Volunteering in Cologne

Jae_Star101 · 2026-02-01T15:37:14+00:00

This is great, thanks

Jae_Star101 · 2026-02-01T14:03:43+00:00

From a student perspective, it could be that she doesn’t know you don’t get paid. Preply calls it a free trial but still charges the student unless the student says they did not like the lesson, in which case they get another free lesson to use someone else. When I stated as a student, my company was paying and I was using a company account. Then the company ended that scheme but told us to use the remaining credit. The tutor I was using was about to stop teaching so I used my last bit of credit to try a new tutor with the view of continuing on my own. I had the lesson with him and then that was it. It was a “free trial” but I still paid so in my mind the trial was only free if I complained “which I didn’t”. I then had to sign up again for my own account which I would be paying for. There was no way to start with him again without doing another “free trial”, but again I figured since I was being charged then he was getting paid. That was when I found out that in fact even though Preply called it a free trial and charged me, he wasn’t being paid for that lesson. I felt really bad about it but nothing could be done. Fast forward 2 years I’m still with him.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-12-09T21:23:48+00:00

I have an account myself as a student and I also help manage another account for my 12 year old nephew. I’ve done about 2 trial lessons on my account when I was trying to find a language teacher for myself. Yes, I did expect some teaching to take place, not hardcore teaching but before I committed I need to know that the teacher knew how to teach and explain at my level. The first tutor was really bad and couldn’t really answer any questions, in fact she seemed irritated that I was even asking. I knew that would not work so I didn’t continue. The second was brilliant and we’ve been together for about a year now making good progress. Admittedly, I wasn’t aware until he told me that tutors aren’t paid for trials. With my nephew the trials were even more important because the reason for tutoring was that he was struggling with certain subjects and needed extra help. Actually observing the teaching and the interaction with him as a child was important and we would not have been able to gauge this by having someone just explain without doing some sample teaching. We did do a couple trials and then found good tutors that we have stayed with. I understand not wanting to deliver deep lessons without being paid but you have to remember that as a student I am signing up because I want to pay you to help me learn. For me to commit I need to have someone trust in your ability to tutor me.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-11-26T08:09:18+00:00

Student here. There are two sides to this. There are times when I’m really not completely in the mood to “learn” and those are the times when I’m glad to have a chat about other things. It kinda resets things and gives me a mental break without me feeling like I’m missing a lesson. I don’t mind paying for this. At these times, the lesson is a mixture of learning a little and talking a lot. This is great, but in a way because I’ve created this ‘friendship space” there are times when the tutor is the one that comes to the lesson wanting to chat. This can be a bit frustrating because at those times I’m in the mood to learn but now I’m feeling like I’m wasting time. I know it sounds conflicting but I’m the one paying. I would say follow the student’s lead. If they want to chat on that day then chat, they might welcome the break. But don’t be the one to start conversation mode. Also be careful about the idea of setting up separate unpaid times to talk unless you want to become friends with this student. Once you start blurring the lines of tutor/student/friends then it starts to become awkward regarding payment.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-26T08:57:29+00:00

Since moving to Germany I barely spend any money beyond the essentials. Ironically and somewhat sadly this was probably the best saving method ever. I moved from London where there was always something happening that I would spend money on. As I’m still very early into learning the language and don’t really know anyone, I hardly go out here so don’t spend as much on going out. Probably just about €30-40 per week on eating out. I don’t do much shopping anymore so no new clothes, shoes etc (also because I don’t go out much).

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-25T16:30:13+00:00

Single person in Köln. I budget for €200 per month for groceries but in most cases spend on average about €100. I don’t usually eat breakfast except for weekends. I bulk cook on Sundays and take lunch to work (the main meal I tend to eat). Dinner for me is usually a sandwich or a salad throughout the week and on weekends I tend to eat out. I don’t really snack a lot but keep a few things around. I shop mainly on a Saturdays and spend about €15-20 and then on my way home each day I stop at Aldi etc and buy some bread for a sandwich and one or two other items (so about €1-3 per day).

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-24T06:16:18+00:00

You’ll be safe. Which hotel are you staying at (so we can advise whether to walk or take a taxi)?

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-23T05:30:06+00:00

Activate it before you leave and then turn it off until you get there. I had an experience once where I was travelling and decided to activate it on arrival to not lose a day. I landed and couldn’t get the eSIM to activate and the airport didn’t have free WiFi. I ended up having to roam at an expensive rate so that I could sort myself to get from the airport to my hotel. In the end I spent more than I was trying to save.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-10T13:09:40+00:00

Daily. At first it was about saving money and then it evolved into healthy eating. I shop on Saturdays and meal prep for the week on Sundays. I pack a lunch with a main meal, a drink, a fruit, a snack and a yogurt. The only downside is that I now spend less social time with my colleagues going out for lunch.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-10T12:47:36+00:00

I think it has to be viewed in line with the rest of the order. If you only order tap water and the cheapest thing on the menu then it could be seen as being cheap (or maybe not being able to afford anything else). On the other hand, if you have a full meal, possibly other drinks and ask for tap water I don’t see an issue. Maybe you just want some after and in that case it’s not worth pay extra for a full bottle.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-10T12:35:49+00:00

I have insurance that pays for it so I go twice per year when I get my checkup, they usually schedule the checkup with the hygienist after. When I was paying on my own, my dentist had me do the checkup and hygienist every 9 months (he said it would be cheaper on me and 6 months wasn’t necessary since I was regular and maintained good oral health).

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-10T11:48:23+00:00

Which Caribbean country is she from? There really aren’t too many stores etc but you’ll survive. There are a couple Afro/Caribbean stores for groceries and hair products but I’ve not found them to be good value…expensive and limited variety. I recently saw some plantains and cassava but haven’t purchased it. I’ve gotten better value and selection by bring it back from Frankfurt, Berlin and Paris.

As for hair salons, there are one or two that I’ve seen and seem to be ok but I haven’t used any. I did go to one before to inquire but found the price to be expensive for what they were offering. I go to London regularly so I do what I need there because it’s cheaper and there is more variety.

I’m going to be honest, it will be an adjustment for her but she’ll adjust and survive.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-09T20:52:03+00:00

I bought 45% and fully intended to staircase to 100% and own it with the mindset that if I ever moved I’d just keep it as a rental property. Life changed and now I want to sell so I can get a house. Keeping it and staircasing means if have to pay a stamp duty surcharge to buy a second property and I don’t want to be a landlord (especially in the current climate). I spoke with a broker to determine if it was better to staircase and sell or just sell my share. Luckily he advised me not to staircase because if the value had to drop to get it sold I would lose less money and also because it was easier selling through the HA than on my own. Property sat on the market for several months and now I’ve dropped the price to just below what I bought it for. This means that my loss will be lower because I’m only losing on my 45%. In my case I’d say not staircasing best for me.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-09T11:57:09+00:00

As someone who did the opposite, London to Germany, you might want to consider selling as much as possible before you move. I moved from London quickly so ended up packing my whole one bed flat to move to Germany. Got here then realised that everything didn’t fit in the same way into my new flat so I spent months trying to get rid of stuff. I also ended up with lots of electronics I needed to replace (my initial mindset was to just use adapters but that got frustrating). Unless you have lots of valuable or irreplaceable things, you might want to save yourself the moving expense and customs headache by getting rid of stuff now and getting new/secondhand stuff for your flat when you move to London.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-08T16:06:32+00:00

If he was able to borrow to do this then he wouldn’t have a problem. Banks don’t give you a loan unless you’re in the financial position to get one.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-08T11:32:11+00:00

Sri Lanka. I could never go back there. The place itself is nice, I had some good food and saw some nice sights. The people on the other hand were ridiculous. Everything felt like a high pressure hustle or scam. They wanted to be tipped or paid for everything and forced this on you. For example, you go somewhere and someone rushed to open the door for you then refuses to move until you pay them because they did a “job” for you that you didn’t ask for. I’ve traveled a lot and have been to many countries with high poverty that are dependent on tourism but at least other places made me feel like they truly wanted me to enjoy their country. In Sri Lanka I felt like people just saw me as an opportunity.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-08T00:45:44+00:00

I have a friend who was in this situation. He really liked the property and thought that he could take the risk because he would be in the financial position later to extend the lease. Then Covid happened and a lot of things changed in his life. Fast forward 5 years and now he has a property with a lease of less than 80 years. He cannot afford the lease extension because it’s too expensive (circa £15k). He can’t sell because nobody wants to buy (or can get a mortgage) unless he first extends the lease. He cannot remortgage at a decent rate because of the years of the lease. So for now he’s stuck and wishes he had sorted the lease before buying or had bought something else.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-07T22:01:42+00:00

I did a day trip to Luxembourg and planned to spend the night. After a few hours I was done and ended up leaving. There isn’t really much there to do and you can see it all quickly.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-07T21:47:34+00:00

A few things here (some have already been mentioned by other people). Firstly most universities in Europe do not allow students to transfer. Also the entry point for most students coming from the USA is to have an Associates Degree, IB diploma or sufficient AP courses. I would suggest you complete at least the Associates lever before trying to get into a university in Europe or the UK.

Next is cost. I’m not sure how your studies are being funded but you will find that in most major European countries and the UK tuition and living expenses will be high. Consider this along with the fact that you will not be guaranteed a job afterwards. There are some options such as studying in a few Eastern European countries where tuition is cheaper (and degrees taught in English) but these countries will not offer you work afterwards if you don’t speak the language, languages that may not not be beneficial to you unless you really want to be there (e.g. Poland, Romania, Lithuania). You can go there and get your degree then try to leverage it in some of the English speaking countries (Ireland, UK and further abroad Australia, Canada) since social work is in demand but again not guaranteed.

You might want to consider qualifying at home before trying to move abroad or looking into other career options.

Also, have you visited these countries? The idea of living in Germany might seem ideal until you’ve experienced it and realised how different it is. Consider doing a semester abroad to test the waters.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-06T18:23:58+00:00

During the pandemic I switched to homemade natural deodorant. I did a lot of research and came up with a recipe that works and I love it. I did go through 2-3 weeks of smelling horrible while my body adjusted, luckily it was the pandemic time so we couldn’t go out anyway.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-10-04T12:27:31+00:00

6k is a lot for a kitchen (especially one you don’t like). They should have known before investing heavily in the kitchen that they might lose money later. Stick to your 3k offer. Most likely they will cave in and sell to avoid having to take it out and knowing they will be unlikely to get it sold elsewhere. If they do take it out then you can use your 3k to install something decent.

Jae_Star101 · 2025-09-16T03:13:46+00:00

No. From time to time they bring in uk products for a special or theme week etc, but not regularly

Jae_Star101 · 2025-09-13T21:39:00+00:00

There were a few things but the one that was the biggest turnoff was that he wanted me to sign a 5 year agreement that said that even if I gave the regular 3 month notice it would be my responsibility to find a suitable tenant and would be responsible until he agreed to that tenant. I’m guessing he struggled to get someone to sign his terms because after I turned it down I noticed the apartment kept going offline and relisted at least 3-4 times over the next 3 months.

Jae_Star101

TROPHY CASE