Greetings, my name is Rafal, I’m writing this article to share the wonderful experience I had while participating in an international Erasmus+ project – “Planet 1st!”. It all started when one of the lecturers in my college, announced that there is an opportunity to participate in a project. After a few days, we arranged a meeting, where we signed our contracts. And then it started.
Firstly, our group from Lithuania consisted of six people, and for some reason I was selected as the leader of the group. Our group consisted of very different people, with different interests, but somehow we managed to become really good friends.
The trip
Traveling from Lithuania to Poland may seem like a small journey, but it took us over 20hours to get to Poronin, where the projects was held. We had a few bumps in the road here and there, and even after waiting 4hours because of a train emergency stop, we were still anxious. The rest of the road was good, and manageable.
Getting to our destination & meeting the people
The project was held in a small town – Poronin, located around 8km away from the city of Zakopane. The accommodations were pleasing, and after seeing our rooms we were invited to dinner. After dinner we had some time to get to know a few people. Obviously we were tired, so we went to sleep soon after the meal.
So the next day, we went to get some breakfast, then we had a few games, to help us know each other better. After a fun game, we went to have our first presentations and workshops. We had some team building activities as well.
Workshops & presentations
So the main goal of the project was sharing knowledge about ecological problems and the ways to fix them between each other. Our national Lithuanian team had to present the main problems we have in our country. I found these presentations from different countries very useful, as they were effective in raising awareness.
There were also quite a few international challenges. We made teams of 5-6people from different countries. It was interesting to see how people from other countries react to the tasks they were presented. The participants also had to present the organizations they were a part of.
Intercultural experience
One of the fun parts about this project, was the part where people from every country (Lithuania, Poland, Romania, Italy, Croatia, Bulgaria) had to present their traditional food, drinks and of course music and dances. Learning about different customs and traditions is always fascinating.
Conclusion
To sum up, I’d like to say that this project was very interesting, and made me look at our environment from a different perspective. Also the international part of the project was really helpful, it helped people break stereotypes and opened their eyes on what is really important – that we all are people, and we are all a part of our beautiful planet. It doesn’t matter what color your skin is, or where do you come from, we all come from planet Earth, and so will the future generations.