A start into endless possibilities

September 2023

8 Countries. 70 people. 10 days in a foreign country. Erasmus. Different cultures. And the overall topic: Communication. Feelings. Thoughts. Getting to know oneself better. It doesn’t take long to make up my mind. The same evening the registration form is filled out and after a short week of waiting and hoping the answer is here already: I’m in!

April 2024

The first day finally comes. Excitement. Nervousness. Emotions all over the place. Finally! Plane starts, seats found and an amazing start in the unknown. The destination: Cyprus!

Rain at home, hot sun in Cyprus. That’s what greets us when we land. Definitely a great start! Nothing to do for now except for swimming in the pool and getting comfortable with the atmosphere.

The week starts great. Challenges to get to know the city and people, great food, warm weather and incredibly interesting and openminded people. The beautiful thing when so many people from all over Europe come together – everybody is different. So of course everyone is welcome. This is such a heartwarming feeling; one I get to feel all week long.

Time flies by. Every day different tasks. Visiting 4 different cities in Cyprus, many fun games and interesting workshops, laughing with new friends, drinking mocktails at the pool, finding cats every ten meters, picking up a chameleon, learning curse-words in different languages and gaining so much new experience. Way too much to write about all of it.

My absolute highlight: the cultural evenings. We learn about Lithuania, Poland, North Macedonia, Romania, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. So many fascinating facts and exciting presentations. And afterwards – finally – music on! I think this is the most I have danced in the last year. To every music, somebody else knows an amazing dance. Many are easy to learn and fun to dance, some are really hard to remember. From national dances to song contest steps and macarena. These are the evenings I will never forget.

Afterwards

This youth exchange ended but it was only the beginning of many more. A while after this Erasmus youth exchange was the first time I started to research what Erasmus+ had to offer. I was astonished! So many projects and chances. Next thing I knew, I had already planned two youth exchanges for my summer holidays. 

Updated on Perşembe, 12/12/2024