The past week...

It feels like i have a lot to write.. and i don't really know where to begin... i guess the beginning of the week is a good place to start.. The train trip to Kiruna was as expected... quite long! just a nice 16 hours or so... (could've been more than half way home in that time ;) we left sunday night.. and arrived monday at around 2pm.. there were about 8 other exchange students on the same train as me.. and we were the last ones to arrive.. once we had checked into the hotel we were staying at and got settled in.. we all got on the bus and went to the ice hotel

The Ice hotel actually closed the previous day.. and we were going to be unable to go in, because it was beginning to melt.. however this day it was colder again.. so they said we were allowed to go in and have a look.. which was really cool... It was massive.. and each year they make a different one, with a different design.. Even though it was really cool.. (in more ways than one! hehe) i dont think i would like to actually spend the night there... it would be quite boring.. in all the rooms.. all there is, is some cool form of ice art and then a bed...

All of us outside of the Ice Hotel

That night some of us went sledding/sliding down a hill.. and some stayed at the hotel.. I went and it was lots of fun.. i hadn't actually done it since i have been here in sweden.. so i cant really compare.. but this hill was really steep! and pretty icy.. so it was scary aswell as fun.. one time i was going down on this plastic thing.. and it fell out from underneath me.. so i slid the whole way down on my back.. it was pretty funny cos i had no way of stopping.. and like i said it was a big hill! but i will admit.. i was pretty scared ;)

The next day we had an early start.. and breakfast was at 6.00.. The week was run by the 2nd and 3rd year students at the gymnasium in Kiruna as part of their tourism programme.. so we spent the week with them and quite alot of time at the school.. all of our meals were at the school, which was about a 10 minute walk from where we were staying.. Anywho on tuesday we all got in the bus and we we went to a town/city called Narvik in Norway! It took a few hours to drive there... and all the scenery along the way was soo beautiful!

While were in Narvik.. we just all looked around, there was a small shopping centre there.. but none of us really wanted to shop.. so we just walked around and took photos and stuff. it was quite fun..

Wednesday we split up into two groups.. My group went snow skootering first... which was super fun! we all sat in trailer/cart type things and the swedish students pulled us by the snow skooters..

we went along a track for about 20 minutes or so like this.. then we reached a large snow field.. and this is where we stopped..
Then we did lots of different activities.. to start with we played a type of chasey.. which was fun. then we got put into teams of four.. and we rotated through different things.. one was drilling a hole into the ice.. (for ice fishing)

Another was we had drunk goggles.. and we had to wear them and kick a soccer ball and get it around a cone and run back.. and then we had to run and weave in and out of the cones with the goggles on.. i sucked at this.. and fell on the ice and got a nice bruise on my knee :)

Another one of the activities was we had to weave in and out of cones while our whole team was on wooden plank things... and then the last thing was we had to light a fire in the snow... all of these activities were timed.. and the team with the fastest times won a prize.... (my team didnt win).
After this.. we could do whatever we wanted... they were letting us drive the snow skooters.. so everyone had a turn at that... some of us also went ice fishing.... but nobody caught anything..

Everyone was pretty excited to drive the snow skooters.. including myself.. however unfortunately we had to go back.. and i still hadn't had a turn at driving one yet... so they said that i could drive it back to the place.. this was all well and good.. but it meant i had to tow a trailer of exchange students.. and also had to go along a narrow path.. (i'm not the world's best steerer)..... and there was a part of the track that was quite narrow.. and on a bit of an angle.... and so i was driving along.. and i slowly began to feel that i was on more and more of an angle... and the next thing i knew.. i had tipped the snow skooter... gahhhhh.... it was a tiny bit embarassing.. and i felt a bit bad.. cos the guy who owned the snow skooter looked a bit pissed... but it wasnt broken or anything :) but the people that were in the trailer that i was towing seemed to find it quite humorous..

After that.. i let the guy drive.. and i sat behind him ;) Once we got back. we had lunch at the school.. and then after lunch we went into lessons. and spoke to the students about where we came from and things like that..

Thursday was the last day.. and alot of people were going home at different times during the day.. for those that weren't going home until that night.. (which was me!) we got to go and have a tour of the mines... we took a bus and drove down into the mines.. which was really cool. cos i havent done anything like that before... i didn't realise what it was like down there... just roads and tunnels everywhere.. with trucks and utes driving everywhere... we got to stop on the visitors level and we had a tour... it was really cool..

Our train leaving Kiruna left Thursday night.. but was about an hour late... and then when i woke up in the morning.. i found out that it was now two hours late! so this meant that i had missed my bus to Gothenburg.... i was kinda freaking out just a little bit... When we got to stockholm central station.. me and Stevie a girl from new zealand who was going on the same bus as me went and spoke to the train people.. and they put us on a train to Gothenburg, and we didnt have to pay any extra... it ended up working out a lot better. as the train is a lot quicker and more comfortable than a bus!

We arrived in Gothenburg at around 3.30pm.. and i was feeling pretty gross after having spent so much time on a train in the past 24 hours.. Where i was staying was in a town called Onsala, which is about an hour by bus and train out of gothenburg... i stayed with another exchange student called Bryce and his host family.. On the Saturday.. Me, Bryce, Tom, Stevie and Charlotte (other exchange students) all went to Liseberg the theme park in Gothenburg... it was the opening day.. which was pretty exciting.. we went on all of the rides.. and it was lots of fun! it wasn't as good as the theme parks on the Gold Coast in Australia.. but it was still lots of fun!

On the Sunday, in the afternoon i went to the ANZAC day ceremony in Gothenburg.. there were lots of other Australian exchange students there and a few New Zealand ones aswell... The reason they have a ANZAC ceremony in Gothenburg is because there are Australian and NZ soldiers buried there... After the ceremony, there was a reception and they served lots of australian foods, like vegemite sandwichs, anzac biscuits and sausage rolls!

I was meant to be taking the night bus home that night... and it was leaving at 11.3opm.. so we checked what times the bus left from where i was staying to get into the station.. and thought we had the times right... but apparently we didnt.. and i missed the bus taking me to the station.. and therefore the bus back to stockholm... so i ended up staying an extra night in Gothenburg and took the train home Monday.. oh and when we were walking to the bus station... a cat ran across the road.. and then like 5 or so seconds later another animal ran across after it chasing it... and it was a badger!! then the badger stopped in the middle of the road.. and seen us and then it started chasing us!.. we ran back a few metres.. then turned and chased it away.. it was really funny though.. i didn't even know they had badgers in sweden..

I had a great week.. and got to see and do so much.. and am now very tired and in need of lots of sleep!!!! :)

Tonight me and a few others are going to Clara's and we are going to watch the Rocky Horror Picture Show... which as some of you know, is my favourite movie :) so im looking forward to that... and then tomorrow is Valborg.. which im not entirely sure what it is.. but they celebrate it quite big in Uppsala, all i know is we are going to have a picnic and then stay the night at Angelina's so it should be fun :) but i will talk more about all of that probably next time i write....

Long train rides and bus rides ahead!

So... my flight to Kiruna got cancelled...... but....
i am still going... just now i am taking the train there!! which is a short 16 hour trip ;)
i leave from stockholm at 8.42pm tonight and then will arrive tomorrow afternoon sometime..
i am currently in the process of packing.. and am finding it extremely difficult! I have packed my backpack for the train though... complete with fully charged ipod, my knitting, a book, and some paper and pen incase i get keen and decide to write a letter or two.
We are also taking the train home.. so we will leave thursday sometime and get back friday morning... so i will arrive at stockholm station friday morning, have an hour or so waiting there.. and then get on my bus for a 7 hour trip to gothenburg.... gahhh i am going to be sick of trains and buses!!! but i spose i dont really mind... cos i am getting to travel around :)
yesterday i went to uppsala and met up with angelina.. we went and had sushi and then went to the cinemas..
i was a bit of a wuss with the sushi and had chicken instead of raw fish... but that looked and smelt disgusting.. so i was happy with my choice.. ;)
we saw alice and wonderland in 3D and that was really cool, i think i like any movie thats in 3D though!
anywho i should go and fully dedicate to this packing business..
anddd i wont be back till early next monday morning.. so bye for now!!!

o o oo o o oierfe eife e fa efa eef ae e e

First of all, i apologise for my lack of creativity when coming up with a title for this post.... and
I guess i should write blogs a bit more often... because when i went to log in to my account just now... i couldnt remember my password!

Last sunday afternoon i went to Clara's house to celebrate Angelina's 17th birthday.. that was lots of fun and there was about 8 of us there.. we ate a pancake cake.... it was pancake, layer of nutella, pancake, layer of nutella, pancake, layer of nutella..... and so on and so forth.. it was very yummy! and it was a really nice time there..

Today at school i did a presentation to the rest of my class about Australia and my life in Australia.. i think it went quite well... (by quite well, i mean nobody in the class fell asleep from boredom!) it was funny though, to see their reactions to different things that i told them about.

I started knitting a scarf last week.. and i must say that i am rather impressed with my efforts so far! its quite long already and starting to really resemble a scarf! I will keep you posted on my rapid progress ;)
My host family also has a guitar here.. but it had broken strings.. but last week i restrung it and so i have been playing that alot lately.. which is lots of fun, because i had really missed playing music since i have been here..

On Monday i am meant to be flying to the very top of Sweden to a town called Kiruna.. this is for a rotary trip with other exchange students... however as you have probably heard... because of the stupid volcano in iceland, and all the stupid volcanic ash... all flights have been cancelled....
so i am not sure whether they will still be cancelled on monday or if it will be okay to fly by then.... i am really hoping that the ash all blows away! providing it does.... I will fly to Kiruna on Monday and be there till Thursday, when I will then fly home.. There are about 40 exchange students going.. and while we are there, we are having a tour of the ice hotel.. and also going on snow skooters.. i'm not too sure what else is happening..
for those of you who are interested or have nothing better to do right now....
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=kiruna
that is where Kiruna is!
So i will return home from there on Thursday afternoon sometime... then on Friday morning i am taking the bus to the second biggest city in Sweden, which is called Gothenburg...
and just cos i did it with Kiruna.. I'll do it for Gothenburg aswell..
http://maps.google.com.au/maps?hl=en&tab=wl&q=gothenburg
It will take about 6 hours from Stockholm on the bus... I will be there until Sunday... I am staying at another exchange student's house who i met at Are. The reason I'm going to Gothenburg is because all of the Australian and New Zealand exchanges students were invited to an ANZAC day ceremony there on the Sunday... So that should be quite interesting.. Then Sunday night i will take the night bus back home! (which will be a nice uncomfortable and sleepless trip)
Then i guess its back to school for me!

I cant really think of anything else to right... except for my new favourite soft drink is fanta! :)
oh and the snow is pretty much completely gone!!! :)

Easter and stuff.

At the moment i have a week off of school for easter holidays. Easter in Sweden is a bit different to easter in Australia, lots of people and businesses decorate by putting up coloured feathers everywhere.. well not everywhere.. just like little feather tree type things.. its quite pretty really.. and also there is something to do with easter and easter witches here.. so i have seen a few houses with witches on broomes out the front of them.. and the easter bunny doesnt really exist here.. from what i gathered, it is an easter hen... which even though, technically makes a lot more sense than a rabbit with eggs... but it still doesnt seem quite right to me..
anywho the shifty, sly easter hen hid my egg downstairs in a cupboard... which i sniffed out and found.. now i bet all you australians are thinking.. yum a chocolate egg... but alas! this egg was not chocolate... it was made out of paper/plastic and had pictures on it of baby chickens and stuff.. but then inside it was filled with candy.. yum :)
I did see in some shops that they have some chocolate eggs for sale, but it was nothing compared to the amount of chocolate eggs you can buy in Australia... oh and theres no hot cruss buns here.. which doesnt really bother me, but i still always associate with easter..

On good friday Sanne, Naya and I went to a nature reserve type place nearby called Kungshamn-Morga (i only know the name.. cos the map for it is sitting next to me on my desk ;) ) we packed some sandwiches and a thermos full of tea.. and walked through the forest, then we reached the lake which is all frozen over still... and sat on the rocks near the water (ice) and ate our lunch. it was really pretty there.. and we walked out on the ice.. i started to walk out quite far, until i got to some dodgy ice.. which started to crack underneath me... so then, being the wuss i am i quickly ran back to land.
Then on saturday Sanne, Naya and I drove north of Uppsala and looked at some different art exhibitions.. one of them was her own.. it was quite fun and interesting.

Last night Mats took me to an ice hockey match in Uppsala... which i absolutely loved! it was really cool, all the crowd gets really into it and sings songs and claps all the time.. I have decided that i really like watching ice hockey.. which is weird cos i dont really enjoy watching sports that much.. but this was so fast and exciting to watch.. and they get rough and have lots of fights. which was cool! I think i found it so cool to watch, because i was so easily impressed by just the fact that they could ice skate so well! let alone play a game at the same time!
It was the Uppsala team playing some team from south of sweden.. i was going for the Uppsala team.. cos they had cooler uniforms and cos they were better.. they won 4 goals to 0.

Today Naya and I rode bikes out to some horse stables which are a couple kilometres out of town. There is a little fat, stubborn shetland pony there that Naya looks after.. so we cleaned out its stall and then groomed him and took him for a walk.. then we fed the other horses. It was quite fun and cool to be at a farm again.. even if it was a lot greener and prettier than what i am used to seeing.

The beginning of that paragraph i think i said quite casually.. "Today Naya and i rode bikes..." however i am a little embarassed to say.. that i haven't ridden a bike for at least 2 years.. the last time being in year 10 when we did our outdoor ed bike camp... so it was quite an exciting moment riding a bike again.. and i must admit i felt like i did when i was little and got my trainer wheels off for the first time.... a little shaky! I have never been that good at riding bikes.. i suck at steering, especially if its sharply.. but i am pleased to say that i didnt fall off at all today.

This afternoon i felt like baking something.. so i thought i would make some choc chip biscuits... so i went to the supermarket to buy some chocolate chips.... and they dont have them here! i looked over the entire shop.. but no luck.. i ended up buying cooking chocolate and cutting it up..

so im not sure whether its all of sweden that doesnt have chocolate chips or just ICA Kniven, whatever it is i think they should invest in some!

oh and the biscuits turned out good....and the mixture was amazing ;) - a little too amazing.. i still feel sick from it!