“We can and We Will” VET project (Erasmus +)

“We can and We Will” is a VET project (Erasmus +) presented by Youth Council of Prilep. It is aimed at strengthening the employability of young people and transition towards the labour market from recent graduation, to international experience and future development not  just on professional but also on private level. United Societies of Balkans has hosted four  young learners from FYROM for two weeks (14.02.2016 – 29.02.2016). We shared here their experience with us. Thanks Biljana, Petar, Filip and Ivona :)

Biljana Trajkovska

Thessaloniki is a big city with around one million and a half citizens. There are people coming from all over the world, and we were able to stay there for two weeks.  We were accommodated in apartments from where you could see the entire city, the view was amazing and so were the people we were staying with.

I was accommodated with people from Croatia, Turkey and Italy. My roommate was Italian and her name was Benedetta. She was on a long term volunteering service in Thessaloniki. The other flat mates were Bojan, Yieshim, Ugur and Iva. All of them were simply incredible, kind and very accepting.  I enjoyed every minute spent with them and they are one of the main reasons I loved this place so much.

Throughout the days in Thessaloniki there were a lot of people wandering around the city, all of them with different emotions all of them with different goals, but besides everything the most amazing place I saw was the coastline, fulfilled with a lot of young people enjoying their day having a lot of fun and being simply young.

The office we were working in was really close to our apartments, the only thing I had a problem with, were the up hills and there were too many stairs, but as the days were going by I got used to it. In the office our coordinator was Aris, he founded this organization in 2008 and ever since than many volunteers came and left with a lot of memories and experiences. Our mentor was Phillipa she was from Bulgaria. Phillipa was extremely nice and polite she taught us many new things. And of course there was Riccardo, he was a Project Manager he was the first person we saw when we arrived, he warmly welcomed us and accommodated us in the flats. He was incredibly nice and understanding. He took amazing care of us.

The first night when we arrived to Greece we were to an exhibition the volunteers made. It was about the international condom day and it was very nice. The pictures were amazing and it was the first time we hang out with the volunteers.

Besides Thessaloniki, we’ve been to excursion in Loutraki. We spent 3 days there it was an amazing experience, the baths were perfectly relaxing, and the best part is we also got the chance to use the private baths that were only for the four of us. The baths were very warm, but also there were cold baths which I didn’t want to experience.

In the center of the city we visited a couple of bars which were simply amazing, we visited Tandem which is a place where you can meet people from everywhere and talk to everybody. Its amazing place to socialize to meet new people and to improve your English.

Besides the nightlife or the day life and the excursions, Thessaloniki after all was unforgettable experience, the office was a great place to learn many new things and the people we met – amazing!

Filip Begoski

I don’t know where to start. I will start from the last two days before coming here. I was very skeptical about this project. And when we arrived here, I was very confused like what am I going to do here? Who are these people? And for about 1 hour I changed my mind, I don’t know how, but I did it. And, then we heard about International Condom Day party, which was the same night when we arrived here.

When I took a deeper look of the apartment I was staying at I was very impressed, there were 5 people in the same apartment and it was very clean and tidy! I took a picture of my first coffee here, on the balcony of the apartment and the view is AMAZING!

The second day we were in the office for the first time and I started to like the office, it is nice and working there is funny and very flexible, whenever you finish your job you can leave the office, you are not limited with time. That is the key for successful organization.

And after all, we have been downtown with Riccardo and I saw how amazing can Thessaloniki be.

Thessaloniki is very nice city, and also the people that I was living with, they were so kind and I am lucky guy because I met them, I was with the same flat mates as Petar, so you can see who were they in his presentation about his experience here, in Thessaloniki. We were in Tandem, that is a place when you can meet people from all over Europe.

Throughout this project I learned many things such as: how to write an Erasmus+ project, how to make a presentation on prezi, how to create a logo and brand book, writing a project managing and I also improved my English and etc.

Not only in Thessaloniki, we have also been in Loutraki, that is a small village in Greece. Loutraki is the best place to relax, there is a beautiful nature with waterfalls, hot baths and etc.

The night life in Thessaloniki is very nice, you can find a party even in Tuesday, also there are a lot of young people who are getting out and having fun. Also the food is very good here, you can see gyro shops on every corner, also pancakes and they are very tasty!

I wish this project lasted longer than two weeks, but unfortunately it doesn’t, this is GREAT experience and I think I will remember this two weeks forever.

Ivona Grashkoska

We met new people and new characters from different countries. I lived in an apartment with 7 young people from Turkey-Mert, Bulgaria- Anna, Italy- Tomaso and Emmanuel, France- Maeva  and Croatia- Dino and Valentina. They were always good to me constantly hung out and already I feel sad that I will have to leave them

Thessaloniki is wonderful, there are old buildings, narrow streets and wonderful sea with very beautiful sunset.

During the evenings we went out to the city centre, we walked beside the harbor, we went to a party called Tandem where we met many people from Greece who came to speak the languages our volunteers speak.

We also had an excursion in Loutraki hot baths where we stayed 3 days and relaxed and we had a very good time.

People who were in charge of us were: Riccardo was the man who greeted us warmly and he is one of the best people I met, because he always tried to help us as much as he could. Aris was coordinator of the organization who was Greek, always interesting and full of many ideas and experiences. Our mentor was Philippa, she was very polite.

During this practice besides the fact I improved my English I learned to work on Prezi, we tried to do an Erasmus + project, and it was interesting because I tried to think of something that might help me to gain many new experiences and skills.

Petar Shiklevski

Not many people are lucky enough to volunteer in Thessaloniki, fortunately I wasn’t one of them. The past two weeks in Thessaloniki were great, unforgettable experience I would never trade for anything. In a city like Thessaloniki there is always something to do. City full of love and rich culture.

In a city full of old buildings we were accommodated in apartments at the peak of the city from where you can see the Olimp mountain, the sea and of course the thousands of city lights. The view was incredible and the people we were accommodated with were even more incredible. My roommate was Italian guy called Dominico who was incredibly fun and interesting. The other flat mates were from France, Bulgaria and Macedonia. Living in an apartment full of European people could never be boring, especially when they are super kind and friendly. The apartment was huge, it had enough space for everybody. All of us were coming from different countries, different cities and no one knew each other before they came here. Its amazing how people can bond with each other no matter where they come from, how old are they, what their religious or political views are. My flat mates names were Philip, Ester, Antoine, Plamen, Domenico and of course me.

In the apartment you could always hear different strange languages, people talking to each other, some on French some on Italian (which I couldn’t really recognize these two) and Bulgarian. It was fun having the chance to learn not only Greek words but also other words. The first person who welcomed us was Riccardo. He was one of the nicest people we have met here. He showed us the apartments and the next day he gave us a tour around the beautiful Thessaloniki.

Riccardo was the person who we would call first if we needed anything or if we wanted to say or express ourselves. He was very understanding, patient and polite.

Our mentor was Philipa, a Bulgarian super-girl who was extremely kind. And of course we were lucky enough to have the most fun coordinator called Aris who was Greek. The situation at the office was very flexible and interesting, whenever you finish your tasks you could go home and take a rest.

During these two weeks we were able to improve ourselves in a way we could never do without this project. We got the chance to learn many new things, like learning how to use Prezi or Project Management, how to write Erasmus+ Application Form or what is like to be a mentor or coordinator and etc..

The nights in Thessaloniki were very warm. The night life even warmer, we visited a few bars and we also went to a place called Tandem. It’s a place where you meet people from all over the world, a place where its socially acceptable to go and talk to anyone you want and get to know more about them. Which is also a great opportunity if you want to flirt with someone J. Tandem is a place where, political, religious, or any other views are not important, the only important thing is you.

Thessaloniki also has amazing bars where you can enjoy your night with amazing people, have fun, love and be loved. We visited a very few of them and no-exception all of them were amazing.

Throughout the days in Thessaloniki you could see thousands of people, everyone rushing for somewhere, some of them laughing some of them crying some of them enjoying the day. On the coastline were hundreds of young people sitting next to the sea drinking beer, talking and enjoying. There were also cyclists or skateboarders and other kinds of teenagers. In the center of the city there was a big amazing square called Aristotelous Square where you could find a monument of Aristotle, the people were believing that if you touch his leg, you become wiser.

Other than Thessaloniki we also got the chance to visit a small Greek village called Loutraki. There are amazing waterfalls and even more amazing hot springs who drain and create beautiful hot baths. The best part is, you can also enjoy a private bath besides the public ones.

I never could have imagined Greece would be such a great experience and a great life impact. And I also can’t say how grateful I am to the people who gave us this opportunity and helped us gain this experience.