In May, we had two preparatory meetings – one was in Krakow, Poland, for a children project in July, and another one was in Moscow, Russia, for a youth exchange in August. First of all, I have to say that they both were really emotional, that’s the first thing that comes to my mind when I recall the meetings in my memory. We are discussing our program, we are playing simulation games for a conflict management study, we get to know each other closer, we share the roles, we interact in different languages, we ask 1001 questions, we share opinions, we speak simultaneously as we NEED to say what we need to say RIGHT NOW, it’s super tense, we all are excited to build it up, to figure it out, to participate, to work together, to gain loads of experience – and we finally are becoming a team! And it motivates a lot. After these meetings I really feel that I have become a part of a team for our forthcoming projects, I don’t feel as a single individual anymore, I know that I am a part of something bigger which I am also responsible for.
Besides that, I am quite sure that it has happened because of the human factor – we have seen each other, we got to know each other’s characters, we felt each other’s emotions; all the rest could have been easily done via Skype or emails indeed.
I was happy to meet my team in person and I can’t wait to meet up again in one month for our Kinderbegegnung in Poland and then – for our Jugendbegegnung in Russia!