We painted friendship

We painted friendship

I had been planning to attend a youth exchange several times. The opportunity to get to know a foreign country, people from different parts of Europe, and learn something new at the same time, sounds truly amazing. Not to mention that almost all costs are covered by various funds, thus opening doors to the world for everyone. However, for various reasons, it never worked out for me. This year, though, it finally did. A lot happened during the week, so I'm only picking a few things that stuck in my memory…

We visited the University of Coimbra, which had a truly magical atmosphere. I'm not saying it was magical by chance – it was a great inspiration for J.K. Rowling, and Hogwarts bears many of its features. We explored the university, as well as the most beautiful parts of the city, and personally, I think one day was nowhere near enough for exploration. If you're considering where to go for Erasmus during university, Coimbra, just by its spirit, will be an excellent choice.

Being part of the local carnival in cold and damp weather didn't initially seem like the best idea, and due to the weather, I was in quite a bad mood. However, as soon as our procession started moving, my mood turned 180 degrees. I thoroughly enjoyed the slow march through the picturesque streets of Portuguese villages. The great mood of the locals standing around was contagious.

We also spent a lot of time on activities and workshops about sharing values, discussing, and in the afternoon, activities about friendship. We were supposed to illustrate what friendship means to us through paintings. Surprisingly beautiful works were created.

I will remember this project fondly. I met a lot of great people, and even though there were 50 of us, by the end of the project, we knew each other like family. Thanks to the workshops, I realized that we are one European family, and there was a strong sense of belonging and good intentions from all participants. I personally made several contacts and even one closer one.

The organizers always strived for our well-being and comfort, but sometimes it was evident that 50 people were too many for the organization's first project. I liked that they found me a guitar upon my request, so I could enhance the project with playing and singing, which greatly contributed to the overall atmosphere. On the way back, we also went through Amsterdam, but I didn't enjoy that much, as I had a high fever during the last days of the project. Anyway, traveling will always fascinate me, especially flying.

This project had both pros and cons. As a big plus, I would highlight meeting people from Slovakia whom I had never seen before, but after a short while, we were a great group and had a lot of fun together. I would like to thank the organization Youthfully Yours SK for facilitating and providing the opportunity to participate in this distant and interesting international exchange. I would definitely like to participate in more projects. In my opinion, such moments stay with a person for a lifetime and allow for a broader perspective. Last but not least, after a week on the project, I improved my English communication skills. I highly recommend these projects to every young person. I believe this experience was not the last.