The Art of Being – Erasmus YE in Selce, Croatia
2022 Erasmus- Art of Being
I have participated in an Erasmus project which was organized in Selce, Croatia between June 22- July 1. Students from five countries have been involved in this program: Croatia, Bulgaria, Romania and Hungary.
The 
topic of the Erasmus was mental health and how to deal with difficult situations. During the workshops we talked a lot about feelings through different activities held by the countries. The first day was about building trust and working as a team. On day 2 the Croatian team held workshops about mental health issues and different stereotypes related to them. The Hungarian team introduced the participants to the Wheel of Emotions where they had to connect sub emotions to the core ones. In the evening we had the cultural night where every country presented their traditional foods and clothing. We had a visualization game, the Romanians organized acting and dancing which helped us expressing our feelings and that was the third day of the project. Day 4 was a hiking day where we went to the National Park Velebit. The hike taught us how to ask for help and building teamwork. After the hiking challenge we had meditation, yoga and conscious breathing workshops on day 5. The Bulgarians talked about boundaries in different life situations, and we learnt about coping skills at the end of day 6. On day 7 we worked on the final outputs in groups, and we had the closing ceremony on day 8. On the afternoons we could spend time on the beach and relax.
Every workshop was helpful, and we could learn about skills that will help us in our everyday life. Recognizing our feelings and listening to others is something school doesn’t teach us but it is necessary for our mental well-being. It was very interesting hearing about others ‘experiences and getting to know their culture. I found my 
challenges in talking in English and I enjoyed connecting to others. I think that I am more conscious and open-minded thanks to this project.
My favorite day was hiking day because I had a lot of fun and while we were enjoying the beautiful views and helped each other, we made friendships and talked a lot about ourselves.
This Erasmus will always stay with me and remind me how to focus on myself and be aware of the world and people around me.
Rézi
The Art of Being – report
The Erasmus program was in Selce, Croatia. The topic was about mental health issues, emotional well-being, mindfulness, coping mechanisms, how to cooperate, etc. The whole project was very interesting, we met a lot of good and kind people. I learnt a lot about myself and how to express my emotions. We had a hiking day when we went to a mountain range called Velebit, it was a nice and exhausting 5–6 hour long hike where we learnt how to cooperate with each other. During the program the food was okay, sometimes I didn’t like it but that’s my personal problem.
We had enough free time and I really enjoyed that, after dinner in the evening we went to the beach often, which was so nice and refreshing, sometimes we went together with the other kids. The 4 participating country was Hungary, Croatia, Romania, and Bulgaria. They were so nice and sociable, except those whom I didn’t talk to. At the beginning I was afraid of speaking in English because I’m not too confident with it but after all it wasn’t that bad, and I think my speaking improved a bit. At the end I came home happily, and it was a perfect amount of time we spent there.
Erasmus programme in Croatia
We were in Croatia in Selce with seven other Hungarian students and two youth leaders. We were in a very beautiful place in a really good hostel for nine nights. I really liked that we could sleep in the same room with students of different nationalities, so we could get to know each other better. We were from four countries in total: Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary, and for me the Romanians were the most likeable.
The topic of the Erasmus was mental health in general, and there were different workshops on this topic every day. I really liked the workshops. Especially because we also had to do in practice the instructions and not only an instructor spoke about all of that. I learned a lot of new things, for example how to handle my anxiety or how to calm down myself when I am very nervous. They also helped me not to be afraid to express my opinion about things or to dare to speak up even if I am not sure that I am saying everything correctly.
There was a day where we just hiked all day, and it helped me a lot to use English into real life conditions. I talked a lot in English with other nationalities and it has helped me to improve my language knowledge.
There was also an evening where everyone presented their own country and I especially liked it, because everyone did it somehow differently and everyone was very special. I learned exciting things about the different habits of the participant nationalities.
We were mostly at the beach in our free time, but sometimes we went out for dinner or just walked around the city. Once we got up at five to watch the sunrise and it was extremely beautiful.
So I absolutely loved this Erasmus and I am very happy that I was able to experience so many new things whit it.
Wächter Sarolta
Hello!
My name is Charlie I am from Hungary and I was in an Erasmus+ project in Croatia. It started in June the 22th and ended at July 1th. The projects name was “The Art Of Being”. We stayed in Selce for 8 days and the for the other 2 days we were traveling.
There were 4 countries including us. There were students from Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria and Hungary. Every country had 2 workshops that they had to present, all of which was around the topic of mental health. It was hard to work in the heat, but we got through it. In our free time we went swimming in the sea. For us landlocked participants, this was an extra special Croatian element. The place we stayed was also really friendly we got 3 meals a day and it was quite good.
I learned several things like: how to relax, how to clear your mind while under stress, how to deal with difficult situations and even learned what common mental health stereotypes are in different countries. We had a hike day and a meditation workshop and of course the disseminations.
I really liked the group; everybody was extremely nice and we all hanged out well. The hike was a really good program to get the people to know each other more. I still miss them a bit because its amazing how well we got to gather in just 10 days. In my opinion one of the best programs was the cultural evening were we learned about other countries dishes and traditions.
I am really glad that I went to this Erasmus project instead lying at home. It was a really special and fun experience.
Pike Charlie
The Art of Being, Erasmus in Croatia
Between the 22nd of June and the 1st of July, I was at an Erasmus Youth Exchange titled ‘The Art of Being’ in Selce, Croatia, which was about mental health and mindfulness. Participants were from Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary, with eight students coming from each country.
On most days, we had workshops, some of which were held by participants. Each national group held two workshops which were all assigned to us by the Exchange’s organisers. On the first day, we played ‘ice breaker games’, so that we would be more comfortable with each other. Once we went hiking in some national park, whose name I cannot recall, and on the last day we got our Youth Passes. On all days but the hiking one, and on most days we had some free time and could go to the beach.
I learnt new things. Overall it was a good experience.
The Art of Being Erasmus+ Youth Exchange
This project took place in Selce, on the Croatian coast. 8 kids and 2 youth leaders came from all the participating countries, Romania, Croatia, Bulgaria, and Hungary. The main focuses of this project were mental illnesses, learning about coping mechanisms, how to recognize and handle our feelings better, and being aware and mindful in the present moment. First, we did some group and trust building exercises, and later we also did breathwork, meditation, and wrote in our reflection journals. We learned about boundaries and how to handle them, recognizing emotions in others, and different techniques for helping us deal with our negative thoughts. There were workshops efore and after lunch with a bit of free time later on so every day we went down to the beach and swam in the sea and explored the town. Having to use English to communicate with other people was really useful and helpful for improving our English and also our confidence when using English. We had nice conversations with our roommates but also with others on the hike for example. The hike was on the 4th day, it was really long but worth it. We saw beautiful views and landscapes; we went through meadows but also climbed rocks, so it was really fun and challenging. It was nice meeting people from other countries and cultures. The cultural evening was a nice opportunity for all 4 of the countries to show the others some of their culture and traditional food. Overall, I really enjoyed this Erasmus project, the location, the topic, and the workshops were all great and I met amazing people but it also brought me closer to the Hungarians I traveled with because I hadn’t talked to them before.
The Art of Being Erasmus+ project
Ten days went by like nothing. These Erasmus projects are always so quick, but in a good sense. They say that when your with good people in a fun environment time flies by in the blink of an eye.
The topic of this project was mental health, conciousness, mindfulness and our mind’s connection to our body and soul. I really enjoyed this as it will ceartinly come in handy in the future or even now. I learnt a lot through each one of the workshops enacted by the national groups and was delighted to see people enjoying and listening to the workshop I lead aswell.
Aside from learning a lot we were also able to enjoy the amazing city of Selce due to the perfect schedule of time that the project had. We went down to the beach when we had free time and we were able to go on walks in the small city every night wich was just straight up amazing.
We also went on an exhausting, eight our hike on the fifth day, but it was worth it so much. The scenery for one was beautiful and the project leaders also used this as an opportunity to teach us how asking for help is okay and healthy and how giving help doesn’t necesarrily have to be a big thing. The hike was also fun, because of it’s lenght we had a lot of time to talk to each other and get to know other participants better aswell.
Overall I had a really great time, I liked how everyone was so respectful and loving towards eachother in the project as for example I was one of the youngest participants and there was never a moment I fealt I was treated differently or without respect in the entire project.
If I could, I would want to re- live it again.
I have spent ten days in Croatia, Selce with an Erasmus project called The Art of Being. The little village was absolutely charming. Our hostel was very near to the beach, it took 2 minutes to reach the sea. Because it was summer the weather was very hot, so this was a perfect place for an exchange.
It was my first Erasmus project ever, so I didn’t know what to expect, but it fulfilled all my expectations. The participating countries were Croatia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Hungary. 8 students come from every nation.
Our topic was mental health. In the mornings we had workshops about the topic. We learned about types of mental health issues, how to recognize our emotions, how to deal with stress and stressful situations and we also did freeze dance, blindfolded eating, and painting. After the workshops we had a free time that we usually spent in the beach.
Every nation had to do two workshops about two topics that they got. It was a very great opportunity to practice public speaking. I think I have learned a lot of techniques that I’ll use in the future. For example, we did meditation, yoga, breathing techniques which helps you to relax when you are stressed and how to write a diary.
We had a hiking day which was very good. I was afraid at the beginning because it was an eight-hour long hike and I’m not very used to this much, but the view was absolutely beautiful, so it worth it. During the hike we learned how to work as a team and how to ask for help.
The whole Erasmus project was very good, we could use English in real life which helped me to be more confident speaking English. I made lot of friends and I got to know other countries’ culture. It was a very good experience I’m very happy that I could participate.