HOHENFELS, Germany -- Being stationed overseas can be an opportunity for grand adventure and personal growth, but it can also be a bit frightening. Far from family and friends, surrounded by new sights, sounds and smells, it's not unusual for newcomers to suffer some anxiety as they try to adjust to their unfamiliar surroundings.
Hohenfels' Relocation Readiness Program offers a solution in the form of various classes designed to help Soldiers, civilians and family members feel more confident here in Germany.
"One of our main missions is to ensure our family members receive some cultural adaption, awareness, understanding and education so that they're more comfortable in the community and that they're prepared to be good ambassadors for the U.S." said Lara Claggett, Army Community Service acting division chief.
The staples of the program are the "Host Nation Orientation" and the "Hallo Hohenfels" class which both serve not only to familiarize newcomers with Hohenfels, but also as an introduction to German culture, traditions, and more practical matters such as shopping and riding the train.
But in the year and a half since Nickayla Myers-Garner joined the Relocation Readiness staff as a contractor, the classes have expanded to include a wide variety of cultural experiences, such as a trip to a local Kirwa festival, hiking to hidden castle ruins in nearby neighborhoods, or how to get "Fest Dressed" in the local Bavarian style.
"We look out for cultural differences -- like the "Get Fest Dressed" class; trachten -- traditional clothing -- is something unique here, especially in Bavaria, so we decided to make a class to help people understand what they mean and how to wear them, and then we take them out to have a hands-on experience," said Rick Iglesias, Relocation Readiness Program.
"When I'm developing a class, I really think about when I was a young spouse, new to Germany, and I didn't know anything," Myers-Garner added. "I have a very inquisitive personality and I wanted to get more involved, get to know the Germans and have a cultural experience. I didn't know in the beginning how to find out and learn about those things, and now I get to share those insights and introduce people who are new to some of the great experiences available here."
Another source of new classes is community members themselves. Myers-Garner draws inspiration from her own students, and the questions they pose.
"I might have a student ask me about something, and maybe it seems normal to me because I've been here for eight years, and we'll realize that's something new to people, and we'll develop a class," she said.
Along with practical classes like train orientation and grocery shopping comparisons between commissary and off-post stores, Relocation Readiness offers trips to Easter and Christmas markets, brewery tours, and even cake and coffee.
"The German tradition of coffee and cake is a very interesting one which not many people know about," Myers-Garner said. "We go to a former palace farm near the Bavarian forest that's now an antique store and the ladies that run it tell us all about the coffee and cake tradition while we're actually having coffee and cake. Do you know why there are so many single pieces of cake in the bakeries? No? Then come to the class."
Recently, the Relocation Readiness team just led its first class geared for children; "Rummaging 'round Regensburg -- a Historical Scavenger Hunt for Children."
Initially approached by a Cub Scout leader looking to help her scouts earn a merit badge, Myers-Garner developed the scavenger hunt. Drawing on her past experience as an elementary school teacher, she created a program that was both educational and fun.
Working with Hohenfels Elementary School teacher Colleen Caputo, they developed a list of items throughout the city such as a giant mural of David and Goliath, a statue of an eagle, and a gargoyle rain spout for the children to hunt during the tour.
"This is a demographic that we have not touched on in our program before, so it was really rewarding to be able to draw in those young community members," Myers-Garner said. She added that despite the wind and snow, the children were too engaged to complain.
"They were very curious and very enthusiastic and asked really cool questions," she said.
Myers-Garner uses the same technique with her adult classes.
"I work really hard to make them educational but fun," she said, and it's working. On the class evaluations, many clients are surprised by the term "training."
"They'll say, 'but this was a trip,'" Myers-Garner laughed. "And I'll say, this was an educational, cultural and language training that you were unaware of because it was so fun!"
Yet the lessons stick. Myers-Garner said it's very rewarding when her students approach her later and tell her of trips they took on the train and experiences they've had visiting other cities.
"Or sometimes I'll see people posting a question on one of the spouse Facebook pages, and I see one of my students pipe in with the answer, and I know they learned that at "Hallo Hohenfels," she said. "It's rewarding to see people grow, and after taking these classes they are armed with information which makes them feel more confident to get out."
Hohenfels ranks near the top in the entire Army as far as class participation in the Readiness Relocation program. Iglesias said most programs on other posts don't offer the wide variety or the hands-on approach of the Hohenfels classes.
"Nickayla's enthusiasm and passion draws people in," he added. "We get a lot of repeat customers. The gateway to that is usually 'Hallo Hohenfels.' At Newcomers Orientation they learn about all the stuff we do and all they awesome classes we offer and they start from there, and the next thing they're telling all their friends … and now we need to add more classes!"
Classes regularly fill up, with a recent trip to Dietfurt's unique Chinese-themed Fasching parade reaching max capacity in only three days. Participants have even journeyed from Ansbach, Grafenwoehr and Vilseck to take part in a Hohenfels class.
Relocation Readiness also supplies a welcome package to newcomers with a CD of calendars, events and programs from various agencies on post as well as tourist maps and brochures of the surrounding communities. They'll even mail the package out so incoming families can start planning before they even arrive.
"The success of this program is not because we have more money or resources, it's because Nickayla and Rick really care, and they want our Soldiers and family members to thrive," Claggett said.
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