22/10
So it's been a while since i wrote something on here. So let's just start with the more exciting stuff i did this month.
First of al I have been to Stockholm with my host niece, her boyfriend and their American friends that were visiting, It was a lot of fun, we went out to eat and although i didn't see that much of Stockholm (doesn't really matter, because i'm planning on going there again next week ) I had an amazing time!
I also joined a gospel choir a couple weeks ago. They are called Joybells and the first weekend of me joining we went to summer house in the nature owned by the church to get to know each other better. At night we swam in the ice cold lake and waited until the water numbed our toes before we ran trough the dark trying not to trip over a stone ( we failed ) to make it back to the sauna. Needless to say, the weekend was awesome. I also tried some of the weirdest food combinations like popcorn on mashed potatoes and banana in a burrito.
The next week was the STS weekend in Göteborg, i woke up really early to catch my train. When i arrived at STS ( after having some difficulties with my sense of direction and google maps ) all the exchange students from Sweden and Norway were sitting together, talking and getting to now each other. I was so nice to get to know so many people that are doing the same thing i am doing. After that they gave a little presentation were everyone introduced themselves and we ate pizza and then we headed out to a museum. At night there was a party organised by STS at Liseberg ( a very big amusement park ). When we went back to the hostel i pretty much stayed up all night talking and laughing with some of the other exchange students. I think i will always remember how shocked one of the exchange students from Italy was when I put ketchup on my pasta at 3 am. The next day STS gave another presentation and we were free to do whatever we wanted after that. We explored Göteborg a little bit before going back to say goodbye to everyone and get to the train station to catch our trains home. We made a plan with a couple other exchange students to go to the north of Sweden this winter to see the northern lights and i am really excited about that.
On monday I got a library card and i have spend most of my time reading there this week ( also bought a sketch book and have been drawing a lot ). I just love how it makes me feel like i'm back in Brasschaat doing everything but studying with my friends in the library during exams. I got some books to improve my Swedish because it's not going quite as fast as I want it to go. I also did two presentations in Swedish and seeing how excited everyone was when i spoke a Swedish really made me feel more motivated to try harder. On friday i went to the church because apparently they have a youth group gathering there every week. They had a quiz ( our team won hehe ) and we just chilled for a couple hours. I met so many nice people and i had a great time. I also have one more week of school before we have autumn break, so i'll probably update you with what i did then in two weeks.
So that was my little update, going to start doing these a little more regularly i promise.
First of al I have been to Stockholm with my host niece, her boyfriend and their American friends that were visiting, It was a lot of fun, we went out to eat and although i didn't see that much of Stockholm (doesn't really matter, because i'm planning on going there again next week ) I had an amazing time!
I also joined a gospel choir a couple weeks ago. They are called Joybells and the first weekend of me joining we went to summer house in the nature owned by the church to get to know each other better. At night we swam in the ice cold lake and waited until the water numbed our toes before we ran trough the dark trying not to trip over a stone ( we failed ) to make it back to the sauna. Needless to say, the weekend was awesome. I also tried some of the weirdest food combinations like popcorn on mashed potatoes and banana in a burrito.
The next week was the STS weekend in Göteborg, i woke up really early to catch my train. When i arrived at STS ( after having some difficulties with my sense of direction and google maps ) all the exchange students from Sweden and Norway were sitting together, talking and getting to now each other. I was so nice to get to know so many people that are doing the same thing i am doing. After that they gave a little presentation were everyone introduced themselves and we ate pizza and then we headed out to a museum. At night there was a party organised by STS at Liseberg ( a very big amusement park ). When we went back to the hostel i pretty much stayed up all night talking and laughing with some of the other exchange students. I think i will always remember how shocked one of the exchange students from Italy was when I put ketchup on my pasta at 3 am. The next day STS gave another presentation and we were free to do whatever we wanted after that. We explored Göteborg a little bit before going back to say goodbye to everyone and get to the train station to catch our trains home. We made a plan with a couple other exchange students to go to the north of Sweden this winter to see the northern lights and i am really excited about that.
On monday I got a library card and i have spend most of my time reading there this week ( also bought a sketch book and have been drawing a lot ). I just love how it makes me feel like i'm back in Brasschaat doing everything but studying with my friends in the library during exams. I got some books to improve my Swedish because it's not going quite as fast as I want it to go. I also did two presentations in Swedish and seeing how excited everyone was when i spoke a Swedish really made me feel more motivated to try harder. On friday i went to the church because apparently they have a youth group gathering there every week. They had a quiz ( our team won hehe ) and we just chilled for a couple hours. I met so many nice people and i had a great time. I also have one more week of school before we have autumn break, so i'll probably update you with what i did then in two weeks.
So that was my little update, going to start doing these a little more regularly i promise.
A little disclaimer
I feel really blessed to be able to do this and I think this experience will really shape me as a person, but being an exchange student is not always fun. Sometimes i really miss my family and friends and there really isn't anything i can do about that. Of course i knew that i was going to feel this way sometimes but there really isn't anything that prepares you to be that far away from everyone you love. Although it's really cool to be learning a new language and being in a completely new environment, sometimes you just want to crawl back into your comfort zone. And that is okay, I think me being here made me appreciate everyone i have at home so much more. The things my friend and family do for me for example. I won't take that for granted anymore when i'm home and it made me so much more thankful towards them. I love you all !
17/09 10 days later...
After a couple of weeks i am slowly beginning to settle, sometimes i even understand what teachers are saying. I have been in school for 3 weeks now. So here are some things that caught my attention. First of all my school is very gentle to their students, for example (although I think this is only at Jensen schools) we have this thing called "empty" and "peepee". (I have no idea how you write it but this is how people have pronounced it) We have one of those around 1 time a day and sometimes both. The first is when everyone is supposed to stop what they are doing, the teacher puts on this 5 minute long recording of some person talking very softly in Swedish with background music and basically everyone just rests their head on their desk and takes a 5 minute nap. The second one is when we randomly go take a walk outside. Btw both of these happen during the lessons. Also you don't really get punished for anything, they don't have detention and people are still magically on time every day. Another weird thing is that we don't get some of the basic subjects like history, geography and biology in school because they already had those subject last year I think, still don't really know how that works.
I also think I underestimated how exhausting it is to learn a new language and to have to be focused all the time to understand the tiniest bit of what people are saying in class. I come home pretty tired from school every day ( but maybe that is a normal teen thing). I do enjoy the weeks when we have class in the afternoon far more than those when we have class in the morning. Mainly because it gives me enough time to wake up when i want to, go running and have a good breakfast. I am trying to make a habit out of running every day but it's not really working out (no pun intended), so lets say at least a couple times a week. I am also thinking about taking some art lessons, I have so much free time because I am only in school for about 5 hours a day (one of the perks of going to Jensen gymnasium). Örebro also has some really cool second hand shops, so i've been making it my goal for next week to go explore them all.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, it means a lot.
PS: here are some pictures i took on my last run in the forest next to our house.
I also think I underestimated how exhausting it is to learn a new language and to have to be focused all the time to understand the tiniest bit of what people are saying in class. I come home pretty tired from school every day ( but maybe that is a normal teen thing). I do enjoy the weeks when we have class in the afternoon far more than those when we have class in the morning. Mainly because it gives me enough time to wake up when i want to, go running and have a good breakfast. I am trying to make a habit out of running every day but it's not really working out (no pun intended), so lets say at least a couple times a week. I am also thinking about taking some art lessons, I have so much free time because I am only in school for about 5 hours a day (one of the perks of going to Jensen gymnasium). Örebro also has some really cool second hand shops, so i've been making it my goal for next week to go explore them all.
Thanks for taking the time to read this, it means a lot.
PS: here are some pictures i took on my last run in the forest next to our house.
7/09 My first update
I let go of my parents and drifted away with a ticket in my hand going to a place i had never set foot in before, still feeling the firm grasp of their hugs lingering and trying not to think too much about how it would the last time I would see them in a year. I realized this was the beginning of something new and was thrilled to start my adventure. As I gazed trough the airplane window I saw a collection of bright lights spread across the pitch black land and during the whole flight i couldn’t shake off this feeling of uncertainty about what would happen next. I stepped out the plane, my feet touched the ground and I felt fear and excitement running trough my veins as I realized that “this is real” and “you are really doing this”. I finally found myself in Sweden, doing something i didn’t fully realize would actually become reality some day.
It’s been over a week since i’ve left the comfort of my home and arrived in Sweden. I have never been more scared and homesick in my life as in the first few days of arriving here. I have questioned myself for choosing this and I’ve also never been more grateful of this opportunity. Right now I am looking forward to the beautiful memories this year will bring me and feel so thankful towards my host family guiding me trough it all.
Now i am going to tell you a little more about my first week in my new hometown Örebro, it’s about two hours away from the capital Stockholm and it’s quite a big city. I go to Jensen gymnasium in the center of the city, which is about 20 to 30 minutes by bus from where I live. The school offers free lunch, you get a free buscard to get to school and the school lends it's students brand new laptops. We switch weeks where you have lessons in the morning with weeks where you have lessons in the afternoon and between almost every lesson you get at least a 10 min break. People in Sweden are in high school until they’re 19 and they placed me in the year before you graduate. In the first week they already planned a camping trip. It was great because I got to know everyone a little better. My Swedish is still very bad but I am starting to get used to the sound of it if that makes sense and I like to think I understand about 10%. It’s hard to understand what they are talking about in class, which can make it kinda boring sometimes, but everyone is very friendly and my classmates help me when I don’t understand or have a question.
My house is located just outside the city. It’s a small neighbourhood and we basically live next to a beautiful forest. My host family is really sweet and caring and i already met some of their relatives. I have two host brothers (one is 17 and the other is 14) and there are two little dogs running around the house keeping everybody company. My local coordinator from STS recently payed us a visit and she let me know that there will be a weekend for all exchange students in Sweden to meet each other and to some fun activities, which i am looking forward too a lot.
Now onto some random things. First of all cinnamon buns are my new love. Swedes have this things called "fika" and it’s basically having coffee (with something sweet). I realized that I have always pronounced köttbullar (aka meatballs) completely wrong in IKEA. Swedes get payed for going to university. I have grown a deep appreciation for google translate. Nothing in Swedish schools is allowed to cost their students money (not even trips).I am planning on adding some pictures but you will have to wait for those. I am bad at blogging and truly appreciate everyone who has made it to the end.
It’s been over a week since i’ve left the comfort of my home and arrived in Sweden. I have never been more scared and homesick in my life as in the first few days of arriving here. I have questioned myself for choosing this and I’ve also never been more grateful of this opportunity. Right now I am looking forward to the beautiful memories this year will bring me and feel so thankful towards my host family guiding me trough it all.
Now i am going to tell you a little more about my first week in my new hometown Örebro, it’s about two hours away from the capital Stockholm and it’s quite a big city. I go to Jensen gymnasium in the center of the city, which is about 20 to 30 minutes by bus from where I live. The school offers free lunch, you get a free buscard to get to school and the school lends it's students brand new laptops. We switch weeks where you have lessons in the morning with weeks where you have lessons in the afternoon and between almost every lesson you get at least a 10 min break. People in Sweden are in high school until they’re 19 and they placed me in the year before you graduate. In the first week they already planned a camping trip. It was great because I got to know everyone a little better. My Swedish is still very bad but I am starting to get used to the sound of it if that makes sense and I like to think I understand about 10%. It’s hard to understand what they are talking about in class, which can make it kinda boring sometimes, but everyone is very friendly and my classmates help me when I don’t understand or have a question.
My house is located just outside the city. It’s a small neighbourhood and we basically live next to a beautiful forest. My host family is really sweet and caring and i already met some of their relatives. I have two host brothers (one is 17 and the other is 14) and there are two little dogs running around the house keeping everybody company. My local coordinator from STS recently payed us a visit and she let me know that there will be a weekend for all exchange students in Sweden to meet each other and to some fun activities, which i am looking forward too a lot.
Now onto some random things. First of all cinnamon buns are my new love. Swedes have this things called "fika" and it’s basically having coffee (with something sweet). I realized that I have always pronounced köttbullar (aka meatballs) completely wrong in IKEA. Swedes get payed for going to university. I have grown a deep appreciation for google translate. Nothing in Swedish schools is allowed to cost their students money (not even trips).I am planning on adding some pictures but you will have to wait for those. I am bad at blogging and truly appreciate everyone who has made it to the end.