Youth International Center-Burgas took 12 young people on a youth exchange to Reykjavík, the capital of Iceland from June 4th to June 8th. This is a continuation of the youth exchange held last year in Burgas. Then, the Gleðibankinn Youth Center visited us with 8 young people and the director of the center – Gunnlaugur V. Gudmundsson. They found out more about Bulgarian customs and culture, and together with Bulgarian students created podcasts on the topic. See the article here.
It was an exciting experience for the young people to meet again and tell each other what had happened to them during the past year. The first day we broke the ice with some cool games, explored the Icelanders’ school and youth center and had lunch at the unique Perlan – the natural history and planetarium museum. In the afternoon, the group split up – one part enjoyed Iceland’s warm mineral water pools, while the others explored the museum to learn more about the country’s flora and fauna.
The following days were even more exciting for the youngsters as they got to see some of the most unforgettable natural sights around Reykjavík – the waterfalls, geysers and the blue lagoon took our breath away!
Apart from the fun and socializing between Icelanders and Bulgarians, they also had to work in teams to identify some key features of a youth centre. Each team discussed several questions, which they then presented to the rest of the group. Here are the questions:
1. What is your dream youth center?
2. Why are youth centers important?
3. What would be a terrible youth center?
At the school, we also met their math teacher, who, to our surprise, turned out to be Bulgarian – Mrs. Joana Berkova. We talked with her about the differences between the Bulgarian and Icelandic lifestyles, what brought her to Iceland and what it’s like to teach in an Icelandic school.
On the last day of our exchange, it was time to say goodbye. The good news is that the Icelanders will be visiting us again in the fall, so we parted with wishes to see each other very soon.