Snakes and MI6

11/7/2012
Today was my second day at Kungsängsgymnaset. Today I got to go to some more of Hanna's classes and two of Ida's classes. The first class of the day started at 8:45 and Hanna got out of school at 12:40! Hanna only had three classes today! I want her schedule so badly, but then there is the fact that the classes are really long, some of them are even 2 hours long and I think that that would get a bit boring and dull. The first class of the day was Swedish class, the equivalent of our English class. Today their teacher talked for a while and then they had to copy down sentences from a book and correct them, rewriting the correct version. It all seemed very complicated, but that might have been because it was in Swedish. :)

The second class of the day was English. In the spirit of the U.S. election the teacher played president Obama's acceptance speech. It felt weird to listen to it in class in a foreign country, I felt like all of the students were judging me, but it was still nice to hear the speech, I did not stay up all night to hear it, unlike Frank, one of the students who visited MV last year and who is in Hanna's class. We also talked about the 5th of November, a British holiday to remember Guy Fawkes, a man who tried to blow up parliament. The teacher had written a short poem that was written in memorial of November 5th:

"Remember, remember the fifth of November,
Gunpowder treason and plot.
We see no reason
Why gunpowder treason
Should ever be forgot!"

The teacher also talked about Remembrance Day, November 11, a day to remember all of the soldiers from WW1. She even talked about the fact that people wear poppies on their jackets in recognition and support. Yesterday they wrote book reports about a book in English that they had read. Today the teacher took groups of five out of the room to talk about the books they had read. The teacher only got through one group of students because it took so long, I guess they all had a lot to say about the books. While the group of five students and the teacher were out of the room we took a short quiz on current events and then read a short story, individually, about eating snakes. The topic was a bit strange but it was really funny to read. This was because the students learn British English and the spelling and word choices that the book used were very different from what I would have used. For example the book used mate where as I would have used friend.

After English we had lunch in the cafeteria before going to Hanna's last class of the day: German. German class was very confusing and very complicated because I do not understand Swedish or German, but I helped Hanna translate some of the words and I learned a little bit of German. Now I know how to say not only ich liebe dich (i love you) Die hampater sprang über den Crockodile (the hamster jumped over the crocodile) which il learned from Kat last year, but also mein name ist... (my name is...), gesund (healthy), and geschwister(siblings). I had a lot of fun in German class and I wish that MV had German as a foreign language option, I would definitely take it.

After Hanna's final class we tried to find Ida because I was going to spend the rest of the day with Ida and Austin because Hanna had to go home and study for her 3 hour chemistry test tomorrow morning! It would hate to take a 3 hour test, even our exams are not 3 hours long! When we could not find her in the library we went back down to the common area where the lockers are and I sat down to wait for Ida and Austin to come pick me up while Hampus drove Hanna home to study. I did not have to wait very long because within 10 minuets Ida and Austin came by to pick me up before heading off to physics. If I had taken physics this year instead of AP Bio I think I would have been able to understand a lot of what he said and what he wrote on the board because he drew a lot of pictures, they were talking about Archimedes principle.

After physics we stopped by Ida's locker and picked up all of our stuff, coats, hats, scarves, and gloves included and headed off to gym class. We would not be coming back to her locker because we could go right from gym to Ida's home. Gym in Sweden is a bit different from gym at MV. In Sweden you are expected to change you clothing for gym class in the locker rooms and if you have another class after gym you can take a quick shower in between. Because I did not know Ida had gym class today I did not bring extra clothing to change into but it was still fun anyway. We spent most of our time, after a quick warm up, in the new weight room where the gym teach taught us all how to use the equipment and then gave us all a chance to try out each machine, except for one because we ran out of time.

After gym, the last class of the day, we walked home to Ida's house and watched the movie Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy which was about a mole in the upper rankings of MI6. It was very good and interesting. Because they had rented the movie from the library and it was due that night, Austin, Ida, and I hurried down to the library after the movie to return it. Hanna met us there and as Ida and Austin headed home to a scout meeting, Hanna and I rode home on Hanna's bike. Overall, a great day!

Kungsängsgymnaset and Kladdkaka; now try saying that mouthful!

11/6/2012

Today was my first day at Kungsängsgymnaset, the high school, grades 10-12, that Hanna, Ida, and Hampus, Hanna's older brother, go to. We woke up at about 7 this morning to get ready for school and I had cornflakes for breakfast; they bought them for me so I could have something familiar for breakfast and everybody was really excited because they all like them but never buy them. We got to school by 8 but Hanna did not have a class until 9:10 so we went to the principal's office to check in and they gave me a small plastic holder for a name tag. Then we went back to Hanna's locker, I made a name tag to fit in the plastic holder out of some lined paper I had with me, maybe I will add some color to it tomorrow. I met one of Hanna's friends Sofia and the two of them gave me a tour of the school. It is quite big, or at lest it seemed that way to me, but that may be because I did not know where anything was, and it's a bit confusing. Hanna assures me that I will learn my way around in no time; I am a bit skeptical but I will trust the pros for now.

The first class we went to was English class. They had had to reed a book outside of class on their own and today in class they had to write a book report on the book. Hanna read The Gift; "a Christmas story with a good life lesson at the end" according to Hanna. It seemed very intense and Hanna was very nervous that she had forgotten the book over vacation, but she seemed to have no trouble writing pages and pages on the topic. It all seemed very intense. The teacher gave me the prompt for the book report and is was quite long and included many writing points along with a short list of grammatical writing tips and English words that get mixed up often.

The next class we went to was Social Study or Society, I am not sure what we would call it that in the U.S. The class was quite long, 90, minutes and it was all in Swedish, though I understood a little bit because Hanna translated a few of the words for me. They were comparing the Swedish government to the U.S. government. They also talked a little bit about the election, because it is today, and how the electoral system works. I smiled when the teacher said Ohio and swing state in the same sentence and thought about what my parents were doing just then, had the voted yet? Because it was only 11am, or so my time, my parents were probably still asleep. I also got to listen to some students give presentations in class, though I had no idea what they were talking about, it was still cool to recognize a word here and their and make up different meanings for different words.

After Social Studies we ate lunch in the cafeteria. Like at Ekebyskolan lunch was free and today it was fish in a tomato sauce and to Hanna and my surprise, it tasted a lot better then it looked.

After lunch we had our third and final class of the day. Two whole hours of math! Granted there was a break in the middle, where a good portion of the class ran down to the cafe to buy a snack, most of us got chocolate balls. I think I am addicted to chocolate balls and I am going to go through withdrawal when I come back home where I won't be able to find them anywhere.  Good thing Ida wrote down the recipe for me last year when she was in the U.S. Even though math was really long, Hanna has 7 hours of math a week (my dad would love it), it was still really fun. I was able to understand a little bit of what was going on and when I didn't understand one of the words on the board I used Google translate. Hanna caught me one time and laughed but she said it was a good idea, even though Google translate is not that reliable. I was able to learn many of the Swedish numbers today just by listening to the teacher talk and write on the board.




It was a very exciting day at school. When we came home from school, Hanna's mom ordered pizza and we had a very yummy snack before starting our homework. The pizza here has a very thin crust, even thinner than most of our thin crust pizzas, and it was delicious! While Hanna did her homework I wrote my blog and listened to music. Apparently I was extremely tired because without meaning to I fell completely asleep. Hanna woke me up in time to get ready to go to the gym, we were going to meet Ida and Austin to take a step class, but when we got there the class was full so we returned home and hung out a bit before dinner. After a delicious dinner of salmon and potatoes I taught Hanna how to shuffle cards, and she taught me how to bake an amazing chocolaty goodness: Kladdkaka! Kladdkaka is kind of like a cross between a thin brownie and a thin chocolate cake, but much more gooey and delicious! We ate ours with fresh whipped cream and tea! It was amazing! Why don't we have chocolate balls and Kladdkaka in the U.S.?!?!?! Tack så mycket, tills vidare.

Ekebyskolan!

11/5/2012

Today was my first day in a Swedish school. I spent the day in Ekebyskolan, Emma's school, it is the equivalent of our middle school plus 9th grade. Emma is in 9th grade so she is one of the oldest in the school. It was extremely fun following her around and visiting all of her classes. We went to history and sports in the morning before lunch and then English, math, and technology in the afternoon. Everybody at the school was very nice and all the teachers were very welcoming. It was a bit confusing because all of the classes were in Swedish except for a bit of the English class.

Their school is very different from the schools in the U.S. First of all they have a lot of free time in between their classes to hangout and talk. Second, the school has a free lunch program where you can go to the cafeteria and eat lunch, no extra charge. Also, something that was different for me but not necessarily different from the U.S. was that Ekebyskolan is made up of several buildings, we went to 4 of them including the cafeteria. I have never been to a school before that has had gym in one building, technology and history in another, the cafeteria in yet another, and Spanish and handicraft in yet another! It was all very confusing to wrap my head around in the beginning, but after a while I got the hang of it, sort of. Also they have every class with about the same people, math and sports were a bit different and had many different people but many of the same people too.

When Emma and I came home we had some tea to warm ourselves up from the cold air outside and then she helped me pack my suitcase for the move to Hanna's house. I am staying with Hanna for the the next two weeks and I am very excited, although I am sad to leave Emma and her family, though I will probably see them again within the next two weeks. When we got to Hanna's house both Emma and Hanna helped me bring my stuff up to Hanna's room where I will be sleeping (thank you so much Hanna!) and settle in. We then ate an amazing dinner of delicious chicken with a banana bread cake for dessert. Emma had to go home soon after, but Hanna and I hung out a bit longer before getting ready for bed. I am so excited to go to Hanna's school tomorrow! Tack, tills imorgon!

The RUN 😜

11/4/2012

Today Emma took me on a tour of Sala in a different kind of way: we went for a run.

"You don't stand in front
of a mirror before a run...

and wonder what the road
will think of your outfit.

You don't have to listen to its
jokes and pretend they're funny.

It would not be easier to run
if you dressed sexier.

The road doesn't notice
if you're not wearing lipstick.

It does not care
how old you are.

You do not feel
uncomfortable...

because you make more money
than the road.

And you can call on the road
whenever you feel like it,

whether it's been a day...

or a couple of hours
since your last date.

The only thing
the road cares about...

is that you pay it a visit
once in a while.

Nike.
No games.
Just sports."
-what women want, a movie we watched the other night

This was definitely not how I ran. In the first place I am a horrible runner and running is not my preferred type of exercise. I think a combination of me being sick and the cold air made it a bit harder. However, it was extremely beautiful and that it made it all worth it. We went running through the "forest" of Sala on a path called the green way. The "forest" is right next to the pool house and surrounded by houses, but once inside you can loose yourself, it is so beautiful and peaceful. Did you know that if you squeeze twigs or stones in your hands while you run the pain of the cold on your ears goes away. I have no idea how it works, maybe it is a placebo affect, but I don't care, it was like magic and made the pain go away! Thanks Emma! :)

After we came back from our run we took it easy and just hung out downstairs. One of Filippa's friends came over and they played sing star. Emma and I sung once song, in Swedish, and it was a complete disaster, I had no idea what any of the words were or how to pronounce them. Only after we had sung our song did I learn that their were English songs that we could have sung too!

Tonight we had an early dinner, of delicious salmon and potatoes, because Emma, Austin, Ida, William, a friend who visited the U.S. for a short time last year when Ida was at MVCDS, and I were going to see Skyfall the new James bond movie at 7. After dinner Emma and I made chocolate balls: butter, chocolate, oatmeal, and coffee all mixed together and then covered in sugar beads. We then put them in the freezer to eat after the movie.

Skyfall was amazing! One main difference between movie theaters in the U.S. and in Sweden is that in Sweden you have assigned seating like you would have when you go to a play and you can buy your tickets online and pick out the seat that you want. When we came out of the movie theatre there was a spooky layer of thick fog over all over the city. It was kind of fun and scary to walk home in it. When we got home we ate the chocolate balls we had made previously, before going to bed. It was an amazing last night at Emma's house before I move to Hanna's. I am going to miss them very much but I will still be here for another two weeks so I will be able to see them all again, and I am excited to live with Hanna too.

All Saints Eve

11/3/2012

Today we went to one of Sweden's National Parks: Gysinge. First we ate lunch at a small cafe in Gysinge and then we went to visit the small museum there. It was a very cool museum. It had many pictures of the area in all seasons and a small pond and river running underneath the staircase. On the second level there were many blocks that you could open and inside them were animal furs, insects, or pictures of some of the animals that live or had lived in the area. After visiting the museum we walked around for a bit and saw the old flour and saw mill. All that was left of it was the foundation in the middle of the river and some older stone buildings. It was incredibly beautiful.

After we left the park, heading home, we made one stop along the way. We visited the graveyard next to a small church where Emma and Filippa's grandmother is buried. Today was a special holiday called All Saints Eve when you can put candles on the graves of your deceased loved ones. The light was just fading from the sky when we reached the graveyard and all of the lit candles were very pretty.

Shortly after we arrived back home, Katarin, Philip, and Johannes, Agnes's mother and younger brothers, came over for dinner. We had a special Swedish cake called kladdkaka for desert. It tasted kind of like a brownie only it was a bit thinner and chewier than a traditional brownie. After dinner we went for a walk through the main graveyard in Sala. This may seem a bit weird and spooky but because it was All Saints Eve there were many people there lighting candles for their relatives. It was incredibly beautiful to see all of the lights around the graves and around a small pond where they have put the ashes of some people, upon their request. Lotta's grandmother's ashes were scattered in the pond so Lotta lit a candle for her there too. I think it is a very special and nice thing to light candles for your loves ones who have died and put them on their graves. It is a nice way of remembering them and all of the candles that light the graveyards are very pretty.

Aguéli

11/2/2012

Today Emma, Austin, Ida, Ida's younger siblings, and I visited the cultural center of Sala. It is a small museum right next to the library. They had a roller coaster exhibit which consisted of a huge amusement park with a very long roller coaster, all made out of paper. The exhibit Also had two small tables with art supplies so that we could make our own miniature amusement parks. We spent quite a while at those two tables, painting and hot gluing card board to make pieces of art work. I tried to make a Dalahäst out of cardboard, it kinda of worked though it was nothing like the originals made out of wood.

The museum also had an exhibit with pieces of art by Aguéli, a famous Swedish painter, from Sala. His artwork had become very popular after he had died, and a man in Sala collected many of his pieces of artwork. Before he died he donated all of Aguéli's art that he had collected and donated it to the national museum, but with one request, that the art be kept on display in Sala. So, to this day the art work is kept in Sala and it is featured in the cultural center.

Emma, Austin, and I also made cookies today. They were special Swedish cookies called bisquit made out of almond paste, eggs, and sugar. Then the after they are baked you cover the flat side with a dome of chocolate butter cream and then cover that in a layer of chocolate. They were delicious, easily the best cookies I have ever had!

Tonight we went over to Emma's friend, Agnus's house for dinner. They live just outside of Sala on a farm next to Ida's grandparents house! They have 5 horses, which we visited, and hens which we saw from a distance. After dinner, Emma and I taught Agnus and one of her younger brothers, Philip, how to play Mao, a very cool card game. It was very fun and I was glad I was able to teach them an American card game, Austin, Ida, and I had taught Emma earlier on in the week.

Dalahäst!

11/1/2012

Today Emma, Jonas, Filippa, and I went to Avesta, a small town 30 minuets away from Sala, to visited the world's largest Dalahäst!    A Dalahäst is a giant wooden horse. The horse is painted in one base coat with a colorful saddle painted on top. The Dalahäst we visited was a bright red orange with a beautiful orange saddle. They are beautiful and the different colors mean different things. For example, the red orange color means power. We ate lunch at a small cafe next to the Dalahäst before traveling 30 more minutes to Norberg.

On our way to Norberg, and on the way to Avesta from Sala, we passed several small lakes all connected to each other by canals. These lakes were used to power the pumps that pumped water out of the silver mines. We also crossed one of Sweden's longest rivers, Dalälven, twice.

In Norberg we stopped at a very famous very small cafe called Elsa Andersson's Konditori. The cafe is in a very old house and it has many rooms filled with large wooden tables and big soft couches, sofas, and chairs. We met a man with his daughter who had moved to Sweden a few years ago from Kentucky. While we were at Elsa Andersson's Konditori we ate the famous tango cake. Tango cake is a light fluffy cake filled with whipped cream and pineapple with a thick fruity frosting on top that was kind of like fondant. It was quite good, nothing like I have ever tasted before. After we came home from Norberg, Emma gave me a tour of Sala. She ran and I biked around Sala. We passed the firehouse, Filippa's school and several of the neighborhoods. Tack så mycket, förrän senare.