September 2023

Erasmus. Youth exchange. Back then, these words meant little to me. School was exhausting enough to leave no time to think about other things to do during my already little free time. And that’s exactly where I was. School. Sitting in my classroom and almost falling asleep on a Tuesday afternoon. Unbeknownst to me, the start of a completely new adventure is already waiting for me in my E-Mails. SUPYFEL. Hmm. Sounds weird. But when reading the meaning behind it – Speak UP Your FEeLings – the strange motto turns into an important message. Out of curiosity I look up the website and what I find there totally gets me hooked right from the start.

8 Countries. 70 people. 10 days in a foreign country. Erasmus. Different cultures. And the overall topic: Communication. Feelings. Thoughts. Getting to know oneself better. It doesn’t take long to make up my mind. The same evening the registration form is filled out and after a short week of waiting and hoping the answer is here already: I’m in.

October 2023

Out of all the participants, six of us are from Tyrol. The group leader seems really nice, but will I find people to talk to? Will they like me? The first meeting is right around the corner. Luckily, we Tyroleans don’t only get to know each other when sitting in the plane. I would probably have a pretty rough start if I had to spend a week with all these participants without knowing anyone.

The first meeting is the first time I get nervous about the project. Still excited, just the normal, annoying nervousness that appears every time when coming into a new environment. But it’s impressively small this time around. A comfortable atmosphere right when entering, and open and welcoming faces. Puh. Great! The start is done and from there on, it only gets better. This meeting is mostly about getting to know each other. From fun guessing games to the first information about the youth exchange.

This is only the beginning. We meet often during the next months and I start to feel really comfortable. The people from Tyrol are wonderful and easy to talk to. The exercises and tasks we do to get prepared for the youth exchange are fun and quite useful. Looking up how sport affects our feelings. And my absolute favorite: designing a logo for the youth exchange. And just like that, time passes by, school is still as boring as ever, but at least now I have something to look forward to.

April 2024

I have always loved meeting new people. Travelling to different countries. That’s what I am looking forward to most. The excitement and new experiences that are waiting for me. The only problem I make is being too lazy during the holidays. And that’s where my motivation goes right down the drain. The nervousness kicks in. So much to do and so little time. Such a long flight. So little stuff in my suitcase – is there anything missing? Am I overreacting? My brain starts to panic but doubts are kind of useless at this point. I’m still looking forward to the week, but this is such a huge challenge for me, a completely new experience – how can I not be nervous?

Luckily, the first day finally comes. When I arrive at the airport, meet my friends and see all the suitcases – that’s where I start to calm down. And get hyped at the same time. Excitement. Nervousness. Emotions all over the place. Finally! Plane starts, seats found and an amazing start in the unknown. The destination: Cyprus!

Rain at home, hot sun in Cyprus. That’s what greets us when we land. Definitely a great start! The hotel is amazing! Huge apartments, the sea 10 minutes away, a swimming pool with incredible mocktails and a buffet for lunch. Nothing to do for now except for swimming in the pool and getting comfortable with the atmosphere.

The next day it starts. Meeting everyone for the first time. Finally! Starting with name-remembering games where I know right away: I will be lucky if I can remember 20 names by the time this week ends. One thing I have always been bad at was remembering names. Faces are great, but names? Terrible. Except for this small problem, the week starts great. Challenges to get to know the city and people, great food, warm weather and incredibly interesting and openminded people. The beautiful thing when so many people from all over Europe come together – everybody is different. So of course everyone is welcome. This is such a heartwarming feeling; one I get to feel all week long.

Sometimes a Minute feels like a week. And sometimes a week feels like a minute. This week feels exactly like the second scenario. Time flies by. Every day different tasks. Visiting 4 different cities in Cyprus, many fun games and interesting workshops, laughing with new friends, drinking mocktails at the pool, finding cats every ten meters, picking up a chameleon, learning curse-words in different languages and gaining so much new experience. Way too much to write about all of it.

My absolute highlight: the cultural evenings. We learn about Lithuania, Poland, North Macedonia, Romania, Cyprus, Greece and Portugal. So many fascinating facts and exciting presentations. And afterwards – finally – music on! I think this is the most I have danced in the last year. To every music, somebody else knows an amazing dance. Many are easy to learn and fun to dance, some are really hard to remember. From national dances to song contest steps and macarena. These are the evenings I will never forget.

Unfortunately, nothing can only be marvelous and fascinating and exciting all the time. There are ups and downs everywhere. My down comes in form of loneliness. Weird, I know. Surrounded by so many people, I feel lonely. But I have a really hard time to open up to people. So right now, that’s what I miss. People I have known for a long time. People I trust and can just relax and talk to. So, I take the most obvious approach. A long call with my mum and the next day, I feel much better already. These downs, these depressing moments are valuable experience for me too. It’s definitely not a nice experience, but I still learn a lot about me through them. What I need, how I feel, why I feel down.

And all of it, the ups, the downs, the happy, sad, lonely, exciting, hyped, fascinating, extraordinary, awe-inspiring and tired moments – all of it together makes this youth exchange one of the best weeks in my life. Memories I don’t ever want to forget. Valuable experience to help me in my everyday life. An adventure to keep in my heart.

Afterwards

The week ends as fast as it starts. Out of bed, in the bus, and next, we’re sitting in the airplane already. This time, there is no nervosity. A bit of sadness, a lot of tiredness and looking forward to coming home again – to annoy everyone by talking hours about my wonderful experience.

This youth exchange ended but it was only the beginning of many more. A while after this Erasmus youth exchange was the first time I started to research what Erasmus+ had to offer. I was astonished! So many projects and chances. Next thing I knew, I had already planned two youth exchanges for my summer holidays.

I know that this will stay a part of me for a long time. This is an environment which suits me perfectly. These are chances I want to take to experience as much as possible because you learn new things every time. I am truly grateful for that one E-Mail which had the luck to not land in the spam folder. It changed a huge part of my life.