Sara, 21 (Italy) participated in our Erasmus+ Youth Exchange held in Osijek from 3rd to 12th September. After some time we asked Sara to share her favorite memories and also tell us something about this particular YE but also about her previous Erasmus+ experiences.
Sara says (and means): “Sharing is caring!”, so, here is what she shared with us.
Hi Sara, what can you tell us about yourself?
Hello, my name is Sara Mazzonello, I come from Italy and I live close to Milan. I am 21 yrs old. Currently, I am studying international law, politics, and economy in Milano. I also work as babysitter in my city.
In my free time I like to volunteer, and this is what links me to Erasmus+ projects. In 2017 I had my first youth exchange in Spain, and I can tell you that it was the beginning of my addiction to these kinds of projects.
Why you say that you become addicted to Erasmus+ Youth Exchanges?
Why? Because Youth Exchanges are great way to meet people from different countries and to learn about their cultures and habits. Thanks to youth exchanges I have built a big international network of friends and people I can count on. I have been in more than 6 projects so far and when I tell this to people, they always ask me which one is my favourite. I always reply that each project is unique and that I can’t compare them. Of course, at the beginning I didn’t know what to expect because I had no knowledge about it, but after my third one I understood the dynamics and tried to be a “real participant”. What do I mean by that? I mean I began to take actively part in the sessions and to share my thoughts and ideas with other participants.
Youth exchanges are not only a way to meet with people, but also to discuss about a specific topic and to develop new skills (very useful in day life). I am a very extrovert person so for me it’s not difficult to talk with people, but at the beginning I was very shy, not sure about my English pronunciation, so I was a bit scared. But through these programs, I learned how to improve my communication skills (especially in English).
In 2019 I also took part in an ESC (European solidarity corps) project in Denmark, for nine months. I was a volunteer in a cultural house. That was the beginning of my journey as a youth worker (a career that in Italy is still not recognised but it’s still a goal I want to achieve). When you live a year alone, in a different country, a new idea of life comes to you: you learn about independence, about managing your days by yourself and that’s something that helped me a lot also when I came back to Italy. I would recommend everyone to look on the ESC website and to take part in a project because it can really be a life changing experience!!
We won’t ask you which YE is your favorite one, but why “Business as EUsual” is your favorite YE so far? And how did you find out about this project in Osijek?
It’s a funny story that tells a lot about the social networks influence. So basically, I came back from a previous exchange in Romania and since it was not enough for me because I needed to travel way more, I decided to take a look on Facebook youth exchanges pages to find other projects. After a while I found this in Croatia, and I was super excited because when I was in Romania, I met some Croatians guys that inspired me a lot while they were talking about their country. So, not even 24 hours after I was back home, I applied for this project and I immediately call a friend of mine to invite him to the project. It was his first experience so I was excited to introduce him to this world (now I can say he loved it and that he wants to leave again). So, there I was, four days later on a bus to Croatia, only 24 hours was separating me to something that really changed my future. After Romania I came home super happy because, after the long period of lockdown due to the pandemic outbreak, I could finally go back to travel and meeting people, and Croatia just happened to be a turning point for my career and future.
In fact, I think I can say that this youth exchange was the official beginning of my career in Erasmus world. Why? Because I tested myself, I tried to learn as much as I could from the facilitators and from the different sessions we had. It was not my first project about job seeking, but still it improved my skills in that area. Let’s say I improved all my soft skills. What I liked the most was the opportunity I had to share my ideas in the sessions but also outside, during free time. I could propose some energizers (Thank you Matej!) and the best thing ever is that I was a real protagonist of the exchange because I was challenging myself and going out of my comfort zone (not that I haven’t done it before, but this time I was very proud of it). This exchange was also incredible because of the people there: the group was not judging and following the wave during sessions and free time. Despite learning and all serious stuff, I also had fun, which is one of the most important things. I would say I learned a lot from Romana, because she was an amazing facilitator and a wonderful person, full of knowledge to share. For example, we had the chance to write or improve our motivational letter (so to make it real for a job interview) and Romana was there giving us some advices, reading them and being very helpful when needed.
We also heard that you have some interesting news about your future?
This exchange had a strong impact on me and on my future (at least for the next 5 or 6 years). I finally got the courage to admit to myself I don’t want to just be a participant or a group leader, but I want to be a project manager and a facilitator. That’s why as soon as I came home from Croatia, I contacted a friend of mine that just opened an NGO and I told her that I want to write my very first youth exchange. That’s what happened: I applied for it last October (fingers crossed for me!) and I am super excited. Even if it won’t be approved, I finally moved my first steps in Erasmus+ world and I am very proud of it. My project will be about how to be an entrepreneur and which soft skills are important when you are looking for a job. The title of the project is “Skill up! Build your future”
So, I can say EU-business as usual really inspired me also for the topic of my own project. I learned a lot there about job seeking and I would like to use that knowledge to help others. It is a starting point for my project, because from there I developed new ideas and then my youth exchange.
As in most of the projects promoted by Erasmus+, we began the exchange making a little game called “expectations, fears and contributions”. I believe it is very important to do it, because in the end you realize how much you improved in just 10 days. I came there with no goals or rules, just to feel the vibes and be physically and happily there. Of course, I had some fears about how the group would act and about be part of the big group, but I knew I could share knowledge and ideas with them, so that were my contributions. In the end I can gladly say I came home happy, and I said before with a new perspective on my future.
Working with young people, especially the one with more needs is something very important to me: we live in a very big, scary but also fascinating world that I had the chance to discover (even if just in a small amount) and I would love to share this with others, cause once you are in you don’t want to leave.
This is also why I just began a new program for my university radio where we will talk about Youth Exchanges, training courses, volunteering programs (and lots more about international programs). A lot of youngsters don’t know about how many opportunities EU gives to us, not only at the international level but also at the national one, so I would love to be the one who helps them in this journey.
That are some great news Sara, congratulations on your improvements and achivements so far, we keep our fingers crossed for your first YE (not only because we are going to be partners, but also because we look forward to work with you again!). Thank you for sharing your story with us.
I love to share my story, my milestones and to be always active in my community and abroad so I think this the perfect environment for me.
Please feel free to contact me on my Instagram (_saretta_33) or by email (saretta.mazzonello@gmail.com) if you would like some advices or you need more info about Erasmus plus and European Solidarity corps, I will gladly answer to you.
I will conclude saying my motto, that I learned in my second youth exchange: sharing is caring.
*Youth Exchange Business as EUsual was organized by NGO INTERAKTIVA, and it is financed from Erasmus+ programme of EU and approved by Croatian Agency for mobility and EU funds.*
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