Study Abroad in Sweden

What a good weekend it was! I finished school this week and I felt like I had a million pounds lifted off of my shoulders. What a great feeling! I really must say things here lately are so great. Well all things are great except for my English. It is really getting a bit rusty; my grammar is bad. Things are all coming together and it could not be more perfect. Life is wonderful!
I discovered on Saturday that it is Memorial Weekend at home. I actually have a calendar that says May 30 is Memorial Day Traditional. I suppose I didn’t know the difference. Friday night we had a Sunset to Sunrise party. Right now there is only about 5 hours between the two, but it’s only dark out for 2-3 hours. I sure do love it! We had a barbeque at Norra Berget. I played on the playground for a good bit of the time. It’s sure nice to do it without having adults telling you to get off because there kids want to play on it! It was a bit cloudy as the sun was rising, but the horizon was a deep pink-orange. It was just so beautiful!
Saturday morning I woke up early because there was an event at the University. It’s a canoe race called Medel Paddeln. Several of the exchange students competed and they did quite well. I got in some good laughs because some teams dressed in costumes. There was one group in all black with capes, yellow masks tied around their faces, and they carried a flag. Another group of guys were almost naked. Some girls wore really old granny dresses. Another group had on things that resembled nun robes with big, bright, and green afros. The Swedish are resourceful and very creative. And of course the tipping of canoes is always interesting to watch especially when the water is really cold. I didn’t stay until the end because it was getting a bit chilly and I was so tired.
I went home and took a nap and went that night to the Rod Stewart concert. It was so great that he was here. He was my first celebrity crush. I remember being about 4 years old watching a live concert on TV and dancing in front of it to Midnight Train. He sounded great and still has some moves! It really amazed me that during his performance he kicked around a fotboll and he also changed his outfits a lot. After that I just went Norrmalm and watch Eurovision Song Competition with some girls. We gossiped, ate junk food, and it really reminded me of a slumber party. I sure miss those.
Today my friend Tom and I walked to Sidsjön. It is the lake that we barbequed at during the winter. I was very curious to see what it looks like not frozen. It was just as great as I imagined. We went out to a dock and just sat for a while and admired our surroundings. I had a bit of bread and the birds came swarming. They don’t like bananas, that is for sure. We walked around a bit afterwards and took the bus to some nearby town. We had some dinner and came back to Sundsvall. It was a great way to spend the afternoon.
I leave on Thursday for my trip! We keep adding things to our itinerary. It’s up to 9 countries for certain now. We are renting a car in Poland so I am excited to have a road trip! I won’t be driving at all though. We opted not to get an automatic. I won’t feel comfortable driving the manual so I’ll only be the passenger. I don’t mind though! I’m about to call it a night. I will write after my next journey!

So it’s been a good bit since I have written anything. I took a break and I am not sure why. April did seem like a difficult month for me though. The brother John, of my uncle Tim who passed away in February, passed away in April. It is very difficult for me to be away from home at times like these. I know if it was my choice I would be there of course, but it is just not so easy to do that. I feel that I can truly celebrate his life though. He was very sick. I called him on his birthday, April 1st. My grandmother put the phone by his ear and he tried to speak, but the sounds just did not come out. I just hope all of this happening can make me stronger as a person.
School got very busy for me during the first week of April I was doing 5 courses at once so things did get a bit hectic. There are only two weeks left of school for me and I am so happy about it. I am not sure if my grades will be good or not.
My health is in tip top shape now although it took about 5 weeks for my rib to completely heal so I had to take it easy. During the first week of April it snowed 9 inches. I couldn’t believe it; I had hoped all the snowing was over. It was absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed it. I decided it was possibly the last decent snow I might ever see in my life. I took advantage of it with all I could. My friend Tom and I built a snowman. He didn’t look like the typical snowman, but instead he looked like an ogre. I named him Gustoff and ever since then I have really liked that name! We also went up to Norra Berget and took some amazing pictures. It was all very breathtaking.
The snow has been completely cleared for several weeks now and the weather is absolutely perfect! It is still a bit cool, but I like it. I’m still waiting for all of the stones on the sidewalks to be cleared, but I can live with it. I am also waiting for the leaves to bloom. It’s hard to believe it is May and the trees are naked!
The end of this month will be very exciting. Several of us students are going to Finland and Estonia. A friend and I will continue on with Latvia, Lithuanian, Poland, and Czech Republic. During our time in Lithuanian we will only be about 30 km from Belarus. Visas can be obtained 3 days prior so I am thinking about doing that… I think this will be a very confusing trip. Most of the countries will be changing to the euro soon, but not soon enough. It’s very difficult having to constantly withdrawal money from the ATM and do conversation rates in the head especially when they vary everyday and not to mention the different languages. It is sure a good thing that I enjoy challenges. This will be one.
I also booked a trip for Denmark and Netherlands for July. I really want to go to Lego land and 6 flags! I will be visiting some friends in Amsterdam. One which I haven’t seen since 2006. It should make for a nice reunion!