Hello All!
I am writing to you from my home in Canada, how weird is that? I began my journey home last Friday. I had to take a taxi from Åre in Sweden to the airport in Trondheim, Norway bright and early Friday morning as my host mom hit a moose the day before and totalled the vehicle. I will say, taking a taxi all alone leaving from exchange was kind of hard, I cried the whole two hours and I felt really awkward but its whatever, nothing you can really do. After I struggled with checking in all my bags, and talking my way out of a $450 overweight/extra luggage fee (how good am I?) I took my first flight to Amsterdam. Once in Amsterdam, I had 4 hours to kill. I went and ate, and then randomly ran into one of my exchange student friends who is Canadian but was living in Stockholm this year, MacKenzie. We had no idea that we would both be in Amsterdam on the same day so that was a complete coincidence, but kind of nice to talk to someone who is dealing with the exact same thing you are.
I then flew from Amsterdam to Toronto where I had barely any time and I went to the wrong terminal, got stuck in massive elevator lines, and it took a long time to get my bags and go through customs, so by the time I finally got to the right terminal where I had to re check my bags in again, my flight was already boarding and I hadn’t even made it to security. So the nice girl at the counter was so worried for me she got me an escort right to the front of security and again I escaped the luggage fees. You are only supposed to have one checked bag of 23 kg and I had one bag that was 40 kg and my second bag was 33 kg, I think I did pretty well there ;). I arrived to Thunder-Bay at 12:00 am local time and was greeted at the airport by my parents, it was definitely one of those moments that words can’t really describe. It really hadn’t felt like a whole year since I said goodbye to them there.
We stayed at a hotel that night since it was so late, and then drove four hours home the next day. But before I talk about what it is like being home again, I want to share a little bit about my last 12 days in Sweden, so from after my birthday until I left. The day after my birthday and for another two days after I just basically died at home. Recovering from eurotour was tough, and I was sick on top of that too. The most sleep I had received in the whole month prior was 4 hours in one night. I spent a few days in Åre, picked up some last minute souvenirs to take home, and did a little wandering.
Then my lovely Moa and first host family came home from their 3 week vacation on Gotland! I had missed her so much, because I never got a chance to see her before I left for eurotour. On Sunday (two weeks ago now) I went with her to see her horse, and then we went to her little cousins first birthday party.I had met a lot of her family already, but it was nice to meet a few more new faces!
It was a really nice afternoon in the sun because apparently Sweden is having the warmest summer in over 100 years or something crazy like that. In the Norrland region of Sweden where I was living it was apparently the warmest location in all of Europe, really crazy. That evening we went out to a place called Fäviken where Moa and their medieval team were practice riding their horses for an upcoming medieval tournament. We ordered pizza and had a picnic in the middle of a field with a gorgeous view of the mountains in the setting sun, seriously nothing better.
On Monday I went in to Moa’s house and we just chilled there for a little while. We then had an idea to go buy some food “fika” and go to the beach. We spent a few hours there, and the water was so so warm, never thought I would say swimming in Swedish lakes was warm and fun because the first time I did it, it was so cold like maybe only +8 in the water.
On Tuesday I basically should have received the best host sister award because I woke up at 5 am, so I could catch the train at 6:20 am after walking 3 kilometers to the train station so that I could go to Östersund with Moa as she had an appointment. After her appointment we went and had fika, one of my last in Sweden which was super sad 😦 and then we did a little shopping before I went home.
I took a nap and then went back to Moa where we took her horse for an evening swim. It was so much fun until the horse stepped right on top of my bare foot.. yep it’s STILL sore and really ugly coloured but oh well.
On Wednesday my friend Ellen came over and we just caught up on life and talked for a really long time. She has been going to school and working in Östersund all year so we never really got to see each other a lot. After talking practically all afternoon we decided to drive to Åre and get some ice cream at a little cafe called Grädda. We sat outside in the +30 heat and our ice cream was literally melting the second we stepped out of the door. But sitting outside, eating ice cream, with the view of the mountains was absolutely amazing. Ellen drove me home around 5, and then I had dinner at home, packed a little more and then Markus came over for a little visit and to say goodbye. Markus was one of my first friends in Sweden, so it was kind of tough to say goodbye to him, but I hope some day we will meet again!
THURSDAY! Thursday was my last day in Sweden, so I really was under pressure to finish my packing in the morning, and then in the afternoon I went over to my first host family’s home. We chilled out on the deck in the sun, and we all went to a place called Tossön for dinner with the rest of all the medieval horse riders and some special riders who had come all the way from the Ukraine. They could not speak any English at all so it was hard to communicate with them individually but they had a translator for the group. The dinner was smoked moose meat, potato salad, and vegetables with a delicious strawberry cake (jordgubbstårta) for dessert, so Swedish. We then took an evening swim, and I was forced to say goodbye. First was my little host sister Alma, and she told me she would call the police on me if I left Sweden, how sweet is she. That goodbye was not easy, Alma really is my little sister, and I love her to pieces. I know that it wont be long until I see her again! Next was my first host mom Maria, this goodbye sucked. I lived with her for the first 7 months of my exchange, and became really close to her, there were many tears by this point, she was hugging me and Moa and told me she loves me as her own daughter. Moa and Mikael drove me home and along the way we picked up Kajsa. They stayed with me for about an hour, and then I had to say goodbye to the three of them. Saying goodbye to Moa was the absolute worst thing I had to do that day, she is my sister from another mister and I have spent so much time and created so many memories with her in the year that I was in Sweden. We have already planned for me to go back and for her to come here in Canada! I miss everyone SO SO much already. And as I told you already Friday morning I was airport bound really early after a quick breakfast and saying goodbye to my third host family.
I also took quite a lot of beautiful sunset pictures in my last few days in Sweden, I would just like to share a few so you can see how spectacular it is.
What can I say? Swedish sunsets never disappoint. I guess I can tell you a little about after exchange life and what I have been up to since I got home. I came home to a surprise from two of my best friends Nora and Brooke, and then I went and surprised all of my other friends at a party they weren’t expecting me to go to. I have been catching up with a lot of friends and going for coffee, some long weekend camping and fun stuff. Then I started working again, I work like every day it feels like but the money will be nice when I go back to Sweden. Speaking of Sweden, I miss it SO MUCH. I feel like no one here understands, and they all think I am crazy for wanting to go back. I am literally living in two completely different worlds now. But honestly, Sweden feels more like home now than Canada (sorry, eh.) I miss the people, the food, the language, I miss hearing and speaking that beautiful language every single day. Do you know how boring English seems now? I miss my friends, and my families more than I ever missed anyone back in Canada while I was away, because I knew I would see all of them again and that it would only be one year, I have no idea when or if I will see everyone back in Sweden but I hope it is soon! I miss the lifestyle, the mountains, absolutely everything that we sometimes take for granted. But I think you get the point, because I could go on for ever and ever. Sweden is where I belong, and I will be back.
Until then,
xx Jessie
Swedish Experiences 