As a part of Taize, we are split into small international groups to do bible reflection, activities, and work around the village in the morning and parts of the afternoon. There are young people from all over France, Spain, Germany, Norway, Sweden, the Netherlands, Italy, Romania and us from the UK in these mixed groups. This gives us a great opportunity to make new friendships and socialise with others from different cultures.

Olivia - In my group there are people from Germany, Spain, Romania and England. I have met some amazing people who are now my friends. The people in my group have great personalities and throughout the course of the week I look forward to getting to know them and their cultures better.

Amy - My group is mainly German, however there are some other people from all around the UK. It has been a great experience so far because it is amazing to be able to learn about the difference between our cultures and traditions. The more activities we do, the more we are learning about each other, and becoming a closer group of friends. We are now also spending our free time together, learning each others languages and sharing traditional games from our country.

Katie - I’ve had such a great time in my group. I made friends with lots of other people from York but also so many young people from Germany. Even when we haven’t been doing our activities, I’ve been spending time singing songs from their cultures together and learning some of their language. I find it so amazing how everyone from the different backgrounds can come together for Worship even though we speak different languages - it’s really powerful especially when we sing the chants.

As well as the groups, there is so many places we can visit to socialise and meet others like the OYAK, at mealtimes, around the tents and so many more. Even though we are still with our own friends, we have made so many more. Coming together is so amazing and we hope to make more friendships throughout the week.