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It's been a while...
Today was my last day of my first class here in Sweden. My exam consists of a paper (only 3 pages long, max.) and participation, as well as a guided tour we will have in Stockholm. I'm pretty sure I passed with flying colors! I've been working on reading and that paper for the last week so that's why I've been kind of busy. I will start my next class next week, Contemporary Sweden.
Life in Sweden is settling in and I'm used to my surroundings now. Going on daily walks through the neighborhoods is a lot of fun- seeing the different houses and more of the community is great. It's a lot different world, per se, once you're away from the corridor and into residential living. I feel like it's my own neighborhood I'm walking through. I've also been going to some Jazz concerts at a local coffee shop/bar. They are a lot of fun and it is a good hang out spot for all the exchange students.
I also started my Swedish language course last week, we meet just once a week for 2 1/2 hours and learn Swedish. It is a hard language to learn since I always want to keep my tone Americanized, but I have to make myself sound Swedish. It's a fun language to learn though. Last week we had a "corridor crawl" on the floor here. Basically that means each room (there were 9 of us) prepares a drink from their home country, or a favorite of theirs, and we go around to each room trying different drinks. You can imagine that at the end of the night, we are pretty crazy. It was fun though, since I don't know much about fancy drinks, I bought some Bailey's and served coffee with it and ice cream with Bailey's! It was a fun night.
Also, I posted pictures from the trip to Stockholm! It was such a fun trip, I loved it! The city is so beaiutiful, even though it was winter... it was freezing cold too. This was the same weekend as when Minnesota had like -20 F weather... I tried telling my friends the temperature in Celcius (I think it's like -40 C or something) and they did not believe at all. They kept thinking they misunderstood me, but nope, it was true! Sorry guys, It's paradise here compared to home! In stockholm we were on our own for things we wanted to do. The first night we went to a Mongolian Restaurant, where you serve yourself and then they cook it in front of you. Very good and filling! The next day we were the typical tourists and hit every spot we wanted to see. We did it all on foot, no trains or busses and we were drained at the end of the day. Stockholm being a large city, our hostel was located about 45 minute walk from the Central then from there it was another 30 minutes to Old Town, where everything was located. It was still fun though, seeing all the castles and palaces and statues of the history of Sweden. I think I was even more interested in Stockholm since I knew more of the history from my class I'm in. I liked applying what I learned to things I actually saw! The last day we were there, we got a guided tour of the City Hall, which was really special because it is really hard to get a reservation to do that. It's a gorgeous place with a lot of funny history.
Tonight I am going curling, a popular sport here in Sweden. I don't know what to expect except to have fun! :) Again, the weather here is messed up. Yesterday it was warm, today it is a blizzard outside, good thing I got my new warm jacket to keep me warm...
My plans for Russia are getting finalized as the weeks draw closer and I'm getting more and more excited. I will be there for 9 days then fly straight from Stockholm to London where I will meet my mom and dad for the next two weeks! I'm hoping to plan some short trips soon here where I can travel to places in Norway or Finland... saving the rest of Europe until June!
That's all for now! Hejda!
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