Imagine meeting someone new and after a few hours you feel like you’ve known that person for years. We experienced this magical feeling with almost thirty people – beautiful, creative souls from all over Europe.
This training took me to the small seaside town of Paralia Rachon in Greece. For ten days we stayed in one of the most beautiful campsites, stayed in peepee tents, and literally had the sea at our feet. Sounds like a dream, doesn’t it? And that’s not all. I want to share with you my unforgettable experience from the training organized by the Austrian organization Move to Be You, and thanks to ADEL Slovakia I had the opportunity to be a part of it.
After arriving at the camp, I had different feelings – lots of new faces, tiredness after a long journey, but also the desire to socialize and enjoy the first moments with new people. Despite the advanced hour, we all went for a night swim together – our first time together. It was a nice, literally refreshing start, and the first „bonding“ after dinner. And although we had some idea of what the next few days had in store for us, it wasn’t 100% clear from the Infopack. So we ended the day in great anticipation.
So what did it all look like ?
Every morning we started with an hour of physical activity, which was full of energy. Sometimes it was Tai Chi, other times it was basic kung fu or Qigong energy work. These morning rituals gently woke us up and connected us to our inner strength, preparing us for a day full of adventures.
During the days we were engaged in various workshops that gave us space to reflect deeply on ourselves. One of the most beautiful exercises was writing a letter to ourselves to the past and to the future. It was a moment of pausing to reflect on where we are in life, what we are feeling and if it is time to change something or what we are grateful for. These workshops gave me the space to discover my true self. At the same time, we learned practical skills like conflict management, content creation or the basics of finance and business.
One of the most memorable moments was the morning ritual where, at sunrise, we gave the sea the parts of us that we had decided to leave behind. It was very liberating.
The greatest gift of this program, however, has been the community. In the beginning we were a group of strangers, but after the first day we had already grown closer and formed a really uniquely strong bond. Each of us brought something to this community, and at the same time, each of us took what we needed. We organized our time and activities together outside of the workshops, deepening our friendships even more.
Thanks to this training I have made new friends from different countries in Europe, and I know that I will meet them again – whether on projects, in connecting organisations or just in a friendly meeting.
