My Family

So since I got a request I am going to go into a little bit more detail about the families I have. Here it is, just the two families I know very well, my third family I don't know too much about.

So the first family- They were very nice and easy going. I had a host mom named Ursula and a host dad named Kjell and also a host sister, Amalia. Ursula is a teacher at my school, Holavedsgymnasiet. I actually have her for my history class which is benificial because she knows when I need help which makes that class easier then it would have been. Kjell works at a company called LRF Konsult. Im pretty sure he deals with a lot of numbers, he is also a rotary member so I still see him every once in a while at meetings. Amalia is 13 years old and we got along very well, it literally feels like she is my actual sister. We fight like sisters and get along also. I still see her at her school where I help with english classes and sometimes at the stables. They have a horse that I get to ride occasionally, =), they also have a dog and amazing cat that I miss very much haha. Amalia rides horses in competitions and also plays hockey so I got to go to a lot of small cities for away hockey games when I was living with them. I had a good time with them and I am very thankful for everything they did for me.

The second family (the Valaszkais)- They are originaly not swedish, they moved here about 20 years ago from Romania (I think). I live with Julia and Laszlo and their daughter Karro. They also have a son Peter but he doesn't live at home and I haven't met him yet. They are a very busy family, there is always something happening here! Julia works as a teacher and Laszlo is an engineer and also, like Kjell, a rotary member. Laszlo works in Italy 3 weeks out of the month so he isn't home very often which is a little weird when its just us girls haha. Karro is 15 and in 9th grade so she's a bit older than Amalia. So far we get along well so fingers crossed that it stays that way, I believe it will. She plays the saxophone and the piano. She plays sax in a few bands and she is really good! We also go to dance classes together and that it fun. I got to know Karro very well before I moved in and I think that really helped a lot. Im excited for christmas with this family, I think it will be quite an experience!

Kram, Haley

DECEMBER!!!

Oh My goodness!!! It's December!! Do you know what that means? Well I guess it means a lot of stuff. It means I have been in Sweden for 4 months, Christmas is in 23 days, there are christmas lights everywhere (including my room), theres Lucia and Solongerna soon! Wow it's gonna be a crazy month! I can't believe that it has been 4 months since I left New Mexico, the time seems to be going by soooo fast.

I guess I should explain Salongerna to you. =) So my class, ES2 is doing a winter preformance. Basically what it is is that we team up with the cooking program, we provide the entertainment, they provide the food for our audience. Between acts, the audience eats different courses of a meal. In the acts, we preform random songs and theatre, complete with singing and dancing. I am definitly planning to record this and put it on youtube. Not all of it but some of the better songs.

So since I last wrote, I went down to a city in the south of Sweden for a night. We left on Saturday and drove for about 3 or 4 hours. First, I got to meet Laszlo's parents and I didn't understand anything that was happening because they were all speaking hungarian! Then we went to a close family friends house where Karro and I would be staying the night. Karro was so excited to see her friend, and we made gingerbread houses and watched a movie. In the morning, we went to a christmas craft sale and it was fun to see all of the things. It wasn't only crafts though, there was homemade bread and chocolate, all kinds of stuff. And they were also having their Lucia competition then. I would explain what Lucia is but I don't really know so I will wait until I get to actually experience it then you will get a full explanation. After that we drove homw and we were very tired by the time we got back.

So that's whats been happening with me this past week. =)

My weekend...

Well, this blog was not exactly as I would have planned it to be. I was supposed to be so busy this weekend. This was the original plan:

1. Choir practice then teen night on Friday.
2. Possibly Linkoping on Saturday .
3. Concert with my friends in it Saturday night.
4. Linkoping on Sunday to see New Moon.

So most of those things didn't happen because Thursday, Friday, and Saturday I was sick! I was so bored for those days, I didn't get to do anything. So most of my weekend consisted of sleeping, T.V., movies. Woohoo...not! Lol. So even though I was sick I still made it to Linkoping on Sunday. I got in around 12.30 and met up with Meg and we went into town to try to go shopping but found nothing because we forgot that since it was Sunday most of the stores would be closed. Then we met up with all the other people and we just hung out and talked until it was time to see New Moon. I was so excited to see this movie! I did really like it but I thought that it was too scattered and not put together well enough. Nothing was explained in great detail at all, the acting was good though, so I did like the movie just not the way it was put together. Then I had to go home and that concluded my weekend, at least I got to do one exciting thing. =)

Kram, Haley

New Moon!!!

OMG!! I am so excited because I just realized that New Moon comes out this weekend, I really hope I will be able to go and see it!!!

So nothing much happened since the last time I posted. Just getting settled in to the new house. I am all unpacked now and moved into my room! So yay! It warmed up this week to about 7 degrees celcius, which is really confusing and frusterating. I want it to snow!! =( I went ice skating again with Amalia and Nina on sunday, and that was really fun except that I have so many bruises now! So I will keep you posted if anything new happens...

Kram, Haley

New Family!

So sorry that I haven't written for over a week but things have been so crazy because of the move. I moved on thursday night into my new family. They are very nice, everything is new and different but it's not bad at all. It feels weird going to a new house after school now, but that will get better just as in the very beginning of my exchange.

Last weekend was very fun, I did lots of stuff and I was so tired by monday. On Saturday I went to a city 4 hours away for Amalias away hockey game. It was a city on the ocean and it was very cool, but I would have liked to see it in the summer. I bet it would be amazing there in the summer. Then on sunday I went to go see a play, cabaret, with Karro and a few friends. It was a great play. The singers were awesome and even though I couldn't understand most of it, I enjoyed myself. After that I went ice skating with Amalia and Kjell, it was...interesting. Haha I fell quite a few times when I had to play hockey, but it was really fun . I also saw a few of the girls from one of the english classes I help teach.

The school week went pretty normally, nothing too exciting happened except for the move. Today was my schools open house and that went really well. I preformed in the choir, an ensemble and a dance. So I did everything! Haha so now I am completly exhausted!

Promise there will be pictures on facebook soon!

Kram, Haley

Snow!!

YAY! It has finally snowed here! I was so happy today when I was biking and I saw that it had started to snow, it probably wont stick until later in the week, but I'm happy all the same.

So since the last time I posted nothing much happened except that I started school again. Pretty boring haha. Monday was a slow day because everyone was tired after the break. Amalia and I made some really amazing Halloween themed cupcakes, a few days too late but all well haha. Then yesterday, after school I had a dance class and that's about it. Today I got to come home way earlier than usual because my History class is taking a test and I don't have to take it. Oh the beauty of being an exchange student! Haha no grades!

Kram, Haley

Aww....

Back to school tomorrow! =( But that's ok because I had an awesome week. Hmm, where to start?

Finland trip! So On Tuesday, we drove to a nearby city called Mjölby then took a bus from there to Stockholm. When we got to Stockhom, we immedietly boarded out boat. The boat was so huge! It was called the Mariella and it was complete with resturants, a disco, arcade, decks and various other stuff. We got on and explored! The first thing we did was go to out rooms and Amalia and I couldn't stop from laughing because it was sooo small! Haha. Then we went all around the boat. For dinner that night we had Tapas and the smörgåsbord, which is pretty much like a buffet and it was yummay!! Haha. The next day we got into Helsinki around 9 and the first thing we did was take a bus tour around to see the major landmarks. (Pictures on Facebook). We saw all of the major buildings in Helsinki then we got off and I found some pins for my Rotary blazer, woohoo! Then w just walked around the very cold city! It was a very pretty city and I am very happy that I got to go there. =) We had to get back on the boat around 5 and we were so tired that we all took a little nap. Amalia and I then went around the boat and hung out for the rest of the night. We made a youtube video haha, but it wouldn't upload on the internet! Darn! The next day we got up and took the bus back to Mjölby and then drove home.

On Friday, I took the train up to Linköping for Evan's 18th birthday. =) Happy Birthday Evan! We hung out in the city and took pictures, and just had random fun! That's what happens when a bunch of exchange students get together, we will always have fun together. Then we went back to Evan's house to have Pizza and watch movies. The next day, we woke up and had pancakes (YUMMM) and then we all missed the bus so we had to wait 20 minutes for the next one, which made us all miss our trains home. So we got to the train station and hung out at the cafe. Te Norrköping girls all had a train an hour before mine left so after seeing them off Evan and I killed some more time in the cafe with a hot chocolate and a sprite. =) We forgot to look at the time and needless to say, I missed my second train of the day. We looked up the time of the next train and it was 2 hours from then, so we went into the city and went shoe shopping for Evan. Haha, Evan needed to be home by 4, so I spent the last 45 minutes waiting at the train station alone and bored. I did not miss this train and by the time I got home I was in a rush to get ready for the halloween party that night.

When I was finally ready I went over to Lisa's house and we left for the party in a big group. The party was a bunch of people from the church and we ate food and had dessert and did a lot of talking. We also played a really funny confusing game involving noises and hand movememts, made all the more confusing by the swedish explanation. But fun none the less. I finally got home a little after one and so today I am wiped out!

I have now officially been here for 3 months and that is really weird to think of. I can't believe that the time has gone by so fast! I am about to switch host families in less than 2 weeks which is a little scary but it is definitly comforting that I know the family and they are really nice. So for now I am starting to get my room ready to pack, it is kind of sad because that room feels like home now, and I have to start all over in a new house but I know everythings going to be ok. =)