Update

I am sitting in my host family’s quiet living room overlooking a hilly area with trees, rocks, and tall but skinny trees. My current host family lives in Grönahög (my pronunciation is pitiful), which translates to green hill. I learned quickly that it also goes by the name Köttkulla, which means “meat hill.” Apparently that was the name of my host father’s relative’s farm, and the village also took the name. The village that I live is very small, but it is not terribly far from Ulricehamn. (Maybe fifteen miles).  I also learned that my host family’s last name is fairly well-known in the community. It is not a very common Swedish name, but apparently at least three people have that last name in each grade at the schools in Ulricehamn. I have been fairly busy, but I still find that I am pretty tired.

Besides catching up on sleep, and attempting to work on Swedish, I enjoyed meeting my host sister before she left. A few days ago we went to a play at a medieval castle/mansion situated on a lake. It is called Torpa Stenhus. It isn’t very fancy and was rather small, but was a good backdrop for the outdoor play, which was Romeo och Julia (Romeo and Juliet). My host sister had some friends in the production, and even though it was in Swedish, I could understand what was going on. It was a modern musical version of Romeo and Juliet. We all agreed that the singing was better than the acting. The landscape is beautiful. In order to get there we went on roads that were no bigger than one small lane. The roads twist, and tall trees and lakes or small ponds dot the landscape. If I am not careful I get horrible carsickness. The weather is unpredictable. It may rain a little and then get sunny. The temperature also fluctuates from a bit chilly to around 75 degrees Fahrenheit. It isn’t as hot as Minnesota in the summer.

I just returned from a three day stay in Ulricehamn. My host family was driving to the airport in Stockholm to send their daughter to Kansas, and their older daughter and boyfriend to San Francisco.After about three days at my host family’s home I met a new family. It was a bit nerve-wracking to leave a place I had just begun to feel comfortable at, but once I got there it was great. Now I feel like I could be just as comfortable at either home. The family consists of a mother, father, a son in Göteborg, two teenage sons at home, and a daughter who is leaving for Australia shortly, and lives at an apartment a few blocks from the house. The house was a big, old home, with a balcony over-looking Lake Åsunden. It was very brightly colored inside. I grew quite attached to “Bamse.” (Bamse is a common dog name and also a cartoon). Bamse was a very fuzzy dog and quite sociable.  I went on a few walks with the dog and got to see the school I will attend called Tingsholmsgymnasiet. I feel less nervous about school now. The daughter, Miriam, showed us around the town, and I ate pizza with French fries on top for the second time. It was very kind of her to spend her free time from work with us. While the parents were working she made us “sill och potatis.” The meal consisted of a few different jars of herring and boiled potatoes with chives (gräslök) and sour cream (gräddfil). The herring didn’t seem that different from the jars my dad enjoys. She also served some steak for her brothers, Naomi, and me. Yesterday, she drove us about a kilometer to the stables to see her mother’s horse. It is an Icelandic horse and they are sturdy enough that they don’t need to be in a stable in summer or winter. Monica, the mom, said that Naomi and I were welcome to ride the horse or walk to the house after school and stay for some weekends.  I was barely there three days, and I already felt like very welcome.

I have been here almost a week. My Swedish is not good at all, but when I watch the news or listen to conversations, I am understanding more each day, which is hopeful. My host mom is going to start speaking Swedish most of the time. My host sister Sofie also put sticky notes around the house with the names of common household items. That is helpful. The food has been quite good, I have been eating quite a bit of meat, including steaks, pork, etc. It has been very good food, but more meat than I am accustomed to at home.  I don’t mind, it is just different. I have not been terribly busy, which is good. I know once school starts it will be busier and right now I am enjoying my host family, conversations, and learning about Sweden.

My host sister, fellow exchange student Naomi, and Me