I'm not very sure that my experience gained in the project "Stop Labeling Yourself" (Vidrike, Estonia, January 23rd - February 1st, 2012) can be summarized only in 5-10 lines. But I can try to tell you briefly how I came to be involved in the project, my impressions regarding people involved in this project and the impact that this training course had on me. First, Estonia has been for me, along with the other Baltic countries, a place I never imagined that I will get to see in the near future. Estonia also seemed a land of story, but as the magical realms from stories, not very accessible to everyone.
So here I am, at the end of January 2012, in Estonia, without a concrete idea about what I was about to learn here, only the theme itself - discrimination, stereotypes that the way we use them every day, often without realizing how badly we hurt ourselves and especially those around us - representing a maximum challenge for my personal development.
And behold! I saw myself on the first day (more correct would be to say the first night) project, surrounded by a lot of young people coming from countries like Belgium, Hungary, Croatia, Turkey, Latvia, Lithuania, France, Estonia and Bulgaria, young people like me, excited, slightly shy, but eager to get to know each other, discovering differences, ideas, opinions. After a relatively easy breaking - the - ice process, finally, at the end of the project we almost cried - everything ended so soon. I don't want to tell you in detail what I did in each of the nine days spent in Vidrike, I just want to say that I walked slightly reluctant in the wooden chalet where I was to spend the next few days, I hadn't great confidence that I will go home with more knowledge, but instead I left full of "revolutionary" ideas. During the training course, I rediscovered myself as an individual, I realized the things that define me, I realized the mistakes I do, more often than I ever imagined, and I decided that my future plans, already established, were radically about to change. So, I can say that this experience was a revelation, for me, in addition to fun, new friends, memories and useful information that I gained, I also outlined new directions - professional and personal ones, that perhaps I would have never considered suitable for me if I haven't had the chance to evaluate myself in this particular way. And I could do that because of the wonderful people that I have met in this project, the distinguished trainers, always ready to help us with advices, opinions, ideas or a good word, and last but not least, because of these amazing persons that made this experience possible for me. Thanks ASCU!
Alexandra Alexa
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