Tuesday

It's hard remembering what happened a week later.

I don't care much for the group activities. We have to find something in nature that represents our hopes for the conference. Draw a tree that represents our experience in youth work. Stuff like that. Pointless.

We had the chance to take a sauna at a nearby resort. In the morning, most of the people were psyched but after dinner, only eight of us ended up going. Myself, Iany (a Bulgarian coordinator) and six Serbs, Macesonians and Romanians.

Luckily, this wasn't like a Turkish bath where everyone is naked. We didn't have towels but were able to use sheets. I forgot that sweating renders white sheets transparent but I didn't care. I just sat back and relaxed. Bulgarian saunas are hot! Much hotter than the Canadian ones I'm used to. After five minutes, I was completely drenched with sweat.

Afterwards, we went to the hotel's disco where they played traditional Bulgarian folk music. The Slavs all did their traditional dances and they showed me how to dance too.

Walking back was magical too. Very dark, very silent. We saw some horses in their pen but they looked more like dark shadows than actual animals. I imagined myself in a Harry Potter forest or on the set of Lord of the Rings. Clear, dark and misty.

Croatia might have a bit of competition as most beautiful country in my mind.