Örebro 21.10.2019 – 26.10.2019

LURE Erasmus Plus KA229-048111_1 An Erasmus Plus Project between Copernico( Prato, Italy) and Karolinska ( Õrebro, Sweden) lasting two years on the

exchange of good practices between teachers and students. Main topics: the European citizenship skills for mediation and spirit of initiative; the value of second language learning; European cultural heritage.

Reflection Journal

2 ID-Card

(for your experiences)

Journal 3

1ST DAY: CREATIVE COLLABORATIVE POETRY PROJECT

meeting at school assembly hall

Poetry Project: Discussion poetry. Exploring art around the city to be inspired for creating poetry

Örebro (Tuesday 22.10.2019)

Impressions: Today Ellen and I went to school: we woke up at 6.00 to catch the bus at 7.00. The fact that struck me was the breakfast together with the family in harmony even if it was early in the morning. It takes 1 hour to arrive to Örebro. The landscape is beautiful because it is in nature and it’s very impressive that also very young children take the bus. During the meeting in a certain room of the school with a big projector and a lot of seats, we could enjoy some presentations of the people that were from the international course (that is my partner’s course) speaking about current issues such as Brexit. They know this topic very well, and I could realize that in our school we don’t do this kind of discussions. I could say that this is because we don’t have enough time and we have a traditional program to finish. At school we talked about the poems by Joy Harjo and Jan Hanlo and then we had a discussion on what our interpretations were and why we had chosen the poem that we hadbrought from home. The class and the groups are very participating and interested in finding a point and a common decision, connecting the answers with the 2 poems we had worked on. Then we had a sort of trip in Örebro: we had to find an artwork in the city, which we liked most between the ones that were on a list. The city was very clean: no passers by would ever have thought of throwing trash on the ground. At the end of the school day I went back home with Ellen and we spoke during the bus ride. I liked to compare my culture with hers, also because it is something that she also likes. We got off the bus and she showed me her village, Fellingsbro. The houses are usually of wood and the structure is the typical Swedish house.

Journal 5

The castle of Örebro

Örebro

What I have learnedtoday: I learnt that Swedish students don’t have to pay for the bus, because the pass is given by the school. Everything’s already paied because taxes include these kinds of services and it is very convenient because the price of a ticket from Fellingsbro to Örebro would be 50 SEK (Swedish crowns) that correspond to 5 euro. Rules to follow not to get a fine are stricter than ours: there’s a fine of 1000 SEK if passengers don’t wear the seat belt. At school, instead, there are many different spaces into which students go depending on what kind of lesson they follow. There’s a little area to fill the bottle of water if we finish it. On Tuesdays, people from my partner’s course follow a lesson in a big room of the school that has a bigger projector, they speak about current political topics with a microphone and a power point presentation. I can also say that I discovered some important aspects of Swedish citizens; I could say that I based myself just on one person or one family, because I was hosted by them, but considering they gave me an almost complete perspective of their mentality. They are interested in what they do, also because the State loves and cares for them, giving them some services to simplify their every day life, so that they can enjoy their work or education more. During the bus ride we also compared the way we see the commitment to protect the environment and the meaning of doing a demonstration. I discovered that us as Italians (I speak in general but I wouldn’t like to stereotype because everything’s relative.) Also, I don’t really want to change: I can justify my thought referring to my relatives, my city, my country. We’re always not satisfied with our results or with what’s happening in our life or in our environment, but we don’t do anything to improve our situation, and in addition to this I can say that we think every initiative would be a failure or would just have a symbolic meaning.

Journal 7

2ND DAY: STOCKHOLM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V2ktA9xUK3M

Trip to Stockholm!

Journal 9

Stockholm (Wednesday 23.10.2019)

Impressions: Today we went to Stockholm to visit the city and 2 museums. The first museum was about the kings and queens of Sweden, and it was also about the wars of the Kingdom of Sweden and the acquiring of its independence from Denmark. I liked the guide because I could feel the love for his history and for his country, which became independent after a lot of time under the power of another State. Then we had free time to go about the city and we hanged out with some Swedish mates; I was very interested in sightseeing, also because it was something different for our Swedish partnerstoo; they don’t go to the capital cityevery day,, so it was a beautiful and rare occasion also for them. It was funny seeing them taking photos and being amazed by the same things as us. Before going there I had thought that everybody except for us Italians would be bored and would not enjoy the trip that much. I was wrong. Then we had a sort of lunch and dinner all together at 4.30 pm, afterwards we went to Vasa Museet and before visiting it we saw a short film about its shipwreck. Then we completed our visit with the awareness of what had happened. When we finished the visit we went to the bus so that we could return home. It takes 2 hours and a half to arrive from Stockholm in Örebro.

Journal 11

Journal 13

What I have learnedtoday: I learnt from Ellen that sons and daughters used to take their second name from their father and the surnames of their husband (if they were women) after marriage, for example: Brita Gustafsdotter Posse (né Baat) is Brita Gustaf’s daughter, whose name at birth was Baat that became Posse when she married her husband. About the museum I was very interested in the history of the Crown of Sweden and the way Swedish royalty gaines power. The Vasa museum was wonderful: the entire vessel has been discovered in Stockholm and this museum is based on this mastodontic ship. I’ve also learnt how much care Swedish have for their culture, because everything was well organized and even if all the visits weren’t not so long, I could see a lot of struggle for expressing it in the best possible way, sometimes also in a funny way, so that we could follow the historical concepts having fun. I can see that many times we don’t really appreciate our art in Italy, even if we have one of the most important legacies on earth. Even if our partner country has “less” in terms of quantity, they recognize the value of their treasure. I mean, here in Italy we have some monuments, buildings, archaeological finds that are known all over the world, so we don’t really need to do something to attract tourists, but as a tourist I would be disappointed to see people that don’t care of their own culture, making it literally dirty and destroying it. I didn’t know Vasa and its history, but when I discovered it I loved it so much that I will remember it forever, because it is accompanied by love and care. Furthermore I could follow every explanation that was given, also because Ellen was so kind to explain it one more time adding details of her personal experience. It can seem hard to express feelings, to joke in another language without the comfortable plays on words that I have known since I was a little child: we can laugh also in another language, I can say now!

3RD DAY: UN – DAY

Journal 15

Visit Classes with hosts

Attend UN concert Baking with host families

Örebro (Thursday 24.10.2019)

Impressions: Today we attended classes so that we could see how lessons work. The periods are longer and the activities very differently distributed during the school day. During the first period we were just supposed to listen to the lesson, and then the teacher made us see the biology museum with a lot of animals. They’re very proud of their collection, which is one of the biggest in Sweden. Then we had maths with the teacher Pernilla, so that we could try to do some maths together, she speaks Italian so it was easier for us to understand what to do. The things that we were doing during the class were understandable because we had already dealt with that topic in Italy. I would never have thought that now we’re doing different and more difficult things than them. My first impression was that even if the Italian school system could be renovated, the notions learnt are many and deep. I can assure it also for the other foreign languages studied. I don’t really like the fact that we have to stay on a chair for 5 hours every day, and then go home to study the whole afternoon: I think it is very stressful, but in the end we can say that we really know something. I noticed for example that they’re an excellence at English, although they don’t speak the second language they study well (German, French or Spanish). Also, I was surprised by the relationship between teachers and students, which is more informal than ours: I would never call one of my teachers by name, because over here it would be very disrespectful. My host was one of the girls that had to present the UN topic , and everything was in Swedish. So I can’t say this much about contents, even if some words sound very similar to German and the general sense of the speech with the awareness of what the UN is was understandable. I really think highly of her and the other girl speaking in front of people and taking it seriously, I wouldn’t be able to do it because I’m too anxious. Then we had lunch in the school canteen and had a P.E. class. The students were free to choose the game to play, I don’t know if it was because we were there, but I think that they could manage the lesson without the need of a teacher that told them to stop doing something not connected with it. I think that there’s much trust in them, therefore they also know how to be respectful for this freedom given. After the school day we went to the place in which tomorrow’s party takes place to set it. We spent the whole afternoon there.

What I have learnedtoday:

Journal 17

Today I learnt that there’s more attention to the students’ presentations (as I noticed also the first day that we were here). I’ve also learnt that the school provides computers and gives to the students the corresponding of 100 euros every month. There are differences between the Italian and the Swedish method to learn maths, so for example to solve the same problem we use a formula and they use another one. There are also lots of differences in the management of periods: they’re allowed to do what they want, but they have to follow the rules. I don’t think we have this kind of “discipline in freedom” because if we have something to do by ourselves without the control of our teachers or bosses or parents, we just could be able to waste time. I’m sorry for saying this, because it gets us back to the stereotype of the Italian that isn’t able to organize him/herself. It’s a truth according to me, but we can change it just doing it right.

4TH DAY: EXHIBITION

Visiting classes with hosts

Preparing Opening of Poetry Exhibition

Exhibition

Halloween Party

Journal 19

Örebro (Friday 25.10.2019)

Impressions: Today Ellen and I went to school and while she was following her classes, my classmates and I went to visit Örebro with the people from the 3rd year, who explained some interesting places of the city to us (such as a very big and important park, some houses belonging to the ancient city of Örebro, a square connected with the politics of the city and then a Protestant church). The guys from the 3rd year were very friendly and happy to see us: it was a pleasure for me because they had good memories from the other class that went there to do an exchange with them. I wasn’t included in that exchange but I felt like we were connected with them as part of a similar project. I was glad to hear more information about the city from them, because it was a way to get to know it better, so that the memory connected to the city could be something deeper than just the summing up of the attractions and monuments: sincerely I don’t remember much about notions, but I could recognize the places they showed us because I gave a different attention to them. They could transmit me the fact that they’re happy of being there and sharing their city with us, which is something that I’m sure I would not be able to do with Prato. I actually don’t recognize it as my city and I don’t truly love it. I liked the fact that the city of Örebro could be also “mine” one day, if I want. Therefore we went to a space in which we could write the summing-up of this experience for the school website about this project, and after that we went to the school canteen to eat lunch. When we finished eating, we went to a room with our Swedish and Italian mates to present the work of Tuesday, which was a poster in which we had to sum up our work about poetry and the artwork we had to present on Thursday. I believe that our Swedish mates are braver than us: for example I didn’t feel comfortable speaking in front of the class, but I really enjoyed the work together, about creating something from something else so that it could belong to us. As I was saying, they’re more ready than me to speak in public. I prefer to think and create something: I think that’s what they don’t actually have. I should learn from them how not to be shy in front of a public, and they could learn from me how to write down thoughts. In my opinion in a perfect world there’s both, so I didn’t feel less good than them, it is just that in our society we pay attention to different aspects than theirs. The posters were hung in the library, and we had Fika time there all together. At 3.00 P.M., when the school day finished we headed to the structure where the party would take place. We had dinner at 5.00 P.M. and at 8.00 P.M. the party started. We stayed there while our Swedish mates were working, some of them were in the cafeteria and some others were checking the people at the entrance. They took their work very seriously and everybody was doing something important for the community. After the party we were supposed to clean the whole place, and we tried to help them doing something before going home.

Journal 21

What I have learnedtoday: Today I learnt some more info about the city of Örebro, thanks to the explanations of the students of the 3rd year. I can also say that I discovered that the students often organize parties or other kinds of activities to raise money and have it for future needs (in this case to afford trips abroad). This is something that they’ve done on their own, it wasn’t the school that made them organize it. This experience comes to an end, and I can say that it was a travel I had to do so that I could compare what I am with what I should be: I can say that I don’t really have to change myself, my thoughts, my habits, I just should integrate the good things I learnt during this week in addition to what I am and what my country’s values are. I also learnt that for me (and I think for the others in general) it is very important to belong to a culture, a country, a family and recognize the value of our beliefs, without thinking that I am better (never thought it), but thinking that we can exchange good practices and be proud of having this opportunity. I hope I’ve understood better the meaning of Europe, which is a union of different states that have the common objective of living in peace and learning from their differences.