Youth Exchange Blog: SOLIDEU in Villalar de los Comuneros, Spain, by Sigrit

I heard about the youth exchange two weeks before the flight deadline and it sounded like a fun spontaneous thing to do. The topic of the exchange also got my interest, so I applied for the program.

I have taken part in an Erasmus project before and this experience was totally different. I came to this project with 0 expectations because you never know what you will experience.

Before the exchange I contributed by booking the tickets for my project partner. Also looking for things to do on our free time before and after the project. During the exchange I contributed by keeping the moral up for my fellow project partners and also taking part in the tasks and challenges the project had to offer throughout the week.

During the youth exchange my main moto was „Live and learn“. The exchange taught me a lot about solidarity and other cultures. It also taught me a lot about myself and how I can overcome many of my comfort levels. I also discovered that I don’t need a lot to survive.

From the exchange I’m taking with a few of the tasks and games that we were taught and I’m going to use them in my professional life.

The only thing I would like to improve for the whole exchange is time management from the organizers. Everything else was good and educational. Unfortunately, the time management and not being punctual was a problem. Sometimes the motivation was low too, but that must be improved by each individual themselves.

The food could also be a bit better quality, but I believe that there wasn’t a lot of options given the location of the exchange.

I would recommend it if they would like to experience something completely different and go headfirst into the unknown. It also puts you up to the challenge of can you live with 20 in one room while there is absolutely nothing to do.

1. I made 2 friends from a different country that I still talk to and catch up with on the regular.
2. I cried with a girl who I hadn’t talked a word with while we watched a sunset and a rainbow at the same time because it was so beautiful.
3. I learnt that I could tolerate a lot more than I expected and that every culture and uprising is soooo different.