Have you ever wondered where your own limits are? Do you want a true encounter with nature? Then apply for the Summer University of AEGEE-Ljubljana. The participants will – after spending one week in the magnificent city – go to the rough Slovenian countryside, go rafting and learn scout techniques. The event takes place from 22nd July till 3rd of August. “It will be mind-blowing. You will learn how to survive outside of your comfort zone”, says organization team member Blaž Šteblaj. “No fear is our motto!”
Golden Times: Blaž, why will the SU of AEGEE-Ljubljana be one of the best Summer Universities this year?
Blaž Šteblaj: Because we have a great idea, a superb team of enthusiasts and very useful experience from previous years. We decided we want to do something above the average and interesting to specific participants: out-going, curious for new knowledge, adventurous and wild at heart. It is going to be wildastic!
Golden Times: The title sounds a bit odd – “Into the Wild”. What’s so wild about your SU?
Blaž: This whole world is wild at heart and weird on top. And we plan to have the same at our SU – wild at heart and weird on top. Let me quote Jon Krakauer from his book “Into the Wild”: “The very basic core of a man’s living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun. If you want to get more out of life, you must lose your inclination for monotonous security and adopt a helter-skelter style of life that will at first appear to you to be crazy. But once you become accustomed to such a life you will see its full meaning and its incredible beauty.” That’s our SU.
Golden Times: Should the participants have already experience with outdoor activities?
Blaž: The participants do not need any previous experience but should, however, be active, open and most of all ready to explore their own limitations, strength and abilities. No fear is our motto!
Golden Times: There will also be a theory part before the participants will go on the outdoor adventure for six days. What will they learn there?
Blaž: Worry not, we shall teach and prepare our participants for everything they need to know about how to survive outside of their comfort zone, in the nature, where streets have no names and boundaries become unimportant. They will learn about orientation, survival skills, scout techniques of cohabitation with the nature and knowledge about the importance of a “green” lifestyle.
Golden Times: In the programme are also martial arts, street self-defence and archery. Will it be dangerous?
Blaž: Most definitely not dangerous albeit probably adrenaline-focused, interesting and a lot of fun. Our teachers have great and rich experience in martial arts, street self-defence and survival in the wild. It is best if one imagines this as a beginners’ boot camp for enthusiastic AEGEEans – fun, full of new experience and mind-blowing.
Golden Times: You offered wild water rafting already at previous events. How did the participants react before and after the rafting?
Blaž (smiling): Rafting was actually, and to our surprise, the highest rated activity in our previous SU. The participants enjoyed it so much – the average score was 14 out of 10! Many have done it for the first time and loved it! We believe it is going to be the same this year, although we are going to try to top it off with other activities as well.
Golden Times: What can you tell us about the region where the participants will have the outdoor excitement for a week?
Blaž: Gorenjska region is one of the most beautiful parts of Slovenia with two of the biggest and most picturesque lakes: Lake Bled and Bohinj. It offers a fantastic scenery for our programme. It’s definitely wild and equipped with all we need for our activities.
Golden Times: Last year your antenna organised an anti-stress SU, this year you make one which will be pure adrenaline. Was it too relaxed last year?
Blaž: I believe our participants from last year will tell you it was relaxed but not lazy. We were relaxed but active all the time and this year we will take up a notch. As the geeks would put it: Level up!
Golden Times: Will this SU have relaxing parts too?
Blaž: As we all know the point of SUs is to have fun. And there will not be any lack of it this year. Our main focus is to make our SU an enjoyable, active journey into the wild. No pressure, no stress – just exploration and fun.
Golden Times: You will spend a week in Ljubljana and a week in Gorenjska region. Which two or three places there should the participants look most forward to?
Blaž: Definitely the whole second part with rafting and visiting Gorenjska region. Although Ljubljana is the sweetest pocket-capital of Europe it is still a city. However, since Slovenia offers wilderness just a step away from Ljubljana we are going to use the first half of the SU to enjoy what it has to offer and prepare our participants for the leap into the unknown. So: city fun first and wild enjoyment later on.
Golden Times: How is the atmosphere in your organising team? Will you try out outdoor programme elements together before the participants arrive?
Blaž: The atmosphere is great with everyone. We have so many cool ideas that a fortnight just won’t be enough. And of course we will have team-building days where we will go through everything we plan to put our participants through. We will go through every step of the programme to ensure the optimal outcome for our participants with enough relaxation, activities, lectures and practical experience. If we can do it, so can anybody else. And we are looking forward to bringing our participants two interesting weeks!
Golden Times: How much is the participation fee?
Blaž: The participation fee is modest 120 Euro with 40 Euro being an additional fee for rafting. Should someone decide not to do the rafting we have prepared other enjoyable activities.
Golden Times: What else should potential participants know about the event?
Blaž: That it is going to be interesting, active, green-oriented, relaxed and pleasurable. And these are also characteristics we are looking for in our participants. Our goal is to make this one hell of an SU in the most positive sense. Our guiding quote, again from Jon Krakauer: “The trip was to be an odyssey in the fullest sense of the word, an epic journey that would change everything.”
More info about this SU
Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/428071467272915/?ref=ts&fref=ts
