During the project, I learned how to express my opinion and listen to people…
When I applied for the project, my goal was to improve my English language skills. After the project, I can say that I succeeded. I met a lot of wonderful people with whom I could talk. During the project, I learned how to express my opinion and listen to people, and that our lives and what we do depend on our decisions, sometimes good ones and sometimes bad ones. I am very happy to have met the people I met there.
The food was very good there; our cook was a lady from Turkey, so most of the meals were specifically from traditional Turkish cuisine. We held a National Night, where we prepared the most popular dishes from a given country, various interesting facts about the country, as well as dances.
Walking through the streets of Amsterdam, I was positively surprised by the fact that everyone there can speak English, even the elderly.
I can proudly say that I overcame my language barrier when it comes to communicating in English and opened myself up to talking to people in this language.
The funniest thing during the trip was learning and teaching people vocabulary in both their and our language. The way people pronounced Polish words was very amusing.
I had assistance from our coordinator, Justyna, who would inquire and worry about us.
I would like to thank LEVEL UP, which made me eligible for the project and gave me the opportunity to self-develop and experience all those beautiful moments.
I encourage you to take part in non-formal education mobilities, because they’re an opportunity to use your language skills and have a brilliant adventure.
Adrianna, 18 years old, youth exchange in Otterlo – “Career: discover your potential”
The classes were carried out in an interesting way and initiated many intriguing discussions…
The youth exchange I had the opportunity to go on was a brilliant experience! Above all, I met some nice, positive people from Poland, as well as from other countries, with whom I exchanged valuable experiences.
The purpose of this project was to deepen our knowledge of the career path we were interested in. I am pleased with what I learned during the project, especially in terms of differences and similarities in the job market in different countries of the European Union. The classes were carried out in an interesting way and initiated many intriguing discussions.
This trip allowed me not only to gain knowledge on the aforementioned subject but also to have the opportunity to visit the Netherlands. I am incredibly happy that this project was carried out in the Netherlands, as it had been on my list of places I wanted to see for many years. Without the support of this organization and the European Union, this wouldn’t have been possible.
In addition, the project was organized by an organization from Turkey, so I was able to try Turkish cuisine for the first time and learn a lot about the country. On the last day, we cooked typical Turkish dishes together. That’s one of my fondest memories from the trip. Level Up also met my expectations. Its team provided brilliant support before, during, and after the trip.
I highly recommend participating in Erasmus+ projects, including those organized by LEVEL UP, because they offer nothing but positives!
I encourage you to take part in non-formal education mobilities, because they encourage greater creativity, involvement, and openness.
Aleksandra, 23 years old, youth exchange in Otterlo – “Career: discover your potential”
One of the most important things I took from this exchange was the realization that the world is full of diverse perspectives…
The youth exchange in the Netherlands is one of those experiences that will stay with me forever. This was my second international adventure. One of the most important things I took away from this exchange was the realization that the world is full of diverse perspectives. I met wonderful people from various countries with different cultural and lived experiences. This openness to diversity and understanding that everyone has their own unique perspective on the world. I met many wonderful people with completely different experiences that we were able to share with one another. The Netherlands surprised me in many respects. I knew that bicycles were popular there, but seeing this number of bicycles on the streets was a real surprise. The people of the Netherlands live on two wheels, which creates an amazing atmosphere of mobility and environmentalism. It certainly left a lasting impression. As for the food, the Turkish cuisine we had the opportunity to try may not have been my favorite, but I appreciated the fact that the dishes were homemade and not prepackaged supermarket meals that I had often encountered on previous projects. LEVEL UP helped us solve minor problems that arose along the way, so the whole thing went smoothly. The biggest barrier was the place where our project was carried out. Personally, I prefer life in a big city, where there’s always something going on. Our location was quite different; we were surrounded by meadows and cows, and the nearest store was twenty minutes away. This presented some challenges, but at the same time, it gave us a chance to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city. One of the main reasons I had the opportunity to participate in this exchange was my friend, who encouraged me to participate even though she wasn’t chosen herself. It was thanks to her initiative that I was able to have this extraordinary experience and meet amazing people. Amusing situations were an integral part of the project. One of our tasks was to present how we see other countries. The Polish group had drawn Greece and portrayed them as loud and perpetually tired people who gain energy through bowls of tzatziki and start dancing syrtaki, which made everyone laugh.
Lastly, I would like to thank the Polish group, with whom I developed a very good rapport and who were always ready to help.
I encourage you to take part in international mobilities, because they’re an amazing experience that opens us up to new cultures and perspectives. During these trips, we meet people from all over the world, learn to collaborate, develop soft skills, and, most importantly, discover more about ourselves. It’s a chance to form lasting relationships, grow as a person, and see how beautiful and diverse the world is. International trips aren’t just educational; they’re an adventure that can change our lives. I recommend them to all my peers, because they’re one of the few opportunities you get when you’re young and poor to discover how much the world outside our homeland can give us.
Anna, 19 years old, youth exchange in Otterlo – “Career: discover your potential”
We were able to learn about the differences and similarities in the career paths of the various sectors of the represented countries…
The exchange was precisely what the name implied – it was based on the sharing of experiences and, above all, the difficulties encountered on the path of career development. We were able to learn about the differences and similarities in the career paths of the various sectors of the represented countries. We unanimously agreed that economic issues like inflation and environmental issues like climate change were significant barriers for us and that the basic solution would be to create integrated communities, which we were able to achieve precisely by connecting with one another on this project. There was also space to discuss less serious issues, so we could take a breather and just laugh together.
I encourage you to take part in non-formal education mobilities, because they’re a unique opportunity to develop your potential and to build your network of contacts.
Julia, 23 years old, youth exchange in Otterlo – “Career: discover your potential”
It wasn’t just an exchange of experiences, but also a tremendous amount of work both on ourselves and on various tasks…
Lots of us have probably wondered what our career path should look like. What to do? Who to be? Where to start? I was also that person asking herself the very same questions. Looking for answers, I came across this project.
Thanks to my participation, I learned about the issues faced by other countries, what connects us and what separates us, what mistakes they made as a society, and what I can change at home to prevent such an outcome. The project “Career: discover your potential” wasn’t just an exchange of experiences, but also a tremendous amount of work both on ourselves and on various tasks. One of them was to interview the local community. It was required to ask them about working conditions and to find out what the key to success is in putting together a tightly-knit team. We also learned where the fine line that cannot be crossed in employer-employee relations is, so as not to disrupt friendly relations and so that everything works as it should. By speaking with the project participants as well as the Dutch locals, I was able to practice my English, which was important to me for the duration of this exchange. Above all, I wanted to feel that I had met most of my goals and that I had not wasted the time I had spent, which I obviously succeeded in doing.
It’s worth noting that the project allowed me to fulfill one of my biggest dreams, which was visiting Amsterdam. Although I didn’t manage to tour Anne Frank’s house, this experience taught me that you can’t do things at the last minute and that you need to book tickets in advance. Additionally, I need to repeat this trip to try my hand at dodging bikes, because, believe me, that was probably the biggest challenge the Netherlands had to offer.
To sum up the project itself, I can’t forget about the people I met. It was definitely the most wonderful project I’ve been on as far as the people were concerned. We became very good friends and look forward to the next opportunity to get together and form new memories. Thank you to each and every one of you for creating a wonderful atmosphere and to LEVEL UP for creating a space where we, the participants, can grow as people. Love you all
I encourage you to take part in non-formal education mobilities, because they’re the perfect complement to our experiences, an opportunity to build new relationships, and an opportunity to learn more about ourselves.
Marlena, 24 years old, youth exchange in Otterlo – “Career: discover your potential”
