| It seems like the more I learn the Swedish language, the harder it is for me
to put pen to paper for my monthly reports. My brain is totally dominated by
the Swedish language so English words are harder to find. The Swedes speak
rather good English, but I try my best to avoid speaking English with them.
I guess the thought of going home boosts me to learn as many new words as
possible. I am amazed that it is May already and that my year is nearly
over. Like always May was another very exciting month, with lot’s of things
to do and places to see. I want to begin by saying that I moved to another family at the end of April. I lived in an area on the outskirts of Hudiksvall named ‘Bobygden’. As I mentioned in my last report, efforts were being made to house me nearer to the downtown area. The family was very nice and they did everything in their power to make me feel at home. I appreciated that but the family wasn’t the problem, it was simply where I was being accommodated. The home was located in the middle of the forest, miles away from downtown and school. When I looked outside of my bedroom window, there were trees everywhere. I felt extremely isolated because I lived far from ‘civilisation’ and all my friends that grew apart of me. I really didn’t like it there but I liked the family a whole lot. I know that it is my responsibility as an exchange student to adjust to the new environment but there is a limit and I was not prepared to live there. My advice to the Rotary Club, with all due respect, is to make sure that when you host kids, that you do your best to house them as close to ‘life’ as you can. One can feel totally isolated in areas where there are not many busses available, or where there is a problem travelling to and from. My intent was not to be ungrateful or to complain but simply to give some helpful hints in areas that possibly could make the exchange year better. I like this program so much and I want future exchangees to have even better encounters that I have had. I am happy to report that I am living with a great family now. The Löfstrands are truly nice people with all the qualities to make an exchange student feel at home. They live in another area called Näsviken. I lived here before and since it is spring now you can really see the beauty of this place. I love the mountains and all the water here. It’s great. My host mum’s name is Inger and she is a Principal at a nearby school. My host dad’s name is Bengt and he is the owner of a trucking company. I have two cool ‘sisters’ namely Annette and Anna. I knew Annette before I moved so that was a good start. I met her at school because I did my presentation for her English class and later became an English assistant. Anna is 14 and she is the best female soccer player in her age group in Näsviken. She is really talented and respected by her peers. They are like my ‘sisters’ indeed because we get along well with one another and we have lots in common. I like it here so much because I practically live in my own apartment located at the front of the house. I have my own bedroom, kitchen, living room, bathroom, and dining room. It’s fully loaded and I am so comfortable there. I love this family so much and I know that it will be very difficult to leave them. My sister Annette is in Greece now. She’ll be back soon (God’s willing) for our graduation on the 8th of June. It’s going very well here and I will send some pictures a bit later to my personal page. The approach to graduation is quite interesting here. The Swedes say ‘tar examen’ and it translates to mean ‘taking the exam’ - graduation. Their ceremonies are different from the way we celebrate back home in the Bahamas or in the United States. They receive a ‘betyg’ (diploma) before the actual ceremony which is probably a day or two later. On the day of the ceremony, students dress in pressed suits and caps (look like a sailor hats) and hoot on a float parade called ‘studenttåget’ (the student train). They end their high school career by singing songs and receiving a wreath of flowers to put around their necks. Afterwards, there is usually a get-together at home for the graduates with food, cakes and sweets. There is also a student ball for the graduates. It’s similar to proms where the guys dress in scissor-tailed tuxedos and the young ladies dress in beautiful gowns. There you are at least expected to know the Fox Trot or the Waltz. When all the formal things are over, you can have a blast throughout the night until the next day dancing to more modern music. Can’t wait for this experience! I also had the opportunity to visit Skåne as I planned. Southern Sweden is BEAUTIFUL! The weather was tranquil and the flowers could do nothing else but bloom. The trees were green and boats could finally sail again. The grass was plush and the air was fragrant of flowers. I took the fast rain and it took some 6 hours. Thanks to the X2000, a trip that would’ve taken a day was done in a much shorter time. I was thrilled to see how different it was down there. I stayed with a family who I met during the Christmas and were keen on me visiting them. I took the offer and I was impressed. The town where I stayed was called Höör, a small, peaceful town. The accent suited the people who lived there because they were so much more open. They spoke Swedish but it was difficult to understand because they sounded like they had porridge in their throats. It is evident in Swedish history that Denmark tried to conquer Skåne. This is why their Swedish sounds that way because the Danish language influenced it a great deal. It was crazy because I understood what was being said until people started pronouncing with their throats. They spoke ‘Skånska’, a Swedish dialect of Skåne. While I was there, I got to visit other towns such as Lund, Malmö and Åhus. I especially liked Lund which is a College town because the people were so friendly and you could basically cycle everywhere. It was so cool to see fruit markets in Sweden! Malmö was beautiful but I only liked the canals there because the people were a bit strange. In fact I took a boat tour there and it was wonderful. Åhus was impressive. I stayed with a sister to the mother of the family in Höör. I stayed in Åhus for two nights where I basically relaxed. It was a very lovely town. I met some other exchange students and we went to a local beach. Yeah, there are beaches here but nothing like those in the Caribbean. The water was blue and cold. Being a Bahamian, I dreaded the thought of falling in. All in all, it was a great trip. I got a little glimpse of what Denmark would look like. There is no other like Scandinavia. I have been doing so many presentations lately because the kids really enjoy it. The classes talk to each other and the teachers approach me to request that I do my presentation about the Bahamas. I actually did one yesterday. One of the teachers commented that the whole school should see it. They liked my voice, projection and courage to speak aloud. I was happy to know that. I can’t count the number of times that I showed my presentation to the students who might I add were always so interested. I am suprised that it’s holding up so well. Lastly, the strangest thing is going on now in Sweden. Since it’s nearly Midsummer, the sun won’t set. Now I have too much energy and I don’t get to bed until after 1:00 a.m. When I look outside during that time it looks like dawn. Of course it’s not shining as in the daytime but it is fairly bright. The only way that I go to sleep is if I use draw blinds and God help me if it doesn’t stay down! This is my report for the month of May. Look forward to ‘Rapport Nummer Tio’. Lot’s of love. |