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Hi! I worked at SHAPE with SAC during the Summer of 2025. I want to start by saying that the staff at SHAPE are amazing. They are so kind and welcoming and will help you through any questions you have! All of my photos are from me on base! The last one is me outside of the Mons train station.

Living Situation:

During my Summer we were put at the SHAPE hotel, which is on base. There are two buildings and we were split between them. Each room had two interns to it, and each person had their own bedroom with a bed, fridge, couch, tv, desk, and closet, and then a shared bathroom between the 2 interns. It's about a fifteen minute walk to/from the centers. Obviously living conditions may change from Summer to Summer, but it is a super nice and comfortable place to be!

There is a kitchen with an oven, microwave, and stove, as well as things like pots/pans and silverware in each hotel.

There is a laundry room with a washer, drier, and laundry detergent in each hotel, but it does cost money so make sure to have some euros on you if you're planning on using them!

There isn't AC, but my Summer we bought fans, which I think have been kept to redistribute to future interns!

We did have some trouble with our WiFi about halfway through the Summer; if for some reason that happens again, we eventually learned that the Shape Club (a restaurant thing right across the street from the hotels) has free WiFi that you can use! We would sit outside on their deck and do homework.

Working at SAC:

When I was there, the staff generally had all of the themes and activities for each week already planned and picked out.

Each week, there would be 2-3 different themed camps that would run for like 2-3 hours in the morning. During my Summer we had 4 interns working at SAC and we were typically spread out amongst the camps with one person floating around where they were needed. For my Summer, they did ask us in advance which camps we would prefer to be a part of/what we had experience in and they tried to line us up with how we responded!

Typical Schedule:

7-9am: Breakfast and Open Rooms (1-2 rooms open as kids come in for the day, along with breakfast open. If you were there to work as an intern during this time they would typically assign you a room to either open up or be in with a staff member.)

9am: Wake-Up Shake-Up: This is something we would lead as Rocket Kids! This is where we would sing the songs and play the games we learned during trainings. Sometimes we would even do like line dances with them like the Cha Cha Slide. This lasts until like 9:15ish.

After wake up shake up, we would have the themed camps with the activities planned by staff members until 11 or 12? Usually we would assist staff members in their plans, but occasionally we would end up leading the activities when needed.

12-1: I think this is usually when campers had their lunch. As an intern, your lunch would typically either be from 12-1 or from 1-2. Again, the staff at SHAPE is amazing and would typically let you have some of the kids food if there were leftovers. There's a break room for staff with some seating and a fridge. I would sometimes use the lunch break to go grocery shopping on base or to pull out some more money at the ATM on base.

1-3: Afternoon excursion. This would be something like a trip to bowling or the movie theater on base, or a day like water play or field day.

3-6: Free choice, snack, and pick-up. This is when most of the rooms would be open and kids were able to pick where they wanted to be. At the beginning of the Summer we were typically assigned a room with a staff member, but eventually they had us open our own rooms! (My personal favorite was when I got to open the Blue Room with RK Jill!)

I was lucky enough to get to go on two field trips with SAC too, and they were both super fun, and something that the kids always had a lot of fun with as well.

We mainly communicated through walkie talkies in the center.

SHAPE is a NATO base, so there are varying nationalities!! There were a couple of kids who spoke only French so be prepared to learn how to navigate around that language barrier!

The kids are awesome and it is so much fun working with them.

Extras About SHAPE Base:

As I just mentioned, SHAPE is a NATO base. The primary language spoken in Mons is French, and I definitely heard a lot of French on base! But most people speak English as well.

There is an ATM and Carrefour on base which is super convenient. I did all of my grocery shopping for the Summer at the Carrefour, as well as shopping for things like shampoo, tupperware, etc.

SHAPE has several FaceBook groups that can give you some insight into fun things happening on base each week!

My first weekend we got lucky and SHAPE was having a garage sale. We got our fans, a converter, and a few other living items for a great price!

SHAPE also does a really fun 4th of July festival. They have carnival rides, food, games, live music, etc. I definitely recommend checking it out if you're there for it!

We were given bikes from CYS my Summer.

SHAPE doesn't take off for American holidays (Juneteenth, 4th of July etc) but there are some Belgian holidays that they take off for.

There is a gym and track on base that you can use.

I personally used my phone plan through Verizon, but others used an eSim and it worked just fine!

Traveling:

SHAPE is an amazing place to be for travel. You can honestly get just about anywhere.

To start your travel, you're most likely going to be taking a train from the Mons train station to Brussels (about a 45min train and they run very frequently). There aren't very many direct trains from Mons to anywhere, except for to Paris or other cities in Belgium.

In order to get to/from the Mons train station, I recommend using the bus. There is a bus stop directly outside of base. You can download the app called "TEC" and buy your ticket passes through there. You will be taking the Line 15 Bus. Going from SHAPE to the train station, the route is "MAISIERES Le Maisières" to "Mons/Bergen." Going from the train station to SHAPE, it's "Mons/Bergen" to "MAISIERES Le Maisières". They have the bus routes scheduled for pretty much all of the Summer, so you can see exactly when they're running and plan your times around that. They do run a little less frequently on weekends, so sometimes you may have to leave on Friday night for your trips (depending on where you want to go) because the bus may not come until 9am and that could be too late for when you're leaving. My Summer, we ended up leaving Friday night for most places. We would usually go from a train in Mons to a train in Brussels, but sometimes once we got to Brussels we would also utilize Flixbuses.

The last bus of the day is SOMETIMES unreliable; I would always have euros on hand in case you end up needing to take a taxi back to base. One time Chianna and I couldn't get a bus or a taxi and we walked back...it's technically doable but I would not recommend so try to plan and be back before the last bus just to avoid any of that trouble lol.

A cab ride to/from the bus station and base was usually around 22 euros.

So when looking at where you want to travel and planning your leave times, remember to look at that bus schedule!

Ubers, Lyft, etc do NOT work in Mons, HOWEVER we did have success taking an Uber from Brussels to Mons after a train debacle. So it's not really possible to be in Mons and get an Uber, but if you're in a pinch you could probably take one from Brussels to Mons.

I would recommend buying seat reservations even if they only say "recommended" and not "required" on the Rail Planner app; a couple of times we wouldn't buy them and then the "recommended" would change to "required" and then would be sold out.

For short trips (like to any city in Belgium or to Luxembourg), don't use your Eurail pass, just use SNCB or SNCB International to buy a ticket; they'll be fairly inexpensive and it will save you a day on your pass, which will end up saving you money in the long run.

Seat reservations and trains really do sell out quickly. I would recommend booking things as early as you can, ESPECIALLY for London.

All in all, SHAPE is an amazing spot to be! I am so thankful for my time there and am so excited for all of the other interns who get to experience it.

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https://www.stuttgartcitizen.com/welcome-guide-pcs-in/

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Housing Housing Overview Househunting Tips Recycling Settling In How to In-Process Newcomer Tips Relocation Readiness Tr

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Hello!!

Me and my sister were Stuttguardians last summer and stayed at the apartments on Patch. For food and snacks, while your supervisor does communicate days and times for grocery shopping, there is a store that is about a 5 minute walk from base called “Netto”

located at: Meluner Straße 2-6

70569 Stuttgart-Vaihingen

Germany

It has some very good fruit, a sort of bakery once you walk in with bread, cinnamon rolls, etc. Along with other grocery items you mash need that you may have forgot grocery shopping.

There is also a grocery store called “Kaufland”

located at: Schwabenplatz 1

Vaihingen

70563 Stuttgart

Germany

This plaza has aldi, some restaurants, drug store, nail spot, and so much more. We did most of our grocery shopping at Kaufland, Aldi, and Netto. Schwaben platz is 2-3 bus stops away from the Kurmaker bus stop right outside of base!

There was also a food truck less than a 5 minute walk outside of base by the basketball court, it is delicious, the man is really nice, and try to order and speak in German, he speaks English as well but it’s just polite to try!

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What is the difference between Frankfurt M Flughafen Fernbf and Frankfurt M Flughafen?

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What is the difference between Frankfurt M Flughafen Fernbf and Frankfurt M Flughafen?

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The station called Frankfurt Flughafen Regionalbahnhof“ is for regional trains, the other one, called Frankfurt Flughafen Fernbahnhof“, is for long distance connections. Both offer train connections to Frankfurt and other locations in the region.

Summer 2025

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This is what an average timetable/ route looks like; it will show all of the stops and estimated times. A VERY Important thing to look for is what Frankfurt station your ticket needs you at and what the last stop is!

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Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) Video tour

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Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station) Video tour

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Wiesbaden Hauptbahnhof (Main Train Station)

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Works great for bullet trains and long-distance traveling. I end up going with 10 days in two months and use regional trains in the beginning or end to cover the rest of the time.

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Global Pass: Cheapest Rail Pass in Europe

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The Eurail Global Pass is the flexible train pass for travelers. Use your Pass to travel on rail networks in 33 countries in Europe!

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Deutschland-Ticket

It was 63 euros a month (basically get your moneys worth with 2 or 3 days)

The trains are different than Eurail

This is where I got mine: https://deutschland-ticket.store/autobus-oberbayern

DB Navigator App

Shows you the time it will be there, when you will arrive at destination

What the number is

What platform you will get on and off, etc.

I used this to plan all of my trips (even outside of Germany)

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I went to Graf Summer 2025!

If you are at Rose Barracks CDC and they mention past Rocket Kids please tell them I say hi!

Graf is kind of three bases into one (kind of like a Mickey Mouse formation)

I would categorize the area as the country part of Germany

If someone is coming to visit you, I would advise them to either just come to base to pick you up or for you and a buddy to meet them somewhere (such as Nuremberg train station)

There really is not much to do when you aren't on base and you have to entertain yourself all day

Last summer us interns were split between two of the bases (you may get split up into three because they were opening a new CDC right when I was leaving)

We all worked 9-6

As someone in the CDC, I did not go on field trips however there was a UPK program (kids going into kindergarten in the fall) and they would walk ~10 minutes to a small park on Mondays

Housing

We basically had a whole house/hotel building to ourself (except for maybe two weeks)

Since we only had 4 interns, we each had our own room.

However, there may be a case where you have roommates (this just depends on the availability, with so many of you you will probably have roommates)

There is no air conditioning

We got fans from our CYS

Keep the windows open at night

When you angle it inward, rain won't get into your room (although bugs might because they didn't have screens)

I found that if you open the window after turning off the lights and close it before turning on the lights, Bugs tend to not go in

When you wake up close the window and try to leave it as dark as possible and it can keep the room cooler

Remember that heat rises! The higher level you go, the warmer your room will be

We actually stayed on Graf and then to go to our center (Rose Barracks or Netz)

I was on Rose Barracks, and it was around a 20-25 minute drive. We got picked up by either the Director, Assistant Director, or a staff member that also lived on Graf.

Netz is closer to Graf (maybe 5-10 minutes)

Gas Station

You are able to buy things here (it is like a gas station grocery store, I could get chips, candy, energy drinks, etc.)

I always went to the self checkout and they never asked for a military ID

Packing

I'm going to be honest the weather can be all over the place

Kind of like Ohio, it can be 80 degrees on Tuesday and Wednesday it will be 60

I would say most of the time, the high varies from 65-75

In July it will definitely get hotter

While I was in the CDC, especially in the infant room I tended to wear the joggers more than the shorts

If doing this, I would probably bring shorts in case you need/want to change into it

I brought a couple of light weight sweaters and jeans with me for the colder days/weekends

I would also bring a rain jacket and maybe one other plain jacket

I knew I wanted to buy a sweatshirt over there, so I didn't pack one

I am not afraid to be an outfit re-wearer

I tried to make multiple outfits out of the same pieces (ex. a shirt can go with three different pants/skirts)

As a chronic overpacker, I thought I wasn't packing a lot but I actually was and I didn't touch half of what I packed

I love wearing loungewear but I didn't really find myself doing this. As soon as I got back from work I would take a shower and get into pajamas (that was more of my loungewear as opposed to sweats)

Remember that you also need to get back with additional purchases

I packed a duffel bag in my checked bag and then was able to use that as an additional bag to use on the way back (because it definitely did not all fit back into the suitcase like how I packed it)

Volksfest

I think it is usually the first weekend in August

This event brings together soldiers, families, civilians and local Germans for a celebration of shared cultures (brings Germans and Americans together)

You will definitely hear about this before it happens (on that Friday there may be less numbers because it is 'kids day')

Carnival rides, equipment displays, retail booths, food stands, live band performances, etc.

It is basically on base but there is a shuttle bus that will pick you up/drop you off at the commissary on Graf

We went on Sunday afternoon/night once we got back from our weekend trip

I would say give yourself at least two hours, but it does not have to be a full day/weekend event

This was where I got my Graf Souvenirs (a postcard and a wooden plaque (it honestly might be a cutting board))

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Volksfest (rides and food stands in background)

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I personally did not go out that much since I worked 9-6

Most of the stores close around 7-7:30

Restaurants will normally have a break in the afternoon and then open again around 4:30 or 5

Outside of the Main Gate

Across the street there is a grocery store and then what I would say is like a CVS/Walgreens

The cost of living is much lower than here so your money can go a far way at the store

McDonalds (I ate there more than I would like to admit)

it tastes so much better than it does in the US

I tried Tortuga which is a Tex-Mex Grill (a little bit down from McDonalds) which was good, but I am not the most critical of Mexican food

Outside of the Walking Gate

Pho Viet -- this was the first time I had tried Pho and I thought it was pretty good (although I did order the most basic food ever)

Pinguino Eis -- this is a place to get a sweet treat after work!! (ice cream)

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Where I Went & Activity Ideas:

Nuremberg, Germany

We made two day trips here the first weekend

Nuremberg Trials Museum and Courtroom 600 -- I didn't know much about this beforehand but I learned so much

They have a student discount with an ID (around 1.5 euro)

Cinnamood (flavored cinnamon rolls) so so so good

Nuremberg Castle -- very pretty view, bit of an incline to get up there

Prague, Czech Republic

Probably walked around 17 miles that weekend

Prague Castle -- be prepared to climb a lot of stairs!!!

We didn't go in but it was beautiful to walk around

There is a Starbucks with a very pretty view (at least according to TikTok)

Charles Bridge -- separates new and old Prague **pictured

Astronomical Clock -- fun when you stumble across it right when it is about to go off but I wouldn't go out of my way to see it

Prague Charm -- make your own charm necklace/bracelet. This was a main thing we wanted to do

Trdlo (often referred to as a "chimney cake")

Regensburg, Germany

Small town in Germany

Very religious city

We went on Corpus Christi so basically everything was closed

There was an event happening outside of the church but they were speaking Germany so we didn't understand

Vienna, Austria

This was a bucket list city for me

Austrian National Library -- particularly the State Hall **pictured

I think this might have been the most beautiful thing I saw the whole trip

Architecture and paintings was so cool and there was so many books (it was a must see for me)

Admission was around 12 euro

Austrian Parliament Building

Very nice architecture

Just stopped by quick to take some pictures

Schönbrunn Palace "summertime palace" **pictured 2x

We walked around the grounds of the castle for at least an hour just enjoying the scenery

Potions

It is potion themed so all of the drinks were magical

Genuinely my favorite place we stopped at and I don't even really know what the ingredients were

Stephansplatz -- geographical and cultural heart of Vienna

St. Stephen's Cathedral

Shopping

Ice cream/gelato stands/stores

Salzburg, Austria

I went on the Sound of Music Tour with my mom

You were able to see and be in the Austrian Alps

The highlight of this was Mondsee, it had crystal bright blue water (just gorgeous) **pictured

We tried Schnitzel at Meissl and Schadn (quite expensive so we just split it and it was so much food!

I am a picky eater so I was very skeptical of it but it was really good!

When we went there was a festival happening "Salzburg Fest"

There was a fire and water show, fireworks, stands, free things, etc.

Munich, Germany

We went on a hop-on-hop-off bus around the main landmarks

We were only there for around 4 hours, would have loved to have more time

We went to Olympiapark (only got about 30 minutes so I didn't see everything but what I did see was so cool)

They do a lot of things for Pride in June

Venice, Italy

Went for the long weekend (4th)

I took a FlixBus to get there (it was actually faster than the trains)

Gondala ride (was worried about sea sickness but it wasn't bad!)

Island Tour

Murano -- glass blowing, home of Murano glass

Burano -- bright buildings, what I think of when I think of Italy

Torcello -- small island with an old church

GORGEOUS sunsets **pictured

Rhine Falls, Switzerland

It is the largest waterfall in Europe

I decided to do one of the tours/boat rides where you could actually go and “touch” the waterfall

I got to climb to a lookout point and the view was absolutely gorgeous

Zurich, Switzerland

I went here with EuroTrip Adventures

There was a walking tour associated with it and saw the highlights of the city this way

Cheese Fondue

Where I went was extremely expensive so definitely do your research beforehand

Also included was a Boat tour

Even though we didn't have time to do so, you could have gotten off at different stops and explore different parts of the city

This is where I got to see the Swiss Alps (even from afar)

Berlin, Germany

We went to the normal historical landmarks (didn't go inside or pay anything kust looked around)

The Berlin Wall

Brandenburg Gate

Berlin TV Tower

Lustgarten

Victory Column

To actually go right up to it (in the middle of the roundabout), you have to go through a tunnel/pathway underground (it took us way too long to figure that out)

Did lots of shopping here

There is an M&M and a Haribo Store

Trains:

I took the train that left Vilseck at 6:25 pm (18:25). I got to Nuremberg around 7:15 (19:15)

Earliest train out of Nuremberg I took was at 8 pm (20:00)

In my experience, I would try to either get a direct train to that location or if there had to be a stop that it was more than 30 minutes in the case of something happening and running late.

Some cities have multiple train stations so be very cautious with which one you are getting off at/going to

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Deutschland-Ticket

It was 63 euros a month (basically get your moneys worth with 2 or 3 days)

The trains are different than Eurail

This is where I got mine: https://deutschland-ticket.store/autobus-oberbayern

DB Navigator App

Shows you the time it will be there, when you will arrive at destination

What the number is

What platform you will get on and off, etc.

I used this to plan all of my trips (even outside of Germany)

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I got an eSIM and it worked for all of Europe!!

I used Vodafone, here is the link for their Europe deals: https://travel.vodafone.com/our-destinations/europe

I had a deal that contained 75 GB and it lasted me basically the whole summer (I had a weekend where I watched too much WNBA on a bus without wifi and ran out of data but 5 GB for the last 10 days helped)

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Since this is the countryside, there is no Uber, Bolt, etc. around Graf

In order to go basically anywhere, you have to go through Nuremberg.

To get there you take a smaller train from a close train station. I got a Deutschland-Ticket which was 63 euros a month (basically get your moneys worth with 2 or 3 days)

The trains are different than Eurail

This is where I got mine: https://deutschland-ticket.store/autobus-oberbayern

I found two train stations that worked best for me:

Freihung -- this is a little further out from Graf but it gives you a direct trip to Nuremberg (no connection needed)

Vilseck -- this was right off of base (Rose Barracks) from the center that I worked at so a staff member would just drop us off after work

DB Navigator App

Shows you the time it will be there, when you will arrive at destination

What the number is

What platform you will get on and off, etc.

I used this to plan all of my trips (even outside of Germany)

Making friends that can drive you to the station and would be willing to pick you up on Sundays is very very helpful! Friday after work they would be eager to drive me to hear about what our plans for the weekend were

There is a Taxi service that can go on base to pick you up at your housing however it may not be the most convenient (you could be waiting for like an hour after you call them)

They do not open until 9AM so if you are trying to take the first train out it will not work

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I got an eSIM and it worked for all of Europe!!

I used Vodafone, here is the link for their Europe deals: https://travel.vodafone.com/our-destinations/europe

I had a deal that contained 75 GB and it lasted me basically the whole summer (I had a weekend where I watched too much WNBA on a bus without wifi and ran out of data but 5 GB for the last 10 days helped)

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The staff at Camp Darby is completley understanding of the tough traveling strains and offers numerous amounts of support to get you where need to be1 Lean on them and your RK supervisor!

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A Flixbus is a big charter bus you can use as transportation too! These typically take longer to get t your destination but are great for overnight travel or backup plans in case your train gets canceled or strikes happen!

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If you would like to use a taxi service instead of relying on the center staff beware that you will have to call a taxi from Pisa to pick you up to then bring you to the Pisa train station, so there is two costs involved just to get you to the train station!

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Eurrail - this is recommended if you would like to travel outside of the country. More on the expensive side, but are high speed bullet trains!

Trenitalia - most commonly used for Italy travel only. Local trains that are very cheap!

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Unlike other bases, there is no bus system that runs near base. You can call a taxi or have the staff at the center drive you to the train station!

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Italy is known for having unique products in their pharmacies! You may have seen viral products on Tik Tok such as the Marvin toothpaste or the Verset perfume!

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groceries- In Pisa and Livorno, there are plenty of places to find groceries. Lidl, Aldi, and Eurospin being the most common

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livorno-

Merecato Centrale

The Space Cinema (international movie theater)

Poke Sun Rice( quick food in mall next to theater)

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Pisa

Leaning Tower of Pisa Monumento a Vittorio Emanuele ll (shopping plaza)(previous interns have gotten tattoos in this area!) QQ Tea Pisa Mic Ramen Pisa

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tirrenia

Skip

Sunset Cafe

Access to beaches

souvenir shops

Conad City

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Being so close to the coast, these centers take a lot of field trips to beaches. As Rocket Kids interns, we need to be mindful of being in ratio while in the water and the responsibility that comes with that. Also, make sure to bring your one piece to these weekly field trips!.

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Camp Darby has all three centers on the same base! The CDC and SAC are connected and this is where most interns support this base! There is also a Youth Center across the street from the CDC/SAC. There are not as many children in the Youth Center as the CC/SAC, but even then, numbers are very low for these centers.

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The previous groups of interns stayed in the hotel on base. The room had space for 2 individuals, a kitchen with a full fridge, stove top hot plate, pots and pans, a bathroom, and is only a 2 minute walk from the centers!

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Camp Darby only has one base that we support. This base is on the smaller side. There is a coffee truck, and express shop and the hotel on base! There is a laundry room separate to the hotel that requires quarters!

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Camp Darby is in Livorno Italy! Livorno is a 10 minute drive away from the Leaning Tower of Pisa and 10 mins away from beautiful coastal beaches!

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Travel Maps/Ideas/Music Fest/ and Must See!

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Travel Maps/Ideas/Music Fest/ and Must See!

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I went to Stuttgart Germany this past summer and was in the Panzer SAC center with the K-2nd grade. These are my recommendations for packing that you may not think of but made my life so much easier being in Europe/Germany (especially traveling and also working during the week). I am anlso adding things I wish I brought this past summer I am bringing this summer for that reason. Note this is coming from a type B person so even though you may shrug it off and think you won’t need it now like I did I promise you you’ll probably need it!

A good multi pocket fanny pack or over arm bag that’s preferably leather or water proof!

I did not bring that and had an incident where everything fell out of my 1 pocket fanny pack in a mall and broke my travel perfume bottle while doing it. It was just a very embarrassing mess. It was also so hard to function when you had to shuffle through everything every time and very risky of dropping things with the potential of getting it stolen while doing it. Also Germany is very rainy!

A portable electric fan & a dollar store hand fan

Europe in general can get quite hot especially when you’re doing so much walking around and traveling/physical activity at the centers trying to keep up with these kids LOL. You will thank yourself later for bringing these especially for my sweaty girls (and especially the ones who may go to Italy). The hand fan is just in case you forgot to charge your portable fan or it dies or just need some extra wind with your portable fan.

Brit’s filter Insulated water bottle (32 oz preferable)

If you are picky about your tap water flavor I recommend bringing something filtered. Yes the water is quite clean in Europe but I was still grateful I brought a filtered water bottle since the flavor still bugged me. But I did not bring an insulated one which caused my water to get quite warm quite fast which with hot weather isn’t ideal so I will be bringing this summer. I also just felt like my smaller sized Brita ran out to fast due to how much water I was not expecting I’d need to drink so I will be bringing a bigger one this year. A reusable water bottle in general will save you money and the environment from buying plastic water bottles too.

A tote bag (like a TJ Maxx one)

If you plan on buying things on your travels you will need a bag to put the stuff in and tote bags are the easiest way to do it packing wise. Most stores in Europe don’t have grocery bags (think of places like Aldi here in the U.S. as a reference). Also to carry your water bottle in. A good quality one will prevent it from ripping so try to keep an eye out for one that is thick material/sturdy.

A good umbrella

Again Germany is very rainy, thickest droplets I ever seen when it did rain (worse than Ohio). Bring an umbrella not just a rain jacket it will not be enough. Also a good wind resistant one so it doesn’t flip back (that can easily cause it to break. Also such an inconvenience: you need this umbrella so get a good travel one).

A rain jacket or water proof pullover sweatshirt jacket

On that note bring one of these as well, especially since late into the summer we did have some colder rainy days in Germany. This can be multipurpose for rain and for keeping yourself warm if those days do occur which they definitely did for me (especially on some travel days on the weekends and field trip days when we were outside at amusement parks during the week).

a portable charger

You will think not to get this and that people are just being extra but if you really do plan to do all day traveling during the weekends or even just site seeing there aren’t really any easily accessible plugs in public places in Europe this may be the only way to keep your phone charged (especially if you plan on taking picture or using the train system that you need google maps with). I recommend one with multiple wires connected to it since you will probably be traveling with a group and you all have different phones, it’s good to be prepared just in case someone’s phone is dying. You also won’t have to worry about forgetting the wire to use to connect to the portable charger to charge your phone with).

Be safe and have fun! Live in the moment and be present with your rocket kid mates. I get how hard it is to miss your family at home but I just wished I was more present with my rocket kids mates this past summer and definitely will be taking that advice summer for that reason. You will use so much more fun this way :).

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Brunssum, Netherlands                   (Summer 2024)

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Brunssum, Netherlands                   (Summer 2024)

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I work with CDC and toddlers specifically; give them time and they will love you as much as you love them! talk to the families and get to know them as well. Brunssum is a NATO base as well, so you get to experience culture from all over. It was the coolest thing! They loved to read books and play with the kitchen toys!

Brunssum was quite rainy in the beginning but very hot towards the end, you will need clothes for every temp! haha

Our room had two twin beds, a fridge, a microwave, two big closets, a desk, and a large bathroom & a tv (I recommend taking an HDMI cord that also hooks to your computer to be able to watch tv in English!)

My favorite place I traveled to was Ghent Belgium! I always had euros and a credit card (capital one) while traveling, because some places/ transportation would only take one or the other!

I bought a 10-day Eurail pass and then just paid for cheap/ short day trip trains (in person & day of), however, for bigger trips like Paris & London we had to purchase our tickets before (a week or two) for the bullet trains. ALSO, you will most likely get lost at some point so just take a deep breath. You will be just FINE!

My biggest Travel mistake was probably not giving ourselves enough time between connecting trains we were usually rushing/ running to jump on the next one!

The closest train station to you would be Heerlen. You can’t walk there so you’ll have to catch a bus from in town. There are two grocery stores are Lidl, and Albert Heijn. When you get there, are you maps to one of those places and then to the other, you’ll pretty much see all of the strip because they’re on the opposite sides of that.

I switched to T-Mobile before going abroad, and it worked out well for me. I had my parents and grandparents download WhatsApp. I called and FT through there, but typically still texted on messages. RESTART your phone once you get off the plane and give it some time before you panic. It needs time to adjust!

I recommend taking some of your own sort of over-the-counter meds. I packed ibuprofen, allergy pills, Day & Nyquil.

Packing: lunch containers (took two Tupperware containers), portable charger, outlet adapter, airpods/headphones, Backpack big enough to fit your things for the entire weekend when traveling, reusable water bottle, comfy shoes work all day (you are standing a lot), raincoat & umbrella

I had USD transferred into Euros while still in US through my local bank. My card (First Financial Bank) did not work at MOST ATMs, while other peoples had no problem!

Have fun, create bonds that make you sad to leave, and take pictures!!

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Brunssum itself is a small, quiet town with a variety of places to go out to eat, for dinner, and to shop. Behind the Eisenhower hotel (if that’s where you’ll be staying) is a massive nature park that is perfect for hiking and biking. The base itself is really cool, and has plenty of stuff to do for you in the kids. Personally, I lifted in the base all summer, so if you plan on working out on the base I recommend you head up there asap as well as take a bike for the trip home afterwards. I worked as a part of SAC, and I would expect between 30-40 kids. There’s a ton of different games and activities for the kids to play and participate in, so finding out who likes what will really help when it comes to planning your camp and its activities. The hardest part of working I would say is behavioral issues. My best advice is to build a bond with the kids to help earn their respect so they listen to you when you try to correct them. Also watch out the people on the base deal with the behaviors, and if it’s affective then implement those strategies. For food and other things I needed while I was there, the local LIDL had everything I needed at a good price. Food does go bad a lot quicker over there so be aware of that. Finally traveling. PLEASE TRAVEL! That was personally my favorite part of the summer and there’s so many places with amazing experiences and things to see. My favorite places were Amsterdam, rotterdam/The Hague, Ghent, and monschau.

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Overall, I enjoyed Brunnsum. Brunnsum felt like a retirement city because it is very quiet. Depending on the time of year, they have events downtown. There was a beach party and a music festival when we were there. And at the end of every trip, I made a lil escapade to their downtown ice cream shop (they have really good ice cream).

Base/Town:

I worked with the SAC kids and there was never a dull moment with them, to say the least.

My best advice is to make sure you are taking care of yourself so you can be there 100% for the kids and that you have the energy to play tag for 8 hours a day lol.

Make sure you take some deep breaths and other stress-coping strategies throughout the day. It will help you stay in tune with yourself and be there for the kids. and TAKE YOUR LUNCH TIME. There is a reason why you have it.

Most importantly, don't take things personally or seriously. You will have a 10x more fun experience. I'm not joking when I tell you that a kid told me that they hated me right to my face, and then 5 minutes later gave me a big hug and said I was his 2nd favorite (dang).

The base also has a movie theater, gym, and library.

IF YOU CAN GET ONTO THE U.S. BASE...YOU CAN JUST DROP YOUR POSTCARDS OFF AT THE POST OFFICE BECAUSE THE MAILER IS OUTSIDE. This means you do not need a Military dependant card or ID to send mail to your family and others!

Make sure you collaborate with the whole RK team at the hotel and get a laundry schedule. This helps keep a constant cycle of doing laundry and ensuring that you do not have sweaty, stinky, and foul-smelling clothes for the next day (because you played tag for 8hrs the previous day).

The employees who have been working at the center are very welcoming and hospitable. They want you to have a good experience and make you feel at home.

The pre-made salads at the store are very good (especially the Caesar salad), just be aware that the salads over there have a chosen starch on the bottom. So if you have allergies and you want to buy a salad, watch out for that.

Every item in the grocery stores has a health rating on them, so if you want to challenge yourself and eat healthier, this is a fast and easy way to do so!

Resturants in Brunnsum:

Salt and Sugar - overall good restaurant with smoothies. It is across the street from Lidl (one of the grocery stores in the area.

Pizza Place - I forget the name but it is right next to Salt and Sugar

There is an Italian restaurant downtown which is nice and tasty. The Mexican food on the other hand is not the best but if you want to know what European Mexican food tastes like...there's your shot.

There is also an Irish pub and grill that in my opinion was the best burger I had over there.

In general, explore the city! there are a lot of great places to eat and shop in!

Now Travel Tips:

Fill up your water bottle whenever you can. Bathroom sinks and other cleaning places are great areas to fill up to reduce the cost of water during the weekend. As long the water is used for potable services go ahead and fill your bottle up!

If you plan at any point traveling in Germany by bus especially extensively, BRING ENOUGH CASH. The buses over there only accept cash or of an app which I had no idea how to get it etc.

Buses in the Netherlands have chip readers, so just tap your card on it and you are good to go!

When it comes to trains, you will be leaving out of HEERLAN (your local train stop). Whoever is over there will give you more details on how to get there

Big trips like Paris are trips where you need to give yourself time and schedule high-speed trains too early before they are sold out. If you have a Eurail pass, you can buy those tickets at a cheaper price. I also highly recommend the Eurail Pass if you can afford it.

I believe that is all. I apologize for the long message and multitude of grammar mistakes, but I hope you got some new advice! If you have any further questions, feel free to send me and email at: gzickes@rockets.utoledo.edu

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Stuttgart, Germany. CDC.

Buy your train tickets weeks in advance (and if you want to take the Eurostar, a month in advance)

Don’t go to your dream destination on your first weekend out. Wait until you’ve traveled enough to learn how to do it best.

Find times to explore the city AFTER work. I often felt like I would be too tired, but it is so worth it to go out for dinner, shopping, or even just a walk. This will help balance everything out!

Don’t be afraid to connect with people on base! They know a lot and often have much to give.

KEEP TRACK OF YOUR STIPEND AND DONT SPEND IT ALL TOO QUICKLY. Either keep it in a separate account or ensure you can only use a certain amount at a time!

Make friends with people on base and I highly encourage you to make German friends! They know all the best spots!

Find people who travel similarly to you, to spend your weekends with. It will make everything go smoothly!

Live in the moment. Try new things, soak everything up, and enjoy it to the fullest!!!

CDC

always know the ratio of kids in the classroom!

Don’t be afraid to be vulnerable and ask for help or voice your concerns

It’s better to be safe than sorry. Especially when it comes to food allergies and injuries.

Eat outside for your lunch break! And pack yourself a lunch.

The duty bus may take up to an hour. Reading books or listening to music was the best.

Make friends with the staff

Ask lots of questions

Form good relationships with parents. At cdc you see parents often at pick up/drop off and it will be easy to get familiar with them.

If staff try to gossip to you about other staff or families, never reciprocate.

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The Brussels center is small, if you are MST be prepared to interact with the SAC just as much and share lunch with them.

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The MST at Brussels love to play “trash”, Fortnite, instruments, bake, and play dodgeball.

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Brussels: Both years interns had off-base housing. Brussels is small and doesn’t have the large military community that most other bases do, it’s a very small circle.

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For Brussels base:

Be sure to also have a good amount of differing games and activities at your disposal. At random points certain activities may become restricted due to conflicts among the children. For example there were times that tag based games, board games, and even video games got banned due to behavior issues. Be ready to navigate these types of shifts.

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Brunnsum

Washing Machine Tips/ How to Video! https://youtu.be/6N3ut9BVSA0

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Wiesbaden German!

Wiesbaden is a great city to explore. Walk or scooter if public scooters are available into downtown. There is an amazing, inexpensive place to eat close to a summer market, called Dóner. You can grab food and just chill in the beautiful market area.

Wiesbaden also has an Instagram page that keeps everyone updated about festivals and events: wiesbaden.deinestadt

Summer 2024

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Vicenza, Italy

-OMG bathrooms in the train stations/metro stations are only open 6am-9pm. You’ll need to find bathrooms wherever you can. Bathrooms cost $$ too so carry euro coins for that as well. Use the bathroom on trains, Flixbuses, etc and bring some toilet paper or napkins to wipe!!!!! (highly important)

-I found free bathrooms at restaurants and especially McDonalds! lifesaver

-There are some squat toilets at certain places.

-Metros are helpful as well

-Some locations have free buses!

-I ate the free breakfast and free lunch with the kids so my stipend went directly towards dinner and travel meals. Save your money for travel meals in my opinion. Go grocery shopping & take food when it’s free in the laundry room. It will save you money. -Make it stretch

-Different organizations will have free meals at the Ederle Inn!!! Be on the lookout.

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Vicenza, Italy

-There are two pools- 1 indoor pool on Ederle and 1 on Villagio (where CDC/SAC/MST are)

-The front desk at the gym has everything- tennis balls, rackets, etc.

-There are different workout classes at the gym

-There are different random events on base so get involved

-On your way to Villagio at 7am, all the Army people will be running and working out so don’t hit them with your bike

-There are food options all around base! Some American cuisine when you are missing it.

-The mall is AMAZING off base. So many good stores with cute clothes. You can ride your bike or ride the bus

-Your bus pass once you buy it will last for 2 hours

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Vicenza, Italy

-Bring reusable bags for grocery trips as no bags are provided.

-Always check the laundry rooms for free stuff!!!! That’s how I got a lot of free food and detergent pods, etc.

-The front desk people are so sweet at the Ederle Inn- always ask for help and recommendations

-Check out the MWR trips! Great one-day travel opportunities

-There’s a thrift shop on base with a bunch of things!!

-Free cabinet on base near the thrift shop with miscellaneous free items!

-Commisary and Exchange-you must have a military card or person with you to swipe

-the gas station thing on campus does not require one

-Everything is a quick bike ride away

-Lock up your bike through the tire and around the metal parts of the bike so it doesn’t get stolen.

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Vicenza, Italy

-A Eurrail pass is extremely helpful. I got the 5-day pass I believe and used all of them, except for maybe 1.

-Lots of times the Eurrail trains will take 24 hours to get to a location but Flixbuses will only take 12 hours so look into FLIXBUSES.

-Lots of train strikes happen so check the media and the apps because they will send out notifications

-If you need to reserve a seat for the train you can do that online or at the train station. I would suggest online since sometimes they have nothing available for days- ex. Florence

-Travel destinations- Croatia, Slovenia, Switzerland, France, all of Italy

-Bring Euros everywhere!!!! They prefer them and they are extremely useful for buses.

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From VICENZA, Italy

You can take the bus to the train station. It’s usually a 15 min ride and costs 3 euros. DO NOT BIKE TO THE TRAIN STATION AND LEABE YOUR BIKE THERE IT WILL GET STOLEN.

TAKE advantage of the nice gym on base

BUY A PORTABLE CHARGER. TRUSTTTTTT this is a game changer when u are constantly traveling on the weekend.

Make friends with the people you work with at the center. In Vicenza everyone is so nice and I ended up traveling with one of my coworkers to Croatia with a few other rocket kids and it was one of my favorite weekends.

Best groceries stores EUROSPIN - extremely cheap and LIDL. They are like a 5-10min bike ride from base.

ALWAYS CARRY EUROS ON YOU. Usually the busses prefer euros

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Ansbach, Germany:

Make sure to factor in that travel will always include going to a bigger city due to Ansbach being small. Additionally, always make sure you have time to eat breakfast before work, it is a must!

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Homesickness - Call Home, Send Photos, But Be Where You Are

Obviously, call your loved ones. Schedule calls to avoid mismatched expectations about when you should be available. I'd find myself waiting around for a call when other interns were spending time with each other, and the combined FOMO of both home and the field was terrible. Your time is precious, and you can make it what you want!

Recognize how hard it is to be away from home. Recognize how hard it is for your loved ones for you to be away from home, too. It's tempting to try and compare and measure whose pain is greater, but it just hurts more to share one's pain and feel like someone's trying to one-up you about it.

Try to spice it up with things you can do together. I recommend the app Plato for games. Me and my partner did a lot of Animal Crossing dates. Pinterest has lots of good ideas.

Outside of those scheduled times... Get off your phone. Don't wait for a text or a call if you can help it.

Your time in the field WILL fly by. You can either be there for it, or be in your head. Meditation and mindfulness helped me greatly, and all the resources in the world are at your fingertips!

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Conflict Resolution - Be Brave, Start Early

You WILL have tension and/or conflict with your teammates, roommates, coworkers... Be brave and address it. I use the 24-hour rule: if I'm still thinking about it 24 hours later, I will bring it up. If you need to vent first, talk to a third party stateside. Avoid talking to interns about other interns, and discourage it when you see it in others.

Start with vulnerability about your own emotions, which usually makes other folks feel safe to share theirs. It's hard at first, but it's easier in the long run. You have limited time in the field, and it is precious! You can spend it full of tension and anxiety about what others think, or you can be upfront and honest and spend your summer at peace... It's up to you.

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What to bring: A laundry bag, a grocery shopping bag, medicine for colds/ pain relievers, an umbrella, and a comfortable backpack to wear that isn’t too small ( a large backpack will come in handy when doing overnight trips or when it’s time to pack and go home and you need to stuff all your souvenirs LOL) Also, if your hotel provides you shampoo and body wash in travel sized containers, use those on your overnight trips!

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I was in Netherlands, Germany and Belgium

When packing essentials like tylenol also take some cold and flu meds. You’re exposed to new germs and its not uncommon to catch a cold when you first get there. Cold meds aren’t always the easiest to get like they are here in the states.

I also suggest once you get placement to try and connect with someone who was there recently and find out what supplies where left. Ex. In Brunssum we left a bunch of dishes and microwavable containers.

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Netherlands

Travel advice: If you are looking to travel to any big places like Paris, Italy, etc. start looking into tickets the first week because they only have a limited amount available for Eurail pass holders so they sell out quick. I totally suggest you purchase a eurail pass, totally worth it. We purchased the 10 day pass, I’m not sure what other passes were purchased but this was helpful to us. Always carry a portable charger when traveling because you will need to have your eurail pass available on your phone to take the trains.

Grocery stores: Some Albert Heijn stores do not take American cards so if you can try to take some cash ahead of time. If you can get the cash from your bank here in the states, do it. It will save you money.

Overall just have fun and enjoy it. Time goes by soo fast. if you have any questions just ask! :)

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Netherlands-

Hi! I went out over the summer, I would say the main thing to do specifically in Brunssum would be the parks. There is a park in the center of Town I spent a decent amount of time there, but there were also several others that people in our group walked to or rode bikes to. Honestly I would say just walk the town on you first couple days there. It’s quite a bit of walking but you get used to it very quickly! As you walk the town, you that you like restaurants ice Couple different grocery stores and with that you can kind of decide what you like for yourself because everybody in our group liked different places. Everyone in the town that you’ll talk to is super nice! But you could also go through the town and not even say a word if you don’t want to talk to anyone haha.

If you come back to this message when you are over there to two grocery stores are Lidl, and Albert Heign. And if when you get there, are you maps to one of those places and then to the other, you’ll pretty much see all of the strip because they’re on the opposite sides of that.

There is also an Aldi but it’s on the other side.

The closest train station to you would be heerlan. You can’t walk there so you’ll have to catch a bus to it. The buses and trains will not wait for you so you’ll have to be there and ready. I recommend going somewhere very close for you first train. So you’ll have plenty of time to get there and figure everything out. We went to Aachen Germany. They had a huge shopping mall an old cathedral and so much more!

The group of interns before I started a notebook with advice, places to go places to stay things to do there and stuff like that. I also think there was some stuff about Brunson in the notebook. It should still be at the hotel with whoever helps transition you guys to it Take time to read it all of our advice the people before, and after us, I would say that helps too. It also helps to plan ahead when looking to travel whether you’re booking an Airbnb or a hotel or a hostel work together you’re gonna have to have some compromise but other than that Have a great time!

The people working with you at the Cys will help and give you so much advice and answer all your questions the first couple days or whenever you ask them. You learn as you go but also you get to find what works for you. Have fun and hopefully this helps!

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Strongly recommend roommate contracts or agreements prior to settling in, especially if going random.

In Italy, be careful when riding bikes especially down the steep hills.

Prioritize a schedule to complete Rocket Kids assignments during the summer (don’t won’t until the last week returning home) because it can be a lot especially coming back with jet lag.

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Vicenza, Italy:

Eurospin/Lidl=Top grocery options that are close to the base. (Easy for bike transport) (Bring your own bag to keep your groceries in because they don’t offer you any!)

Everything is pretty close to take your bike, the mall is just up the road from work (CDC/SAC/MST)

A lot of good off-base restaurants that are very affordable and delicious!

The trains are a great way to travel between big tourist spots (I recommend Eurail as they have travel pass packages which are really beneficial if you plan to travel every weekend)

The local buses are also a great way to get around locally, the times are displayed online or on the street signs by the stops. They are around 1.50 euros and are good for use that day.

Don’t forget your ID given to you by the base or it makes entry to the base harder!!

Euros can be gotten directly on base through the machines outside of the food court area, super easy and convenient!

Stay ahead on your wash days, often you will find yourself often looking for an available washer and dryer as everyone in the hotel uses them!

Spots to check out: Venice, Verona, Rome, Lake Garda (great to relax on the lake!), Austria, Lake Bled (MWR takes trips with the base and these are good to do! But make sure to call ahead because it fills up quickly!), etc.

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flixbuses!

look into flixbuses for weekend travel, we used flixbuses to travel from vicenza italy to a few places like france, switzerland, and croatia. the train passes are also good but it’s nice to have a back up in case of train strikes!

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From SAC Italy:

Field trips are so fun! Be ready to ride rollercoasters with kids scared of them.

Be prepared with so many high activity games! Kids love them, getting them running is a great way to burn energy!

Venice is the most beautiful place to visit, and visit as frequently as possible!!

Personally i recommend buying a train pass, it’s $400 but makes traveling on weekends SO EASY

Italy has the most diverse base in Europe, your community is going to look different compared to others!

Yes they party til like 7am, not a great idea in my humble opinion

Il Fauno, right across from base is the BEST and cheapest place I found and it was our groups favorite restaurant. family owned, super sweet, loved them.

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From Belgium

Bring reusable grocery bags, store typically don’t have bags for your items and if they do you have to pay for them.

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E-Sim/Phone Service

Stuttgart, Germany

I tried using my US Cellular phone plan but it did not work the only thing I could do was make out going calls.

I purchased Airalo for an E-sim but it did not work for me so I downloaded an app called Holafly and it worked great for me! You get unlimited data, a German phone number, but you can’t call to the US but you can call throughout Europe. It even worked in Switzerland. And the plan pricing is not bad. The downside is that if you are going to work at the CDC on Panzer it is tricky to get data for any phone plan in the break room. It’s super easy to get in contact with the company and they guide you very well on how to apply an E-sim to your phone.

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Traveling to Switzerland?

Switzerland is not part of the European Nation so your data plan may not work over there. And they have their own currency called Swiss-Franc.

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Extra Packing Items

-I suggest bringing a reusable bag because plastic bags are not a thing and if they do have plastic bags it will cost some change.

-Bring your laptop/charger for assignments.

-European Adapter (look up what it can work with. I made the mistake and the one I bought does not work with my laptop charger.)

-Lunch Bag/Box

-Waterbottle

-Reusable containers (I lucked out and found some great ones at Aldi)

-Good walking shoes (trust me heels are not worth it, I made the mistake of wearing them to Italy with pebble uneven walkways)

-Portable charger

-Travel pillow

-Backpack/drawstring (watch out because pickpocketing is common in Europe and it happened when I was on a MWR tour.) It happens when you are distracted by shopping/sight seeing or they work in teams and distract you while the other starts taking your items.)

-When it came to hygiene products I brought mine from the states because they were brands I trusted. This is just a personal recommendation. And the stores may only have some of what you may need.

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From Stuttgart, Germany.

Bedroom Mattress

I was at the Panzer hotel and I shared a hotel room with another person. I had the couch and she had the queen bed. The couch is very thin so we were able to get a mattress put on the top of the couch. I know, you read that correctly. 😂 It worked out great, so if you run into this just call down to the front desk and they can make this happen. People will think you are crazy and rumor gets around. People from work already knew about it when I brought it up. 🤦🏻‍♀️

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Good to know.

Work in the Childhood Development Center (CDC) from Stuttgart, Germany. Incident and Accident Reports.

It was common for me to write reports for kids for both incidents and accidents. Make sure when you’re filling out the report that you saw what happened (don’t assume) and if you have a question make sure to speak up so the report can be filled out correctly. I worked with Pre-K so the kids were old enough to say other kids names and share it with parents. But make sure to keep the confidentiality of the other child and that you are not saying another child’s name in the report than the report you are intending to write for the specific child.

FYI These reports are used for conferences when some kids may need more attention when it comes to their behavior. The site directors use these reports as a way to explain to the parent the behaviors the child is showing to help prevent the negative behaviors in the future and bringing in support to help the child.

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Ask questions and be curious!!

Take advantage of this opportunity and be curious. I met a lot of people from different backgrounds in the military and I have even connected with them to help me with the process of applying in the future for some of the government jobs they shared with me. There are a lot of job opportunities if your thinking of a career in the military or with the government.

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From Stuttgart, Germany.

Sunday Rest Day/Restaurant Times

In Germany, (not sure about the other countries) Sundays are a day of rest so stores will be closed. Some restaurants will be open but this is something to keep in mind. And if you’re traveling to different countries it is common for restaurants to close after lunch and then open up again later.

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From Stuttgart, Germany.

European Adapter

Purchase a European adapter and make sure it works for your laptop charger before leaving because some are only compatible with certain products. And also bring your laptop and charger so you can work on assignments.

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From Stuttgart, Germany.

Traveling

Download the Stuttgart app asap!!

From what I have heard from the other sites Stuttgart has a lot of MWR trips. These trips are through the military and are day trips to different cities and countries. It seemed like every other week the trains and buses were on strike so I just took these trips and it allowed me to travel to 6 different countries during my time. All you have to do is call the office and pay the prices the prices are reasonable and the bus will pick you up right on Panzer! So not a far walking distance from the hotel.

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Always have cash (euro's) for those places that don't except your American debit/credit card.

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From Italy

In Europe, they smoke a lot, so be ready to handle it haha. They party late and will go all night. Most if not all speak English unless you go deep into the mountains, there they don’t speak it. The older they are the more respect you give. Even by a year, they will notice. Bikes, they ride them everywhere so watch out for them on the sidewalks.

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From Italy

MST- they love spicy uno.. have them teach you and play. Four square is their go to game. Any gym time is a must as they want to run around and play.

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From Italy

Be open minded and really enjoy the summer.

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From Germany

Europe is always under construction

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From Germany

Meal prep!

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From Germany

Take your time! Wait to travel the first week and/or second weekend and get ahead in homework!

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From Germany

You may have to work a holiday or your schedules may not be the same as your teammates.

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From Germany

It is not a 100% guarantee to get fed at your location. You may have to back/make your food for all meals.

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From Germany

Bring your Passport with you everywhere, driver license or any other picture will not be useful for entry on base until ID is issued.