Sankta Lucia

Yesterday was Saint Lucia Day (Saint Lucy Day) in Sweden. It is one of few saint days that are celebrated in Sweden. I woke up at 6 am to go to a Lucia Concert in the Västerås Cathedral. One of my best friends Jacqui was Saint Lucia for the concert. The concert was beautiful with traditional Swedish Christmas and Lucia songs.

Jacqui (center) as Lucia

Above is a video of last years Lucia concert on Swedish TV 1.
Lucia is very special, and something uniquely Swedish.

Earlier this week on Sunday I attended another Lucia concert in Stockholm at Globen. It was really fantastic. There was a 1200 person Lucia train, which was absolutely stunning.

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Yes, I'm alive.

Earlier this week I started writing this long long long blog post all about this week and what's happened since I arrived, but I have decided to start over and keep it short and sweet (rest assured there will be a looong post to come soon). First of all, I have met tons and tons of people and have had a great time so far! I learned the other night that one of my favorite Swedish songs, is actually the un-official summer theme song, Lilla Lady by Daniel Admas-Ray. It is one of the best songs that I know, if you hadn't guessed Lilla Lady means Little Lady in Swedish. This song is pretty much the mood I have been in ever since arriving. It has been great, the food is good, all though I am already missing some american classics. I am actually listening to DAR and dancing while writing this post. :D My family is having a crayfish party tonight, so that should be lots of fun. Some quick Sweden & Västerås Facts:

• H&M Started in my city! (Västerås, Sverige)
• Home to the best chocolate in Sweden.
• Saab is Swedish
• IKEA is Swedish
• Spotify is Swedish
• Skype is Swedish
• Ericsson is Swedish
• Electrolux is Swedish
• Volvo is Swedish

Even though you may not be able to point out Sweden on a map, I am sure you could identify each of these things.

And yes, I do live in an IKEA house. There are like 3 things in the whole house that aren't from IKEA.

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Västerås, Sverige

13 days, and I can't wait to move. I am getting really excited. I realized the other day that I had not notified the blog world of where exactly I would be living. I will be living in Västerås, Sverige. Västerås is the sixth largest city in Sweden (170,000 people). It is an hour and a half west of Stockholm. I will be attending Rudbeckianska gymnasiet. Gymnasiet is comparable to high school in the United States, however you only attend for 3 years. 

The old main building of Rudbeckianska gymnasiet.

Rudbeckianska gymnasiet was the first upper secondary school in Västerås. It is in the centre of Västerås. I can not wait to go to school on their wonderful campus! It is so beautiful and contains a botanical garden. One word: AMAZING! 

I really can not wait for my arrival in Sweden to soak up all of the culture, the beautiful surroundings, and the mix between the old and the new.

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