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Published: October 28th 2008
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Presentation Day!
Julia, Malin and me after Malin's project. Hey guys!!
Things have been going like crazy! It doesnt feel like I am doing a lot at the time, but when I look at what I wrote about last I think "Wow, that was a really long time ago!"
First, that project that we were working on in front of the Castle in the video from last time is now finished. It took several weeks to finish our research and then our plan for display of our research. We decided to put on a show where all the people from our town who have made a difference were interviewed. The other kids in my group kept saying "Just like Oprah!" 😊 So we all researched a person and then dressed up as them for the interview in front of our class. We showed videos of the buildings these people contributed their time and/or money to. I did my research on a man named Gunnar Wennerberg. He was a politician, musician and poet. Later in his life he spent all his time and money on elementary schools. The cool thing about getting to be this guy was of course dressing up for the part, AND saying everything in Swedish!
Presentation Day!
Julia and I getting ready for our presentation. I still cant say a whole lot but I can definitely read it, even to a huge crowd of people. Everybody was very supportive after the interview. They all congratulated me and said I did a good job.😊 I hope I did, I worked so hard on the pronunciations.
I can have a short conversation now, about where I am from, where I am living now, how I like Sweden, also a bit about my family including parents, siblings and grandparents. I am not completely confident though, so I listen A LOT and speak very little. My friends, teachers and host parents speak Swedish to me non-stop. I am able to understand more and more, but still not everything. When I make that "uuhh...deer in the head lights" kinda look, then they tell me in English. Sometimes I get impatient, but gosh, 3 months ago I could never read a child's beginning level reading book and understand 98% of it.😊
The holidays might be hard just because people don't decorate here like they do in the U.S. Halloween was basically non-existent. My friends were open minded though and enjoyed the scary movie night I had at my house,
Fun Fun
Some of the girls in my class and me just having fun waiting for our next lesson:) in place of Halloween. My mom sent me a few decorations and my host mom let me set them up around the house😊 It was a really fun night of scary movies, popcorn and of course ALL the Swedish candy you could think of! Sometime soon I am going to have a few friends over to carve pumpkins, for a lot of them its their first time, so it should be a lot of fun. The school holds a dance for Halloween where you get to dress up and just have fun. That is in a few weeks, I think it will be a blast!😊
I go shopping A LOT. That seems to be a normal Swedish thing to do, especially in my town. Justin and I get kind of bored with that so sometimes we go into really expensive stores with clothes that we would never wear and just just throw things together to try on and take pictures of! Its really fun but after 1 or 2 outfits, the clerks start eying us and we head for the door before they kick us out😊
I have also attended one game of handball. It was intense! I
Its a rat!!
Justin was going to buy that hat, but I told him that one day I might mistake it for a rat and just start smacking his head to try to get it off. haha:) loved every second of it. Girls were playing and they were getting mean and rough. At first I thought that I might want to play but by the end of the game I decided I am WAY too girly to play, but I loved watching the strategy and thought process of the players.
Of course it is getting very cold. I have gotten my first hat, my first scarf not just for looking cute and my first snugly socks that I actually use😊 I bike to school everyday, but all the clothing I have on for the beginning of the ride I am peeling off by the end afraid of dying from heat exhaustion. Soon I will have to get my first pair of snow boots, and I feel like a little kid in a toy store. There is so much to choose from, some I know for sure that I don't like, others I like but mom might say they are too expensive, others I have no idea how they work, and the final decision are any of them right for me, I have nothing to compare them to. I will eventually make up my mind, once I
Its colored
That is colored Cauliflower! I have never seen that before. The lady next to us apparently had never seen people taking pictures of Cauliflower in the grocery store, according to her face! :) have driven my host parents absolutely mad with shoving boots down my throat😊
Last weekend we had a Rotary Youth Exchange District Meeting where we met all the students in my district who did their exchange last year and all the exchange students in my district that are doing their exchange here, this year. Their were 4 Swedish students. One went to Taiwan, she was raving about it the whole time. One went to Japan, he also showed his love for his exchange country. One went to Colorado, she went on and on about everything she misses from Telluride. The last went to Reno and he said he loved it, but you know guys, they aren't the most descriptive when it comes to that stuff. As for the in bounds there were two Brazilians going home in January, two Canadians who Justin and I met at language camp and two Americans, Justin and I.😊 It was a very fun weekend we all exchanged phone numbers and promised to keep in touch.
This week we are off for fall break. The cool thing is that if we buy a bus pass we get to go every where free on
Dressing Room Style
Haha my wanna be model pose in the dressing room of some shopping mall in Gothenburg! weekends, Holidays and after 4. So since this week is a holiday Justin and I are visiting our new exchange friends all over for free😊
I think that covers it all but if you have any questions or just want some more detail on something of course just let me know, I would be happy to tell more. 😊 Big hugs to you all! Love, Rachel
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Byrklei
Byrklei
Christ kid.
You're amazing! Looks absolutely fab-u-lous there! I have to visit you there! Maybe closer to Spring though eh? love you lots honey!