This is not goodbye
I can't believe my exchange year is over... During some parts of it it felt like it would never be over. But now it feels like it was just yesterday it started. During those ten months I got to experience so many different things. I've met people that I will never forget. And I couldn't be more thankful.
Those ten months helped me grow as a person. They helped me become more confident in my own abilities and learn how to stand on my own two feet. If there is anyone out there is who is reading this and is thinking of becoming an exchange student, I say "do it!". It is one of the greatest experiences you will ever have, and you will never ever regret it.
All the memories I share with my friends and family over there will never be lost. I will cherish them forever. I couldn't be more happy to say I have a home in Texas. I have a home to come back to.
I have been back in Sweden for three weeks now and I have been busy busy. It's back to responsibilities; ride the horses, take care of the animals, working on getting my license and so on. But I have to say in a way that's nice too. Now it's time to tie all the loose ends together and make a future.
There is not a doubt in my mind when I say that my exchange year has helped me on the road towards making an awesome future for myself.
Exchange for life!
Boerne, Texas
14 August 2013 - 20 June 2014
As long as we have time
It's crazy how fast time is flying right now. I can't believe my adventure in Texas is almost over. These past weeks since I last wrote have been filled with fun activities, I'll try and make a summary of it!
On Mothers day weekend I went on a camping trip with the Nadlers! We left Friday and came back Monday morning. We spent our days swimming, playing cards, doing music videos, taking walks, bowling and just hanging out having a good time.
Skipping school and going on field trips kind of became my thing. I went ice skating on Gracie's birthday and of course I fell on my butt. Other than that I did pretty good!
I went to the Texas coast with some of my favorite exchange students from my school. It was windy and I had sand everywhere but the water felt great and the waves were fun to swim around in.
I went to Bandera (the cowboy capital) with the Bradley's from rotary. After that I went to Seguin for a farewell/pool party with all the exchange students. They are such amazing people and I wish them the best of luck in life.
And yesterday I was totally amazed by the wonderful surprise party my family and friends fixed for me! I couldn't have been any happier and I finally got me a nice cowboy hat to show off in Sweden.
On Mothers day weekend I went on a camping trip with the Nadlers! We left Friday and came back Monday morning. We spent our days swimming, playing cards, doing music videos, taking walks, bowling and just hanging out having a good time.
Nathan, Lainey and I kept working on our boat project, which by the way flipped over on race day and we got a pretty bad grade on it. But oh well, right? It was still the funniest project I've ever done! Falling in the pool just made it more memorable. Slothical Island for life!
Skipping school and going on field trips kind of became my thing. I went ice skating on Gracie's birthday and of course I fell on my butt. Other than that I did pretty good!
I went to the Texas coast with some of my favorite exchange students from my school. It was windy and I had sand everywhere but the water felt great and the waves were fun to swim around in.
I spent more time with the Nadler family and had my last choir concert. It was very fun cause we were also dancing as we were singing old rock n roll songs. It was emotional but I had my host parents and the Nadler kids for support, so much love for them.
I went to Bandera (the cowboy capital) with the Bradley's from rotary. After that I went to Seguin for a farewell/pool party with all the exchange students. They are such amazing people and I wish them the best of luck in life.
And yesterday I was totally amazed by the wonderful surprise party my family and friends fixed for me! I couldn't have been any happier and I finally got me a nice cowboy hat to show off in Sweden.
And today is my sweet Lainey's birthday! She's become one of my best friends and I'm gonna miss her!
Fieldtrip
This Tuesday the Nadler kids and I took a trip to the Boerne Fire Station. Wade works as a volunteer there so he gave us a tour. After that I spent the day with them, they're such great kids! 💜
May 1st
Last weekend on Friday I went to a place called Random with three other exchange students from my school. We were taking a bunch of pictures and we were just laughing at everything.
On Sunday Sydney and I met up with the other exchange students at six flags! We had such a great time riding all the rollercoasters!
On Saturday I skyped with my family and then an exchange student, Sydney, from New Braunfels came over for a sleepover and during the evening we watched Jaws and Mean Girls with my host brothers and Wade.
On Sunday Sydney and I met up with the other exchange students at six flags! We had such a great time riding all the rollercoasters!
Easter
Happy Easter everyone!
Last weekend some friends and I went country dancing. Haha I was awful but now I can check that off my to-do-list. On Sunday I hung out with Lainey and Nathan and we went on an adventure in the Nature center.
On Tuesday this week we had UIL (competition) for choir. We got straight ones, which is the best score you can get. So we were all very happy and proud. On Thursday I hung out with Wade, Lainey and Nathan. And then I slept at Lainey's house.
Today I've been at the gym and now I'm waiting for the Smith crew to pick me up so we can go to their ranch and celebrate Easter. I hope they have lots of Easter candy..
Yesterday Andrew took me to Enchanted Rock which we hiked up. Gosh that was harder than I thought it would be. After that Delaney, Darian, Wade and I went to the Boerne lake and went paddle boarding. I also jumped in for the first time. Then we just chilled for a while and then they took me home.
Today I've been at the gym and now I'm waiting for the Smith crew to pick me up so we can go to their ranch and celebrate Easter. I hope they have lots of Easter candy..
Prom 2k14
So on Saturday we had prom! All the stress about shoes, dress and nails paid off. I had such a good time! Brandon and I went and had dinner at a restaurant and then we met up with our limo group to take pictures. Everyone looked so great.
When we finally got in our limo (omg yes!) we were rocking out and so ready to tear it up on the dance floor! Everybody danced all night and the atmosphere in the limo back was even better than the way there.
I couldn't have asked for a better night and I am so happy that I had the opportunity to go.
Feels like Summer
Wow my updates are just getting worse and worse aren't they?
This weekend on Friday I went with Brandon to get the corsage and stuff for prom and then I went over to his house for a little bit and we played basketball. After that I had dinner with my neeeew host family! Let me tell y'all a little about that. So I moved to a new home two weeks ago and I was pretty upset, I felt like I didn't want to stay. But after a few days those feelings went away and it's all good now!
After dinner the family and I played basketball. Later that evening Delaney, Darian, Wade and I went to the movies and saw Divergent. I liked it!
Saturday morning Lainey picked me up and we ate chocolate chip pancakes for breakfast. Then we met up with Nathan at his house and started working on our boat project for physics. I had a blast cause we were all laughing and having a good time!
Then Lainey dropped me off back home and I got picked up by Brandon almost right away and we went to his house for a little bit. Then him, Allie and I went and picked up pizza and took it over to my place. We hung out for a while watching TV and playing basketball with the boys.
On Sunday Lainey picked me up again, but this time we went and had lunch together. Then we went to Sonic and got drinks and headed for the lake. We tanned for a while and I am oh so sunburnt after that, yikes!
Then we went to Sonic agaaaain and went and saw a movie. I go to the movies a lot haha.
Then after I got home and had dinner Wade texted and was all like "hey! Wanna get ice-cream?" Eh heck yeah I do! So I hung out with him for a little bit and that was my awesome weekend!
Spring Break
I have not been a very good blogger these last couple of weeks and I'm sorry for that. The days have just been packed so I'll give y'all a "quick" update on what's going on.
Two weeks ago a close friend of mine, Brandon, asked me to prom in a cute way. He wrote the word prom? on our driveway with candles and told me to go out on the balcony. Of course I said yes! How could anyone possibly say no to that?
To top it all off the candy my family had sent me arrived! It was delicious, thanks y'all so much for that! Bästa familjen ❤️
Then Spring Break finally came that same week. During that weekend I spent time hanging out with Wade, Kaitie, Allie, Brandon, Delaney and Darian. I always have so much fun with them! And then when Monday afternoon came we set off for our camping trip to Big Bend Ranch State Park. The first night we stayed at a hotel since we started driving so late. When we got there it was about 2 pm. It had taken us 8 hours to drive there. But boy, was it worth it!
It was a little windy and cold in the mornings but other than that it was great. Hiking around was so much fun and we ate lots of good food and spent hours around the campfire at night. We had no running water or electricity so sometimes it was challenging but I'm always up for a challenge! My sleep wasn't great though, I was cold and uncomfortable so I ended up sleeping in the truck haha!
We got back late Friday night and went straight to bed. On Saturday I went with Allie, Brandon and Ryan to play minigolf. I won!
On Sunday Wade invited me to go riding and how could I say no to that? Oh gosh it was great! I really miss it. So glad he took me out there!
Already March
Saturday morning I got up at 7 to leave 7:30 to go to my soocer game. We played Champion again, who we lost 7-0 last time, but this time we only lost with 3-1 so we have definitely improved. I am so proud of my team for getting better and better each time, including myself. Work to be the best, right?
Then a Rotarian picked me up at 1 pm to take me to New Braunfels for a Rotary Orientation. It's always fun to see my great exchange student friends! We hung out in the nice weather and played frisbee, soccer and volleyball. Then we had dinner and listened to different presentations the Outbounds made. After that we got free time again where we danced, talked and just had a good time!
When we woke up next morning we had breakfast and took pictures, then we all packed up and left.
When I got home Wade called me up and asked if I wanted to go see the Lego movie with him and his family. And of course I was in. The movie was really funny and Wade's siblings are adorable!
Tomorrow we have another soccer game, this time against Kerrville. Wish us luck!
Happy Birthday
On Monday we had a soccer game in Fredricksburg so we got to leave early from school, woohoo! And guess what? We won, 3-1! And guess again? I scored two of the goals! I was super happy!
Yesterday was my mom's and aunt's birthday! Happy birthday to y'all!! I miss you so much!! Hope y'all had a great day!!🎉🎈🎁🎉🎈🎁🎉
Hugs
Rodeo in San Antonio
This weekend me and some of the other exchange students went to the Rodeo in San Antonio. We all met in New Braunfels at 10 in the morning and then we all went in to San Antonio together. We walked around the fair grounds, eating, taking pictures and watching different things that were going on. We saw a show called the docshow where dogs jumped off a dock into a pool. The dog that jumped the farthest won. It was actually pretty cool to see how for a few of them could jump!
The actual Rodeo started at 7 so around that time we headed for the AT&T center. There was bull riding, rodeo, steer wrestling, barrel racing, etc. It's amazing how some of them can stay on for so long! They look like rag-dolls flopping around like that. But it's entertaining to watch! And Saturday's country singer was Montgomery Gentry. He was good but I was so tired by then I kept dozing off.
When we got back to New Braunfels at 12 am we all ate more food and stayed up playing ping pong and twister till 5 am. I was so tired when I woke up at 10 to eat breakfast and then head back home. But hey I made it through the rest of the day hanging out with Brayden, Brandon and Wade! I also saw the finals in hockey. Wish Sweden would've won..
Good night!
Swedish Pancakes
Hello lovelies!
This week is going by so quickly! We lost our game on Monday pretty badly.. Luckily I got to eat Swedish pancakes afterwards for the first time in forever! Gosh I was in heaven, I didn't even realize how much I missed them.
Today I got to do an oil change on the car with my host dad. It was actually pretty cool to learn that!
I hope you're proud dad!!
Mega Update
I'm sorry that my updating has been down these last couple of days. Whenever I said I would throw in an update something else came up.
I guess I've been procrastinating it a bit, sorry y'all 😁
So last weekend I went to a camp called RYLA which means Rotary Youth Leadership Awards. At first I did not want to go at all cause I didn't know anything about it and thought it'd be boring.
But then when we actually got there I had sooooo much fun! It was literally like one of the best weekends ever!
The energy and atmosphere was super, everyone was just so energetic and positive! Basically what happened was we got split into different teams (I ended up in Team
Violet) and we did different activities. We did not only stay in our teams though. We were not only exchange students, mostly it was regular American high school students. We were about 140 people and 10 were exchange students. It's so hard to explain everything we did there cause we literally had activities from early morning to late evening. It was a blast though and very memorable in my year here!
After that weekend my body was just so down that I picked up a really awful cold; fever, congestion, coughing, nausea and headaches. Gah that was not fun. I stayed home Tuesday, Wednesday and half of Thursday so I'm a little behind in school but oh well. I also missed our choir concert.. But I understood I couldn't sing because my voice was so bad!
On Friday it was Valentine's day and we had a half day at school which was nice! I went to Brandon's house after school and we played some basketball and watched the Olympics. At four Allie's mom picked me up and we went to Allie's soccer game. After the game (which they won), we went out to dinner with Ashlynn and then Allie, Ashlynn and I went to see Endless Love. I though it was pretty good, a typical love story.
Yesterday Delaney needed new work out clothes so I went with her. I bought a new pair of neon yellow nike shorts and a pair of nike pros. Then we went home and changed and headed over to Darian's were we took a walk with his dogs in town. It was sooo nice weather out!!
After that I just chilled and then later in the evening Allie came over.
Today I went to church in the morning and then I talked to my lovely friend Ebba on skype! It was really nice to talk to her since I haven't in so long. After that I went and laid in one of the hammocks for a while, it was shorts weather wooohoo! When Delaney got back from baby sitting Darian and Wade came soon after and we went for a ride in the Polaris. Then we tried to build a jump for the go cart. It sort of worked.. But then the go cart broke...
Now I'm exhausted! It's go go go all the time, which is fun.
Tomorrow is our first home game in soccer so I'm really pumped for it! Wish me luck! 💪
What my host parents got me! Love
Hopefully I will get more pictures from the RYLA weekend!!
Love to you all 💕
Pour Me a Heavy Dose of Atmosphere
(THIS WAS SUPPOSED TO POST A WEEK AGO!!!) I've been keeping very busy these last couple of days. On Tuesday last week I was exhausted after the weekend's fun up in Tulsa so I decided to stay home from school and catch up on my sleep. That was very much needed!
Wednesday we had a soccer game which we won with 2-0. Then Friday Delaney and I decided to go out and eat chinese after school. Outside the chinese restuarant we met Matt, Stone, BH and Bryce so we ended up all eating together. The food was yummy and the company great, so it was a good dinner!
Later that night we went with Wade, Taylor, Devin and Andrea and saw That Awkward Moment.
Saturday I had to get up at 6 am to go to a soccer game. Allie came and picked me up at 7 am and we went to the high school where the bus was waiting. We ended up losing with 3-0 but varsity won. We'll do better next time!
Saturday night Maren, Delaney, Brayden, Darian and I went to Random (a place to hang out). There Darian and Brayden found an abandoned baby deer, which they ended up taking home. But I went home before that because I was tired. Sadly they ended up giving it away so it could be taken care of by someone with experience.
Sunday was church in the morning, then I worked out and after that we went over to one of the Hartson's friend's house and watched the Super Bowl. The Broncos lost so badly so it wasn't a very exciting game.
Today's a new week with new experiences!
Tulsa, Oklahoma
This weekend I got to meet 200 other exchange students from all over the world in Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Friday I was supposed to miss school to fly up there but it ended with everyone getting a snow day because there was ice covering the roads. So Taylor and Delaney sled down the driveway with cardboard boxes. I didn't go cause I was waiting to see if I could go to Oklahoma or not.
Finally around 10:30 my host dad and I started to work our way slowly to the airport (my flight was supposed to leave at 12:30).
We weren't sure that we would make it cause there was so much traffic and we could see that there had been many accidents.
We got to the airport at 12 and we ran in to check my bag. Luckily my host dad is a pilot so he quickly managed to get me through the security check.
I got exactly to the gate when they were starting to board so we were both very happy that I had made it!
When we got to Oklahoma we went to the hotel that the conference was to be held it. There I met other exchange students and we waited to get picked up by a host family that would be taking care of us that night.
I very nice woman hosted me, a girl from Switzerland, France and a girl from Arkansas.
Saturday morning we went for a walk by the river and then went to an art musuem. Later in the afternoon we wentn back to the hotel to meet all of the exchange students. We were so many!! There were two guys from Sweden whom I met before and it was really fun to see some Swedish people. I had a hard time talking in Swedish though, cause I kept wanting to go back to English haha.
At the conference I got to be the flag carrier for Sweden. I felt kind of special hihi😉
During the conference we spoke and had dinner with other Rotarians and thanked them for making this happen. Each country also had to perform a skit. We said funny random facts about Sweden and I think the audience enjoyed that!
Around 10 we all packed into three buses and headed for a high school where we had a lock-in.
There we danced, ate snacks and just enjoyed every minute of being together. I had so so so much fun! Everyone was up all night so we were exhausted! We had breakfast at 6 am and then we went back to the hotel. There we all said bye to each other and went our separate ways. My district and I took the flight home and we were all sleeping.
It was nice to be back in Texas and I passed out in bed very early that Sunday night!
I will, for sure, never forget this weekend!!
First Soccer Game
Hello!
Today I got to leave school at two to go the soccer team's first game. We lost with 5-1 and I got sooo close to scoring. But it was our first time ever playing as a team and the other team had more experience. I'm sure we'll do better next time though!!
Shopping
Here's a few pictures of what I bought yesterday!
Winter Formal 2014
This weekend has been nice and long. Maybe not as long as I would've liked it to but still haha. On Friday Delaney and I ran around at the mall trying to find a dress for me that I could wear for Winter Formal. We finally found a cute one at Dillards and comfy gladiator sandals to go with it. When we got home Maren came over for a bit.
Saturday morning I skyped with my parents and then with my friend Veronika. It's always nice to check up on what's going on back home. I also worked out a bit after that. Then in the afternoon Wade called me and asked if I wanted to hang out with him and Brandon. So they came and picked me up and we played lacrosse, basketball and guitar hero. Then they dropped me off at Andrea's, where we got ready along with Devin for Winter Formal, which is like a school dance.
Winter Formal was sooo much fun! We all just danced, laughed and took pictures in the photo booth.
On the way home we got Taco Bell and headed back to Andrea's for a sleep over.
The next day (Sunday) I was really tired. Delaney and I went to Walmart and then to Brayden's baseball game. After dinner Wade, Darian and Taylor came over. I was exhausted after the day before and I had gotten a terrible headache so I turned in for bed early.
Today I skyped with Helena in the morning and then Delaney, Andrea and I went shopping. I'll put up pictures later tomorrow.
Now it's time for bed cause it's school tomorrow... Ugh!!!
Five Months
I can't believe I'm already halfway through this adventure...! There's only 150 days until I get to see my family again. I miss them a lot but I know I'm going to miss Texas when I leave.
My weekend was spent with friends. A girl, Kaitie, I met during Thanksgiving went back to college on Saturday so we went to her sister's, Allie's, soccer game to spend some last hours together. I probably won't see her any time soon but you never know in the future.
Later that day Darian, Delaney and I went paddleboarding on the lake they live close to. I thought I was going to fall in but I just sat and paddled so I was fine. After that we went to a place called Random where they had a bounce castle we played in haha. Then they dropped me off at Taylor M's where I spent some time with him, Taylor H, Wade and Brandon.
On Sunday we went to church and then later in the evening we went and saw Lone Survivor. It was such a good movie!! I was on the edge of my seat the entire time!
Back to School
The Christmas break flew by as quick as the other breaks have. We celebrated Christmas up in Buffalo like I've told y'all before and the rest of the days were spent relaxing, going bowling, going to the movies to see Frozen, eating a lot, baking and we also went to a family reunion (which they have every year).
A week after our arrival in Buffalo we traveled back home to Texas. We faced some difficulties and had to spend some time at the airport but we got home safe and sound, and that's what counts!
The last week of break was spent with friends, going hottubing, playing guitar hero, working out and staying away from anything that had to do with school haha.
We got back to school this Tuesday and I had two new classes. This semester I will be taking Medical Terminology and Interpersonal Studies instead of PE and Speech. Soccer practice was good but cold. Since my shoes are new they're giving me blisters, ouch!!
