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Reporting Day 7

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After almost an intense week the project is reaching its end… End? Is this the end or is it a start of a new journey in our lives after understanding better ourselves and others? This is exactly what it is, a new start for all of us who gained knowledge, learned new tools, and shared experiences with other people coming from different backgrounds. The group is really connected so the last day in Strengberg is surrounded by mixed feelings. The day starts with breakfast, community service, and care where people enjoyed the last day with their small teams. Then lots of dancing and the last reconnection circle, maybe the most important and powerful one since it includes the whole experience after a week where people came closer and felt more comfortable and more assertive compared to the first days. It is so nice listening to all the beautiful souls sharing their feelings and what they gained during this project. A powerful moment when all the group gathers, facilitators, participants, org
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Reporting Day 6

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​The day started with the usual community service and self-care, followed by the reconnection circle, and we were invited to talk about the impression that the previous, very emotional day left on us, as well as the things each of us would like to experience in the following days. Marcus joined us with the guitar for the singing of "Imagine", as well as the encore of "Study War No More", based on popular demand. The sessions of the day were facilitated by the participants, who contributed their professional and personal expertise on the broad subject of active listening, giving further opportunities to exchange experiences and strengthen the bonds within the group. After a short break, Eva presented to us one of the projects she had created. It was a photo publication that dealt with the subject of different aspects of life supplementing each other and, following the presentation, every person expressed a certain feeling on a piece of paper, each of them in differen
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Reporting Day 5

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  After our breakfast, we had our usual activities, dancing and singing together and moreover being in a circle and sharing anything from only a good morning up to our emotions. The topic of the day was feelings and we started with a game: participants tried to reproduce the facial expression of the people next to them, then everyone had to pick from two envelopes one sentence and a feeling and try again to express it by reading the sentence. The trainers gave us an inventory of feelings and we had to choose five emotions that described our emotional state. After that, we were divided into two lines facing each other and each pair one by one had to make a conversation only with questions, being disqualified if they answered with a sentence. Finally, we formed two groups of three volunteers, each person had assigned roles and had to express three emotions they picked from the previously mentioned envelopes. After lunch, in the afternoon, we formed four groups of five and the goal of thi
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Reporting Day 4

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  Exactly in the middle of the training course, so the group dynamics are at a good level, is taking form and is getting stronger, people feel more connected ready to listen deeply to themselves and to the others and this because of the activities facilitated the previous days by the amazing trainers Ilze and Kasia. The day has started as usual with breakfast, so everybody has the opportunity to eat, drink coffee or tea and chat together. In a habitual way, the teams started doing their responsibilities such as cleaning, gardening, and writing reports. After that, lots of dancing to wake up our bodies and get prepared for the group’s new habit, the reconnection circle, a moment when participants have the chance to share freely whatever they want and also sing a different song every day with a powerful meaning. Marcus, as always, joins us with his guitar and sings with us the strongly emotional “Blowin' In The Wind” of Bob Dylan. …and how many years must a mountain exist Before it i
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Reporting Day 3

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  As the days before we sang our morning song. At this we sang Bob Dylan - Blowin' in the Wind ( https://youtu.be/MMFj8uDubsE ) – we enjoyed this song! The theme of the day was „Listening to Nature”. We formed a circle with trainers and showed to us the advantages of being in contact with nature. We hope you are aware that gives a lot of joy, relaxation, and amazement! It also reduces stress and makes us feel better. In the first activity, we were paying attention to all sounds that were around us – like singing birds, blowing wind or the sound that is made by humans. Everybody was shocked that how many sounds are around us and how many we are missing in our everyday life. The purpose of the second Trainers gave us pieces of ropes. We tied these ropes as circles and these circles became windows that were a gateway to our minds. The goal was to put that circle in a place that represents our way of seeing the world. Then we chose a partner and checked his-her work to discuss it. The
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Report Day 2

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  We started the day AS usual with our morning routine. Dancing - every day it's getting less awkward, bet the song "Because I'm happy" felt neverending. Then we shared our thoughts and feelings about the day before in the reconnection. Which was followed by The Daily singing. This time we sang "Down by the riverside" and started a new tradition of calling "Maaaarcuuuuus!" After the song professor, Michi explained how to separate the trash. We hope to improve because he gave us 6/10. Then we did something in a circle. And cats were running around. Everyone really looooooooved the cats. The first exercise of the day was talking gibberish - communicating in groups of four using sounds instead of language. The begging was challenging but after a while, we found that gestures and intonation were helpful. When someone left the group and a new person joined, the dynamics of the group changed. Our other senses were heightened so we felt tur change more th
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Report Day 1

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  After getting together for the first breakfast, we began the program with connecting and ice-breaking games, some dancing, and singing. This is a crucial element of the Erasmus+ projects. A big part of the attention was on learning and memorizing names. After the general introductions and instruction more specific aspects of the project and the topic of listening followed. In the afternoon listening and awareness, training games took place outside. To mention just a few: Chinese Whispers, drawing by feeling, and a special tag. Speaking together in one voice left a huge impression. In this exercise, two random people would start forming tones at the same time agreeing in direct attentive focus on which words and sentences will be expressed. We also talked about the theoretical side of the project's aim, what listening is, and how to listen more effectively and express our intentions better. In the evening there were two hours of open space meant for participants to present their p
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