It is a weird feeling to forget that you are actually in
Sweden. I have done it only a few times. Once when I was walking down to the
bus stop to go to school, it just felt so normal and right that I didn’t think
“I am in Sweden” like I seem to think most of the time! Even though I have
never taken the bus to school before I came to Sweden yet it felt normal. Over
the past few years I have been getting used to a new normal living in
Christchurch and it has become normal this new normal and now it is time for
another new normal. And maybe catching the bus to school and it feeling normal
is just my brain saying that it is ok with this new normal. I think that when
things start to feel normal like this it is the first step feeling right at
home here.
Home here is very nice. Although the house is big (it
fits seven of us and a dog easily) it has a cozy, comfy feeling to it. It also
has an amazing view as I live on top of a hill! I like having this amazing view
of the lake I live next to and the city I live very close to but sometimes the
hill can be a nightmare. When you are late for the bus and you have to run down
this hill it can be torture! I have never really liked running down hills (it
is better than up though) as you always end up running full pelt down the hill
and then not being able to stop running easily. And then going up after a long day of running
for busses ad going to school is not so nice! I have been thinking that I might
just have to use a sled in the winter to get down this silly hill. But the view
from the hop of this hill is almost worth all the running up and down it! Although
my room in this house is starting to feel like my place in this house, I
sometimes expect to wake up to find myself in a room back in New Zealand. I
brought something’s from my room at home with me to make this feel homey and it
was one of the best things I brought with me! And the picture that my sister
gave me of me and her, it is just the best thing to have! I have learnt that
house here are very warm! There is a heater in every single room in this house.
I am so used to have a freezing cold room all the time in the winter that
having a heater by my bed and my rooming being nice and warm at all times is
taking a bit of getting used to. I have to dress up warm when I leave the house
but as soon as I enter it I have to take off my many layers!
I have finally got my head around school. It has taken
sometime but now it has become somewhere I know and understand (ish). Not
having to make lunch everyday has now become routine and I no longer get up in
the morning and start to make my school lunch. And I must say that a fully
cooked meal for lunch beats a sandwich and a couple of apples any day. (On a
side note my family has an apple tree, so for all those wondering if I am still
eating all the apples, I am set and happy as can be on that front!) School
seems to offer everything when it comes to lunch. On day it will be pancakes
(best day ever!) the next it will be fish, then it could be pasta. And always
fresh salad and fruit on offer. It is really quite nice and all free!! I mostly
take subjects in learning Swedish but I also take music, in which we are making
up a musical which is pretty cool if you ask me, I then take English, in which
we are writing essays and learning this about creative writing that would have
been super helpful two years ago! I am also starting three hour PE class next
Wednesday, which covers everything and I am also taking religion, which I have
never taken before in my life so I am looking forward to seeing what it is all
about (even though I won’t understand much to start with!) next year I am going
to be dropping all Swedish learning classes and only take classes with Swedish
people! I will either join the social science program or the natural science
program. So far with school I have been out for a day hiking around a lake
where I fell in a big heap of mud! I have been to a museum for the day and I
have had a party at school! I know a party at school seems pretty weird but
trust me it felt weirder to be at school till about 11 o’clock. It was so much
fun though. The ‘party’ was for all the music students over all three years.
Everyone who is a music student is part of this group called “bobby” and this
was a “bobby” party. We had dinner, did music quizzes and they tried to teach
myself and the other three exchange students Swedish in song form! My team, The
Space Butterflies, won the music quizzes which was so good! We won Pez for
this! I was/am very happy for this!!! In a weeks’ time the school is holding
their annual school dance competition where the school dances! It is an all-day
thing and I am really looking forward to it as it sounds like heaps of fun to
watch, and maybe make a fool of myself and join in! My school is all in one
building. Even the gym is attached! It is the best thing when it is raining. No
more fighting to stay under the covers when moving from class to class for
Annie now! My school is also very open with windows everywhere and so much
natural light! It makes the school have a nice feeling to it! My school also
always has art hanging everywhere in the main halls which is really cool to
look at! One thing that I can’t get used to is calling all my teachers by their
first name. I feel so very rude when I do this and disrespectful towards them.
Also the fact that you can answer back to them to make sure your point is made.
There is also the fact of them treating you more like a friend than a student.
It is very hard to get used to. One of the best things about school here is
that some days I don’t start school till 12 o’clock, while on other days I’ll
finish at 11.30am! It is great! I think I love Fridays the most as I don’t
start till 9am and finish at 11.30am! Such a good day! Mind you there are a few
days that I start at 9am and don’t quit until 5pm which are not as nice. I like
school here and I am really looking forward to the rest of the time here as
there are many exciting things that are coming up!!
My School, with noone in it! Also those stairs are the hardest thing to walk up and down. Not a nice size stair case!
I have joined a football team here. Although I have not
played football in many years and it shows when I am training with people who
have played all their lives, it is heaps of fun and I met heaps more Swedish
people! I have also notice that football is the same all around the world! The rules
are the same and it easy to get the hang of what to do even when it is in a
different language. The team I play in seems to me to be a very serious team,
with training twice a week, all equipment in good condition and the whole team
wearing their kit to practice. But I am really enjoying starting to play again
even though my skills are, well, shit (but getting a little better!) plus
hopefully doing this bit of exercise twice a week will help me not put on any
more weight!!
I thought that living in a family where there is seven of
us would be a mad house with people busy and doing things all the time but it
is not like that much at all. There are a few days where we are all a little
busy but it sure is not all the time. In my host family I have three host
brothers (one who is 19, and two who are 14), a host sister who is 16 and a
host mum and dad. I also have a host dog, who is just as silly as billy back
home which is nice! My host brothers are really into gaming, which I know
nothing about so when the conversation turns to gaming I have no clue what is
going on! But I have learnt that if I hear my host brother, Aron, talking to
himself (his room is next to mine) it is ok and he is not going crazy!! My host
dad travels a lot for work and I don’t see him that often. I get on really well
with my host mum though which I am really happy about. We always eat dinner
together as a family and if we are not home then some is always left for us to
warm up. I like eating together. It gives us all a chance to talk about our
days and it is nice to have family time!
So far in the almost two months I have been here I have
talked so much about New Zealand and become very patriotic about New Zealand. I
have also proved to myself and to my mum, who said I know nothing about NZ,
that I know a heap more about it than I thought. I have helped people with
homework on New Zealand, done presentations on NZ and in a weeks’ time going to
do a presentation in Swedish about New Zealand or Nya Zeeland in svenska! I have
also begun to look for New Zealand on every map I see. So far the AFS map itself
didn’t even have NZ on it which I thought was quite unfair! But other than that
most maps have had it which I am happy about!
There is so much wildlife here, even in the city! I have
seen many squirrels, much to my friend’s enjoyment when I first saw one, she thought
I was very funny as I went “OMG THERE IS A SQUIRREL!!!!!” and pretty much just
flipped out! I have also seen a wild deer just chilling by my bus stop one
night, it gave me such a fight that I just sort of stood there frozen looking
at it! That is one of the good things about living in a sort of forest! I have
also seen a few sheep on my first day here in Sweden! The other two kiwi girls
that are here and me were like “oh they have sheep here too!” it made us happy!
Overall life here in Sweden is going pretty damn well! So
far, so good!
I have settled into a routine that I am happy with and it
feels like I am living a normal life in a place that I don’t speak the language
and rely on a lot of guesswork! All part of the fun!
But I am happy as a cow that is for sure!
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