Sweden: A Dream Come True!

I’ve always believed that dreams are one of the major steps to achieve your goal. Everything starts with a dream, to a tiny wish and then to an overwhelming desire. For me it was curiosity and the thirst for adventure that gave a spark to my dream that started as a little girl; a dream to visit another country and have a real taste of their lifestyle. This dream turned into a wish as I was applying for my XIth admissions at Smt. Parvathibai Chowgule College, last year. It was a student exchange programme to Sweden!

Sweden? I thought to myself…..It’s not a very usual country that we would have relatives and friends who have been there. What are the people like? What is their cuisine like?  Many more questions started popping up in my mind and I pondered for a moment. Challenges are one of the aspects of a dream. Without them, one wouldn’t be able to move on in life. At least it wouldn’t be that big of a challenge as the Swedish students would be visiting us before we go to t Sweden, so we would have a good idea of everything. Once the Swedish students were here it was like we’d known each other for years! They were all so friendly, outgoing and straightforward. And all of them loved the sunshine that Goa is blessed with. In the beginning I felt it was really weird to like the sun and to enjoy being outside especially in the scorching heat. It was only once I reached Sweden that I realized the importance of it and why our Swedish friends went so crazy over it in Goa. It was around eight degrees Celsius when we were in Sweden, which was cold for most of us. I guess it was the temperature in the end that helped us in maintaining our stamina and permitted us to do a lot during our short stay. Being spring time we were fortunate enough to have an opportunity to explore Sweden’s lush green forests filled with massive trees, a delicious variety of berries and beautiful flowers. It was also a time when people do up their gardens after the winter, by planting fruit saplings which would bear fruit during the summer.  Usually when we visit another country it’s very obvious that one would live in the hotel, but being hosted by a Swedish family was one of the bonus features of the exchange programme. Knowing their way of life and the bond between each member of the family was the most memorable of them all.

Everybody lives in either a small wooden house or an apartment. They all try to use the minimum of private transport and  travel by either a bus or the metro that is available at all places and at all times. In addition, students are provided with access cards by their respective educational institutions that provide easy and free access to all public transportation facilities. Their government gives major importance to promote a high level of education to their students, as they have free education in whatever domain they choose and to whichever level they desire to go up to. It is possible to aid their students to this extent for the simple reason of having a suitable population and I strongly feel India too can provide this to its students only if we give importance to it rather than other things. Another aspect that touched me during this trip were the elderly Swedish people and their view of old age. They are as active as everyone else and strongly feel that old age is one of the best phases of life as one can accomplish all the things you wanted to do but never had the time for it like visiting

all the possible places of the world.  

This entire experience shall be cherished by all of us for a life time. A dream come true for me! And I guess that’s just the crazy thing about every dream! That once you accomplish a dream you thought you couldn’t, the feeling of achievement is so strong that the next dream turns out more challenging and shall be full of surprises…

Rosanne Barreto