"YES" by Korina from Romania

It was and will remain for me an experience that has taken strong roots in our hearts. After a long road filled with many adventures, we have finally reached our destination, everybody was already present. I was nervous the very moment I got off the car and we met Vanya. Being my first experience of this kind, I knew that something new was waiting for me. Emotional, yet eager to get over this barrier, we began to know each other easily because of the games organized by the host country, continuing with a Bulgarian specific party, where we relaxed slightly. Being a team of artists, we easily befriended the group. The days began with a morning coffee enjoyed in the restaurant or on the terrace, where you saw sleepy faces, you heard 8 different languages .... We spent the rest of the day participating in various activities, workshops, seminars supported by the Bulgarian team. We continued to know each other better, cultural evenings, where each country has to represent their traditions, culture, tasting of traditional dishes. Because I was part of a troupe of dancers, I was curious to learn to dance to country-specific steps. Easily, we became friends and we became a big family. I'll never forget the nights spent listening to guitar strings, which rang up in the morning in the hotel, also the way we woke up in the morning, especially the people of Latvia and their morning song, and other beautiful moments, including those three evenings concert we have holded and that we had so much fun. In this project, I met wonderful people, I learned many new things, even though I do not know English very well, I learned that anything is possible. As a more sensitive nature, I attached to all members, especially the people of Spain, proving to be people with big hearts. It was very hard for me to separate with everyone, I'm still thinking of you, and I hope we meet again sometime in the same formula. Thank you for the beautiful moments, and warm hearts, for everything we lived together in those 9 days! Thank you organizers for the most beautiful experience of my life!

"YES" – Through eyes of Spanish friends

From our point of view, the fact of taking part in this project has given us personal experiences and has definitely made us improve our vision of cultural diversity by establishing social bonds with people of different nationalities and cultures. From the very beginning of the project we have been constantly learning and this has enriched our lives, both at a personal and emotional level. The fact of sharing experiences with people from other cultures has made us grow and be more mature; it has increased our positive attitude towards life and has opened new horizons for us to embark on new projects and establish new goals, tearing down barriers and fears we once had. For instance, at the beginning we thought that the use of English as main language would pose a difficult challenge that we would have to face. However, it ended up being an essential communication tool that we permanently used without even noticing. In addition, we felt that our language skills improved substantially during our participation in the project and we were finally able to sort out all those things we considered problems at first, thanks in part, to an incredible team-work spirit. At a musical level, we truly think that the exchange of different music styles has enriched the final result of the project and has allowed us to grow as musicians. Besides, we have had to work using communication tools, such as sympathy and the ability to listen and value the opinions of others, when taking decisions and negotiating as a team. To sum up, we have successfully achieved to establish strong personal bonds with the rest of the participants through participative processes, in this case using music as a tool, which made it possible to create an incredibly intense atmosphere on the stage. In our opinion, it is essential to value the power of the emotional bonds that we have established between each and every single one of the participants in the YES project. Actually, thanks to the technology of social networking sites, we are still in touch with the rest of the group, constantly sharing our memories from the experience and getting to know the rest of the participants a bit more each day. We are definitely looking forward to living another experience like this one, which we enjoyed so much despite being so short. We would like to thank each and every one of the organizers, volunteers and participants in the project for making of this experience an incredible one for us.

What means "YES" for friends from Serbia

To start with, I wasn’t even supposed to be on the project, I applied a day before the deadline; hence, I was left a substitute. 3 days before the project, Dejan calls up: “Pack up kid and grab a train to Sophia, the original line up bailed”. It’s not very often that you get a chance to meet such a fine group of young individuals. Indeed, world be a small place for good people to share an experience and I for one am very thankful to have had such a chance. The Turks and the Greek were the first ones to arrive and to draw my attention. Naturally, after dinner we all started mingling amongst each other, having a beer to share and a warm fuzzy feeling deep down in our stomachs. For me, the Turks were such playboys with their charismatic smiles and their rugged looks; and the Greek, they were perceived as Wonka’s chocolate factory elves, so cute and cuddly in their own little worlds (including Teo being their care bear leader). And then, the man with the plan, the groove machine, Mr. Funk himself, Fernando Morales and the Spanish Armada along with the destructive force of the indestructible Zachovajte Paniku. As the day progressed we were honoured by the appearance of the lovely muses from Bulgaria and Romania, and not dwelling a second over their lost belongings, the beautiful people of Latvia. We sang, we drank, we played, we made a hell of a thunderstorm when we got to make and play music. In that little hotel you could hear everything from funk to metal, from jazz to electro pop; but, the loudest thing you could here were the tears falling on the evening people were heading back and the Yes Project was to become just a memory and a great part of our lives. It was a fair and warm evening on my return trip to Serbia, I was heading home on a bus, drenched in the music of Yokko Kano, and I was actually happy that I had the privilege to share the same air with some of the most brilliant and pure hearted souls roaming this earth. And it’s always the little things that count in the end, the breakfast chit chat, a friendly hug with a glass of wine, the sight a pale smile to brighten up your day, and eventually a face you are cursed never to forget as long as the last gasp leaves your body. As many problems as one can have in his lifetime, you know that there is someone out there who would gladly help you at a wink of an eye, just give him a call.

Feelings after project finished by participants from Greece.

The day was Friday October 31st when we packed our bags, got on a bus and took a trip from Thessaloniki Greece to Sandanski Bulgaria, not knowing what to expect. As we reached our destination, Hotel Time Out, we first met the Bulgarian people. They were responsible for the coordination of the project but besides that, they were also very friendly and they embraced us with hospitality. As the night progressed we met the Serbian and Turkish people and we conversed, getting to know each other. In the morning of our next day the project had finally started. 50 people from 8 different countries started getting to know each other through various activities and ice-breakers. As the days progressed, not only did we get to know each other but we bonded. Friendships were made, friendships that would last, hopefully, the test of time. All those activities in the morning, forming & participating in different groups each with its on responsibilities, having seminars about initiative & entrepreneurship and exploring Sandanski and the Bulgarian people were part of our daily routine. But in the night, we weren't just a big group of young people just participating in a project. No, we became a family. A family that spent time together: talking, laughing, dancing & listening to music. The members of this family would wake up each morning with expectations of seeing each other, having a conversation, participate in the activities of the project, share a meal together, jam with instruments, sit behind their laptops making blogs, taking photos & videos. And all that for the 3 final days.3 Unforgettable nights in a club, that each and every participant had a chance to put his talent into a show. Bands, existing & newly formed, gave spectacular performances. Dance groups amazed us with their moves. DJs made us dance. Three fantastic nights with amazing people. But all good things come to an end, as the early hours of our last day found members of this family saying goodbye to each other. Sure there were tears, but all the smiles in the past 9 days were enough to mend hearts. The journey would come to an end but everyone would keep touch with everybody. As participants of the Greek team, we thank all of the people involved in Project "Youth European Start!" 2014, Balkan Youth Festival, the Europian Union for the Erasmus+ project, Hotel Time Out, Club DaVinci, Sandanski and the people of Bulgaria for we dare say, the best days of our life.