Alexandra Gencheva:

"This August I had the amazing opportunity to spend three weeks in the countryside of Southern France as a participant in the “Seeds of Art Yet to Bloom” project. I got to experience new adventures, fight and overcome challenges, learn new skills and meet the most beautiful and diverse people. The first thing I genuinely enjoyed was the physical work. Although the temperatures were really high, I felt fulfilled at the end of each day, I had a purpose that kept me going and worked as a part of a great team, that made everything seem easier. And the best reward was being able to see the progress as the days were going by. Another aspect I really liked was the alternative ways in we approached the term “cinema”. I was happy to find within myself the courage to let go of control, to not make any sense, to be abstract, weird and experiment with sounds, movements, words, even silence. Something I can’t pass by was the cultural exchange that took place through food, music, stories and dances. For me this is the real treasure of Erasmus projects and thanks to the people we met there I believe each of us learned invaluable things one can only learn in a place and time like these. (I’m still dreaming about the Spanish pan tumaca and the Macedonian mrsen kolac) Lastly, one of the best things about this project was the freedom we had. We were able to explore the culture and ambience in towns and villages close by. We went canoeing, wine tasting and got to visit some family inherited castles - experiences that definitely enrich you but can’t be found in just any project."

Mona Toncheva:

"During this 3 week-long project we were the main organizers of the activities, we were the leaders responsible for our stay and thanks to the talented people we were with, we had art workshops – drawing, a clay activity, creative writing. We had some physical exercises as well – some yoga and stretching sessions. We visited plenty of beautiful places in the region of Dordogne, some festivals and concerts where we met the locals and we got into the French atmosphere. We had "country" days, dedicated to each country - Bulgaria, North Macedonia, Spain and France where we learned about the culture of the country, we ate traditional meals and we did some activities again related to the country. We slept in tents in the yard of a fully equipped house, so it wasn’t that difficult to survive in tents for 3 weeks, in fact it was an interesting experience. We also built a fireplace together and we helped for the construction of the outside kitchen of the house. We also organized ourselves in cooking teams so in small groups we cooked for the whole camp and we exchanged recipes, ideas, we learned how to cook for 20+ people, which was a challenge. At the end we did an international evening, we invited the neighbors, the people from the village to come and get to know us, our countries and we prepared again traditional foods. During the project we learned a lot, a lot about organizing for big groups and living a communal life."

Dani Kacarova:

"Ok, where should I start? Maybe from the actual beginning – the time I was considering applying to this project. Seed of Art yet to bloom – great theme. In the South of France – even greater! Arts, pottery, meditation, mental health, sustainability – what else can I ask for? But three weeks sleeping in a tent – well, this was a bit frightening, but in the end, it turned out to be one of the greatest decisions. So, I pack clothes for three weeks, my sleeping bag, lots of sunscreens, and anti-insect spray and I am ready to go. At the airport, I meet three girls, which I will find to be one of the kindest, most emotionally available, and most funny people I know. The fourth one I meet at the train station in Bordeaux after we have traveled at least four hours by plane and one by bus. Now we had to kill one and a half hours on a train and then the organization would pick us up with a car to drive us to the campsite.
That was going to be my first night at the camp, so let me share my first impressions – the tents were nice, and the house was at the end of the village which provided us with a nice view of the picturesque field and mountains. Next to the house, there was a beautiful castle-like building which turned out to be a church. All the girls that were part of the project seemed kind and friendly, so I was excited to start the activities together. As far as my first morning at the camp I can mainly say that there were roosters, other birds, and church bells so it was hard to sleep after 7. That was fine with me because I have set an intention to wake up early every morning and take some slow time laying on the grass appreciating nature and the sunrise. Sadly, with time one gets used to all those sounds and there were mornings when some of us overslept. The one thing I enjoyed doing the most was the nearby lake that we visited several times. Well, we didn’t only visit it, we had a picnic and swam in it and meditated next to it and swam some more with the moon and stars above us. It was all I asked for at that time. One other night we visited a nearby village – Lalinde – which had a nice Market, I tried Croque Monsieur sandwich and after that danced the night out. There is something so freeing about dancing at a village concert in a foreign country with no people that have met you before. You really dance like no one’s watching because actually no one is and even if someone does – you don’t know them, you might never see them again. I will for sure try this again even when I am dancing around people I know, and I recommend you do the same. The best days were the country days because they were the most organized – the teams from each country had prepared a plan with traditional meals, typical activities, and workshops from their country. There wes a lot of stuff I liked, and I will say one per day so that I won't bore you dear reader. From the Bulgarian day – well I liked how united our team was and how we did everything with passion and with a bit of humor. From the Spanish day – the food and the Siesta of course, what’s more Spanish than nice chorizo and then a nap? About the Macedonian day, I can say that as a neighboring Balkan country we had lots of fun cooking together and making “inside” Balkan jokes. As far as the French day – we visited Château La Vieille Bergerie and the owner who gave us a tour around the fields and the winery was very welcoming and described everything in detail. The days were coming and going, in the beginning, 21 days looked infinite, but with time you get used to the scenery and the day-to-day activities, and on the last night, I couldn’t believe that I was going back home.
If you ask me for one thing that I appreciate the most from those three weeks, I will say that it is the open-minded people I met and the late-night talks that showed me a different perspective on many topics. I am grateful that I met them, especially the Bulgarian team who helped me grow emotionally even more."

Monika Novkova:

"Last month I got the amazing opportunity to spend 21 days in the South of France on a youth exchange „Seeds of Art“. We stayed at the lovely village Cause de Clerent, we slept in tents and had the chance to explore our creativity. I met a lof of amazing people with whom I had the chance to connect, exchange stories, experience, and some of them became great friends of mine. The topic of the exchange was art. We had a lof of free time and a lot of art supplies were given to us. Each of us had the opportunity to try out different things like painting, drawing, creative writing, working with clay, making jewelery and much more. A lot of us also had previous experience with arts and we got to share tips and tricks.Furthermore, we travelled to a lot of the nearby villages and cities. We went to music concerts, festivals, local markets. We had the chance to talk to the local people, practice our French, as well as experience French culture to ist fullest, from eating various cheeses to seeing cultural and historical landmarks and connecting with some of the local people. Overall, the exchange was a great experience and August was a month well spent with great people, great food and great memories."

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