Testimonials – Macedonia

I was really happy when have been chosen to represent my country. As the representative of NGO Next Generation – North Macedonia, I attended the project of „Empowered to Lead“, held in San Jose, Costa Rica, the amazing capital with stunning lifestyle and life motto “Pura Vida” for any occasion. The place was lovely and the people were eager to learn and they were so intelligent. A mix of lots of people, with different backgrounds and interesting personalities, enjoyed my time with them (working and having fun). The topic of leadership, in general, is so powerful and important nowadays. Through the sessions, I have been able to enjoy developing skills and gaining new knowledge. This project has given so much to me. Experience, a new vision in life and it made me realize how lucky are the young people in Costa Rica. I can bring so many memories back home. I want to thank the program of Erasmus+ for the opportunities and letting me meet new people and traveling to a country I haven’t been to. It was indeed an unforgettable experience.

This is not my first youth exchange but it is safe to say that this one of my favorites. It was an unique learning experience and a great opportunity for me to learn a lot about leadership, travel to Latin America and to meet new people from different sides of the world. In my opinion, the diversity was the sparkle that made this exchange special, unforgettable. Each day, was different from the previous one, each day was better. The sessions were really productive and interactive, we were learning while having a fun. Also, a big attention was pointed on the cultural aspect, so we had an opportunity to share our, but also to learn about the other cultures, try typical Costa Rican food and explore a little bit the country. I learned a lot facts about Costa Rica that I never knew before: that it is the happiest country in the world, about ,,Pura Vida”, that it is the biggest exporter of bananas etc.  I felt like I left a part of my heart there, next to the ocean but I left Costa Rica with an amazing memories that we created with even more amazing people, and super motivated to work on the realization of my action plan. I didn’t said ,,goodbye” to the people and to the country, just ,,see you soon” .

First of all, I want to say that I am really thankful for this opportunity to participate in this project. From every chance we can learn something, find new things interesting. And this was project where I learnt a lot about the topic, specifically about leadership and leadership skills, met cultures that were different from our and met new people that i made lifetime friendships with. I found this project very helpful for gaining new experiences and learning things that will be useful in future time. Also, this project made me thinking about my opportunities, about the community where I live and the things that botter me and I could change. I will countinue working on myself and try to fix some of that problems.