Greenheart Travel

Author: Emily McNamara

Getting into the Swing of Life in Sweden

I have been in Sweden for a fair amount of time now, just over three weeks. I can now say that I really feel I have gotten into the swing of things and have adjusted to Swedish life. Because of school, I have found myself back into a schedule and enjoying everyday life as a resident in Sweden. Everything I do here, going to school, riding the train, etc., is becoming much more routine and I feel like I am beginning to see life here through a Swede’s eyes. Truly, I am enjoying every second of this crazy concept and this amazing lifestyle.

So far, most of my time here has been spent exploring and socializing with my friends and host family. Whether it be exploring Gamla Stan (Old Town Stockholm), grabbing a fika, going to the movie theatres, or just walking around the city, every day really does bring a new adventure and a new experience. One of the best parts of being an exchange student, though, is the ability to form numerous, new relations.

I have made countless new friends at school, relationships that I will hold close for a lifetime. My host family has also been selflessly generous to me and it could not be more appreciated. Every experience I have been involved in here has only been amplified by the amazing people around me.

Being able to get a taste of Swedish cuisine has also been a blessing. Swedish candy, such as Japps or Marabou chocolate is delicious and will truly be missed when I go home. I also had the opportunity to try semla recently. Semla is a type of pastry filled with cream and an almond filling and is possibly my new favorite baked good. I have found that Swedes, much like myself, love baked goods. It appears I have found myself in the right country as far as food goes.

The time I have spent in Sweden so far has been so overwhelming and filled with new people and new experiences that it’s hard to believe that I have not even been here for a month yet. Everything that I’ve done since I arrived in Sweden has really led me to cherish my time here and love every second of it. As long as my time here has felt, I realize that it simply can not last forever.

In roughly six months I will be on a jet back home, saying hej då to a country and life I have grown so fond of. But it is way too early for me to be thinking of that and for the time being, I am just really, truly enjoying every new day, every new adventure, and every new relationship.

January 28, 2016
Starting High School in Sweden and Other Adventures in Stockholm

by Jared Ebel, Greenheart Travel high school student in Sweden

As I write this, I have officially been in Sweden for a week. Wow! Where has the time gone? I have accomplished so much, seen so many sights, and met so many new people in the last week. Frankly, I’ve been absolutely overwhelmed with new activities and this, combined with jet lag, has made bed time one of my new favorite times of the day. But every new day here in Sweden brings a new surprise on this stupendous adventure.

Since the last time I’ve wrote, Jonas took me to downtown Stockholm, showing me the city via the Hop-on Hop-off tourist buses, giving a guided tour of many points of interests. We also ate lunch in the Old City. I’ve met up with another exchange student from Texas whom I am going to school with now. We had fika (a Swedish coffee break) and talked about where I will be going to school.

Visits to the Vasa Museum, a museum dedicated to the boat, “Vasa,” that sank in Stockholm in the 1600s and was recovered mostly intact more recently, and the Historical Museum of Stockholm were also made. Being from Wisconsin, a traditionally snowy state, my host parents were somewhat surprised I had never skied before, so they made a point of taking me. It was great workout and I only fell over once! A new hobby may have been found for me when I return home.

Possibly the most exciting thing I’ve done so far, however, is starting Swedish school. The most frequent question I get from home is, “How is school different in Sweden?” This is hard for me to answer as, so far, I’ve only gone for two days, and because it is so vastly different that it is hard to decide where to begin explaining it.

First, in Stockholm I get to take mass transit to school, which is an experience in and of itself. Swedes are famous for being quiet and uncomfortable with unusually loud people and the train is no exception. On a packed train with standing room only in the morning, one dares not to make eye contact and a pin drop could be heard from across the train.

Secondly, high school here is almost more similar to college in America. My classes are less frequent, and if I don’t have one, there is no need for me to be in the building. A lot of the work is also given to be done on the pupil’s own.

Lastly, there is not the massive power gap between teachers and students that exists in America. This is harder to explain, but I will do my best. One example of this is that teachers are referred to be their first names, as opposed to their last. Students feel much more equal to their teachers here in Sweden. So far, school in Sweden has been a very positive experience.

Stockholm has offered so many activities to me in my first week and in the weeks to come. There’s so many museums here; they even have an entire museum just for ABBA (don’t we all have a little Dancing Queen in us?) Opportunities for shopping and adventuring are also around every corner. But most importantly, there are so many people here, my host family and my new friends, that I love spending time with and can’t wait to enjoy so many new experiences with.

January 18, 2016
My New Home and Meeting My Swedish Host Family

by Jared Ebel, Greenheart Travel high school student in Sweden

I did it! I made it to Sweden to study abroad. After eighteen hours in and out of airports, me and my luggage landed in Stockholm Arlanda Airport Sunday morning. I was greeted at the airport by my host mom, Lena, my host father, Joakim, and their dog, Gypsey. It was crazy seeing them for the first time.

Lena greeted me with a Swedish and an American flag as well as a blue and yellow scarf with Sweden engraved on it. We left the airport just as the sun was coming up, roughly 8:30 right now in Sweden. The drive home was overwhelming to say the least. We talked about all the different areas of Stockholm we were passing and what points of interest were along the way, such as Joakim’s workplace.

When we arrived at home, Lena and Joakim showed me around the house and to my beautiful room, which has a lot of Swedish memorabilia in it, such as a blanket with the Swedish flag on it, a sculpture of a Viking standing in Scandinavian boat, and a coffee mug shaped like a Viking horn.

I have a beautiful view out of my bedroom window, too. It’s just too bad that it’s almost always too dark to enjoy it.

After being shown around my new house, I went up to my room and unpacked all my clothes into my closet. I went downstairs then to meet my host brothers Jonas and Tobias as well as their cat, Skrållan. Me and Lena sat down and talked about all of the beautiful things Stockholm has to offer and I will get to see.

There are plenty of places to visit such as Skansen, a large open air museum, Vasamuseet, home to an actual Viking longship that was pulled from the harbor, and Gamla Stan, the oldest part of Stockholm. As I have difficulty sleeping on planes and had an overnight flight, I was incredibly jet lagged. I decided to take a two hour nap as to not further ruin my sleep schedule.

Four hours later I awoke, accidentally oversleeping. Jet lag is awful to get over.

Getting to Know My New Neighborhood

After my longer-than-intended nap, Jonas took me for a walk around the area I am staying. It was hard for me to adjust to it being dark out at 3:30 in the afternoon during our walk. On the walk he showed me the local gymnasiet (high school), the Pressbryån, a Swedish store somewhat similar to a seven-eleven, and an ancient Viking stone in the area. The walk helped greatly to dissipate my jet lag. We came home just in time to meet my host sisters Cecilia and Erika, who don’t live with us, but came over for dinner.

Cecilia does not speak English, so that offers me a good opportunity to practice my Swedish, which is far from ample. I enjoyed my first Swedish meal of reindeer and Hasselback potatoes, traditional Swedish dishes. We talked about my first couple hours here and the topic of conversation eventually veered towards Swedish and American politics and upcoming elections.

After a long day of excitement and adventures, I was exhausted and went up to my room looking forward to a good night’s sleep. Then began night one of battling jet lag. I finally fell asleep around two or three in the morning and rested intermittently through the night. My first day was such an amazing Swedish experience and I hope it is evident of what the rest of this crazy adventure and travel will bring me.

January 9, 2016
Leaving for Sweden to Study Abroad

by Jared Ebel, Greenheart Travel high school student in Sweden

Well, today is the day. Today is the day I finally leave to pursue a massive dream of mine and study abroad in Sweden. Today I will spend eighteen hours in airports and airplanes so I can spend the next six months of my life with a new family, in a different culture, and a different country. I still haven’t mentally wrapped my head around this entire situation.

It hasn’t really “clicked” yet. Every relationship, every person I have met and became friends with in the last seventeen years of my life, will be with me only electronically. I am beyond thankful for the Christmas gatherings and going away parties that allowed me an opportunity to say goodbye to all my family and friends.

I will be forced to start anew. I will have a different family and will have to make new friends. That’s a lot for me to process and I realize it sounds scary, but really, what an adventure. What an experience to immerse yourself in a such challenge and in a new culture.

It’s such an insane way to learn about the world around you and the massively diverse people in it. I could not be more excited to see all the new people I’ll meet and enjoy all of the crazy experiences I will have. It is sad to leave everything behind, but is even more exciting to travel and see the world.

I think some of us just weren’t designed to live within the bounds of our comfort zones. That is a category I most definitely fall into. Despite all my nervousness right now, I am filled with joy and anticipation. I can already tell that the decision to fill out an application and become an exchange student was one of the best in my life.

My new experiences with Lena, Joakim, Cecilia, Erika, Jonas, Tobias, and the friends I will meet will surely be incredible.

So here I am, sitting in an airport, waiting for my next flight. As I think back to my going away party and saying goodbye to all my friends and family, I can’t help but smile thinking about how lucky I am to get to enjoy such and of all the memories I will make.

January 7, 2016