From the 14th until t 22nd of March 2022, through the organisation Youthfully yours SK, I was given the opportunity to participate in a one-week long training course in the Northern part of Spain in a beautiful village Penagos. The project was focused on an emotional management kit for youth, and it was carried out by Permacultura Cantabria. 

Together with another Slovak participant, we learned a lot about mental health while also gaining new experiences about different behaviours and approaches. We found out how important mental health is in our everyday life and that everyone around us is dealing with lots of feelings and emotions. During the workshops focused on the ability to empathise and listen to each other, we were often divided into small groups where we talked about multiple topics mostly concentrated on social issues and everyday life struggles. With our coach Clara, we called those sessions “listening sessions” because the main goal was to carefully listen to each other. Many people found it hard since we are often more focused on what we want to say next rather than listening to the other person. Those workshops strengthen our relationships and during this program, we built genuine connections with the other participants. Other than that we strengthen our communications skills as well as our English proficiency.  

Even though I often struggle with talking about my issues and mental health in general, this program gave me a lot of new experiences and I can respond to the course and the organization of the project only with positive feedback. We were accommodated in a nice hotel in a small village with very beautiful nature around us. Less than half an hour from us there is an amazing city Santander which was very beloved by us not only because of its beautiful Spanish architecture but also because of the beach (Sardinero Beach) on which we spent lots of time on. 

Other than Santander we visited the Magdalena Palace, Monumento a Los Raqueros and also a famous cave Altamira which was declared a World Heritage Site by UNESCO.  

The organization provided us with all the necessary information and assistance before participating in the project. Our organization Manu was very nice and always available to answer all our questions. Not only everyone was acting very professional but at the same time, they were very friendly and great to joke with! I believe that in the future I will have the opportunity to participate in other interesting projects and meet even more amazing people from all around the world.