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!

Waffles and Ice Racing.

Last week on Thursday.. it was 'Waffle Day' in Sweden.. I don't really know why or how waffle day originated... but i googled it and it came up with this:
National Waffle Day is a holiday that originated in Sweden. It is called 'Vaffeldagen' in Swedish. The holiday coincides with the Feast of the Annunciation, a religious event. In addition, 'Waffle day' on March 25 has always been considered the start of spring - especially in Sweden. It became a custom for swedish families to celebrate the two events by making waffles on this day.
To 'celebrate' Waffle Day I went to Angelina's house (a girl in my class) and a few other classmates came aswell Lovisa, Philip and Axel.
We made and ate lots of waffles with jam and cream.. it was lots of fun and i felt sick from eating so many waffles :) Then we played a swedish board game.... well i kind of watched the others play it.. it was a word game, so knowledge of the swedish language is helpful. knowledge which i am currently lacking..


On Saturday Mats and I went into Uppsala to watch the 'Ice racing'.. it was motorbikes which had big spikey wheels racing on ice.. it was quite cool to watch!
Although i enjoyed watching the actual racing... i enjoyed looking at all the different people there almost as much... ...since i have been in Sweden i have seen minimal 'ferals'.. but now however after spending an afternoon at the Ice Racing, i can safely say that i have seen an abundance of ferals.. There were so many drunk people which was quite funny aswell, next to where we were standing there were a few guys who were really drunk and got in a fight with these other people.. which was really funny to watch.
There were around 5,800 people there.. and i think i was one of the 50 females that were there! seemed to be very much a middle aged men type of event..
There were some cool crashes though, which got me excited! And i was happy that the guy who has won the last five years in a row or something stupid, and who was winning all of the races... got beaten in the final race! and ended up coming second :)

Åre

sorry for taking a while to write another blog..

So.. last week as you are probably aware i went on a rotary camp... which was amazing!

I left last Saturday evening on the night train which left stockholm at 11.50pm.. there was 5 other exchange students on this train aswell.. so we all switched seats around and sat with each other.. and were the annoying, rowdy, teenagers that talked loudly while the rest of the train was trying to sleep. The trip took about 12 hours, we had at least 2 hours worth of delays though, so that was a bit annoying.. and we were all very ready to get off the train by the time we reached Järpen... When we arrived at where we were staying.. most of the other exchange students were already there.. out of them all, i only knew a couple before this week and that was from my language camp in Eskilstuna the second week i was here. So it was cool having so many new people to meet. That afternoon we all went into the town of Åre which was about 20kms away from where we were staying... we then got a tour around the small town by some old guy who has lived there a long time.. Then we went to this indoor swimming place, which was really cool, it had lots of different pools and spas and a water slide... it also had a 'sauna world' which was really cool.. before this year i think i had only ever been in a sauna once, and i almost died cos i thought it was so hot and hard to breathe.. but now i really like them and dont feel like i am going to die.. which is nice :)

There was a sauna there that was 80 degrees.. and there were a fair few of us all in there for ages.. a few people had been running outside and jumping in the snow after having been in the sauna for a while... so i decided that sounded like a pretty cool idea, and have wanted to do it for a while now... so i went with a few others out of the sauna.. then we jumped in a swimming pool that you can swim outside of the building in.. and then from there you can get out..

so we did that and got out of the pool into the freezing cold and then ran to the snow and dived into it and rolled around and pretty much just got really really cold... i however, managed to dive into the only part of snow that had big rocks underneath... and ended up with bruises all over my shins and a cut on my knee (luckily my entire body was numb and i couldnt feel it)
anyway, once we were covered in snow, we then made the 'what seems like forever' walk/run (so you dont slip) back to the pool... jumping into the pool was the nicest feeling.. it was good to feel my body temperature go back to normal.. it was a lot of fun though and a really cool experience.

Then Monday we had our first day of Skiing/Snowboarding! Most people skied but there were about 10 or so people snowboarding, myself one of them.. we had ski school for two hours.. and because everyone was kind of at different skill levels we all went with different instructors... somehow i ended up having an instructor all to myself, which was really cool. She was really nice and helped me a lot.. then after lunch i met up with others and went with them. That night we did some different team building type things in small groups, which was fun.. but they were all outside and by the end of them i was well and truly frozen. Each day we had to be ready by 8.30 to all go on the bus, which took us to Are, then we would leave there each day at around 4.30.. so by the end of each day i was quite tired.. we could have breaks whenever we wanted.. but most the time was spent snowboarding.. one of the coolest things at big ski places in sweden is they have this tent, where you can get free yoghurt and muesli and free milk or chocolate milk.. it was only a small bowl/glass.. but it was super cool and we went there as much as possible..

I also improved at going on the lifts a lot this week! which was good.. cos i used them alot... although it did take me 7 attempts to get on one of the T-bar lifts at one time.. and one of those times it hit me in the head and knocked my goggles off.. but by the seventh time.. i made it on safe and sound :)

they also had gondola lifts to get right up to the top of the mountain.. which were really cool and nice and warm and cosy inside. I went right to the top of the mountain a few times.. and each time it was really really foggy! you could hardly see a few metres in front of you.. it was quite scary.. and we just went down really really slowly.

On the second day of snowboarding.. the zipper on ski pants broke... which proved to be incredibaly inconvenient.. i was pulling them up the whole day.. and then when we were at the top of the mountain.. my gloves went all frozen and retarded and i couldnt get my hands in them anymore.. so i was trying to pull my pants up the whole time and my hands were freezing cos there was no way i could get my hands in my gloves (they were frozen into some weird shape) and i could hardly see a thing! all i wanted to do was get to the bottom, and go have some free yoghurt and muesli! Then when we went down another run, by the time we got to the bottom.. my pants were around my knees.. i would have been embarassed.. but by that stage i really didnt care about it anymore.. and i had tights on underneath, so it wasnt that bad ;)

the rest of the week, i borrowed some pants from another girl who had some spares.

On the wednesday afternoon we went to visit a waterfall which was nearby.. it was so amazing! it was covered in snow and ice.. and then there was all this water just gushing through holes in the ice! it was definately the coolest waterfall i have ever seen ( i havent seen that many waterfalls) we then kept walking and we seen a house made out of ice.. which was also really cool! it had lots of different rooms and was quite big... they make a new one each year, which i think would be really annoying having all that hard work melt each year..

Then the final night we had a 3 course rotary dinner at the place we were staying.. this was quite fun, we all wore our blazers and exchanged pins.. during the dinner we all had to do a presentation... each country had to speak about a different country for five or so minutes.. in swedish..

so for example.. all the Australians had to speak about Mexico, the Americans had to speak about Australia.. and so on.. with all the different countries.. it was quite funny.

Our (the Australian's) presentation was the worst out of everyones.. as we have all only been here 2 months, aswell as the people from argentina and new zealand.. however all the students from other countries have been here for 8 months.. so there swedish sounded alot better than ours.

We also all got given bright orange shirts saying 'Winter Camp Are' which was pretty cool and makes a comfy pyjamas top. Seeing this was the last night of camp everyone was pretty happy and was talking lots and listening to music and dancing and everyone signed each others t'shirts.

Me and three of the Americans were the last ones up and we were just sitting in the lounge area talking and listening to music... then we decided that we just wouldnt go to bed at all.. so we attempted an all nighter.... and we almost nearly made it. I think we ended up falling asleep at around 5.30am.. and we had to get up at 7.00 for breakfast.. so technically we were first there for breakfast seeing we never realy left the room.. that morning i drank coffee.. and i dont even like coffee..

then we had a final day of snowboarding.. and then that night people started heading back home on the night trains! it was quite sad saying goodbye to everyone.. as everyone had such a fun week and got to know each other quite well.

I can't really think of anything else to write.. but if you are still reading this, you are probably almost falling asleep from boredom anyway ;) so now is a good time for me to stop writing :)

oh and i have lots of photos from my week on facebook, if you want to have a look :)

SUN

The sun has come out a few times this week! which is sooooo nice.. and i hadn't realised how much i had missed it..
but i think the swedes have missed it more than i have ;)
At school one day this week, the sun was out.. and it was around 3 degrees outside.. so we went for a walk outside (without our jackets!!).. it was funny though.. because alot of the boys were already outside, just standing there in the sun.. with only tshirts on... i thought it was quite funny.. by the way everyone was acting, you would have thought it was a nice 25 degree day outside.. but no, it was 3 degrees!!
oh and something.. which kind of freaked me out happened this week!... i was laying in bed.. and i heard a buzzing noise in my bedroom.. then it stopped.. and i heard it again in a different part of the room... so i turned on the light and.. there.. was... a FLY! i didn't even think flies existed in Sweden.. but it was flying around my room and when it landed.. i had a closer look and it was definately a fly! i thought i was crazy for a moment though.. and that i somehow must have bought a fly with me from Australia... anyway once i had worked out what the buzzing was... i turned the light off and went back to bed.. and then tried to fall asleep to the relaxing noise of a dying fly.. which strangely reminded me of being back home.
And another thing! the other night i was watching t.v and i found that Hannah Montana was about to start... so i got quite excited! (for those that know me well, will know that i enjoy an episode or seven of hannah montana) so i sat down ready to watch it with my cup of tea... and then it started.. and Miley started speaking Swedish! and then so did Lily! and Billy-ray! it was horrible... they had swedish voiceovers! after about 5 minutes of watching in dissapointment i switched the channel over to Scrubs.. which didnt disapppoint.
I'm pretty happy that the snow is starting to melt.. its exciting to be able to see a little bit more of the footpath each day.. and the other day i seen some very dead grass atempting to poke through the snow.. which was exciting!
Although, i hope there is lots of snow in Åre next week.. because that is where i will be! I take the night train from stockholm at 11.50pm saturday night (tomorrow night) and then arrive the next morning at 7.54am! There will be a few other exchange students on the same train, so that should be good. There will be 40 exchange students on the camp and they will be from all different countries, i know a few people that are going already.. but most of the people i will have not met before.. We will be there till thursday and will be having ski school each morning then the rest of the day to go down different runs.. I have chosen to do snowboarding.. but some people will be skiing aswell.. It should be a really fun week..
so tomorrow i will wash and pack my clothes! i hate packing though.. i never know what i will need.. and i always end up taking way to much.. and then i am always the one with the ridiculously oversized bag.. and then i struggle to carry it!
Anyway i will write some more when i get back at the end of the week!! and hopefully i will still have working limbs and no injuries!

........

To be honest, i really don't feel like writing anything just at the moment... but i feel lazy if i don't and now that i have been writing quite regularly.. i should probably keep up the momentum!

I don't have to much new stuff to say... but on Monday.. we didn't have to go to school.. so me and 9 other girls who are in my class (and who are all lovely!) took the train to Stockholm :)
It was such a nice day, minus the weather... which was quite 'un'nice, it was snowing lots and because the previous few days had been quite warm, there were puddles everywhere... which made me realise that i think it is time i bought some new shoes! i only bought one pair of winter boots with me, because of the 20kg weight limit.. and they are getting quite old... and apparently quite holey.
i had wet socks all day, which was just brilliant..
haha i didnt really mind though.. i was just happy to be in stockholm :)

We spent the day looking in different shops.. and they were some really cool ones.. much cooler than the shops in Adelaide (not that i dont like the shops in Adelaide :) ) we went to a pizza place for lunch and all had our own pizza...
and i felt a bit silly.. when we got served our pizza's i said.. 'woah, where do i start' (i was a bit overwhelmed and the pizza hadnt been cut) and one of the girls said.. 'in the middle somewhere'..
so having heard that.. and being in sweden (where they do many things very differently) i thought.... okay i must just use my knife and fork and cut out bits from the middle... bit weird, but okay.. :P
so i was eating away at my pizza making a nice hole in the middle... (it looked like a donut) and then i looked over at everyone else and they were cutting there pizza into pieces and eating it... how you would normally eat a pizza. Then they all saw how i had been eating my pizza, and seemed to find it quite humorous... which looking back.. i guess it kinda was.. haha

We also had a look around Gamla Stan which is the old city centre of Stockholm.. it was really cool and the buildings are all so old and pretty looking.. i didn't take any photos of anything this day though, because the weather was so crappy and i was a bit lazy i guess.
Anyway it was a great day in Stockholm, with great company :)

Other than that i have just been going to school this past week... Yesterday (saturday) it was so nice and sunny, so Me and Sanne took the dogs for a walk and then sat in the snow drinking some weird hot drink stuff.. it was nice to see the sun again! Then Sanne's second oldest daughter Karen and her Boyfriend came here.. They have spent the past two months in New Zealand travelling and only just got back yesterday... so it was really good to meet them and hear about their trip..
Then today we found out that Sanne's eldest daughter, Marit gave birth to twins late last night.. so that is really exciting! She had two boys, and I'm not sure what they are named yet..
This afternoon Sanne, Naya and I went for a drive about 30kms away to some very small town that has some big shop, that is apparently quite good... so we drove there.... only to realise that it doesn't open on Sunday's... So then we went to some other shops on the outskirts of Uppsala and bought some baby clothes for the twins :)

This week I just have school all week.. but then on Saturday night i am taking the night train with Jess, another exchange student to Järpen ready for a week of snowboarding/skiing at Åre.. (which is a really big ski resort). It is a rotary trip.. so there will be 40 of us exchange students there.. I'm already getting really excited about it!

Oh and Happy Birthday Rhani! its not the 8th here in Sweden yet.. but it is in Australia :)

I patted a reindeer.

Hello again!

I am back from a little town called Rörbäcksnäs where i have spent the past week with my host family. We stayed in a cabin/small house which is in the forest on the lake (which of course was frozen over). It was really cute and very cosy inside.. and it had lots of little swedish things inside and there were several little swedish flags around the place.

We left Knivsta last Sunday and picked up Loella in Västerås along the way. From there it was about a 6 hour drive. It was nice and cosy in the car with Mats, Sanne, Naya, Loella and I and the two dogs Sally and Selmer. Normally people wouldn't particularly enjoy a six hour car drive and would find it boring.. but i really enjoyed it! Not only because of the amazing scenery we were driving through, but also because i never have long car trips anymore! everything is so close, and buses and trains can get you pretty much anywhere you want to go, so there is not really any need for many car trips.. and if there is they are rarely over half an hour.

We got to the cabin at about 6.00pm sunday and it was a very refreshing -24 degrees outside. because all of the snow hadnt been cleared away, we couldnt get the car up the track to the cabin.. so we had to park the car down the bottom and carry up all our bags. (Mats cleared the snow away the next day). Once we had put all our stuff inside and made our beds and stuff.. Sanne, Naya and I took the dogs for a walk around the lake.. (please remember, that i said it is minus 24 degrees!!) It was soooo cold, but i was wearing warm clothes and Sanne gave me and Naya these really warm hats to wear.. They were from China and they were made out of dog fur... i tried not to think about that too much and just focused on how warm it was keeping my head.

On Monday morning when i got up, it was minus 28 degrees outside! as that was too cold to be out snowboarding we didnt go out till after lunch. Me and Naya did walk to the ICA (type of swedish supermarket, that is everywhere.... not pronounced I C A though..... it is said 'eeka') which is about 1 kilometre away and bought some food for the week.

After lunch Mats took me and Naya to Hundfjället which is about 20kms away from Rörbäcksnäs. Naya and I spent the afternoon Snowboarding.. Sanne stayed back at the cabin with Loella because, she started to get a nasty cough and it wasn't good for her to be out in the cold. Mats just watched us and helped Naya as she has only tried it once before. It was sooo much fun to go snowboarding again.. and i hadn't forgotten how to do it, which was good.

Each day Mats took Naya and I back there.. and we snowboarded everyday except for Friday, which is when we went home. The mountain there is pretty cool, and i enjoyed going down all the different runs.. there was one, which has all these models of trolls and creatures and things like that... so as your skiing/boarding down the run you are going past all these creepy little troll things.. and some of them talk and say things... it was pretty cute though.. i liked looking at them all... except because of them there were always lots of people on this run and it is very narrow.. and i'm not that great at steering... so that was a bit annoying..

It was funny, everytime i got off the lifts at the top of a run and would sit in the snow and do up my binding on my snowboard, i would look around and think.... 'wow im actually in sweden!' i didnt even try to think that.. but everytime!! i did.. it was weird.. and there have been lots of... 'wow im in sweden moments'.

Also all over the mountain they have little wooden hut things with a woodfire in them and seats.. so people would sit in there to get warm or to cook food on the fire which i thought was really cool.. we packed sandwiches and hot chocolate or soup each day.. so we would sit in one of these by the fire and i would eat my vegemite sandwich :)

Each day driving back to the cabin was the most amazing views! all you could see for miles was mountains, covered in forests, it looked soooo pretty when the sun was setting!!

Loella and Sanne ended up spending everyday in the cabin, because Loella got really sick with a bad cough. One night at 3am Sanne and Mats had to call the ambulance because loella couldn't breathe properly, so they met the ambulance somewhere and they gave Loella some medicine which helped.. She had Croupe or Croop or however you spell it.

Loella was really cute and quite a character.. it was funny because she doesnt speak english and i dont speak swedish, but we still played lots of games together.. one night she was teaching me how to do ballet and so we were dancing and jumping around the cabin.. and then she was teaching me the name for the colours brown, yellow and red by using the dried fruit from her muesli.

One morning it was minus 30 degrees, which is the coldest that i have been in since i have been here in Sweden... so i went outside in my pyjamas and stood in the cold for about 20 seconds.. just so i can say i have been in -30 degrees :)

Oh and because where we were staying is very close to the Norwegian border.. we drove over to Norway one afternoon.. so i have now also been to Norway!! :)

And there were two reindeer at the mountain and i patted one of them.. but the other one (the one in the photo) was really grumpy and not nice, but it looked cooler, cos it had antler things..

Overall i had a really nice week and it was really nice staying in a cabin surrounded by snow and lots and lots of trees. It was soo warm and cosy inside with a wood fire which was really nice to come home too after having been snowboarding in the cold each day :)

Today it has been quite warm! it was about 2 degrees i think, which is the warmest it has been in a long time.. i got quite excited... but when it is warm everything looks all gross, cos the snow melts a bit and there is lots of water and the roads are all gross and the snow is all brown...

The other day i was in deep thought, as to why it hadnt rained here yet.... seeing that it is winter! and that is generally a good time for it to rain... then i realised, that i am an idiot and that of course it isnt going to rain.. because it is soo cold.. and thats why it snows!!! it took me a long time to work that out!! anywayyy this afternoon when i stepped outside.. i noticed that i was getting wet, and that it wasnt from snow!. i wouldnt exactly class it as raining though.. it was barely spitting.. but.. i was relieved to finally see a bit of water falling from the sky.

Deni is cool.

I don't really have too much to write.. but..

yesterday i got a lovely package of some vegemite, and some tim tams from my lovely mother and father. So thanks for that mum and dad :)
so i spread some vegemite on some bread for Sanne and Mats... Sanne didnt mind it.. but I don't think Mats liked it very much.. he didnt really say much.. just said it was interesting.. haha.
Once Sanne had tried the vegemite.. she went to the fridge and pulled out a tube that i was really trying to avoid for as long as possible... Caviar! i had it spread on some bread... and the moment it hit my tastebuds was not one of my most treasured moments.. it tasted like a fish market smells! so i just ate it quickly and washed it down with several glasses of milk and later on some toothpaste ;)

Then later that night, me and Sanne had a cup of tea.. and i showed her how to drink the tea through the tim tams.. which was quite fun.. and funny... and delicious.

A few things i've noticed about sweden... is that they don't have tissues anywhere! i havent seen a single box of tissues ANYWHERE since i have been here. They just use toilet paper, i think.

Another thing is.. everything looks like it is from a fairytale when it is covered in snow. especially all the forests along the side of the road, bus trips to school are very pretty. Its like being in Narnia, except minus Aslan, and a witch and Mr. Tumnus.

I used to always hate those christmas trees that you could buy that are made out of white leave things... because i thought they just looked soo stupid.. and everyone knows that trees are green, not white!. however.. i now can appreciate the white christmas trees that you can buy... because i understand that a tree looks like that when it is covered in snow!! (I knew i would become a better person after this year! haha :P)

Another thing i have noticed.. and miss slightly.. is that there are like no pubs anywhere... not that i spent that much time in pubs... actually no, thats not entirely true.. i spent a fair bit of time in pubs.. especially coming home from places with Dad :) but i dont think i have seen any yet.. but i suppose that even if i did it would be red and white.. and i probably wouldnt recognise it anyway.

Tomorrow we are going to Västerås to pick up Sanne's granddaughter Loella who is 6 years old, and then we are going to Sälen for the week, which is a skiing place. We are going to stay in a cabin there somewhere which belongs to Mats' parents.. We will do some cross country skiing, and also downhill skiing.. I am looking forward to this, but am a bit nervous aswell! as i am not the most skilled skiier.
But mostly i am excited! I just tried on all my ski pants and jacket before and beanie.. i felt pretty cool :) it feels a bit weird though.. cos it feels like i did before going on yr 11/12 ski trip... but it is going to be completely different to then. one minor difference i suppose, is that i will be in Sweden and not Victoria!

It is still veryy cold here! and it has been snowing lots again. Things are going well and this first month has gone pretty quickly! oh i do miss watching cartoons on saturday mornings though!

I cant think of a title.

Okay so i havent written anything in a while... just over a week actually..
The past week i have just been going to school... but i have done a few other things aswell..
On tuesday after school, i went for fika with people from my class, which was really fun.. the cafe was really cool looking, with lots of arm chairs and vintage looking wallpaper and old lamps. Then on wednesday after school i stayed in Uppsala and went to the movies with two girls named Clara and Lovisa, so that was lots of fun aswell.. We went and seen Where the Wild Things Are.. which i thought was quite funny, cos you can hire that on DVD in Australia.. but it is only just coming out in cinemas here. The cinema we went to though, was tiny! The Lameroo Cinema is massive compared to this one.. it was almost just like watching tv at my brother's houses on their big tv's (okayyyyy not quite.. but it wasn't that much bigger!) Anyway i still enjoyed the film and thought it was really cute.
Then on friday we went ice skating in P.E! I was pretty nervous about this, because I'm really really bad at it.. and when i went with my host dad... i spent the whole time hanging onto him.. so i considered 'forgetting' my ice skates.. but then thought that was a bit lame and i should just toughen up... and i'm glad i went.. because i had lots of fun doing it..
Where we went ice skating was a little way away from the school, so we took the bus. To begin with i spent the whole time hanging onto people.. but i eventually started to get a teeny weeny little bit better.. and i was doing it by myself then.. i dont have very much technique or class whilst ice skating.. and i tend to do little shuffles and concentrate very much on my feet and on not falling over... which paid off i guess.. because i didnt fall over.
After we finished ice skating, it was the end of the school day.. so a few of us went back to Clara's house and drank lots of tea, and ate yummy bread and kladdcakke.. that was lots of fun aswell... Then i caught the train back to Knivsta.

I didnt do too much this weekend, which was nice.. because i am still tired all the time... but i did bake some anzac biscuits.. which made me feel a bit australian.. (although they didnt taste that good.. which made me feel like a bit of a failure of an australian) nevermind.
On Sunday afternoon, another exchange student from Australia called Jessica came and visited me. She is living in Sollentuna which is just outside of Stockholm... It was nice to talk to another exchange student again especially one from Australia. We just went to a cafe in Knivsta and talked, which was fun.

After this week of school.. we get a week off.. I'm not really entirely sure why we get the week off.. (I dont think there is really much of a reason). But my host family and I are going somewhere up North in Sweden and staying in a little cabin.. Then we are going to go cross country skiing for two days.. and downhill skiing for two days. I'm really excited and it sounds like it should be fun. I'm especially excited about going downhill skiing, as i've only ever been snowboarding before..
In March i am going on a rotary trip to a place called Åre with other exchange students. we're going for four days.. and i plan on snowboarding then.. I'm really excited about that aswell.

Its still quite cold here.. and i am beginning to long for the sun.. and warmth.. Its also a bit worrying.. because i've been saying lately.. 'oh its such a nice day today' and the temperature will be -5 outside.. generally i would say a nice day is 25 degrees. but now -5 is a nice day.
Next Monday i will have been here for exactly one month.. which i think is pretty crazy.. It feels like soo long ago since i was back in australia and packing and weighing my bags.

Anywho, i cant think of anything more to write..
so bye!
p.s. I never know how to end my blogs!!!!!!

Picnicing (i'm not sure if that is a word)

Today i had a picnic in the snow! yes, thats right... in the snow :)
Sanne, Mats, Naya and I went down to the lake.. (which in the summer time, everyone swims in) but in the winter it is of course all iced over and covered in snow.. so Sanne, Naya and I went skiing across it.. and Mats went ice skating.
It was lots of fun.. and we had packed some sandwichs and hot chocolate.. so once we had been skiing for a little while we found a spot in the middle of the lake.. and sat on a mat thing ontop of our skis and ate our food and drank our drinks.. it was very pretty, because it was very sunny today.. so the snow was all shiny.. and also because i havent really seen the sun much since i've been here! normally in the day time it is cloudy.
But just because the sun was out, doesnt mean it wasn't cold.. it was still freeeezingg!! i didnt drink my hot chocolate fast enough.. and by the time i got to my last mouthful it was cold, like it had been in a fridge.
once we'd finished eating and stuff.. we packed up and put our skis back on and skied back to the car.. to get from the lake to the car park.. there is a hill you need to get up.. and so i tried getting up it with my skis on like sanne and naya seemed to be able to do with so much ease!
but i really, really sucked at it! i kept sliding back down.. and it was a pretty steep little hill.. so it was really scary.. and i kept stacking it and it hurt.. anyways... i must have looked so hopeless and pathetic.. cos then sanne was like... maybe you can just take your skis off there.. and walk up.. haha... so i did.
oh and while we were skiing.. we went past a man and a woman fishing in the ice.. like did the whole cut a hole in the ice and sit there with a little chair and line in the hole... just like in the cartoons! anywaysss. we were talking to them for a bit.. and i had been asking sanne the other day whether people actually do that here... so after we finished talking to these people.. sanne said that we will do it sometime.. so im pretty excited about that :)

Back to school tomorrow for me.. it feels weird going back after having only been there for a week.. and then having a week off... feels a bit like my first day there all over again.. but i'm sure it will be fine and everything will seem familiar. It's good because tomorrow i don't have to start until 9.50am unlike most mornings where i start at 8.30!

Eskilstuna

I got back from Eskilstuna about 6.00pm tonight and i had a great week!
All the exchange students stayed in different host families.. i stayed with a family in a town just out of Eskilstuna called Kvicksund.. There were three of us exchange students staying with this family, all from Australia.. There was me, Jessica and Eliza (who is actually living with this family for her exchange).
The host family was Eva and Peter and they had a 15 year old daughter called Alice.. they were all really lovely and made us feel very welcome..
They also had a really awesome house!!!
We had swedish classes each day from 8.30 till 3.30. We had an hour off for lunch each day where we went to different rotary club meetings. They were always at the same place.. so each day we would walk about 2kms up and back in the snow to get to the restaraunt place.. the food was always really good there, and we didnt have to pay :)
There were 12 exchange students at the course and 10 of them were from Australia... there was a girl from new zealand and a girl from south africa. We had two teachers the whole week.. and then another exchange student who is from canada and has been here for 6 months was also there to help us learn swedish.
We had a different activity each day as well as the swedish classes, on the monday, we didnt actually have a planned activity.. but we all went to a cafe after class for 'Fika' ( it is like going for coffee and something sweet to eat, and is very very popular in sweden!).
then on the tuesday evening, we went bowling.. and beforehand got all you can eat tacos.. which was fun..
The wednesday afternoon we went to the pool house in eskilstuna.. which is really cool and has a wave pool, a waterslide, and spas and saunas..
Then we had no lessons after lunch on thursday and we all went to the Parken Zoo, it was very weird going to a zoo here.. because the entire zoo was covered in snow! the zoo isnt normally open to public in the wintertime because there is not many animals you can see.. so we were pretty much the only ones in the entire zoo.. we did see some cool animals though.. and my favourite was the spider monkeys!! then that evening we all went to one of the rotarians house for dinner and to watch a movie... we watched.. Mamma Mia.
Then friday at the end of the day.. we all got picked up and went home..
During the week we got to spend a fair bit of time just walking around the city, which was pretty cool and was good to be able to see a different city.
It was a really fun week.. and was so good to meet all the other exchange students, we all became really good friends and are heaps excited about euro tour now!

oh and last sunday, before we left.. mats took me cross country skiing in the morning.. i'm starting to get better at it.. but i am still pretty bad! im not very good at getting up the hills, actually im REALLY bad at getting up the hills.. i always end up just sliding back down :)
we skiied for about 2kms.. which was really good.. and i was bright red by the end of it!

I dont think i'm really doing anything this weekend, which is good.. and i can just relax a bit :)

Its been one week..

Today i have officially been in Sweden for one whole week!! although, there has been so much happening and so many changes that it feels like a lot longer than a week!

Today i went for a walk around Knivsta and to check out what shops are here.. there aren't that many, but a lot more than i am used to!
I bought something from the supermarket.. and the checkout chick person puts the money in some weird machine thing and then it shoots out (not quite shoots out, but drops out) your correct change at the bottom.. it was sooo cool! the lady probably thought i was a freak... because i just kept staring at it in amazement!! looking back i think i may even have laughed??
i also had a look in the bibliotek (library) and looked at all the books that i couldnt understand... that was nice..

then this afternoon.. mats took me ice skating!! it was a lot of fun..
i've only ever been ice skating once on a school trip to adelaide.. and the whole time i spent hanging onto the walls or hanging onto yolanda :)
i really havent improved since then... where we went ice skating is only a short walk from our house.. and it is outside and a bit smaller than a football field. there were these tiny kids there doing it.. and they were amazing!!! and then there was me... hanging onto mats' arm for dear
life.. i did improve though as time went on.. and in the end i was doing it almost by myself... i had the help of my good friend the icehockey stick..
anyway that was lots of fun :)

Tomorrow i am going to a town called Eskilstuna, it is for a language camp for the exchange students that have just come to Sweden.. I will be there until Friday.. I'm not really sure what we'll do there apart from try and learn Swedish.. but i'm sure it will be good fun. We are being billeted out into the homes of Rotarians in Eskilstuna. So i probably won't write anything until i get home from this camp at the end of the week..
So goodbye for a week :)

gossip girl xoxo
(p.s. ^^ i only did that cos tim said i should :P )

oh and before i went.. i was telling everyone that i'm going to be living in a town called knivsta..
pronounced Niv-sta.... however... this is not how it is pronounced... it is actually said like..
C - Neev - Sta.
so yea, sorry about that everyone! :)

More things about school

Oh and these are some other things about school.. that i forgot to write..
There is an elevator there.. to get between levels..
and at the start and end of each lesson.. there are no bells.. everyone just seems to know when to go to lesson..
oh and unlike at lameroo.. if you go to and from the school.. you dont have to sign in or out..
and every student there gets a laptop to use at school.. but also unlike at lameroo.. there are no blocked pages.. so everyone just goes on facebook and youtube.. and whatever else they want..
and the cafeteria.. you can buy hot drinks.. and lollies.. and cakes and heaps of things whenever you want.. and take them into class with you..
and you call the teachers by their first names..

buses.. arghhhh

Today I got a little bit confused with the whole catching buses thing.
Yesterday when I went to school, I took the bus and a girl from school showed me the stop I needed to get off at to walk to school. And then on the way home I took the bus and train home with a girl who is in my class.. so that was all well and good... today feeling a bit more confident about the whole bus and getting to and from school thing, I was feeling okay about doing it without assistance. I got onto the bus okay, and was feeling rather pleased with myself, the trip into Uppsala was fine and it was really pretty looking at the countryside all covered in white snow! I then looked around the bus and realised that there was only me and two other people left on it, and that a moment ago there were lots of people, I had missed my stop. So in a panic I quickly got off at the next stop.. I had gone two stops further than what I was meant to do.. I was feeling quite panicked, because I really had no idea where I was.. I knew which direction I was meant to go, but wasn’t sure which roads to take.. so I started walking.. then two boys who were on the same bus as me and also go to rosendal were walking towards me.. they realised when they got off the bus, that I hadn’t got off and had come looking for me, so I was very thankful that they came and found me. Then they led the way back to school, I swear we walked at least 5 kilometres!! (okay maybe I’m exaggerating a tiny bit.. but it certainly was a long walk). I finally got to school and was only a little bit late for my first lesson.
Then this afternoon when school finished I headed off to the bus stop and sat their waiting for the bus and I was waiting for a fair while, so I sent one of the boys who helped me in the morning a message and asked if I was in the right spot. He said yes, but the next bus didn’t come for another 30 mins! By this stage I was already absolutely frozen.. and it snowed alot today and was snowing all day.. so then the two boys came to the bus stop and waited with me in the freezing cold for the bus.. by the time I got on the bus I had been standing there for at least 50 minutes and I couldn’t feel my toes or fingers! But I ended up getting home okay.. so it all worked out well.. and now I know which stop to get off at.. and I also know not to get to the bus stop too early!!

First day of school!

Today i went to school for the first time.. and it was very different!
I was soo nervous and scared and had no idea what to expect. Rolf my counsellor picked me up at 9.00am and drove me to the school. We then met with the vice-principal and she told me that i had been enrolled in the first year, science program.. which for those of you who know me well.. will know that i really really dont enjoy science (or are that good at it) So this program has subjects like, maths, chemistry, physics, german, swedish, history. All of which, have very small, if any appeal to me.. so already feeling a little bit nervous... this made me feel 100 billion more times nervous... i have never studied physics or chemistry in english, let alone swedish!! In this program you have a choice of learning french, spanish or german.. seeing as i did learn very basic german a few years ago.. i thought this would be the safest option.. the only problem is.. basically my german knowledge i already have is very bad, and my swedish is even worse.. so in a lesson that is trying to teach german in swedish.. is quite hard! i have enough trouble with one of those languages!!
I also had a maths lesson today.. In Australia the maths i did, was maths apps. ( so like business maths) but in this maths lesson, it was all algebra and factorising.. yuck! i didnt really understand much at all.. at least i could recognise the numbers though ;)
I also had a lesson of Swedish.. which i understood nothing at all...
and in the morning when i first arrived, i had the last half a lesson of art, which was good and i enjoyed more.
Lunchtime was crazy aswell, very different to school lunch times at lameroo! Lunch is free at the school and they have a kitchen where they cook it for all the students.. it is like an american high school movie... there is a big cafeteria and everybody grabs a plate and takes what food they want.. there was fish today and then vegetables and salad.
The people in my class were very friendly and i didnt have to be a loner.. and eat my lunch in the toilets or anything ;)
Its a bit confusing finding my way around the school though, there are three levels.. so a lot more stairs than at Lameroo!
Tomorrow i start school at 8.30am and have to catch the bus at 7.40am. but then i will be finished by 1.00pm
I really hope i begin to pick up swedish soon, because it is really weird sitting through lessons, and not having a single clue of what is happening!!!

Differences between Parrakie and Sweden

- Parrakie there is no snow, and it is quite often 40 degrees, here there is lots of snow!! and not 40 degrees!!
- Parrakie has no people, there are people here
- It is currently 3.53pm here.. and its already getting dark...
- I can understand what people say in Parrakie (generally), but here.. not so much :)
- Bikes arent ridden that much back home... but here everybody rides them!! especially in Uppsala!
- I dont slip over outside when im walking at Parrakie (not much anyway), i slip on the snow and ice lots here :)
- When i look outside my window here, i can see people and things happening, but when i look outside the window at Parrakie i see garden and cattleyards, and no people.. (ocasionaly mum or dad) ;)
- Parrakie drive on the left hand side of the road, here it is right.
- Parrakie roads are dusty and full of pot holes... here the roads have snow and ice
- In the mornings at parrakie, the sun comes in my window quite early and wakes me up, here it doesnt come up till around 8.00 :)
- trees at home, are all scrub and very scraggly looking... trees here are very tall and green and leafy and covered in snow!
- houses back home arent generally red or yellow.... here they are everywhere!!! :)

Long plane trips arent that much fun

Well I am finally in Sweden!! After more than 24 hours of travelling.. My first flight was from Adelaide to Melbourne, and then from Melbourne i had my first international flight.. I made it through customs, and without them finding my drugs or my bomb so that was good! The flight from melbourne to bangkok took about 9 hours, which went reasonably quickly compared to the second flight. we were travelling with Thai Airways and the plane was really cool, we all had our own TV screen and you could track the plane and how far there was to go and how far you had travlleded.. I spent the trip watching movies, and playing super mario brothers, the food was also pretty decent too! Once we got to bangkok we had to wait a few hours there for our next flight, so we had a bit of time to wander around the airport, where i ate some pretty amazing dairy queen ice cream. we then boarded our next flight to Stockholm... which pretty much was a sucky 12 hours. we were flying with Thai airways again, but this time we got a really dodgy plane.. it didnt have our own tvs and it was much more cramped.. also because of we didnt have tvs we couldnt track the flight, so i had absolutely no idea how far we had come or how much there was to go.. i fell asleep for a little while and when i woke up, i could have sworn we were almost there.. then i asked someone and we still had another 10 hours to go!!
When we got to the Stockholm/Arlanda airport, we could see snow on the ground and that got all us exchange students pretty excited! there were about 20 exchange students from Australia going to Sweden.
My host mum, dad and sister and my counsellor all greeted me at the airport.. and then we travelled about 15 minutes back to Knivsta where my host family live, as it was dark i couldnt see much of where we were going, but i could see lots of forest and snow everywhere!!! I think it will take a bit of getting used to though that they drive on the right hand side of the road, i kept thinking we were going to crash into things. Once we got to the house, we had some breakfast, and i unpacked my things into my room. From my room if i look out my two windows i can see the trainstation and i can also see part of the main street.. and everything is white with snow! it is really pretty. My host mum, Sanne and i then took the two dogs for a walk around the town, this was really cool because we were walking in snow everywhere and there are so many forests around. it was very cold out though, but it was only -5 degrees today.
then in the afternoon Mats (host dad), Naya (sister) and I went to some shops just out of Uppsala to buy Sanne a birthday present as it was her birthday today. Then tonight we went to a Thai restaraunt in Knivsta with two of Sanne´s sisters. which was really nice, but i was still quite tired from the flight and could not understand one word of the menu!! i just ended up not looking at what i was eating and chewing and swallowing.
Tomorrow Sanne, Naya and I might be going into Uppsala to go shopping to buy me a warm jacket and a few other things.. and then on Monday my counsellor and Sanne are taking me to the gymnasium (school) i will be going to in Uppsala. They will show me around and hopefully help choose my subjects.
Anyway I´m off to bed, to get some much needed sleep that i didnt get on the plane!
xoxoxoxooxoxoxox