How It All Began

I’ve taken part in several international youth projects over the years. Now I’ll share a few of those experiences and reflect on what they’ve meant to me.

It all started with me being on a horse competition back in Nykarleby when I was 12 years old. One of my friend’s moms, who was working with this kind of youth projects, had put up a poster on the notice board. It said they were searching for youngsters for an upcoming project with the theme “No hate speech” that would take place in Dublin, Ireland together with groups from Portugal, and of course from Ireland itself. I’ve always loved the idea of traveling and hadn’t travelled too much as a child, so I was really excited about the idea of going. So, me and a friend decided to sign up.

First Steps Toward Dublin

We had some get-together meetings before the actual travel, where we got to meet the rest of the group, our leaders that would help us through the project, and get to know a little about how it all would work. Even though we came from different backgrounds and had varying levels of travel experience, we clicked instantly. Everyone was equally excited to get started. So, in October 2017, we gathered our belongings and flew across land and sea to our final destination, Dublin.

Into the Unknown

I remember landing in the city in the middle of the night and getting picked up by the van that was taking us to the accommodation, which was a camping resort about an hour from the airport. We couldn’t see much of the landscape because of it being pitch black outside the window, and we got further and further into the Irish woods — where were we going?

Finally, upon arrival, we knew that we were the last ones arriving. I can still see the picture in front of me when we walked into the dining hall — the complete silence, everyone staring at us. That was the first time I thought to myself: what have I gotten myself into?

Since it was late, we were shown to our rooms and went straight to bed. During the first days, I was shocked. I had always thought that I could understand and speak English on a decent level, but I didn’t understand a word they were saying. We had some translating sessions with our leaders in the beginning, but after some ice-breaking games and get-to-know-each-other activities, it got better and better.

Fright Night and Finding My Voice

As I mentioned earlier, we were visiting Ireland during October — Halloween season, which is a big deal there. One night we had a so-called “fright night,” where we, in groups, walked through a course of checkpoints and had to solve different tasks to rescue a friend who had been kidnapped. I still have nightmares from that night. Jokes aside, it was absolutely an amazing experience, and the evening ended with fireworks lighting up the skyline of Dublin.

Earlier I mentioned that the project was about “No hate speech,” which was an important and meaningful theme for a first project. It focused on anti-bullying and respecting differences. We worked on this theme in many different ways — creating videos and speeches, performing flash mobs in the middle of Dublin, making music… the list is long. It’s a topic that has stayed with me over the years and still feels just as relevant today.

Friendships and Experiences for a Lifetime

On our way back from the project, we cried and cried because we had made friends for a lifetime. We would go on to collaborate with the Irish group in several other projects. They came to Finland, and we traveled with them to Krasnoyarsk, Russia.

We have seen and experienced things that will stay with me forever — in the best ways. One word that follows us through life is experience. Whenever things got tough and it felt like there was no light at the end of the tunnel, we reminded ourselves, “it’s an experience.” Like when our flight was delayed in Russia and no one at the airport spoke English, or when my friend and I ended up in the hospital for several days with food poisoning. It all worked out in the end. It was an experience.

Growing Into Leadership

As I’ve gotten older, I’ve also had the opportunity to take part in leadership courses in places like Slovakia and Slovenia. These courses taught me valuable lessons that I know will help in my professional life — leadership techniques, how to navigate unexpected situations, and conversations you’d never have in a classroom.

I’ve participated in even more projects: hiking in Albania, white-water rafting in Georgia, living by the beach on Réunion Island — working on themes like climate change and youth participation. Every single project has helped me grow in different ways.

What Stays With Me

While every experience has shaped me, I feel like the first projects — when we were younger — have stayed with me the most. I’m still in contact with people from those early days, even eight years later. And from every project, I’ve left with the same feeling: if I ever visit the home country of someone I met during a project, I’ll have someone there to see, someone I can trust.

And that is a rich feeling.

Author: Amanda Nygård, International Club alumni

Read more about International Club