24 April 2017- Jayashree Sanzgiri

I woke up early, got dressed and went down to have breakfast. After breakfast, Gwyneth, her mother and I left for Tullinge Gymnasium. Even though I was wearing 2 jackets, a scarf, a beanie and gloves, I felt very cold. The temperature ranged from 2-9 degree Celsius and it was drizzling sporadically, interspersed with snow sometimes (called slush since it’s like a slushie), which according to Gwyneth is the worst kind of rain. We drove to the train station and arrived Tullinge station from were we walked for a half hour to the gymnasium. Once we arrived, Gwyneth showed me around the gymnasium. There were 5 buildings or houses; different streams had their classes in different houses. All of us met in one of the houses and then, there was a short introduction about the programme planned for us, given by Arild Lagerkvist. In the lecture, he stressed on how punctuality is very important in Sweden, and how, if we are even a minute or even seconds late, we could miss out on the programme planned for us. The lecture was followed by another lecture on Swedish society by Malin Jung. In it, she talked about collectivism and individualism, religion, and the controversial topic of migration. We found out that all education is free for the students since it’s funded by the government, and how society was becoming more individualistic and less collective. The controversy of migration and asylum in Sweden was also discussed. After that, we had another lecture on the Swedish healthcare system by Eva Lederberg. She spoke of how the disabled are helped by the state to lead as normal a life as possible. We then proceeded to the lunch room to eat. The food was quite tasty, and we were surprised since everyone has told us it’d be quite bland. After lunch, we went to 2 institutions that took care of the disabled. The first place was kind of like a home for the disabled. There were caretakers who took different shifts. Everything was colour- coordinated to make it easier for its residents. We were shown different rooms where the residents lived, a common area, bathrooms, the kitchen and dining area, the pantry and even a backyard which had a pool and a bike. The house was split into two parts: one part consisted of rooms for people who had limited motor skills and the other was for people with normal motor skills. The former had various features, like a special machine that could move a person around the room, since it’s important for them to move and not be confined to a wheelchair. Sasha tried it out, and she also tried out a blanket which was stuffed with plastic balls, and according to her, it felt like you were getting a gigantic hug. We then went out into the backyard, and some of us took turns in riding the bike. We ended the tour by eating the cookies and drinking the coffee laid out for us. Next, we headed for the other institution in Tumba, which was funded by the government. It had seven workers or caretakers with various backgrounds in medicine, nursing and others. The people staying or visiting here were more of those who had brain trauma or neurodegenerative disorders like Alzhimer’s. They showed us the various handicrafts made by these people, which included paintings, crafts and glasswork, which looked very cool. We met Iver, who made really amazing glasswork. We ended this tour by a demonstration of musical therapy, in which we all participated. It was pretty fun. We then headed back to the bus which dropped us off at Tullinge by 4 p.m. and proceeded to drop the rest of the students at Bromma. It was raining slush, and was incredibly cold. Gwyneth found me and we headed to the bus stop, caught a bus which took us to the station where we boarded the train which took us home. Gwyneth had a flute lesson in Salem at 6:30 p.m. and came back by 7. We had dinner by 7:30 p.m. and then played some Swedish board games, which were quite fun. At around 9:15, I went to bed exhausted, and fell asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

The Farmhouse Night

Alas! The last day in Goa had arrived for the Swedish students and faculty. The day started off with the usual yoga and Zumba as one class with a highly qualified yoga instructor directing us. after our yoga session, the Swedes were given time to feshen up and were then served with the usual ndian breakfast of puri Bhaji, parathas etc. in our world famous Michellin starred college canteen. Just kidding. HAHA! As everyone finished up with their breakfast, they were then alloted a time of two hours so they could rehearse their cultural presentation which was to be presented to our exchange students and faculty! The moment for the Swedes to shine ( they were already so fair anyway) and showcase their culture and traditions all the way from Sweden had arrived. The presentation was indeed very well explained to us with the Swedes performing a traditional hymn called  "Santa Lucia" and a powerpoint presentation telling us about various Swedish traditions, rituals, weather pattern,culture and what to expect and tick off or bucket lists when we arrive in Sweden. We held a small quiz too. The program concluded with the each student sharing their own experiences along with the rest of us and making those moments really memorable ones. The Swedes are like the Master Guru at making Candy. I don't know how they do it or what they conjure , they make fine ass candy.This also very much depends on how nice your Swedish host was. The next thin we know, the Swedes had the exact Sweet surprise up their sleeves as they distributed different types of candy from tiny ass chillies covered in Licorice to really salty candy to tiny sweet gummie bears. We then proceeded towards Canteen for the lunch of the day.It was then time for us to return with our guests and prepare for the evening to come while some of us proceeded to Colva beach for some shopping.
Most of the guests got themselves sleek Sherwani's and Saree's and got all geared up and met back at the college at around 7. The theme for the Swedish for the evening was Traditional Indian while it was western(normal people clothes) for us. We then headed to Benaulim to a restaurant named '' The Farmhouse" where a dinner was set for us by Mr. Umaji Chowgule who hosted us for the evening. Everyone danced to the occasional disco tune and also the the extravagant dance called " DA PENGUIN DANCE" which was a trending song at the time( it just hapens sometimes and we do not realise why or how Sigh*) Everyone had a great time as we had our dinner and bid good night to each other. Everyone's evening did end on a pretty high note ;)

25th april 2016 Day 5

As usual the day started with the breakfast in the morning at 8 am. The schedule said that we were going to visit a home for disabled people. We all were excited about this. We all started thinking about the disabled homes in India.
After the breakfast, at 9 , the bus arranged by the swedish people was waiting for us. It took about an hour to reach our destination. The disabled home looked very small from outside. But it was really very big and very nice inside.

A lady named Anna was guiding us. When we were just taking a look at the house, we saw an old man on a wheelchair. He was not able to talk directly. But he tried to communicate with the staff in his own way.
The first thing he did was greeted us saying a 'Hello'. As in typing a Hello word on his computer. This was really surprising and impressive for all of us.
There were 6 disabled people in the house. They really had maintained the disabled house very well.
The disabled kids were sent to school for a different experience and so on.
After leaving from there, we all had lunch in tullinge gymnasium.
After lunch we all started walking to the pre school in stockholm. The school seemed to be very big. The staff gave a small talk as an introduction. After having coffee there, we were divided into two groups. Attending maths lecture or the religious lecture. In the maths lecture, the students were of 9th grade. Surprisingly they could use their mobile and a calculator for each and every calculations. Then they asked us about our way of teaching and the way of studies in india.
After that we all went for the dinner in Mc Donalds. And then returned to our hostel safely.

21st april 2016 Day1 sweden

It was our last minute in Goa, where all the instructions were given, for how to go about into our new destination that is sweden.
Goa airport-
We had to arrive on the Airport by 1.30am. All of us were so excited. We entered the airport, our luggage was checked in. We all were feared for what if something goes wrong, weight may exceed, and fear of loosing anything back. But it was a smooth route all along.
Entering the plane was a dream come true for some of us. As it would be our first time to travel by air. The plane facilities provided by Qatar airways were extremely good. We all felt comfortable. We all were asleep and when we opened our eyes, the view of Doha from air was really beautiful. Doha airport was really amazing. It was so big that to go from one end to another. Our waiting time was done. We then checked in the plane to go to sweden. It was just few more hours and then we would b in sweden. Just before landing, the view of sweden was extremely beautiful and amazing. Its trees, bare land houses,  building were so cool. Its roads were so clear and amazing.
The pilot gave us the details of the weather out. It was so cold and chilling, but the warmth of our excitement kept us warm and filled with joy. Stepping out of the airport was a suprise waiting for us. Our sweden friends were there to welcome us with open hearts. It was the first thing that brought a big smile on our faces. We all were very excited and very happy to meet them after such a long time. Then we were taken to our hostel named Zinkensdamm by bus.
Four us were given one room. We all, settled ourselves in the room and finally  our first day in sweden came to an end after the dinner at 6.30pm.

1st Outing in Sweden

The morning of 23rd April was full of surprises and excitement. It was our first outing in Sweden. Our hosts had planned a lot of interesting stuff for us. We all basically wanted to go for shopping so we exchanged money and walked through the streets of Central Stockholm. We first came across the  St. Klara's Church. This is a huge monument with beautiful architectural designs reflecting back to the 16th century. This is one of the oldest churches of Sweden located in central Stockholm.

 

The St. Klara's Church

 

 

      We then paid a visit to the king's garden, kungstradgarden as it is locally called. This was breathtaking. The beautiful pink cherry blossoms covered the sky like a carpet.

                                                                                                                                                                   

 We did a lot of purchasing from the shops in old town (Gamla Stan). We walked across the bridge to get a view of the whole city.

 

 

The trip was just not limited to shopping. We got a wonderful experience and I completely agree with a quote by Martin Buber that " All journeys have secret destinations of which the traveller is unaware".

       Wherever you go, selfie is a must 😜

   The amazing academic exchange family.

Nasta Gamla Stan

 Gamla Stan (The Old Town)

Day 3 started off really well, we took a train by ourselves to Kungshallen to see the flea market but unfortunately it wasn't there on a Saturday, so we did the next best thing, SHOPPING!!. The group scattered away to explore the new place. We hit Sweden's and one of the world's biggest clothing brand H&M. We moved from one shop to another buying even the most unnecessary things on the way because ..well..let's face it who doesn't love an arm full of shopping bags.

Other than the materialistic shopping, a few of us ended up buying luscious strawberries as well.

We obviously got a little delayed, snacked really quick at the Kungshallen food court and rushed to catch a train to Gamla Stan.

Gamla Stan, the Old Town, is one of the largest and best preserved medieval city centers in Europe, and one of the foremost attractions in Stockholm. This is where Stockholm was founded in 1252. The town dates back to the 13th century, and consists of medieval alleyways, cobbles streets, and archaic architecture.
Just as we started moving around with out guide it started raining. Chilly rain but that didn't stop us.

We walked for a good 2 hours, but each lane or house was better than the previous one. We walked on their cobble stone leg aching paths but hey, no pain no gain right?.  It just happened to be Sweden's Cultural Day that meant, we got to enter museum and art galleries ..FOR FREE!. The entire group made it till the Cherry Blossoms after which my room mates and I decided to stay back and explore further. We halted a bit to warm ourselves with hot tea and proceeded to see the place. We went into art galleries and saw their perspective of life and art. We made is to the Opera House and juuuust missed the Alice in Wonderland Opera by a minute. The architecture in the Opera House caught my breath.
We left Gamla Stan around 18:30 and had our dinner at the most homey little Italian pizzeria.

Art Galleries in Gamla Stan

Ducks we tried to play with

Inside the Opera House

Gamla Stan, Outside the Opera house

 

We took a train by ourselves and the 3 of us returned back to the hostel with our stomachs very full and hearts very content, we got back around 20:30 and it was 3 degrees, but the cold never bothered us anyway.

Gamla Stan

The narrowest alley

Cherry Blossoms

Let it snow! Let it snow! Let it snow!

Day 4 was just as remarkable as all of the other days, if not a bit more exciting. Why, you may ask? Oh let's just say we were blessed with the temperature hitting a mind-blowing -2°c and snow coming down on us! You can just imagine the excitement as some of the students experienced snowfall for the very first time! Following is a short clip taken from the inside of a candy shop in 'Hotorget'. 

Come morning, the Athena group, along with members of faculty, went to 'Hotorget' where we visited a flea market that displayed on sale all the local produce, along with apparel and other items. 

If heaven was a dish, this would be it.
-Thai lunch at Kungshallen Food Court.

After a quick Thai lunch at the Kungshallen Food Court, we proceeded to visit the Natural Science Museum and later, the Botanical gardens along with the Natural Science students. 

Paint the town yellow!
-One of the many beautiful views at the Botanical Gardens.

We then returned to the hotel, only to freshen up so that we could visit 'Sofia Church' in order to experience the soothing and marvelous singing by Åsa and her group. After that, we walked to the nearest food court, gobbled up a scrumptious dinner and headed back to the hotel. All in all, day 4 was hectic yet fun-filled!

'Exquisite' doesn't do justice while describing just how beautiful this Church was!
The magnificent Sofia Church.