The following account is the experience of one of our volunteers who took part in a youth exchange, which was funded by the Youth in Action programme and took place in Riga, the Latvian capital city, from 15th to 22nd June 2011.
“The project we took part in, called Healthy Lifestyles, was held in a rural area, Purmali, 20 km away from Riga’s city centre.
Me and three other Italian representatives, along with five Turkish and five Cypriot representatives, were hosted by a Latvian organization, the “Social Alternative Institute”, and we were given a chance I have never imagined to have: we visited Riga, a wonderful Northern European city, and admired other landscapes such as the sea, the forest, etc.; we also managed to plunge into their culture by celebrating with them Saint John’s Day, the Summer celebration and the National Holiday.
The house we stayed in was surrounded by the countryside and the forest, and we spent there our first intense five days doing workshops, recreational activities, sport and excursions. Being in close contact with nature made us rediscover the positive feeling of running and sweating through the fields and playing like we haven’t played since we probably were 10. It was great to eat home-made fresh food – cooked by two local women –, drink fresh milk or cook ourselves our culture’s typical dishes. Moreover, as we knew what we were eating and where the food came from – instead of sitting at a restaurant table and having the lunch served –everything seemed better, tastier and even funny!
I remember one evening spent in front of the grill, talking about garbage disposal in our own countries and the day after preparing for the ritual of sauna, that in northern countries is considered as an intimate moment, besides being merely a way to accurately clean one’s own body. For us, for the “foreigners”, it was a chance to put aside any hesitation and to show our daring, because after a sauna locals usually dive into an icy pond.
The most significant contribution to the project was given by young participants who, on one hand – showing great maturity and interest – followed the guidelines provided by the Latvian organizers. On the other hand, they showed remarkable self-organizing skills and personalized every single stage of the project, making it unique.
Participants established a good relationship since the first day, there were intense exchanges of ideas and we came back home enriched in our personal experience. I am sure this is one of those things that leave long-lasting memories in our mind.
