Andreea Chiriță – ONCE ERASMUS, ALWAYS ERASMUS! 💛

Ceuta, Spain 06-13 April 2024 TRAINING COURSE: “Strengthening Diversity and Inclusion in Youth Work in Europe” I can say, wholeheartedly, that my first ERASMUS+ Project was a real success. Let’s start with the location. Ceuta has my heart now; I loved everything about the city and the region. The architecture is very unique, with both Spanish and Arabic influences; the food was good, but I enjoyed the drinks more, especially the Sangrias and of course cervezas. The people were very friendly and helpful. But, I think my most favorite aspect regarding the city were THE BEACHES. I was always at the beach, either working or just chilling or playing. The sunny days contributed a lot, because they put us in a better mood.

What did I learn from this project?

I think that it will take several days of writing in order to mention everything I’ve learned in this week. Some of the most important things I discovered and leaned are about and from the people I lived with for 7 days. This ERASMUS+ project was a Training Course about Strengthening Diversity and Inclusion in Youth Work in Europe. I’ve learned a lot about all the different cultures and countries, about their traditions, the mentality, about the stereotypes and the logistics in several countries. I’ve learned to work with people I thought I would never work with, total strangers at first. My knowledge on diversity got even bigger and I got the chance to be part of a beautiful project that was not just about learning and working but living and experiencing as well.

Let’s talk about my favorite part, THE PEOPLE. (from our trainers to the participant and the locals)

Firstly, and most importantly, I want to thank Ony, Karol and Bojan for being our trainers in this project, for putting up to us, for teaching us, for being understanding, for being there for us at any minute and. I liked the fact that they were very down to earth, they were extremely prepared for the project and we had so much fun working with them (and partying as well). Thank you Ony for being the one to keep us in place and explain every single thing to us. I loved you and how you managed to coordinate us through the week, I loved the fact that you were very straightforward and very direct. I also enjoyed the other version of you, “the party animal” one. Thank you for the kind words, for the commitment and all of the help, I am sure everyone appreciates it. Thank you once again for everything. Thank you Karol for also being there for us when we needed support or guidance. I loved you and the fact that you were a little bit more friendly than your sister. Enjoyed your positive energy and attitude. You are the Queen of the Gossip Box. Thank you for the kind words, the help and for not only being our trainer but our friend. Thank you once again for everything. Thank you Bojan for (again, like Ony and Karol) being there for us whenever we needed answers or opinions. I loved you and I personally loved your attitude and our personality, you are a very enjoyable human being. I loved talking you, and sharing experiences. Thank you for the kind words and for (especially) supporting me when I needed it the most, thank you for appreciating me and encouraging me. Thanks for the MVP. Thank you once again for every single thing. For our trainers (once again) THANK YOU, THANK YOU A MILLION TIMES. I don’t think you can imagine how much we appreciate you both as trainers and human beings. I admire your passion for learning and for people. I saw how dedicated you were in teaching us and helping us understand more about people, diversity, inclusion. I will cherish every memory with you guys, I will mention your names whenever I will have to talk people that inspired me and made a difference in my personal life but at the same time in my professional life. I hope I will see you guys again (Bojan see you in Macedonia), make more memories, learn new things and experience life together. Until the next one, I hope you will do great in your future projects, enjoy this adventure you are on and take care. I couldn’t have asked for better trainers. SEE YOU AGAIN! Secondly, to my amazing colleagues, to the people that tolerated me for a whole week, THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU. You were the highlight of the project and I am glad that I shared this experience with every single one of you. You were simply wonderful. I enjoyed your presence and your dedication, you are all very, very unique and that is why I appreciate you so much. Every single one of you thought me something, made me smile at one point, helped me, was there for me and I am really grateful for that. As I mentioned, I’ve learned something from all 22 of you.

• Ana Maria, thank you for being my roommate and my travel buddy, see you in the next one for sure.
• Alex, I respect the fact that you tried to be active in the project even though you are a bit shy.
• Eto thanks for being our guide and for the fact that you made time for us and for the project; I hope you enjoy the soap and the dry shampoo.
• Saray “Habibi” I loved your energy and the fact that you know “Made in Romania”.
• Alan, my secret friend, thank you for your craziness, I love the way you dance.
• Mica, you little ball of sunshine, I loved your soul and your perspective about this universe we live in.
• Sanne, I admire the fact that you are so openminded and your chillness.
• Kseniia, Barbie no.1 I really like your style and your ideas.
• Irin, barbie no.2, I like the way you think and your style.
• Tommo, thank you for being the center of the gossip night, for your nice attitude; loved your company.
• Ivan, I like the fact that you also have a really nice attitude and interesting opinions. Thank you both (the creation boys) for sharing you love for cervezas, from now on I will think of you whenever I will be having one. Cheers!
• Karolis, I loved your adventurous spirit and you desire to explore.
• Magda, I enjoyed our discussion and your vibe. Fenja, you little ball of energy, I loved your ideas, and the fact that you like sports.
• Stella, loved your bangs and your energy, your energizer and your attitude.
• Blagica, our travel expert, thank you for your knowledge, I learned a lot from you and thank you for sharing your experiences (See you in Macedonia).
• Miriam, the best drag queen, thank you for sharing and for teaching some of us about your job, it was nice to discover something new and different.
• Juicy, I loved that you are talkative person even though sometime it was hard for you to express yourself; remind me to give those 3 euros back to you, thank you.
• And Aleksandar, my drinking partner :)), thank you again for all the help with everything and the project, I love your music taste and the way you think. (see you in Macedonia as well)

I hope I mentioned everyone. Thank you for sharing your stories, for making me realize a lot of things, for teaching me about your countries and about your cultures. I really loved the intercultural nights, especially the drinks and the dances. Thank you for helping me when I needed it, thank you for listening to me. I hope you enjoyed my company at least half as much as I enjoyed yours. Thank you for celebrating my birthday with me and for the gifts and the cake (Stella you are an angel). I owe you all 5 euros :)))). Thank you for participating in my activity, I loved your messages, I will frame it. Loved our sessions at the beach, and our morning at Garnier, our activities in the activity room, and of course our nights in the club and at the beach, the singing sessions. I will cherish every memory with you, and from now on when I will think of your countries, your names will instantly pop in my head. I am sure we will see each other again, in a project or maybe in your own countries or even in Bucharest. I love the fact that you all signed my ball, I will keep it forever. I am glad I had the chance to meet such sweethearts and be part of this beautiful circle. (sometimes a potato) Thank you again. (yes, I know I said it to many times, deal with it).

• ANA, ALEX : Multumesc! Ne vedem curând !
• ONY, KAROL, ETO, SARAY, MICA: Gracias ! Hasta pronto !
• BLAGICA,BOJAN, ALEKSADAR: Ви благодарам.Се гледаме наскоро!
• TOMMO, IVAN:Hvala vam. Vidimo se uskoro.
• SANNE:Dank je wel. Tot snel!
• STELLA: Zahvaljujemo se vam. Na svidenje!
• FENJA: Danke Ihnen. Bis bald!
• JUICY, MIRIAM:Grazie. A presto!
• KAROLIS, MAGDA:Ačiū. Iki pasimatymo!
• ALAN:Dziękujemy. Do zobaczenia wkrótce!
• KSENIIA, IRIN:Дякую. До зустрічі!

I hope I wrote correctly. Sorry for any mistakes.

Now, for the activities.

I really liked every single activity or presentation even though some of them were less interesting than others. The highlight of my day were the energizers, I found them really helpful even though ONE ENERGIZER TRAUMATIZED ME (and other participants), I WON’T BE GIVING NAMES, thanks Karol for that, really appreciate it. As for the activities, all of them helped me learn about the topic of the project and much more. It was pretty fun working with all of you, with some I worked better or more, with some not that much. Our debates were great, I think your points and opinions were really good. The stereotypes part of the project was also really interesting because I got to see 1. What you guys think of my country and what stereotypes you know and 2. A lot of stereotypes for all the countries involved. I liked creating the “perfect trainer” because at the end our “perfect trainer” was made with a small part of each of us. I adored the activities when we got the chance to find out things about you guys, and hear your stories, your points of view, your future plans, your passions. The activity I liked the most was, of course, the one where we had to create a whole activity by ourselves. It was a really important and crucial activity for us because we put a lot of work into it, and it was really challenging but in the end we all did a great job. I take this opportunity to thank my team, Miriam and Aleksandar for their implication and their commitment, and for staying with me till midnight to finish it. My social skills, my English and Spanish level have improved a lot and I also learned at least one word in your languages, my communication skills were put to the test and I think I passed. The best souvenir that I could take from this is THE MEMORIES, THE LAUGHS AND THE FRINDSHIPS WE MADE ALONG THE WAY!

HONORABLE MENTIONS and SIGNIFICANT THINGS RELATED TO THE PROJECT:

#nohomo #bunnybunny #tokitokitokitoki #clubs #palmtrees #5euros #playadelaribera #ferry #hostelplazaruiz #coffe #cigarettes #erasmus+ #cervezas #sangria #coldwater #wind #garniercafe #ceuta #laverdadero #manolo #food #yougurt #partying #stereotypes #pens #paper #circles #sunglasses #border #speaker #stickers

ONCE ERASMUS, ALWAYS ERASMUS! 🇪🇺💛