Swedish Update

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Hej hej! Jag heter Emily och jag kommer fran Minnesota! I have been learning a little Swedish lately (it says My name is Emily and I am from Minnesota). Since my last post, I turned 21 and saw some new things. A few days before my birthday, I celebrated Halloween with friends. Halloween is popular in Sweden like it is in the US, but less people go trick or treating. I dressed as a pirate with the hook and eye patch I found at Toys R Us. The next day, me and lots of exchange students took a bus to Stockholm where we boarded the MS Romantika, a giant cruise ship. The ship was beautiful!!! There were three dance floors, two restaurants, a sauna, whirlpool, and much more. We ate dinner at the taco buffet where we got unlimited food, beer and wine for two hours. After that we visited the duty-free shop and purchased very low priced goods. We hung out with people in our little rooms after that and I shared a room with three American girls I met here, Cheryl (Connecticut), Amy (Minnesota), and Alisha (Michigan). We saw the band play covers of Rolling Stones and CCR and Cheryl yelled to the singer that it was my birthday. He wished me a happy birthday and asked me to come on stage!! He let me play the tambourine for "Get Back" by the Beatles! It was really fun. After that, I went out on the dock and looked at the Baltic Sea, it was pitch black and freezing but it reminded me of Titanic and my friends and I sang "My Heart Will Go On" to each other 😊 The next morning we arrived in Tallinn, Estonia at 10am. Kai had been traveling with 9 friends from Lulea down though Finland and crossed the water to Estonia a few days prior. His friends went to Helsinki for the day while he stayed in Tallinn to be with me on my 21st birthday. He was waiting for me with a pink rose!!! I was so happy to see him! Kai, my friends, and I walked around Talinn for the day. We went to an Irish restaurant for lunch, an Indian place for coffee, and pizza for dinner. We didn't really know where to find authentic Estonian food, especially on our budget. Estonia is the first place I've been that was under Soviet rule. There was some interesting architecture that I had never seen before. We also walked through a medieval castle and got a great view of the city, including the ship we were on. I found some gifts for friends and family made by Estonian artists too. We were blessed with a nice day of weather and I think Tallinn is a very nice place to be. We had 7 hours to explore the city so at 5pm, Kai and I parted ways and I got back on the MS Romantika headed for Stockholm. That night, I sang karaoke with some friends and had a blast. We sang "Bohemian Rhapsody" which was a hit. The same band played again and I got asked on stage to play the tambourine for "Get Back" and "Back in the USSR"! The singer invited me and my friends to their rooms to have a few drinks after. The band lives in a town near mine in Sweden and they were really friendly. The trip to Estonia was called Seabattle for some unknown reason. I will never forget Seabattle and it was a great way to celebrate my 21st birthday! A few days after, Kai came to visit me in Vaxjo. We had a great time hanging out with friends and relaxing. Since then, I have been working on papers and reading for my two courses, European Comparative Politics and International Law. I will be finished with these classes in two or three weeks and then I start a new course on International Relations a week before winter break. Thanksgiving is in a few days and I will be spending it with Kai and Lulea. I am very grateful I can spend so much time with him because we get along great and he means a lot to me.

Sweden has been a great place to live. A lot of my friends are leaving before Christmas because they are only staying one semester. It will be sad to see them go, realizing I will never see all of them together here again. But there will be hundreds of new students coming in January. I have been using the sauna in my building a lot lately, its very relaxing. I also go running every few days. I have been spending time in the library, making dinner with friends, and going to parties on weekends. I am glad I have another semester here to experience the Swedish way of life. The thing I am looking forward to most is traveling more. Kai and I are going on a three week adventure over winter break to Greece, Italy, Hungary, and the Czech Republic. I am so excited!!! We have been planning it for the last month and I am sure it will be the vacation of a lifetime. Until then, I will be enjoying myself in Vaxjo. I miss friends, family, Duluth, my car, cheap food like Erbert's and Gerbert's, and The Buckle (clothing store), but I am embracing my surroundings and making the most of it. And now I'm 21!

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Photos

Frosty Morning in Swden
on the bus on the way to Stockholm

Nacho Hearts
My roommates and I with our Heart-shaped nachos at the buffet

Packed in one room!
We weren't allowed to loiter in the hallways so we packed in one room, it was hot and stuffy!