What an experience in Veliki Zitnik
Day #1
We are Filip, Pave, Kreso, Jure, Ela and Ana from Croatia and this is our review of the first two days of Outward Bound youth exchange in Veliki Zitnik.
This story began on Monday in the afternoon when all participants from Lithuania, Slovakia, France and Croatia arrived. We all came with a lot of expectations but also fears and doubts. To break the ice we played some name games where each of us had to repeat the name, sign and adjective that every participant chose for himself. At first it was a bit awkward but when we got a hang of it the things went smoothly. After that each participant was given a partner for a 10 minute walk in which they were supposed to get to know each other so they can represent their partners to other participants.
After delicious lunch we played fun games with the rope and the ball. We also played more dynamic version of “rock, paper, scissors” that we called “granny, tiger, samurai”.
We concluded our first day with reflections of our new experience which took place under the night sky with the warmth of camp-fire. The general conclusion of the first day is that it was worth coming and that we are all exited for the future experiences.
Day #2
The second day began with the morning exercises led by Boris (who is one the volunteers) which warmed us up for the upcoming day. Then we gathered in the main room where we were split to 4 groups for the purpose of workshop where we expressed our fears, expectations and what we can do to contribute. To sum up those three elements, people are mostly afraid of group separation, getting lost and wild animals from the woods, expectations are mostly based on getting to meet new people and having new experiences, contributions are mostly in the form of friendly spirit, skills and ambition for the project.
The best part so far is getting to know trust and teamwork through classic Outward Bound methods that involve ropes, motoric skills and creativity.
One thing is for sure, this experience will always stay in a good memory, but we must add that it would not be possible without the guidance, help and cooking skills of good people that volunteer for Outward Bound.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the whole organization for giving us the opportunity to be a part of promotion of this new way of learning and improving young generations.
Day #1
We are Filip, Pave, Kreso, Jure, Ela and Ana from Croatia and this is our review of the first two days of Outward Bound youth exchange in Veliki Zitnik.
This story began on Monday in the afternoon when all participants from Lithuania, Slovakia, France and Croatia arrived. We all came with a lot of expectations but also fears and doubts. To break the ice we played some name games where each of us had to repeat the name, sign and adjective that every participant chose for himself. At first it was a bit awkward but when we got a hang of it the things went smoothly. After that each participant was given a partner for a 10 minute walk in which they were supposed to get to know each other so they can represent their partners to other participants.
After delicious lunch we played fun games with the rope and the ball. We also played more dynamic version of “rock, paper, scissors” that we called “granny, tiger, samurai”.
We concluded our first day with reflections of our new experience which took place under the night sky with the warmth of camp-fire. The general conclusion of the first day is that it was worth coming and that we are all exited for the future experiences.
Day #2
The second day began with the morning exercises led by Boris (who is one the volunteers) which warmed us up for the upcoming day. Then we gathered in the main room where we were split to 4 groups for the purpose of workshop where we expressed our fears, expectations and what we can do to contribute. To sum up those three elements, people are mostly afraid of group separation, getting lost and wild animals from the woods, expectations are mostly based on getting to meet new people and having new experiences, contributions are mostly in the form of friendly spirit, skills and ambition for the project.
The best part so far is getting to know trust and teamwork through classic Outward Bound methods that involve ropes, motoric skills and creativity.
One thing is for sure, this experience will always stay in a good memory, but we must add that it would not be possible without the guidance, help and cooking skills of good people that volunteer for Outward Bound.
We would also like to take this opportunity to thank the whole organization for giving us the opportunity to be a part of promotion of this new way of learning and improving young generations.
Creative tradition Veliki Žitnik Croatia DAY 3
The third day of the exchange started little bit later thannormally, because the intercultural night yesterday was „totally boring“. After the breakfast we had a super energizer when we pretended to be a cool guy called Joe who works at the button factory. Right after the energizer we packed up our stuffs and left to Gospic. We were really curious what was going to happen. When we arrived there they separated us to six groups. This groups were made of different nations. Our creative organizators prepared for us paper full of challenges. Some of them were really cool and we were exciting to do them but some of them were really strange. The first great challenge was volunteering in some bar or restaurant. Basically we were supposed to replace some waiters or kitchen staff. We were so brilliant in this task that some of us got a serious job offer from the owners. The second biggest challenge was to sing any song in the middle of the main square. The funniest thing about this is that we had to make a documentation from each challenge. So you can imagine what a great fun we had during watching all those videos. The third greatest challenge was to get a hard boiled egg. Firstly we thought that this challenge would be impossible to accomplish however then it turned out that people in Gospic were really nice and they were wiling to help us. Maybe you think that these challenges were really easy but we had a several rules that made it even harder. For example one of the main rules was that participants from Croatia were not allowed to speak their home language. It meant that our communication with Croatian people was incredibly difficult.We are not going to mention other challenges because it would take a lot of words. When we finished our challenges we left back to Veliki Zitnik to present our experience in form of photos and videos. This was really interesting because each group worked on these challenges in a different way. After we finished our presentations we had a really quick lunch and also presentation of traditional Croatian folklore. This programme was so interesting and exciting because we found out a lot more about Croatia. The dresses of people were beautiful and historical. We got wide explanation of their folk clothes which we really liked. They explained us why they used to wear such a warm socks or why some of the girls had white scarfs and others black ones. And of course we tried to dance with them their traditional dances. Everyone enjoyed that activity because that it what is this exchange about! In the evening we are planning to go to the forest for camping. I think we can say that everyone is pretty excited. Actually we heard some stories about snakes, bears, bats and other lovely animals. The adventure is about to happen so what are we waiting for?!?
Slovakia!!!
The third day of the exchange started little bit later thannormally, because the intercultural night yesterday was „totally boring“. After the breakfast we had a super energizer when we pretended to be a cool guy called Joe who works at the button factory. Right after the energizer we packed up our stuffs and left to Gospic. We were really curious what was going to happen. When we arrived there they separated us to six groups. This groups were made of different nations. Our creative organizators prepared for us paper full of challenges. Some of them were really cool and we were exciting to do them but some of them were really strange. The first great challenge was volunteering in some bar or restaurant. Basically we were supposed to replace some waiters or kitchen staff. We were so brilliant in this task that some of us got a serious job offer from the owners. The second biggest challenge was to sing any song in the middle of the main square. The funniest thing about this is that we had to make a documentation from each challenge. So you can imagine what a great fun we had during watching all those videos. The third greatest challenge was to get a hard boiled egg. Firstly we thought that this challenge would be impossible to accomplish however then it turned out that people in Gospic were really nice and they were wiling to help us. Maybe you think that these challenges were really easy but we had a several rules that made it even harder. For example one of the main rules was that participants from Croatia were not allowed to speak their home language. It meant that our communication with Croatian people was incredibly difficult.We are not going to mention other challenges because it would take a lot of words. When we finished our challenges we left back to Veliki Zitnik to present our experience in form of photos and videos. This was really interesting because each group worked on these challenges in a different way. After we finished our presentations we had a really quick lunch and also presentation of traditional Croatian folklore. This programme was so interesting and exciting because we found out a lot more about Croatia. The dresses of people were beautiful and historical. We got wide explanation of their folk clothes which we really liked. They explained us why they used to wear such a warm socks or why some of the girls had white scarfs and others black ones. And of course we tried to dance with them their traditional dances. Everyone enjoyed that activity because that it what is this exchange about! In the evening we are planning to go to the forest for camping. I think we can say that everyone is pretty excited. Actually we heard some stories about snakes, bears, bats and other lovely animals. The adventure is about to happen so what are we waiting for?!?
Slovakia!!!
Creative tradition Veliki Žitnik Croatia Day 4
This day in our camp started different than the others, because of camping in the nature experience. We woke up in the woods close to the river. Actually, if you wake up really early, when the sun starts to rise, you can hear the river floating next to you. The sound of the nature was a good way to start the day! Of course, the morning routine was different and challenging. Breakfast in the forest let us remember last night when we had an amazing opportunity to try a traditional games from different countries. Every country prepared their own game and it was really funny, because their require the strenght, quickness and so on… We were hyper active. Our group even didn’t need an energizer for that! We spent like a couples of hours playing games and I can say that, if we have more time, we would play till the morning light! After that, we felt hungry, so waiting for the dinner was tiring, but the taste of the sausages, grilled on a campfire, was amazing and worth time spending. Suprisingly, we even had a guitar so we could play some music. Music in the darkness, when the only light sources were our campfire and sky full of stars, gave us opportunity to feel united more then ever. However, new day – new challenges! We drove near the river – Lika to try traditional sports in this region – kayaking. We were divided in two groups and we choose partners from different country. Well, the kayaking was challenging for us… To swim 6 kilometers in the river was interesting and quite fun. The guides helped us by showing the right directions and also they took a lot of pictures. Like really a lot. We stopped at every turn of the river to take a picture. We can’t complain about that, because it’s going to be a good feeling to see those pictures when we will be back home and remember how much fun we had. Actually, some of us had an opportunity to defeat fear of water in this project, because not all of the people felt comfortable on the water at the start of the journey, but after couple of minutes they realised how cheerful it is! The other group who waited for their turn can’t complain of beeing bored. The water was good and the weather was more than perfect. People were sunbathing, there was a sup board so we could also try a two different sports: kayaking and supping. Also, there was two golden retrivers who acompany us all the time. When we got some practice we had to race. Like, it’s a MUST thing to do. The adrenaline which floated through our veins when we were waiting at the star was the best feeling of the day. Of course, like always, the friendship won, but I can tell you that you could see participants from all countries receiving the medals and t-shirts. So§ it was like an international win. We had a really good day, but it’s not over yet! We are waiting for the French people to present their traditional food, while about the dinner you will hear in our next post!
This day in our camp started different than the others, because of camping in the nature experience. We woke up in the woods close to the river. Actually, if you wake up really early, when the sun starts to rise, you can hear the river floating next to you. The sound of the nature was a good way to start the day! Of course, the morning routine was different and challenging. Breakfast in the forest let us remember last night when we had an amazing opportunity to try a traditional games from different countries. Every country prepared their own game and it was really funny, because their require the strenght, quickness and so on… We were hyper active. Our group even didn’t need an energizer for that! We spent like a couples of hours playing games and I can say that, if we have more time, we would play till the morning light! After that, we felt hungry, so waiting for the dinner was tiring, but the taste of the sausages, grilled on a campfire, was amazing and worth time spending. Suprisingly, we even had a guitar so we could play some music. Music in the darkness, when the only light sources were our campfire and sky full of stars, gave us opportunity to feel united more then ever. However, new day – new challenges! We drove near the river – Lika to try traditional sports in this region – kayaking. We were divided in two groups and we choose partners from different country. Well, the kayaking was challenging for us… To swim 6 kilometers in the river was interesting and quite fun. The guides helped us by showing the right directions and also they took a lot of pictures. Like really a lot. We stopped at every turn of the river to take a picture. We can’t complain about that, because it’s going to be a good feeling to see those pictures when we will be back home and remember how much fun we had. Actually, some of us had an opportunity to defeat fear of water in this project, because not all of the people felt comfortable on the water at the start of the journey, but after couple of minutes they realised how cheerful it is! The other group who waited for their turn can’t complain of beeing bored. The water was good and the weather was more than perfect. People were sunbathing, there was a sup board so we could also try a two different sports: kayaking and supping. Also, there was two golden retrivers who acompany us all the time. When we got some practice we had to race. Like, it’s a MUST thing to do. The adrenaline which floated through our veins when we were waiting at the star was the best feeling of the day. Of course, like always, the friendship won, but I can tell you that you could see participants from all countries receiving the medals and t-shirts. So§ it was like an international win. We had a really good day, but it’s not over yet! We are waiting for the French people to present their traditional food, while about the dinner you will hear in our next post!