My lovely sibling Lukas and Louise :)

I ate that.

I am proud of my photography!

Playgrounds in Sweden are not American Standards "safe", so therefore they are fun!

It's All About Observing & Experiencing.

When I first go to Sweden it was raining. There were trees. So pretty much it was just like Bham. Except now that I've been here for almost a month, I've decided it's not the same at all. There are quite a lot of random things that I'm going to share about. In no particular order I will try to remember some of them and tell you guys.

•  Cars. Cars here are little. In America SUVs and trucks are common. Here I have seen approximately zero SUVS and maybe two trucks. Now I bet you're wondering how Swedes haul trailers and stuff. Well you may not know this, but Mercedes and Audis seem to work great, they look real classy going around the roundabouts with their trailers. 
• Speaking of cars. Swedes are much better and efficient drivers than Americans. It's not really something you can appreciate until you drive on a freeway here. Plus roundabouts are genius. Varberg had about three hundred and sixteen of them. 
• Cake. American cake sucks. I always knew that. But maybe you didn't know that. I have tried five different Swedish cakes that I can think of already. And they are just so delicious. Mmm. It's my name day on Tuesday so I get cake! 
• Let's see here. Oh! Robinson. So I am assuming everyone knows what Survivor is. Well Sweden is awesome, so they have Robinson. (Essentially the same thing. Apart from that Swedish television doesn't really believe in any sort of censorship. At all.) Oh and they also have Idol. So pretty much American Idol..but instead with Swedish people. A good portion of the television here is English with subtitles, so they are pretty proud of the shows that are actually their own.
• Rain. Rain rain rain rainnnnn. I love rain so much that I thought I would take it with me to Sweden and leave the beautiful sunshine in Bellingham. Whatttt was I thinking. I would like to tell you guys a story. Sometime, I don't remember when, I was biking to the bus stop. It was raining. I took a shower before I left the house. When I got to the bus stop (literally a two minute bike ride all downhill) it was like I had showered in my clothes. So school was a lot of fun that day. Cause I love being wet. When it rains here, it pours. Not Bham drizzle..Varberg waterfall raindrops. Apparently it has been raining more than usual lately...but who knows. At least they know how to heat their schools.
• So since I talked about rain, I will talk about wind. The hurricane wasn't done in New York, it flew over to visit us here too! It has been howling for the past couple days. I have to concentrate harder to keep my bike going straight. Cause in the mornings I'm kinda tired.
• Stoplights. I knowwww, super exciting. When the lights are going back to green after being red, they turn yellow in between. So it goes red, yellow, green and green, yellow, red. Today I was wondering why it is green. Red and yellow are primary colors. So why does go get to be green...not blue...
• Swedish people. Buses here are amusing. Here is how a typical bus scenario would play out. A person would get on the bus, sit down by the window with their bag in the seat next to them. This goes on until all the window seats are full. Generally speaking the next person to get on would rather stand up, than sit down in an open seat next to someone unless they know them. You don't really smile at anyone..and your bag is your best friend. I smile at least.
• Wind power! So you know those tall white windmill things that get energy from wind? Well they have those here. On my way home last weekend I decided to count them. I counted nearly 100 in a 30km stretch. I thought it was a lot, I dunno about you.
• None of the people in my class have worn sweatpants yet this year to school. Except me. I was planning on trying to dress a little nicer here..so I could make at least one friend...but I love sweats too much. They'll be my friend at least. 
• I wanted to tell everyone that on Monday's I get home from school at half past twelve. And on Friday's I start at ten to two and am done at four. I like it here:) Don't worry, that isn't the only reason.
• It is so strange seeing the ocean here. Coming from Bham, I am used to seeing the ocean with a backdrop of islands. Here it is the open seas. It is surprisingly different. Although last weekend I went down to Helsingborg...and guess what you can see from there! Denmark! 
• Dialects in Sweden are very distinct. If I were to drive to Seattle...the people would sound the same to me. If I travel even 30km South here..I can already hear the difference. Everything in Sweden is in a much smaller scale. Sweden is not a whole lot bigger than California..

I thought I should take a moment to talk about the Bellingham Cousin Clan. As of Monday we are all officially in different parts of the world. I am in Sweden. Ryan is in Maine. Calvin is in Oregon. Katie is in California. And Jason is still in Bham to hold down the fort until we reunite next summer. Can't forget our roots! You guys are the best. Jason I miss you, and I hope you are doing okay at Sehome without me..I am sorry I left you there all alone.

Speaking of cousins. Tangenttt! On Saturday I am going to Göteborg for an AFS event of some sort. Buuut afterwards I am going to the Fosse's house. It's been a while since I have seen them all...but I can't wait:) Hopefully Farmor och Farfar skall komma också. Yay for family!

Mom and Pop I miss you guys toooooo. But I do love it here, so don't even think of coming and taking me home! Although I bet you guys are at least getting someee satisfaction out of the peace and quiet at home. Mom-Today at lunch I had a couple peas, some lettuce, anc some carrots. I ate and apple when I got home, and had more carrots at dinner. I thought you might be proud, I'll refrain from talking about all the other days though..:) Pop-Dina kanel bullar är mycket bättre än dem jag åt ner i Helsingborg. Du vet ju hur att baka. Jag fick 32 ur 44 på en Svenk grammatik prov som jag tog på fosta dan i Svenska två. Jag lär mig! Jag ska få hundra procent når det är dax för mig att komma hem! Jag bara fuskade lite med Google Translate..jag lovar!

Hej så lange! Jag måste gå borsta mina tänder nu!

Och nu är jag i Sverige!

Well here I am. I have now been in Sweden for a little over two weeks. And A LOT can happen in two weeks. I have definitely done more in the past couple weeks than I have done all summer..it seems. Let us see here. I guess I should start from the beginning.

Airplanes. Airplanes are just a lot of trouble. It kind of sucks when they are delayed six hours. Mechanical problems, rain storms, and thunder and lightning just don't sit so well with flying. There are six American kids with AFS in Sweden. So we really got to know each other on the floor of the JFK airport. And my stomach..we were supposed to get dinner after the plane took off..which should have been around eight. But instead I ate dinner at one in the morning. I have neverrr tasted such delicious airplane food. The other thing about planes..they neverrr fail to make me sick. So that isn't really a highlight either. But they do transport you across the world, which I can't complain about.

Next stop was in Stockholm! The AFS orientation camp. I don't have much to say about that. It was awesome meeting all the kids from around the world, about sixty of us. The weather was gross though. SO Bellingham like. Rain rain rainnn. Yayyy.

Soo after the orientation camp comes the exciting part! Meeting my host family:)! They picked me up from the train station as if we already knew each other. Then drove me home to my new home! A RED house! I love it. I live out in the countryside, and it is beautiful. I think it will be worth the bus ride to school. Though I haven't explored it yet, there is a big forest somewhere behind my house and all the fields. I have lotsss of exploring yet to do.

Let's see here. There is so much to talk about..I guess I could talk about school. I started school not last Tuesday, but the one before. School is definitely different here in Sweden. I'll make a list of some of my observations.

• Teachers don't have their own classrooms. They have these funky shopping cart things that they bring their stuff in to the classroom. It's pretty odd, but seems to work well enough.
• Being late..isn't the same..as far as I'm aware there is no such thing as being tardy. If you're late you knock on the sometimes locked door, come in, and say sorry for being late. You just don't really come late..Swedes like punctuality. 
• On that note, there are no bells.
• Everyone has a different schedule. School starts at the earliest 8:10, and finishes at the latest 16:00. The schedules are SO confusing. Because everyday I have different classes..and even though I have math three times a week..it is in a different classroom on Fridays..well I made that up, I can't actually remember. But yeah. I have English and Math three times a week, all my other classes I only have one or two times. Plus they are allll different lengths. Anywhere from forty minutes to an hour and a half I think. Some days I have an hour or two hour gap between classes. And I don't start class until 13:50 on Fridays. So yeah, you get the point, it's crazy.
• Hmm lockers..lockers here are a funny shape and you bring your own lock. And people here do nottt believe in combination locks, all have keys.
• Oh! Lunch! Lunch in Sweden is free for everyone. You don't ever bring your own lunch. You can eat whenever you want while the cafeteria is open, and you can eat as much as you want. Plus you get real plates and silverware. AND there is milk machines! I love that. The food..not so much..but I'll be okay. There is always knäckebröd with butter if the food isn't edible. 
• What else...P.E. Everyone has it once a week. And in Sweden Everyone showers together after a sports practice..as opposed to showering at home. And the same goes for P.E. at school. It's normal to shower afterwards. Not always, but yeah. Not a highlight I'd say. 
• Ohh another thing. You call your teachers by their first name. Not saying I know all my teacher's names yet..but I definitely don't know anyyy of their last names.
• Class is pretty relaxed. And swearing in Sweden is probably the most normal thing ever. My older lady teachers all do too. And little kids. Just how it is I suppose.
• Buses. Their are no school buses here. No big yellow buses. Instead they have a wonderfullll public transport system. The bus schedule is probably as confusing as my class schedule. It's scary. You get a bus card to use if you live far enough away from school, or train if you live super far away. Cause in Sweden you can pick your school (it's not called high school, but essentially the same thing, only three years not four though) as long as public transport can get you there.
• In Sweden you pick your gymnasiet (high school) based on what you are interested in. They have different programs you can pick. I am in the social science program (I didn't get to pick). But they have lots of options. At my school you can do social sciences, nature sciences, theater, technique, restaurant stuff, store management stuff, a sports focused program, orrr some other program I either can't translate or am forgetting. Then there are other schools for people who like to ride horses or something. Anyways it seems more like college to me, just because of how much freedom you have to pick what you are interested in. For example the program I am in doesn't have any science, apart from social science that is..but no biology or chemistry or anything. It isn't required. I don't know exactly how it works, but at my school at least there is a points system and each course you take is worth a certain amount of points.
• Hmmm other school related things...bikes! There are sooooooo many bikes parked outside of school. And it's super weird because you don't lock your bike to anything..instead there is a bar thing that you lock through your back wheel so no one can bike off with it. And all the bikes are cruiser bikes. Noooo mountain bikes. If you rode one of those to school it would get stolen pronto. So basically keys are important..I have one for my house, one for my bike, and one for my locker. So I probably shouldn't lose them.
• iPhones. Let's just say I thought American's had a lot of iPhones. I was wrong. SOO many people have them here. It's tooo much. And if it isn't an iPhone it's some other sort of fancy touch screen. But Apple computers are wayyyy less common..except they won't be as of next week because our school is getting Macs for almost every student. It's a save paper slash our world is becoming super technologically based idea. So I think that will be a change too to what I'm used to.
• Bathroomsss. At my school there are no American style public restrooms. Instead of stalls, each toilet and sink has it's own little room. It's nice. Plus they don't smell terrible. The school in general is just a much cleaner place than Sehome. And America. 
• I can't think of anything else about school at the moment..but I have said a lot so I think I should be safe.

Ok. What's next. My awesome host family leaving me maybe! Just kiddinggg:) That sounded way too bitter. But it is true. They had a previously planned vacation to Bulgaria. Sooo after a week of staying with them they left. So I went down to Falkenberg to stay with my AFS contact person, Ulla, for the weekend. Let's see. Ulla loooves to talk. And since I have gotten here it has been nothinggg but Swedish once I tell people I know Swedish. That weekend was THUNDER like I've never heard thunder before. ALL day. And pouringggg rain. We still went for a walk on the beach though. Came home drenched, but that's ok. 


Food. So with my family the first week I was fed nothing but delicious food. I love Swedish food. Well at least all the sweets:). Anyways, after our walk on the beach Ulla took me to a famous Swedish surströmming party. The smell was way way way more than enough for me. Call me pathetic, but I was nottt interested one bit in trying it. It was enough with FIVE dogs running around. I don't want to talk about it, but the puppies tried to eat my Birkenstocks and I still have not forgiven them. 


The next day at Ulla's we went walking again. She lives in the countryside as well and has a beautiful forest with three lakes that she took me too. It was a lottt of walking for a person like me who just loves walking sooo much...but it was okay. I actually do have to admit that I liked it. 

Then this past school week I have been with ANOTHER family that lives close to my school. So basically I have been shipped all over the place. But it was very nice staying with them. They have a girl my age, so that was a lot of fun. School and speaking Swedish allll the time makes me a permanently exhausted person. So it was nice coming home to a relaxed family. Sandra, the girl I stayed with, let me come along to hang out with some of her friends last night (Friday night) which was very nice of her.


Swedish people have this tendency to be shy and cold towards strangers. SO. Basically it is hard to make friends is what I'm getting at.. But don't worrryyy guys. I think I've made some friends in my class. That's the other thing! You have the same kids in each of your classes! You are with the same group of kids from your first year of gymasiet to your last. Which I think is neat, cause you get to be really good friends with them. Makes it a little harder for me, coming in, being an exchange student, while they already all know each other. Buuut I'm working my through the shy Swedishness of them all. So it should all be okay. I can't complain, I'm only two weeks in! And I will be here much longer!


Nowww I knoww I've written a ton. But believe me, it isn't even half of what has happened. I think I am finally to talking about today though! Today I can back to Ulla's house. She invited an exchange student and his family up from Halmstad for a kräftor fest (I don't how to properly say that, but basically an afternoon of eating crayfish and a tonnn of other food). I am proud to say I ate TWO crayfish. Two different kinds. I liked the red kind better, they told me that's because it was one of the freshwater ones cooked in beer, not the saltwater one. Anyways, they weren't bad! My food eating is getting more diverse and salad doesn't taste as bad over here. 


Okayy one more thing to mention about Swedes. Fika. Yessss fika. It's soo wonderful. You can fika at any time during the day. A typical fika is coffee with a sweet cookie or pastry or something. But it can also be some other sort of drink and also not just with sweet food. But it's food and drink, not at a meal time, and it can last for any possible amount of time. I loooove it. My host dad loves to bake, and I love to eat what he bakes, so I'd say it's pretty great:).


And guess what elseee!! My host family gets home tomorrow and I am sooo excited. I was only with them a week before they left..but I felt at home with them and it will be very nice to be back in my own room and house and such. Plus wearing some clean clothes..cause when I packed I didn't really account for nine days, even though I thoughtt I did..


Anyways, I do believe that is all for now. I miss my parents and Calvin and Katie and my friendsss, but I'm doing quite well over here. God natt allihop!