Göteborg!!!

So here I am typing away at my computer when I should be sleeping. The temptation is too great to finish this blog though as it has been sitting on my hard drive for several days now. I just returned from a simple amazing trip to Göteborg and if you haven’t seen the pictures you’ll be seeing the video soon.

I rode down there by train and met up with the group of STS exchange students from all over the world. We stayed in a youth hostel, pigged out on Swedish candy, went to an amusement park with no waiting lines and took a bus tour around the city. It was all great fun.

But the best part I think was being able to share our experiences and feelings with people going through the same things as you. It was nice to know I wasn’t alone in feeling and dealing with some of the things I have been. Not as if I’m depressed or anything but I think most people don’t realize what a big thing it is to leave your home and start over somewhere where A) You don’t speak the language B) You don’t know anyone or anything C) The culture is so different from your own.

It’s been so wonderful, but there have been moments when I just felt so alone and tired. My head hurts sometimes after processing everything in Swedish, translating to English and spitting it out in Swedish again and there is an occasional moment when you’re looking around at everyone with their friends and their lives and you feel a really sharp longing for your friends and your old life.

But at the same time, I feel completely and utterly happy because in all truth I expected this and this is what I wanted. There’s a kind of terrifying excitement in doing this and now I am much more comfortable with myself and my ability to learn and survive in a new environment. And it’s only been two months.

In Göteborg I met some amazing people, people I hope to maintain contact with and people I hope to see again. The world feels so attainable to me right now and I feel as though I’m getting more and more global every day. Haha

Anyway as for my Swedish, I’ve started reading books in Swedish now. I actually bought some Harry Potter books as I figure best to start with something I’m already familiar with and actually enjoy. I speak Swedish at school and I’ve started speaking more at home, I felt really proud of myself in Göteborg when I realized how far I really have come in two months.

A couple days ago in the mail I got something that really made me smile. A friend from the U.S sent me a three page long typed letter and this is actually the second one they’ve sent (The first was handwritten) It brought a big smile to my face and I really appreciate it.

However at the same time it makes me feel guilty cause I’ve got a stack of postcards sitting on my desk already written but without addresses. I really gots to kick it in gear now!!

This coming Saturday is open house at my school and I have no idea what’s going to happen except that my friend is driving me so I don’t have to use the bus. It’s not like my mom can go and I doubt my host family would want to come so I’m sort of at a loss with why I’m going. It might be fun though.

An interesting thing, did you know the word in Swedish for ‘vegetables’ is grönsaker. If you translate it directly it means ‘green things’ even if it’s a orange carrot or a white cauliflower they are still ‘grönsaker.’ :}

And I’ve made a movie and posted it on Youtube of my past two months! You can watch it here- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fQ4PK6C1Hm8

Swedish for this blogggg

Ska du åka hem med bilen? (Ska dew okah him med beel in ?)

Will you go home with the car?

And there is a story behind this one
I was out shopping with friends this week when I asked, “Ska du åka hem på bilen?” Which made her double over in laughter cause I was asking “Will you go home on the car?”

She corrected me. But the mental image of her laying flat against the top of the car as it sped down the highway was certainly an amusing one.