Hej everyone! Just writing to let you know that I had an excellent  graduation, and this special occasion will always be cheerished. I was asked  to make a speech before a crowd of 1000+ people and tell of my exchange year  as an exchange student in SWEDISH! This speech was to be made in a time of 1  and a half minutes but I took like 2 and a half minutes. I spoke after an  exchange student, namely, Sebastién Dubois, who was rather spontaneous. He  didn’t say much and in a way I thought that I was a bit ‘over-prepared’.  Despite feeling that my speech was a bit too formal, I read it anyway. After  my first sentence, the crowd silenced and it seemed like everyone just  turned into statues. They were astonished that I spoke so much Swedish after  little under a year. The impacted some of the listeners to tears especially  those persons that knew me. After the speech, I was given a very loud  applaud and people hooted like I was a celebrity. My friends ran and hugged  me and said that they loved my speech and told me that they had no doubts  that I would do a great job. My contact man, who is actually the principal  of the school, boldly announced that I was one of the most outstanding  exchange students at Bromangymnasiet. I felt so honored and acknowledged. I  received many gifts and flowers (Swedish tradition, put around the neck)  from family and friends and I basically enjoyed the credits that I worked so  hard to obtain. ‘Att ta examen/studenten’ or graduate was one of the best  experiences of my exchange year. I graduated with all MVG which is  equivalent to A’s back home. I leave for my European tour on June 25th from  Malmö, Sweden. I am really looking forward to it. I will send my final  report and hopefully some pictures in a week or so. Lastly, the following  is my speech in Swedish with the English translation thereafter. Much love  to you all! Truly, Angelo Mortimer Sverige My Graduation Speech God dag alla! Jag heter Angelo Mortimer och jag är en utbytesstudent som  kommer från Bahamas för personerna som visste inte det. Jag är glad att ha  den här möjligheten att prata lite med Er innan avslutningen. Jag lovar att  inte prata så länge för att det kan bli tråkigt eller hur? När jag först kom till Sverige, det var som en dröm och ibland känner jag  fortfarande att jag drömmer. Jag kunde bara säga några ord och allting var  så olika men jag gillade utmaningen. På skolan, var jag känd som den nya  killen från Bahamas med mycket att lära sig. Genom lite självförtroende och  mod, det gjorde jag. Under året som en utbytesstudent, lärde jag mig att blir mer självständig,  vidsynt, och att få förståelse för olika personer och deras kultur. Det har  varit ett JÄTTEBRA år här i Sverige även om det var iskallt ibland. Många  personer frågade mig varför valde du att komma till Sverige om du bodde i  ett tropiskt paradis som Bahamas. Mitt svar var alltid och fortfarande är  att jag ville uppleva någonting annorlunda. Efter tio månader, kan jag  ärligt säga att det finns inget land som Sverige när man vill uppleva en  skillnad. Sverige är mitt andra hem nu och det kommer alltid ha en speciell  plats i mitt hjärta. Jag ska definitivt åka tillbaka men INTE i svenska  iskalla vintern. Jag vill ge ett varmt tack till min kontakt man, Bengt Friberg, som gjorde  allt som han kunde för att göra mitt år trevligt. Ett speciellt tack till  alla mina lärare, skolan personalen och mina coola vänner för att ni gjorde  mitt år mycket minnesvärd. Jag skulle vilja tacka Regina Källman, Margareta Andersson, Liisa Bäck, och  Eva Norén som hjälpte mig genom goda och dåliga tider. Tack så hemskt mycket  att ni ställde upp för mig. Många tack till Bo Ekenstaf och Margareta  Hedberg för att jag kunde följa med till Loja, Granada i Spanien. Resan var  fantastisk! Till studenterna som ska ta examen idag, jag önskar att Ni har mycket  framgång i framtiden. Jag har lärt mig ett svenskt ordspråk som gjort stort  intryck på mig som jag vill dela med Er. Många bäckar små blir en stor å.  Framgång börjar med att Ni tror på Er själva. Som vi säger på engelska ”the  sky is the limit”. Lycka till och tack så mycket! Graduation Speech – English Version Good Day everybody! My name is Angelo Mortimer and I am an exchange student  from the Bahamas for the people who didn’t know that. I am happy to have  this opportunity to speak with you before ‘avslutningen’. I promise not to  speak so long because that would be boring right? When I first came to Sweden, it was like a dream and sometimes I still feel  like I am dreaming. I could only say a few words and everything was so  different but I liked the challenge. At school, I was known as the new guy  from the Bahamas with a lot of things to learn. Through a little confidence  and courage, I did just that. During the year as an exchange student I learned to become more independent,  open-minded, and to understand different people and their culture. It has  been a very good year here in Sweden even though it was very cold sometimes.  Many people asked me why would you want to come to Sweden if you lived in a  tropical paradise like the Bahamas. My answer was and still is to experience  something different. After 10 months, I can truly say that there is no other  country like Sweden when you want to experience a difference. Sweden is my  second home now and it will always have a special place in my heart. I will  definitely come back but not in the bitter Swedish winter. I want to give a warm thanks to my contact man, Bengt Friberg, who did all  that he could to make my year enjoyable. A special thanks to all of my  teachers, the school staff, and all my cool friends that made my year so  memorable.  I would like to thank Regina Källman, Margareta Andersson, Liisa Bäck, and  Eva Norén who helped me through good and bad times. Thanks a lot for being  there for me. Many thanks to Bo Ekenstaf and Margareta Hedberg for allowing  me to follow on the trip to Loja, Granada in Spain. The trip was fantastic! To the graduating class today, I wish that you have lot’s of luck in the  future. I have learned a Swedish proverb that has made a very big impression  on me. ‘Många bäckar små, blir en stor å. Success begins with believing in  yourself. Like we say in English, ‘the sky is the limit.’ Good luck and thanks a lot!