TC Guiding Change
Guiding Change was a training course that took place from 2 to 10 June 2026 in Dobrinishte, Bulgaria.
The experience of our participants:
What was I even looking for?
Honestly? I’m not sure. When I got on the bus heading to Bulgaria, my main thought was just “it’ll be fine somehow”. Dobrinishte, a small mountain town I wouldn’t have found on a map by myself, turned out to be the place where I spent probably the most intense week of the past year.
The course was called CHANGE and it revolved around nonviolent communication. That might sound dry, but in practice it was something else entirely. Most of the time we were doing things that made me, as an introvert, want to just watch first. Role-plays, group exercises, conversations with people I’d met two hours earlier and somehow ended up telling things I don’t even talk about with friends back home.
One thing I remember specifically: there was a walk. I don’t know why, but that’s when something clicked. Maybe it was the fresh air, maybe just the break from everything. For the first time I actually named what I need. Not what I want from others, not what should be. Just mine.
I came back home and for a few days I was oddly quiet. My parents kept asking if everything was okay.
Day 0 · 02.06 · Arrival
We arrived at the accommodation, got briefed on the week ahead and did some simple get-to-know-you activities. Nothing too intense, just enough to put faces to names before the real thing started.
Day 1 · 03.06 · Curiosity
The theme of the day was getting to know each other a bit deeper. In the afternoon we went into town with a simple task: take two photos that capture what “change” means to you. I took one of the sky and one of a price list showing the switch from local currency to euro. Small things, but they made you think.
Day 2 · 04.06 · Honesty
A lot of the day revolved around honesty and what it actually means in practice. One exercise stuck with me: we had to think of one person in our life we are not fully honest with, and talk about why. I ended up having that conversation with someone from the group. A stranger, basically. It was somewhere between easy and hard.
Day 3 · 05.06 · Awareness
We spent the whole day outside. First we took the narrow-gauge train through the Rhodopes past Bansko, then did a hiking loop and finished at a different station. Along the way we talked in pairs about different topics. Good conversations. The kind you only seem to have when you are walking somewhere.
Day 4 · 06.06 · Needs
The whole day was about understanding your own needs. The main idea was that before you can solve a conflict with someone, you first have to know what you actually need yourself. Sounds simple, but it is harder than it sounds.
Day 5 · 07.06 · Growth
We had a picnic outside in nature. The trainer framed the whole session around Atomic Habits, looking at how small changes stack up and what conditions actually help people grow. Nice change of setting.
Day 6 · 08.06 · Empathy
Today was about empathy, both towards others and towards yourself. We explored how finding empathy first makes it easier to reach a compromise, even when two people are coming from very different places.
Day 7 · 09.06 · C.H.A.N.G.E.
The last day. We looked back at the whole week and what each day brought. Then we went around and everyone said what was on their mind, things they wanted to tell each other before leaving. A good way to end it.
