Here you go!

Hej everybody!

I thought that it was high time that I update you all on things.

This school week as flown by! Tuesday was pretty rough with Swedish, Math, Physics, and Chemistry. But otherwise things have been going better and better in school and today I don't start until 12:30, and I end at 3:30 which is pretty exciting. But today I have my first assignment in Swedish. During class (80 min) we have to write a summary interweaving 2 web articles and a 30 page selection from our Biology textbook. I was pretty freaked out about it at the beginning of the week but then I found out that it wasn't for a grade and I prepared a lot for it last night which is good so I guess we'll just see how it goes!

I think that what has made this week go by so fast is the anticipation for our class trip to Norway! I am so excited! My suitcase full of  winter clothes is arriving Friday night. So then I get a chance to pack my things over the weekend and we take off Sunday evening. We are driving (15hrs) to Krossbu which is in Jotunheimen somewhat close to Galdhöpiggen. We are going to be hiking and spelunking and exploring glaciers for a week! I think that the whole class is really excited. The best advice I've gotten about the trip so far is to bring a lot of candy!

Yesterday was said to be the last day of summer. :( But I really shouldn't complain because the days prior had been absolutely amazing. I can't get over the fact of how lucky I am to have gotten placed with a family with oceanfront property. Coming from Indiana, this is absolutely a dream. So I guess from here on out it just gets colder and darker...oh well. Still livin' the dream!

Otherwise I don't think that there is much new going on. I feel like I'm starting to get into a routine of things but at the same time, everyday I see or experience something new which is really exciting!

I just now figured out how to upload pictures to the blog so that is new and exciting! I will try to post more pictures because they can probably describe things better than I ever could!
These next few pics are a combination of some from my first two weeks here.

PS. Here is a link to a video from the on arrival orientation at Kärsögården that one of the leaders made: http://vimeo.com/72824314

 This is me saying goodbye to one of my best friends, Ivy, at the airport.

 

 This is the wonderful welcoming recpetion I recieved when I arrived at airport in Ängelholm.

(Jan, Anton, me, Yvonne)

 

 These are my feet as I enjoy one of the many absolutely beautiful days by the water in Hittarp.

 

 This is my good friend Misha and I on the airplane about to leave for Frankfurt. Misha is also an exchange student in Sweden this year and she is from Washington DC.

 

 Here Misha and I are enjoying our very first day in Sweden together!At the moment we were right outside of Drottningholm castle.

 

 And here we are enjoying the nice weather and scenery at Kärsögården in Stockholm. (And in the background you can see Anna, she is from Wisconsin and will be spending her year in Lund, Sweden.)

 

And finally, a gorgeous sunset from Kärsögården.

 

 

(for those of you at home; nutterbutters, those mechanical pencils with the twist up eraser, Hershey's dark, reece's, starburst.)

A Week In

Hello everybody!

So this post marks about a week into this adventure! And I am loving it!!

School is school. It's really cool to notice the differences between school in the US and school here. There really are a lot of differences. I haven't gotten a full sense of what my classes will be like yet, b some will definitely be challenging. I'm going to check with my home school to see which classes will be transferable, that way I know which classes to maybe focus a little bit more of my attention on.

On Thursday, Elna and I had some hours to kill in Helsingborg between classes. We walked around town and it was nice to talk to her and stuff. Anyway, she invited me to go see a movie with her on Friday  night which was really exciting because I was so pumped that I had made a friend! So after school on Friday we went to her house in Mörarp. To get there, it's about a 15 min train ride. Students don't have to buy train tickets because they have a student bus pass. But I don't have one of those student passes. So without thinking, we got on the train and eventually it was time to check our tickets. We then realized that I didn't have a ticket. Elna showed her students pass and then told the lady that I had forgotten mine. The lady then asked me if I knew what that meant and I said no, she said it was 1000 SEK (Swedish Kroner) fee. In my mind I thought that I would have to pay that then and there. But apparently it was just a warning and she moved on...so scary. So on the way back into town I was sure to buy a ticket and then guess what? They didn't check our tickets on the way back! Oh well..
Once back into town we went to the movie theater and saw Mortal Instruments City of Bones. It was actually really good. And I don't know what it is about sitting in a movie theater before a movie, but I always become more talkative so that was probably good.
So all in all it was a fun first Friday night in Helsingborg.

Today the whole family slept in and we had a late start with breakfast at 11. From the breakfast table we can see the ocean as well as Denmark and we could see that it was a beautiful day. Seeing as it might be the last opportunity of the summer to go over to the other side, we decided to make a day trip to Denmark. An hour later we were all packed up and had driven the boat and ourselves up to the next village of Domsten. From there it's about a 15-20 min boat ride to Helsingø. We made camp on a beautiful   sandy beach. The weather was wonderful. Before we left we had called and ordered lunch from the local Danish butcher. Seventeen smørebrød sandwiches. All with different kinds of toppings and boy were they tasty! We sat on the beach for a while before grabbing some ice cream and heading home.

It was probably one of the best days I've had in Sweden so far. The weather was fantastic and it was really fun to just hang out with my family and get to know them better.

Well that's it for this update!
Stay good.

Getting into things?

Hi friends!

Okay so today was day 2 at Olympiaskolan. I started at 8:30 this morning but got there a little late because the bus was delayed. The day started off with biology which consisted of just a little bit of review from last year. Then we went to chemistry which was also mostly review. After that we were supposed to have English, but after waiting for 20 minutes the teacher had not shown up so we went to lunch. After English we were supposed to go on a class picnic. But since no one wanted to wait around for a picnic we all decided to go home. I walked with Elna, Malin, and Lina down to the bookstore and then to the bus station. I came home early which was good considering that I was really exhausted.

Part of the reason why I was so tired was because my first soccer practice had been the night before. One of Anna's friends, Amanda, invited me to her teams' practice. She and I biked to practice together. We practice from 7:30-9. It was nice to play again after not having practiced since May. But it was also a little bit uncomfortable as it probably always is when you are on a new team. The coach said that I can practice with them for a couple weeks and then if I want to I can fix it with the club so that I can play games. So it will be exciting how that all turns out!

Tomorrow I get so sleep in. The class at Olympiaskolan that I ended up in, the only one with room, is natural sciences with firefighting. Well I am in their class but when they go to Brandorama (fire station) I will go to an extra physics class, yay! So anyway, they are going there tomorrow morning and my extra physics doesn't start until next week. So the first thing I have is at 10:30, all the 2's and 3's are going to a concert or play or something in Helsingborg. So it will be nice to sleep in! After that, I don't have a class until 2:10 so there is plenty time between there to have lunch and run errands.

All in all everything is well. I love my family so much and I am so lucky to have gotten placed here! School seems like a big dark cloud over my head at the moment but I'm sure that it will get better very soon.

I'll keep you all updated!

Starting to feel real

Hi everyone!

Today was a huge day in that it was my first day of school! I'm in the 2nd year of gymnasium at Olympiaskolan. My day today started at 9am and my host mom, Yvonne, was nice enough to drive me to school. The day started with a gathering of all the students in my grade. I even ran into Morgane, a French exchange student who I had met at the orientation. We then split into our individual classes and did quick self presentations. We then talked about the Norway trip that our class will be taking during the first week in September. I'm really excited!

Then it was lunch time and this girl names Elna was nice enough to show me around. That was the end of our first day and Elna and I walked to the central bus station together. I proceeded to take the bus home and that was the end of my first day!

Everyone in the class seems really nice and I think that it will be a great  year!

Otherwise these last couple of days my family has just been showing me around Hittarp and Helsingborg. It's a lot to take in and I'm just now starting to recognize where I am at times.

We're here!

Hello friends!

We arrived in Sweden on Wednesday. We drove from the airport to Kärsögården which was where our orientation was. Total we were about 60 students from all over the world who are going to be in Sweden this year.
It was very exciting to get to meet all the people. Myself being one of only two students who speak Swedish, I truly admire the other students. Coming to a country barely knowing any of the language. And on top of that, maybe their English isn't very good! Can you imagine being in a county where you don't know the language and you're also not a native or good English speaker, unimaginable to me. But kudos to them!

Overall, the orientation was a huge success in my eyes. It was really helpful and fun, and the leaders were really awesome! (Esp. Jaana and Annie, Go Team Klang!)

My host sister, Anna, texted me yesterday and said that she was on her way to the airport to leave for her year in Missouri. WE were both a bit disappointed that we wouldn't get the chance to meet each other before se left. But even before I came she had been so helpful in telling her friends about me and helping me get on a soccer team and such. She also left some clothes and things in her room for me (I am living in her room) that I can borrow and I just thought that that was so sweet!

It was sad to leave the comforts of Kärsö. But I am soo excited to see everyone again in May. Everyone will be speaking Swedish and it will just be really exciting!

This morning I flew by myself from Bromma airport to Ängelholm airport where my host family picked me up. (I would have taken the train with some other students but my host parents wanted me to fly so I would arrive earlier and be able to go to a family get together) They had a super cute blue and yellow sign that said Välkommen Rebecca.
It's about a 30min drive from the airport to where we live in Hittarp. As we arrived at out home I was just amazed. The house is very nice and my room is lovely. And there are incredible views of the ocean. Their front yard is separated into two by a road and the yard on the other side borders the ocean. We can clearly see Denmark too. It is a wonderful place to get to spend my year.

I feel so lucky

And so it begins!

Hello friends!
I decided to do this blog very last minute but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

As I am writing this I am sitting at our gate in Frankfurt waiting to continue my travels to Stockholm in a while. There are four girls (including myself) going to Sweden from the US this year. We all met at the Washington DC airport yesterday before flying over together. The flight was 7 hours long and surprisingly pleasant. There were not many people on the plane so we were able to stretch out which was really nice. At this point I'm just really anxious to finally get to Sweden!

As I sit here, the sun rising in Germany, feeling like its midnight I realize all the amazing things that I  have to look forward too. Leaving yesterday was leaving home, but coming back in June will also feel like leaving home and that is so cool to think about.
I'm nervous of course, but the nerves are becoming excitement as I realize how much I am going to love this experience!

Although saying goodbye to my friends earlier was one of the hardest things I've done and it made me realize how lucky I am to have such good friends that make these see-you-later's so hard! I love you all soo much! And I miss you already!

Im excited, hopefully you're excited too!