This was Peacecamp
When I first heard about Peacecamp, I wasn’t really sure I wanted to do it. Indeed, the project was supposed to take place at the beginning of the summer holiday, which I wanted to spend with my friends in Vienna. But after many days, weighing up the pros and the cons, I decided to participate to this project, convincing myself it would be a great opportunity to meet new people from horizons totally different from mine. Today, when I think about this period of hesitation, I feel happy to have taken this decision, thinking it might would have been a huge mistake not to go there. The people I met, the moments I spent with them, were so … magic to me that it is today very hard for me to find other adjectives to describe or define Peacecamp. These 10 days were a concentrate of a whole lifetime. And I think that the best way to resume these 10 days is by quoting an American singer and rapper called Macklemore saying in one of his many great songs : « And we danced, and we cried and we laughed,and had a really really really good time, take my hand, let’s have a blast and remember this moment for the rest of our lifes ». I discovered cultures and a part of the world that I had heard about before but Peacecamp gave me the opportunity to be in a real, social contact with people from these cultures that seemed so far from mine before. And this project helped me realize that we’re not that different and we have so much in common.
Today, when I remember this whole project and all the great memories I keep inside of me and think of everyday, I feel happy and at the same time nostalgic of all these moments. I was 100 miles away of thinking that this beautiful project would have such an impact on my life. I keep in touch with a lot of Peace campers and I sometimes feel closer to them than to other of my friends i see every day. I am really looking forward to seeing them again because i realize i miss them a lot (way too much actually). Another element that was very specific to the Peace camp is the place where we lived during one week. It was a tiny Austrian village which was for me the perfect place to meditate and live great adventures. Reibers is unique and so is this project and the wonderful persons I met there…. This is why I would like to thank Evelyn and the whole Peacecamp crew for making me live such a wonderful, great and unforgettable moment that made me grow up.
Pierre (Austrian delegation)
