March Madness.
I just read the March Blog of Romina last year and saw that she used the heading “March flew by”, which represents exactly how I feel when thinking about last month (I’m so original, I know). First of all, I have to mention that I lived without my phone this whole month, which was an interesting experience that I don’t recommend and don’t want to repeat anytime soon.
Anyway, the month started with the Murter Carnival, which was very funny because I’m from a German town that is also known for its big carnival celebration. I’m pretty sure we saw more human faces in one night than in all the winter months together, which we enjoyed a lot.
The morning after, I vividly remember waking up with my Chipmunk Makeup still on, hearing Lucijas’ voice on Ana’s phone, enlightening us that we will join the Training Course “from challenge to change” that Juan and she have been preparing for the last weeks. So, two days later, we packed our things to leave for Knin. The Training Course was especially fun because we had no time to mentally prepare for it, so we had zero expectations before arriving. My favourite memory of the week was when Ana and I ran through the water of the huge waterfall in Knin and got soaking wet, but it was worth it!
After we returned to Murter, we had one more winter workshop and tried to wash all of our clothes on time to pack again for the Youth Exchange in Sweden. I also got sick again and everything was kind of a mess again. So we left again and carried our suitcase for the I-don’t-know-how-many-times down the streets to the 5 am bus to Šibenik.
I’m struggling to put the following week into some sentences, but it was definitely like a fever dream (yes Ana I have to use my favourite word). First of all, I was so happy to see my Abffiue Annika and the Jönköping group we met in the preparatory visit again and revisit the location Brittebo Campside. This time, the accommodation was crowded with Youth Exchange participants, and when I say crowded, I mean c r o w d e d. Ana and I had to hide in her little smoking corner the first day to debrief for a second because we were shocked by the number of people. But as the week went by we got to know all of those people, and it was a beautiful experience. The topic “Click Green” made us reflect on our usage of Digital Technology and especially Artificial Intelligence. Soo in honour of this Youth Exchange, I will not let Chatgpt correct this blog (to save 2 litres of water), so don’t judge my spelling ahaha. Besides the activities concerning the topic, we had so much fun exploring the area, trying different cultural foods and dances, exchanging ideas and experiences, going on the lake with the boats and singing around the fireplace.
I’m incredibly thankful for this second visit to Sweden, and I loved sharing it not only with Annika but also with Ana this time.
After returning againn to Murter, the weather went crazy and it was a mix of UV 5 and 20 degrees and pouring rain combined with cold wind. We finally finished both the winter program and the Eco Wednesdays in the last week of March. Also, Ana has been sick and I really hope we both recover from whatever viruses are attacking us soon. And of course, I’ve been missing contact with young people again, but soon the next Youth Exchange “Foody” In Šibenik will start, so it’s fine. Let’s see what April will bring us 🙂
Theresa, volunteer from Germany
About the ESC: The European Solidarity Corps is a program of the European Union to strengthen solidarity in various areas: from helping the disadvantaged and providing humanitarian aid to engagement for health and the environment in the EU and beyond.
The program offers young people the opportunity to respond to the needs of the community, make a concrete contribution to society, and in the process gain invaluable experience and develop new skills. The program is also intended for organizations active in the field of solidarity that want to involve young people in their activities.
