I’m Claudia Rey and I have been in an Erasmus mobility in Lappenranta (Finland) for five weeks. I stayed in a house of a Finnish girl called Sofia and her mother, and then she came to my house in Spain for 3 weeks.

My experience starts with my classmates, who were participating in a one-week Erasmus mobility. We arrived in Helsinki, we slept there one night and we visited the city a little before going to Lappenranta. I was lucky to have my friends during this first week, because we made together activities such as skiing, visiting museums or having a bath in a frozen lake, and also I could meet Finnish people to be with when my mates were gone. In those first days I saw how the classes were, how the town was and I began learning about Finnish culture.

When my friends left, to be honest, I felt a bit scared, but there was nothing to be afraid of: I just went to school, and in the afternoons I hung out with Sofia or my friends, and when none of them were available I went for a walk or to the mall.

My favourite days were when I went to Helsinki again by myself, when Sofia invited me to a spa , also the last Saturday because my friends organised me a party to say goodbye.

Talking about the school, education in Finland is very different from the Spanish one: students are more independent and have more freedom; they use the computers for everything instead of books and notebooks; they have lunch at school ( the food is free and not bad!); the course is divided into five periods, and there is an exam week at the end of each period.

When I was back in Spain again, it was not difficult to catch up with the program from different subjects at the Secondary school because from Finland I had been in contact with teachers and  my mates, and despite taking me a short time to be updated I feel that I could manage.

To conclude, it was an amazing experience: I loved the snow and the country in general, and I met people I will never forget and who I´m still in contact. I would say that everybody should do an exchange like this to learn about other countries and to know himself/herself a little bit more.

Claudia Rey. Alumna de 1º Bachillerato