Participant's diary

The first day of the youth exchange for the most of us was spent travelling, except for the Spanish group who were already here preparing for the arrival of the whole group. The travel turned a bit more adventurous for some, with two of the Hungarians missing connections and only arriving the next morning. The Bulgarian, Hungarian and Spanish teams started introductions and ice-breakers after dinner and the Portuguese group arrived late at night. We were all very excited to start the project!

#yethefact #Erasmus+ #creativityIllora

On the second day, we started building a dynamic group and we had our first visit of Íllora, Granada. We visited the Town Hall, where we met local officials and Daniel explained to us the history of the town and the wider region. All of us loved the view from the mayor´s office. We had the opportunity to write in the guestbook of the town. In the evening the Portuguese group presented their National Evening, giving us the opportunity to learn about Madeira Island and their culture.

#creativityIllora #Erasmus+ #yethefact

Day 3: At the end of the day life is all about creativity. That’s why we built

the tallest water tower in Íllora (approximately 54 cm) and refreshed

ourselves with the newest flavours amongst the ice creams- fire, blood,

gazpacho, the purple from the rainbow, stone from Mars etc. They are all

patent pending ;) If this sounds like too much fun for you, searching

mysterious grave is also an option but be aware that we won't take

responsibility if the ghosts catch you.

#creativityillora #erasmus+ #yethefact

Day 4: Creativity and culture are the names of our game. On our fourth

day we enhanced our creative skills by making personalized timelines

marking influential events in our lives. In the afternoon we did an activity,

in which we invented 2 new cultures, the badababams and the dooos.

When these 2 cultures came into contact they attempted to integrate with

one another. However, this integration was short lived when the

badababams became hostile and almost killed one of the dooos. In the

evening we had the pleasure of learning about Bulgarian food and

traditions. In short: the perfect ending to a lovely day.

#creativityIllora #Erasmus+ #yethefact

Day 5: A visit to Granada is not only about enjoying the heat and the

wonderful sun, but it is also to immerse ourselves in the diverse local

culture. When we talk about culture we refer to the traditions, habits and

customs. In the magnificent city of Granada we can experience so much of

this in one day. Throughout the day, we sampled traditional food (kebab

and tapas), visited museums, cathedrals and gardens. We had the

pleasure to meet new people, hug them and take selfies with them.

#creativityIllora #Erasmus+ #yethefact

Day 6: After a thorough and heartfelt explanation about the opportunities

of the Erasmus+ program we went off to explore a universe of ideas and

created many promising future projects. After a short Europass CV

session, we presented our ideas and surprised ourselves and the

organizers the quality of the ideas. This day was made even better by an

excellent Spanish evening, with traditional food and much dancing. Early

signs of nostalgia are already beginning to set in for some of the

participants.

#creativityIllora #Erasmus+ #yethefact

Day 7: Satisfaction is the key word of the last day. With the Youthpass

activity we recognized the skills and competences that we have and saw

what makes us unique. We then did the final evaluation of the whole

week and shared our opinion about the project. The verdict was

overwhelmingly positive: we loved it! Finally we enjoyed the talent show

and farewell party! We sang a lot of karaoke and had a ton of fun!

However, in a sense this day was the worst of all the week, because we

had to say goodbye at all the friends we met. We will miss you all!

#creativityIllora #Erasmus+ #yethefact

Our fabulous attempt at making Erasmus+ more visible: asking strangers

to help out and occupying the main square of Granada for a long while.

We hope you like it!

On the 8th day of the program, we said our heartfelt goodbyes and all

headed home. Even as we rolled out of Íllora in the bus, we were already

feeling nostalgic. This program helped create many lasting memories, we

had the opportunity to meet some outstanding people and we learned a

ton about ourselves, the others and the world. It should have lasted at

least another week!

Changing lives. Opening

“Erasmus+ is the EU Programme in the fields of education, training, youth

and sport for the period 2014-2020. Education, training, youth and sport can

make a major contribution to help tackle socio-economic changes, the key

challenges that Europe will be facing until the end of the decade and to

support the implementation of the Europe 2020 strategy for growth, jobs,

social equity and inclusion.”

This publication is the follow-up of the youth exchange

“The Fact”. The youth exchange and the publication

have been funded by the Erasmus+ Programme of the

European Union.

More about the Erasmus+ Programme:

Http://ec.europa.eu/programmes/erasmus-plus/index_en.htm

This project has been funded with support from the European Commission. This

publication reflects the views only of the author, and the Commission cannot be held

responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein.