Thanksgiving in Sweden

Thanksgiving. A classic American holiday, but seeing as how I am now living in Sweden, I had absolutely no idea how I was going to cook such a huge meal for my first host family. They were so incredibly helpful with the planning, the grocery shopping, and the cooking. The dinner for 8 people (My host family and my host family's grandparents) turned out wonderfully. The food turned out well,  and I was amongst the most wonderful company. This year, Thanksgiving included a turkey, stuffing, salad, cranberry sauce, dinner rolls, green bean casserole,mashed potatoes, gravy, pumpkin pie, and pecan pie. I am so grateful for my Thanksgiving in Sweden this year. I was able to share traditions from my American family with my Swedish family and it was overall one of the best Thanksgivings I have ever had, and I have many great memories from that day.

Pumpkin Pie

Stuffed Turkey

The turkey after Ulrika sewed it up

Turkey, just out of the oven

The turkey

Dessert

Mashed Potatoes 

Dinner Rolls

Stuffing and Green bean casserole

Salad and cranberry sauce

Thanksgiving dinner in Sweden

From the left: Bengt-Ove, Ulrika,Ulf, Axel, Anna, and Catarina

Time to dig in!

I want to give a very sincere thank you to everyone who helped me with Thanksgiving dinner! (Especially my families in the U.S. and Sweden)

My Life in Sweden: Photo Edition: Part 2

Seeing as how I am long overdue for a new blog post, I thought I would share some photos from the past few months, so here goes:

At the surströmming party, my host family bought my favorite drink: Ramlösa Smultron. In English, it's wild strawberry flavored mineral water, so good! 

This is my locker at school, the photo doesn't really show how huge it is but there is plenty of room for a big jacket, my back pack, and all of my school books. 

This is a photo of me, and another Uppsala RYE student Beth (California). Beth is a vegetarian, and she is not smiling in this photo because she did not try the surströmming. For those who don't know, surströmming is a traditional Swedish food. It is fermented herring that is buried in the ground for a year before it is ready to eat, just imagine the smell. 

This is my plate of food from the surströmming party.

All of the RYE students from District 2350 at language camp. ( not pictured: Dave and Beth) 

The flags of my home country and my host country.

The can of surströmming.

Inside the can.

Proof that I willingly jumped into Lake Ekoln when the water was super, super cold. Thanks to Ulf Hansson for taking this magnificent photo of me. 

At a Rotary meeting with Stefan Hanna, one of the deputy mayors in Uppsala. I got to spend an entire day following Stefan at his very busy job.

My 18th birthday! 

Celebrating my birthday in Sweden, included waking up to my entire host family singing the Swedish birthday song and having a breakfast fika in my room, not to mention all of the wonderful gifts I recieved, my 18th birthday was the best ever. 

The changing of the guard at the Royal Palace in Stockholm. 

My birthday cake ( Vanilla cake with chocolate frosting, best cake ever!)

Helping Axel at his weekly horseback riding lessons. 

Chopping wood at the family farm during Fall Break.

Opening a care package from my Mamma back in Colorado. 

The package is open, felt like the luckiest girl in the world!

On a tour of the Falun Copper Mine during Fall Break.

Chopping wood, a lot of work, but also really fun! 

The Falun Copper Mine. 

Anna and I at the Globen Skyview in Stockholm.

GLOBEN.

Orange is our color. (After the tour of the Falun Copper Mine)

An escalator in the Stockholm Metro, so steep.

Boat Ride on the way to Kultur Natten.

Sunset from the top of the Globen arena in Stockholm.

The view from the top of the Globen.

Bengt-Ove ( my host dad) and his brother Anders spent part of the last day of Fall Break taking the dock out of the lake. I was a big help, this photo is proof. 

None of these photos are in order. They range from September- November. I have had some incredible adventures these past few months. Thank you Ulrika for taking nearly all of these, you're the best! 

Apologies

Before embarking on my exchange year, I spent quite a bit of time searching on Google for exchange blogs, especially from Rotary students who were in Sweden. I found it really interesting to read about all of their adventures in a land that I would soon be moving to for an entire year. However, there was a pattern that I began to notice with every blog that I read. I noticed that after awhile, blog posts were made with less and less frequency, and eventually the exchange students stopped updating their blogs at all. I scoffed at these incomplete blogs thinking: " Yeah, sure I'll be busy on my exchange year, but I'll have time for a weekly update". Well, I was wrong. I haven't updated my blog in nearly a month because I have been so busy. So here's the truth: I have absolutely no idea how often I'll be updating this blog, so I'm not going to promise anything. 

Autumn in Sweden

Another week has passed, and October is halfway over already...why is time passing so quickly?

On Monday morning, I woke up at 6.40 and had breakfast with the family before getting ready for school. My first class on Monday mornings starts at 8.30, bright and early. We are learning about statues in my Kultur & Idehistoria class, so we looked at a lot of photos of sculptures, right here in Uppsala. In my Svenska class we are going to start reading a novel that falls under the genre of Realism. We had Swedish meatballs with lingonberry jam for lunch at school, which was delicious. I went to ICA with Cecilia and Frida during our break and then it was time for the final lesson of the day, Samhällskunskap. As soon as school ended, I took the bus home so I could go to Anna and Axel's riding lesson. Axel rode the pony Igloo and Anna rode the pony Maja. The weather was warm enough that the lesson was held in the outdoor arena. Bengt-Ove took some really cute photos of the kids and their ponies and I just love going to their riding lesson every week. When we got home, we had tuna-fish quesadillas with lime and avocado and after dinner, we made home made limeades. I read some more children's books after dinner. Monday was a very busy day, but a great start to a new week.

Tuesday, my day began as it usually does at 6.40, but this time instead of oatmeal we had something else for breakfast which was kind of like oatmeal but it was white and had a different texture. Whatever I ate for breakfast tasted really good when mixed with cinnamon and sugar. In my Film and TV class we have been watching the first five or ten minutes of a movie, and then talking about why the beginning of movies are significant. It's actually been really interesting. I didn't go to Religion and instead I went to a Rotary meeting for lunch. I sat at a table with five Rotarians that I had never met before, so that was interesting and the presentation was about an old mustard factory in Uppsala. I didn't understand very much of the presentation, but the photos were really interesting. I went to the open-air market with Cecilia and Frida during our two hour afternoon break and I bought mjukglass (soft-serve ice cream) for the last time until the spring. It is really hard to find ice cream in the winter in Sweden, unless you buy it at the grocery store. Bengt-Ove made really delicious cabbage soup for dinner, and I loved it. Ulrika made a delicious apple pie-type dessert and I struggled with the basic task of making chocolate milk. I had a really nice conversation with Ulrika and a really relaxing evening at home. 

Wednesday morning, I woke up and had breakfast with the family before heading off to school at 9.30. We had a really short Klassråd that lasted all of 10 minutes. I had a nice chat with my class mentor Sofie. We learned about something in Filosofi, I mean I have no idea what we talked about, but it looked interesting. I bought a delicious sandwich from the school cafe for lunch, because the school lunch looked inedible. In Kultur & Idehistoria we watched a tv show that was basically exactly like Project Runway, but instead of making clothes, people made art and it was called Work of Art, really quite interesting. After school I walked to Ulrika's parents' apartment near the city center. I had wonderful fika with Mormor and Morfar and we practiced my Swedish together. Mormor and I spent a lot of time trying to buy tickets to an opera at the Royal Stockholm Opera. We were ultimately successful and I am excited to go to the opera with Mormor. We picked up Axel from his orchestra practice and made sure that he got on the right bus home, but first we picked up at lot of chestnuts at the central station. I have absolutely no idea what Axel plans on doing with all of these chestnuts but he now has 110. I met Morfar's cousin from Switzerland and we had fika again. I said goodbye to everyone after a delightful afternoon and I left to meet my Rotary counselor at a restaurant. We went to The Texas Steakhouse in Uppsala and it was really good. I ordered baby-back ribs, which were so delicious and so hard to eat politely. Christer and I had a really great conversation together, and dinner was so so good. I took the bus home and Bengt-Ove drove me home from the bus stop in Sävja. 

On Thursday, I woke up at 7.00 and had breakfast and got ready for the day. My first class on Thursday mornings starts at 11.30, so I had a lot of time to relax at home. After spending a lot of time figuring out how to turn the TV on, I watched The Little Mermaid in Swedish, with Swedish subtitles. I completely understood the movie, I don't know if that is a sign that my Swedish is improving or that I just know the movie so well in English that I could just understand the Swedish, not sure but either way it was a nice way to spend my morning. In my Religion class, we took a field trip to the Domkyrkan and we had a tour from a Swedish tour guide. I think I understood bits and pieces of what he said, and it was really interesting to learn more about the largest cathedral in Scandinavia. In Film and TV I showed my class the first 10 minutes of Silver Linings Playbook which was pretty cool. Marie drove us all home from our Swedish lesson after school and it was nice to talk to her a bit. Simon built a fire in the living room fireplace so I happily laid down on the floor near the fire and did my analysis homework for Samhällskunskap. 

Friday morning I woke up early, had breakfast, got ready and headed off to school for my first lesson at 8.30. In English class I went to the library with Louise and we just spoke Swedish together which is definitely helpful so I can learn more Swedish. In Swedish class, we got placed into book groups for our Realism project and in my group we are reading Två Städer ( A Tale of Two Cities) by Charles Dickens. I have a copy of the book in Swedish and I went to the city library and got a copy in English so hopefully that will help me with reading the book. I will read the novel in both Swedish and English, I think. Ulrika and I got home at the exact same time which was kind of funny and we listened to Spotify's weekly Digilistan together. I made cous cous with chicken curry for dinner which turned out really well, but it was pretty spicy. After dinner, we ate a delicious apple dessert that Ulrika had baked. For Fredagsmys my Swedish family watched the Sweden vs. Austria soccer game, and Sweden won. I talked to Ulrika and worked on my Swedish homework and watched maybe 20 minutes of the entire game.

On Saturday I woke up around 9.30 and watched a little tv with Anna and Axel and then we all ate breakfast together. I rode my bike to the gym at 10.30 and had a nice work out before riding my bike home. I had a quiet afternoon writing my essay for English class and watching Baz Luhrmann's William Shakespeare's Romeo + Juliet. At 18.00 we left to go out to a restaurant for Anna's special birthday dinner, although her birthday was actually in August. We went to a super fancy restaurant in the building of the old train station. The menu was entirely in English so I helped explain what some of the choices were to Axel and Anna. I had citrus Ramlösa, fish and chips, and chocolate mousse. The dinner was good and it was a lot of fun to get dressed up and go out to a fancy dinner.I was so tired when I got home that I fell asleep almost immediately. 

I woke up on Sunday morning around 8.30 and I watched a cartoon with Anna and Axel before breakfast. Sunday was a very productive day for me and I got a lot of school work done, especially on my English essay. I helped Ulrika move the patio table down to the shed to put it away for winter storage which was bittersweet. At 15.30, Axel, Anna, and I left the house and we rode our bikes to Sunnersta to the Scout's meeting place. We watched Wreck-It Ralph in Swedish and ate popcorn. On the way home, Anna asked me if I understood the movie, and suprisingly I understood quite a bit of what the characters were saying, as long as they were just talking, but if they were yelling or singing it was a lot more difficult to understand. We had incredible lamb with this sauce for dinner, and it was so good. I skyped with my brother Scott, my parents, and my Grandma after dinner and it was nice to catch up with them, since it had been more than a month since I had skyped them. After skyping with my family in the United States, I watched Bron with Ulrika and Bengt-Ove which was a perfect ending to a busy week. 

Kanel Bullens Dag & Autumn

I feel like I just updated my blog, but another week has passed by, very quickly for that matter.

We had no school on Monday, so my great weekend was extended into a 3-day weekend. I woke up around 9.00 and Bemp and Ulrika had already left for work. I had breakfast, and at 11.00, Axel, Anna, and I headed to the bus stop near our neighborhood, which was just a short walk away. We took the " Mjuka Linjen" bus which roughly translates to the gentle or soft bus route. It is not very yfast, and there are many bus stops so it is actually quite a relaxing way to get somewhere, assuming you're not in a hurry. On our bus ride, I got to see parts of Uppsala that I haven't seen before which was neat. We finally arrived at our destination of choice: IKEA. I have now been to IKEA twice since I moved to Sweden, and let me tell you, it is wonderful. The prices are really reasonable, the food is cheap, and the selection of stuff you can buy there is unbelieveable. I had so much fun wandering around IKEA with my younger siblings, and we ended up buying two blankets, a pillow, a stuffed bunny rabbit, a teddy bear, and some clothes hangers. The IKEA restaurant had a long line, so we ate downstairs at the smaller food place and we had french hot dogs. A French hot dog is a hot dog with mustard and ketchup in a baguette instead of a hot dog bun. After our shopping adventure, we went to ridlektion at Lurbo. Monday's lesson was really fun because I got to lead Axel's pony while he lay down on the horse and while he sat backwards, way fun! After ridlektion, Ulrika and I went grocery shopping at ICA. For dinner, we had twirly pasta with hot dogs and ketchup. I never, ever thought about putting ketchup on noodles, but it is delicious. After dinner we watched The Lion King ( AKA my favorite movie of all time) in Swedish, which was different, but the Swedish dubbing was really well-done and Pumbaa and Scar sounded the same as they do in English. 

Tuesday meant the end of my perfect weekend, and going back to school. I woke up at 6.40 and had my oatmeal the Swedish way (swimming in milk). In my Film & TV class we watched a movie called Hets (1944) which is the first film Ingmar Bergman ever directed. It was in black and white, and I found the Swedish quite difficult to understand, moreso than I find on a regular day-to-day basis. I went to ICA and bought a snack during my long afternoon break. I went home after school and Ulrika made red beet soup for dinner and jalapeño bread made from scratch. I never knew that I liked beets until I tried this soup, but it was so, so good. Mom, I like beets now, watch out. The new trailer for The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug came out and Axel and I sat by the fire in the living room and freaked out and watched it twice, I can't wait for that movie to come to theatres. 

On Wednesday, I woke up at 7.00 and had breakfast with everybody before going to school. I bought a gigantic ham, cheese, brie, tomato, and cucumber sandwich from the school café and ate that during Filosofi, which was a good idea, because the school lunch was not top notch that day. I met my friend Sara after school and we went on a hunt for mjukglass ( soft-serve ice cream), to no avail. All of the ice cream stands in Uppsala are closed for the fall & winter. We ended up buying ice cream from McDonald's which was good, but disappointing after our failure to find the ice cream I wanted. We went to the city library and The English Bookshop and had a nice walk around the city center before we parted ways. Choir practice was fun and we sang many interesting songs. I had a late dinner when I got home and had a pleasant conversation with Ulrika. 

Thursday morning, I woke up and went downstairs in my pajamas, still rubbing the sleep from my eyes and I had oatmeal for breakfast. I packed my gym bag and took the bus to the gym. I worked out for an hour and then got ready for school. Religion class was interesting, I'm sure, although I understood none of what we are learning. We had pancakes with lingon berry jam for lunch at school, and I was so full afterwards. After school, I went to the city library and returned some items and then I went to HemmaKväll (Swedish BlockBuster) and returned last week's movies. I introduced my friend Louise to the two Italian exchange students in my Swedish lesson and it was so cool to hear them speak Italian to each other. Louise was a Rotary exchange student to Italy last year, and I can only hope that my Swedish will be as good as her Italian at the end of my exchange year. I spoke a little Swedish to Marie ( Annalise's host mom) when she drove us home, the more practice, the better! I watched tv with Anna and Simon when I got home, and we ordered pizza for dinner. I got pizza Hawaii-style (Canadian bacon & pineapple), which is my favorite kind of pizza. Unfortunately, I dropped my pizza on the ground right before I got to the table, but I was hungry and not going to miss out on my favorite kind of pizza, so I followed the 5-second rule and ate it anyways. 

On Friday, I woke up at the same time I do every weekday and had the same breakfast I have every weekday, some people might find this kind of routine boring, but I think it's perfect. I am so settled in to my life in Sweden and I love having a morning routine to start my day. I made it to school on time for English class bright and early at 8.30. I chatted with Louise and worked on my essay, and we used Google Maps to look at her house and her school in Italy. During a break, I talked with Cecilia and her friend Alva and I practiced my Swedish more which is good! I have a tendency to compare my knowledge of Swedish with native speakers, and I always feel inadequate, but I have to remember that they have been speaking Swedish for their entire lives, just like I have been speaking English for mine, so our language abilities in Swedish are not even comparable. We wrote an essay on Candide for my Swedish class, I wrote my essay in English, but it was definitely difficult. I went to HemmaKväll with Cecilia after school and I rented 3 movies for the weekend. I cooked spaghetti and red sauce for dinner. I was really proud of my red sauce because I didn't use a recipe and I just improvised. I ended up cooking way too much spaghetti, so I filled the fridge with leftovers. We watched The Road to El Dorado in Swedish for Fredagsmys which was really entertaining. 

Saturday morning I woke up at 7.30 after a wonderful 10-hr night of sleep. I watched a tv show with Anna and Axel and from what I could understand, the show seemed to be about a Swedish celebrity baby-sitting a group of kids for a day, really funny, but confusing at first. After that, I rode my bike to the gym and worked out which was a nice way to work off some pent-up stress from a week at school and then I rode my bike home. After a quick lunch, Ulrika drove us ( Anna & me) to Sunnersta and from there we took the bus to Gottsunda Centrum, and then we took another bus to Norby. We spent the afternoon at Sierra's house baking traditional cinnamon rolls with her host parents Karin and Stefan. Annalise came over a little later in the day and helped us turn the dough we made into actual rolls. We made two batches with two different recipes, and they were both delightful. At 18.00, the rest of my family came over and Annalise's host parents came over and we had a nice dinner with soup and bread before our massive fika with the cinnamon rolls we had spent the majority of the day baking. I practiced my Swedish with Ulrika, Karin, and Mikael which was fun and the whole dinner was really interesting because I understood nearly all of the conversations we had and a few of the jokes! Compared to a dinner I had with Bengt-Ove's family in Vika the week I arrived, my Swedish comprehension has improved vastly. Who knew I could make jokes in Swedish? The dinner was great and I felt comfortable with the conversation and even participating, which was cool. I am feeling better about where my Swedish is now, although I am still frusturated because I have learned a lot of Swedish but it is a challenge to put it all together in coherent sentences. Lately, a few people have told me that I am "duktig" which is a word that is hard to directly translate to English, but it means good, so when people say " Du är så duktig! " it means something like " You are so good at Swedish, nice job! ". I was exhausted from a long day when I got home and I fell asleep at 11.00.

Sunday morning I slept in until 9.00, so I got 10 blissful hours of sleep. I left my phone at Sierra's house the night before, so we made plans to meet in the city center so I could get my cell phone and so we could check out the new American food store. I rode my bike all the way to the city center to meet Annalise and Sierra which is about 10 km (6 miles) north of my house. My bike ride into the city was really beautiful and scenic. Fall in Sweden is absolutely jaw-dropping. There are more deciduous trees here than in Colorado so when the leaves change color, there are way more trees to admire. Leaves range from deep reds, to bright oranges, to bold yellows and every shade in between. The bike ride took about 45 minutes. We walked around the city center and Sierra took photos of the Domkyrkan and then we had lunch at Kebab House. After lunch we sat by the river for awhile and chatted. I rode my bike home a different way than how I rode my bike into the city, so that was also beautiful. Suprisingly 12 miles of riding my bike was relaxing and not as challenging as I expected, I was able to go at a comfortable pace and my bike ride was definitely the highlight of my day. I had a wonderful conversation with Bengt-Ove and Ulrika when I got home in Swedish and they really understand me and my personality, which is fantastic. We had reindeer soup for dinner, and it was so good, but unfortunately I don't think it is possible to buy reindeer in Colorado. I spent the rest of my evening reading a Winne-the-Pooh book in Swedish which was a challenge. Pooh Bear is called Nalle Puh in Swedish and Eyeore is called I-or. Ulrika and I watched Bron which was dramatic and exciting. I can't wait to find out what happens on the show next week. 

I am really enjoying Fall in Sweden and I am definitely learning more Swedish! Maybe I'll start dreaming in Swedish soon! 

Living that V.I.P. Life

I have been in Sweden for two months, what even. I still feel like I got here yesterday and at the same time I feel like I have always lived in Sweden. Moving to a foregin country has been incredible, but the way time passes is so bizzare and difficult to explain. Anyways...

The bike ride to the bus stop on Monday morning was really cold and a little bit rainy, but after I got to school, it was just another regular day. After school, I went straight home and then it was off to horseback riding lessons with Axel and Anna. Anna rode a horse instead of a pony this week, named Cavaletti and Axel rode a pony named Bolle. The lesson was really cool because the kids got to ride bareback, and I got to run alongside and lead Bolle when Axel wanted to trot. Running along side a pony is definitely a lot of work, but it was so much fun! It's special experiences like these that really reinforce my love for my exchange year. Who would've guessed that I would have a little brother and a little sister and that I would get to go to horseback riding lessons with them every week? After the adventures at Lurbo, we returned home and had dinner. I helped Anna a little bit with her English homework, and I had an entire conversation in Swedish with Axel and Anna. I am so happy that I am able to practice my Swedish with my family here, they help me so much and I know that my Swedish is getting better day by day, and if I keep working hard, I will be fluent in Swedish.

Tuesday, I woke up at 6.30 and had breakfast with my family. Bengt-Ove likes to eat his oatmeal with applesauce, and then he pours a lot of milk into the bowl, until the oatmeal is swimming in milk. I used to think this way of eating oatmeal was super weird, until I tried it one day. Now I can never go back, drowning oatmeal in milk with apple sauce is the only way to eat breakfast. In Film & TV, we have been watching a lot of clips from old silent movies, so that is what we did in class. I didn't go to Religion and instead I went to a Rotary meeting of my sponsoring Rotary club. All of the Rotarians I met were so welcoming and friendly, although it was only my second time coming to a Rotary meeting in Sweden. After Rotary, I went back to school, and when I got home, Simon made spaghetti with chicken curry for dinner which was delicious.

Wednesday, we had a 10 minute class meeting, and after that I bought a cheese sandwich from the cafe and went to my Philosophy class. When I got home from school, I started cooking American pancakes for dinner. One thing I miss about the United States is maple syrup. The pancakes turned out well and Ulrika helped me cook them so I would have time to eat dinner before going to choir practice. I rode my bike to Sävja, which is about 15 minutes away. The choir practice was a lot of fun and I met some new people. I rode my bike home after  choir practice and it was dark, so I got a beautiful view of the stars and the moon.

Thursday, I woke up at 7.00 and had breakfast with everybody. My first class was at 11.30 so I had a long time to relax at home and get ready for the day ahead. It was 32 degrees F when I rode my bike to the bus stop and that was at 10.30 in the morning. In Religion, we read part of the Bible and we watched the trailer for The Prince of Egypt, I love that movie. We had spaghetti for lunch at school, and in Film & TV we watched some funny clips of Charlie Chaplin. I went to Hemmakväll ( a video rental store) to rent some movies. After I ran some errands in the city center, I made it back to school on time for my weekly Swedish lesson. I had a delicious dinner and chat with my Swedish family and I watched the local news.

Friday began with my usual morning routine. In my Samhällskunskap (Civics) class, my group had to do our presentation and inform the rest of the class about the results we complied from a survey we conducted in the school about cyber bullying. I went to the gym after school and ran for an hour which was a really nice way to relieve the stress of the week. Axel and Ulrika made fantastic tortellini for dinner, and afterwards we watched Remember The Titans. I installed iOS7 on my iPad, which is pretty cool.

Saturday was a very long day. I woke up at 7.30 and read a book for most of the morning before we packed up and headed to Åland, a village near Uppsala, where Mormor and Morfar have a stuga (cottage). At the stuga, there was a wood burning sauna so we used the sauna, played Scrabble, ate delicious hot dogs and in general had a fun and pleasant afternoon. I met Ulrika's other sister Märta for the first time so that was nice. Ulrika and I took a yellow and a green bus to get back to Sävja and we rode our bikes home from there. I took a shower and then we got ready for the night ahead. We rode our bikes to Sävja and took the bus to the central station. Ulrika bought our train tickets online, so we when we got to the station, we got right onboard the train, we had perfect timing and got on the train 5 minutes before it departed. We took the train to Gävle, about 100 km north of Uppsala. We went to a club where Stefan W.'s band was playing. Simon and Bengt-Ove prepared a song to play as part of Stefan's set list, so we went to Gävle to see them perform. Our names were on the guest list and we got to go backstage before the show, so that was a little taste of the V.I.P. experience. The Rhythm Kings played really well, and after the show, we drove by the house Ulrika used to live in, when she lived in Gävle. We finally made it home around 2.00 and I was exhausted after a fun and very busy day.

On Sunday, I woke up at 9.00 despite having fallen asleep only a few hours before. I had breakfast and chatted with Ulrika and then I made sugar cookies from scratch. We had left overs for lunch and a quiet afternoon at home. I responded to some emails and worked on some paperwork and applications. Anna made cornflakes chicken for dinner which was so good! Ulrika drove me to the Sävja church for choir practice. We sang 3 songs during the Sunday evening service and Ulrika came to support me, which was so kind. 2 of the songs we sang were in English and one was in Swedish. When we got home, we watched the second episode of Bron. The show is so suspenseful and I think that I am able to understand most of the show although it is in Swedish and Danish. I had a delightfully busy and entertaining weekend with my family here, and overall it was just an awesome week.

2 months have flown by, and I am having the time of my life.

Ylvis - The Fox & Kultur Natten

I've been in Sweden for nearly two months now, and I can't believe how quickly time has flown by.

On Tuesday, Bengt-Ove was in Belgium on a business trip, and Ulrika was in Småland for her work, so it was up to me to make sure that Anna and Axel got ready in time to take the bus to school. Everything was going great until Axel found a tick in his hair, ten minutes before he and Anna had to leave for school. I was cleaning up the kitchen, and they came in and told me that Axel had a " fästning" in his hair. I looked up "fästning" on Google Translate, and it said that meant the word "fortress". I had absolutely no idea why Axel was telling me about a "fortress", I actually thought that he was telling me a story about his legos. Axel actually meant to tell me about the "fästing" in his hair, but he typed it wrong into Google Translate, which is where all of the confusion began. The word "fästing" in Swedish means tick. So Axel and Anna were trying to tell me about the tick they had found in Axel's hair. Luckily, they managed to get the tick out of his hair. I made sure they brushed their teeth, and brushed their hair and I sent them off to school, on-time and tick-free. Now that I have survived the tick drama, I know that I am capable of handling anything and I know that I can get the kids ready for school all by myself. After a dramatic start to my morning, I had a very average day at school. We watched the movie Hugo in my Film & TV class. After school, I made rotini pasta with pesto for dinner. Anna and Axel spent the night at their grandparent's apartment, so I only cooked dinner for Simon and myself. I made peanut butter cookies later in the evening and they were delightful. I really love peanut butter and I am so happy that it is available in Sweden. 

Wednesday, I woke up early and had breakfast with my family. I usually wake up every morning between 6:30 and 7:00, which is really nice because I have time to have a long and relaxed breakfast and I am never rushing off to school. In Filosofi (Philosophy), I had absolutely no idea what our teacher Rickard was talking about and I spent most of the day, taking notes on Cecilia's computer and looking at photos of celebrities on People.com. My afternoon Kultur och Idéhistoria class was cancelled, because the teacher, Per was sick. I went home early and I worked on my homework for a few hours. Simon made super delicious salmon and potatoes for dinner, which was fantastic. Simon, Axel, and I watched Iron Man 3 after dinner. The first time I watched that movie in Colorado, I was at the drive-in, so of course, I fell asleep, so it was really nice to see the entire movie. 

Thursday, I was awake early in the morning like I usually am, so I had a lot of time before my first class at 11:30.  I watched half of Pitch Perfect and I ate some of the Ballerina cookies that Frida and Cecilia bought me for my birthday. I finally got my laptop from the school, which is great because now if I don't understand something in class, I can use my laptop to translate. In the afternoon, we did our Swedish poet walking tour and presentations. I presented the biographical information about my chosen poet, Gustaf Fröding entirely in Swedish and I read one of his poems to my group. Everyone seemed really happy and excited that I managed to do my presentation in Swedish, and my group applauded for me twice. After my successful Swedish presentation, I took the bus to IKEA to meet Anna and Ulrika. We went shopping for about an hour and I had so much fun. IKEA here in Sweden is really affordable and I bought a hot dog for only 4 Swedish crowns, which is less than 1 US dollar. We went to the home of Ulrika's parents, and Morfar gave us a jar of lingon berry jam. He bought the berries and then made jam out of the berries he had bought. Ulrika walked with me to my extra Swedish lesson after we dropped off Anna at her piano lesson. It was nice to meet the other exchange students again, and we had even more students in the class than last week. Marie (Annalise's host mom), gave us all a ride home, and in the car we spoke a little bit of Swedish together, and that was a lot of fun. I am starting to feel better about my Swedish and I was very happy that I understood the questions that Marie was asking me in the car. 

Friday was a long day at school. I always want school to go by very quickly on Fridays so the weekend can begin. Cecilia and I showed Frida the " Ylvis - The Fox" video on YouTube, which Ulrika showed me the day before, so funny. After school, I went home and packed my bag to go to Frida's house. Cecilia's dad drove us out to Frida's house and she lives 2 Swedish miles away from Uppsala ( 20 km). I met my next-door neighbor at Frida's birthday party, which was really funny because we only kind of recoginized each other, having only met once before. We had tacos for dinner and we watched She's The Man, The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey, and Wedding Crashers. I had a fun time at Frida's birthday party and it was nice to meet all of her friends and family. 

On Saturday, I spent the morning at Frida's house and had breakfast before I finally got home around 13:00. My host family's friends from Nyköping drove to Uppsala for Kultur Natten and we had lunch together before taking the motor boat into the city. I had a great time meeting Helen and Nicklas and their children Matilda and Oskar. I had so much fun at Kultur Natten and we went to a really fun salsa dancing lesson in Stadsparken. Matlida was my dance partner and we had a blast together. We took the boat home for dinner, and after dinner we watched Despicable Me. After that, we watched The Hobbit: An Unexpected Journey. Yes, I watched the same movie two days in a row, but I fell asleep watching it on Friday night at Frida's house, so it was nice to watch the entire movie. Saturday was an exhausting day, but it was also full of good times and laughter. 

Sunday was a beautiful day in Uppsala, and it was sunny outside. I woke up around 9:00 and I got ready to go hiking with the Sunnersta Scouts. Beth (from California) and Anna-Karin rode their bikes to my house to pick me up. We met up with the other scouts by the bridge, and we set off on our hike. We went to the forest behind my neighborhood and we hiked for about an hour and looked for mushrooms and berries. Unfortunately, we didn't find very many edible mushrooms. Bengt-Ove says that it has been too dry lately for any mushrooms to grow. We did collect a small amount of lingon berries and I got to take our findings home with me. Ulrika turned the lingon berries we picked into a lovely jam, although there was only a very small amount of berries. About an hour into the hike, we stopped for fika. When I got home from the mushroom picking/hiking adventure, my Swedish family was out on their motor boat visiting a castle. I went into the city center to get fika with my Rotary counselor later that afternoon. We had korv stroganoff for dinner, and after dinner, Axel and Anna were watching tv and they thought they saw me on the tv, so funny, but we never figured out if it was me or not. 

Monday meant the end of a wonderful weekend and the start of another week at school. I am nearly finished with my project in Kultur och Idéhistoria so that lesson was very productive for me. Svenska was cancelled, so I had a three hour break before Samhällskunskap. I worked on some homework during the break and I hung out with Cecilia and Frida. I went home right away after school to go to horseback riding lessons with Ulrika, Anna, and Axel. I helped Axel with his pony, Bolle, and this time Bolle didn't try to bite me, which is a plus. It's really interesting to see Axel and Annas progress in their lesson each week, and I can already tell that they are improving and learning many new and useful skills. Bengt-Ove made two different kinds of Swedish pancakes for dinner: one kind was cooked on the stove and the other in the oven. The pancakes were absoulutely delightful, and I got to try the lingon berry jam that Mormor and Morfar made. ( Best. Jam. Ever.). I skyped with Ally, and that was cool because she is in London and I am in Sweden so we only have a one hour time difference.

I cannot even fathom that September is halfway over and that I have been living in Sweden for almost two months. 

As always, let me know if you have any questions about Sweden. : )

Surströmming, Stockholm, & My 18th Birthday

It's hard to believe that I've been in Sweden for five weeks already, nearly six. That means that I've been here for a month and half, which is crazy! My Swedish abilities are improving slowly, but surely.

Monday was an average day for me. I woke up at 6:30 and had breakfast with my host family before we all went our separate ways to school and work. My legs were pretty sore from all the biking and walking/ going to the gym that I've been doing, so I am hopeful that the soreness in my legs is just a sign that I am getting more fit. I am working on a project in my Kultur och Idéhistoria class and for my project I am reading 1984 by George Orwell. This is one of my favorite books of all time, so I am really happy that I could pick a book that I've already read for my project. I am reading the novel in English, but writing the assignment in Swedish, so I am sure that will be quite the challenge. Later in the day, Cecilia and I watched old Danny Saucedo and Darin music videos, which were hilarious. ( Danny Saucedo & Darin are two famous Swedish pop singers, btw). After school, I went to horseback riding lessons with Axel and Anna. We go together every Monday, right when I get home from school. I really love helping my younger Swedish siblings at the stables because I like horses and it's just a really fun activity that I get to do every week. After we got home from the stables, we ate a quick dinner, and we watched Titanic in English with Swedish subtitles. That was an emotionally-draining movie, but I had a great time watching it with Ulrika and the kids. Bengt-Ove didn't watch Titanic because as my Grandma in Colorado would say: " I already know how it ends". 

Something that I find interesting about Sweden is that almost all of the movies here are available in English with Swedish subtitles. In Sweden, the only movies that are dubbed into Swedish are animated  children's movies, besides that every movie comes in it's original language and Swedish subtitles. 

Tuesday I had a very short day at school and I only had one class. Cecilia walked with me to the hotel where my hosting Rotary club has their meetings, so I wouldn't be completely lost.Tuesday was the first time that I had been invited to attend Rotary, so  I was very happy that my school schedule allowed me to attend. All of the Rotarians that I met were very friendly and welcoming. After the meeting, the club president offered to give me a ride home, and she drove me all the way to the southern part of Uppsala, where my 2nd host mom lives. I had fika with Karin (2nd host mom) and Beth, the newest Rotary exchange student. Beth arrived in Sweden on Monday night, so obviously I had to meet her and get acquainted with her right away. I ended up staying for dinner, and after dinner we took the family's dog on a walk all around the neighborhood and to the nearby lake. I walked with Beth (from California), Alva ( host sister), and Emma (host sister). We had great conversation and we even played on the zip line at the elementary school in the neighborhood. 

Wednesday, I woke up at 7:00 and ate breakfast with my host family. I woke up way before school started so I had some free time before I had to leave. Being me, I spent my free time reading about The Titanic on the internet, I learned many interesting facts and I think it was actually quite a productive way to spend my morning, if I do say so myself. When I finally did go to school, I had Filosofi (Philosophy), and I understood absolutely nothing. During our break, Cecilia and I went to ICA and I bought mini Swedish pancakes with raspberry jam for a snack, they were wonderful. On the bus ride home from school, the bus broke down about 3 stops ahead of where I was supposed to get off, so I walked to where I had left my bike in the morning and made my way home. I made my Swedish family BLT's for dinner, they turned out really well, and I thought the sandwiches were delicious. I also made lemon bars for dessert. While Ulrika and I were cooking dinner, we listened to Danny Saucedo on Spotify and had an awesome kitchen dance party. Ulrika and I share a very similar sense of humor and we always make each other laugh, a lot. 

Thursday, I was up early again, so I had free time again, before I had to leave for school. I skyped with my best friend Jae Jae and it was great to see her face and just catch up on her life back in Colorado. In my Religion class we did a skit about moral and ethical dilemmas. I didn't completely understand my groups skit, but I know that Frederick played the part of a pregnant teenage girl who was facing the ethical dilemma of abortion. I played the stern, silent, Catholic mother, while Bonnie got to play the angry father. It was a really amusing skit, and Religion class was definitely interesting. We had delicious pancakes for lunch at school. I had my first Swedish lesson after school with the other Rotary exchange students and a few other exchange students living in Uppsala this year. The class is just one hour every week and it it held at my school, Katedralskolan, so that is convenient. I thought the lesson this week was very easy and I am hoping that I learn more with future lessons. After the lesson, Sierra's host dad Stefan drove me, Sierra, Beth, and Annalise back to my house for a surströmming party. Surströmming is a traditional Swedish food, it is fermented herring that is buried underground for one year before it is canned and ready to eat. The smell of the herring is actually a lot worse than the taste, and I was a little unsure about trying it, but it was a lot better than I expected, and actually kind of good. I invited my friend Louise over for the party, and it was great to introduce her to my Swedish family and the other exchange students. After dinner, we sat on the trampoline and talked while my younger siblings jumped and played games all around us, so much fun. 

Friday, I had my first class at 8:30 in the morning, so this time when I woke up early it was great because I had just enough time to get ready for school and go. School was very ordinary, and I didn't understand my teachers. After school, I went to ICA with Cecilia, Josephine, and Disa, and we all bought ice cream bars. After I got home, I packed my back pack and spent some time with Ulrika before heading off to a new bus stop that I had never been to before. The bus stop was a few kilometers away from my house so I rode my bike there. I took the bus to my friend Sara's house, because she had invited me over for a sleep over. I had fun cooking dinner and meeting Sara's friends and family, and it was nice to meet new people. I could barely remember anyone's names, but everyone was so welcoming and friendly. I slept wonderfully on Sara's couch with a huge white down comforter. Friday was a good day. 

Saturday, I took the bus home from Sara's house and I had lunch with my host family. In the afternoon, some family friends drove to Uppsala from southern Stockholm. We took my host family's motor boat out onto Lake Ekoln loaded with a picnic, and some water guns. We went out to an island called Klinten. On my 2nd day in Sweden, we went sailing to Klinten, so it was really interesting to see the island again. This time, we use the wood-burning sauna on the island. The Water Battle Extreme started and I had a total blast. We had a lot of water guns and the lake, so I got soaking wet. I went to warm up in the sauna, and Axel and Anna came into the sauna with water guns and surprised us. I had such a great time at the island, and after the water battle, we had hot dogs for dinner. I skyped with my Dad and my brother Scott so it was great to finally see them and tell them all about my adventures in Sweden. After I skyped with my family, my Swedish family skyped my host brother Hannes, who is on his Rotary exchange year in the United States. It was nice to see Hannes again and I think that he is liking Michigan. It was cool to meet his host parents over skype, too. Saturday was just overall a fantastic day with my host family. I love my host family, I know that now, and I know that will only make it harder when I have to switch families in a few months. 

Sunday was without a doubt my favorite day in Sweden so far. My Swedish family celebrated my birthday in the traditional Swedish way. On Saturday night, Ulrika reminded me that we were going to celebrate my birthday on Sunday, even though my birthday is on Monday. She also reminded me that no matter what, on Sunday morning, I had to stay in bed and I couldn't come downstairs. So on Sunday morning, I was asleep in my bed, and my entire Swedish family got up early to prepare breakfast for me. They came upstairs with a tray of hot chocolate and my favorite Swedish bread topped with honey, butter, and purple and pink heart shaped sprinkles, and of course, candles. They came upstairs singing the Swedish birthday song for me, and they put presents on my bed. I woke up because I heard the singing, and I momentarily forgot that we were celebrating my birthday and I thought " Seriously, who is singing this early in the morning?". But, I sat up and opened my eyes and I found my whole host family in my bedroom with presents and breakfast. It was quite the sight to wake up to, and we ate my special birthday breakfast together while I opened my presents. My Swedish family knows me so well. Axel made me an adorable stuffed animal holding both an American and a Swedish flag. Anna gave me a beautiful, casual white dress that will be perfect for attending Simon's graduation in the spring. I also got two HUGE bottles of my favorite Swedish beverage, Ramlösa, which only further proves how well my Swedish family knows me. I also received a delightful Swedish cookbook and some other gifts that I can't recall off the top of my head. I was so happy that I got to celebrate my 18th birthday the traditional Swedish way. After the morning celebration, I took the train to Stockholm with Ulrika and Axel. We spent the day admiring the sights in Gamla Stan and all around Stockholm. We witnessed the changing of the guard at the Royal Palace, we went to NK (Swedish Macy's), and we got ice cream and lunch. I had an awesome time exploring the city with my Swedish family. Later in the afternoon, we took the subway to a suburb in southern Stockholm. From there we took a bus and walked. We arrived at a pancake party hosted by the same friends we had a water fight with the day before. Ulf had received a pancake machine as a gift from a friend, and we spent the evening eating wonderful pancakes and having a great time. Anna and Bengt-Ove drove down for the party, and after the party ended we drove home. Sunday was a perfect day. I couldn't have planned a better way to celebrate my birthday. I had so much fun celebrating my 18th birthday with my Swedish family and I am so happy to be living here. I am so lucky to have been given this wonderful opportunity and I am thankful every day. 

Monday was an incredibly important day.... my 18th birthday!  I can't believe I am finally eighteen years old. Since I celebrated my birthday with my Swedish family on Sunday, Monday was just a regular day. I woke up early, had breakfast, and left for school. My friends Frida and Cecilia got me two giant bottles of Rämlosa Smultron (my favorite flavor) and Ballerina and ICA Basic cookies. They know me so well. My Swedish teacher also had the whole class sing the Swedish happy birthday song for Frida and me and another girl who also has her birthday this week. In Swedish class, we also had fika. Despite having to go to school on my birthday, I had a wonderful day, and so many people wished me a happy birthday, in Swedish, too! After school, I went to horseback riding lessons with Anna and Axel, which was really fun. This week I helped Axel with his horse. I skyped my parents in Colorado for my birthday and it was great to speak to them, we ended up talking for nearly and hour and a half, and it was nice to introduce them to my Swedish family. This definitely has to be one of the best birthdays I have ever had. I am so thankful for all of the kind and friendly people that I have met in Sweden who helped me celebrate my birthday in so many fun and unique ways. 

I had an exciting week in Sweden and I will post some more photos sometime in the next few weeks. Let me know if you all have any questions about Sweden that I can answer. :) 

My Life in Sweden: Photo Edition

This is the first photo of Sweden that I took from the plane before landing at the airport. Sweden is very flat and there are many lakes and forests, what a beautiful view of my host country.

This is the lake that is about a 10 minute drive from where I live. The lake( Lake Ekoln) is actually quite large and it goes all the way to Stockholm ( 70 km south of Uppsala).

Closer view of Lake Ekoln. 

This is the sun peeking through some trees. In Colorado I am used to seeing pine trees, but I don't see deciduous trees as often as I do in Sweden. I live in between two forests and my commute to school every day is gorgeous. 

This is the Domkyrkan (Uppsala Cathedral). This is the largest church in Scandinavia. It is hard to tell just how big the cathedral is from this photo, but it is massive and lavishly decorated on the inside. 

Pappa, this photo is for you. Gustav Vasa is buried in a crypt beneath the Domkyrkan and this monument marks his grave. 

I went sailing on Lake Ekoln with Simon, Hannes, Ulrika, and Ulrika's sister/ her children on my 2nd day in Sweden. I haven't been sailing since I was 8 years old, so it was really fun to go sailing again. We also jumped into the lake from a dock and I quickly discovered just how cold the water is in Sweden. 

This is a photo of me and my younger host siblings Axel and Anna, and the family's pet cat, Sniff, from my first week in Sweden. They are very helpful with teaching me Swedish and we read children's books together. 

After a challenging reading lesson, we jumped on the trampoline together and I had a blast. 

2 days after I arrived in Sweden, my host family took me to Darlarna County and we visited my host father, Bengt-Ove's home town. The day we arrived at this lake, we had a party with some of my host family's friends. The building on the left side of this photo is a wood-burning sauna. We went in a motor boat from the other side of the lake to reach this sauna/ camp fire. I spent the day swimming in the lake and enjoying the sauna. 

This is the view from the cottage we stayed in while were visiting Darlarna County. 

On the left side of this photo, you can see the wooden outhouse that accompanied the cottage we stayed in.   

Another view from the cottage. Actually, part of the cottage is on the right side of this photo. 

This is a photo of Anna and me from when we dropped off Hannes at the hotel the night before he left for his exchange year. 

This is a photo of Hannes and me from when we dropped him off at the hotel. 

Ulrika took me dancing at the city park in Uppsala. I had so much fun learning a new dance, and even though I am not a great dancer I laughed a lot and had a really great time. 

Obviously, I did the cheesy tourist thing and asked for a photo with the dance instructor. He reminded me a lot of my brother Scott back in the United States. 

This is a photo of my first host family and me together when we were at the airport saying goodbye to Hannes. 

I did that instagram thing where I took pictures of my food, but actually I am really inconsistent about remembering to take pictures of my food, so I only have this one and the two below. This is chocolate chip cheesecake that I got when I had my first fika in Sweden with my friend Louise. 

This is a photo of the Apple Betty that I made for my host family the day that Hannes left. 

This is a photo of the Mackarutor that Simon made one day, it tastes kind of like brownies, but at the same time it's nothing like brownies, difficult to explain, and there is coconut on top. DELICIOUS. 

This is Dag Hammarskjölds Väg. This road is completely straight and it goes directly into the city center of Uppsala. I live a few kilometers south of the city, but every day I take the bus from this road to school and home again. I am still learning how to find my way around Uppsala, but I have gotten to know this road pretty well. 

This is a photo of what the Uppsala city buses look like. They are all bright green and they run on biogas. They are much cleaner than the buses in Colorado and here in Sweden, everyone takes the bus and it is a common mode of transportation. 

This is a roof near my bus stop where I leave my bike each morning. From my host family's house it's about a 5 to 10 minute bike ride to get to the bus stop. I lock/leave my bike under this roof, take the city bus to school. I get off the city bus near the castle and from that bus stop it's about a 5 minute walk to my school. 

This is the view from the bus stop I get off at near my school. Everyday, I see the Domkyrkan and the Uppsala Slott (castle). Uppsala is a beautiful city full of rich history and I feel like the luckiest girl in the world that I get to live here for a year. 

On my 5 minute walk to school from the bus stop, I walk down a beautiful street full of old houses and university buildings. 

This is a Uppsala Universitet building that I walk past every day on the way to and from school. 

These are just some of the many old houses that I walk by on the way to school, most of the street is paved in cobblestones. 

I apologize for these photos being out of order. Photo credits/ Special thanks to Ulrika for letting me use her photos on my blog. 

I will try to most more photos in a few weeks, hopefully these photos can give you all just a peek of my life here in Sweden. Sweden is a beautiful and historic country and these photos cannot even begin to capture the beauty here.