Antonina Bajer is sharing her heartfelt experience as her internship at the Open Hearts Space comes to an end. Over the past months, she has immersed herself in the vibrant and dynamic environment of the project, contributing her energy and enthusiasm to create a welcoming space for everyone involved.
“I’ll be honest. The first thing I do when I get up is check my phone. And there, on the WhatsApp groups, everyone is already up. A message from the Club der Sterne girls saying that it’s not clear if they’re coming today, but if they are coming it would be nice if we were cooking ramen. Or pizza. Or burgers. Or all at once. Plus, let’s make beaded bracelets. Can we also play makeup today? Or play volleyball? Or watch a movie? Just please, not some feminist, boring one like the one you chose last time.
Message from T.: “M., one of the girls, has a birthday today. Yes, yes, I forgot something again, but fortunately the Germanised team remembers everything, Ordnung muss sein.”
I run to Penny and, as always, greet the gentleman with the heavily gelled haircut (like the one who sings “Blue da ba dee”) and the one with the diamond earring. I take the XXL size trolley to buy ingredients for burgers, ramen, pizza and the birthday cake.
I fly to the Project Space, just when I’m running late, the girls arrive on time. We start to cook and break the rules of physics. The kitchen, which is 5 square metres, is suddenly able to accommodate 8 dancing and screaming teenagers, two gorgeous girls from team Club der Sterne and me. We’re cooking as planned, but to keep it interesting, someone finds a chocolate pudding recipe on TikTok and starts making it. Someone in one room is taking out the canvases, someone in another is already dancing. There are always at least three people in the bathroom. It’s chaotic, but the make-up must always be perfect.
Finally, we all sit down at the table and sing happy birthday to the girl wearing a glitter paper crown and sequins from Woolworth. We chat about school, langweilig, and sport, not langweilig. We dance, play Joe’s guitars (please don’t tell him!), eat leftovers of Ricarda’s cakes and spin stories about what it’s like to live in Dubai, preferably while wearing glittery dresses like the ones from the shop next door to us.
The girls have gone, here comes T. I have to give an honest report on how each of them feels. But I let her take the lead because she’s teaching me empathy and active listening, as well as Canva and Excel, all while checking in on how I’m doing and throwing in the funniest joke of the day.
I turn off the millions of lights and close the Project Space, hearing the choir on the second floor practising the same Spanish song for weeks. I’m still dropping by the office to look through the receipts that never add up, the messages that don’t end and figure out what we’re doing tomorrow. At the end of the day I go to see if the team is sitting in the bar around the corner. They are, so I join them. Of course, in order to keep learning from them.
The culmination of the internship experience: a weight gain of 7kg from indulging in cakes and snacks; acquiring 5 grey hairs from absorbing a myriad of ordinary and extraordinary stories, and cultivating patience with people; receiving an abundance of 100 units each of Faith, Hope, and Love (or, according to one’s philosophy, Truth, Beauty, and Goodness), generously bestowed upon me by the participants, volunteers, team, interns, and T. I extend my heartfelt gratitude to all. I wholeheartedly recommend this internship to anyone fortunate enough to have the opportunity. I must conclude, as messages are flooding in on WhatsApp.”