So as most of you know, I have been on vacation for the past two weeks and that is the reason for leaving my blog untouched for such a long time! There is so much to tell about the last few weeks so I am going to take it in cronological (spelling?) order.
The first week started off with a 10 hour drive through Norway to Grövelsjön. Boring and tiring so when we got there it was dark and we were exhausted. We got all settled into our cute little cabin. (Hjorten was the name) BTW On this trip was My host mom and dad, host brother, Michael and I. The next day we pretty much just tryed to get the feel of the cross country skiis. Not going to lie, I was pretty darn lousy haha. By the end of the day I did feel a bit better on the skiis though. The whole week was pretty much going through the same thing every day, we got up and ate lunch then went out to ski for a couple of hours then came back and chilled. On wednesday, we went downhill but I was on the bunny hill all day because I had no idea what I was doing! Also on wednesday, we went to a huge buffet. They had every type of meat and fish imaginable. Moose, elk, pig, cow, you name it. I was pretty adventurous and tryed most everything, even the raw fish but I did stay away from the moose heart. No thank you haha. Most days we would go anywhere from 5-10 kilometers so were were always pretty wiped out when we got back. I had a very good time, even though by the end I could barely lift my arms because they were so sore!
On Saturday, we had to get up at 3.45 in the morning! We had to drive 3 hours to a train station in Norway to catch a train to Trondheim, Norway. It was about a two hour train so it was still pretty much breakfast time when we got there. It was a very randon and funny day. Apparently the day we happen to be in that city is some huge event that happens every year. All the shops were having sales and there was free stuff everywhere. We found free Jesus waffles in the street, haha not kidding. A church set up a stand and they were making waffles and giving out juice to everyone. When they found out that we were foreigners, they asked for a picture! Very funny. There was a market and lots of crowds. There was also a few people dressed up in pink bunny suits giving out easter eggs, unfortunatly I did not manage to get a picture of them! Michael and i found an advertisement in the street where you just grabbed in and got free chips haha. Like I said, it was a very random day. Then we took a train to Åre and met up with Rod and his family. We were there a day earlier than everyone else so we just hung out at Rods house.
On sunday, everyone started arriving. There were people that I knew from my language camp wayyyy back in august and new people that I had never met before. When everyone was finally there, (There was at least 40 of us) we went and took a tour of the town. Then we went to the waterpark! It isn't really a waterpark it is more of saunas and pools, but there was a slide! This place was amazing! There was a sauna world complete with saunas, fog rooms, ice baths and a snow room. Then there was the pool section with the waterslide, hot tubs, pools and even an outdoor pool where you could go and swim in the blizzard. We jumped out and played in the snow in our bathing suits haha. The next day wa sout first day of skiing, it took forever to rent out stuff for 40 people but we got there eventually. The people who really didn't know what they were doing (me =) got instructors and they taught us how to ski. During the week I got good enough to make it down a blue slope and still have fun. Haha. Not very impressive but I'm pretty proud of myself! The whole day was spent with our teachers. After lunch, my ski buddy and I got a really awesome teacher and he took us skiing off the track and jumping and fun stuff like that. That day we got back and relaxed since we were all pretty tired. It pretty much went the same every day, ski, lunch, ski, hotel. I did get to the top of the mountain but we couldn't see anything when we got up there it was so crazy foggy! Still fun though, everyones hair was turning white because it was so cold up there! On wednesday, we had to do a rotary presentation in swedish haha, that was interesting to hear how everyones swedish is going. Yesterday, I skied till lunch then we turned in out skiis so we cound go in and explore the town. We walked around a little and got some touristy stuff. We came back and had dinner then I had to go catch a train. There were about 13 exchange students on my train so it wasn't too boring. We watched movies and played blackjack, basically we were the loud foreigners that everyone gets annoyed with haha. We encountered an interesting person on the train to say the least haha, so some of us avoided her and went into the cafe for a couple hours. I did not sleep well haha, it is hard to sleep on a train! I was freezing and uncomfertable! This morning we got to Linköping at about 5.30. Then Michael and I had to wait for our train so the others just decided to wait the half hour with us, then we all said goodbye till next time.
When Michael and I got off the train in Tranås, we noticed a dramatic difference in our little town... It's SPRING!! The long winter is finally over and it is warming up and getting lighter. You an not imagine how happy I am that it is about 6 degrees celcius out. The snow has dramatically decreased and it is only a matter of time before it is gone! =) I've had a good swedish winter but I think it is time to move on now... Ready for the sun!
Kram, Haley
P.S Plently of pictures up on facebook soon.
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