Challenges but not only in the Field of Sport
Polya Doncheva
(Bulgarian Youth Forum)
Hello! My name is Polya and together with my friend Alexander we took part in the youth exchange “All for one. Sport for all” in Daruvar, Croatia (August 9th to August 17th). Since it was my fourth Erasmus + project I was assigned as a leader of the group, however for Alexander it was his first experience of this kind. The project introduced the idea of diversity among people by engaging the participants in different types of sport activities.
The workshops we attended were organized by us, the participants, while the sports – by professionals or volunteers. By organizing the workshops, we had the opportunity to develop and enhance our creative and collaborative skills. It was also a lot of fun to see what the other teams came up with. However, it would have been nice if sometimes we had had some hints or guidelines to follow.
The place where the project was held was not quite what we expected – we were challenged to get out of our comfort zone. It was difficult to be cut off from the world (due to poor mobile connection and few opportunities to go out), but that way we were fully dedicated to the project and spent more time with the other participants.
There were playgrounds for all kinds of sports and board games, where we spent our free time and had lots of fun.
Alexander is a fan of chess and he was engaged quite often in chess sessions with other participants. He improved his English and made friendships which he hadn’t expected. On the other hand, I played volleyball every night until late hours and broadened my knowledge in foreign cultures.
After the end of the project we decided to stay a few more days in Croatia, where we had the opportunity to visit Zagreb and Plitvice Lakes. That experience helped us learn more about the Croatian culture and community.
We are both sincerely thankful to the Bulgarian Youth Forum team and especially to Bili Dimitrova for the assistance provided throughout the whole project.
Sofia,
28.08.2021