It brings out the human in all of us
Emma, Slovakia, Age 27We were there for a week. One week. We laughed and cried and talked and prepared tea for each other. We would be woken up by loud music and shower in cold water. We would sleep on the grass during lunch breaks. We would get to know each other and ourselves, and, most importantly, we would have the chance to do so in a safe environment. We were sure our voices would be heard and never criticized.
Before I experienced my first real overseas Erasmus+ project, I’d been dabbling in and around them for quite some time. I had been a very active volunteer in a foundation for people with disadvantages in my city for around three years before they sent me to England. Summer 2015, freshly 18, and first time living through an Erasmus+ project I myself did not have to help organize. I could just let myself be absolutely immersed in the damp English air, acting workshops, melodic accents and so much love of so many cultures.
The project I was part of was called Creativity UK. Prior to taking interest in Erasmus+ and community, life shaped me slowly like water would a rock. The things I learnt from Erasmus+ related events shaped me quickly as an earthquake would the ground.
I had always prided myself in being a very open-minded, accepting, and loving person; however, I would very swiftly realize I had only scratched the surface of real unbiasedness and activism. The theme of the project was unity. We would tackle prejudice, hate, politics, otherness, belonging. I would open up about things I had never had the heart to before. A Portuguese boy who barely spoke English would hug me with the most sincerity I had ever felt.
We were there for a week. One week. We laughed and cried and talked and prepared tea for each other. We would be woken up by loud music and shower in cold water. We would sleep on the grass during lunch breaks. We would get to know each other and ourselves, and, most importantly, we would have the chance to do so in a safe environment. We were sure our voices would be heard and never criticized.
What I understood about all my Erasmus+ experiences is that they bring out something ultimately human in all of us. People experience emotions very intensely. To live the fast life we are bound to lead, to survive the everyday obstacles, we water our emotions down, we try not to feel them in their full capacity. During projects, being picked up from the real world and dropped off somewhere away from reality, we are able to tune into the very humanness of our feelings and feel them thoroughly and entirely. The most beautiful thing is that everyone there does.
Someone might call you insane if you told them you had made a lifelong friend in a weeklong period of time. Those people underestimate the human need and tendency to connect with others. "Man is by nature a social animal,” Aristotle spoke. Having experienced Erasmus+ and the absolute love which, after all these years, still pulsates strong, like an earthquake, in my veins, who am I to disagree?
A poem was written. Then, it sounded like a masterpiece. Now, it echoes the inexperience of an 18-year-old. It ended like this:
In this English rain
I see how much we’re shining
We are the rays of sun
Strong and blinding
And together
We can make this planet warm
Updated on Marți, 17/02/2026