More Mosaic for All

Georgia 2019 or How five young Slovaks got to know Eastern Europe and the beauties of the Erasmus+ program

The European Erasmus+ program has changed several human lives in its 32 years of existence. It brings enormous benefits especially to young people. It may sound like a cliché, but one learns a lot of new things, improves communication skills, meets new people, their culture, and places they wouldn't get to with a regular student budget.

This time, the aforementioned Erasmus+ project focused on 40 young people from 8 European countries, including the Slovak Republic. Slovakia was represented by 5 participants in the project called "More Mosaic 4 All". The project, which focused on a healthy lifestyle, active living, and sports, took place in the almost seventeen-thousand-strong town of Kobuleti on the Black Sea coast.

We were accommodated in a hotel located approximately 150 meters from the beach, so there was no shortage of places to spend the afternoon siesta. The entire project was covered by the Swedish organization More Mosaic, which prepared an 8-day program for us. Within the project, we also had two additional days that we could spend as we wished. Getting to know each other, new names, conversations with people we had never seen before. That is the charm of the Erasmus+ program.

Thanks to the well-coordinated program, which included many great activities, as well as free time, we had the opportunity to form strong friendships almost immediately. Teambuilding, energizers, and other activities advanced our personalities every day. We had to learn to work as one team, and despite traveling over 85,000 kilometers to Georgia, to pull together.

What did we manage to exchange for a simple paperclip? How did we manage to build boats from waste? Why did we all end up on the third floor of the hotel every evening? All of it will remain with us forever, and we will remember it for a long time. Hiding from the strong sun in the afternoons or sitting on the beach in the evenings and watching the sunset gave us the opportunity to discover how our countries are different and, conversely, how they are the same.

Each day was enriched by an intercultural evening. This always brought us many interesting facts and discoveries about how intertwined our cultures are. Traditional dishes, dances, and drinks were also present. During our free time, we had the opportunity to visit "European Las Vegas", or rather, the city of Batumi, 30 kilometers away, which was visible from our hotel windows. This city captivated us primarily with its modern skyscrapers and seaside promenade. Also worth mentioning is the sculpture of Ali and Nino, which is associated with a beautiful story about how love is stronger than differences in cultures or religions. Football matches with the local children gave us a hard time, as temperatures sometimes reached up to 35 degrees. The program also included a full-day trip to Mtirala National Park, where we got to know wild nature and were grateful for the cold refreshment in the waterfall and lake.

Many of us realized what this project gave us the moment we looked out of the bus window at the hotel building for the last time. It was then, when all 10 days flashed through our minds, when it was time to say goodbye, that we had no choice but to hope that thanks to Erasmus+, our paths would cross again someday.

Thank you Youthfully Yours SK