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 a lot of bags, too much for one person to carry. I had to manage finding my way to the other baggage check. It was such a hassle and by the end I was in tears because I was so frustrated. I made it to my flight from Stockholm to Boden, which was about an hour. When I got off I saw my host parents waiting for my arrival.
My First Week
My host parents are named Björn and Katarina. They both work at the school that I'll be attending. Björn and Katerina live about 20 minutes away from Boden, Sweden, in a tiny village named Lillivan. It is very beautiful here. They have a big yard that is right next to the Luleå River. The days here are long. It'll be 10 at night at it's still bright out. When I first got here I would wake up very early because the sun comes up early in the morning as well.
I Have been very busy since I got here. I think the second day I was here I went to a lake with Katerina and Björn. Katerina's two sons, Adam and David showed up at the lake as well. After the lake I went to a place full of trampolines with them. It is crazy how hot it was when I first arrived. I was expecting it to be much cooler than Tahoe but it was even hotter! In the days after I went to that lake again and another spot on the river. I traveled to Luleå to visit another exchange student from France. We talked for a bit and then went for a swim in the river. I haven't met too many people my age, as school hasn't started yet. It was nice to go and see someone my age. I also had the chance to meet my other host families. With Rotary Youth Exchange, you typically exchange with 3 different families so you can experience different family culture of Sweden. We went to my 3rd host families house. All of the families are so nice and inviting. Other than that I have been in town sorting things, such as getting a bus pass, bank account, etc...
Traveling to Norway and Northern Sweden
I had the amazing opportunity to travel with my host family to Norway and Northern Sweden. It was such an amazing experience that I'll never forget.
On Monday August 6th we were supposed to leave from Sweden to Norway at 9 in the morning. With all the packing and getting the car ready we ending up leaving around one-ish. I was exciting to be seeing Norway, as my host family had said it was so pretty. When we were about 2 hours away from the Norway border, our car's battery stopped. We had to go back to a town a fix it. That took a couple hours to do. It was already very late by then. When we got to the Norway border it was still light out but not very. As soon as we got into Norway the landscape totally changed. The fjords and moutains were stunning. We drove for a couple more hours in Norway to get to Saltstraumen, Norway. When we got there we were given a different address, then from the place we were staying so we drove for an additional hour. When I finally went to sleep it was about 3.
The next day we went to see the Saltstraumen. This is a place in Norway where the water is flowing and there is quite a big whorl pool. The water then completely stops for a little bit and then starts to flow the other way. I'm not an expert on why this happens but it has something to do with tides, as the water is in Fjords is ocean water. We later drove out of Norway back to Sweden. Norway is such a beautiful place. There's huge mountains that are odd shaped and Fjords everywhere. Driving in Norway is a bit tricky because of the Fjords and mountains, making the roads curvy and tunnels everywhere. Norway has to be one of my favorite places in the world I've seen so far. Everywhere you look is just so breathtaking.
The next day later we went for a hike to a beutiful lake. The hike was about 4 miles there, so 8 miles in total. It wasn't that bad of a hike, as a big part of it was flat. The lake, named Trollsjon was quite stunning. The water was very clear with high mountains surrounding it. After the hike we drove to another place where we were staying at in Kiruna. Kiruna is so large, it's the biggest municipality in the world.
The last day of the trip was probably my favorite. We rode Icelandic horse in the Kiruna valley. It was quite magically to see the beautiful valley while riding on horse. The tour lasted about 4 hours. My horse was a white one that was 19 years old. I enjoyed every moment of this experience. After this we headed back home.
Next week I'll be having an orientation camp with all the the other foriregn exchange students in my district and 2 other districts. I'm excited to meet new people from all around the world.
-Kelsey
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 a lot of bags, too much for one person to carry. I had to manage finding my way to the other baggage check. It was such a hassle and by the end I was in tears because I was so frustrated. I made it to my flight from Stockholm to Boden, which was about an hour. When I got off I saw my host parents waiting for my arrival.
My First Week
My host parents are named Björn and Katarina. They both work at the school that I'll be attending. Björn and Katerina live about 20 minutes away from Boden, Sweden, in a tiny village named Lillivan. It is very beautiful here. They have a big yard that is right next to the Luleå River. The days here are long. It'll be 10 at night at it's still bright out. When I first got here I would wake up very early because the sun comes up early in the morning as well.
I Have been very busy since I got here. I think the second day I was here I went to a lake with Katerina and Björn. Katerina's two sons, Adam and David showed up at the lake as well. After the lake I went to a place full of trampolines with them. It is crazy how hot it was when I first arrived. I was expecting it to be much cooler than Tahoe but it was even hotter! In the days after I went to that lake again and another spot on the river. I traveled to Luleå to visit another exchange student from France. We talked for a bit and then went for a swim in the river. I haven't met too many people my age, as school hasn't started yet. It was nice to go and see someone my age. I also had the chance to meet my other host families. With Rotary Youth Exchange, you typically exchange with 3 different families so you can experience different family culture of Sweden. We went to my 3rd host families house. All of the families are so nice and inviting. Other than that I have been in town sorting things, such as getting a bus pass, bank account, etc...
Traveling to Norway and Northern Sweden
I had the amazing opportunity to travel with my host family to Norway and Northern Sweden. It was such an amazing experience that I'll never forget.
On Monday August 6th we were supposed to leave from Sweden to Norway at 9 in the morning. With all the packing and getting the car ready we ending up leaving around one-ish. I was exciting to be seeing Norway, as my host family had said it was so pretty. When we were about 2 hours away from the Norway border, our car's battery stopped. We had to go back to a town a fix it. That took a couple hours to do. It was already very late by then. When we got to the Norway border it was still light out but not very. As soon as we got into Norway the landscape totally changed. The fjords and moutains were stunning. We drove for a couple more hours in Norway to get to Saltstraumen, Norway. When we got there we were given a different address, then from the place we were staying so we drove for an additional hour. When I finally went to sleep it was about 3.
The next day we went to see the Saltstraumen. This is a place in Norway where the water is flowing and there is quite a big whorl pool. The water then completely stops for a little bit and then starts to flow the other way. I'm not an expert on why this happens but it has something to do with tides, as the water is in Fjords is ocean water. We later drove out of Norway back to Sweden. Norway is such a beautiful place. There's huge mountains that are odd shaped and Fjords everywhere. Driving in Norway is a bit tricky because of the Fjords and mountains, making the roads curvy and tunnels everywhere. Norway has to be one of my favorite places in the world I've seen so far. Everywhere you look is just so breathtaking.
The next day later we went for a hike to a beutiful lake. The hike was about 4 miles there, so 8 miles in total. It wasn't that bad of a hike, as a big part of it was flat. The lake, named Trollsjon was quite stunning. The water was very clear with high mountains surrounding it. After the hike we drove to another place where we were staying at in Kiruna. Kiruna is so large, it's the biggest municipality in the world.
The last day of the trip was probably my favorite. We rode Icelandic horse in the Kiruna valley. It was quite magically to see the beautiful valley while riding on horse. The tour lasted about 4 hours. My horse was a white one that was 19 years old. I enjoyed every moment of this experience. After this we headed back home.
Next week I'll be having an orientation camp with all the the other foriregn exchange students in my district and 2 other districts. I'm excited to meet new people from all around the world.
-Kelsey
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