Good afternoon! Today Paulina Guadalupe Belbey from Argentina and Tania Camila Triana Cuevas from Colombia are writing to you.
We want to share our experiences at the Benedictine convent where we have spent the last few months with other KAAD scholarship holders. It is in Angermund, a small village near Düsseldorf, which is little known – as the sisters once told us, they only knew about it themselves shortly before they moved there. The convent is surrounded by a large courtyard, which remained green during our stay, and a tranquil forest, which allowed us to switch off and enjoy outdoor walks to relax, reflect and sometimes recharge our batteries.
Many people will now be wondering what life in a monastery is really like – a question that was on both our minds before we arrived. The building (see photo) differs from the idea of an old monastery, where the wood creaks with every step and torches light up the walls because there is no electricity. On the contrary, it is quite modern and offers many amenities, which we took full advantage of this year. Each of us had our own room, equipped not only with a bed, wardrobes and washbasin but also with a table and a chair to do the tasks in German – a little preview of what was to come because there were many tasks. However, we also spent many moments together in the common room, where we often cooked together – we frequently prepared dinner and breakfast for everyone there, and watched films – yes, the sisters and the Father brought a TV a few days after our arrival – played some board games that Paulina had brought from Argentina (a good tip for future residents) and spent many hours talking about life in our home countries, our customs, our cultural dynamics and our wishes in this new phase. In these moments, we were also often close to the Benedictine community in Angermund, which welcomed us with warmth and patience. The contact with the sisters and the Father took place in everyday life. For example, during encounters in the corridor, but also at organised meetings where they told us their story and we presented ours. The warm welcome and constant support of the sisters and Father in the convent made this experience even more special. If you would like to find out more, you can find recordings of all the events that took place on this website.
At this point, you may be asking yourself: ‘Have they really learnt?’ The answer is yes. From Monday to Thursday, we attended German classes in the mornings and spent most of the afternoons doing homework and studying. Although we didn't all attend the same course, as we had different levels of previous knowledge, this didn't stop us from sharing our discoveries and internalising the language step by step. Sometimes the Father even helped us with particularly tricky tasks. The fact that the course took place in Düsseldorf enabled us to familiarise ourselves with everyday life in Germany: how to get around, what shops there are, hold short conversations in German and much more. Without a doubt, that was a great preparation for the next phase, when each of us would move to our respective cities. We also didn't have school on Fridays; hence, we had the opportunity to explore Düsseldorf and travel to other cities and nearby countries at the weekends. During our stay, we visited places like Cologne, Bonn, Luxembourg and France.
It is worth emphasising that we received full support from the KAAD team during this transition period, not only through emails in which they answered our countless questions but also via workshops, meetings and activities such as walks, too.
Despite the amount of information and situations we had to process, we found the experience very rewarding - academically, personally and spiritually. It is often said that challenges are overcome, but we have enjoyed this experience from the very beginning.
Paulina Guadalupe Belbey, scholar for a Master's programme in Environmental Governance, University of Fribourg
Tania Camila Triana Cuevas, PhD student in Latin American Literature, Goethe University Frankfurt
