“The use of traveling is to regulate imagination by reality, and instead of thinking how things may be, to see them as they are.” – Samuel Johnson

Our exchange program to Sweden is an attempt in this direction, to get a realistic picture of another culture, stepping out of the comfort zone, braving all the challenges of a journey that opens all the windows of the mind to absorb every little experience and grow as a person who is a locally rooted and globally competent citizen of tomorrow.

This year, 17 students from Grade X and 3 teachers went to Sweden on an exchange program with Guteskolan, an upper secondary school in Gotland.

The group left Pune on 19th April’14 for Sweden which was a long journey, almost 24 hours. They were warmly welcomed by the team and the cozy cottages at Snackan were just the right start for the tired group. A yummy dinner was organized for them at the school and it was the first taste of Swedish delicacies, a beginning to many more in the coming days.

The beautiful weather seemed to suck away the fatigue and pumped in renewed energy for a lovely walk to the school and back.

The group had dinner with their host families on 22nd April’14 which broke the ice before they moved into host families on 23rd April’14. The love, care and affection showered by the host families made them feel at home away from home.

A well chalked out, power packed program, ensured a rich learning experience every day.

The students were addressed by the School Principal, Mr. Luis Barnes.

Some of the activities included, classroom sessions – English, Social Science, Visit to Stagaard Iron age village where explanation was given about the tools used many years ago.

The group went a tour to the walled city of Visby. The Swedish students who are learning English gave our students the information and historical significance of the various parts of Visby.
They also visited the Botanical garden, St. Maria church, Fire Power tower, prisoner’s tower, and many more places.
They had a buffet lunch at Village Tandoori. Post lunch they visited the Gotland Museum. Mikeal, history teacher at Guteskolan, provided a guided tour and information about the various parts of the museum.

They went to Hemse youth festival on 2nd May’14. This was a festival organized by the students of Guteskolan. There were art exhibitions, music workshops, movie shows and many more. Some of the students participated in the Re-do-it workshop (converting old clothes into something new). The students redid old jeans and T- shirts into bags and other such stuff. Some of the students watched short films.

Apart from sessions in various subjects, the group also saw the Viking Graves, visited a local church where they interacted with the priest.
They also had a sports activity.
On 4th May, the students were picked up by the school bus to go towards Faro Island. They took a ferry ride to reach Faro. It was cold and windy. They took a walk to see the "Rock" formation.

On 6th May, all the students were taken to Anders' (teacher at the school) horse farm for a lesson in pedagogical leadership. The students were paired up to demonstrate the concept of personal space. The next activity involved the students taking on the role of horse and trainer to understand the different types of leadership. Next the students got to lead a horse with their new found skills.

On 7th May, they had a music session. They learnt a Swedish song about spring. Some of the students sang and some of them played musical instruments to accompany the song.

After lunch, Camilla (teacher at Guteskolan ) gave a presentation on Swedish culture. She showed short films and played songs about Sweden and its people.
Our students made several presentations about India on the following topics:

• Politics Today
• Youth Culture
• Languages
• Food Culture
• Religion
• Heritage
• Pune
• Music Culture

8th May, started with the group making cinnamon buns in the school kitchen. The students were divided into groups of three. Each group was given the recipe and they had to follow it. Most of the cinnamon buns turned out great. The buns that were leftover were packed up as treats for the ferry journey to Stockholm. After lunch each student gave a feedback of their experience in Gotland and Guteskolan.
After tearful farewells, the students boarded the bus to take the ferry for Stockholm and checked in at City Lodge.
They spent the last four days of their trip in Stockholm which comprised of a visit to Cyber Gymnasiet School, visit to the technology museum, shopping, siteseeing and a dinner hosted by the school Principal, Annelie at her home wherein she cooked an Indian meal for all.
The group returned enriched, independent, and confident, with a repertoire of experiences which will go a long way to shape their future life.