Day 1 - We were really excited about this trip. No one could even tell that we were kids who were jet-lagged from an 8-hour flight even though me and my friends woke up at 4:30 ( which is 8 in the morning in India). It didn't feel like early morning as the sun was already up . We were on time , ready to leave for media gymnasiet and left for the school at 8:45. This first school day was very exhausting.

We went to the school and got to take a look at the Animation, game development and the TV Shows' studios. We also had a photography workshop with Maria . I was really fascinated by the design of the classroom. Unlike out traditional classrooms, there were no benches, almost all the classes are more of a workspace, where kids make wonderful projects that are displayed all throughout school. The photography session was very special. I got to be the model for the photos .

We took many brilliant photos. Then I got selected for an interview about My expectations for Sweden. This was my first interview ever , that too on Camera for a tv show. The teachers here at Media Gymnasiet believe that " The best way to learn is to do" . I have realised they have put this in action , here at Media Gymnasiet, where you learn a lot of skills that would be essential throughout our life rather than just textbook knowledge .

The opportunity of being a model for the photography session and a to star for the show, was indeed a brilliant experience. - Ishan Siddiqui

Day 2 : Today all of the Orchid students and teachers woke up early to get ready for an exciting day ahead. We took a subway and a bus to reach Media Gymnasiet, with Nina Larrson accompanying us. Soon we arrived at the school and attended a Natural Science lesson.

The topic was sex education.Initially we felt little akward discussing on the topic but the teacher simplified it for us. We were divided into groups and were given some questions to discuss. It was interesting to listen to their point of views on sex education and at the same time they were amazed to listen to ours. The discussion revolved around the points like responsible behavior, sex being taboo topic and various myths prevalent in Sweden and India with regards to sex.

After a hearty meal, we left for Skansen, the open museum. It is the world's first open air museum and zoo showcasing the way of life in different parts of Sweden. The exhibits in Skansen brought the old Sweden alive while showcasing various professions like pottery , bakery etc prevalent at that time. The zoo gave us a glimpse of vivid fauna of this Scandinavian country.

It was a great opportunity to see animals like the reindeers, moose, bison, wolves, lynx, seals, in real time , which so far we have seen either in books or as a Google pic. In short Skansen was peek into Swedish culture and wildlife. It was certainly an experience which we will always remember. Next, we went to the old city in the central part of Stockholm.

It was impressive to see how Swedes have preserved this more than 200 year old town. Sun - faded colourful buildings, town centres designed for meetings, cobbled streets and fascinating narrow lanes mesmerized us the most. It is also home to the Royal Palace and a beautiful cathedral. It was a tiring but an eventful day. The day ended with sumptuous dinner at local pizzeria with a discussion on what's coming ahead....- Mythili Despande

Day 3: Yesterday was an interesting day for all of us. We have a chance  to visit world's first upcycling mall Re tuna situated in a place  close to Stockholm  called Eskilstuna. We had a guided tour  to the mall.

The guide was a smart and an inspiring lady who talked about  sustainability as a need of an hour. She shared with us, that the focus of the mall is to make up upcycled products more popular for  public, to make it mainstream, to be smarter , to do some more sustainable shopping, to be aware and to make right decisions.It was quite interesting to see how diligently the things are sorted by the crew right from nail to a bicycle.

It is then given to the shop owners.The shops collect the material and use it in various ways  to make it more  beautiful  and sell it at an increased price.It is a very efficient way to reduce the waste and improve the economy. We were very impressed with all the recycled goods and the idea of a very innovative shopping centre. The place lived upto our expectations and went above and beyond. All in all, it was a very interesting day.

The train ride to Retuna was very beautiful. We passed the countryside which was very scenic with many farms. The mountains were covered with pine trees and it looked like it was from a winter wonderland.   Our journey continues.... - Samiksha Tambe

Day 4: After a quick breakfast at our respective homes, we came to Media Gymnasiet at 9am. From there, we visited Frederik Sir's class on game development and learnt how they do the same. Subsequently, we proceeded to Magnus Sir's class where we worked on the material collected yesterday from our visit to ReTuna, the "upcycling" mall.

We observed how the Swedish students, complied the videos and photos using software such as Camera Raw. From our side, we wrote some text in English based on our visit. We then took a break for lunch. After lunch, we resumed our respective tasks and helped with the preparation for theschool exhibition to be held later that evening.

After preparation, we had a presentation on Wablewadi followed by a discussion on education, sustainable development, and other critical issues. We then had a dinner consisting of traditional Indian food along with a Swedish cake, prinses tårta. That concluded our day with us going home. -Vedang