Look at the Same… And See Different

2023-09-16 The stories

Look at the Same… And See Different

This project brought together 60 people from various countries, specifically from Portugal, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Italy, France, Hungary, Poland, Spain, Croatia, Latvia, and Lithuania. Five brave individuals from different parts of Slovakia dared to step out of their comfort zone for 10 days and discovered a beautiful country in a small village in Portugal called Arrouquelas. A large part of our group had already met in Lisbon, where we admired the beauties of the capital city and got to know each other. Upon the arrival of the bus that took us to Arrouquelas, we also met other project participants. We settled into our tents, which consisted of three small rooms. Each nation had its own tent. Our typical day began with breakfast, where we all gathered and recharged for the new day. Afterwards, various educational activities awaited us, during which we communicated and got to know each other. One of the few activities that the volunteers prepared for us was “speed dating”. In this activity, we talked with random participants about a pre-determined topic. The activity was intended to highlight the different attitudes of us young people, raised in different countries, and the subsequent understanding and respect for opinions. Every evening, we had a cultural discovery of the participating country. Each country prepared a few activities where we got to know the traditions, culture, and the country itself more closely than in school. Many nationalities also prepared a small demonstration of their typical dances, in which we all participated and revealed hidden dancing talents. After the activities, the long-awaited tasting of typical dishes and drinks awaited us. For each dish or drink, we received more detailed information on how the product is served and when it is consumed. Our Slovak team also prepared their night together with the Czech Republic. We tried to enrich the program and together we highlighted our customs and traditions. The Slovak ambassador to Portugal pleasantly surprised us with his presence. We believe he was proud of our representation of Slovakia and together with us, he enjoyed one of the few excellent nights in Arrouquelas. Every day we worked hard on our common dance, which symbolized our unity and cooperation. The dance was created to the melody of Pitbull's song Timber. We then presented our efforts to the Portuguese audience at the swimming pool on the hottest day and on the sandy beach by the river, which we canoed down that day. Although we initially didn't want to practice and synchronization was the biggest problem, we believe that this dance and song will remain in our hearts for a long time. We got to the aforementioned rafting on the penultimate day. We formed pairs and together we let ourselves be carried by the river current. During the trip, we had a few stops, either for a small snack or a visit to a castle located on the river. Among the most interesting activities was a visit to a local wine factory, where we learned how difficult and long it takes to produce wine. After the tasting, we went back to our area and prepared for the Portuguese night, which was exceptional with a folklore performance. Both younger and older generations from the local folklore ensemble danced in it. After each dance, we joined in pairs and tried the movements ourselves. The hardest part of the whole program was saying goodbye, as we met many exceptional people from different countries. All of us from Slovakia, and even from the Czech Republic, got along incredibly well and we are extremely happy for such an experience that this project brought us. We learned to listen to each other, respect, get to know each other, and most importantly, to look at things from a different perspective.