special olympics world games 2023 in berlin, germany

There are not enough words to efficiently describe the experience I had traveling with the Wayfaring Band, a Denver-based non-profit focused on disability justice and anti-ableism education through inclusive travel and programming, to the 2023 Special Olympics World Games (SOWG) in Berlin, Germany. I traveled with the band as the “Artist-in-Residence”, a role that requires an artistic ode or tribute to the experience after our travels were complete. 

We hit the road, well mostly skies, for 11 days to experience the Special Olympics as volunteers and also dive head first into local Berlin culture. Before the Opening Ceremony commenced, we had a (jet-lagged) day or two to explore Berlin, learning about the evident history, painful and beautiful, that exists all around you through museums, boat tours, and local eats. 

JOURNAL ENTRY : “With this lovely trip remains the overhanging reminder that my ode will follow the experience. It’s only day one and I have already been heavily by Berlin’s street art. The small photo instillation on the street corner, the amount of wheat-pasted images, all of it. Although I will OF COURSE stray from the original purpose, I was really inspired by the design style of the DDR Musuem’s propaganda posters. The neutral tone backgrounds with bursts of colors heavily spoke to me. Maybe my ode can be inspired by this and some of the other art pieces I have done that use black and white images layered with heavy, bright colors.”

Throughout the trips we visited notorious Berlin Landmarks, such as the Anne Frank House, European Memorial for Murdered Jews, the Berlin Wall and more. Despite its often-times dark history, Berlin has transformed into a diverse culture hub with vibrant young life and art, which all of my souvenirs consisted of. One of my favorite finds from Berlin was a photo book, “Pieces of Berlin” which utilizes photojournalism to interview Berlin residents, especially those who became residents after fleeing their countries of origin. 

Some of the other pieces I grabbed included two prints from unknown artists at a local Sunday flea market in Southside Berlin (where I ate some really delicious paella, too!), and two German comic zines titled “Western” (Jens Cornils) and “The Monkey Lab”(Mami Verlag). 

Eventually it was time to make our way to a place that we would learn like the back of our hands, Messe Berlin, the center hub for all things SOWG. After receiving all of our volunteer gear and official volunteer passes, it felt like our trip was on 2x speed - it brought the realization that there was so much to do in such little time. 

JOURNAL ENTRY: “Today felt SO GOOD! I got heavy chills walking into the credentials area to receive all of our volunteer gear. Seeing all of the athletes and volunteers from different countries reminds me of how connected we are in humanity’s story. I think my understanding of the global experience having a disability is limited and I am curious to know how we can move forward into creating a more accessible world, not limited to American society.”

“A theme I continue to encounter with the Wayfaring Band is the idea of ‘surrendering’ - I don’t think I am very good at this. My hope for today is to surrender to the journey (this trip and life in general) and to the idea of not being in control - sometimes the best things happen this way.”

The Opening Ceremony commenced, uniting 170 different countries together for the shared experience of the SOWG, celebrating the gifts of so many people from so many different backgrounds. I found myself emotionally moved time and time again, thinking about the unification of sports. To this day I get chills, envisioning each country coming in one at a time, knowing that every individual faces their own set of personal obstacles in addition to existing in a globally-tense political climate and oftentimes ableist world, yet in that moment we were all offered joy.

JOURNAL ENTRY: “The Opening Ceremony for the SOWG brought the adrenaline rush I think we all expected. It made it all feel real. Equally, it opened the door for a really engaging conversation about the ways in which the event needs to be more accessible. We were able to talk about what an accessible space looks and feels like physically and also ask everyone about their thoughts on how the event in its entirety could be more accessible moving forward. I am feeling a lot of gratitude for this conversation. I believe typically it would’ve been avoided, given how much we equally enjoyed it. Having this conversation served as a reminder that both ideas can exist at once. I think seeing so many of the athletes, and honestly spectators as well, having the time of their lives just made us realize that they deserve so much more.”

Each day we were giving volunteering assignments, which looked like everything from passing out maps to welcoming event guests in. This gave us the opportunity to not only watch many forms of incredible athleticism, but also to meet and talk with different teams and athletes.

Global experiences obviously bring communication barriers, but equally invite opportunities to explore non-verbal communication in new ways. One of the ways SOWG encouraged us to explore non-verbal communication was through a pin swap. Everyone was encouraged to bring pins from their country of origin or group they were traveling with and switch with other folks you meet along the way! This was not only an extremely fun way to meet new people, but you also have sweet mementos to hold onto. Although this was fun for many, it can equally be challenging and require a lot of courage to approach different groups, so we equally engaged in non-verbal communication through random dance parties (shoutout to the Jamaican soccer team!), cheering for teams as they walked by, waving at new friends we’ve made, and taking pictures (mutually agreed upon, of course) with each other because WHY NOT!

All of these ideas loop back to one of the Wayfaring Band’s gift of celebration. It is free and equally accessible to celebrate one another, and the gifts we bring to the table, on a daily basis.

Although life-giving, each day could easily be very emotionally and physically demanding. I really enjoyed using my time in the morning before we dove into a full day to walk down to a coffee shop and reflect and ground myself in the amazing experience I was having.

JOURNAL ENTRY: “I am having coffee at “Pure Origins”, a coffee shop down the road from our hostel. It’s about 7:30 A.M. and I am sitting here a bit unsure of what proper German etiquette is - is it rude of me to sit here and stay a while? Is it normal? I am feeling very lucky the barista spoke English because I didn’t think to translate a few phrases before leaving the internet at the hostel. The culture here feels very cigarettes and coffee, which I don’t hate. Although my latte is kind of gross, the atmosphere is lovely. The man next to me is simply here existing: no phone, no need to be anywhere but exactly here, right now.”

“This is such a gentle reminder that there is so much more out there in the world for me. There is space for me to explore. Maybe this trip and all of the divine moments that led to me being here was the answer to the confusion I currently face.”

“The train passes by every few minutes, but I only know from its reflection I catch in the window across the way. Every time it passes, the ground shakes. It is so gloomy today, and humid which I didn’t expect, for some reason I have a sudden urge to rewatch ‘Normal People’. Maybe it will be on the plane.”

View more photos from my time in Berlin HERE!