“My social ArtsHub experience”
One day in the beginning of September a friend of mine showed me a facebook post about an Erasmus + project in Portugal that had to do with music and how it can help in educational purposes. The deadline for the applications was due, but the application form was still open. I didn’t have much hope because of my late registration, but I applied anyway writing about my experience with music. After about half an hour, I get a call from the UBA (United Balkan Association) and they inform me that I have been selected for the project but if I wanted to go I had to book the tickets the same day because the project started in 4 days. I was shocked but really excited so I made the spontaneous decision to book the tickets and take part in the project. Lets just say that it was one of the best decisions of my life.
Because of how quickly I made that decision and how exhausting the connected flights I ended up with were, I already had some second thoughts about this trip. Suddenly as I was waiting on the airport I received an email from the rest of the Greek participants informing the project organizers that they got covid and so they couldn’t participate in the program. That meant that I was the only Greek participant left on the project. I knew this would be a huge challenge for me because I would have to speak only in English for a week and it kind of freaked me out. But it also made me even more excited because I knew that this way, I would be forced to meet people from other countries and that it would also be an incredible practice for my English. It turned out that I was right. In the beginning the communication was not easy, but as the days went by, it got easier and easier to the point that I forgot I was speaking a foreign language. Leaving Portugal, I really believe I am a way better English speaker than I was before.
As I mentioned, the theme of the project had to do with music and performing arts in general. Music is my biggest passion and going into the project I really hoped we would work in performing and writing music. My hopes came true. We wrote our own songs and we practiced them a lot so that we could perform them in a local festival at the end of the week. For me playing in a band with numerous different instruments, practicing with so many people and finally performing all together in a stage, was something new that I am so grateful I had the opportunity to experience. I learned a lot about music and the performing arts during this project and I know I will find this knowledge really useful in my future as a amateur or a professional musician.
Arguably though, the best part of an Erasmus+ project are the people you meet there. I had the pleasure to meet people with the same interests as me in music and art and share new ideas and believes with them. There were people from different age groups and from all around Europe and I got to learn about different cultures and habits. Before arriving there I thought that the language barrier would be a problem in my communication and bonding with the other participants, but to my pleasant surprise I made really strong connections with numerus people and I made some incredible friends that I missed a lot when I returned to Greece. In an Erasmus+ project you spend your entire day with these people so you get to know them entirely for who they are and therefore one week of bonding is much stronger than usual. That was about the only sad part of the trip, the fact that it had to end and that you won’t see these people every day anymore.
In conclusion, Erasmus+ is an incredible and unforgettable experience that will fill you with knowledge and memories you will carry for the rest of your life. I recommend it to anyone and I will definitely try to go again sometime.