We were really looking forward to the trip to Sweden. We were most looking forward to the trip on the plane, since we had never traveled by plane before. At first we were a little scared, but when we met the other students we were traveling with, it was easier for us. Unfortunately, we missed the first two days of the project, but that did not diminish our excitement. We all gathered in front of the school in the afternoon and headed to the airport in Zagreb. We came a little early, so we got to know each other and talked to each other while waiting. When it was time for the first flight, we were a little afraid, but we were very happy because we will meet new people and culture in another country. After boarding the plane, we were all very happy because we were going on a new adventure. The first flight was very pleasant, it lasted about 40 minutes. After Zagreb, we landed in Vienna, where we met an elderly lady, so we were with her for part of the journey. The second flight lasted a little longer, about 2 hours. After 2 hours we landed in Sweden. We were all very excited and happy because it was still snowing there. We were surprised because it was not as cold as we expected.
After we took our luggage, we headed to our drivers who drove us to the place where the students we were with that week were waiting for us. The students and their teacher welcomed us there. After we got to know our hosts, we went with them to their homes. Since we arrived very late, we didn’t talk too much, they just gave us instructions on what they have done so far regarding the projects and what still needs to be done. On Wednesday morning, after we woke up, we met the parents of our hosts and went to the school where the project takes place. Their teacher placed us in the groups we should be in and introduced us and explained what we should do. Everyone in the group had their own task, someone was preparing an interactive game for the children who would come to the presentation, someone was preparing a speech, and someone was preparing a poster. In each group, we mostly split up so that two students work on one thing. After 2 hours of working on the project it was time for lunch. Students in Sweden have free lunch at school, which was very strange for us students from Croatia. After lunch we all went back to the classroom where we completed the project related things that were set for that day. After we had done everything we needed to do, we all headed to the city where we had an organized show about the history of Uppsala. The trip to the city was fun because we had a blast and had fun. After we got to the place the professors had assigned us, the show began. Two people showed us in a very entertaining and interesting way how certain kings and rulers used to rule Uppsala. After the play, some of the students returned to their homes, while others stayed in the city. Our hosts took us bowling, we were there for about 2 hours. After bowling, everyone returned home and spent the rest of the day with their hosts. On Thursday after we woke up and headed to school, we had to finish things for the presentation. At school, everything was the same as the previous day, first we worked a little on the project, then we had lunch and we returned to finish the project. While creating things for the presentation, it was not boring, we certainly had fun, although we had to finish our presentations. After we had done everything that was scheduled for that day, everyone went to the city with their host and later we headed home to do something for the feast the next day. Each of the students had to make a cake or something to bring to school the Friday after end of presentations. Everyone came to their homes and we spent some time with the hosts and their families.
The last day of school has arrived. Friday was scheduled for presentations. The students of the lower grades were supposed to come to the school so that we could present them the topic we had in the simplest and most interesting way. Each group had 8 minutes to present the topic, for a quiz and for a game. There were more children, so they were divided into small groups, so we had to present our topic to each group again. At the end, the children decided who would win by giving points to the group they thought was the best. After the teachers calculated who had the most points, we set up tables in the classroom so that they could put on them everything that the students had made the previous day for the feast, but before the feast there was a prize giving. The professors announced the winner for the best presentation, the best poster and the best advertisement that we had to make before the trip to Sweden. After the prize distribution, we all had fun, ate, talked and finally headed home. Some of the students later went to a house party organized by students from Sweden, while some stayed at home and socialized with the hosts. Saturday was the day when we Croats returned home. We left the train station in Uppsala for the airport. The flights were pleasant, but we were all very tired and couldn’t wait to get home. We arrived in Zagreb late, and after taking our luggage, we headed for Bedekovčina, where our parents were waiting for us, and that was the end of our adventure in Sweden.
