Lens towards the Future
Lens towards the Future
Our journey began on Friday, February 24, 2023. We – the Slovak group – met at the train station in Nové Zámky. Some of us already knew each other, some didn't. Fortunately, our mutual love for travel and discovering new things made it a little easier for us to talk. It wasn't long before our train finally arrived after about an hour of waiting at the station.
We jumped in, found our seats, and the 10-hour journey began. We played every card game you can imagine. We talked, listened to music, and even took a nap from time to time.
When we got off the train, stretched our legs, and looked around, our project coordinator Lilit led us directly from the train station to our hostel, which was just a minute's walk from the platform.
Lilit gave us a quick tour of the hostel and took us to dinner. Our first dinner was unforgettable, mainly because there was a concert at the place where we ate. After a good meal, ringing ears, and a quick trip home, we finally had the opportunity to meet our friends from Hungary and Ukraine. It was really easy to make friends; everyone was nice and open to starting a conversation.
After the first night, the first official day of our project began. We finally met our Polish participants. We were surprised that most of them were not directly from Poland – there were people from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, and Zimbabwe.
We spent the morning of our first day talking and getting to know each other through team-building activities. After lunch, we set off on a city tour to get to know Rzeszów a little better.
Our second and third days were full of photography. We learned how to take better photos, work with light and composition, and also edit photos. We even had creative tasks, including taking photos according to themes they assigned us. We all had fun, but it was also very educational.
On the fourth day, we visited Rzeszowskie Piwnice - an underground museum - where we learned about the history of this city. The museum had many interactive games, which made the learning process even more interesting.
Our last day was the most important of all – the Vernissage Day. It was the day we framed the photos we had taken the day before, took them to Urban Lab where our vernissage was held, and presented them in front of approximately 40 people. The photos we took were meant to show the problems of the society we live in, and judging by the reactions of our guests, we all did a very good job. After the vernissage, we packed our things and went back to the hostel to spend the last evening with our friends.
Speaking of evenings, they were never boring. We had many cultural evenings where we learned a lot about the countries our new friends came from. We danced traditional dances, tried out new languages, and tasted the most delicious sweets from each participating country.
And then it was time to leave. Goodbyes are always hard, especially when you're saying goodbye to people who live hundreds of kilometers away from you. But with lots of hugs and a few tears in our eyes, we managed.
Then we jumped on the train, with a few packs of Krowki in our bags – but most importantly, with a lot of great memories.
Lens towards the Future
