Vera Brunner
“My name is Vera Brunner and I am from a small town in the south-east of Germany Dinkelsbuehl. Before I came to Camphill Blair Drummond I did my A-Levels in June 2008. I didn’t want to start university straight away so I decided to go abroad for a while. I like Scotland very much so I started looking for a place as a volunteer here. I knew that I wanted to work in the care sector as I want to become a physiotherapist and I hope to benefit from my work with the people here at Camphill.”
I am responsible for a 21-year-old girl who I help during the day from getting ready for breakfast to getting ready for bed. This makes my day very long. I have to get up quite early and don’t get to bed till nine, but I mostly enjoy the work I’m doing. There is a certain routine every day that needs to be followed but in the workshops (craft and pottery) I can do lots of different things with the residents so it doesn’t get boring easily.
I have already learned a lot about how to deal with different kinds of people and how to communicate with people who don’t have speech or limited speech. The resident I work with only uses Makaton signing to communicate with me and I’m learning new things every day.
I’ll be leaving Camphill in August 2009 and after a short holiday in the Highlands I’ll return to Germany to start studying for about three years to be a physiotherapist.”