Workaway in Germany

When I started looking at Workaway listings, I stumbled on listings for helping in monasteries or convents for nuns. I wrote to a few, and was happy to be invited to go to help at one a few hours’ train ride from Berlin in the countryside. The community of sisters are from several different countries, so English is just one of many languages spoken there.

One of the sisters met me walking from the bus stop near the convent, and she showed me around the guest area bedrooms, a kitchen, and dining rooms. She also showed me where the bicycles were stored so that I could use one anytime I liked. After she left me to unpack, I wandered around the front gardens and took a short bike ride to the town center. I wanted to be back in time for Vespers (the evening prayers) at 5:30 in the chapel. It was so lovely. The sisters sang and read in French, a language I only know a little of. It didn’t matter. Their voices were beautiful.

It was warm and sunny all week, giving me good weather to trim the hedges. I’ve always wanted to try something like that. The line to trim along wasn’t completely gone, thankfully. There were tools, wheelbarrow and a short garden stool to give me some height. Over the course of 5 days it all began to look pretty tidy- or ‘very German” as one (Dutch-born) sister told me.

The biking around the town and out through the farmland is mostly flat like the Netherlands, with equally good bike paths. Each afternoon I would ride into town and then follow a different path out into the countryside. I liked getting a glimpse of neighborhoods in and around the town and seeing teens playing soccer in a really nice sports field The further out I rode, the farms seemed at first look to be identical in their layout and tidiness. But I began to see some differences too: a flourishing dahlia bed in one, a huge concrete Christ on the cross in another, miniature toy farm equipment for kids in another.

I felt very absorbed and mindful as I worked on whatever job I had. It felt like the sisters move thoughtfully through their days of prayer, study and work (cooking, looking after the guest area, cleaning, etc) and that mindfulness permeates the air of the convent. I liked the variety of several tasks to be done inside in case of rain, or outside in good weather. The sisters would stop to introduce themselves and to chat when they were going about their day, so I think I got to meet most of the 10 who live there all year. There were also sisters from other places visiting to be on retreat or study. No one asked me if I was religious or a church attender; the invitation was open to join whatever form of worship was happening. When I went to one of the Vespers, a sister gave me a book with the songs and readings marked—in French- to follow along if I wanted. I tried…

In the evenings, I often had dinner and great conversations with the 2 young priests visiting from Rome to study German at a nearby language school. One is originally from Toronto and the other from Northern India. I learned a lot about their seminary experiences and their studies in Rome. They both had to master Greek and Hebrew in their first year in order to study the New and Old Testaments in the original; apparently that first year is when many young priests leave. We laughed a lot too, and I found their questions about the US thoughtful and challenging!

I took a little ride on my last evening to see the sunset (at 8:20!). The bus to my train would leave early the next morning Over the course of my last day, several sisters came to wish me well, give me a hug and invite me to return. Even Mother Superior stopped in the kitchen to say goodbye! In just a short time I was made to feel like a part of their community.