Our mobility exchange with Instituut Onze Lieve Vrouw van Vroeugde in Roeselare in started this year in the bitterly cold February when the Belgians travelled to us.

We had been in contact before about the topic of the exchange: sustainability. The topic was explored from many points of view and included, for example, teaching the primary school classes about sustainable choices at home and at school. 

Lots of other culture was experienced too; it was the week of penkkarit, the last school day of the third-year students and the start of a new exhibition on Sami people in the Oulu Art Museum. Both engaging experiences in their own way! 

One student left this message after the week with us: 

"Dear Miss Minna,

in our week in Finland, we got to see a lot of stuff that we can't see in Belgium.  Such as the Sami, the a lot amount of snow, the sledding, the Winter Olympics, the sauna experience, the cabins ... all that in a single week. 

We got encountered by the cold winds and weather of Finland but managed to survive!

Throughout that week we also came across a lot of sustainable things on our way, such as the windmills, the different types of trash cans, the Sami people. 

We also learned about Finnish traditions, civic responsibility, and the way Finnish people live or even things that surprised me (for example they drink milk during their meal).

A cold trip that I won't forget! 

Thank you Minna and the Finnish students to make this happen!"

#belgiansinfinland #erasmus #verycold