Last weekend I had to say goodbye to my hostfamily in Sweden. That was quite hard for me, I will definitely miss them. Together with the other AFS students I spent two days in the End-of-Stay-Camp at the same place where we had our Midstaycamp in Sigtuna.
The schedule was filled with different workshops about Sweden, culture, coming home and so on. It was nice to see the other students again after such a long time (some of them I didn't meet during the hole year), but I was looking so much forward to coming home that I actually didn't really want to be there. However, I think it was a good ending for my exchange year.
Last Monday we, the Swiss girls, had to catch the bus to Arlanda at 9:30 even if our flight wouldn't take off until 16:00. That meant a long day at the airport, but it was okay. Time flew anyway. The whole way to Switzerland we four were hiping a lot and talking about all the delicious Swiss food we would eat as soon as we get home. Finally arrived at the airport in Zurich we walked to the bagage reclaim where we didn't have to wait for our luggage at all. They came almost immediately. We already said goodbye to each other there at the bagage reclaim, because we just wanted to concentrate on our families when we finally see them.
And I can tell you: it was amazing to hug all my dear family members again! We drove home to Solothurn with the car quite soon after saying hello to each other. Back home I had to check out the house. I knew everything so well but it was funny to be there again anyway. Just when I looked around in my own room my best friend Noelle rang at the door and we hugged for a long time. Then my family, Noelle and me sat together, ate some snacks and drank my favorite sparkling wine. I showed them the souveniers I bought the last week in Sweden and we just had a really good time.
This week there was a lot I had to organise. Now my "real" life has begun again and I enjoy to have such a lot to do.
This will be the last post I ever write on my blog. I hope you liked to read my posts about me and my exchange adventure in Sweden! Have a nice time!
A last picture together with my wonderful hostfamily. It wasn't easy to say goodbye, but I'm sure it wasn't the last time we've met.
Games and activities are still very popular at AFS camps.
Deborah, Lea, Xenia and me posing for a "Swisspicture".
Thank you for that time guys!
Hej då Sverige!
Chocolate on the airplane means you're flying with Swiss ;-)
Tuesday:
After a cosy and relaxed Monday I headed to the town with two friends on the afternoon. We didn't do that much there, but it was nice as always. On the evening we took the bus to Skansen, a famous park in Stockholm. There we met Jonas, Ylva, David and Tove, because we wanted to watch the "Allsången", a Swedish music festival that takes place every Tuesday in summer. There were Swedish singers like Ace Wilder and Niklas Strömstedt but also international singers like James Blunt. It was cool to see such a famous musik event live, while the great rest of Sweden watched it on TV.
Look at this great view in a kind evening sun
Wednesday:
As you maybe already know I want to work as blacksmith when I get out of school. Therefore we drove to an old blacksmith institution near Stockholm; Wirabruk. Wirabruk was active in 300 years and had the monopole on forging all weapons for the Swedish army. After the last war in the nineteenth century the institution changed to scythes and other handicraft tools.
Today Wirabruk includes thee blacksmithes which forge all types of household keepings and all kinds of small thing such like curtain rings. It was very impressive to see such an important and historical place of Swedish blacksmith history.
Some of the most popular weapons used by the Swedish army before nineteenth century.
Tove and one of the ancient furnaces
A very nice - and practical - place for an institution like this: the majority of energy was gained by watercrafts.
Thursday:
On the early afternoon I met some of my closest friends at one friend's home to spend our last hours together and say good bye. It wasn't easy to leave, but I'm very sure, this wasn't the last time in life we met.
After that I got picked up by Jonas, David and Tove and together we drove to Grönalund amusementpark near Skansen. I discovered in Liseberg how much I love rollercoasters, so I wanted to ride every single one. Later on the evening Karin and Ylva joined us after they finished work. Together we had a great time and nobody died even if some of us were afraid to do so on the rollercoasters. ;-)
A very tasty grill buffet in the amusement park
This carrousell is called "Eclipse" and it seriously feels like flying. The view from the top is just amazing and together with the wind in the face it's breath taking.
Friday:
Today Jonas and I took the train to town quite early in the morning, because we wanted to go on board on a tourist boat that drives under the bridges of Stockholm (not every single one of course but still many). The tour took slightly less than two hours and it was funny and intresting to know a little more about the town I haved lived in for ten months now. After that trip Jonas and I ate lunch and walked through the Old Town before we took the train back home again.
This was my last full day with my hostfamily. Tomorrow I will meet all the other AFS students again for the End-of-Stay-camp. It's really hard to explain my feelings. On one hand I'm so excited to meet all my friends and my lovely family again after such a long time, but on the other hand I don't want to leave those wonderful people I've gotten to know here in Sweden. My suitcase is as good as ready to be checked in at the airport. It's still very hard for me to realise how this whole exchange life is over now. Time really flies unbelievably fast.
I could've explained my activities in this last week a lot more extensively but I prefere to spend the time with my hostfamily instead. Next time you hear of me, I'm already back in Switzerland.
Today is Midsommar, the longest day of the year. In Sweden you celebrate Midsommar always on a Saturday between June 20th and June 26th. This is different to other Scandinavian countries, where you celebrate Midsommar always at the same date. I experienced a very Swedish Midsommar with very Swedish people, very Swedish traditions, very Swedish food and of course very Swedish temperatures and weather (11°C and windy).
Yesterday on Midsommar Eve we drove to the Midsommar party in Rånäs, where we bought floral wreaths for David, Ylva and me. There were quite a lot of people at the fairground who took part of the different activities. There was for example a quiz with questions around Midsommar traditions, a dartboard and a cafe with coffee and cakes. We walked around and looked at how some people fixed the Midsommarstång (also Majstång; eng. maypole). Then it was time to install the maypole on the scene. On the fairground we met Gunilla and Lars (Jonas' mother and her partner) with whom we would eat lunch later. Just when they came there was a short while when the sun got discovered from the clouds and it almost felt like summer. Unfortunately this moment went over quite quickly, but that didn't bother us that much, because it was time for the dance anyway. We formed two cirkles around the maypole like we did at Christmas in Dalarna. There was a young woman in the middle with a microphone who sang the typically Swedish Midsommarsongs and showed how to dance. I rerecognized some of the songs from Christmas, because they're typical cirkel-dance-songs. When the dancing was over there was a "godisregn" (eng. candy rain), which meant that a man threw candy into the crowd and everyone (also grown-ups) shoved eachother for picking up the candy from the scene ground. We decided quite soon to leave and prepare lunch at Gunilla and Lars' summer house in Rånäs. This was perfect timing, because it had just started to rain.
The Midsommar lunch implies approximately the same food as Christmas and Easter lunch: herring, salmon, potatoes, salad, ect. It was delicious as always. After the dessert (fresh strawberries with icecream and chocolate cake) Gunilla and Lars stayed at their place while my hostfamily and me drove directly to Arlanda airport. My hostsister Tove returned from her exchange year in China! She had a lot to tell and it was a very nice evening on Midsommar Eve. :-)
"Quickly! Let's take a picture when there's sun!"
Installing the maypole
My hostparents Karin and Jonas in very chic Midsommar clothes
People getting ready for the dance
David throwing darts
Enjoying a delicious Midsommar meal
Lea and me didn't do anything special on Saturday. We just hung around and enjoyed the sun and summerlike temperatures.
But on Sunday we had a tough program planned: visiting all the significant places in Göteborg in one day - by bike! We got up early in the morning and biked along the river after a great breakfast. Unfortunately I don't remember the exact route, but in the end we drove 36 kilometres! It's best to show you some pictures of the day:
On the Älvsborgsbro
Such a great view from Masthuggskyrkan (it was quite exhausting to bike all way up...)
Stunning weather all day long
We really deserved that delicious salad!
Göteborg's most famous candyshop
Just imagine the smell...
This is the biggest and most delicious kanelbulle (eng. cinnamon bun) you can ever get! It's called Hagabulle because of the quarter where it's made.
On Monday we visited the Göteborgs Kexfabriken (eng. cookie factory). It wasn't as spectacular as I imagined, but still funny to see. Lea and me spent the day with drinking coffee and eating icecream, before I had to catch the train back to Stockholm. This time there weren't any problems, so I arrived at home three hours later. :-)
The next day, Friday, Lea and me woke up in the late morning and bought some fresh bread for breakfast. Around noon, we got ready for our mission of the day: testing all the rollercoaster in Liseberg amusement park. The park opened 13:00, so we stood in the line a few minutes before. After buying the all-in-one-ticket and entering, we headed directly to the newest rollercoaster in Liseberg; HELIX. It was quite a long line - about 40 minutes - but we weren't bored. And then it finally was our tour to scream: Helix is probably the longest and most awesome rollercoaster I was ever on. A whole metalconstruction filled with loopings, screws, curves and falls. Passing everything in super high speed. After a ca. 3 minute long ride the adrenaline in our blood made us unstoppable. We screamed and laughed the whole afternoon, testing different rollercoasters, carrousels and other attractions. After a very easy but still extremly funny carrousel, Lea and I were ready to test the ATMOSFEAR: a 116-metre-tall drop tour which lets you fall down 90 metres before the brakes cushion you ten metres over the ground. All way long in the waiting line I tried to convince my brain that this tour only spins a slow round around itself and brings us softly and safely down to earth again. This tactic actually worked quite well and I managed to hold my pulse down on only middlefast speed. On the way up it was getting harder and harder to stay calm, but I still could enjoy the great view from the top. When we were all the way up (146 metres over sea), a woman talked to us via speechers and started to count down from ten: Tio, nio, åtta, sju, sex, fem, ... AAAAAAAH!!! I was glad that she didn't count down all the way to zero, because the time before we fell already felt like forever anyway.
After riding a rollercoaster like Helix and falling down a 90-metre drop tour with a speed of 110 km/h without dieing, it felt like there would be nothing in the world that could kill us. Therefore we decided to go to Helix a second time. If you ever go to Liseberg amusement park; don't miss HELIX!
A long while later, Lea and me were getting tired so we took the next bus back to Lea's place in Göteborg. Merci für dä Hammertag, Lea! :-)
Lea and me waiting in the line
A delicious icecream after all theese adrenaline shocks
The Atmosfear exactly when it drops
Here the Liseberg amusement park from the outside
This is just one of the upside-down-moments on Helix (it's not one of my own pictures)
Last Thursday the 12th of June I travelled to Göteborg to visit Lea Winter (remember: the AFS student who visited me some months ago). At 10:15 in the morning I catched the train in Stockholm and prepared for my travel to the westcoast. It would take slightly more than three hours, I thought. I'd arrive at 13:25, I thought. But I thought wrong. After approximately 25 minutes the train stopped in Mölnbo because of a broken contact line. We stod still for about 50 minutes while someone tried to fix the line at once. That didn't work, so the train company searched for an alternative route which would take longer but could take us further. Therefore, after a 80 minutes stop, we drove back in opposite direction to the trainstation in Södertälje where we could change direction again and take the other route. But first we had to wait until there was a free gate. On the alternative route there was quite a long distance with only one single rail track. That meant that we had to wait for confronting trains in intervals that felt like about every five minutes. With other words; it was a loooong way. At 15:45 we finally arrived Katrineholm. After a stop there, we could return to the original route and after two more hours the train finally arrived Göteborg's trainstation at 17:50 p.m. SIGH.
That was 4,5 hours delay, more than the original time of travel.
I was really glad when I could get out of that train after being on board for 7,5 hours. Lea met me at the gate and we headed directly to a coffeeshop. As usual ;-).
I will tell you more about my stay in Göteborg tomorrow, but I can tell you one thing now: it was absolutely worth the journey!
Summerholidays here I come!!!
Yesterday, the 10th of June I had my last schoolday in a Swedish school. It was a wonderful sunny day with many beautiful moments. It's better to show you some pictures in stead of trying to describe so many happenings with only boring words.
I decided to dress up on this last day in school. I wasn't the only one with high heels though.
First my classmates, mentors and me met in our classroom where the other exchange student Lara (from Germany) and me got a present from our mentors Kerstin and Tomas and we all got our grades.
After that we headed to the aula where the music teacher had a debut with his new song. You can find it on Spotify (Daniel Gidlund "Try Happiness"). I like it a lot!
As alway at a graduation the school participant held a speech. After some words he took up three presents and said he wanted to call on three special students to come up on scene. He talked about us, the exchange students. On scene, he thanked us for being here at this school and congratulated us on our Swedish knowledges. We all got a book "Sweden - inside out" about the Swedish people and their habits. Even if I always get super nervous whenever I have to go up on a scene without being prepared, it was a nice surprise. If it wasn't before, everyone at school knows us now. When we went out of the aula again I got goodbye-hugs from people I don't even know.
After school my friends and me had our own little grillparty in a park near a friend's home. As always when we do something together it ends up in a total disaster without loosing the fun. Theese girls' second name is definitely Chaos! :-)
I wish you a great start of you summerholiday as well. If it still takes a long time until you have vacation: STAY STRONG! ;-)
First, to all of you who don't go to Huddinge Gymnasium, a short explanation:
You may remember the post about Human Right's day where I presented the painting I made as an art project. Now we had a new project with Streetart as a main topic. I decided to sew small creatures which I hid at different places in school. The other part of my work was a quiz with pictures of the creatures so that the students can search after them in the whole building. Here on my blogg I will now uncover the places they're hidden at. For this I will continue in Swedish (it's easier for both me and the students).
Hej alla duktiga forskare! Har ni hittat alla åtta stycken filurer? Om inte så får ni stänga ner länken genast; att smygtitta på facit i förväg är nämligen fusk. Men jag litar på er ;-). Här får ni se var Kikar Kalle och hans kompisar håller hus. Skriv gärna i kommentarerna hur länge ni letade eller om det var svårt eller lätt att hitta varelserna. Ha det bra och glöm inte att hålla utkik efter andra varelser och trollar på andra ställen i världen! :-)
Gungar Gunilla har mycket skoj bland den trevliga sällskapen i cafeterian.
Målar Marta tycker att det finns alltid nånting att förbättra och lägger därför på en extra skikt färg i bildkorridoren.
Macka Micke tar en liten paus och njuter sin goda macka i matsalen.
Här sitter Älskar Alva och förser alla passerande elever med en extra portion kärlek.
Data Danne myser med musen högt uppe i datasalen D2.
Melodi Malin gömmer sig bland böckerna i biblioteket och har hörlurar på så att ingen blir distraherat när hon lyssnar på hennes nya favoritlåt.
Kikar Kalle sitter i Saharan och ser till att ingen fuskar.
Pang! Pelles experiment i labbsalen A4 gick nog lite snett...
Last Tuesday was my 18th birthday! I'm of full age now! Unbeliefable.
In the morning my hostfamily woke me up with the Swedish birthday song, kanelbullar and presents, lots of presents. The present I love the most is a photoalbum with many pictures of the begining of my exchange year, London, Christmas, the sportholidays in Åre, AFS activities and Easter. I love to look through it and remember all the things we did so far. I almost can see myself as an old woman sitting in her armchair and thumbing through the book with a smile on her face.
On a normal Tuesday school starts at 9 o'clock, but the 6th of May we had the first of a row of National Tests - English essay. It went quite well for me, I had good ideas and no problems with the flow of the text. On the menue list of the school cafeteria stood "Kitchen's surprise", so I hoped that meant something good. And it did: Pizza! After lunch there were suddenly just one friend and me left, all the others disappeard without saying a word. We actually had a long break before the next class started, but my friend (the one who stayed) said that we could go there a little earlier and start with our "personal work" so that we're finish earlier. I believed her and so we went upstairs, where the classrooms are. But we didn't go to our chemistry classroom. At the end of the corridor my friend turned left and - there they were! All the others who disappeard after lunch stood there and sang and danced for me. That was so cute. Together we ate the cake which one of the girls baked for me and just had a good time. After school I opened the presents I got from my family and friends from Switzerland. In one of the presents were the ingredients for my birthday cookies, I just had to add butter. Therefore I baked cookies which we ate for dessert after a very delicious birthday dinner. It was a beatiful day and I enjoy being 18, even if I haven't realised yet what this actually means. I sure find out soon :-)
One of the presents: a pillow with the lattitude and longitude of Stuvsta, the place I live.
Birthday Girl :-D
Lots and lots of gifts! Thank you very much :-)
Last weekend, after Valborg, we started our (or actually David's) long planed trip to Helsinki. David invited his friend David to the trip in stead of throwing a birthday party. On Friday afternoon we jumped into the car and drove to the boat - Silja Line. David, David, Ylva and me shared a room with view to the promenade in the middle of the boat. Karin and Jonas had a room with view to the water. Ufortunately Karin and Jonas' room was on the deck where all the drunk party guests were, so they didn't get plenty of sleep that night. Our deck (the one above Karin and Jonas') was really quiet, but we weren't often in the rooms anyway. After leaving our bagage, we went on a round tour and checked out the boat. There were many restaurants and even more drink bars, a play room for kids, a playstation lounge for a bit bigger kids (like for example the Davids) and uncountable Souvenier shops. At one end of the boat there was a small scene and with a disco floor. At the other end was the big room for the breakfast and dinner buffets. At six o'clock - the boat had already left the habour - we went to one of the restaurants and ate a very delicious meal à la carte. We decided to sit there a long while, because we didn't want to do that much in the rest of the boat and it was a smart idea to go to bed quite early. The next day proofed to be long but exciting.
After breakfast at half past six Swedish time and halv past seven Finnish time, the boat arrived Helsinki's harbour. Firstly we went to the known church in the middle of a rock. I normally don't use to get excited about churches, but this one was really special and worth a longer look. The rest of the day we spent shopping or at least looking through shops and laughing at the Finnish names for things. We only took a short lunch break in an old café. In the evening, back on the boat, we ate an early dinner and went to the disco floor afterwards. There was a so-called "Moomin-Disco" for kids and David (the my-hostbrother-David, not the his-friend-David) succeeded to argue Ylva and me into dancing with him. When the Davids got tired, Jonas followed them up to the room, Karin, Ylva and me stayed beside the scene, because there would be a show from the staff. A band was playing and six women with very tiny but sparkling underwear showed a rhythmic dance. I forgot to tell that the theme on the boat was Brasil, so everything, also the show, was in brazil style. Beside the dancers there were six men who showed tricks with a football. It was entertaining and funny to watch. Jonas was a bit disappointed that he missed the show.
The most of the drunk party guests went off in Helsinki, so this night was a lot more recreative for Karin and Jonas than the last one. The next morning we ate breakfast again on the boat and soon we arrived in Stockholm. It was a wonderful trip with many moments to laugh, good food and a lot to remember!
When the boat took off we had a look at the archipelago and took some pictures. It was very windy, so we didn't stay outside that long.
Here a picture from the restaurant we ate at on Friday evening.
Helsinki habour
This is the church from outside. I know, it doesn't look any special or interesting on this picture...
...but when you're inside, it really looks different. That is what I call impressive architecture.
David and David
Me in front of the Silja Line.
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