Allright, last night there was a party across the street in Vaderleden. It was dubbed the pink and black party, since two friends of mine were having birthdays and one loves black, while the other loves pink. Emilee is the French girl that loves black, while Yan, the Korean girl, loves pink. Anyway, so I convinced Johan to go with me to the party. Lukas, Stewart, Hector, and a bunch of others were already there. So, we went and I saw Martin (the Scottish guy) and Emily (the American girl) and Dan (American guy from NY) and a whole bunch of [View Full Entry]

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Okay-so before coming here I had never experienced hockey. Funny huh? They have the Tampa Bay Lightning, who are Stanley Cup winners, and the Knoxville Ice Bears, and I had never done hockey. The closest I had ever come was probably watching The Mighty Ducks. Well, I come here and let the fact slip and Johan decides he's going to rectify it. So here we go. First, he took me to his game. The school gym is called Stil and they sponsor intramural teams, exercise classes, and all this other stuff like Ski Alpina, which takes ski trips. So, he plays [View Full Entry]

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Okay okay, so I am bad at updating sometimes. So here's a post to let you know what I was doing when I wasn't updating. I went sledding. They have a hill here, called malmberget. It's a lot of fun. I did get myself covered in snow, though, but no worries. Lukas and I had a snowball fight too. I ended up covered in snow that time too. Another thing, it seems like almost every weekend there is some sort of party here. Well, since last Saturday was April Fool's Day, they had a party to celebrate. They had people dress [View Full Entry]

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Ice Hotel The Ice Hotel in Jukkasjarvi is a definitely Swedish experience. Located on the Torne River in Swedish Lapland, this is a great place to visit. So I did. We got up early and got on the bus. It wasn't such a long ride. On the way, we had to stop so the reindeer could cross the road. And then I saw some moose! Yay moose! When we arrived in town, we stopped at the old church, which was great. They had several wooden murals that they redid recently when they refurbished the old building. Then, we walked to the [View Full Entry]

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Okay so, we got up early, got on the bus and went to Kiruna. For those of you who don't know, it is above the Arctic Circle. :) Anyway, it was cold, but it was neat. The town of Kiruna was built around the mine operated by the LKAB company. They pull iron ore out a mountain near the town. Almost everything is automated down to the drills, trains, elevators, and everything they use. We went down into the mine, to the level where they have a video theater and a museum. On other levels, they do mining, have the offices [View Full Entry]

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Time to talk about my living situation in depth. I live in a 5 floor building. On the bottom floor, there is a laundry room, a sauna, mailboxes, and locker space that everyone shares. There's also an elevator and a staircase. On each floor, there is a kitchen, a dining room, and a TV lounge. On my floor, I am the only girl. I live with 8 boys, with one more due in a month. Now, to tell you about the boys: Ingvar-He's Swedish. He's a Civil Rights Law student, currently single, loves to run, and is very interesting. I've met [View Full Entry]

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This deserves an entry on its own. It's a running joke, but also has been an experience to discover, but it is the truth. Swedish people are, by nature, more reserved. To explain what I mean, I'll use an example. I know a teacher that walks to work everyday. She sees the same people everyday. Yet, she never says hello to them. Usually, Swedish people do not meet your eye or smile if you're a stranger to them. They definitely won't say hello. They go on about their business. Now, if you introduce yourself and keep talking to them in little [View Full Entry]

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Well, differences between Lulea and Maryville abound, but I am going to go in depth here about them so hopefully when I am through, you will understand what I mean. First off, Lulea is a coastal city. Much of the year, they have ice breakers to break open the ice and let ships through. Lulea is also spread out over the archipelago. This means there are different islands that are connected by bridges and roads. The school is on Porson. My home is in Bjorkskatan. The city center with the airport and such is called Centrum. There's also Gammalstad, the old [View Full Entry]

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Allright so food warrants a separate entry. Swedish food is very different from home, though you can always find some standards. A note for those like me: Swedes cook. This means students too. Even guys! So yes, it is the general joke on my floor that I am the only girl and the only one who cannot cook. Imagine the hilarity that goes on. Anyway, so the grocery stores are smaller. They do have some of my favorites like: yogurt, jelly, peanut butter, bread, sandwich stuff, Coke, milk, orange juice, apple juice, frozen lasagna, frozen french fries, frozen pizza, and spaghetti [View Full Entry]

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I left Tampa, FL on January 15, 2006. I said goodbye to my mother and flew to O'hare airport in Chicago. There, I met another exchange student headed to another city in Sweden through ISEP. She was going to Karlstad-a school I had considered. After boarding the plane and saying goodbye to my Minnesota friend, I found myself sitting next to the window, sharing space with a Russian woman. The plane was run by SAS-Scandinavian Airlines. Lovely plane, really. I watched movies, listened to music, and was served at least two meals. We were given hot cloths, blankets, and pillows, and [View Full Entry]

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