EIL Intercultural Learning

Put simply, Eurocamp is a the name of an initiative funded by the German state of Sachsen-Anhalt that brings young people from around Europe together for three weeks of volunteer work, performance workshops, daily excursions, and friendship.

But putting it simply doesn’t do it justice. The easiest way to imagine it is to think of a summer language-camp - a couple of weeks in the Gaeltacht for instance. Now move this to a rural castle in Germany, change the nationalities of participants to Albanian, Portuguese, Lithuanian, and Italian, replace the pen with a shovel, throw in some performance workshops, canoe trips, city visits, and lots of socialising with a splash of alcohol, and you have a better picture of these 3 memorable weeks.

The location could be summed up as ‘the middle-of-nowhere’, a remote village called Peseckendorf with no shop and a constant odour of cows. But it was beautiful in its own right, as was the well-equipped castle accommodation afforded to us. In our free-time we were able to play table-tennis, billiards, fuβball, volleyball, frisbee, and soccer. Accommodation was in 2, 3 and 4 person dorms and could not be complained about. Food was, in my opinion, very good, especially considering it had to cater for nearly 90 people. Though for some people it was the source of constant complaining. I lived.

The mission of Eurocamp is to promote cultural awareness. This was central to the organised programme of events - I think back to the performance on the second week, based on various inter-cultural themes, and also to the mock European Union conference that was so interesting and informative. Everything was made to be as stimulating and enjoyable as possible, with weekly reviews ensuring that the priorities of the camp remained centred around us, the participants. The organisational skill of the leaders was integral to the contented, satisfied and relaxed atmosphere of the camp.

Volunteer work was done on weekday mornings, and was a major part of the three weeks. Early rise at 7 meant we finished in time for lunch at 1:30. My group, of 20 people, worked building a playground in a nearby village. Though digging foundations is the part my hands remember most, there was also lots of painting to be done. I personally took charge of the design and painting of a colourful wall mural opposite the playground for the last week. On the last day we had the official opening where the children from the local school and kindergarten ran riot... It was a rewarding moment to see their happy faces.

While the volunteer work perhaps made up half of the organised programme, the other half was wonderfully varied. During the second week for instance, we were split into groups to work on a performance under a given heading. Our group ended up making masks that represented different nationalities and personalities. We managed to choreograph a simple story of how all the different masks came together in harmony, thus representing the image of a unified Europe. Maybe it sounds a bit lame, but it certainly was a lot of fun, and when every group came together for the grand performance it really was a special occasion. Other memorable experiences are being one degree short of capsizing on a 10km canoe trip (and having a BBQ waiting for us at the end of the voyage), the day trip to Magdeburg city, having my photo taken with the Burgermeister (town mayor), the Sportfest, where we sumo-wrestled and played a match against the local soccer team (5-5; we lost on penalties - cheaters), and the international buffet, where every country served their own traditional dish.

I met young people, mostly students, from all over Europe. It genuinely was very easy to talk to everybody, whether through German or English. Nobody came to the camp knowing any more than one person, and with everybody in the same position it was incredibly easy to make friends. Even though some indistinct groups tended to form the sense of community and universal camaraderie was without question. Even at the end of the three weeks I was still making new friends, discovering personalities with whom I wish I could have spent more time with. The potential for friendship was undeniably huge. As such during the three weeks I came to regard sleep as a waste of time, with conversation and craic running late into the night, every night.

It was a sign of our friendships that the goodbyes were so sad and tearful. It is not easy to arrange to meet your best friend from the camp when he lives in Romania. It is both wonderful and cruel how well you can get to know somebody in just three weeks. The diversity of countries is both the best and worst part of the camp. No doubt we will all move on with our own lives, but it would be too big a loss not to remain in contact. It affords opportunity for travel as well as for some truly lifelong friendships. Eurocamp was not just a helpful platform for this. It was the sole reason for it.

Lloyd Helen