Tjenare! Det är jag igen som skriver från Sverige! Min jul och Nyår var  jätterolig! Jag mår kanonbra som alltid! Jag hoppas att det går så bra med  alla utbytesstudenterna! Jag lär mig så mycket om kulturen här och språket  är enklare att tala! Jag är tacksam för den här möjlighet därför att det är  intressant att lära sig om personer och deras kultur! Jag älskar det här  programmet och jag hoppas att det aldrig tar slut! Jag kan inte tro att det  är ett nytt år redan! Tiden går så fort! Jag är hemma innan du vet ordet av!  Oj!

Translation: Wassup! It’s me again writing from Sweden! My Christmas and New  Year was so fun! I am great as usual! I hope that it is going well with all  the exchange students! I am learning so much about the culture here and the  language is easier to speak! I am grateful for this opportunity because it  is interesting to learn about people and their culture. I love this program  and hope that it will never end! I can’t believe that it is a New Year! The  time goes so quickly! I will be home before you know it! Wow!

Hey everyone! I honestly can’t believe that it is a New Year already! My  arrival to Sweden seems like just yesterday! I am really enjoying my time  here in Sweden despite some hard times that I experienced! I learned so much  things in five months that it would take an hour to explain them! What I can  say, however, is that the most important to me was realizing that we  encounter difficulties sometimes for a special reason. It’s always good to  look at the positive side even when you face a situation that seems too hard  to cope with. Like Roly mentioned in previous report “It could be much  worse”!

Christmas was a blast! I went skiing for the first time in my life! I went  with a good friend, Erik Sidenvall and his family! As you all know, living  this far up north, pretty cold and icy conditions are expected! I visited a 
skiing resort in a town called Vemdallen. It was so cool! It took me about a  day of training to learn how to ski. It was so exciting although I fell in  some really awkward positions! There’s nothing more discouraging than seeing  a bunch of five-year-olds skiing confidently and you’re on the ground in a  position like a pregnant woman in labor and can’t get up! I fell on my face,  my side, my stomach, and all possible positions that you can imagine. When I  finally learned, I thought there was nothing more fun than skiing in the  Swedish Mountains. I will never forget the time when my companions took me  at the top of this mountain for the first time in cold, windy, conditions  and told me that it would be fun skiing down! I wanted to cry! I did manage  to ski down but I was scared as hell. I fell into a snow pit that’s quite  dangerous if they are deep enough. Many people in Austria drown in them (a  deep area of soft snow). It was like quick sand!

The Swedish Christmas was interesting! Some weeks before, I participated in  our school’s ‘St. Lucia’ a celebration in memory of a saint’s endless  efforts to help those in need despite having no eyes! Apparently, St. Lucia  had no eyes but claimed that she could see! The celebration was quite solemn  but interesting! I had to dress up in this long white dress and a cone –  shaped hat with gold stars on it! To top it off I also held a gold star on a  stick! That was hilarious! I celebrated Christmas as the Swedes did, singing  songs in Swedish (at least the ones I knew) and jumping around the Christmas  tree like a frog! It’s true! You sing these sing-alongs and you jump around  a Christmas tree like a frog! Crazy but true! We ate lots of delicious  foods, talked to each other, opened gifts, and told jokes! I got cool gifts  such as clothing, shoes, novels, collectibles, CDs, stationery, etc. I  appreciated them! They were so genuinely thought of. Christmas was awesome  and it was a time that I will always remember!

For the New Year, I ate crayfish and later I went to the Centrum (downtown)  and watched some cool fireworks. I met friends and we celebrated the New  Year together. That was very colorful! As for now, school is in progress, so  there isn’t much going on! Next week I will get a new schedule so my classes  will be at different times. I am sure that it will be just fine. School’s  the same! I have friends of lifetime here and they do everything to make me  feel at home!

Tack så mycket för allt en gång till District 6990! Oh by the way, I would  like to tell Bob White that the Website is looking FABULOUS! Keep up the  good works!

This is my report for the months of December and January! Gott Nytt År 
(Happy New Year)!

Truly,
Angelo Mortimer
Sverige