The first time that I’ve got to know about the projects funded by the Erasmus plus program was just shortly before my first experience in it. I owe this opportunity to a friend of mine that told me about a vacancy for an Italian participant for a one week project in Tunis. I was immediately interested by the opportunity although I had little to no idea about what was I going to do, and I didn’t have the time to reflect on it since they needed an answer on the same day that I got the proposal. Therefore I just thought, why not? And I am glad I did it. It was a wonderful week rich of experiences and interesting people. The venue was welcoming and I was assigned to share a room with one Italian and two Lebanese people. The first day after my arrival the group of participants was complete and we had a briefing on the events of the project and on how we were going to spend our next week. Every day in the program was focused on a different activity and an energizing organized by the participants. The first day was also an occasion to get to know each other and our surrounding. We all went to the near beach and played a game to remember each others names. In the afternoon we played a game to get to know te city of Nabeul, During the second day every country group had to make a presentation about the environmental problems and assets of its country, and it was a very interesting opportunity to learn from them. Among the other workshops scheduled in the week, there was one about recycling in practice, were we as participants had the chance to learn and actually reuse pieces of woods and tires to create table and chairs. It was very inspiring! Aside for the workshop we had one day dedicated to visit Tunis and Carthage, and also the opportunity to meet encounter the Italian ambassador in Tunis who talked to us about Erasmus plus and answered few questions about the environmental initiatives. Finally, among the many things worth mentioning, there was an intercultural evening. Every country presented local food specialties and dances. It was really amazing to taste so many various delicacies coming from Italy, Morocco, Tunisia, Greece, Lebanon and Poland. Overall it was a great experience, helped also by the general positive mood and welcoming attitude that the participants had. I made some good friends and since this project I decided to do more and look forward for other ones. It’s an experience that I recommend absolutely to anyone who has just the slightest curiosity and interest to engage him/herself in a new context and confront the other people and cultures. I believe that you can only grow from that not only as individual but as a global society. I hope that my story was useful to you and if you are interested in these projects go and check for Erasmus Plus or related NGOs, such as FreeMinds in Action!
Elia (Italy)