The biggest surprise is when you don’t know what to expect
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“Now that some time has passed since the trip, I understand even better how great an experience the month in Reunion was! It was such a unique experience that you did not even understand it there.”
For high school students in Oulu, there are numerous opportunities to go to Europe safely. Most of our high schools have been cooperating with Erasmus+ for years, and through this cooperation a substantial number of high school students and their teachers have moved around the EU.
The Artic Tropic cooperation school of Svenska Privatskolan i Uleåborg and Laanila High School is in the farthest corner of the European Union, on a small island in the Indian Ocean, Reunion. From there, it is 10,000 kilometers or an 11-hour flight to the country’s capital, Paris. The target high school on the tiny island, Lycée Les Avirons, a high school of 1200 students, is where Aino Määttä, Armi Koskela, and Jamie Härkönen from Laanila High School, and Alvar Sandell and Saana Vähäsarja from Svenska Privatskolan traveled in mid-October for a month-long exchange period. On the island, they were awaited by a host family and an exchange sibling, who will come to Oulu for an exchange in January.
The exchanges take place during the school year, and therefore the young people study the studies of their home high school independently during the exchange. At Les Avirons High School, they participated in physical education, English and French lessons, and time was set aside for independent study during the school day. In addition, the exchange included activities related to the environment and sustainable development, such as tree planting, gardening, and garbage collection. Going to school meant early mornings and late afternoons, as the French school day starts at 7:30 a.m. and ends at 5 p.m.
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Aino Määttä and Saana Vähäsarja enjoying the wonderful +26C warmth of the turquoise Indian Ocean. There are sharks in the sea, so you can only swim in limited areas. Photo: Tiina Fredriksson
Mobility within Europe has a geographical, cultural and above all social dimensions. Our young people talked about Oulu and Finland, and especially in connection with the theme of the exchange project, about our ecological practices to several school classes at their exchange school. The Reunionese students coming to Oulu in January will also bring information from their home island to Laanila and Svenska Privatskolan. Our young people were able to get to know the nature of the volcanic island, hike volcanoes, snorkel and enjoy the sea with their host families.
Reunion is the cradle of amazing landscapes, serpentine roads, beautiful sunsets, lovely beaches, delicious Creole food and cool Creole music. It is a tropical island, but still a part of France: euros are used, the language is French, and people often go to Paris after high school to study.
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Erasmus+ Team Oulu; Armi Koskela, Saana Vähäsarja, Eva Åström, Alvar Sandell, Jamie Härkönen, Aino Määttä, Johanna Peteri and Tanja Lapinlampi on a day trip in Paris, France, before boarding the plane to Reunion Island. Photo: Tiina Fredriksson
During exchange periods, the most important thing is to meet people and make new friends. We, the participating teachers, met the teachers of Lycée Les Avirons as colleagues, and thanks to the long-standing cooperation, the plans progressed smoothly. Trust and understanding move things forward. In the same way, bridges are built for young people: through an exchange family, they get to see ordinary life and become part of the community. “We became real close friends,” said one of the young exchange siblings.
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Reunionese Erasmus+ teachers Pascale Payet-Jugand and Simon Jugand presenting their Finnish guests the unique circus valley area of the volcanic island in Cilaos, Reunion Island. Photo: Tiina Fredriksson
I think the essence of Europeanness is in our encounters with each other, and it says something about the time when I ended up talking about peace and community with adults. I also chatted with a Dutchman on the plane, and we agreed on how important it is that we know each other. The man told me he was from an industrial area near the German border. “Oh, the Ruhr area,” I asked. “Exactly! How can you know?,” he wondered.
The Finnish school system teaches us a lot about Europe. But only when we know each other, we also really know our continent and then we have a network: an exchange sibling may be waiting on the other side of the globe.
“I’ve already started thinking about whether I could do an internship there in the future.”
The italicized texts are quoted from a message from a Laanila student who spent a month in Reunion last year.
Original Finnish text: Tanja Lapinlampi
Translation: Tiina Fredriksson
Main photo: Erasmus+ French/Finnish exchange student siblings Gaitane Corre, Armi Koskela, Aino Määttä, Rose Souvignet, Gaetan Castell, Jamie Härkönen, Saana Vähäsarja, Alvar Sandell and Sacha Dubois having a farewell party on L’Hermitage beach, Reunion Island. However, there was no final goodbye then, but see you in Oulu.
Photo: Simon Jugand