going home.

It was weird. And it took a LONG time. But I did in fact come home after my exchange year in Sweden, believe it or not. However when I said I did not want to stop being an exchange student, I did not really mean that I wanted to sit in airports from Tuesday until Friday of that week. Rather sitting at home than stuck in between! But after many cancelled flights and a pair of unplanned hotel stays, I was actually able to walk into my room on Hoover Street on June 27. I can faithfully report back that nothing has changed, and that Oregon is exactly the same besides the fro-yo place and a new restaurant called HQ…what does that even mean?

I do not really know if I liked being back. It was so nice to see everyone, and I really enjoyed not being the “new person” or tag-along guest for the first time in a year. If there was one thing I missed, it was the sense of knowing everything about life in my town and being familiar with everyone and just how things operate. A sense of the familiar washed over me immediately as we drove into town for the first time, and it almost felt like I had never left. It felt quite natural to speak with my friends and family members and I truly enjoyed the chance to speak with so many people even though many were missed!

However despite all of this, I missed and still miss Sweden very much. Life in Lund became my familiarity over the course of this year. Even after living there for less than a year was I able to go out and always meet or see someone I knew. Life in Sweden was a life I liked so much, and I do not think I can just drop it and move home to the United States. I think I had an abnormally large attachment for my host country compared to other exchange students. Luckily, I discovered this information many months before my trip home and applied for studies at Lund University quite some time ago. Several weeks ago I found out that I have been accepted into the Development Studies program at the University and will start studying there in the autumn. So in other words, I am moving to Sweden. I even have a room with a real address! In Sweden! I cannot even fathom the realness of that I am actually moving to another county for real, not just as a temporary exchange student. The whole situation is quite empowering really. The only sad part was telling Lawrence University that I would not be going there anymore. But I felt so confident about wanting to move to Sweden that I think it will be worth the sacrifice. After being accepted and finding housing, all that is left now is ironing out all of the small details and getting my visa arranged. I certainly could have never seen this happening several years ago. But at the same time I think that my situation is truly a testament to the formative power of being an exchange student.

In other news, I have now been teaching Swedish and being a counselor at Sjölunden. This is the language camp that I attended for six years as a participant and where I first got the insane idea to be an exchange student. I live with nine 7-10 year old girls, work to exhaustion all the time, and am have the most wonderfully fun time I have ever had. I enjoy the being with the kids, and they seem to like me alright as well. And I can even manage to teach a bit of Swedish while acting completely ridiculous about 99% of the time. This is definitely the best job ever. Also the highest coffee-consuming job ever. But I honestly think that it was perfect timing to come work here just a week after coming home from Sweden. It is almost a sort of therapy for my “Sweden withdrawals”. Call it crazy, but I think that coming here to our little Sweden in the Minnesota northwoods is the only way I could actually mentally handle leaving actual Swedish life.

Below is a photo of the bulletin board of memories from my exchange year. Each time I got something from a memorable experience during the year, I would pin it on to the board. Included is everything from the welcome sign when I was picked up by my host family to my whistle from Swedish graduation day. A whole year, compacted onto a small bulletin board of the some of the most memorable experiences I will have in my life.

But anyway I am home in the USA, teaching Swedish to kids for a while longer, and then headed back to Sweden in August! More updates to come!

Puss och kram,
Anna

sommar i sverige.

The time in between studenten, my finishing of school in Sweden, and my trip home to the United States went very quickly. However I do believe that I was able to experience a small taste of Swedish summer during those twelve short days. The days included a bit of traveling, a midsommar celebration, and large amount of sunbathing. In other words, the month of June most certainly became a race to fit in what I had missed and the few points I had yet to check off my exchange year must-see list.

The first stop was a weekend trip to Stockholm. This specific tour served two different purposes, firstly to celebrate a family birthday, and secondly to see a few Stockholm sights. Included was a lot of walking and seeing the old and beautiful city, which is surrounded by water. The new ABBA museum was of course a stop, where they even display many of the group’s original costumes while walking the visitors through the career of the famous musical quartet. However my favourite part was just walking along the water and taking in the beauty of both the many boats and architecture over the course of the weekend. The weather was beautiful, and it all just felt very Swedish.

Slussen + skyline view.

Gamla Stan, the old city.

One of the typical cozy streets.

The next stop was another weekend trip to visit one of my very best friends and fellow exchange students, Emma. Since she had visited me in Lund several months ago I decided that the time was ripe for a visit to her Swedish home, the city of Västerås. Northwest of Stockholm, Västerås is quite different from Lund and was quite enjoyable to explore. We were able to tour the city, meet some friends, and of course take a bit of fika! I was even able to meet a YFU exchange student friend who Emma has also had the pleasure of befriending this year. The lovely Latvian, Ruta, was able to take us to her family’s campsite on an island outside of Västerås where we grilled and had a cozy evening together.

The typical view of Västerås.

“Skyline?”

Even exchange students can grill!

Midsommar is the traditional Swedish celebration of the summer solstice, and an essential part of experiencing Swedish culture. This is the day with the most daylight of the entire year, and Swedish people definitely like to celebrate accordingly! Think stereotypes…like dancing around a maypole and eating pickled herring. These traditions do in fact exist! Along with a day of socializing and fun, I was able to meet a large group of friends to help prepare a traditional meal. I can say with certainty that I have now experienced the essence of the important holiday, and I can also report that it was indeed quite light outside for the entire night. It was definitely a Swedish Midsommar, complete with way too many potatoes and a flower crown!

A maypole. In real life.

In other words, greeting from the northwoods of Minnesota, and more updates to come!

Love,
Anna

 

bal och studenten.

Bal and studenten, possibly two of the most exciting days of my exchange year. These terms translate into prom and graduation in English, but the two traditions could not be more different than those of the same name in the United States. Let me now recount these two different days, both celebrations that made the end of my time in Sweden quite special.

Spykens Bal, the prom of my school, took place on the evening of June 5th. After a long primping session with a few friends it was off to the Grand Hotel in Lund, where a crowd had gathered outside to take pictures and observe the hour-long arrival and mingle session outside on the plaza. The weather was perfect, and it was quite fun to see everyone get out of cars clad in tuxedos and ball gowns. After a long procession up the hotel stairs, all were seated in one of the ballrooms for our three-course meal. The dining experience was quite formal, as we had even attended and etiquette lecture beforehand to learn the basics of how to act. There were speeches throughout from several different students and the dean of our school interspersed between the courses of fine food and drink. Everything was excellent! After coffee, the tables were cleared and a live band began to play. The dance lessons beforehand had also paid off, and most people tried their best to use some of the newly acquired skills!

The obligatory pre-prom photo!

After the dance, the festivities continued with an after party at a club, an after after party in our schools’ cafeteria, and then a delicious breakfast buffet. I must say, one of the highlights of the experience was riding the city bus home at 7:30 am in a prom dress! But the evening was truly wonderful, and definitely one of the best of the year.

Inside of the Grand Hotel.

The next important day I must write about is my graduation from school in Sweden, called studenten. Each of the schools in Lund have one day in a certain week where the students graduate, and Spyken’s was on June 12. The entire day was filled with festivities, from dawn to (almost the next) dawn. If there is one statement I can make about studenten in Sweden, I can say that it was completely different than my graduation from Oregon High School. There were no mortarboards, pomp and circumstance, football fields, or hand shaking. The traditional clothing is instead a white dress for girls and a suit for the males. To compliment this is a sort of sailor’s hat, which takes the place of a graduation cap. Many people like to have this hat embroidered with their name and class, but one is free to design the cap of their choosing.

My beautiful friends!

The day began with a breakfast of cake and champagne in the park next door to our school, where everyone sat and soaked up the morning warmth and wrote on the insides of each other’s student hats. After that was lunch with my class and the traditional running around Lund blowing whistles, singing, making noise, and just being as annoying as possible just to let everyone know that you have finished school.

Perhaps not the most nutritious breakfast…

After a short photography session, everyone was corralled into the auditorium for the ending speech, choir concert, and traditional simultaneous putting on the student hats. But it was after that that things got crazy, because the tradition after this is to run out of the building into the inner courtyard of the school, where parents and loved ones wait with huge posters with baby pictures sticking up into the air. Amid this chaos of everyone running out of the school, I managed to find my host family waiting with an adorable sign and the traditional bouquets of flowers to hang around my neck.

After running out of the school!

Things only get more radical from here. Each year, every class of students rents a trailer and a DJ for the day of studenten. So after running out of the school and greeting the family, everyone heads to their respective trailer and hops on the back for a two hour dance party on the trailer as it drives around the city. The tradition is to paint bedsheets before this and hang them on the trailer, which is visible on in the photo below. What a fun time it was to ride on the trailer, completely hyped up and enjoying just having graduated!

Dance party on a trailer!

After all of that excitement, everyone heads home to their respective individual graduation parties. I was so surprised to find the most beautiful little party when I came home. I had never expected so much generosity of both my host parents and the many guests who came. The only word I can use to describe my feelings is gratefulness, and that does not even begin to cover the extent of just how thankful I truly am for everything. I was not even graduating for real, and yet I got the entire graduation in all of its’ grandeur. I do not consider myself deserving of such generosity, and it brings tears to my eyes just to think about the kindness involved in making this experience special for me as an exchange student.

We got to put our handprints on the wall of the school, just like at OHS!

Okay, I have to move on! I must exercise some form of self-restraint, as I am sitting in an airport cafe and it may look strange if I just begin crying. Oops. Anyway, the party made for an enjoyable evening. It made me truly realize how many people I have met and relationships I have made throughout my exchange year. The school had also organized an evening out at a club later on at night, and it was nice to see everyone again for one last time. Studenten was definitely one of the best, if not THE best day of my exchange year for a variety of reasons. Partly because how fun it was, but mostly because I found out that a few people on the other side of the world maybe actually care about what I do or who I am. To actually realize that was so strange, but at the same time I consider it the ultimate expression of kindness – for someone else’s child, someone who was a stranger in a new place just a few months ago. Thank you so much.

I have just a few topics left to write about on my blog, and I promise to publish them as soon as possible!

Love,
Anna

 

 

 

 

an even crazier may.

Even crazier than April, you ask? Absolutely. This was not entirely unexpected, but I can say with confidence that my energy is running fairly low as I write these last posts from my post at Gate D5 at Dulles International Airport in Washington DC. But more about that later, as I have a lot of updating to do! Where to begin? Also, I apologize beforehand for my terrible English. Please excuse me!

Lundaloppet! On May 10th I ran my first 5k! I had trained a bit beforehand even though I am not a very intense runner. My interest came mostly because I have become quite fitness-interested during my exchange year, mostly because the cultural normalcy of this and the abundance and affordability of workout facilities and gyms in Sweden. Luckily it is also excellent for my health, so running the Lundaloppet was quite an enjoyable experience. I was pleased with my 25 minutes at an unstrenuous pace, and the best part was trying asparagus ice cream afterwards. Asparagus is a popular crop on the farmlands outside of Lund, so I was not surprised to encounter it in frozen form as well!

Kind of sweaty, but satisfied with ice cream!

The next weekend came an even larger event in Lund, which is called Lundakarneval. Every fourth year, the students at Lunds Universitet put together a sort of “carnival” for the city to enjoy. It is however not exactly a carnival in the traditional respect. The main attractions are different shows that are sort of satirical comedies not unlike the spex musical I was involved in earlier this year. A short cabaret or review with good humour that is first and foremost extremely Swedish. There several different shows like this that people can go around to and watch over the course of an evening, along with an assortment of concerts and smaller tent activities and games.

Lunds Universitets Hus, decorated and ready with the large concert scene in the foreground.

 

Inside the Universitets Hus, where the Revyn show was staged.

The next landmark during the month of May was my Re-entry Orientation in Stockholm with Youth for Understanding, the exchange organization I have been traveling with. All of the exchange students from around the world who have been here in Sweden this year were able to gather again at Kärsögården, a beautiful retreat center on the edge of Stockholm. It was of course wonderful to see everyone and have the opportunity to share our exchange experiences with each other, along with the advantages of spending many hours sitting by the water and soaking up the sun. And of course enjoying the sauna as well! One of the best things about being an exchange student is the instant bond one can create with other exchange students, and there was no shortage of global love during that weekend. It is always a pleasure to compare cultures and our exchange experiences with each other. The staff and volunteers at YFU are also a lively bunch, and there is never a shortage of fun activities planned during these events. My favourite was probably the cake decorating competition, which was full of fun and laughs.

Not the first prize winner, but full of enthusiasm!

After all of the exchange student excitement came a long-expected trip to the wonderful city of Prague! I will keep it short because there is so much to write about, but the city was absolutely amazing. The “graduating” students of Lund have a tradition of visiting Prague for a week at the end of May each year, and the trip was an exciting blend of fun with friends and gorgeous sightseeing. The architecture is really quite breathtaking and being my classical music nerd self, a visit to the Dvorak Museum was also a highlight. Prague is extraordinarily beautiful, and I regret that my iPhone camera is not really able to do it justice in the photos below.

Old Town Square

View over the river, with the Prague Castle and Charles Bridge.

Casual view of the street we lived on…

A terrible photo of the stunning Spanish Synagogue, part of the large Jewish Museum in Prague.

That officially takes us up to June 1st, as my host brother and I took a flight home from Prague at 6:00 am on that morning! More to come, as I just found out my flight home has been delayed again…

Love,
Anna

 

they made it!

Hello friends!

At the end of my previous post I signed off with a bit of a cliffhanger, which was that my parents had visited me here in Sweden! And after a slight delay, I am ready to fill in the blog world with this missing information. A crew of four weary travelers which included my Mother, Father, Aunt Shelley, and Uncle Tom arrived here in Sweden (well Denmark actually) on the afternoon of my spex premiere, whereafter they were whisked home to Lund and forced to sit through a three-hour comedy musical. In Swedish. While fighting jet lag. Aren’t I a great travel planner? But the next morning was when their trip truly began, and I hoped for the best as they drove away from my house in their rental car towards Norway. Who visits Norway while going to visit their daughter who lives in Sweden? My parents, of course! And with good reason. While there, the whole crew traveled to many different sights that are too beautiful to describe. I cannot even bring myself to post any fjord photos because I get extremely jealous when I look at them. They did however look at a bit of family ancestry, which included a visit to the Wangen Church and the Otterness Farm, where my Uncle Tom’s relatives moved to the United States from.

Headed North.

After seeing the sights of Norway, the next stop for my relatives was the city of Umeå, Sweden. I met them there after a having lived through all of my musical performances and a fun-filled Valborg (last of April) and First of May, which are holidays in Sweden. Umeå lies in the northern part of Sweden, so this may seem like a random travel destination. We were however not without reason for traveling so far our of the way! The village pictured above is called Vännäsby, which is right outisde of Umeå and where my father’s host mother from his exchange year lives, with whom I had arranged a visit with over the course of the year. It was certainly an emotional experience for the both of them, and we were all grateful for the opportunity to meet Karin and her family and of course for her generosity as well. It was both a pleasure and an honour to be there, and of course Umeå is a pleasant city as well!

Karin and family.

After all of this excitement, it was difficult to believe that their trip was only halfway over! It was time to head home, southward to Lund. Our first stop in our exploration of the Skåne region was Kullaberg, which is a nature reserve located on a peninsula lying on the west coast. The day included a rocky walk, plenty of gorgeous views, a pleasant picnic, and perfect weather. The next day included a trip to Skåne’s east coast, which is an area called Österlen. The coastline is filled with adorable little fishing villages, and we were able to squeeze in walks in both Simrishamn and Ystad. They are both cozy little towns, and situated in the most picturesque of locations! A visit to Stenshuvud National Park was also included, and the old viking ruins of Ale’s Stenar were also a must-see. The views were breathtaking of course, and I was glad to be able to be a bit of a guide to my family while going to these places that I had previously visited with my host family.

Kullaberg views.

Rickard and I.

Vibrant spring green at Stenshuvud.

Another view, from Stenshuvud.

Ales Stenar. With sheep.

Driving around Österlen. A typical view of Skåne.

Cozy Ystad!

The next day came the essential tour of Lund, my wonderful city. This is what I had been waiting for the entire year, the chance to share Lund with my family. I oftentimes find it difficult to describe in words why I enjoy living in Sweden so much. Therefore I certainly hope that through showing my family this environment and culture I was able to communicate the love that I feel for this place. When I asked what was their favourite place we had seen here, I got the unanimous reply from every one that it was impossible to decide. However my Aunt commented that the best part was to see my enthusiasm about every single little detail and place. At first I panicked, because I regarded their indecision as a sign that they hated everything that I had periled for hours planning. And then I realized I must have succeed in some shape or form in my mission to communicate those feelings which I had previously been unable to communicate about my exchange experience. Good stuff.

Love for Lund.

Lund institution number one: Domkyrkan.

I was rather excited to finally be “that tourist” taking photos inside of the cathedral.

Astronomical clock which is inside the Domkyrkan.

Lund institution number two: Lunds Universitet.

In addition to be able to show my family many of my favourite places and the essential sights of the city, we were able to end the day with a short clarinet concert of mine. One things I also enjoyed was the oppoturnity to take in the beauty of Lund through photography! I rarely think about it during my everyday routine, but the city is absolutely worth capturing on camera. So I therefore became the double-duty photographer and tour guide, which I quite liked. I think I will post a few of my favourite photos below, as I do not recall posting too many of the actual city over the course of the year.

Lund institution number three: one of my favourite shops, Tehuset Java.

A quick street view with Allhelgonakyrka in the background.

And Lund institution number four is the most important: fika at St. Jakobs!

The very last day of the trip came the potentially most exciting bit, a tour called Öresund runt. This tour takes travelers around a large circle in the Öresund region, which is the channel between Sweden and Denmark. The day began with a train ride from Lund to Helsingborg, a beautiful port city in the northwest corner of Skåne. From there it was a ferry ride to Helsingør, Denmark and then another train ride to the adorable town of Humlebaek. Demark is a bit different from Sweden, and it was fun to note a few things while we walked to our next destination in the pouring rain – Louisana Museum of Modern Art. For being one of Europe’s best modern art museums, it feels like it is oddly situated in the middle of nowhere. But the collection is well worth the walk, and we were able to wait out the rain with a traditional Danish open-faced sandwich in the cafe. No complaints here. But the next destination is the best of all, and we hopped on a train to the city of Copenhagen.

We’ll call this one “artistically contemplating works of art”. Or not.

Feeling corny!

If there is one place that I love almost as much as Lund, it is Copenhagen. It is the perfect combination of cozy while still being a large city, and it is just really very old and beautiful. And best of all, it is fun to go there and there is almost too much to see. After a walk through the shopping district and a bit of delicious fika, we came to the port of Nyhavn. Beautifully iconic, I found myself charmed by the adorable multicolored houses yet again. While walking there, we stumbled across a boat tour that was leaving in just a few short minutes. After looking at the sky and deciding it wasn’t going to rain, we jumped on to boat and were off on our creatively guided tour. Despite a short rain shower somewhere in the middle, I would consider our spontaniety a sucess, as we were able to see many of the very famous buildings, beautiful spires, and cover a lot of area we could not have reached on foot in such a short amount of time. This was also a great opporunity to photograph Copenhagen in a way I had not done before, from the water. Good work team!

Strøget, Copenhagen’s famous shopping street.

People and plazas.

Fika: never forget.

Next stop, Nyhavn.

Could this view be more iconic?

Views from the boat tour, the Old Stock Exchange on the right.

Amalienborg Palace and the Marble Church in the center.

Spires galore.

Headed back to the train station to go home, the round tower on the right side/center is an excellent lookout point over the city.

Anyway, the trip came to an anticlimactic goodbye as I gave a last wave and hug to everyone while trying to tune out the off-key dulcet tones of a previous Danish Eurovision winner who just happened to be having a very loud concert at the airport during that time. On the way home I sat quietly like a good Swedish person in my solitude, thinking about how I was going to be glad that nobody would be sitting on my bed asking annoying questions and going through my things when I got home. But at the same time I was sad to see them go. I think it was a family vacation success.

Despite this extra long blog entry, I am still a bit behind in my updates! More to come next week, I promise.

Love,
Anna

my crazy april.

Is it possible for an entire month to fly by more quickly than April did? It is nearly mid-May, and I realized today that I had not written a blog post since the end of March. This is because so much has been happening that it is nearly impossible to find a few spare moments to write my thoughts here! But I will try to do my best to give a quick(ish) update of what has been happening during this very busy springtime.

First up is my trip to Hamburg, Germany! About one month ago the members of Lunds Symphonic Band piled onto one coach bus with the ending destination of Hamburg, which is Germany’s second largest city. We are around 40 members, and nearly all of the wind instruments are represented. Playing in LSB (as it is affectionately nicknamed) is one of my favorite activities in my free time, and I have met some wonderful friends through this group. We played a few different concerts for several unusual types of audiences while in Germany. This included a concert in the pouring rain in a park on a Monday morning that had an audience of three people, all of which were the parent chaperones. Luckily we had our large Smurf-blue rain jackets to keep everyone both dry and entertained.

The rather impressive city hall of Hamburg.

There was also plenty of sightseeing and getting to know Hamburg, even though the trip was just a short three days. This naturally includes wandering around the city, trying to communicate in broken German, and more than a few laughs. A few of my favorite sights were the many beautiful churches, and seeing their cathedral spires pepper the varied skyline. Hamburg felt very distinct to me as a city mainly because of the noticeable contrast between old and new. Modern and frankly quite odd architectural styles were found in a stark contrast to the intricacy of the very old brick buildings and aging canals. Another highlight was visiting the Miniatur Wunderland, which is nestled into the distinctive rows of the warehouse district. A group of very dedicated artists have basically created miniatures of many different cities and regions from all around the world, which are all on display in this little “wonderland”. The detail of everything is really quite astonishing!

A sort of cool underground tunnel in the city.

Finding minature Sweden was rather exciting, obviously.

After a the trip, there was a slightly overly busy spring break. After that came Easter, and it was of course a fun cultural comparison. Easter in Sweden is primarily a secularized family holiday that combines both old folk beliefs and Christian tradition. One of the most unusual traditions to learn about was one revolving around påskkärringar, or Easter witches. Small children will go out dressed as charming little witches to ring doorbells. They usually receive a handful of candy in exchange for an Easter greeting! Do I sense a bit of Halloween in the air?

A couple of witches happened to drop by!

In addition, my host family’s relatives were able to gather with us here in Lund for a traditional Easter meal and a weekend of delightful weather. The traditional påskbord, Sweden’s version of Easter dinner, includes many of the same foods as during Christmas. However the fare tends to be slightly lighter with a hint of spring flavour. We even painted eggs! There also was an Easter egg hunt in the backyard where each person received their påskägg, or Easter egg. A lot of typical Easter candies include marzipan, which I found to be quite tasty. As in the typical Swedish style, this was actually all celebrated the day/evening before. Easter Eve? The term seems a bit strange, but it is the standard here! On Sunday, we were all as a family able to enjoy the warm temperatures with a tour throughout several different local art galleries on the picturesque eastern coast of Skåne, an area called Österlen.

Our sunny picnic.

The last topic I will mention has definitely been one of the high points of my exchange year, and that is being a part of the Spyxet. The spyxet is the spex of my school, Spyken. What is a spex? Good question. A spex is, in essence, a student written musical that is oftentimes a parody of a historical event. It uses an original script and well known songs where new text is written to pass in with the story. The idea of a spex is an old university tradition that exists in just a few places in Sweden. Naturally Lund is one of these places because of the large university that is located here. Over time, the tradition spread to the high school aged students mainly because of the cultural importance of spex in Lund. One unique idea about a spex is the concept of inklapp, or the process of a sort of encore after each song. The audience goes into a spex with the expectation of hearing each song at least three times, oftentimes with ridiculous or improvised text during the reprises. This makes going to a spex a truly live experience, as each performance is unique and different with the different times the audience “claps in” a musical number.

Eccentric? Yes, sometimes.

How does a large musical such as this come together? The phenomenon is that the entire production is student-run. And I mean completely, as in every single detail. No adults involved. How it works is that one can apply to be a part of many different sorts of groups that combine to create the production. Acting, costumes, script writing, publicity, lighting, dance…the list goes on and on! I myself played clarinet in the pit orchestra, which was an absolutely wonderful experience! Though this experience I was able to meet some of the most delightful friends I have encountered during my time here in Sweden. I am so grateful to have met so many talented and friendly fellow musicians. Being in a spex is first and foremost, fun! The show does not even have to be particularly good, as the goal is to make the audience laugh and enjoy the show. Although I must say that I am certainly impressed with the result of the Spyxet. How can a 16th century Swedish king traveling to the Middle East and the ensuing chaos not be funny? Anyway the show came together after much rehearsal, and I think that everyone was satisfied and proud of the work that had been contributed.

Backstage friends. (Tack för bilden, Sigrid!)

Super lastly, I cannot pass up this opportunity to say Happy Mother’s Day to my wonderful mama! I thought I would pass up the corny Facebook post and just embarrass you on my blog instead. This woman made it all the way across the ocean for the first time just to come visit me, and I am so happy to have seen her during these past two weeks! I think we need to take more photos together, as this was the only one I could find…

Remember when we tried and failed to take selfies in Door County last summer?

There is much more to tell, so another update is on the way soon! I can say that it will involve MY PARENTS IN SWEDEN. Crazy, right?!

Love Always,
Anna

springtime living

Hello friends!

Although I updated the blog not too long ago, I decided today that the time is right for another post! I have noticed that my most recent updates have been centered around the extraordinary and more exciting things that have been happening in my life. However the result of this is that my normal everyday life has been neglected by doing this. And that is a result of what I just wrote – my normal life. As my exchange year has progressed, I have found myself slipping into a seemingly average yet incredibly refreshing everyday life. To put it quite frankly, this new place has become my home.

Despite the absolute normalcy of my routines, life in Sweden is far from boring. Over the course of this year I have built up a sort of life that is comparable to my life back home in Wisconsin, albeit slightly less insanely busy. Everyday is filled up with school, activities, or enjoyment of my free moments. I enjoy these days immensely, whether they include regular school classes, choir rehearsal, or sitting on the patio with my philosophy textbook and a good cup of coffee as I study. Life is good, I promise.

Copenhagen, the perfect small springtime adventure.

Speaking of sitting outdoors, I can officially report that spring has arrived with full force in Sweden. The sky is now a bit bluer and the grass a bit greener, really a quite beautiful experience! I love spring, partly for the energy and vitality it brings and partially for the upcoming availability for fresh garden goods. I just have this insanely huge desire to bake a strawberry rhubarb pie for some reason…soon, soon! However most noticeable is the change in sunlight hours. It has definitely begun to get considerably lighter both earlier in the morning and later at night here. Cue my inability to sleep past 6:00 a.m. coming forth again. This may grow to be a problem, although I do deeply enjoy the refreshing hours of the early morning. Just not when I have stayed up too late and don’t start classes until 10:00 a.m. Hmmmm. Anyway the weather is a bit warmer and the sun is beginning to shine, both of which are welcome changes from the characteristic grayness of winter in southern Sweden.

In addition, I would like to take a moment to write a long overdue bit about a wonderful friend and fellow exchange student, Emma. Emma and I have been friends for quite some time now, since Swedish summer camp in 2008. I have described my amazing summers in the Minnesota northwoods in previous posts, and one of the most fruitful results of those years was my friendship with this amazing girl! We shared a bunk bed for so many summers, and now we happen to both be exchange students here in Sweden at the same time. I wonder who planned that…

A friendship that has now traveled over the ocean!

 

Anyway, Emma lives fairly far away from me in the city of Västerås, but was able to hop on the train to visit my host family and I in Lund around one month ago. It was wonderful to see her again, and I greatly enjoyed giving her a peek into my Swedish life. Naturally, we had a few adventures and shared several cups of coffee, but were primarily able to catch up on our lives and swap exchange student stories. All in all, a very fun time! Emma is an excellent photographer and has a well-written blog about her exchange year, which I definitely recommend checking out! Just click here: http://swededisposition.wordpress.com/

Of course there was fika.

Now, just a couple of small anecdotes before I conclude this non-exciting but hopefully insightful look into my everyday life! Last Tuesday (March 25) was a rather unusual holiday in Sweden called Waffle Day. As one may guess from the name, this is a day where everyone simply eats waffles for dinner (or for another mealtime). Oddly enough, the tradition stems from the idea that this day is 9 months before Christmas. Though I am unsure where exactly waffles come into play with the virgin Mary becoming pregnant, it is certainly one of Sweden’s tastier traditions. We celebrated with both savory and sweet waffles at home. There was no butter and maple syrup involved, as the most regular Swedish pancake and waffle toppings are a combination of fruit jam and whipped cream.

A large portion of my weekly routine in the recent months has been a very fun kitchen experiment, which is making sourdough bread. Although it seems a bit random, this is a moderately popular trend in Sweden at the moment and I find it to be quite fun. I have been maintaining a sourdough starter since the beginning of February, and I devote my Friday afternoons each week to baking bread. I have definitely learned that practice makes perfect in the process of bread making, but my loaves have come a long way since my first week! The photos below are just a few snapshots of last week’s batch that I managed to take in the process.

Pre-oven.

Post-oven.

I think that is all I have for now! Puss och kram, which means hugs and kisses in Swedish! Okay well it actually means kisses and hugs, but it doesn’t sound quite right to say kisses and hugs in English for some reason…I digress. Goodbye!

Love,
Anna

 

anna goes españa!

Malaga, Spain.

How do I even begin to describe my wonderful trip the land of sunshine and siestas? There was a lot of singing involved, that is for sure. This past week I had the opportunity to travel to Spain with my choir from Kulturskolan Lund, Koritisa. The purpose of our journey was to attend and compete in a international choir festival called Canta en Primavera 2014. There were around fifteen different choirs from all around the world participating in the competitions – from Russia and Italy to Austria, and even a group from the United States!

Koritisa, my wonderful choir.

The famous Cathedral in Malaga…just a normal part of our walk to the hotel.

Our trip began with a flight from Copenhagen to Malaga, and that was where the fun began! Everyone was full of energy as we walked though the city to our hotel for the first time, despite the late hour of our arrival. From there forward, our days were filled with a healthy blend of choir competitions, time vacationing in the sunshine, and (of course) plenty of rehearsal hours as well!

Malaga, perfectly cozy!

Closer to the sea.

My choir competed in two different categories during the festival, which were youth choir and sacred choir. Despite being rather nervous about the results, we actually ended up performing extremely well. Astoundingly enough, we won the youth category and came in second place in the sacred category, in which we were awarded a gold diploma. Pretty excellent, considering most of us expected to come in very last place in everything due to the fact that we were much younger and more inexperienced than every other choir there. Rehearsal for hours every Wednesday and Sunday definitely paid off with respect to our competitive side! There was definitely a palpable energy in the air after the award ceremony, and all were extremely thankful to our wonderful and hard working choir director.

During our sacred category competition.

A city filled with colors.

Believe it or not, everyone did have the chance to spend a bit of time outside of the rehearsal room as well! Malaga was definitely enjoyed to the fullest by all of us girls. The small city is incredibly cozy and I loved the unabashed energy of the Spanish people, which gave a certain character to the air. It was open, it was kind of loud, and it was was incredibly un-Swedish. The sunshine and bright blue skies were definitely a welcome break from my average gray-skied daily routine at home in Sweden. And the palm trees were just infatuating! To gaze up at the sun shining through the leaves of a palm tree gave put me into this sort of state of existential bliss where I could just let out a sigh of relief that I was so warm and happy. The sunshine just lifted my spirits immensely, it is difficult to describe!

More palms…perhaps I have a problem.

One of the larger shopping areas of the city.

With 20° C temperatures the entire week, I found ample time to wander the multitude of different twisting side streets with several of my friends and just soak up the culture in addition to all of that Vitamin D. Everything just seemed so Spanish, to put it quite simply. The food, the attitudes of the people, and just the general vibe I felt from my surroundings were incredibly distinct and unlike anything I have previously experienced! Spain stands out in my mind as having very unique cultural traditions and I would have loved even more time to accustom myself to the newness of it all, the photos do not do it justice!

The many different sides of Malaga.

Old and new.

I can confidently say that my time in Malaga will not be forgotten. The wonderful friends (both old and new) and beautiful surroundings helped put a fun twist in my year abroad. And of course I cannot wait to visit Spain again someday in my future!

Sunshine forever.

Living life to the fullest.

More adventures to come!

Love Always,
Anna

bonjour.

Att åka skidor. Going skiing. No friends, it is not a lie. I, me, Anna Wangen, very truly went skiing. In the flesh. Down a mountain(s) in the French Alps. Crazy, right? I know.

And the best part is that is was incredibly fun.

Let me start from the beginning of this entire mess. I found out that my family, like most Swedes, was going to be taking a ski trip during sportlov, which is the Swedish winter break practically created for the purpose of going skiing. I definitely had a bit of a mental freak-out at that point, keeping in mind that this was in October. My fears slowly simmered down as the months passed, but began to return as the number of weeks to our departure became fewer and fewer. Everyone was getting excited about getting back out on the slopes, while I, having never stood on a pair of skis, trembled in fear of my predicament. Eventually the day came where I stepped onto our bus (and stayed on said bus for about 26 more hours) that traveled from Lund all the way to our destination in France, Val Thorens. The charming ski resort town is nestled cozily right into the Alps, and my fears began to be replaced with a sense of curiosity and excitement as I took in my surroundings. I had bought a pair of snow pants just for this, and was determined to use them to their full capacity!

So fast forward 24 hours through a warm welcome into our accommodations, and to me standing outside with a pair of goggles over my eyes and awkwardly trying to hold up a pair of skis one-handedly. The fun hadn’t even begun. It was there that my good-spirited travel companions, my host brother Rickard and friend Casper, witnessed the pure comedic joy of me 1) attempting to put on my skis, 2) attempting to move my body while actually wearing the aforementioned skis, 3) falling on my face and/or butt, and most importantly 4) NOT DYING. Yes, I somehow managed to miraculously survive my first ski lesson from my friends and then the many following lessons from my French instructor in my daily ski school throughout the week without any broken bones or traumatic injuries.

After a while, I stopped falling quite as often. No, I shouldn’t say that. Rather I stopped falling for absolutely no reason at all. Most of the time. I even started looking forward to putting on my skis and spending the day on the slopes, albeit rather easily navigated ones. They were however perfect for my level. Dare I say I was developing a love for skiing? Have I developed a love for skiing? Absolutely. The transformation was gradual, but I am extremely satisfied with the result.

One of the best parts about skiing was simply just observing the landscape. This happened more and more over the course of the week as I became more comfortable with my skiing and just being out on the slopes. I tried to soak up every second of the sun beaming down across the majestic peaks that were literally directly next to me. Mountains are simply one of the most awe-inspiring natural wonders that my young eyes have seen. I hope to see many more such wonders in my life.

Enough with the sentimental babble, as I cannot let slide this opportunity to share my small taste of French culture. Firstly, I am willing to admit that I have a small love affair for the many charming French accents I heard during the trip. Yes, my ski instruction was about 95% French, 4% English, and 1% incomprehensible babble. It was certainly enjoyable! One of the most remarkable things about France is just how, well, French, everything is. Or un-Swedish rather. Think rickety bridges, a general absence of English, and plenty of wine and cheese to go around. It was all quite charming! Many baguettes were consumed with delight, long meals and times out exploring the town were enjoyed with the very best of travel companions, and I was even able to celebrate my 19th birthday away from both my home and my home away from home. The entire trip was truly a delight. I was able to both learn how to ski and meet many new people thanks to UCPA, which is the organization who arranged our trip, accommodations, and everything else possible for a wonderful experience.

I can say with certainty that this ski trip was the first of many to come!

I am now trying to think of how to say goodbye in French with limited success. Oops. So goodbye for now instead!

Love,
Anna

things i did: january edition

Hello, hello, hello! Salutations. Hej!

It seems nearly impossible that the month of January has (almost) come and gone. Sudden realizations of the date and how quickly time has been passing here strike me on an occasional basis, and I tend to become quite shocked on said occasions. Believe it or not, over half of my exchange year has now passed! I don’t know the exact number of days left or anything, but I do know that time goes by all too quickly when one is cherishing each day in a new culture as I attempt to do. So with a cup of tea and a view of the cozy fireplace, I will attempt to give a little update of what I have been busy with (as I attempt to multitask and listen to the State of the Union Address simultaneously).

Dantes Inferno, the musical.

The most exciting happening lately has been being a part of a musical at my school. Throughout the course of the first semester I was in a course called estetisk kommunikation, which translates to aesthetic communication but actually means musical theatre class. We basically wrote, choreographed, arranged music for, costumed, produced, publicized, and performed an original musical from the ground up! A lot of work? Yes, definitely. But it was worth the effort, as the show was a smashing success!

A rather dramatic scene.

The creative new production was titled Dantes Inferno and was a sort of rock-musical version of the classic literary work, if you can imagine that. Basically the story chronicled the journey of the heroic Dante as he traveled through the nine circles of hell to retrieve his wife Beatrice from Satan. Along the way, he met up with a sassy celebrity or two in each circle of hell, who had a song to sing for Dante and a challenge for him to complete in order to continue. The production definitely showcased the many musical talents of my classmates! They are amazing, to say the least, and I feel privileged to have been a part of our little musical. The theatre “family” is always a wonderful bunch, just like during the productions I was involved in at home. All of these wonderful pictures from the musical are credited to Christer Männikus, who beautifully photographed the entire show.

Rehearsals upon rehearsals.

It was really quite amazing how the whole show came together, from auditions to putting up posters to opening night in Lunds Stadsteater. The whole cast was extremely dedicated to the task, and nearly all of the shows were sold out! We were even featured in the local newspaper, Sydsvenskan, and a photo of the story is below. I was definitely surprised to see that expression on my face in the photo! I’ll just call it my musical theatre smile…even though I look a bit crazy. During the whole process, I was extremely grateful for the theatre education I received back in the United States. Having a broad base of knowledge on both the performing and administrative side of producing a theatrical production was definitely an asset. I am now extremely grateful for all of those early morning Thespian Society meetings in high school!

Local celebrities?

However after the musical, things eventually got back to normal. Two straight weeks of rehearsals from morning until night had definitely worn off on me, not to mention the semester of work prior to that. Despite all of the excitement, I can say that I was glad to return to my regular routines after a while as I am an admittedly rather schedule-oriented person in general. The new semester began last week as well and I have begun a few new courses, philosophy and religion. It will be interesting to see what they will be like, as they are definitely new school subjects for me. However my premonition tells me that I will enjoy them both immensely.

This is a photo of part of my windowsill, which I felt propelled to take for some unknown reason.

I guess you could say that I still love it here, wintry weather and all. Yes, it finally snowed. However riding my bike in the snow has been a bit of an, um, different experience. I think I need to get an ice scraper/snow brush for my bike, as it kind of looks like a car that needs to go the car wash after a snowstorm. Think nasty brown frozen slush over everything. In my precious spare time, I have even been doing a bit of reading, working on my capstone project (I guess that is technically school), playing lots and lots of music, cooking and baking here and there, and spending time with friends. It’s a normal life, and I like it. Everyday and good, and yet completely enjoyable. Reveling in the sense of just living brings me a sort of joy that I cannot possibly describe. It is good to just be me, and I think that is part of what the exchange student experience is all about. Call it corny, but I think the self discovery part of an exchange student’s journey is the part that comes after you get over the culture shock and adjustment period, and I am approaching it with a quick tempo.

Anyway, the sentimental mumbo-jumbo stops here! I am getting ready for a spring that will full of travels and fun. The nearest excitement is my family’s upcoming ski trip to the French Alps for sportlovet, which is basically the Swedish word for “let’s take a week long break from school to go skiing”. The trip will include a very long bus ride, trying to not break a leg/die/commit some other form of self harm while on a pair of skis, and even me turning the ripe old age of nineteen years old. Crazy, right? Stay tuned for the full report, if I make it back alive that is.

And lastly, here is a random photo of Sweden. It oftentimes strikes me how beautiful everything is here. This is actually from the national park we went to that I described in my previous post, but I thought I would just add another photo of it. Just because.

I think that is all for now!

Love Always,
Anna