Bridging our Differences

Hanga

"We spent eight days in Slovenia, in Zagorje ob Savi, as part of an Erasmus+ project called "Bridging Our Differences." There were 24 participants in total: six from Hungary, six from Poland, six from Slovenia, and six from Italy. Our Hungarian group travelled there by train, and even during the journey we were excited to see what the week would be like, especially since none of us knew anyone beforehand.

We stayed in a primary school. We had breakfast, lunch, and dinner in the school cafeteria, and all 24 of us slept together in the gymnasium. At first, I was a bit worried about spending seven nights in a gym with so many people, but in the end it was much better than I had expected. We also managed the shared bathrooms surprisingly well, and I think that sleeping together in the same place every night brought us even closer as a group. There was something very adventurous about it, and I'm sure we'll be laughing about those evenings for years to come.

During the day, we took part in various workshops and activities. I learned a lot about the project's theme, and I especially liked that we didn't just sit and listen to presentations—we were constantly involved in interactive tasks. We did a lot of improvisation exercises, brainstorming sessions, discussions, and games that helped us explore the topic in an engaging way. Our facilitators also made sure that we were always working with different people instead of staying in the same groups. Thanks to this, we really got to know almost everyone and didn't spend all our time with people from our own country.

We also had one free day, when four of us Hungarian girls went to Ljubljana. I enjoyed it a lot because, even though we had only known each other for about five days, we already got along really well. There was no tension between us, and we worked together naturally. We explored the city, went on a boat trip, and even came across a food festival where we tasted some delicious local dishes. On the way back, however, we had a little adventure—we missed our train and had to wait more than an hour and a half for the next one. In the end, we made the most of it by sitting in a bar, having a few drinks, and chatting until it was time to leave.

One of my favourite activities was when we, the participants, had to prepare and lead workshops in different teams. I had never done anything like that before, so I was quite nervous. In the end, it felt incredibly rewarding to successfully lead my own workshop, and I was happy that the others enjoyed it as well. It was a great experience to realise that I was capable of leading this kind of activity and involving others in the process. I learned a lot from it, and it also gave my self-confidence a real boost.

In the evenings, we had different social programmes. During the Culture Nights, each country presented its own culture, and it was fascinating to learn about one another's traditions, food, and customs. We also had the opportunity to write letters to each other, and we took part in activities such as the Gossip Box and Secret Friend. I really enjoyed these because, by the end of the project, everyone had started writing kind messages to one another and surprising each other with small gifts. It was heartwarming to see how close we had become in such a short time.

Overall, I feel that the objectives of the mobility were fully achieved. The project's theme was about bridging our differences, and I truly believe we succeeded in doing that. Even though we came from four different countries and different cultural backgrounds, there was no tension between us at all. Everyone was kind, open-minded, and willing to learn from one another. By the end of the week, we had truly become one big community, and I think everyone returned home feeling happy, inspired, and full of new experiences.

I am a little sad that I will probably never meet many of the people I got to know there again. However, we talked with both the Italians and the Slovenians about visiting each other in the future, and I sincerely hope that those plans will become reality. I would love for these friendships to last much longer than just those eight days. I would definitely like to take part in more Erasmus+ mobility projects in the future because I had an amazing time, gained countless unforgettable experiences, and met people whom I truly hope to see again."

Gergely

"The ERASMUS+ project, which took place between June 13 and June 20, 2026, focused on building connections, bridging our differences, and exploring prejudices. During the workshops, we shared our own opinions about what brings people together and how people judge others based on their appearance and personality.

I could name two workshops that were the highlights of the project for me.

During the first one, we had to discuss which of the fictional people we had learned about in previous workshops should be allowed to escape in a lifeboat. It was interesting to see that all 25 participants unanimously chose the same four people out of the six to save.

In the second one, we had to organize and lead a workshop ourselves. I especially enjoyed working in English with people from different nationalities toward a common goal: making sure that everyone participating in our workshop had a good time. This experience will also be useful to me in the future, whether in my professional life or when I become a facilitator myself.

In the evenings, I had long conversations with other participants. Through these conversations, I learned a few new words and phrases, and I also realized that Slovenian politics is not actually that different from Hungarian politics.

During the ERASMUS+ project, we also had a free day when we could do whatever we wanted, such as visiting nearby towns or going hiking. I decided to go for a walk in the nearby mountains, fulfilling an old dream of mine: spending an entire day simply exploring an unfamiliar place."