Been thinking I should put my time to better use. I'm learning German, but I want to contribute more to the community, interact more with the locals and be exposed to an area of society I am not familiar with. I want to know what it's like to be part of a community here, I want to have intellectual activities and sharpen my social skills beyond corporate settings. I went back to entertaining my original idea of volunteering in Bonn..

So I googled in English, but my effort came to nought. All I found was a novel method of travelling - you can stay on a farm/castle, do some manual tasks, babysit the children, chop firewood for the winter etc. Meaning you earn your keep and lodging. Farming: I've never done that, and definitely now I am extremely open to such activities. Horses? I don't particularly love animals, but experiences like these are worth a try. I'm not making a living out of this and I have nothing to lose, who knows? After trying out, I might consider having my farm in the future if I enjoy it immensely. Which is an interesting way to explore little towns, rural areas and I definitely wish to try that.

My German colleague volunteered to help me source for opportunities- and sent me a link to a German website. My non-existent German skills for everyday communication is lacking, and that puts me to great disadvantage for being selected for anything I am interested in. There are several ads for volunteers which attracted me: volunteering with cancer-striken patients, a family with foster children and another with mental patients.

We will see which one accepts a non-German speaker.