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Spending the Holidays in Sweden Since the last time I've posted anything, a lot has happened. I got the amazing opportunity to not only experience Christmas and New Years but also many other Swedish traditions, during the Holidays. I hope you enjoy reading some amazing things that I have done over the past few weeks. I'll go through some of the events, briefly, and after that, dive deeper into my experience in Sweden so far. My Host family and I on a walk Christmas and Christmas Eve Before coming to Sweden, I thought that the Swedish Christmas was going to be quite magical. I had high expectations, and good thing   my expectations we lived up to. Many people asked if I was going to go home for Christmas. It seemed like an acceptable question. Christmas is for spending time with your loved ones, so why would you spend it with a family that isn't even yours? I thought the opposite. Sure, I missed my family a little bit during the holidays but if Christmas is for spen...
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December Update

December Update  Well, it's been awhile since I've written anything on here. I'll try to summarize my past few months as best as I can. I will also try to write more on this blog and document my different adventures better. Haha School There has been up and downs for my experience in Swedish school. I think it took me a little bit to become friends with everyone in my class but now I think I'm comfortable talking to my classmates and I think for the most part, they're all comfortable talking with me. School doesn't count for me here, as I don't receive any credit back home for the classes I take. I try to listen to the lessons at the start but then it's hard to comprehend Swedish for hour plus classes. In some classes I have English textbooks, which help me follow along better. I'm in the "Nature-Science," program, so that means the program focuses on the topics of biology, math, and physics. Some of the topics are quite interestin...
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Language Camp, School, and Wildlife Camp Well, I can now say that I've been here for over a month. A lot has happened since I've arrived in Sweden. I'll try not to write too much about each event, as there has been a lot going on! Language Camp After spending around 2 weeks in Sweden I went to an Orientation camp with 29 other exchange students from all around the world. I had the best of time there. We learned about the basics of the Swedish Language and more about the Swedish culture. It was so amazing meeting new people from all around the globe. This camp was held in a hotel in Sundsvall. It is quite a pretty city there and we got to go walk and look around one day. I think the best part of the camp was just spending time with the other exchange student. It is amazing to hear more about different cultures and just meeting new people. Most nights we stayed up late, talking until we felt that we were too tired. In our introduction to the Swedish Language we played ...
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My First 2 Weeks in Sweden  July 29th I departed from the Reno Airport to leave for my year long exchange. I was mixed with different emotions, as I left my parents to board the plane. I was excited to be traveling to a new place but I was also nervous an sad to leave my parents, friends, and home for a whole year. Traveling Traveling to Boden, Sweden was a bit hectic. I had a long flight iteriary, so it took about 27 hours to finally arrive. I departed from Reno airport early in the morning to fly to Seattle. There I had about a 4 hour layover which I took a nap. The flight from Seattle to Frankfurt, Germany took about 10 hours. I didn't get much sleep, as there was a kid crying about half of the time in front of me.  From Frankfurt I went North to Stockholm. That whole time I was flying with the same carrier, so my bags were supposed to go all the way through, to my final destination. When I got to the Stockholm airport all my bags where out at the baggage claim. I had...
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Getting Ready Only 21 days! I have just received my flight itinerary. It looks like it will take a total of 24 hours to get to Boden, Sweden. I'm leaving Reno International Airport on July, 28th at 7 in the morning. I then go up to Seattle Washington and have a four hour layover there. After that I go 5,000 miles to Frankfurt, Germany. I then take another plane to Stockholm, Sweden. I have a four hour layover there and then I take a one hour flight to Boden, Sweden. I hope very much that I'll have easy air travels. Packing is very frustrating to me. It's hard not to want to bring my whole closet. I also have to bring summer and winter clothes. I bought this huge suitcase at TJmax, so I'm trying to get as many clothes in there as I can. Leaving for me does not seem like a big reality. I feel that I'm prepared to leave. I have everything in line. I'm very excited for this amazing opportunity and I'm ready to see and experience a new culture. I just fee...
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Boden, Sweden Wow! Only 34 more days till I leave. It is all coming by so fast. It seemed like yesterday it was 50 days. Before I leave I'm trying to spend as much time with my friends here in Tahoe. I am going to be spending a year in Boden, Sweden. Boden is located in the far northern part of Sweden. It is 51 miles from the Arctic Circle. It has about 28,000 people. The summer's have long days and nice temperature's and the winter's are exactly the opposite. My host parents both work at the school I am going to. My host mother teaches Swedish and English and my host dad is a technician. Their house is right on the Lulea river and looks quite beautiful! There is also a ski hill in Boden, so hopefully I'll be able to do some downhill skiing while I'm here. I'm very excited for this amazing opportunity! I'm writing this blog so I can share and capture my experiences throughout this whole year long journey. Enjoy!
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