In the first weeks of Autumn I participated in trainings “Animate yourself!”. It was my third project and I have to admit I had high expectations- the topic and the number of participants (45!) intrigued me from the moment I saw the proposal.
Daily schedule was the same as in any other project- 4 sessions with two coffee breaks and a lunch in between, what is more, an educational trip and a workshop in social center was waiting for us in the end. However, the activities and feeling being there was nothing like in any other project I’ve been.
The first day I was slightly surprised by how different the experience and background of the participants in this field was. And how tough sometimes it was to listen to each other and work in teams. However, the joy of meeting new people and exploring the area took over. I feel very grateful to the organizers and our facilitators who, according to the weather and our wishes, held some sessions outside where we could enjoy fresh air and spectacular views of Ceahlau park.
In the following days we were not only learning from the facilitators but also sharing different kind of methods to work with youngsters from our experience. By these activities we not only gained experience that we could use in our future, but were building a team. In a daily reflection groups we had, I could see people’s enthusiasm and expectations growing.
After half of the trainings we started to prepare for a workshop with kids. We split in 4 groups according to age of kids we want to work with. I don’t know how it was to work in other teams, but it seemed that our team was the best one – we listened to all the ideas and every simple word, with everyone’s input evolved to a great plan.
The next day we had a short escape from all the activities and refreshed our minds and bodies with a hike in Ceahlau national park. After 6 hours of going up and down, visiting a waterfall and a château we all got a good night sleep and could continue what was planned.
The day that I was waiting for the most and that will stick in our minds and hearts forever- was definitely the day we spent in Piatra neamt, where we proved that it is possible to build a team of 45 totally different people if they have one goal.
In the morning, after 2 hours ride in a bus with songs and great views through the windows, we had an hour of prepared animation. However all of us agreed that it wasn’t enough. It wasn’t the first time I worked with Romanian kids, but I never worked in such a big group of animators. The support, our ability to talk only by looks, being able to improvise and the enthusiasm of kids made the workshop perfect. Their smiles and questions “when are you coming back?” was our award.
The second part of the day – a flashmob, on which we worked really hard a night before, even in the dark, in front of the hotel. We did it 3 times, two of them were completely spontaneous and even if the first one looked OK, the next ones were just perfect. The message of happiness was spread in the square and shopping mall, where security guards were not trying to stop us, but filmed it with their mobiles.
What could a better proof that this big group of people managed to become a team and even animators in such a short time?
Well, I have one more example, because we didn’t stop with the tasks that were planned. We even did a spontaneous street animation on our free time for the youngsters with all the games we’ve learned. Everyone had so much fun that no one wanted to stop. And just the suggestion of group picture by the youngsters caught our attention.
That was our days. But what about the nights we’ve spent there? No project can go on if there are no cultural evenings in the agenda. We had 3 of them, 5 countries showing their best per evening. Everyone took this presentation really seriously and in the end we had a chance to taste home made (actually, prepared in a hotels’ kitchen) food, sweets or drinks. We had dance competitions, quizzes, songs and short movies. But what I’ve noticed, those presentations didn’t answer the questions about the countries. It raised even more questions that we could discuss during lunch breaks or other evenings while playing board games, having a movie night or just exploring the area.
When the last day came, nobody felt prepared to say goodbye. There were so many things we still didn’t ask, tell or do together. There were so many people I still wanted to get to know better, but it was time to leave.
I know I learned a lot during this seminar- but most of the things cannot be put in words. It’s different with the people. I can proudly say that I made 45 new friends in 15 countries, which I would love to meet again! I got motivated to smile more, be open for the challenges, learn languages, travel and discover!
Well that was my story. Did any of it catch Your attention? Would you like to experience something similar? Then it’s Your turn to create Your own story! And it doesn’t matter if You’re just a young person seeking for his/her way in life, or a specialist in some discipline- if You were ever interested in discovering other cultures and people, this is what you should do, because this is Your time and Your chance!
