Unique, meaningful, and kind people – that was the project “Break a leg” in Kostinesti, Romania

A 14 hours drive from Gostivar to Kostinesti, Romania was nothing compared to the amazing view of the Black Sea and the beautiful surrounding when we finally arrived.

I could not believe my eyes, as everything was wonderful, the small houses with front doors and windows painted in blue or red, and the villas with gardens full of red roses. The villa where we were accommodated was wonderful, with the rose garden smelling nice, the rooms well decorated. The entire exhaust from the long-distance traveling disappeared when I unpack my luggage and when I met my two roommates, one from Romania and the other one from Bulgaria, who were pretty talkative and sociable at the same time.

We were 15 of us from the same secondary Technical school from Gostivar and spent 20 wonderful days in Costinesti, from 5th to 24th June 2021 together with other participants from Romania, Slovakia, Hungary, and Bulgaria. The project we attended was wonderful and meaningful. Volunteers Centre Skopje organized it and I am very grateful to them for enabling me to participate.

I have always wanted to participate in a youth project abroad and as it was my first time, so I was unsure of what will happen on the project, but my expectations were great and I felt very excited. And I was not wrong, my expectations were fulfilled completely. I have learned a lot from this project, improved my English speaking skills, became aware of the cultural differences, learned a lot about people in general, and became more confident about my abilities. Now I am more able to communicate with people from other backgrounds and cultures, be more tolerant towards other people’s values and behavior, and more open-minded and curious about new challenges. I was learning with pleasure and got a clearer idea about my future educational path.

The participants I have met at this project were awesome and we had great fun together. I loved the energizers and the games were very interesting, during which there was a lot of laughing, pushing, jumping, dancing and running. I loved the beach where we enjoyed swimming and sunbathing in our free time. Once we stayed at the beach until sunrise, as we wanted to see that eye-catching moment, it was spectacular when the sun started to rise from the sea horizon.

During the project, we went to Constanta on the excursion. It was a half an hour drive there and we had a packed lunch with us. The facilitators shared T-shirts to all of us with a printed writing Erasmus+ Break a Leg on them, which we wore during going around the city. We went sightseeing, taking photos, and having coffee at one of the many cafes on the square.

Every night we had a party in the yard. Moreover, we had a cultural night where we presented our traditional Macedonian food and Macedonian traditional dance. It was interesting to try food from other countries and to see other traditions.

On the last day of the Project, there was a lot of hugging and tears because we became very close to each other and the separation was very sad, but we promised to continue to keep in touch on social media.
To sum up, this was an amazing project, and a great experience, which has broadened my mind and the horizon, and everything was transformed into beautiful memories. It was an experience that marked my life, positively. Unique and kind people that was the – Break a leg Project.

I would like to participate in a similar project in the future and I recommend participating in projects to all young people because they are an unforgettable experience.

Dimitrij Pachukov