This year, I wanted a different summer. I always chose a beach destination, but I felt that I was missing something. This time, I did not care about the place. The important thing for me was to go to a Summer University (SU) where organisers mixed with the participants and of course, full of teambuilding activities.

Why Maribor? I had heard many good things about the organizers, the activities really interested me, and Slovenia was an unknown country to me.

Slovenia is an amazing country. I was really surprised with the amount of green in its landscapes and cities. Ljublijana is bigger and has many tourist attractions, Maribor is smaller and homely, but Lent Festival was taking place while we stayed there so the city was full of activities and really active.

The organizers were awesome, close and friendly. They took great care of us through small details and always had big smiles on their faces. They mixed with the group and organized a lot of great and funny activities and thematic parties for us. From basic teambuilding games to elaborate activities such as MP3 experience, Funny Faces, Talent Show… As well as this lipdub. We also took a lot of dancing lessons – salsa, bachata, tango, rock & roll, swing. From my experiences as organizer in my local, I can tell they did a great job.

Written by Beatriz Nasarre, AEGEE-Zaragoza

There you are, in the air somewhere between your home country and the Summer University. Destination: two unforgettable weeks. Valladolid, June 20th 2014. As we arrived, tired from the more or less long travel, we just had the time to put down our luggage and choose a spot to place our air-mattress and we were immediately thrown into some ice-breaking games! One, two, three… twenty-five… twenty-seven… confusion! Who is a participant? Who is an organizer? Well, after two hours of games we knew. And we even knew their names, the nationalities, the likes and dislikes of everybody. I should use these methods to study.

In a few days we discovered most of the history of Valladolid (hey, did you know it has the oldest University of Spain and that it used to be the capital city?). We could appreciate the art of the sculptures (some had a very unique gender), and we were frightened by the Christian traditional Pentecost procession! We left Valladolid after some days, in a cloudy morning after a night we will always remember (or not) as Sexy Tequila Night, with a large Spanish vocabulary thanks to the lessons of our awesome organizers (¿Quieres follar? Contigo no, ¡bicho!). In Peñafiel we discovered the charm of a non-globalized old village, with its particular Plaza del Coso and the beautiful Castle with a view of the landscape, but we also discovered that old traditions of a population may go against our own ideas.

The big surprise has been Rioseco, for the first time in a week we could sleep in a real bed and eat real, handmade food (made with love) for the European Night. There we had one of the best days (and nights) of the SU: we could show our wild side during a morning of canoeing and cycling, our intellectual side through a visit to the old mill and our dark side, that had been unchained after dinner, during the European Night. We found out that trying to drink from each bottle on the same night is not such a good idea, even worse, is trying to play “I have never” and revealing all your darkest secrets without being able to remember it the next day.

After that we came back to Valladolid and the next day we took the train to Barcelona. In Barcelona were welcomed by new organizers that had set up a fresh dinner for us. It was nice to have dinner, lunch and breakfast outside, in the garden of the school that hosted us. Barcelona is a big city, which we explored by playing games. We have had a gymkhana all along the passage de Gracia where there are many works of Gaudì of which we found out curiosities and noticed little particular things that usually are not mentioned in tourist-guided tours. We also entered the Sagrada Familia, where the pleasant voice of the audio-guide led us under the column of this epic construction. We were shown The Gothic Cathedral through the history of Enrichetta, a thief of children, brightly performed by our creative organizers.

In Barcelona we also enjoyed the beach and the sun, when the weather finally decided to let us down. The beach of Sitges was definitely worth the visit. Despite the crowd, the village is nice, full of good ice cream shops and the sea water was very clear. We finished visiting the city with a bike city tour, where we revisited the wonderful Parc de la Ciutadella; the one we visited the first day when it was raining. When it is sunny, everything looks even more beautiful.

We got very instructive lessons about the culture of Catalunia. We finally knew how to insult each other in Catalán (ruuuuuuc) and we tasted the liquor Melody (a liquor made with Catalan cream) and the brioche. We were true gluttons, when the organizers prepared us an original delicious paella. Everybody agreed that it has been the best gift they could have given us. Every morning we experienced the consequence of the wild night life for which Barcelona is so famous, so sometimes loud music was not enough wake us up. We needed an explosion and we did get a true explosion. We had the true explosion on the last day, but of feelings, when we had to deflate our mattresses, put away our things, say goodbye and go back home. But we did not have to leave with nothing: we got to bring home a big suitcase, full of new experiences and memories, but with enough space for more awesome experiences like this one!

Written by Chiara Langianni, AEGEE-Firenze and Serena Zaccà, AEGEE-Leiden

Walter White was looking at me, seated down in his cheap, rusty chair. His face was a mixture of rage-looking eyes, disappointing gesture and an unusual peace. I felt weird, lost in my mind, again. When suddenly, a voice broke into my thoughts.

– Are you ready? – my dad asked.

Yes, I was. My first Summer University (SU) would start, after five hours in a car, two in a plane and another half an hour on a train. I was pretty sure I was ready. I picked up my backpack, stopped looking at my Breaking Bad poster and had a last look at my house. Little did I know then that my own room would look strange to me only two weeks later…

Some hours after, I arrived to the Netherlands. Schiphol turned out to be a better airport than Barajas (at least this was my impression), full of people from very different places, running, laughing, smiling… I felt like Tom Hanks in “The Terminal”, and this feeling became stronger one hour later, when I was still waiting there for organizers.

I went to the Netherlands one day after the SU started because of exams so I was alone in Schiphol, with my luggage and a useless smartphone. Then, I thought that being smart would be a good idea, and I bought a sim card, so I could contact organizers. “We are waiting for you in Utrecht train station, we told you”.

Although they forgot to tell me this small detail, I finally knew what to do. During the train travel I started thinking about what I knew about the SU. “The Dutch Rainbow”. Really? I mean, I’d been told that this was a university meeting, not a meeting for eight-year-olds, with unicorns, pink t-shirts and lively colours.

Everything went better than expected however, soon after I met the Spanish team (we were with seven Spanish participants) and all the other people involved in the SU. I have to confess that until the very last day I was not able to remember all of the names. People were very friendly, outgoing and funny, so it was not difficult for me to feel comfortable in the group.

The first days were the most exhausting. We visited Utrecht, The Hague and Amsterdam. Utrecht is a beautiful city, with canals, small houses, a welcoming city centre and its big tower, which provides a startling view over the Dutch landscape. There, we played the crazy 88 game, in which basically, we had to demonstrate Dutch people that we were as crazy as they thought, by kissing stranger’s feet, dancing with a cucumber, asking people to marry them… Just normal stuff, you know. We also went to many bars, particularly to a Belgium one and a gay bar in which we were only among participants and organizers.

The Hague was the most cultural trip, thanks to the father of one of the organizers, who showed us the city and its historic buildings. We visited the Dutch Parliament, too. My favorite thing in this city was the huge sculpture of Zidane’s headbutt.

Amsterdam had the inconvenience that we visited it during a rainy day. But after a wet morning visiting the city by boat, we had free time and I could try haring, which is a typical Dutch fish. I found it disgusting (also another participant who tried it with me), but it was an unique experience. After, we went to Van Gogh’s house, just to be half an hour in the queue because it was too long to wait, and we had to be back at the meeting point. It was funny that I met lots of Russians that appeared out of the blue. In the afternoon we visited one of the most famous parts of Amsterdam: The Red Light District.

After Amsterdam, it was time for a new experience: hitchiking! “It will be nice”, they said. “People will stop”, they said. “You won’t be waiting for more than one hour and a half”, they said. Well, nothing of that was true this day. Four hours. Rain. Cold. And finally, we took a train to Enschede with a group of participants, while the other fourteen participants did arrive to Enschede hitchhiking.

I can summarize our stay in Enschede with one word: Beer. We drank while watching football, while having cultural workshops, while visiting the Grolsch brewery, and during the Cantus. I was not in the mood to do the Cantus, and I did not like it at first, but in the end I loved it. And now you are all thinking: “What is this Cantus thing?” It is more than a game. It is a law. You will sing, you will drink and you will be punished if you do not follow the rules. It reminded me of American college films.

Do you know how we went from Enschede to Nijmegen, the last stop? Hitchhiking! And, guess who had to go by train because nobody stopped again? Yeah! Me.

Nijmegen was very relaxed. We were all tired and it were the last days. But it was great that during these days the city was celebrating the Four Days Marches (Vierdaagsefeesten). It is a yearly event during which people walk 30, 40 or 50 kilometres every day and the city is full of music, colours and food.

In Nijmegen we went out, saw fireworks, played typical Dutch games (it was a lie, most of them were typical from everywhere :P), and we visited a lovely lake. We had an important visitor, too. Sinterklaas came to teach us more about Dutch culture and traditions.

The Netherlands are a very liberal country, in which everybody follows the rules. People are very kind, and they all speak English (I wish all Spanish people spoke English, too). Their food will not become my favourite, but it has lots of Asian recipes and they use too much vegetables. All cities I have seen were beautiful and contained mostly houses, not flats. And of course, coffee shops are a must-go-to. Time is too different from Spain however, since they close shops at six, have lunch at twelve and dinner at five or six. That was weird to me.

Still, this experience was the best one I have ever had. I cannot wait until my next SU-experience starts.

Written by Daniel Iglesias Rodriguez, AEGEE-Madrid

After hearing lots of interesting, fun stories from fellow AEGEEans about Summer Universities, I decided to try it out myself this year. Why not? Everybody likes a cheap vacation and discovering different cultures while getting to meet awesome people from all around Europe! I applied for different SUs and before I knew it I had packed my bags and was on my way to Burgos in Northern Spain. Although this beautiful city is just two hours by bus from Madrid, I had honestly never heard of it before and went on this Summer University with a totally open mind.  And I can tell you I did not regret my decision!

Once the event started, the party also started right away. Our home for the next 11 days was the University gym, but we didn’t get to spend much time in it as every day was full of great activities to keep us entertained. This included being woken up at 9/10 AM by screaming Spanish and loud music with some tequila shots still in your system!

During the daytime we went to the beach of Santander, enjoyed cold beers at the San Miguel Brewery, went air rifle shooting, mountain hiking, we got to see the beautiful gothic Catedral de Burgos and the rest of the city.

But what would a nice day be without a party to end it?! That’s why during the nights we had activities like the Suit-Up party, Professions party and of course drinks and drunk dancing at AEGEE-Burgos’ go-to club Tin-Tin! The ingredients for these great nights were some crazy Europeans,  preferably cheap  Spanish alcohol and a bar you can dance on. For an even more interesting result you can also throw some karaoke in the mix, as we discovered! Now, concerning the European Night : I don’t think I even have to speak of it, because most of us already know how these usually end. Or I can just summarize it in two words: Hungarian Palinka.

 To top off this awesome Summer University was that the last weekend we stayed at a really nice house in the mountains of Burgos with all the participants, organizers and other members of AEGEE-Burgos together like one big happy,crazy family. The whole weekend was filled with whipped cream, sangria, fun games (with the whipped cream and sangria of course!), beautiful sceneries and great food, like the paella we made during the cooking workshop. For me these last days where the most fun, because I really saw the difference compared to the first few days. When all of us arrived in Burgos we were total strangers to each other and maybe even a bit shy but towards the end we had became a kind of weird, huge family where everybody got along with each other and laughed together.

A few days after the Summer University the organizers posted a message on Facebook saying we now all have a new home in Burgos forever and are always welcome to come back. Reading that and knowing it was sincere I honestly had to hold back a tear. I realized I might not remember all the fun activities we had, but that I will always remember these awesome people I got to meet during these eleven days.

Thank you for everything, everyone! Hasta Luego and I hope to see you somewhere in Europe  again!

Written by Karim Breeveld,  AEGEE-Amsterdam

When someone goes to a Summer University, has some expectations. The 28th July, 30 participants full of expectations arrived to Brescia to know more about the culture, history, people, food and language of this region, located in the north of Italy. Finding out the hidden jewel of Brescia was the opportunity to discover a beautiful place, full of history, in the best company during two amazing weeks.

In this trip, the participants could visit interesting places in Brescia, like its Castle and the ruins of the Capitolium (an ancient Roman temple). In the City Rally, they discovered Brescia by themselves, running through the most famous places, taking photos and accomplishing funny tasks. Besides, the participants could notice the cars and the locals’ love for speed by visiting the museum Mille Miglia (and understood why Italian people drive in a crazy way).

In this Summer University, the participants not only knew the charming city of Brescia, but also other emblematic Italian cities, like Venice and Verona, compulsory places to see in Italy. Everyone falls in love with Verona, one of the most beautiful cities in the world. What we can say about Venice? A different city, where you can arrive home by gondola. Two cities to get lost.

Venice

Less known places, but as much as beautiful, are Sirmione and Montisola. In the Castle of Sirmione, the participants felt like in the Middle Ages and they could visit the Catullo’s cave (an ancient spa), a very beautiful place surrounded by hundreds of olive trees. To travel to Montisola (the biggest island inside of a European lake), the participants made a short trip by ferry. The clear and clean waters of the lake Iseo invited them to take a bath while admiring the wonderful views.

Moreover, when you visit a country, you want to taste the typical food. In the region of Franciacorta, the participants could enjoy the flavour of Italy by tasting Berlucchi wine accompanied by typical Italian products like Granna Padano (Italian cheese) and Italian salami.

There was also time to be in contact with the nature. Two nights in the mountain of Pezzaze, great time for teambuilding and getting deeper knowledge about the gastronomy of other lands in the European night. It was also a time for fun, solving a crime in the ‘murder party’.

Catullo’s Cave

The participants not only saw mountains, but also beach (or we should better say lake). Three nights in the Garda Lake, a charming place where the participants could take a bath in the night and taste a typical Italian “aperitivo”. In that time, there was also time to visit historic places, like the Vittoriale museum, the house of Gabriele D’Annunzio, an important Italian writer, with a really interesting history behind him. Do you want to discover it?

Culture, history, language, food… and adventure! The participants visited the underground of Brescia Castle and they did not mind getting dirty. In the visit to the Pezzaze’s mine, they learnt more about the extraction of the minerals and they could step into the shoes of the miners. Two activities that made us sweat, but became exciting experiences.

In addition, what would a Summer University be without partying? Of course, the event was plenty of parties, as all participants need! The organizers prepared funny thematic parties, like hippy party, elegant party and “paint my white”, a great opportunity to say goodbye, writing emotional messages in our white t-shirts, which means to be an excellent souvenir to keep in our memory forever.

Those words are useless to explain the wonderful views, experiences, places, events and adventures lived… I encourage you to find out the hidden jewel of Brescia, you will never forget or regret it.

Written  by Estefanía Castiñeira, AEGEE-A Coruña

On 17th July, a group of 29 young Europeans was heading to Spain. Not to Barcelona or Mallorca, and not even to Madrid, but to Asturias – a region that seems to be missing on Spain’s touristic map. Our intention was to prove that this is just a disappointing mistake. In other words, we were looking forward to breaking the Astureotype!

People tend to think of summer holidays in Spain as of lying at the beach in the boiling sun, and this was the main stereotype we were intending to break. Organizers from AEGEE-Oviedo did their best in showing to the participants how different Spain can be and how much more than just beaches and sun it can offer.

From the very first days, we became conscious of the differences in the climate and landscapes which awaited us. Unlike in the rest of Spain, the temperature in the North rarely exceeded 25 degrees, and we soon learned to take sharp changes of the weather during the whole day for granted. Refreshing rain would come and go unexpectedly, watering the amazing green hills and valleys of Asturias.

The diverse landscapes of Asturias, which include mountains, hills and valleys as well as numerous rivers, proved to be ideal for sports, which was the main topic of our SU. Instead of lying at the beach, we were up for some more challenging activities!

The sports programme started with the 32 km long cycling route through the mountains called the Bear’s Path. Even though many participants felt a desperate need of some siesta time after the first half of the route, we were all soon standing at the finish line, tired but satisfied and inspired to move on.

Two entire days were then dedicated to hiking. We followed one part of the famous St. James’s Trail (El Camino de Santiago), strolled along the picturesque beaches of Asturias and Galicia, made our way through the rocks and thick fog in the Picos de Europa national park and enjoyed the beautiful view of the Covadonga glacial lakes from the top of one of the hills.

Another challenge was the descent of the river Sella. Split into couples, we canoed 16 km down the mountain river, stopping from time to time to take a refreshing swim and enjoy the stunning scenery surrounding us. Canoeing brought in a bit of a competitive spirit as the couples tried to outstrip each other or simply besprinkle other participants with the water. In the end, everyone was rewarded with an official certificate from the local canoeing school.

The rest of the sports activities included paintball, archery, horse riding and padel tennis. This variety brought in by the organizers ensured that every participant could find something of their own taste. Of course, there were bruises and sunburnts involved, and their number grew day by day leaving no participant unaffected, but we were all too excited to take them seriously and woke up every day ready for the next challenge.

Besides sports, the programme obviously included exploring the cultural heritage of Asturias. We enjoyed guided tours through the three largest cities of the region (Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés), visited the towns of Llanes, Cudillero and Ribadesella as well as the pre-Romanesque churches near Oviedo and the sacred places in Covadonga.

Last but not least, the environmental topic was also covered by the visit to the trash removal and recycling company COGERSA where we could learn how to behave in an environmentally-friendlier way in our daily lives.

Even though Gijón, where we were staying, turned out to be a very lively city with a lot of events taking place in its streets especially in summertime, our group still managed to catch the attention of the local community. One of the first days we enjoyed a warm reception at the city hall, which then appeared in the local news, as well as giving some interviews to a local newspaper.

The stereotypes about Asturias were not the only ones broken. It is common knowledge that applying for an SU in Southern Europe often means putting up with a rather relaxed attitude of the organizers towards the plan. However, this time it was absolutely not the case. From the very beginning the organizers from AEGEE-Oviedo positively surprised us with the great job they did.

First of all, It is worth mentioning that the gym where we were staying was located in the very heart of the old town of Gijón, so that we could reach every location we needed on foot. The programme elaborated by the organizers was so thought-out and intense that by the end of it we could say we had explored practically the whole region of Asturias in its diversity. Furthermore, the organizers were quickly reacting to the weather changes which interfered with our plans. So, one of the days was saved by changing the hiking route due to a strong storm approaching. Finally, the choices of the night programme have to be mentioned as well. The list of parties included the best events happening in the region during those two weeks, such as the Holi festival in Avilés, the Oktoberfest in Gijón and the traditional cider festival in Naves.

The organizers were pleased to know how highly all the participants appreciated their job and, on their part, would also like to thank all the sponsors who made this intense programme possible, namely the city halls of Gijón, Oviedo and Avilés, La Salle school in Gijón, Les Camisetes, Café Trisquel, Youth Councils of Asturias, Gijón and Oviedo as well as the Consortium of Transports of Asturias.

As it always happens at AEGEE events, we were all unwilling to leave the new friends we made during those two weeks. The farewell was bitter, but sweetened by the hope to meet again someday somewhere in Europe!

Written by Anastasia Shornikova, AEGEE-Köln

Photos by Gloria Borge, AEGEE-Oviedo, Marcos Herrero, AEGEE-Oviedo, Olga Gladkikh, AEGEE-Sankt-Peterburg, Anastasia Shornikova, AEGEE-Köln

It is often said that what makes a Summer University a successful event is the group of participants more than the program and organization. Well, this is true, but what if 26 awesome people were gathered and guided through an unforgettable adventure that would tour some of the most attractive spots of northern Europe? The answer is that it already happened.

Organised by AEGEE-Tartu and AEGEE-Helsinki, “FinEst Way To Push Your Limits” is a SU that didn’t get its name by chance. As a starter, ropes and heights were the protagonists at the adventure park in Tartu, followed by a refreshing day in the extreme park where everyone tried something new: wake boarding

Pushing limits, and pushing limits again… not only in a physical way. City rallies and pub crawls were the perfect test for the participants’ imagination and social skills, who, eager to squeeze every drop of this summer cocktail, did their best dealing with the elaborated tasks the organisers had prepared. A pure example of “limits pusher” was Oleh Hladchenko from AEGEE-Kharkiv, whose injured shoulder seemed to be an extra motivation  rather than a handicap to be the most active and energetic when it came to face any activity or task. Also, “evxaristó polí malaka” to Panos Mousketas from AEGEE-Peiraias for the improvised Greek language workshop he gave.

After the amazing Estonian part, which included Tartu, Pärnu (a spa-session recharged everyone’s batteries here) and the stunning Tallinn (where the tough guys Tambet Lepp and Hendrik Roland Helm, both from AEGEE-Tartu, gave a bearable military workshop), what was coming next wasn’t less exciting: partying on boats for two nights in a row.

The first boat brought the group to Stockholm. Here, a grey sky didn’t bring too much rain, so it was possible to walk and photograph this incredibly classy city, which unfortunately has no AEGEE antenna. Only half of the event had passed when the second boat arrived to Finland, where all the tired and “slightly-affected-by-a-lot-of-party” people received a salmon soup that felt better than a mushroom for Mario Bros.

Walking through Helsinki and discovering the beautiful island of Suomenlinna (where games and improvisation workshops took place under a shining sun) was really nice, although it had to end… but for some reason people were not sad at all. Could it be because the next stage consisted of three days in paradise? A cottage was waiting in the middle of the forest, touching the lakeshore: Märkiö, the place to be.

Sports, games, parties, swimming in the lake… no one else around, and everything surrounded by a natural landscape. A musical touch was added by María Ibañez from AEGEE-Valencia, Juanlo Alonso from AEGEE-Helsinki and this writer, who, with guitar and ukelele, played the music for anyone willing to join the improvised singing sessions.

Even the parties happened to be really special there, since they usually ended going to the sauna as a group, naked, and then running to the cool and cold lake, and then to the sauna again and so on…

It is hard to imagine a better ending to such amazing days. Even for those who were staying after the SU time, AEGEE-Helsinki did not stop taking care of them with the same interest. Here comes a special mention to the Finnish organiser Seppo Hälikkä (AEGEE-Helsinki), who, besides becoming the great DJ of the SU, demonstrated being a remarkable chef whose banana pancakes gave life back to more than one person.

After those unforgettable days it could be said that this SU was amazing, perfect, the best… yet it had one big problem: the only limit that could not be pushed anymore: the end.

Written by Ander Fernández, AEGEE-Bilbao

Photos by Ander Fernández, AEGEE-Bilbao

From the 2^nd of July till the 16^th, it was time for 26 participants to embrace the Turkish way of life and go to the extreme! AEGEE-Eskişehir was the organizing local of this SU, with a program full of amazing activities that would make participants as well as organizers push themselves to their limits, all of it adding up to a wonderful summer. We would even become famous, since after a few days we were already featured in no less than four local newspapers!

The journey started in Eskişehir, where we stayed for five days, accommodated in student dorms at the University Campus. The first day after the city tour we had lunch in a park and were greeted by a castle that could have come straight from a Disney fairy tale and a ship from Pirates of the Caribbean. Then came the city rally during which certain groups found out they had a true fanatical player in their midst, as they race walked their way past a never ending array of golden statues, trying to find the right ones and then strike a pose in front of them. We also visited a real Turkish Hamam and were scrubbed clean, undoubtedly to get dirty again later on in the SU. The European Night was also held, and, next to all the typical foods and drinks of participant’s countries, the ever present Spanish sangria and Dutch stroopwafels, we also rejoiced in an overflow of Turkish delights, baklava, and Turkish dances!

Slowly, towards the end of our stay in Eskişehir, the level of extreme was being turned up a notch. We hiked through a Phrygian valley, we fought like real soldiers and protected our castle during a battle of laser game and, finally, we climbed rocks and did some real extreme trekking in Karakaya. Jumping from rock to rock, squeezing ourselves through tight openings between stone walls. We were born again, stood on top of the world to take a selfie extreme style, sang Poison when waiting in the shade and came down with scratches and bruises as souvenirs. Our bodies functioned as timelines for the SU, the more days passed, the more scratches and bruises could be added to our collective list of injuries. Even after that we kept on going, as many of us voluntarily stretched, challenged their balance and tried to outshine each other in a plank challenge. But even participants of the extreme have to sleep, which we did in a night bus tour to our next destination, Fethiye!

There, we also made time to experience some of the Turkish culture, for it was Ramadan during our SU. In Fethiye we ate together with the poorer part of the local community in a free Ramadan dinner. But, the level of extreme didn’t stop, it was only turned up higher! With this new destination came also the sea and beach, and during a twelve islands boat tour we all transformed into true water rats, jumping from cliffs, taking a shower under a waterfall, chilling in a cold spring to leave it five years younger and also the boat itself offered a great means from which to throw ourselves in the water. When going from one beautiful place to the other we didn’t sit still, for it was time to shake some booty and do some sexy belly dancing on deck of the boat. We also had another boat tour, but this time to discover the world below the water’s surface; a suit-up party with wetsuits, and we were ready to dive deep and feed the fish! The next day though, we switched from being like fish underwater to being like birds in the sky, paragliding from a more than 2000m high mountainside slowly down towards the beautiful beach in Ölüdeniz.

After flying in the air of course the organizers had to let us be like monkeys too, so when we travelled to our last destination Antalya/Manavgat, we went to an adventure park and moved from tree to tree by stepping on hanging logs, walking over nets and using ziplines. Already the end of our SU was coming closer, and with no more time to go to a Turkish Hamam again, we provided for one ourselves while hiking in Saklikent canyon, body painting each other black with the soft mud we found there. After the muddy hike we chose to add another activity to the program, as we let ourselves be transported along an icy cold part of river that flowed out of the canyon, grasping each other’s hands at the end in order not to be washed over completely and taken away to unknown places.. The last extreme activity was rafting, although it became more a question of splashing the other teams wet and being the boat with the best team spirit; ‘Cola, fanta, pepsi, OUR team is sexy!’ After all, what makes a SU special is the team spirit you create, all the memorable moments spent together. Singing Christmas songs in the back of the bus in at least five different languages, all at the same time, dancing on the bar in a club in Ölüdeniz, having two girls with us who were like a living jukebox, in any random sentence they would hear a song text and start singing, playing never have I ever on the beach, voting for the awards when a certain Spanish guy insisted on also having the category most handsome/pretty participant (he wanted to claim his award as Turkish Delight), going night swimming in the sea, and many more! 

Then, as we sadly left Turkey and most of our planes had a delay, we got one last taste of Turkish Time and could think back on all those amazing moments, made possible by the wonderful organizers from AEGEE-Eskişehir, who have done an absolutely great job in making this event possible. So many activities brought to us for a great SU price… all that is left to say is teşekkürler & see you somewhere in Europe!

 Written by Carina van Hoof, AEGEE-Utrecht 

Pictures courtesy of Andrea Saranti, AEGEE-Patra and Lenka Stancelova, AEGEE-Bratislava

What  are your expectations of Izmir?

What is the first thing that comes to your mind when you hear  the name of this city?

Almost all of participants  prejudged Izmir, Turkish culture and Summer Universities. Within the scope of this project, they learned about the Turkish culture and also tasted Turkish food during colourful activites. One of the workshops was about the ancient art of marbling, paper marbling. The dance of colours was impressive to the participants. AEGEE-İzmir is trying to change the participants’ mind about AEGEE, making them see that SU’s are not only for parties and swimming. AEGEE is also there to promote understanding of cultural diversities and active citizenship. That’s why in the SUnkiss event the organisers  tried to point out these topics continuously so that it was impossible to miss.

The participants had an introduction to colour and colour therapy: It has been recorded that the ancient Aegeans used colour for the cure of ailments. They worshipped the sun, knowing that without light there can be no life. They looked at nature and copied it in many aspects of their lives.

The vivacious people of Izmir live in the middle of sun, sea and forest, that is to say yellow, blue and green, hence the Izmirian are healthy and full of life.

One of participants, Sanita Slezkina said: ‘’I didn’t expect such a colourful programme, it was really a nice SU full of sun as the topic said! It was really satisfactory, also the places we stayed at and the meals. It was very well organised as well, seemed like I had bought a travel agency’s offer or something like that! It is incredible that students can organise something like this! Also what I understood is that in Turkey it is much easier to find good sponsors than in Latvia.’’

After the end of this Summer University all participants returned to their countries with positive impressions . Some still dream that they were satisfied with a SUnkiss.

Written by Sıla Özdemir, AEGEE-Izmir

Summer University „Riga Heartbeats Forever!” organised by AEGEE-Riga has recently finished – with loud cheers, farewell tears and warm embraces.

“Veselā miesā vesels gars!” – From the healthy spirit to the healthy body! – this Latvian proverb was the motto of this Summer University, and that is why the programme was filled with different activities supporting the idea of the event: lecture about healthy lifestyle, workshop about healthy eating habits, Latvian traditional sauna in theory and practice, morning gymnastics in the park, and other green, energetic and salutary exercises. Participants also experienced some challenges like an unexpected five kilometer hike from the train station to the cottage house in the seaside village, chilly swim in the Baltic sea, and a day in the rope adventure park “Mežakaķis” [Wildcat] in the picturesque Sigulda. The participants acknowledged that, in order to maintain good health, we have to pay attention to what we eat, therefore the organisers were very careful about the menu for these two weeks.  For example, offering high quality and healthy home-cooked dishes made from local products, harvesting vegetables from backyard gardens, opening mum’s homemade jams, encouraging eating rye bread instead of white, not missing the most important meal of the day – breakfast. Cake tasting workshop “When the Taste is Tastier” in the café “Mierā” caused gastronomic excitement impossible to put in words because, as many participants revealed, they had never tasted such delicious on-site baked cakes.

The timing of the event was well planned because it coincided with three-day-long Riga City Festival which offered an opportunity to participate in extra activities like rowing competition, aeronautic show, and visits to exhibitions, markets and concerts. But the highlight of these days was watching amazing fireworks. Each participant visiting Riga was interested to learn something more about Latvian culture, traditions and history. Therefore they highly appreciated the workshop about Latvian culture and language, as well as the Latvian traditional dances session. While listening to the lecture about AEGEE on the 25^th floor of the office building “Sun Stone”, the view from the window on Riga’s rooftops and church towers created unfeigned delight. By cleaning up the botanical garden of the University of Latvia, we proved that AEGEE is all about volunteering. The participants also had a possibility to show their artistic skills and other talents in such activities as karaoke, “AEGEE’s Got Talent” show and the contest “SU Pop-Street”.

During the Summer University we explored, experienced and completed some things which are impossible to write down on paper or type on keyboard, but those moments will be kept in our hearts forever. Friendships, love, surprises, and much more occurred in the magical city of Riga. The organizers of the Summer University “Riga Heartbeats Forever!” hope that for each participant these two weeks were the best, most valuable and adventurous event of this summer.

The Summer University in Riga would not have happened without a group of motivated, hard-working and creative AEGEE-Riga members that dared to contribute five previous months to make it come true. Also, organisers are grateful to all sponsors who supported “Riga Heartbeats Forever!”

Written by Diana Ondža, AEGEE-Riga