Step 2: Talk to people. Make Observations. Research
Lady at falafel shop
The lady I met while buying falafel at the small store next to the gate of the Garden has been living in this neighborhood for sixteen years. Out of privacy she did not give her name, but her familiarity with this neighborhood is without doubt. She has witnessed many changes the neighborhood gone through. She thinks this community is becoming more and more diverse these years with people from different background coming into the neighborhood. Her participation as a residence is to help keep this area its original state. She pointed to me a casino-bar right across the street and told me it used to be a beer place where the residences here had great time, but now the new comers have made it a place she would not like to go. As for contribution, she said she was just part of a big system that kept the whole neighborhood going, for example buying groceries, drinking coffee, going to dentists, she was all participating in the neighborhood. Her favorite parts of the neighborhood are the abandoned airport, TempleHolf, the Turkish restaurant at the corner called Merakli Kofteci, and the park of Thomashohe. Besides, there are many small-scaled private cafés (in the contrary to Starbucks, as she specified) that allow people to sit and chat in their free time.
Nina
Nina is an intern in this community. She started her time in the Garden since March, and has been working here for four months. Her main field of study in college is social studies, so she is particularly interested in the social structure in this neighborhood. She believes that her participation in the community as an intern helping with the Garden contributes to the welfare of the refugees participating in the Garden in that she could help them fit in and get involved in the community. As for the education, she thinks this area is a mixed community for people from different background, so it would be suitable for a diverse group of children. Nina also mentioned there are both private and public schools from kids within this area and the schools sometimes organize workshops with the Garden as extra curriculums for the children. In the neighborhood her favorite parts are the TempelHolf, the mixture of people that includes more than just Germans, and the good Korean food as she recommended the Korean BBQ place.
Foutuyi (Not sure how it spells)
Foutuyi is a non-profit organization employee working in the Garden since 2015, the beginning of this project and also a residence within this neighborhood. He has lived here since 2014 and had a strong opinion on the gentrification here all over the times. During our talk, he criticized the “system” for rising house rent, gentrification that causes trouble for people like him, and talked about neoliberalism. But in general, he regards this neighborhood as a safe community that welcomes lots of refugee asylum seekers. To him, his main work here at the Garden helps in many ways such as building the greenhouse, as mechanist, and help facilitating the Garden’s arrangements. He also worked with kids from local school on different workshops. He likes working with them but did not talk much about the education system in this neighborhood as a whole. Things Foutuyi enjoyed most in this neighborhood includes the Garden where he works, the TempleHolf, and a bar near the park that is a perfect place to chill and relax with a bottle of cold beer.
Owner of food shop
I also talked with the owner of the small shop selling traditional food like Halloumi and Falafel. He worked and lived in this neighborhood for five years. To him, this community is inclusive and safe in the sense that he finds his place here not just a “shelter” but also a “home”. Out of privacy I did not directly ask which country he was originally from, but his daughter was wearing a headscarf, so I assumed somewhere of religious background, Turkey or Arab or anywhere. He thinks the strength of this neighborhood is that it is open and developing. The influx of Turks, Iran and people from other place brought many livelihoods and diversity into the neighborhood. Sadly his English is not proficient enough to discuss with me in depth about his opinion on the education, but his daughter goes to the community college here, so I assume he would agree that this neighborhood could provide the education needed by children here. Three best things to him are his shop (for sure!), grocery store named Bereket Market and TempleHolf as well.
Education and schools
As we walked in the neighborhood, I saw one fancy private school. Regenbogen-Grundschule is an elementary school that offers a huge variety of courses.( http://www.regenbogen-grundschule.de/regenbogen/service.php). It triggers my interest in education of that area in that I have heard that in Germany the education is free or at least cost very few. I wonder is there fundamental difference in quality and infrastructure or other aspects between private and public schools. With further investigation both on site and through Google map, there are eleven schools including kindergarten, language school, community schools, college, primary school, and religious school. Also, when I researched online I found there is an education project within this neighborhood: One Square Kilometer of Education Berlin-Neukölln. This project supports education “set up a local educational alliance that will assume responsibility for the educational success of the children and adolescents and which will involve all those persons who can help achieve this goal so that no child ‘is lost’.”(http://www.freudenbergstiftung.de/en/key-tasks/one-square-kilometer-of-education/berlin-neukoelln/one-square-kilometer-of-education-berlin-neukoelln.html) One of the outcomes of this project is the comprehensive school “1. Gemeinschaftsschule Berlin” in the Neukölln district is characterized by its diverse student body (about 90 percent have immigrant backgrounds), and the school itself believes this to be of great value. There is another organization called Neighborhood Mothers that aims at help promoting the education quality with professional training on the teachers. “Neighborhood Mothers now receive further training on primary schooling and can connect parents with early education professionals and teachers.”
(http://citiesofmigration.ca/good_idea/neighbourhood-mothers-leading-the-way-in-neukolln/)
“The initiative focuses on addressing educational issues at a localized, specific level within the district of Neukölln.” This project is effective and successfully educated many about the importance on child education.
(http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/35-stadtteilmutter-approaching-integration-through-education-in-berlin-neukolln)
The lady I met while buying falafel at the small store next to the gate of the Garden has been living in this neighborhood for sixteen years. Out of privacy she did not give her name, but her familiarity with this neighborhood is without doubt. She has witnessed many changes the neighborhood gone through. She thinks this community is becoming more and more diverse these years with people from different background coming into the neighborhood. Her participation as a residence is to help keep this area its original state. She pointed to me a casino-bar right across the street and told me it used to be a beer place where the residences here had great time, but now the new comers have made it a place she would not like to go. As for contribution, she said she was just part of a big system that kept the whole neighborhood going, for example buying groceries, drinking coffee, going to dentists, she was all participating in the neighborhood. Her favorite parts of the neighborhood are the abandoned airport, TempleHolf, the Turkish restaurant at the corner called Merakli Kofteci, and the park of Thomashohe. Besides, there are many small-scaled private cafés (in the contrary to Starbucks, as she specified) that allow people to sit and chat in their free time.
Nina
Nina is an intern in this community. She started her time in the Garden since March, and has been working here for four months. Her main field of study in college is social studies, so she is particularly interested in the social structure in this neighborhood. She believes that her participation in the community as an intern helping with the Garden contributes to the welfare of the refugees participating in the Garden in that she could help them fit in and get involved in the community. As for the education, she thinks this area is a mixed community for people from different background, so it would be suitable for a diverse group of children. Nina also mentioned there are both private and public schools from kids within this area and the schools sometimes organize workshops with the Garden as extra curriculums for the children. In the neighborhood her favorite parts are the TempelHolf, the mixture of people that includes more than just Germans, and the good Korean food as she recommended the Korean BBQ place.
Foutuyi (Not sure how it spells)
Foutuyi is a non-profit organization employee working in the Garden since 2015, the beginning of this project and also a residence within this neighborhood. He has lived here since 2014 and had a strong opinion on the gentrification here all over the times. During our talk, he criticized the “system” for rising house rent, gentrification that causes trouble for people like him, and talked about neoliberalism. But in general, he regards this neighborhood as a safe community that welcomes lots of refugee asylum seekers. To him, his main work here at the Garden helps in many ways such as building the greenhouse, as mechanist, and help facilitating the Garden’s arrangements. He also worked with kids from local school on different workshops. He likes working with them but did not talk much about the education system in this neighborhood as a whole. Things Foutuyi enjoyed most in this neighborhood includes the Garden where he works, the TempleHolf, and a bar near the park that is a perfect place to chill and relax with a bottle of cold beer.
Owner of food shop
I also talked with the owner of the small shop selling traditional food like Halloumi and Falafel. He worked and lived in this neighborhood for five years. To him, this community is inclusive and safe in the sense that he finds his place here not just a “shelter” but also a “home”. Out of privacy I did not directly ask which country he was originally from, but his daughter was wearing a headscarf, so I assumed somewhere of religious background, Turkey or Arab or anywhere. He thinks the strength of this neighborhood is that it is open and developing. The influx of Turks, Iran and people from other place brought many livelihoods and diversity into the neighborhood. Sadly his English is not proficient enough to discuss with me in depth about his opinion on the education, but his daughter goes to the community college here, so I assume he would agree that this neighborhood could provide the education needed by children here. Three best things to him are his shop (for sure!), grocery store named Bereket Market and TempleHolf as well.
Education and schools
As we walked in the neighborhood, I saw one fancy private school. Regenbogen-Grundschule is an elementary school that offers a huge variety of courses.( http://www.regenbogen-grundschule.de/regenbogen/service.php). It triggers my interest in education of that area in that I have heard that in Germany the education is free or at least cost very few. I wonder is there fundamental difference in quality and infrastructure or other aspects between private and public schools. With further investigation both on site and through Google map, there are eleven schools including kindergarten, language school, community schools, college, primary school, and religious school. Also, when I researched online I found there is an education project within this neighborhood: One Square Kilometer of Education Berlin-Neukölln. This project supports education “set up a local educational alliance that will assume responsibility for the educational success of the children and adolescents and which will involve all those persons who can help achieve this goal so that no child ‘is lost’.”(http://www.freudenbergstiftung.de/en/key-tasks/one-square-kilometer-of-education/berlin-neukoelln/one-square-kilometer-of-education-berlin-neukoelln.html) One of the outcomes of this project is the comprehensive school “1. Gemeinschaftsschule Berlin” in the Neukölln district is characterized by its diverse student body (about 90 percent have immigrant backgrounds), and the school itself believes this to be of great value. There is another organization called Neighborhood Mothers that aims at help promoting the education quality with professional training on the teachers. “Neighborhood Mothers now receive further training on primary schooling and can connect parents with early education professionals and teachers.”
(http://citiesofmigration.ca/good_idea/neighbourhood-mothers-leading-the-way-in-neukolln/)
“The initiative focuses on addressing educational issues at a localized, specific level within the district of Neukölln.” This project is effective and successfully educated many about the importance on child education.
(http://www.humanityinaction.org/knowledgebase/35-stadtteilmutter-approaching-integration-through-education-in-berlin-neukolln)
Step 1: Locate the Community you will map. Explore it.
Five Senses Survey for the Neighborhood Near Die Gartenerei
The main street of Hermannstrabe is loud but not noisy, with cars passing by continuously. The engines of the cars reflect well of the livelihood of this part of the neighborhood. Walking along this street, people can easily find grocery stores, small cafes, fresh markets, dentistry, child-care, flower shop, pharmacy, coiffeur place, phone store, small clothing shops around corner…etc. Everything of daily basic needs can be find, so lives here must be convenient. Transportation here is also very convenient, the U-bahn line went through this neighborhood and cars easily
The noises fade as I walked into the neighborhood and left the main street. The buildings are modern, clean, neatly aligned, and are typical European styled. Occasionally I saw some graffiti on the wall, but generally this neighborhood has less graffiti than Kreuzberg, where our hostel is located. This neighborhood is free of the smell of beer, smoke or anything disturbing. It does not have a particular odor, just the cleanness of fresh air.
Just behind the entrance of the U-bahn station of Leinestrabe there is a small food stand for doner, fries and other fast food. The doner box was the best that I have tried so far in Berlin. Next to the front gate of Die Gartenerei there is a small store selling German food and the Falafei there was good. Within the neighborhood I also found way too many cafes, and it seems that I can run into one or two cafés in each block. Restaurants of Asian food such as Chinese Chowmin, Mexican food, pasta and pizza, ice-cream shops are all seen in this neighborhood. The diversity of restaurants is really remarkable, and I would assume that people living in this neighborhood come from various backgrounds.
The first thing I notice about this neighborhood is that there are many cemeteries. The Garden, for sure, is one. And there is Cemetery St. Jacobi-Fridehof situating right next to it. As I walked further back into the neighborhood, I found another really grand Cemetery St. Thomas-Kirchhof. At the far end of this cemetery is a small public park Thomashohe. Kids are playing at the recreational facilities, and there is even a zip-line in the park. People were chatting and walking leisurely around the park but I did not see many seniors walking around though.
Residences in this neighborhood are not as outgoing as people from my community back in Kirkland. They would not normally say hello to you as you pass by, but they are still friendly and polite and may smile back to you shyly if you smile to them. I saw several teens riding bicycles playfully and some little kids playing at the side of their parents. I felt a sense of security and belonging as I went across this neighborhood. It was like everything is “in place” at where they belongs and I was just one piece of something bigger, but was free to be myself and just wander along that area.
The noises fade as I walked into the neighborhood and left the main street. The buildings are modern, clean, neatly aligned, and are typical European styled. Occasionally I saw some graffiti on the wall, but generally this neighborhood has less graffiti than Kreuzberg, where our hostel is located. This neighborhood is free of the smell of beer, smoke or anything disturbing. It does not have a particular odor, just the cleanness of fresh air.
Just behind the entrance of the U-bahn station of Leinestrabe there is a small food stand for doner, fries and other fast food. The doner box was the best that I have tried so far in Berlin. Next to the front gate of Die Gartenerei there is a small store selling German food and the Falafei there was good. Within the neighborhood I also found way too many cafes, and it seems that I can run into one or two cafés in each block. Restaurants of Asian food such as Chinese Chowmin, Mexican food, pasta and pizza, ice-cream shops are all seen in this neighborhood. The diversity of restaurants is really remarkable, and I would assume that people living in this neighborhood come from various backgrounds.
The first thing I notice about this neighborhood is that there are many cemeteries. The Garden, for sure, is one. And there is Cemetery St. Jacobi-Fridehof situating right next to it. As I walked further back into the neighborhood, I found another really grand Cemetery St. Thomas-Kirchhof. At the far end of this cemetery is a small public park Thomashohe. Kids are playing at the recreational facilities, and there is even a zip-line in the park. People were chatting and walking leisurely around the park but I did not see many seniors walking around though.
Residences in this neighborhood are not as outgoing as people from my community back in Kirkland. They would not normally say hello to you as you pass by, but they are still friendly and polite and may smile back to you shyly if you smile to them. I saw several teens riding bicycles playfully and some little kids playing at the side of their parents. I felt a sense of security and belonging as I went across this neighborhood. It was like everything is “in place” at where they belongs and I was just one piece of something bigger, but was free to be myself and just wander along that area.