There are so many key moments that happened to me and I could share with you about the experience that lead to what I lived some weeks ago. Some of these moments include the one when I received a phone call from a friend of mine telling me that AEGEE is a must in terms of experiences that help develop young people or even the moment when, with a deep breath and a lot of courage, I signed up for my first AEGEE event: Improve your skills – AEGEE Bergamo’s NYE event.

How many things do we secretly dream of? We always know that we can do actions to ensure more than our daily comfort, but, oftentimes, we forget about our passion for travelling and we live in our daily routine, we follow our schedule and we do not dare going beyond the limits of our soul. One day we will all be old, we will look in the mirror and see that every wrinkle is a dream that was never fulfilled, a year that passed by without doing what we felt we had to, what defines us, what we once dreamed of doing.

My decision to apply for AEGEE focused on my desire to go out of the comfort zone that has enveloped me for a few years, out of the vicious cycle defined by the limits imposed by my university and the volunteering activities I participated in, but which restricted me and kept me within the borders of my country. Like many young people in Romania, I believed that in order to be professionally successful, all I had to do was study, but I forgot that all professional achievements do not mean anything as long as there is no fulfillment when it comes to the things that your soul desires. AEGEE was the experience that made me remember that there is no place in this world I would not want to visit with the people here.

Bergamo is a ravishing beauty. I believe many people view Italy through the prism of the most iconic touristic attractions of the country, while ignoring the beauty of the small towns that hide away and impress through their simplicity, order, good taste, warm people who blend in this fairytale environment, all of which, together with the people I had the opportunity to travel with, have made this trip unforgettable.

The event started out in the best possible way: an awesome party where I managed to talk to at least half of the participants. I did not believe my memory would manage to store all the names of those I talked to by the end of the event. This is why I took it upon myself to learn more about the people not through their names or their countries of origin, but through the things that bring us together and the things we have in common. I remember a game I played outside, before going in to the party, which required all the participants to spell out their name and I came to regret the fact that my name, Ana, is so short, and that I do not hold the world’s record for the longest name in the world. The evening ended with a sleeping session in our sleeping bags which were placed in the gym, something that made me want to repeat the experience. This may be the reason why, when I returned home in Romania, the first thing I did was taking out my sleeping bag and put it on the bed. Of course, this could also be thanks to a pattern that was ingrained in my memory during the experience.

My expectations regarding Bergamo came true the following day when I visited the city and came in contact with our guide’s humorous side, which kept us entertained throughout the day. The first major cultural difference hit me the following day, when we went out for a coffee with the Italian organisers and participants. Romanians ordered Americano, obviously, something that confused Italians who only drink espresso – a type of coffee that Romanians define, after several Italian lessons, “too piccolo” [small, ed.]. I am a food lover, which is why I could not miss the opportunity to go visit the place where stracciatella ice cream was first invented. The road from Bergamo to Temu was very useful and productive, as I managed to take Italian language lessons for three hours while reading through the news feed of all the Italian participants, thus learning all kinds of words which I only hope I could be able to form sentences with. The evening concluded with a big AEGEE style party, obviously. I discovered that AEGEE is made up of complex people, all of whom together create a sum of cultures and places that they visited.

The next two days were spent skiing. The organisers dedicated their time and energy to teach us and to practice the saying that defined this event: Improve your skills, something that made me realize that this word, ‘skills’, did not refer only to skiing, but to a lot more things that we managed to improve without realising. When it comes to me, I believe the purpose of the event was to go back home in a better version of yourself than the one you were prior to the event, at least regarding skiing. However, I am certain that I came back with much more than this: I came back with a luggage full of friends from the entire Europe.

European Glitter Night was the evening when Martina and Roby, the organisers of this event, won our entire admiration because they agreed to “sacrifice themselves” to taste all the traditional drinks and foods. I could even say that this helped me set a new AEGEE-like goal for future events. I was astonished to see that most of the participants were familiar with the traditional Romanian drink named palinca. I also found out that this was the drink with the highest alcohol concentration out of all the ones that were present that evening. In other words, if anything bad happened that evening, you can blame it on the palinca.

In the same evening, NYE also took place. This was the first NYE away from home, but not the first one away from my friends, because I felt like I was in the right place, surrounded by the right people, as well as the first NYE which I had the opportunity to celebrate three times, based on each time zone. This celebration based on each time zone reinvigorated this event, because people’s joy was also our joy.

During the last day (and also the first day without the wake-up call – which I never believed I would miss, but once I got home, I started hating my phone’s alarm clock because it was too mainstream and I began missing AEGEE), we went visiting the mountains with the so-called “ciaspolata” – a type of ski, small in size, but which make the climb easier. For three hours, I felt the need to take a picture every minute, something that drew the attention of the other participants who gave me the nickname “the Romanian girl who is more Chinese than Romanian”.

We ate pizza, but here I once again drew all the attention because of the way I chose to eat the pizza: with ketchup, same as the majority of the Romanians. This was my last experience of this kind and in order to prove myself, I decided to start an anti-ketchup campaign for my friends as a sign of respect for all my Italian friends. During the course of the same evening, I came to regret that Bombardino is not a traditional Romanian drink, which is why after I got home, I tried preparing it myself, but of course, the Romanian Bombardino did not have the same taste as the Italian one. Not because I did not know how to prepare it, but because you need some people with you in order to enjoy certain things.

Now, at the end of my message, I do not know if I should talk to those who never tried the AEGEE experience with the purpose of convincing them to try it or whether I should thank the people who deserve this because of the experience they set me up for, while allowing the others to see the motivation behind all the thanks I give: to the organisers – because every small detail made a huge difference, for all their patience and joyousness – and to my colleagues – because they turned this experience into a unique one, because each and every one of them managed to teach me something. Thank you for making me smile all the time during the event!

Thank you, AEGEE!
Written by Ana Mardare, AEGEE-Bucuresti

AEGEE-Maribor organised its 9^th NYE (New Year’s Event), one of the most amazing AEGEE events which were held between the last week of 2015 and the first one of 2016, thanks to a very experienced team managed by Petra Zula and to fifty participants who wanted to have a lot of fun. The journalist Matteo Lai took part in the event and he reveals his own emotions regarding it. We also spoke with Maja Bunderla, 24 years old, one of the most beloved female organisers, who tells us something about the NYE programme, the participants’ mood, love stories, and satisfaction concerning the event, as well as some information about the next NYE.

This magnificent Slovenian adventure began on 27^th of December with the reception and registration of the participants during the evening. After that, some Italian guests from AEGEE-Catania and I were invited to have a shower, dress quickly and have dinner with the other participants, in a restaurant very close to the gym where we would have slept for one week. It was not so cold, as there were 10 degrees in Maribor. I felt so happy

to take part in one of the most appreciated AEGEE events by the AEGEE-Cagliari members: historically, many love stories were born between Sardinians and Slovenians, in addition to a lot of new special friendships. Maybe it is not just a coincidence the fact that the symbol of AEGEE-Maribor is a red heart. After I had eaten a plate of chicken steaks in natural sauce with rice, and I had chatted a bit with some new friends at my table, there was the organisers’ presentation of the group – thirty guys from several countries all over Europe, as it follows: Petra Zula, Gregor Susanj, Maja Bunderla, Jan Viher (who was also a participant of AEGEE-Cagliari SU 2015: “Cagliarifornia”), Ajda Prusek, Dijana Samperl, Miha Cerovsek, Katja Yermak, Nina Pibercnik, Irena Loncar Zorman, Goran Hrovat, Tadeja Babic, Mateja Belej, Mateja Piciga, Sara Kaiser, Mojca Jeromel, Sanela Zahovic, Simona Bibic, Jani Dugonik, Aljaz Hericko, Matej Suman, Robert Sket, Nusa Pecnik, Ziga Cimerlajt, Bine Gegic, Lovro Rojko. It was clear that just eleven organisers were boys, while almost all of them were girls.

We spent the first party in a Latino club called “Fuego” where we danced until early in the morning. In particular, for that party (Traffic Light Party) we put on clothes in different colours and each colour had a specific meaning. For example, if you had put on green, it would have meant that you were single, or if you had preferred violet, it would have meant that you were up for a threesome. Monday 28^th of December was the first day allocated to the winter sport we had chosen before we went to Maribor. Some people had chosen snowboarding, while some others had opted for skiing.

Moreover, the event was also available for those who would have followed an alternative programme which did not include skiing or snowboarding. Anyway, we enjoyed three mornings in the snow in Rogla and Pohorje Resorts. The participants who still preferred skiing, beginners and hopeless cases like me, were supervised by three different teachers on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday: Ajda, Katja, and Miha. The first day in Pohorje was a real disaster but on the second day, I admit I had learned the basics in skiing, after about twenty fallings. I had taken much time to “make a plow” as the skiing teacher Katja Yermak requested. Those days in the snow were the perfect occasion to taste Slovenian warm white wine and to make many nice pictures with the organisers and the participants. It was not so cold and, in fact, there was artificial snow in the resorts. On the third day, I tried skiing while it was snowing.

During AEGEE-Maribor NYE, the European Night turned out to be the party which had completely broken the ice between participants. In particular, Gregor showed the tables of every country present at the event. The table which aroused more curiosity was the one of Slovenia. You could taste Lasko, a Slovenian traditional beer, o Cockta, a soft sparkling drink very similar to Coke, but without caffeine. About food, there was green “pumpkin oil”, a typical Slovenian oil you could try with a piece of bread. Dijana Samperl made the participants try a traditional drink called “Spricer”, which is prepared with white wine and sparkling water. The night continued involving participants in dancing some Latin songs such as “Macarena”, “El Taxi”, and so on. At the same time, the organisers came up with the very good idea of a “UV Party”, where you got painted and shiny under UV lights in a club (for that party, the participants should have brought some clothes that they would not mind to get dirty or ruined).

On the last day of 2015, the participants spent the night in a hall very close to the accommodation, where they were provided with a DJ-set, a professional photographer and a delicious dinner. Then, we should not forget the “Fairytale Party”: for a night, you could have become a princess, a prince or whatever fairytale character you wanted. Maja Bunderla, one of the youngest Slovenian organisers, gave her opinion about this NYE. She has been in AEGEE for almost three years, considering it one of the best decisions that she has ever made. Although she was not the main organiser or a Board member, Maja was one of the most sought-after female organisers. Regarding her teaching skills in snowboarding, she got positive results which made her extremely happy. The first day was really terrible and hard for her because people were not able to even stand on the snowboard. “We were just two teachers for a group of 13 people without any experience. But on the last day (out of three), I was really astonished to see the participants actually doing the turns and everything. They got rid of the fear and that day everyone went to the most difficult slope in Rogla Ski Resort. It was a very nice and positive experience for me and I would be happy to do it again”, says Maja. Before the event, Maja had been responsible for the parties and decorations (with the help of many people), while during the event she was a snowboarding teacher. She was also helping with the ice breaking games and leading the night with “The Best of” prizes. As Maja confirms, Maribor is a place where you can easily make a lot of new friends, but also meet some people from previous Summer Universities.

For AEGEE-Cagliari, AEGEE-Maribor is the antenna where the most beautiful love stories among AEGEE members are born up until now, such as the one between Yu Tang and Anastasia Kosmacheva. Regarding the participants’ mood, “I think participants were extremely happy with the event. Lots of them told us the last day that it had been the best event for them so far, so I think this is the best thing you can get from an event like this. Nice words and satisfied people”, adds Maja. The organiser tells us she appreciated the amazing people who took part in the event because they were friendly, funny, patient, relaxed, and thankful folks. She admired the motivation and persistence of the people who were skiing and snowboarding for the first time, as they did not quit even if they were all covered in bruises the next day. Maribor NYE ended with a visit at Bled Lake where you could have thrown a coin and made a wish. I reveal my wish: to live another Slovenian adventure! In Maribor, personally, I met very interesting people, not only funny guys whose English accent I did not always understand like Rob, and hearty eaters like Guillermo, but also nice and smiling girls like Katja, Tamara, Julia, Katty, Dijana, Coral, Maribel, and “party animals” like Yolene.

AEGEE-Maribor does not lose time and is already preparing the next Summer University. Without any doubt, it will be at least as amazing as this NYE . About the overall satisfaction of the organisers with this NYE, “There is always something to improve. Sometimes things do not go as smoothly as in theory. But we were trying to do our best and I am sure every next event will be even better”, admits Maja.

Written by Matteo Lai, AEGEE-Cagliari

(An investigation about Winter University Tsangala&Gogona )

The place of action: Gudauri, Georgia;

Time: 07/02/2013 – 14/02/2013;

Suspect: AEGEE Tbilisi;

Witness: 27 participants from 13 AEGEE Locals;

Case # 702-1402

In 2012 the board of AEGEE-Tbilisi decided to make something new and inexperienced for their local, so the board organised the first winter university (WU) in the history of AEGEE-Tbilisi in February 2013. It took two months of hard work to fulfill the idea of WU ‘Tsangala&Gogona’.

The interest toward the project was high, but only 27 participants were chosen to experience skinging (skiing + singing), unearthing the secrets hidden in the legend ‘Tsangala & Gogona’, creating their own legends and spreading echoes in the Georgian mountains.

It is believed that the event was indescribable, overwhelming and mind blowing, so I decided to ‘investigate’ this curious case. By reading further you will find all the facts, evidence, photos and even get to read witness statements relating to this event.

• Day 1: Arrival in Tbilisi

After long hours of travelling, the planes with the participants finally landed in Tbilisi (some in Kutaisi). The first stop for the participants was a ski-shop to get their equipment fitting. Afterwards they went to The Ministry of Sports and Youth Affairs of Georgia. Participants were represented to the long-term action plan for implementing Youth Policy in Georgian legislation and the plan of the Ministry to cooperate with non-governmental organisations and institutions that manifest interests and will of youth by Chief of international relationships of the Ministry. The day was continued by visiting a Georgian restaurant. This was followed by an exhausting city tour in Tbilisi, but everyone relaxed in pub later in the evening.

• Day 2. Departure to Gudauri

The participants left for Gudauri early in the morning. After arrival and moving into their rooms, they got dressed and tried their snowboards and skis on the slopes of the white mountains. Later, they had an intro to AEGEE, and a Folk intro about Georgian folk songs and the culture of singing.  They enjoyed tasty welcome wine and tasted varieties of traditional Georgian cheese.

• Day 3 – The mafia is still alive!

The day started as usual: morning coffee, followed by long hours of skiing and snowboarding, dinner and free time for participants to update Facebook and Twitter from time to time. But the main action was ahead. Guys dressed like Tony Montanas and Don Carleones and girls with their tempting outfits and sexy, mysterious looks went to attend the MAFIA Night. They played poker (for snacks and drinks) and other games with cards in the smoggy situation that of course had the proper music on. However, no mafia boss was killed that day.

• Day 4. Watch your liver! Its European Night…

Early in the morning other the participants were joined by other AEGEE-Tbilisi members and Olaf Czempa from AEGEE-Katowice in Gudari. The members had fun skiing and snowboarding the whole day long, while enjoying each other’s company, funny stories and AEGEE gossips.

The European Night started at 10:00 pm. Local by local, everyone was introduced to different kinds of drinks, snacks, songs and dances. No flag or mascot were stolen that night.

• Day 5 No time for Snoozing!

Mornings after European Nights are always tough, but motivated skiers and snowboarders did not miss a chance to try the snow first. After skiing in mountains participants faced their first singing lesson; they were taught the Georgian folk song ‘Tsangala & Gogona’ which does not have too easy lyrics to pronounce nor really catchy rhythm. The lessons were continued with a Pajama Party, with relaxing music and lullabies, tea with lemon and sweet pies. It was a really cozy and nice candlelight evening. NO pillow fights were held that night.

• Day 6: Nothing but SUPRA.

Day full of emotions continued with another singing lesson and participants really did their best. After leisure time, everyone was ready for Georgian Supra, with lots of traditional food: khinkali , khachapuri, mtsvadi and Georgian wine. During supra the organisers held a Khinkali workshop, so volunteers had the chance to make their own Khinkali and  taste it later; Supra was accompanied by Georgian folk songs, traditional toasts and dancing.

• Day 7: Color day and night + Valentines eve

The dress-code of the day was anything colorful and bright. Participants were given papers and paints to express their emotions, feedbacks and stories of WU on it. After skiing and filming the song Tsangala & Gogona on the top of the mountain, everyone was ready for the color night.

Participants split in groups representing their masterpieces and shared their emotions that had a great impact on their paintings. After midnight the group celebrated Valentine’s Day, the heart-shaped red sky lanterns were lunched and valentine notes handed.

It was the last night in the mountains; the next day everyone packed their stuff and said goodbye to snowy Gudauri.

Note #1

As skiing and snowboarding are extreme kinds of sport, some unpleasant injuries may happen sometime. Only two participants made it to the hospital. Luda Chornaia broke her arm on the second day but she still continued to snowboard with the bandage. Zane Salaka was less fortunate, she felt from snowboard and hit her head on the 6th day, and therefore she was hospitalized to Tbilisi.

But AEGEE is a big Family, and likely to every family member everyone visited Zane at hospital after the event, with wishing cards, flowers and fruits, the day that she was discharged from the hospital. Now everyone is healthy and happy of course.

Witness statement #1

Tom Braakman (AEGEE-Leiden)

For me the most special moment of our WU was when the organisers told us to go outside during color night. The surprise was awesome, when we were outside in the beautiful Caucasian mountains and light our balloons with fire and see them lift up in the clear sky.

Witness statement #2

Johan van Houten (AEGEE-Utrecht )

The whole event was happy, because I was surrounded with such nice people, from everywhere, with whom I enjoyed nice talks about random things and a moment of sadness when Zane fell down. However, we all cheered up again when we started drinking again, and when she was recovered.

 Written by Sali Ebanoidze, AEGEE-Tbilisi