Give PEACE a Chance

Give PEACE a Chance

From October 12th to 20th, four young Slovak women participated in a training course called Give Peace a Chance. We stayed in the village of Pervolia, near Larnaca in Cyprus. We couldn't have asked for a better location, as the beach was about a 5-minute walk from our accommodation, so we could spend every free moment on the sand or in the still warm, beautiful, clear sea.

From the very first day, a variety of interesting activities awaited us. Each day began with an energizer, a fun activity to wake us up, followed by discussions and creative tasks where we collectively pondered what peace means to us, the current global situation, and what prevents us from achieving peace worldwide. The most impactful parts of the program were undoubtedly the presentations from participants about Ukraine and Israel. Listening to them sent shivers down our spines, and they perfectly fit the course's theme. Each day concluded with an Intercultural Night program, during which we introduced the individual countries from which we, as participants, came. Each of these evenings was marked by original presentations, plenty of dancing, and, of course, a tasting of excellent traditional food.

In addition to these “classic” days, we also had 2 more unconventional ones, during which we took full-day trips. First, we had a trip to Larnaca. We walked around the castle, ate in a typical Cypriot house, and wandered through the streets of Larnaca. The only thing that slightly spoiled the experience was the rain, but even that didn't deter us from shopping in souvenir shops :). The second full-day trip was to Nicosia – the capital of Cyprus. Here we visited the House of the European Union, a museum, and also wandered through the Cypriot streets. An interesting fact about Nicosia is that it is the last capital city that is divided, specifically into Greek and Turkish (occupied) parts. The locals explained the whole situation to us and took us to the no-man's land – a zone belonging to the UN – and also to the borders, which the braver among us crossed.

The excellent program and almost always beautiful sunny weather were complemented by amazing food, cooked for us by kind locals, thanks to whom we never had empty stomachs.

I rate the entire experience as more than positive. Once again, I met wonderful, enthusiastic young people with whom we shared a huge number of intense experiences, and I am already looking forward to the next Erasmus!