July 25, 2008 Taking some German courses at the Université Laval in the last two years has enabled Stéphane Larrivée of Québec to obtain an internship in an HI hostel in Germany! In fact, basic knowledge in the language of Goethe can permit one to live a formative experience in the country that gave birth to hostelling. “I wanted to learn German as a personal challenge. It is a very complex language, but also extremely interesting because it allows to express certain ideas and certain concepts very precisely,” explains Stéphane. “I am currently working at the bar of the hostel in Heidelberg, which allows me to meet very interesting people, from across Europe and around the world. The contact with guests is always very warm, very friendly, and ultimately very rewarding. ” Another employee of HI Québec, Jean-François Royer, has learned basic German by writing back and forth with a German correspondent on the Internet (he joined business with pleasure!). His singing teacher also gave him some ideas. “I wanted to learn German because I would like to become an interpreter and I think the German language is very interesting,” said Jean-Francois, who spent the month of August and September at the hostel in Oberstdorf-Kornau in Bavaria. “It’s a dream come true, I have the opportunity to deepen my knowledge of German and see how people live in Europe. I have cherished this dream for so long! ” To obtain an internship in Germany, one must be a member of HI and have basic knowledge of German (enough to be useful in a German hostel). One must also be 18 to 30 years of age. Internships are for a period of 2 to 6 months. Are you interested in learning more? Contact Sylvianne L’Allier at 613-237-7884, ext 30 or by e-mail at sylvianne.lallier@hihostels.ca. This internship program is an exchange program and many Germans are interested in coming to work and live in hostels in Canada. Hostels in Nanaimo (Vancouver Island) and Québec are particularly well organized to receive German students. “Our interns are an asset to the Auberge Internationale de Québec,” said Manon Turcotte, director of services. “Interns work at the café in the morning and the bar in the evening, and it is particularly interesting to see accompany excursions - their views on the region of Quebec are delightful!” According to Manon Turcotte, living in a hostel for trainees is a real cultural immersion, “because they live with the locals.”
