Today was definitely one of the most dynamic days of our exchange.
Instead of staying inside, we received a challenge:
Go into Smolyan, explore it, talk to people, observe the community and complete a series of missions.
We were divided into small international teams and suddenly the city became our classroom.
The activity combined elements of a treasure hunt, community research, photography and PhotoVoice.
Our task was not simply to find places and take tourist pictures.
We had to look at Smolyan differently.
What represents the identity of the city?
What makes the community strong?
What challenges can we observe?
What could be improved?
What do local people think?
Some missions involved taking photographs that represented our interpretation of the city.
Others required us to communicate with local residents.
And suddenly the skills we had discussed during the previous days became very practical.
Speaking English inside an Erasmus+ group is one thing.
Approaching someone you do not know in the street and finding a way to communicate is completely different.
Sometimes Bulgarian participants helped with translation.
Sometimes we used simple words, gestures and creativity.
The goal was not linguistic perfection.
It was human connection.
PhotoVoice was another interesting method because it made us think about what a photograph can communicate.
A picture can show something beautiful.
But it can also show a problem.
A forgotten space.
A community resource.
A contradiction.
Or something we believe deserves more attention.
After returning, the teams shared what they had discovered.
We realised that although we had all explored the same city, every group had noticed something different.
That may be the most important lesson of the day.
Communities do not have only one story.
The way we understand a place depends on where we look, whom we ask and whether we are willing to listen.
Today Smolyan was no longer simply the location of our Erasmus+ project.
It became part of the project itself.
Disclaimer: Funded by the European Union. Views and opinions expressed are, however, those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union or the competent programme authorities. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.