Miranda Glen, Sommer 2006 | Karen Lamarre, Sommer 2005
I spent June and July working in Rosshaupten, Bayern (10 km from Füssen and the Austrian border) with the Werkstudentenprogram. I worked in an up-scale hotel; cleaning rooms was my morning shift, and working at the bar was my evening shift. As you probably know, the area is simply gorgeous, and it was such a treat to wake up every morning and see the magnificent Alps.
For the two months I was there, we had the most gorgeous weather; it was sunny and hot nearly every day, which was perfect for biking, swimming, and just exploring the area.
In terms of my work placement, which is probably your greatest interest, it went really well. The people at the hotel were very well-organized, and, at the same time, they were real people (in other words, they weren't machines), who also enjoyed having a good time. They were all very friendly and very helpful. I actually made good friends with two German girls when I was there: one was doing her Lehre as a cook and the other one cleaned rooms with me.
The girl learning to become a cook was extremely friendly and fun and would bring me to events and parties in Füssen. I also got to know some of her family (her brother took me on the Autobahn!), which was great and also fantastic for practicing German. The other girl whom I cleaned rooms with actually just wrote me a letter. So, it looks like my contact with Hotel Kaufmann will continue, which I am pleased with.
My boss was very reasonable. She expected good and hard work, naturally, but if you had a problem or needed something from her, she would help you out. I did work over the 8-hour limit, which was specified on my contract, but I didn't really mind, and I usually wouldn't work more than over an hour over anyway. However, my boss was also fair about this -- once I worked a 12-hour day, and she told me that the following week, I would get an extra evening off. It just so happened that I got offered a piano gig on the following Saturday night. Saturday night was usually our busiest night of the week at the hotel, so I wasn't entirely sure she was going to give me the evening off, but she did without hesitation. We got talking about my piano playing, and she wished me an enjoyable evening. She was very cool.
Other good things about the job -- everything was included, which made living arrangements easy. Also, my boss steadily gave me days off -- I knew that every Monday and Tuesday were my weekends. Every weekend, I would go on some sort of a trip or see something -- whether it be Innsbruck, Munich, a musical in Füssen, or just cycling over the German-Austrian border. I had a great time exploring the area and meeting all sorts of people. I spoke German the entire time I was there, which was exactly what I wanted (except when I visited my fellow Canadians!)
So, as you can see, my job was very good. However, talking with many other Canadians, it seems that they were quite worse off than I was. Out of the sixteen of us that started the program, I think six didn't finish it. Although my experience was very positive, I think there are many intrinsic problems with the Werkstudentenprogram. The foremost problem is probably how the jobs get dished out. I am not quite sure of the process, but it seems as though the employer doesn't know anything about the WSP, which is a major problem (I am basing this information on the Canadians in my area, whose jobs were less than pleasant). Many participants get treated badly because they are treated like some kind of serf. Perhaps it is because many Eastern Europeans come to Germany looking for work, and they will take anything, regardless of the pay and treatment, just because the Euro is better than their currency. Just to make money. The WSP program is completely opposite -- we are not in Germany to make loads of cash: we are here to work, learn the language, explore the area, and travel. If a Canadian would want to make a lot of money, they would stay at home. I think many bosses think that we are in Germany, just like the Poles and Bulgarians, just to make money, so they can make us do whatever for as long as they want. It is unfortunate that poorer foreign workers get treated this way; no one ideally should, whether they be Hungarian or Canadian.
Three guys from my group worked at a beer garden in Munich. They had to work every single day, unless it rained (and as I previously mentioned, the weather was absolutely gorgeous for the entirety of my stay). Now, by working every single day, they had precious little time to do or to see anything around them. And, they were also discouraged talking to others, so they hardly got any German speaking in. After visiting them for a few days, I could easily see that it was a horrible working environment.
I know that the program doesn't have much funding, since the program coordinator, based in Canada, was doing all of the overseas work as a volunteer effort. This may be a problem, considering that there seems to be a lack of communication and understanding between the employers and the program. I think perhaps if the jobs were more carefully chosen and the employers were much more aware of who was coming and for what purpose, then I think the program could be much improved, and there wouldn't be so many people quitting half-way through. Simply, I think that more communication is needed.
Back to my experience in the WSP program, though, I am very happy how things turned out. After my two months of work, I traveled around Europe for two weeks, at which time I visited Berlin and visited friends and family in Poland and Vienna. All in all, I had a fantastic summer, and I would definitely recommend this program to anyone looking to get their feet wet and enjoy an adventure.
