knew every day that I could more or less easily do what I wanted today, because I also want to do what my tasks are! But yeah, I don't have to force myself or have any stress and that's why it was just: have fun every day. I liked that and I really enjoyed the contact with clients because it's always nice to be in contact with people. But I actually found that managing social media was a lot of fun. So the podcast or the reel that we did was a lot of fun. What were your favorite tasks? Maina
I have to agree with you, the thing with social media was really a lot of fun, so with the Reels, posting a lot and also with the podcasts, I thought that was very, very nice that we were completely free to do it . So we could do as much as we wanted. The reel, for example, was really a topic that was close to our hearts and the fact that we were able to do something about it and be creative with it was really fun. What I generally liked about ArrivalAid is that I learned a lot: with communication, for example, on social media and then also in the newsletter, we were also allowed to take part, which is nice because I don't generally write either so much and I don't really dare... I was really out of my comfort zone and learned a lot and also realized that I actually really love it. And about the comfort zone, I somehow learned a lot about that too. So you should just take part and discover something that way. And I thought that was the most beautiful thing here.

Jeanne
That sounds really nice. This also reminded me of a point I learned. I also think that with “being open”, even if I had the feeling that I was already open... But in two ways: That was simply that you don't put people in boxes, that you just see that everyone is a client, employee or volunteer: Everyone is simply different and has a different story... I found that very interesting. Especially nowadays, people try a lot to put stereotypes on a lot of things and that broke through for me, so I learned to be open. But also a little bit of getting out of my comfort zone: being very social, talking to people you don't know and stuff like that, I don't think you have to do that much before starting your professional life. Have you learned any other things that you would like to share?

Maina

I actually learned a lot and while I was in the AbilityAid program, I had a lot of contact with people with disabilities. It's true that it is/was something that I never really had before (i.e. contact with people with disabilities) and I learned a lot from it. So what types of disabilities there are, how this person actually acts with people, you don't really get to know in everyday life and also a lot of terms that I learned, for example the word that had the most impact on me: “Ableism.” Word that I didn't even know before, even though it's a big word...

Jeanne

Would you like to maybe explain that?

Maina
Yes, well it means: it's like racism, if you treat a person racist, it's basically the same with ableism.

So if you have a discriminatory way of speaking or treating a person simply because they are a person with a disability. Exactly. Jeanne
Well, I didn't know that before my internship either.

Maina
Yes, and I learned a lot: What can you do for this person?

What is behind all the processes? Level of care? Care certificate? There's a lot that you don't really know if you don't pay attention to the topic. Pretty interesting, and I would like to learn a little more about it. Maybe in the future. Jeanne
Yes, you even told me that you might want to write your bachelor's thesis on this topic?

Maina
Yes, that hasn't been decided yet.

But I was so interested in the internship that I would really, really like to research a little more about it, so that's definitely a plan for the future. Why not? Jeanne
And what else would you like to say to the people listening to us?

Maina
So currently, through this internship I've noticed that I've become much more open to the world. I learned a lot and that was only thanks to my openness to everything that came to me. saw ArrivalAid 's place So the application directly, I was also very, very open and looked at it and from there a nice internship came out. Quite a few people I met where I was very open and talked to them a bit more and thereby developed an interest in something. I think that's the most important thing for everyone: just be open to accepting every opportunity that comes your way and make the best of it.

Jeanne
That's so beautiful.

Maina
For you, how are things looking, what would you like to give?

Jeanne
Yes, I can sign what you said, I see it that way too. So I just want to add that I just generally think it's so important to just be kind, just have a good heart, have compassion, have respect, be it for others, for example to clients, but also in some way yourself, being nice to your colleagues...

Somehow I noticed, I thought, I felt very comfortable here, I think because these terms were in the room the whole time: Simply that you are nice, that you understand each other and I think most people are like that then society would be a little better. Just think about it a bit: “How is someone else doing? How can I help ? How can I be even more respectful?” I would also really recommend continuing to educate yourself. It was only through my internship that I understood many points regarding escape and migration and that's why: educate yourself and perhaps educate yourself. I definitely think that’s very important.  

And otherwise I could simply advise everyone to do an internship at ArrivalAid or do volunteer work or apply for a vacant position. Or, if you need help, just let us know about the program.  

I really enjoyed talking to you.

A bit of a retroactive effect, looking at what we liked so much... Yes, that was the last podcast episode for me. But I hope that the next interns have just as much fun and if you also want to continue our podcast or maybe you do something more in your last month, I think we would all be really happy about that. Maina
Yes, me too.

Jeanne
Thanks for listening!

Together
, thank you, goodbye!

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