Welcome Kai Thieler – Our ARSP Intern from Germany

Since 1998, The Selfhelp Home has partnered with the Berlin-based Action Reconciliation Service for Peace (ARSP), which works to bridge the gap between the lost older Jewish German generation and the youth in Germany while building trusting relationships and healing painful, historic wounds.

For more than 50 years, ARSP has been committed to fighting racism, discrimination, and social exclusion through reconciliation and peace. ASRP creates global partnerships around the world to offer long-term international peace service programs. Every year, about 180 young adults between 19 and 25 years old participate around the world in 13 countries on a variety of educational, historical, political, and social projects. As the ASRP volunteers engage in understanding the history and other cultures, they strive passionately to make a positive contribution toward a more peaceful, just, and tolerant world.

Each year, Selfhelp is host to a young German intern for a one-year internship who becomes an integral part of the Selfhelp family – helping residents and warming hearts. In September 2024 we welcomed our 25th intern, Kai Thieler from Langenfeld, Germany to our Selfhelp family.

Where are you from?
I am originally from Dusseldorf, which is on the west side of Germany. Nowadays I am living in a smaller town between Dusseldorf and Cologne, called Langenfeld. Langenfeld has about 60,000 inhabitants so it is a lot smaller than Dusseldorf.

What will you be doing at Selfhelp?
I am doing volunteer service through ARSP (Action Reconciliation Service for Peace), and will be leading meetings and group activities, visiting with residents, and participating in religious traditions.

Can you tell us about your family?
I have two older brothers – Jan, who is 21 years old and works at Wilkinsons Sword (a razor company) and Eric, who is 28 years old and studies at Düsseldorf University.

What are your hobbies and interests? How do you like to spend your time?
I am both a nature and a culture guy, so either I go hiking and camping or I travel to cities and visit museums or exhibitions. When I just have the afternoon, I like to cook, go for a walk, or, since being in Chicago, go for a swim. I am also into photography.

What are you most looking forward to about living in Chicago for a year?
Definitely getting to know all the personal stories and life experiences of the residents, plus exploring not only the popular sites of Chicago but the lesser known and hidden parts of the city.

What do you want to study in university and what kind of work do you want to do?
I am honestly hoping that my experience here will give me some direction, but for now I am planning to study either physics or psychology and then decide the specific work field for my later life.

Do you have a favorite food? Book? Movie? Music?
I am vegan so unfortunately this restricts a lot of cuisines. But Moroccan couscous is one of my favorite dishes. My favorite movie would definitely be ‘Perfume: The Story of a Murderer’ which is actually a German movie that manages to connect total opposites, like beauty and filth. When it comes to music it is hard for me to pick one song, so I will just pick a genre instead – classical music. I love Vivaldi.

What is your biggest pet peeve?
Probably when people have a closed mindset that contradicts itself.