Tuesday we found our way with the streetcar back to the first Asyl Cafe (Mundenheim). We again talked to various people and then I worked with the young mother from last week on dialogs and after that for an hour with her friend, who also needed help with conversational German. Jack was very helpful in thinking of new topics and questions for me since she hadn't brought her textbook!
Wednesday after all day classes, Greg took us to an Asyl Cafe in a different part of LU (Oggersheim). The atmosphere was very different - noise level low, all men (one woman accompanied her husband), many tables (see picture) like in a real cafe. There was a large selection of baked goods in addition to drinks, and participants could help themselves to leftovers toward the end of the two hours. Many Germans were scattered throughout, talking with the men.
First we talked with a man from Turkey, who had to leave the country because his passport disappeared and he was in danger. Cleverly, he scanned his other documents to the internet, got an illegal Spanish ID and was admitted into Germany with that. Once here, he explained the situation and showed his other documents on line. He arrived 3 months ago and has been moved around. 3 weeks ago he arrived in LU. Now he has to wait 2 months for an opening in a language course. He has a wife and 7 yr old daughter at home. He left us to confer with a German man, who could help him...
Greg was happy to see J. again. J. took German with Greg and Karl Langelotz 2016-17. He comes from Syria, close to the border with Turkey, and is Kurdish. The day before his family had been bombed by Turkish fighter planes! One cousin died and everyone is very frightened that the air raids will continue. They are boxed into this area and he is extremely worried about his family. He asked for our prayers! He did this numerous times during our visit. He belongs to a faith even older than Islaam. They've been persecuted by many over the centuries. He explained that he worked with his father, brothers and cousin in a gardening business. They would sell a lot of their plants in Aleppo.
Following his course at Friedenshaus he enrolled in a work / study program to learn printing. Jack was able to have a long and animated conversation about the world of printing. You could see it did J. good to focus on a carefree topic too. The company that is training him for 3.5 years (and will then hire him) prints company logos on bags, boxes etc.
J. rents a room with access to a downstairs kitchen and bathroom. He explained that he has resorted to buying noise canceling headphones in order to sleep with the noisy bridge traffic outside his room. He commutes one hour via streetcars to work and also a distance to school, where he is in a regular class with all native Germans. He admitted the teacher sometimes has to explain words to him, but that he is getting better all the time. We were all very impressed with his language abilities! I need to add that none of this info came in the form of a complaint, rather as a happy announcement that he can manage it all.
Please remember J. and his family back home in your prayers.
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