Emily Pokrant, current senior, came back from Sweden to finish high school where Everything Matters. When her last final was finished during her Sophomore year of high school, she immediately left Metea Valley to catch a plane to Sweden.

Where did you move?

I was in Sweden, but my mom’s from this little island off the coast of Sweden called Gotland. I spent the whole year going to school there and living on that small island. It’s about half the population of Naperville.

How was the move to Gotland?

After we got out of class two years ago, I hopped onto a flight. We had to keep track of [several suitcases and our dog] because we had a connecting flight. We flew to Stockholm, and it was nine hours in the air. Then we had a layover in Stockholm for five hours. Then we got to go on a mini plane to the island for half an hour. Then when we got there we were picked up by my mom’s aunt.

What school did you go to?

Guteskolan.

How did that school differ from Metea?

Only two classes a day plus lunch. Each class was three and a half hours long. They’re different each day as one day I would have Swedish and English and then math and biology the next.

Do you believe that having two longer class periods were more beneficial than eight shorter ones?

I think it is more productive having it scattered throughout the week because it makes you more pressured to do your work than if it is once a week. You have so much time to do it otherwise. I think you’ll be more likely to procrastinate. However, I do think longer classes are good if they are a heavy subject such as Chemistry.

Is there anything else you’d like to say about the school system?

I would say that it is very different than here, and anyone who is wanting to study abroad should try it. It is a very great experience. Especially when you get to live there and see how people live.

Which school system was more beneficial to you?

For me, I’m more high paced, so I like [Metea] better. [Guteskolan] was like a mental break since you could take your time. There wasn’t deadlines. They tried to model it after college, which was nice, but I like the fast paced system we have here.

What was the reason for coming back to Metea Valley High School?

So I made an agreement with my mom. I said I would give it a year in Sweden, so I did, but the thing is in Sweden you start school a year later (in life) so I would have had two more years in highschool versus one. I thought, I did one year in Sweden and learned fluent Swedish, which looks good for colleges, and I can now go back to graduate and start my life.

What did you miss most last year?

My friends. It is very hard to make friends in the school I went to because there are so little people. There was 500 people in the whole school, but it is split into three campuses. You’ll only see about a few people each day.

What did you miss least last year?

Gym. In Sweden, gym is half a year and once a week for three hours. You don’t have to do anymore gym after that, so I liked it.

Will you miss anything from Sweden?

It was very quaint. I lived near a sheep farm, so it smelled like sheep, especially when it rained. I had to bike or walk home for a very long time, and it was nature filled.

Do you still remember what Metea Life stands for?

Not fully. I think there is integrity in there somewhere. I don’t think I even remembered it when I was here.

Finally, do you like Swedish Fish?

No. I don’t. It’s bad.