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Published: December 3rd 2008
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Bo's cousin's house
This is the house we stayed in! Hello!!😊 Happy Thanksgiving!!
Last weekend was my first REAL visit to Stockholm. I went with my host mom, and host dad. It took us about 4 hours to drive. We stayed at Bo's cousin's house. We arrived Friday evening, stayed all day Saturday and left early afternoon on Sunday. I have to say I fell in love with the city! Im usually not a fan of hanging out in the city, especially a really busy and really crowded city but the mood of the city was pleasant, and Stockholm contains so much history! It was like walking through the pages of a history book. The lights of it was fantastic and there were people out on the streets just dancing or singing enjoying themselves, most were good, and the city streets were clean. Stockholm is a very lively city. I know I will go back to visit a few more times before I go home!
It snowed the whole way and I slept the whole way but I was wide awake when we arrived. Looking around I was astonished by the intelligence this family displays. They had walls and walls covered from ceiling to floor in books. I fell in love
The band
The band that performed before the guard change. I wanted to model with them but Lotta said she would be embarrassed to be with a tourist haha with the house because of this a lone! I spent all evening looking at their selection. They had, fiction, books on all different countries, books on cooking, books on sewing, books on lost countries, books on wars, old books from years and years ago, several language guides, a huge selection of books in English, a huge selection of books in Swedish and a huge selection of books in Vietnamese. These people are just up my alley, I really felt at home for once!! My host sister is staying there while attending school in Stockholm so when she came home to see me examining all the books, she looked at me like I was nuts! 😊
After catching up with everyone and enjoying a wonderful dinner with everyone, Lotta, my host sister, and I went to the movies in downtown Stockholm with a couple of her friends. We saw Madagascar 2. It was cute.
On Saturday Bo, Marianne, Bo's cousin Jan and his wife Margareth and Lotta and I all headed out to see the town. We walked through a few shops but Lotta was determined on getting to the castle. We got to the castle in time to see the
The canons
outside the castle guards change so that was quite exciting and then we got to go into the castle. We had to stay in the basement because I guess the royal family is still living in the castle. We saw all the old carriages from when Sweden first became a country and the horses uniforms for war. We also got to see the royal families clothing from years and years ago to now. That was really really neat because these are things I have only seen in text books!😊 I loved the castle but we had to miss half because Lotta was getting really hungry and impatient so we went to lunch and after lunch everyone wanted to go home.
Luckily my host mom, Marianne who grew up in Stockholm, wanted to walk around some more. So we went to the busiest part of the city and shopped around a little. We came across a shoe store and Marianne had been bugging me for weeks and weeks about getting shoes. She always says my feet are cold. I don't know how she can feel them, but she made a fuss almost every night when she came home. So, I decided why not stop
in and look around. It turned out great because I found a pair that I liked almost instantly because they are small enough and light enough so I can take them home and wear them in NM, but heavy enough to stand the snow here!
On Sunday Stockholm was absolutely covered in snow!! It was quite an exciting morning😊 We drove home about 11 or so and it snowed the whole way home, and then the whole night. When I woke up the next morning, I was excited about the little bit of snow we had gotten, but it kept snowing! By the time it was time for me to go to school about 12:30 the snow was so deep I couldn't peddle my bike through the snow!! I ended up missing my only class that day, but by Tuesday I had the bus schedule figured out so that I could make it to school.😊
The weather is crazy here! Now it is Saturday and all the snow from earlier this week has melted! Its not even that cold outside anymore. The days are dark. I haven't seen the sun in a week or two now. I think surviving the
An Ice Ship
They use this ship to break up the ice in the sea for the other boats. Swedish winter in going to be one of my hardest challenges. It is about 3pm now and it is almost completely dark. I used to think my host parents were crazy for having lights on ALL the time but now I can see why. It is a constant struggle to keep the darkness away and your spirit alive and happy. I'm adjusting though, and I am still enjoying this experience. I am of course very very homesick but I have learned to appreciate the things I had in NM as well as the things great things of the world! Well thats all for now!😊 Stor kram till ni allt! (Big hugs to you all!!) Rachel
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baby b!
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DOGGIE!!!
is adorable!!! 'are they going to dance or something?!' You are crazy miss Rachel!!! xD I soooo would have danced with you though if they did. :D