Enjoy the Moment: A Dutch Experience

Youth in Action ended yesterday with full of memories to reminiscence and promises made to meet again with new friends from all over Europe. The week of learning, fun and travelling is over however there is still more to find out. Are you wondering how the week of the Youth was? You can follow us on GHRD blog for the upcoming days and read about what happens when people from different parts of Europe meet to challenge ignorance, prejudices and human rights violations and find out cultural differences and what makes everyone connected.

The first impression of Daniel Pietrzak is a person with integrity and intelligence. Daniel is from Poland, he is 23 years old. His main goal is to finish two masters he is studying at the moment and in the future work for the EU parliament or follow an academic career and continue with his PhD. This is not Daniel's first youth project, he also participated another Youth in Action programme in Turkey. Daniel says the projects are a start to become a world citizen and broaden one's perspective of life.

Friday August 17, 2012

There is a time during every youth exchange/project/foreign trip when the place that was mysteriously new at our arrival is not like that anymore. It changes very rapidly. Even tough I have spent only two nights in Delft, I actually feel like home here. I already know the way to the city center, I enjoy walking by the watercourses, I know at what hour I should return to Kruithuise and make it till the entrance gate is closed and many more.

First part of the day was filled with games and energizers. However the thing that I especially like to do is talking and interacting with other participants. Therefore I had a lot of fun after dinner, when we were advocating on various topics during the practical workshop which focused on the stereotypes and discrimination. Also, I enjoyed the simulation game which was about negotiating with government officials to have sex education in schools. I was part of a NGO and my goal was to convince and inform officials that the sex education is necessary and the government should finance it. The discussion showed me the importance of incentives and dialogue. I felt like I can be an active citizen and make changes in my community.

As every evening in Delft, I've decided to go for a nice, short walk around the city. It actually ended after four hours - because still so many things here draw my attention, surprise or amaze me. One of them is, obviously, bicycles. I live in Poland, quite a big country actually, and I haven't seen there as many bikes in my entire life, as I'm seeing in Delft city center. It is awesome! Also, I made many photos of old, rusty bicycles attached to bridges or parked in bizarre positions around the city. Another thing that comes to my mind when I think about Delft after those two days is atmosphere. People are enjoying the moment here. In the evenings they are just sitting in cafes, talking with friends and riding their bicycles, simply, having a nice time after a tiring day at work. That's the thing that we still have to learn in Poland, enjoy the moment.