10 - 26 July 2006 Zakshuvek, POLAND

The main aim of the international exchange The marathon of fun was to enjoy ourselves without taking drugs or drinking alcohol. The continuance of the event was form 10th to 23rd of July 2006th . The participants were from four countries – Poland, Bulgaria, Portugal and Belgium and they were between sixteen and thirty years old. The exchange took place in Lublin and in the villages around it, Poland. Tha participants were changing places while following the river Bistrica.

During the two weeks the young people were divided into four international groups, in which they had to prepare and take part in different sports events. Moreover, they had the chance to organize them the way they wish.

The first few days the participants were staying in Zakshuvek at local families’ homes. Then they had to arrange a marathon across the surroundings of the village and through it, what is more, they had to find information about the place and use this info when asking the participants questions on some checkpoints. To make the event even more interesting, some additional games were added – table tennis, darts etc.. Posters and promotion ware made in order to attract local people to partake in the marathon.

The next step following the river flow was 28 kilometers away. On that spot, the participants had to ride bicycles through barred terrain from one village to another. The program was varied, and the next day the young people had to make promotion for an event that would take place at the end of the exchange. Posters, letters to the medias and different games were made for the meeting with the children in Lublin. On the day after that the participants had the rare chance to ride horses in a horse farm nearby. First of all, they had to clean and comb the horses in order to get to know each other better. Only after that, they could ride them with or without the help of the farmers.

After those few days, the marathon of fun moved a little bit further, to Lublin. There the participants sailed by boats through a lake, which was situated in a big park area near Lublin.

On the next day the group moved down the river flow and stayed in another village until the end of the exchange. On that place the participants could practice different sports – volleyball, beach volleyball, basketball, football etc. because the hostel offered big area of playgrounds. Bow shooting and making posters were just a small part form the activities that they did. Moreover, some one-day trips were made to Lublin, where the young people could go to a swimming pool, shopping, bowling, billiards etc.. As these were not enough interesting, a trip to the local concentration lager Mydanek was accomplished. Two days before the end of the exchange a promotion was made in the centre of Lublin by posters and young people running around a fountain and screaming “no alcohol”. The last day a marathon took place.

In conclusion it could be said that during those two weeks the young people got to know each other better and learn new and useful things. The Polish, Bulgarian, Portugal and Belgium people became friends and had a lot of fun without drugs and alcohol.