Paris and London + district conference + Spain!

PARIS AND LONDON.

First off, my trip to France and England. It was soo good to see Brit again! I left my house at 3am, to catch a train, then jump on the plane, and got to Paris around 9am. I met Brit, had lots of hugs, and then we made out way into paris, with a few bumps along the way (broken town trains, bomb threats, crazy taxi drivers). eventually we got there, and it was soo good to see Brits Family too. Lots of hugs there. That night we headed to The Louvre and did some shopping. Our next day in Paris, We went to DisneyLand!!!! That was A LOT of fun! The rides had lines up to 1hour long, so we only went on a few. That night, we stayed home and ate 2minute noodles. Brit and i were soo excited to eat them after 7months! Our next day, we jumped on a bus and did a city tour of Paris. It was really bad weather, so we stayed on the bus most of the time. That night, we went and saw the Moulin Rouge, and then went out for dinner.

The next morning, we hopped in the high speed train to London!! Going through the security was scarier then an airport! The lady who checked my passport asked LOTS of questions, and even though i had nothing to hide, i was still very nervous. When the question "What do you do in school?" was asked, the first thing that came to my head was "nothing". i knew that wasnt the right answer though. After getting to London, we explored a little, and headed to the London Eye. The view was AMAZING! i loved it. After this, we headed back to our Hotel, and had a quiet night. The next day, we did a bus tour of London. It was amazing. We saw lots of famous sites, including Big Ben, Trafalgar Square, Westminster Abbey, got photos in red telephone boxes! We went to a pub for lunch, and it was SOOO great to be in a pub again. I had a meat pie, with chips and gravy! I had missed it soo much. After this, we headed to Madame Tussauds, the celebrity wax museum. It was really cool! For tea, we went to a small cafe, and i got all my stuff ready to catch the plane in the morning. It was very sad saying goodbye, but i knew it wouldnt be long until i saw them again!

I loved London very much, and i think i could even move there!

DISTRICT CONFERENCE.
There was 8 exchange students, including me, 2 Australians, 1 Argentinian, 4 Americans and 1 Brazilian. It was held in my town, so i was in charge of the tour. We walked around town, did some shopping, then headed to the Train Museum. It was pretty interesting to see the old trains. After lunch, we did a presentation about ourselves, and answered any questions they had. We then had a banquet that night, and we all dressed up very nicely. The food was really good, and after, a group of 12yr old girls sang for us. I can honestly say, they had the most amazing voices i have EVER heard. everyone was in shock. they were amazing. The next day, we had a tour of the old prison, had some lunch, and then everyone went back to their towns.

SPAIN.

My class and i went to Mallorca for 1 week on a school exchange program. It was 30degree weather!! We stayed with host families, and mine was very lovely. After the 'long' flight there, we drove to the town we were staying in, and got picked up my our host families. We went back to out new houses and had lunch. After this, my host sister and i headed to the beach and met up with some other people from our class. Monday, was our first day of school. We had a welcoming assembly and then had a tour of the school. We had lunch with everyone, which the swedes though was so strange, bringing our own food to school. That night, we headed to another beach, and went swimming. It was so good to swim in the ocean again. Next day, was at school again, working on our projects. We also had a tour of the town, which was beautiful. That night, we headed to another beach, and again went swimming. Wednesday, we spent the day in Palma. It was very beautiful. we had some lunch and went shopping, and was a lovely day. Thursday at school, we worked on our projects and had a cooking lesson and P.E lesson. After school, we went to a hidden beach. it was beautiful. We jumped of the rocks (i just closes my eyes and screamed). On Friday, we presented the projects we had been working on. My groups was on Family and Welfare, and we did a good job. That afternoon, i went horse riding with my host sister, and then we got ready and headed out for dinner for our last night. We went went to a disco and headed home around 4am. Saturday, we said goodbye to everyone, which was SUUUUPER sad, and then left back for cold, rainy Sweden.

EURO TOUR; part 7. Brussels & Remscheild

Next day we had a day trip to Brussels. Brussels was an amazing city, and I wish I had more time there. We got to eat Belgian Waffles, mine with banana and chocolate, and they were delicious! And then there was a crazy amount of chocolate stores for of BELGIAN CHOCOLATE! The architecture was also beautiful, and I saw the famous statue of Mannequin Pis.

our final night, which we spent in Germany, singing, performing skits, dances and laughing and crying together. The boys dressed up in drag, which was hilarious! It was so sad to be saying goodbye. Over those 3 weeks, i extended my family by 78 people. it was the most amazing trip of my life, and i would do it again in a heart-beat.

EURO TOUR; part 6. Chambery & Paris.

next stop, Chambery. This was just a pit stop on our was to Paris. We had the nicest hotel here!! with a double bed each, a real shower. ooh it was sonice to have a nice long shower and good night sleep. in the morning, it was on to PARISS! Our hotel wasnt in the middle of town, but was close to Metropolitan train line, so there was no big trouble there. Our first evening, we had dinner at a hotel, then s short bus tour down past Galeries Lafayette before heading onto the Place de la Concorde, saw the Ancient Egyptian Obelisk. From Place de la Concorde, we turned onto the most famous street in the world, the incredible Camps Ellyses, and at the end of this straight, long and sloping upwards street, was the Arc de Triumph. It was amazing! the round-a-bout at the end of the street was CRAZY. there is an accident, on average, every 12 minutes. Our bus then dropped us off at the base of the Eiffle Tower, and it was beautiful, although much bigger then i thought. A few girls and i decided not to go up the tower, and instead went fo

r a big wander along the Seine River, back to the Champs Ellyses, and then took the Metro to the Moulin Rouge. The Moulin Rouge is both spectacular and daunting. Spectacular, because it is the Moulin Rouge, and at night is lit up in bright lights, and it sparkles. Daunting, because it is located right beside on of the seediest parts of Paris, filled with sex shops, strip clubs and of course the clientele those particular businesses attract. But we all just stuck together in groups to be safe. Here we were surprising Caitlin’s (from New Zealand) parents, who also happened to be in Paris at the time we were there. When they met, after 6 months, there were of course tears! not only from Caitlin, but also us other girls. We then got a much needed "mothers hug" off Caitlins mum. I was not homesick at the time, but of course it makes you miss your parents when you see your friend reunited with hers.

In the morning, we had a short tour again, seeing The Old Paris Opera House, the Luxembourg Gardens, the Latin Quarter, Les Invalides and the Louvre. When this tour ended, we all went our separate ways. and the group i was with, went to McDonalds. We then went to a small carnival thing, with a few rides, and it ended up being super fun. That night we had a fancy dinner, and then found an Australia Bar, so of course, we headed there for the night.

The next morning, a few other girls and i wondered around the city. We went to the Lourve, saw the Mona Lisa and many other paintings and sculptures, then headed out to do some souvenir shopping. After lunch, we walked around some more, then another girl and i headed back to the hotel, and got ready to go out . Our final evening in Paris (the night of Bastille Day) i spent at the police station. one of my friend had her wallet stolen while on the metro. we got out of the station around 11, and got to the Arc de Triomphe just in time to see the fireworks from the Eiffle Tower. it was beautiful. we then headed back to the hotel for the night.

EURO TOUR; part 5. Lido di Jesolo & Venice

next, it was on to ITALY!! i was most excited about this, as i wanted to go to Italy on exchange, but i couldn't. im so glad i had the chance to go there though! we were staying in a beachside town called Lido di Jesolo. This town is very famous for its beaches, although most of it was covered by yellow chairs. there was about 4 metres between the last chair and the water. Our "4 star" hotel was terrible. I do not believe that it was 4 star (4 out of 100, maybe). Some of us had to wait two hours for our rooms to be ready. The owner was grumpy, and quite scary and itwas a pretty crappy hotel too, some people had toilets quite literally in their showers, the 100% necessary air-con sounded like a jumbo jet andour dinner that night was the worst of the whole trip. out first afternoon, we had free time to explore, so most people headed down to the beach, but jacqui and i decided to hit up the (cheap) italian shops. That night, we went out to celebrate one of the girls birthdays. we went to a beachside club, and it was a really fun night.

Our first full day in Italy we had entirely free to do with what we pleased. We were in Italy, with gelato, pizza and beaches, and what did we do? we washed our clothes. most of us were running low on clean undies, so we all put in and did some washing. Jacqui and i went and bought inflatable things for the beach. After we had finally finished with that, then we headed straight for the beach. I have not been to the beach that much, as i do not live near it, but it was good to be swimming in the ocean again. The water was the perfect temperature, and sparkling blue and we swam for a good few hours! We then headed out to get some lunch. oh my gosh, the food was sooo good. i had some pasta, filled with mushroom and bacon. it was delicious! after lunch, 2 other australians and i decided to look at some more shops, before heading back to the beach again. We then went out for tea, and this time i ordered a pizza. Cheese, tomato, sausgage, and chips. Yes that right, i had a pizza with hot chips on it. it was soooo good. The next day, we were off to Venice!!!

we headed off to Venice quite early. Ive always wanted to go to Venice, its very pretty and interesting. we began with a gondola ride through the canals of Venice, with a striped shirt wearing gondola driver and everything. Sadly he wouldn’t sing for us, and when i asked why, his reply "we only sing when we are drunk!" I said back "can we get you drunk?" to which i got a foul look, so i stopped asking him to sing. The buildings, bridges, the crumbling steps were amazing. it was all like i had imagined! Our Gondola ride finished, and Jacqui and I headed off to explore the city. We walked around, had a bite to eat, and then met up with some others. We wondered around a bit more, before meeting everyone and heading back to the hotel. We got ready, and headed out for dinner. The last night was just a quiet one at the hotel. tomorrow, FRANCE!!!

EURO TOUR; part 4. Salzburg & Zell Am See

Next morning, bright and early, we set off for Austria!(480km) Driving through the Austrian Alps is quite an experience, it was beautiful! We watched The Sound of Music, which everyone was singing along to! We stopped for a few hours in Salzburg, the city from the movie, and also the birthplace of one Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. We got to have free time to explore the city, so a few other and i decided to visit the castle on top of a gigantic hill! it was quite a hike up there (and then we found out we had to pay to get in) so we just admired the AMAZING view. We then headed back down, and got on the bus to travel to a small town called Zell Am See. The first night was a lazy one, with not much happening, but with 78 exchange students, we still had a lot of fun.

the next morning we were up bright an early to go on a hike up the alps. it tooks us about 3 hours up. it was very hard work, and the last hill to the top was VERRY steep. i tried to run up, and got 3/4 of the way before someone jumped out in front of me. i was pretty proud of myself though. the view at the top was amazing! we were 2000m up (i think). we ate lunch and took some photos, and then headed back down. some of us then went to swim in the lake. i think this could have been the highlight of my trip. swimming in a lake surrounded by the austrian alps, it was beautiful. i want to go back there some day. we then headed back to the hotel, and it was an early night.

EURO TOUR; part 3. Prague

The next morning we headed off to Prague, Czech Republic. It was the most beautiful city i had ever seen! The first night we had dinner at the hotel, then had our own celebration for the 4th of July.

our first day started with a three hour guided walking tour, which was probably the best way to start exploring this incredible city. Beginning up on the hill of Hradcany, where Prague Castle is located and slowly walking our way down through the town. Prague Castle is one of the biggest castles in all of Europe, and it filled with architecture from many different eras, it was amazing! And from the castle, you could see the most spectacular view of the whole city. The view was amazing, all the different coloured roof tops, and the beautiful scenery. We continued our tour through the city, with our truly wonderful guide eventually making it to the Charles Bridge. The entire bridge is covered in statues, the most famous being the statue of St. John, who was murdered right on this very bridge. The statue also has a touch of magic about it, as you can make a wish on the spot where he was killed. The bridge also had romantic history, as the entire bridge is covered with padlocks, on which couples have engraved their initials, locked their love and thrown the key into the Vltava River. We finished our walking tour at the famous astronomical clock, which is a wonderful piece of very old engineering, and watching it ring. After our guide left us, we had free time to go eat and explore the city of our own accord. We had a wonderful time eating lunch and exploring the city, watching street performers, and just generally enjoying Prague. That night in Prague we ate dinner on a boat on the river! It was a really wonderful to eat dinner and watch Prague pass us by. Of course there was a lot of singing and dancing going on, and we even did the Haka, with the help of the New Zealand exchange students. After our beautiful evening on the river, we had the night to head into the city and explore the nightlife Prague is most famous for. I and many others headed to Karlzony Lazne, the biggest music nightclub in central Europe. This club had five stories, each with a different theme of music. We danced up a storm all night, singing at the top of our lungs.

EURO TOUR; part 2. Cracow

very very early next morning we set off for Cracow, Poland. I had never really thought of going to Poland, but it ended being one of the nicest places. We arrived after a long bus ride, (600km) and after quickly dumping our things in our hotel rooms, we headed out for a traditional Jewish dinner in a restaurant situated in the former bathhouse of the historic Jewish quarters.The dinner was absolutely delicious, and what made it such a memorable experience were three musicians playing traditional Jewish music as we ate.After, we got to explore the city on our own, and being exchange students, we headed out to a bar. Then, we caught a taxi back to our hotel. After dinner we had the option of returning to the hotel, or remaining in the city and making our own way home.

The next morning, although it was cold and rainy, we headed off for our guided city tour. We saw many wonderful things, beginning back at the Jewish Quarters, which I learnt was the birthplace of Roman Polanski, among others, and heading then up to Cracow Castle. This castle was built in an Italian style, and was incredibly beautiful. We eventually made our way down in the main square of the city, which was when we came into the truly beautiful part of Cracow. The main square is one of the biggest and oldest in all of Europe, and contains many amazing buildings with beautiful architecture. This church was by far the most ornate and colourful which we saw in all of Europe. We also then had a lunch of traditional Polish dumplings before spending a little more time out exploring the city. That afternoon we left Cracow to visit the concentration camp Auschwitz. I cant even explain what i felt going there. Its so hard to imagine, that all these terrible things happened, right where you are standing. The weather was terrible, which i think made the experience more real. We were walking through mud, freezing, and complaining, but what the people who lived here went through, was so much worse. Hearing peoples stories, and what had happened to them, everyone was very emotional. The bus trip back, no body spoke. I think we all are a little different after visiting Auschwitz.

EURO TOUR; part 1. Berlin

we headed off for Berlin, Germany on the 30^th of June. We crossed 3 countries, and drove about 420km. First night in Berlin we had a traditional German dinner of bratwurst and sauerkraut, with a dessert of apple strudel. The sauerkraut was not really my favourite food i have ever tried, and not many of the other exchangees either. After dinner we had time to go out and explorethe city. the group i was with decided to 'try the local brew'.

Next day we began with a guided city tour, and a visit to the Berlin Wall documentation centre. After this we had free time to explore the city by ourselves. We first headed to the Brandenburg Gates, and saw an amazing group of street dancers perform. Then 3 other girls and I, went and had sushi for lunch and looked in some shops. I wish i did some more touristy type things, but i guess i will just have to go back one day. we then headed back to the hotel, had dinner and got ready to go out. there were a few girls who decided to get crazy dressed up (in cow cuits, and others in crazy coloured shirts) but that made it more fun. we headed to a bar, and made our own dancefloor. it was a fun night :)

april

Kiruna- Kiruna is pretty much at the top of Sweden (in the artic circle). i went there with about 60 other exchange students for 4 days. It was a really really fun time. We visited the ice hotel, drove snowmobiles, saw the northern lights, went into the iron-ore mine, went to Norway for the day and heaps of other stuff.

Switzerland- I went to Switzerland for a week with my host family to visit my host brother who is on exchange there. We visited Thun, Bern, Baden, Luzern and some smaller towns along the way. We also went to Schilthorn, the restaurant 3000m up int the alps where a 007movie was filmed. Switzerland was really pretty, and i enjoyed it very much

Easter and Sista April- Easter was very different to Australian easter. we boiled eggs, then painted them, then ate them later. They don't eat as much chocolate eggs as we do :( The weather was REAL warm, it was so so so nice. Sisita April is the 30th April, and its when you 'welcome the spring'. We had dinner at another australian girls house, and then went to a massive bonfire. it was really cool. after we just chilled at a friends house and had a sauna and such.

I was too lazy to write about everything i've done, so i just made a video. enjoy :)




Its coming up to my 4 month mark, and it has gone very quicck!
love meg :)

Stockholm weekend.

so, this weekend i went to Stockholm. It was the second time i had been there, and it was amazing fun. Friday- after school, i came home and quickly got ready and caught the train with my host Mum. We then caught the metro, but we were going different places, so she told me where to get off. I got off at the right stop, and then had no idea where to go ( i was staying at my host sisters, and i had only been there once). But after waking around for about 10mins, i found where i had to be. It felt so good knowing i did it all by myself. We went to Jensens Bofhus for dinner (danish steak house) and it had an all-you-can-eat ice cream buffet; my wendys skills came in handy :) We then caught the metro home and headed off to bed. Saturday- i caught the metro into Stockholm central station, and had to try find my friends at McDonalds. i had no clue where to go, and when there are so many people around you, running, talking in a different language, it can be a little stressful. i eventually found it, all by myself again, and we sat there for a while, and then headed out into the city. We really didnt do much, just met up with other people and had fika and stuff. i wanted to go to the English Shop, were they sold tim tams, but it was closed when we got there. I also tried Max (fast food, like McDonalds, but 1000x better. it was so good). Lachlan, Oscar, Jacqui (Australians), Riley (USA) and I went back to Oscars place, and got ready to go to Experience. It was an +16 event, where there was live djs and the biggest laser show in Scandinavia. It was so so so much fun. we just danced, and met a few people. I would love to go to the next one. When we left, we had to RUN to the metro, and we got there just in time to get on it. When Jacqui, Lachlan and I got to our next train, it had been cancelled, so we ended up having to figure out different busses and trains to take. We found our way close to where Lachlan lived, but then had to walk, as we got lost. We made it home though. But what was supposed to be 40mins, took us about 2 hours. Sunday- we got into the city about 9:30, and nothing opened til 11. so we sat in a cafe, and fika. We then met up with some of the other exchange students in Stockholm, walked around for a bit, then had more fika. We then split up, and Oscar, Riley, Lachlan, Jacqui, Thomas and I went into the city, and walked around. We had more fika, and Jacqui bought a phone and camera, as she lost hers at Experience. We seriously did nothing all day, except walk around and have fika. i got the train home around 6:30, and slept pretty much the whole way. Now, i am packing for my trip to Kiruna with rotary. Its gonna be a lot of fun, and i can't wait to see everyone :)

past few weeks.

so, i haven't blogged since Falun, and thats because i haven't been doing a whole lot.

the day after Falun was just a chilled one, i didn't do anything. it was quite nice. The next day i met up with Amanda, bought Ben & Jerrys (YUUUUUUUUUM) and went back to her house and watched Napolean Dynamite, i love that movie so so much. After, we went for a walk through the park, and practised a little swedish. Malin (my host sister, who was looking after me while my host parents were in Austria skiing) picked me up, and we went to Valbo Kopcentrum (a shopping mall in Valbo) and just had a look around. I think we spent most of the time looking at shoes. We ended up having pizza for tea, mine was bolognese sause and onion. it was sooo good. we then ate buiscits that Malin and I baked, Ben & Jerry's, kladdkaka, and lollies. it was a lovely night.

It was back to school on monday, and i don't really do much. I've been starting to copy down the work off the board, then translating it, but it takes a long time. it gives me something to do though. The teahers are getting some work for me to do in english which will be good.

Last Friday night, it was Fredriks birthday, so we went over to his apartment and had some dinner, then i went to Olivers (from Perth) and Axels, Erik and Kollar were also there, and we had a sauna and swam in the pool. The boys were running out into the snow, but i wasn't game enough to do that. Oliver, Erik and i watched 127hours, and then i ended up staying the night. Lief picked me up the next day, and we drove home, then got ready to go to a Classic Music concert. I wasn't to excited about it, but it was better then i thought. We then went to the neightbours house for dinner, then i walked to the bus with Dan, and i caught the bus into town and met up with Malin. We went to the movies and saw Black Swan. It was alright, a little strange. We then got McFlurrys and i caught the bus home. Sunday i didn't do anything exciting. then it was back to school monday.

Laila, Leif and I went and had pizza one night for dinner(when you get pizza here, you don't share, you get a full one to yourself.) , and then Laila and I went to the ice hockey. its getting close to finals, so everyone was rough and there were lots of fights. Our team ended up loosing, and the other team scored a goal in the last 2 mintues to make it 2-1.
I also dyed my hair one night, and it didnt turn out as i expected, but im getting used to it.
Friday after school, i went shopping with caitlin, and bought a few things, and had fika (first milkshake i've had in Sweden :D ) and then headed home as i was cooking dinner for my host mum (Lief was away). I was making parmi's but they didnt have the right chicken, so i used niggets. haha, it turned out really well though, quite proud of myself. friday night was a boring one, i sat on the couch all night, but then Billy Madison came on TV and it made it okay.

Saturday i went into town and met up with Jossi. We did some shopping, and ate McFlurrys in the sun. it was sooo lovely to sit in the sun. Then we did some more shopping, and over the 2 days i spent about 1000kr (about $150, woooops!). I then caught the bus back into Skutskar, and met Alex at his bus stop and went to his house for his birthday. we watched a movie and had more Fika, and then one of his friends came over. We chilled for a while, then went to his friends where we played PS3, i kicked their butts in COD and Fifa :P i ended up getting home around 11ish, and then was off to bed.

the snow has been melting, YAAY, but that means puddles everywhere. hopefully it wont be around much longer now that the sun is up.

So thats what i've been doing. i probs have forgotten to put stuff in, but oh well.

looove meg :)

p.s. sorry i keep changing the theme of my blog, my nana complains that she can't read it. Love you nanny b.

Falun.

Okay, i haven't blogged in a while, and a lot has been happening, but i'll just write about the orientation camp i went on this week.
if you dont want to read everything, all you need to know is that i had the funnest time, and made the most amazing friends.

Friday 26th feb-i had an hour of school, so after this i went home and got the final stuff for falun. I met Malin at the train station with my bags, and she showed me what trian to catch. The trip was just over an hour, so it went pretty quick. when i got to the station, i had no idea who was picking me up, (not very well planned), so i waited at the platform until i was the last one there, then i went and sat inside. i had my rotary jacket, so i put that on, hoping it would make me easier to recognise. after an hour or so of waiting, i got the number of the lady who was picking me up, and we had got the train times wrong. when she got me, we waited for Jacqui and Lizzi (Australians), and then we went back to where we were staying, an old gaol! Our rooms were on the 3rd floor, so we had to take our bags up the stairs, but luckly Max (New Zealand) and Pat(Australia) were there to carry them up for us, how lovely :) we sat around the kitchen table, and ate brownies, until Dennis (Australia) and Agustina (Argentina) arrived. we had tea, then went for a walk around Falun. when we got back we watched a movie, then bed.

Saturday 27th feb-we had breaky and got ready to travel to Leksand for the day. The trip took an hour or so. when we got there, we went to the "winter festival". We did pulka, snow graffiti and some people tried snow shoes and when on the snow mobile. After this, we went back to the hall for lunch. We waited around there for a while, then walked back to the winter festival place, where we were volunteering to lay out 15000 candles to raise money for children with diabities. This took an hour or 2, then we went and had fika. After fika we went shopping, and bought LOADS of lollies, then went to the ice hockey. It was played outside, so it was very cold. Leksand and Mora were playing. Max, Jacqui, Dennis and I were going to More, and the others went for Leksand. The losing team had to drink a drink that the winning team made :) The pre-game entertainment was a heavy metal rock band playing, with fire and smoke going off around the stage. The effects were cool, but not the music. The game was really close at the start, but Mora ended up winning (YAAY!). There were fireworks, and everything after the game which was pretty cool. We eventually found our way back to the place we were having tea, and then headed back to Falun. We watched a movie then went to bed.

(i'm going to start cutting down on details now, ha)

Sunday 27th feb- each moring was getting harder and harder to get up in the morning. we had breakfast, then had a swedish lesson (which was the main reason for the camp!). Then we went to Falu Koppargruva (old copper mine), and we had a tour. We only went down 97m. It was pretty interesting. At one point, then turned off every source of light, and you couldnt even see your hand even if you put it infront of your face. someone decided it would be funny to randomly attack me, so i was screaming and laughing as the guide was talking. After the tour, we went pulka (tobogganing). It was so so much fun. After this, we went back to the place we were staying, and had tea, and after, we decided it was time to make the drink. it had vegemite, o'boy, soya sauce, grass, salt, pepper, beetroot, milk and hot water. we gave it to pat first, thinking he would only take a small sip, but he drank the whole glass! it was so gross/funny. after this we chilled a little, then went to bed.

Monday 28th feb- we got up, had breaky, got ready- same as every morning, and then we travelled to Mora, about an hours drive. When we got there, we went to the we had a look around the town, and then headed to the dalahast factory. we had a little tour, and watched them make the horses. everyone is hand made and painted, and they make about 500 a day. we did a little shopping, then headed into town for a rotary lunch. while there, we got presented with a dalahast each (right after buying some), but these ones said 'Mora rotaryklubb' on them. After, we watched some of the Vasaloppet (90km cross country ski race), and then got to go up into the radio box thing. We then had a tour of the museum, and after this drove back to Falun and got our stuff ready to go for a swim (indoor pool of course). Max didn't have anything for swimming, and i didn't have my wallet to pay to get it, so i thought i'd be a nice person and wait with him in the lobby thing. it was fun for 30mins or so, then he fell asleep (and snored), so i was just chilling by myself. After swimming, we went back, had tea, then just chilled again.

Tuesday 1st march- in the morning we had some swedish lessons, and then got ready to go ice skating on a lake. i was quite scared, as last time i went skaing i got HUGE blisters. but i actually did very well, and i didnt fall over once. i was a bit scared that the ice would break, but when i found out it was 40cm thick, i was fine. After we came home, we went for a walk, just like we did the first night. and then had some swedish lessons. We chilled again, watched a few more movies, then everyone except Jacqui, Max and I stayed up. we went into the kitchen and ate junk food, yum yum. Max ended up getting sick, so we stayed up with him til about 4am, then jacqui and i went to bed.

Wednesday 2nd march- our last day :( we had swedish lessons in the morning, and then went to get packed and clean our rooms. after we had lunch, we said our goodbyes, which was kinda sad. Rikki, Max and I were on the same train, so we chilled at the station for a little. When we got to our stop, we said goodbye to max, and then went back to rikkis house (my second host family) and had something to drink then fell asleep.

i love every single one of you. i'll never forget all the memories we made, about how fecking dicgusting we all are, how we spent over 300sek just on lollies and biscuits, our funny youtube sessions. we will catch up soon. Falun Friends 2011 xoxo

different ways of life.

hej hej.
i was a little bored today, so i came up with a list of differences between Australia and Sveeeden. and i would like to share them with you ( i know, how lovely of me).

1. The Weather. this is a major difference. Its summer in Australia right now, so that means 40degrees, going to the river and just chilling. i'm also chilling here in Sweden, but in a different way. take some snow, more snow, and a little more snow, add some coldness to that, and a little bit of wind, and ta-da, you have a swedish winter. its fine when your inside, as everywhere is really well heated, but get ready to freeze your little doinky-doink off when you go outside.
2. Fashion. i love the swedish fashion, its really nice. An australian winter consists of some old trackies, a hoodie and some ripped uggs, maybe a pair of jeans if you want to look nice. swedish winter fashion is stockings, dresses, tights, jackets, jeans, t-shirts, boots, nice uggs-everything except hoodies and trackies. i do love the swedish fashion, except i feel like im so under-dressed. i also miss my uggies that i had to leave at home. sad face.
3. Public transport. oh my gosh, its so so much easier. take the school bus for example, if you miss it in australia your, to put it nicely, screwed. if you miss it in sweden, its ok, there will be another one in 2o mins, and 20mins after that, and 20mins after that.....
4. School. i don't even know where to start with school. australia wears uniforms, sweden doesn't. i enjoy wearing whatever i want, but its annoying having to chose what to wear, and since i dont have that many clothes, i pretty much wear the same thing every week. i do miss having a uniform. In australia, we bring lunch to school, here in Sweden, we have a cafeteria where the food is cooked for us. I have to say, the food is better then what i expected. Its not like on t.v shows, where it's some old lunch lady serving slop, the food it actually quite good. there is the odd day where you dont want to eat the food, so you just have the yogurt or bread or salad. the timetable in australia is the same everyday. 8:45-3:25, 5 periods a day, monday - friday. here, it changes everyday. for example, i'll share with you my mondays- History 11:00-12:20, english 1:05-2:05, circus 2:30-4. so we have breaks in between class, where we would have lunch, maybe go into town, or just chill at the school cafe. i quite like the swedish school system, much better then australian.
5. Food. i think the food is much healthier then australian. they eat a lot of fish, bread, yogurt, cheese and potatos. but then again, we do fika a lot which, for me, involves a hot chocolate, and chokladbollar (they are amazing!). fika can have healthy food too, but you dont have that as much.
6. heres just some little things. they drive on the wrong side if the road, and the steering wheel is on the left, front doors open the opposite way, the traffic lights go orange before the go green (red, orange, green, orange, red. if that makes sence haha), many more people smoke, they have showers at school, and they have automatic opening doors at school that you use a swipy card to open, they think australia is little, and everyone is like crocodile dundee.

thats all i can remember right now. i'm sure i'll discover more as i've been here longer. On tuesday, i have been here for 1 month, its gone very fast, and has been great. i say, bring on the next 11!

Amanda the Sloth.

Sloths, muscles, and 10x louder.

I had a really good day today.
it started with a sleep in. yeah thats right, i slept in. then i got ready, and walked to the bus stop. the bus was a little boring, but then alex got on, so we had some mad chats. we got to school, and class started straight away. it was history :( i had forgotten to take work that i've been given from my swedish teacher, so i just went on facebook. it gets really boring after a while. the teachers don't care that i do nothing in class :P after this, i met up will ollie (another australian exchange student) and we went and had lunch. spag bowl!! the cafeteria food is much better then i thought it would be, and besides, its free :) after lunch, i went into town with ollie, and he did some shopping. i was his assistant who had to carry around everything he wanted. we had fika then went back to school, and went to the cafe where we met amanda, josefine, rebecca, william, and a few others. we just chilled. as we walked back to class, i was telling amanda how much muscle i have, and when people see me, they say "oh gosh!". this turned into playing 10x louder. if you don't know what it is, you chose a word and you have to say it 10x louder then the other person. so, walking down the street, amanda and i were screaming "oh gosh". but im australian, so i can do what i want :P. in class, we had swedish, so again i just sat there. next was english, and we are writing stories. but amanda and i just looked up funny photos of sloths, fat cats, ugly men and ugly babies. it was very funny, we laughed almost all lesson. after school finished, i had to get my phone fixed.
i have many issues with my phone. like yesterday, i couldnt find it in my room, so i rang it, and to my surprise, some swedish man answered it. i had dropped it and blah blah blah blah, i ended up getting in back, luckily. then today, it decided to just disconnect the sim. so i had to go get another one. but its all good. i caught the bus home, but after being on it for 10mins, relised i had caught the wrong one. luckily it stopped at my stop anyway. anyone could get 501 and 510 mixed up, right? when i got home, i cooked some pasta and meatballs for tea, as my host mum and dad were out, then walked to the neighbours and went to zumba with them.
now, im just about to have a shower and be off to bed. i'll write again soon.
godnatt!

the diary of my pearly whites.

thankyou Shea for the title of my blog :)
i don't really do much during the week, go to school and sit there, as i don't understand anything.
Saturday- in the morning, Laila and I went to the woods across from our house and tried cross country skiing. I really enjoyed the start, but as i got tired i didn't enjoy is as much. It was good to see the forest though, it was really pretty. Saturday night, we went to the ice hockey. it was so fun! the lines were huge, so the game had to start a bit late so they could get everyone in. At the door, they had to get body security check (not sure what its called haha) which was weird because it was the first time i had done one of them. There was a big crowd, around 8000. Laila couldn't believe when i said there could be 40,000 people at 1 footy game. back to ice hockey, my team ended up winning, 2-1. They played a team from Stockholm.
Sunday- Malin, Laila and I went horse riding in the woods. It was the best day, because the sun was shining and it was pretty. My horse was called Diley, and it was black and white. We just walked for a while, then we galloped. it was so scary at the start, but so much fun. we stopped for hot chocolate and some lunch, then rode back. the whole trip was about 2 hours long. when i got home, my shoulders and bum were SOO sore. We went to the gym that night, and that hurt! although, i do enjoy getting active, because im going to get so fat with all the fika im having. fika= coffee and cake with friends. we have it A LOT. its amaizng.

past few days.

so, i have to do this blog because my nana had a cry because i hadnt blogged everyday :)
since my last blog, i've still been going to school. Im slowly finding my way around a little better, which is good. Ive made friends which is even better. I get asked a lot about Crocodile Dundee. Its amazing how many people think all of Australia is like that, and all Australians can do what he does. I also got asked if im friends with "Aboginians".
Friday night, we went out for tea with my host mum and dads company. We went to a texas style restaurant and i had a burger. it was quite enjoyable. first greasy thing i have had since ive been here. Although, i didn feel sick after it. After tea we went bowling, and im not very good. and i told everyone that, but my 1st bowl was a strike, and also my second. but it went downhill from there (very quickly). Malin and I left early and walked back to her place, where my host mum picked me and and drove home.
Last night, Saturday, Malin & Fredrik and I went to a concert thing. It was called "Local Heros" and it was all local bands playing, and they had awards and stuff. I think i would have enjoyed it more if i wasnt so tired, and if the old men that played heavy metal music kept their clothes on.
and today, sunday, i went for fika with Olivia, Jenny and Paulina. It was lovely. and i brought a cute little dress- first thing i have brought! and im in love with hot chocolate. I have it all the time now. and i went to the gym with my host mum, i'll be tank as when i get back!
Tomorrow, i start school at 11, so a will catch the bus - if i can find my way there, and i have circus tomorrow. where we are juggling fire. i dont know if im up to that stage after 1 lesson though.
So, thats my past few days. Im getting over the home sickness thing, and im slowly learning more swedish. Hopefully in a few months, i'll be able to blog in swedish :D

first/second day of school

yesterday was my first day at school. im going to Vasaskolan, its about 500 years old or something, and its really big!
my first day of school was ok. its hard not knowing your way around school, or even knowing the language. im doing circus as a subject, its so so so much fun. we warmed up, and then i learnt to juggle. then we did these rope things, that you light on fire and twirl around, but we did it without the fire- thats next week!
i was feeling a little home sick this morning, but when i got busy, it went away.
my first lesson was p.e or physics as they call it. we played european handball. after they all had showers, which i wasnt prepared for, as we dont have showers after p.e in australia, so i just got dressed and sat there quietly. it may take a few weeks for me to be able to shower naked infront of 20 other girls.
after that, i had a 3 hours break til my next lesson. so i sat in the library, and actually did nothing. when some of the people from my class finished their lesson, we had lunch and then went to social studies, i think? im not quite sure. i didnt understand a word. and then we had normal science, where half way through the lesson, the teacher said we could go get food, so everyone went to the cafe and bought coke and food and brought it back to the room, and the teacher didnt care.
after this lesson finished, it was time to go home. my host mum and i went and set up my bank account, then came home and had tea then went to zumba. it was very fun.
now im off to bed. school starts at 8:30 tomorrow. im also going to rotary for the first time, so it should be good :)

First blog

Hej!
so, its my second night here in Sweden. It's only 2:40pm but it feels so much later. Theres alot i could talk about, but i'll only give you a quick update.

I left Albury on Friday morning, to travel to Melbourne for my 4:00pm flight. I had to say goodbye to my dog, Polly, which was very very hard. We got to melbourne, and it all happened really quick. I checked in, had lunch and before i knew it i had said goodbye to my amazing parents and was waiting at the gate with jacqui.
I had 3 seats to myself on the plane, which was good because i could lie down. The flight was about 8 or 9 hours long. I watched a few movies to keep me awake. We got to Bangkok and had to find our gate, which was very hard. Jacqui and i got there, and there were a few other exchanges there. We got on the plane, for a 10hour flight. i slept about 7 or 8 hours which was good.
Before we knew it, we had landed. There was snow around the runway. We got off the plane, and got our bags, and walked out the gates to see signs everywhere. I saw my host family (and my host sisters dog) holding a huge sign. i couldnt help but smile and hug them when i met them.
The drive back was long, about 1.5 hours. i tried not to sleep.
When we got to my house, they showed me around, and we had some breakfast. they actually liked vegemite!!
During the day we went shopping to buy some shoes and jackets, came home, had tea and i was asleep by 7:30.

Today, i woke up and skyped my parents. we had some breakfast, then got ready to go on a hike. we walked for about 30mins, where we got to the (frozen solid) river. Leif, my host dad, got some wood and stick and lighted a fire. we cooked sausages, and threw snowballs. After the walk home, i had blisters :(
Now, we are cooking tea, and then heading off to the gym. tomorrow is my first day of school! im a little nervous. and im sooo tired.

I love it in Sweden. its going to be the best year ever!!
(so much for a quick update)