Hello Everyone!
As some of you witty people may notice I took my title from Jimmy Bufffet because I thought that was completely appropriate for my life in the past weeks. I have been lying in the sun doing nothing for the past 20 days or so. I have been spending so much time outside that I have not been around to write on blog. Sometimes I love writing this and other times it feels like a chore so I have been avoiding it. Today I felt led to update my family and friends on my life. Apparently people keep asking my family members how I am and they are having trouble coming up with an answer due to my lack of communication...well here is my apology...I am sorry I have been busy doing nothing! haha Anyway rather than tell you what I did each day which is practically nothing worth retelling I will just show you pictures and tell you about the memorable things. So here we go back in time..to April. As I mentioned in the last blog when I left you I was starting a two week break from class and had no plans. One of my friends from America, Ashley, was leaving on the 24th so we had a surprise birthday dinner for her. She was so excited and grateful...here is a photo. By the way it was a "potluck" dinner amongst exchange college students...you cannot even imagine the weird food people brought but nevertheless it was nice.
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| Some friends at Ashley's goodbye dinner. |
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| Ashley & I |
The wonderful thing about meeting people from America is that there is a good chance our paths will cross again so that makes goodbyes less painful. Ashley is from L.A., California and is such a cool friend! I will see here again, it's an excuse to visit Cali! Then on Friday the 22nd we all went to Stallarna for Ashley's last night there...it was unforgettable as always. Saturday I set my alarm early for a reason I never wake up early for any reason not even class (just kidding ;) ) but today was special I was going to pick up my package from AMERICA!!! You see I have a mail box at my flat but it is small and if you do not answer the doorbell when they deliver it then you have to go pick it up. Naturally I missed there ring and so I was left to go pick it up. It arrived in Sweden on Thursday but I had to go 3 times because of the STUPID Swedish working hours. I swear some of the businesses are opened for 10 minutes a day and if you blink they are closed. So this day, Saturday I was not going to be denied my package because do you know what wonderful things it contained??????
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| AMERICAN EASTER CANDY!! |
Ahhh my mother is the BEST!! (by the way...Happy Mother's Day mom, you know you're the SWEETEST most loving mom in the world)!! It's sad looking at this photo actually because all that is left is a headless bunny and a few Cadbury eggs that I am making myself ration...it's so hard!! Sunday was a weird day...it was Easter if you can think back and remember the 24th. If you would like to know what my Easter was like let me tell you...I woke up around 2:00p.m. met up with my group of friends and laid out and hung with my friends. Went to Maestro's the pizza place on campus and bought a pineapple and ham pizza and ate that for lunch. Then spent the rest of the afternoon lying in the wonderful sun. When it got dark I went to a bonfire with a lot of Italians and Americans. It was NOTHING like Easter at home, no church service, Sunday dinner, family, or egg hunts. It was a little sad and I missed my family for sure. One thing I wanted to see or learn while studying abroad was if I could move to a place thousands of miles away and see if I could survive on my own. Well I can, sometimes it's hard we get so used to traditions and routines and when things change it can be sad or hard. Easter was a little sad having pizza and a bonfire is not usually in our routine at home but it was fun and I think it's cool to know I am making it on my own. Anyway back to the updating...the next few days I did nothing worth remembering...Tuesday I finally put real clothes on and went into town to do some spring shopping. It is getting really hard to make winter clothes work in 70 degree weather. I had no idea it got this warm...my bad. Sadly my search left me wanting more...I am not loving the Swedish clothing for summer. Believe it or not I don't fancy crop top shirts. I didn't find so many things I wanted but saw the sweetest Easter decorations in town...I took some pictures to share with you.
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| The Swedes put feathers in the trees during Easter to decorate and I loved it! |
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| It is hard to see but this was a bakery with Easter cakes that were so pretty. |
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| I think students from local schools made these chickens that were out around town. |
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| Kaitlyn in front of a pretty tree...notice the tank top...we were burning up much to my surprise Sweden is really beautiful in the Spring |
Let's see we are at the 26th of April I had a friend come to Växjö that I met earlier this semester and we have become really good friends. He moved to Stockholm to search for a job but we kept in touch and he came to visit friends here so I spent a greater part of that week withe 26th of April I had a friend come to Växjö that I met earlier this semester and we have become really good friends. He moved to Stockholm to search for a job but we kept in touch and he came to visit friends here so I spent a greater part of that week with Rubz my friend visiting. Friday I went again with Melodie and Kaitlyn to go shopping...this time at the Swedish mall. Before going to the mall we did something I have been dying to do all semester!! You see there is a fast food restaurant that is native to Sweden and it is called Max. Max is similar to a Culver's if I had to compare it to a fast food chain in America...however I think it was the most delicious thing I have tasted since January 11. Perhaps that is because I have been eating crap for months maybe it really isn't even that good. I guess we will never know but one thing is for sure we enjoyed. the whole experience!
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| Melodie & I, it's a little blurry we didn't have time to take another...we were too excited to eat and we didn't take the time to take another. |
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| 5 minutes later... |
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| Kait & I LOVE MAX!! |
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| Bouncy at the Max...just dropping the kids off while I go shop... |
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| Max! I looked like such a tourist...this would be the equivalent of you going to your local McDonald's and seeing 3 girls screaming and taking 30 pictures...haha I don't even care. |
After Max we were off to the mall is similar to in America but also very different if that makes sense. It was JUST finished so I am lucky :) Here is what it looked like...
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| Kait and Melodie heading into the Mall. |
Friday night I went to Stallarna...what's new. Saturday Kaitlyn, Melodie, Ariane and I decided to do something rather than just lay in the sun like always. We borrowed some tennis rackets from friends and went and played tennis. For those of you who know me well you can pick your chin up off the ground. Yes, I did some physical exercise on my own free will and I enjoyed it. We played for an hour then took a walk around the town and sat by the lake for a while. Saturday must have been the day for trying new things because that night we decided to go downtown to go out. Since I have lived in my town in Sweden I have gone to two different pubs. This night we decided to go to Kafe de Luxe with some Swedish friends. We had a great night and I finally felt like I was going out in Sweden... Swedish style.
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| Me, My (Swedish), Ingrid (Swedish), & Kait |
Monday May 2, Class resumed which was tough. I was NOT motivated to go at all...I decided I should go and drug myself out of bed. It was so strange after class I was at the pizza place with my friend Ashlea (from North Carolina) and Matti (Belgium) and I was watching TV and found out Osama had been killed. It happened in the middle of the night on Sweden time but still by 4:00pm I was one of the last to know. It's crazy how out of touch I am with things going on in the world because being in Europe I am a lot closer to many things being talked about in the news so you would think I would be more informed...nope. Tuesday I went to class and Stallarna as usual. Wednesday I worked on homework which was good for me...out of the ordinary. Thursday the 5th of May is one of my friends, Luis' birthday. So we decided to go to his girlfriend's apartment and when he got there surprise him with his gifts. It was so nice Luis was surprised and happy.
Thursday May 5th happens to be one of my favorite holidays, Cinco de Mayo. Despite being in Sweden and around only 2 Mexicans who informed me they don't even celebrate it I was not going to let my tradition die. Kaitlyn and I made a taco feast. After our feast there was a HUGE party. All of the Spanish exchange students (from Spain nothing to do with Cinco de Mayo) coincidently planned a Spanish party for this evening. They made tons of traditional foods and Sangria. We ate, talked, danced, and drank the night away. It was one crazy Cinco de Mayo...I will give you a little taste of some of the crazy events that occurred. I was doused in boxed wine, Kaitlyn's hair got lit on fire, we broke a perfectly good bed, the Swedish police came to calm the party down, a statue was stolen during the middle of the party, and I learned a little about clogging...it was one WILD night...I will never forget it!
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| We love Spain!! |
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| Two French an Italian & American |
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| Hurricane Pardo struck...thanks for the wine Pardo |
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| Happy Cinco de Mayo y'all! haha |
Friday I went to town with Melodie to pick up some things and then we came home and had a barbecue. One friend of all of my friends from last semester Roland was in town for the week so we decided to BBQ since it was his last night in town.
After the BBQ we headed to Stallarna. It was a fun night but I would say the after party/ walk home was the best. Let me tell you why...or show you...
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| We found a wild Swedish hedgehog!! |
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| How cool is that!!!! It was so sweet! |
The funny thing is about a week ago I was walking to Kaitlyn's and something ran by my feet and scared me to death because I was outside alone but no...it was a hedgehog. I dropped my things and ran to get Kaitlyn to come look....naturally when she came outside it was gone...then I was left thinking I was seeing things and going crazy. Turns out hedgehogs are common in Sweden! Now I bet you didn't know that! Saturday I needed rest from such a busy week. Being back in class 3 times a week wore me out! I don't know how I'm going to go back to the states where I am required to use my brain and move a lot more. It will be rough. Today, Mother's Day was another sad day not being with my amazing mother. One interesting thing it is not Mother's Day in Sweden. It is not until the last Sunday in May. I spent the day relaxing with my friends. Miquelon my friend from Ibiza,Spain went fishing on Saturday and caught a pretty nice fish. So today we prepared the fish and some potatoes. It was really neat, I just LOVE doing typical Swedish things. It is very Swedish to enjoy nature. I'm sure you noticed I lie in the sun, play tennis, take walks around campus and the lakes. Swedes love nature and they have a lot of it. The guys prepared the fish and we all got to try Swedish fish, finally!! It was even cooler that we got it yesterday from the lake!
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| Pardo preparing the fish. |
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| Ready to cook....yummmm! |
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| Luis (in yellow) Miquelon (in purple) Melodie (in tan), Pardo (topless) haha |
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| Vicky "taking the sun" haha! |
I spent the rest of the day doing nothing....I don't know if you all are as amazed at my ability to do nothing as I am...anyway this week is an exciting one. One thing I have noticed that I do not love about Sweden is the rising of the sun. It rises at 3:30a.m. and sets around 10:00p.m. On June 21st we will have 24 hours of light. Each day the sun rises earlier and sets later. Before we know it the sun will be setting at 12:00a.m. when we head to the club and it will rise at 2:00a.m. when we leave...that is just crazy!! Anyway Monday I have class and a presentation and I am packing for FRANCE!! Tuesday morning Melodie, Kaitlyn and I are leaving Växjö for Gothenburg by train then flying from Gothenburg to Brussels. Then we will go on to Lille & Paris, France. Melodie lives in Lille and we will stay with her family part of the time. Lille happens to be on the border near Belgium so we will also go there! I can't wait! I will be away from May 10-17 and I am so excited. I only have a few more weeks left in Sweden and it is crazy. I miss my family and friends so much but I am not ready to leave this place. Life is good and so easy. My friends are so fun here and I have grown so much! I have gained SO much from this experience and I think every person should do this at some point in their life! Anyway I'm off to France!
Au revoir,
Allie
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