Programme & action: ERASMUS+, Key Action 1: Youth Exchange
Venue: Montecchio Maggiore (province Vicenza), Italy
Dates: 23-31 August 2016
Participants: Kristýna Motyčáková, Alena Sekeráková, Roman Krš, Zdeněk Kroupa
Group leader: Zuzana Rychlá
Please read the info-pack.
Participating countries: Czech Republic, Portugal, Poland, Italy, Lithuania, Bulgaria, Croatia
Hosting organisation: Studio Progetto Soc. Coop. Sociale
Project report:
Ciao! Benvenuti in Italia! (Hi! Welcome to Italy!)
Firstly I would like to state, that this was my very first project with Erasmus+. And I can say I really enjoyed it, although I was expecting something completely different. I thought it would be a really hard working week with no rest but in the end it was something else. But something else doesn’t mean something worse or better, it was just different. It was like a great holiday-like event with a group of strangers from all over the Europe who turned into your friends in a few hours or days. During the workshops we were getting to know each other while slowly leaving our precious comfort zone far behind us. And after all that, most of us got closer to finding their true talent.
And what did the week look like? I won’t just repeat the schedule which everybody can read in the infopack but I’d like to mention 3 things that will remain with me for ages (if not forever).
1) Italian style
I don’t know if Italians have some kind of word like mañana in Spanish but if not, they should invent it. They are relaxed (if they aren’t upset) and always have time on their hands (even if there’s an urgent problem). And the buses go whenever they want (trains go surprisingly on time). First days in Italy it was driving me mad but then I adapted, I wasn’t so stressed out and it was great. Until I had to come back to the Czech reality, back to my responsibilities and for example writing of this feedback – of course I’m two days late. Italian style! 😀
2) Making the video for the song of Manuela Padoan
I’m a laid back type of a person so the idea of a jumping around the castle with a bunch of people and making a music video was a bit uncomfortable. When we arrived at the gates to the castle where the video was shot, we got a bit scared. We saw people running around dressed as a mad hatter, transvestites, medieval artists, there was also a hipster-statue, fire show and colors everywhere. But then we just went with the flow, joined in the filming, had some refreshments, relaxed a little and enjoyed this magical evening. It was totally awesome! And one of the reasons is that the song Metamorfosi by Manuela Padoan was really cool and catchy and I’m looking forward to seeing the final video!
3) The food
Even though I went to Italy, just as a precaution, I have prepared myself for a food not as tasteful as someone would expect in Italy. So I was pleased that the reality was different – we had an amazing Italian chef who spoke Czech and cooked great dishes. Unfortunately we had almost no meat based dishes. Boys were in the end of the week a little bit nervous and the first thing I ate after my arrival was a huge burger but that’s just a habit. A lesson for me was that even a vegetarian meals could be tasteful. And what’s better we taught one Italian participant how to say in Czech “I want meat, beer and becherovka!”
I could also mention a pleasant free day which we spent at Verona and Lago di Garda or our trip to a seaside etc. But I promised only 3 things and it would be a long story anyway. There’s just one last thing that remains to say – it’s a HUGE THANK YOU! Thanks to all the participants, Italian organizators and European youth centre Břeclav. Without you, it wouldn’t be like this. 🙂
Zuzana Rychlá
