COMENIUS IN SWEDEN by Sara Ricci
Another world is possible, and it does exist. Just a week in Kvanum, from the 11 to the 17 of November, in the region of Vastra-Goteland, was enough in order to understand that, just like they say, Sweden is a totally different world from ours. As soon as we arrived, we were welcomed with warmness and excitement: we were the news in a small town with only 1200 inhabitants. In front of the Lumber&Karle, the hotel our Headmaster and Teacher were staying in, there were many families waiting for us, but even for Turkish, Polish and Czech boys and girls, eager to take us home. From the very beginning we got used to their routine, attending the local school and mostly doing tipical Swedish activities: they introduced us to Swedish dances and songs, to their food (such as the Smorgasborg, a typical Christmas dish, that we cooked in the school kitchen), to their beautiful cities and places, like Lidkoping, Spiken and Lacko Castle. Sweden is surely the greatest example of the motto “be sustainable to sustain the world” (from the name of the progect SUSUWORLD). Taking care of the environment isn’t just an option, but a lifestyle. As we could learn while visiting Kvanum Energy Station, the Swedish government is actually concerned about saving the environment, mostly the air, and every citizen is willing to respect it. We can make a change only if everyone is involved in this project. And there are many results. We spent two beautiful days, the first one in a natural school, Naturskolan, and then in Oltrop, the forest near Kvanum, where we could get in touch with nature, and we let it charm us. In these places we did amazing activities: measuring trees height, eating hotdogs, picking up muss and lichens (there’s a plenty of them there due to the healty air), making a Tipspromenad (walking and answering questions) We hope to bring the values that we’ve learnt to our houses, because we always have to look up to the ones who live in a better way than ours.
Susuworld 