Normal day.

Today is just a normal day in school in Sweden. For now...

So exciting!

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Ice Skating in Stockholm

Ice Queen,Wesley

On a cold winters day, I think there is nothing better then ice skating with great friends! And one day after Christmas, that is just what I did in Stockholm. The more friends the better, I say, I was there in Stockholm with many exchange students for a going home party at Otavio's house. This particular time, it was the day after the party, all tired from staying up too late the night before, but we did it anyway!

Meg and Wesley

Peter. Yeah... Just Peter.

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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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25 cups of coffee latter.

25 Cups of coffee ago, I arrived in Sweden. That was a short 10 days ago, and I have been loving it ever sense.

One of my favorite parts of the day My favorite part of day is the fika. All of you who have never experienced this amazing word, you are missing out on something very cool, and special.

My first fika was experienced at Espresso House, after spending over an hour at the Migration Board. It was nice, I had a mocha. It did not disappoint, it was all I was hoping for and more! Not to hate on American coffee, but Swedish coffee is ten times better! Fika includes a few different things, usually some type of dessert, coffee, water, and a flavored beverage. So far my two favorite flavors are elder flower, and strawberry. Fika is not just about eating and drinking, it is also about the friendship and discussion. Of course, this is my favorite part of the day!

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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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9 Days

9 days to go.. Its hard to believe that I will be packing everything up and moving to Sweden for a year in just ten days. Its surreal. I have been getting more and more excited as the day comes closer and closer. It hasn't fully hit me yet that I will be gone for a whole year.

The thought of leaving for a whole year is hard to stomach, but I know it will be amazing! I can't wait to embark on this great new adventure learning a language and adapting to a culture.

 I finally got all the paper work for my residence permit! It was not as exiting as I thought it would be. When I called the embassy, they had not even sent it out yet, so someone emailed it to me. Most of the letter is in Swedish, so I do not know exactly what it says, but my sister who speaks Danish has been translating it.

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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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Those Permits

The residence permit. Oh, yes, I did say that word. That big scary word, believe me it has been haunting. Ever since I sent off my application to the Swedish Embassy in Washington, D.C. it has been eagerly awaited. Thought it came once, but it was just a letter about how the process had been changed and my application was sent to Sweden. Since then it has been nothing but waiting. I finally decided that I had to contact someone, my application had not been registered, no decision had been made and I was supposed to leave in 30 days. Let me just say that contacting the embassy directly was not the best idea. If you thought 24 hours a day tech support from India was annoying, try one hour a day visa support. That's right, the embassy only answers questions an hour every weekday except Tuesday, talk about convenience. After that I decided to contact the Consulate in Dallas and see if they would be so kind as to help me. Boy, was I in for some wonderful help! The Vice Consul in Dallas, Tina, has been the most helpful person I have met in my life. She figured everything out for me and has been so kind. Granted, I do not have my permit yet, but it is well on its way speeding through the Migration Board. Now a little more waiting. 

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