Today.

I was a little underdressed.

Swedish singers, famous here, raised 50,000 Euro's for Haiti.

Fireworks make stuff cooler.

Two forks, two knives, one spoon.

Here you can see the French and Swedish flag.

This was the pot I threw, oh yess, oh yes.

Ingela's the best photographer, I mean just look at this amazing action shot... it speaks for itself.

Patrick getting some pots ready.

Wow, I did a lot today, lets see if I can remember it all. It all started with me waking up and making french toast for me and Caitlin who had come over early for french toast. We to a Rotary meeting, where a girl who had just returned from the states presented, together. That was good, meeting another club and making more cnnections and also it was interesting to see her presentation. After that we rode our bikes back to my house to meet Ingela for the crawdad fishing that we did today. My family, along with Caitlin and another family fished for crawdads in the Svartån, black river. I was only there long enough to get the pots and bait and throw them in once and get them out once, that was fun though. While I was there we caught 18 of the total 20 they caught all day today!! I guess I was there for all the action. I had to leave early because my Rotary club invited me to a special celebration that involved three Rotary clubs in France. It has to do with the celebration tomorrow that involves the royal family, it's all very hard to explain and exciting. Anyway at this event I met all the presidents of the different Rotary clubs of Örebro, that was good I think because I plan on attending all of their clubs at least a few times. Also I met a lot of French Rotarians, two were my age and the rest were older, of course. I was actually the youngest person in the room and also I was the only American at this event, I really, really enjoy being a foreign exchange student. Anyway I met a lot of good people ate some great food and listened to a couple of very good singers. I am going to meet up with the Frenchmen tomorrow and maybe show them around a little before we must go to the ceremony with the king, big day for everybody tomorrow!!

Enlightenment...

Today was a trip and a half around the world, I did so much and met so many people. First of all I went to my school, Virginska skolan (pronounced with a hard g as in go). I met my counselor and I also met my future English teacher! I only spoke to my counselor for a few minutes and then she handed me over to the English teacher to show me around a little bit. I didn't see anything but I got a lot of information and she showed me where to go on the first day. I think the two things that are most relevant about the school to me are, the school has about 1500 students, half the population of the entire town of Lakeview and that I am the ONLY foreign exchange student in the entire school. I think I am really going to enjoy this school, it's totally different then anything I've ever experienced in my educated life. Immediately after that (it's nice to be connected with Ingela) I went to lunch with the head Headmaster of my new school. Her and Ingela have been friends for a while and they get together for lunch, she was a very, very nice and upbeat person. I think it's good to have met her because now I am not afraid to speak to her or anything like that. Directly following lunch I went home and cleaned up my room and also washed some clothes. Then I called up Caitlin and arranged to meet at our meeting bridge, we've been meeting at this same bridge because it's about halfway between our houses. We went to the grocery store and I purchased some spot stain remover because I used that stuff a lot in the states and I realize now how badly I need it to save my clothes. I rushed home from Caitlins house for dinner at 5ish, I left her house at 4:53 and was sitting in the dining room at my house by 5:04. I think that eleven minutes is pretty speedy, you'd have to see it but I think it's about 5 or 6 kilometers, part of the way is trails too. It was Ingela's big race day and Andreas and Hanna were no where to be found so I was her only supporter! I felt proud, she was running with about 12 other women and I was one of the only people there to cheer them on. I stood close to the finish line and when I saw one of their, matching, t-shirts I started clapping and cheering like crazy! That was fun and I'm glad I was there to support min värd mamma. After the race was done I met up with Oliver, one of the kids I met yesterday, he wanted to hang out and he offered to introduce me to some other friends of his. It was an experience because I had no idea where I was going, he told me the name of where he wanted to meet and I asked a couple of people directions, eventually he got on the phone with me and guided me directly there. I met a lot of kids my age but only a few were going to my school! However it was still nice to meet them and to be doing something I'm used to doing, chillin. The thing about being given step by step directions on how to get somewhere is that you don't have any idea where you going when you try and head home. It took me a while and two helpful people to get me home, but hey, here I am and it's all good. I'm glad I rode home instead of getting a ride from Ingela because now I think I know my way around a little bit better! All in all a great day and it's been super busy, I'm ready to go to sleep!

Finally met some important people!

Today I met many important people in my life here in Örebro. First off, it was Hanna's first day of school so, I woke up to a completely empty house, yay. After having a good breakfast I got ready for the day and went to meet Eva Sape. Eva Sape is my Rotary counselor here in Örebro, I met here at her intiorior design shop. It was nice to finally put a face with the name and position. After meeting her talking for a while we walked up-town to where the Örebro Rotary club meets each Wednesday, I finally met my club. It was weird because I am used to going to the meetings with people I already know and most importantly, people who speak English only. The language barrier is becoming more and more clear for me, everyone can speak to me in English but of course, when they aren't addressing me they use Swedish. It was nice to meet everyone and the few I talked to a bit were very nice and friendly. After that little meeting I called up my friend Lina and found out that she and her sister would be coming into town at 5:30 and that if I wanted I could meet some more kids my age. I then called up Caitlin to hang out until then and we found a few delightful bakeries that are good places to fika. We met up with Frida and Lina and then walked to meet Oliver, Anna, and Calle, a few of their and Kajsa's friends. Right after meeting them Caitlin had to go home. So the rest of us went for fika downtown, again, the language difference is horrible. Right now my number one goal is to learn Swedish, it is very hard for me because I really want to learn it within in the next few days and that just isn't at all possible. Anyway, we hung out for a while and then the idea came to go play x-box at another friends house so we went. It was my first time riding the local busses. I really had a very good day, I am glad to be here and I feel increadably lucky!!!

Innebandy!!

Today was a good day, woke up at two o clock in the afternoon, it was great. I called up Caitlin to see if she wanted to hang out and, she did so we met up at the bridge down by my house. We decided that our mission today would be to find a bakery, we did just that, we found the perfect place to fika. It was a cute little bakery just sitting on a sidestreet of west Örebro. I really enjoyed finding that and I know we will return. I brought Caitlin home with me for dinner, after that it was time for innebandy. I went into it thinking, ''how hard could this be?'' and well it was a challenge. I didn't think I would get nearly as much of a workout as I did. I didn't think I would sweat at all, after I was done I felt like I had taken a shower, theres a lot of moving. I enjoy it and I think I will go back with Andreas on Tuesdays because they play every Tuesday. I wasn't so great tonight but I think I could get a lot better with some good stick control. All in all a short day, a lot of fun though I really had a good time, I am loving this whole Sweden exchange!!!


P.S. Innebandy is a game kind of like hockey, but not played on ice and you use a ball instead of a puck, we played three on three.

Pictures from Stockholm!!

Here's all my pictures from Stockholm, if you would like to see them in chronological order go from the bottom to the top.




It was very detailed and quite beautiful.

Here is the ship that's older then America.

Me and Harald on the ferry over the the Vasa museum, behind us is a German cruise ship.

Riding the ferry over to where the Vasa museum is. Subway at 2am.

Oh yes, I got down with some dancing!! They even had a live band.

We played a little game where we all had a rhyme that described someone, the one you got wasn't yours so you had to find the person that had yours. This reads et-be, tvo-be, gah- be, haha pretty good.

Dinner at Magnus and Ann's party.

We played a game that involved walking through a little park next to the inlet of water.

Graffiti is a problem in Stockholm, it's all over but some of it is kinda cool.

Tiny, tiny elevator.

Fourty-five minutes in.

First five minutes in the elevator.

Subway at six in the afternoon!

Subway station, fun!

Icecream looks and tastes just about the same.

Icecream bar! Mmmm.

Sidestreet in Stockholm.

The entering hall of the castle, really, really amazing.

Harald, me, and Hanna infront of the bay by the castle.

Harald, me, and Hanna in front of the entrance to the castle.

Royal crest of the Stockholm Castle, thats the castle behind me.

This guy is like a semi-fake guard at the castle of Stockholm. I say semi-fake because he does nothing but stand there, I don't really think he'd shoot you.

Here is a good shot of the buildings on the shoreline inlet of Stockholm.

Here is me with the prime minister of Sweden in the background!

Here is the Prime minister of Sweden.

A street in Stockholm, on the right you can see a police van and on the left you can see a garbage truck!

The view from Jonas apartment, he lives right above a small park and there are no cars allowed.

Stockholm:Day 3:Return to Örebro

Well today was just like any other day here besides the fact that I woke up in a strange bed in a strange place, no wait, same thing as normal. Just kidding, Örebro has become my home quicker then I would have thought. But this morning, I woke up in Harald's bed in Stockholm, great place to be by the way. After I had already written in my blog last night we, Hanna, Harald, and I, went in search of a music festival that was supposedly going on downtown. Turns out we missed the festival by a day, oh well, we were in downtown Stockholm might as well walk around a little. Thats what we did, walked around, a lot. It was really fun to see the city that really does remind me of San Francisco with a lot less cars, I really like Stockholm, it's great. So anyway it was a semi-late night last night also, we woke up at about noon. We had breakfast and went walking around again, we found a place Harald had told me about that claimed to have american muffins, we at some ''American muffins'' and they actually tasted like America. We then went back to Jonas' house to grab our stuff and headed for the subway then the bus station to come back to Örebro. We said goodbye to Harald and got on the bus for home, I think it's the first time I have really ever taken a bus somewhere, a great first! We got home at 8:30 to a great dinner and then just chilled the rest of the night, it's been great, only one more week till school starts, ugh...

P.S. Will post pictures of Stockholm tomorrow!

Stockholm:Day 2!

Today was a little less dramatic then yesterday but still a lot of fun. I first just wanted to say how lucky and blessed and thankful I am to have landed with the Ernestams as my first host family! They have been so good to me, the whole family. Taking me in just like I am part of the family it really has been great and I feel really at home with them, that is making this experience just that much better! Thank you SO MUCH Ernestams, all of you, thanks! Anyway, we woke up a little later then usual, 11am, because it was a very late night last night. Had a great breakfast from Jonas and then hit the town! We, Andreas, Ingela, Hanna, and I, met up with Harald at the subway and then walked together to meet Andreas' parents and cousin at the ferry station. We took the ferry across the water to an island to go to the Vasa museum! The Vasa is a ship that was built in the early 1600's and was a quite fabulous warship, unfortunately for Sweden at the time, it sunk twenty minutes into it's maiden voyage. The ship lay on the bottom of the Baltic Sea for over 300 years until 1950 somithing when a man found it and they decided to get it out of the ocean, preserve it, and put it into a museum. Yes, today I saw a boat that is older then the United States of America. After that Andreas' father, Lars took us all out for lunch at a very good outside/inside restaurant place. We then split up and Andreas' cousin and parents went back to Magnus' house. When we got back to Jonas apartment Andreas and Ingela left to head back for Örebro because they have to work tomorrow. Hanna and I are staying here in stockholm for one more day and will ride the bus back tomorrow afternoon. All in all a good day where I got to see a lot more of stockholm and it's greatness!!!!!!!

Stockholm:Day 1!

wow, today is the day for action and adventure, so many things happened it's truly amazing. I'll start with morining time, woke up about eight and took a shower, had breakfast. Got in the car and drove to Stockholm, it is a lot of the same scenery as where my dad lives in Washington, a lot of green trees and pretty little meadows. We arrived in Stockholm at about noon and met Andreas' brother Jonas at his apartment where he is so graciously letting us stay this weekend. It is quite nice and located in the southern end of Stockholm. We walked to the store just down the street and bought some ingredients to make lunch with, it was delicious! After that, Ingela, Harald (Jonas' son), Hanna and I decided to walk around in town while Andreas and Jonas fine tuned a speach for their brothers birthday/celebration of 100 years party. We walked a long ways and saw a lot of cool things, I think that Stockholm looks quite a bit like San Francisco but there are basically no hills here. We walked around for almost three hours and then decided to take the subway home because that was much easier and faster, I enjoyed riding the subway because I don't get to do it often. We came home and got ready for Magnus' (Andreas and Jonas' older brother) party. We were all dressed up nice and hopped in the elevator to go down to the ground floor when I realized that I had left the ticket for the subway back in the apartment. Right as realized this, the elevator realized it did not want to work. Yes, we got stuck in the elevator. I don't know exactly how long we (we being, Andreas, Ingela, Jonas, Harald, Hanna, and I) were in the elevator for but I think it was something like 35-40 minutes. The elevator got pretty hot and we ended up getting to Magnus' party quite late but other then that it was just and experience! Andreas and Jonas are quite funny so the time went by quickly. We took the subway to where the party was and then it was on, party time! Magnus wife, Ann, had her 50th birthday in May i think it was and Magnus has his 50th birthday in October so they met semi in the middle and had a birthday party this weekend. They called it a 100 year party and it was a lot of fun! We played a few little games and ate a really good dinner and then we danced! The party went from 6pm to 2am. Haha all in all a great day that I didn't go into enough detail about in this entry. I will post pictures with captions later but right now I am going to sleep, its 3:30am!!!!