Since the time when this project was last updated (2014), many things have changed in the world and we are assisting to a dramatic increase in the number of the refugees trying to get through Europe doors, that meanwhile are becoming smaller and smaller.
I'm very well aware that our european society is faced with new, difficult challenges but with this project I would still like to dream about Europe as an open land that can be home for those who are looking for a better life as well as for those who are running away from the war.
Noemi
deutsch
"I can only list some commonplaces as it really is hard to explain what I like about this place in particular. It just feels so right to be here.
I can remember this night when I was riding my rusty second-hand bike home on Bernauer Straße at 4am in May 2011 or so. I was heading home from some random party I didn’t even like much. The street was totally empty except for me and these two guys who were skateboarding next to me on the road in the darkness.
And that’s all that happened but somehow I was so content and so happy and so balanced and I felt so vital and young and in harmony with myself and the city. There is no explanation, it just struck me out of the blue."
"Everyone should learn the language of the country they move to. It makes me kind of angry to meet these hordes of people moving here without a plan, just because ‘this is the place to be’ and then hanging out exclusively with expats or with their own folk ending up not to be able to even order a meal in a restaurant in German.
I think it’s very ignorant and dull."
Why did you move abroad? Why in Berlin?
Long story… I grew up in a small town in Hungary and I’ve always wanted to leave it behind but I ended up living there until I moved to Berlin in 2011. I was almost 26. People don’t understand how someone can live with her parents for so long and I get these looks all the time and I know they all think it was lame. I guess it was but I did it because I had no other choice.
I’ve been working since my high school/university years, sometimes having two jobs at the same time and still I couldn’t afford moving to Budapest on my own. In the end, instead of spending all my money on paying bills I chose to stay with my parents and to commute every day between my town and Budapest for 10 years of my life so that I could spend the money I earned on books, travels, going out, clothing etc.
So the primary reason to leave was the economic situation. The other reason to leave was the political atmosphere. I promised myself to move abroad as soon as possible if Fidesz wins the elections again and it was totally obvious that they would. In 2008/2009 I did a 7-month voluntary service in Potsdam for a sports organization. I spent all my free time in Berlin. I had to go back to Hungary to finish my studies but I already knew I would come back for good. I’ve been to Germany many times before and I like the people, I like the country, I speak the language.
In the end it took longer than expected to arrange everything and to save enough money but I finally made it and moved here on the 2nd February 2011. I will always remember the date.
Is there any characteristic, you can identify as peculiar of your country, you miss?
The Hungarian sense of humor. It is quite impossible to explain it, it is something dark and bitter but at the same time very witty and language-wise very interesting. In a way I also miss our melancholy, we all love to be miserable. I really miss the language as well with all its tricks and the slang. It’s always funny to go back and hear the latest expressions; it makes me feel like an alien. I also miss the literature and the literary tradition. I buy a lot of Hungarian books and I read Hungarian blogs but the constant exposure to the language is missing.
It’s kind of frustrating that due to a cultural and language barrier I cannot really actively take part in complex discussions here. I’m very confident in English and my German is also pretty good but I just cannot express myself properly so mostly I choose to remain silent.
And of course above all, I miss Budapest. If I come to think about it, it would be great to be able to lead the way of live I’m having here back there and to have people around me who come from the same culture and tradition, who understand me without words and who share the same language, humor and temperament with me but this is never going to happen.
Do you feel integrated in the German society? In the Berliner one?
I feel really good here. Prior to moving to Berlin I’ve been to the Ruhrpott quite often and I loved it. Essen rocks! I also like Köln and Düsseldorf or Münster. Würzburg was also nice. I loved Potsdam and its people too. I have felt at home and at ease everywhere. Except for the ‘lady’ at the Bürgeramt and the employees of the Ausländerbehörde, everybody has been treating me well so far. Though if you ask me, Berlin’s society is not really German society – or at least not the bits I experience or not in the parts where I am out and about like Wedding, Kreuzberg or Neukölln. It’s a society of its own.
What does work represent and mean to you?
Work in general is a) a way to fulfill yourself b) a way to start and maintain a career c) a way to get to know your strengths and weaknesses d) a way to make money e) a way to socialize f) a way not to die of boredom.
What does this specific job mean to you?
The atmosphere, my colleagues, some of my supervisors, the environment, the ‘extras’ we get are really great. I work for a good company. There is a lot of potential within the company and many career opportunities in case someone is willing to relocate. I can picture myself working for the training and quality team here in Berlin and I think I would do a good job there. I hope they will open a position soon. I can see myself working for this company in the long-run but not as a customer care executive. This specific job can be monotonous and very stressful. I am overqualified for it – just like basically everybody else is, this is the current situation of U30 Europe… but thank God we are not unemployed!
Has anything changed of your approach to work since you work in a Call Center?
No. I always respected work and the people who do their jobs day by day whether it be construction workers, sexual workers, engineers, teachers, rocket scientists, social workers or call center agents…
Noemi was born in Budapest on the 23rd of August 1985 and grew up in Tápiószecső, a small town 50 kms from Budapest. She is an English Philologist and Teacher and arrived in Berlin in February 2011, where she recently got a place of her own.
*In May Noemi changed position going to the “Training and Quality” department.*
More about Noemi: