Arrival

Well, I am here in Sweden. I met up with my host parents Viveca and Niclas, and have thus far met my adorable 7 year-old host sister Hedvig. Viveca and Niclas are very kind and speak perfect English. They say that they're not going to let me get away with just speaking English, though. Certainly a good thing, though it will doubtlessly be frustrating.

I'm not really frightened and upset like I've been told I would. Maybe it hasn't sunk in just yet that I'm on my own out here. It's gonna be hard getting by without all the friends and loved ones I have back home being there for me all the time. In the end I suppose that will make me a stronger, more independent person though-- certainly one of the main reasons I'm on this exchange to begin with.

I'm pretty friggin jet-lagged. I got one hour of sleep somewhere between Newfoundland and Iceland on the plane. I'm heading to bed in a minute. It's about 9:30 here.

I shared some of my tea with Viveca today. Thanks Tea Lula gang, I'll miss you guys.

I'll be at my family's summer home in Båstad for the next week or so. It's so peaceful here. I'm sure I won't be bored-- if I'm not out exploring I will be practicing Swedish a ton.

We'll see what the following days hold in store emotionally. Standing on my own feet is new. I can handle it though.

Pre-Departure

Hey guys, David here. As you are probably aware, this is going to be my blog for my Swedish adventures. I don't know how frequently I will update but I'm going to shoot for once every other week.

So... yes. Might as well get in the habit of the who-what-when-where-why-how updates. I am still here in the States, visiting folk before I depart. Still don't have a bloody departure date-- I'm supposed to be headed out of here around the end of July, but we'll see.

For those of you who don't know, I'll be staying in Göteborg for a year. I'm getting excited! I'm a bit concerned about my language skill, but I'm sure it'll all work out fine. (I've been kinda lazy about practicing for the last couple weeks.)

More (satisfying) updates to come.