Day One

Driving home from the Copenhagen airport was beautiful and awkward. I had used the three words that I knew in Swedish when I introduced myself to my host mom and brother so we used English the rest of the ride home. As I took in the beautiful and new sights around me, we talked about my flight over from America. My host brother David was to leave two days after I arrived so he was interested in learning about the US. It took about half an hour to drive home and we ran out of conversation topics fairly quickly. I tried to keep the conversation flowing, but you must remember that I had been travelling the last twenty four hours with a maximum of two hours sleep and it was approximately three in the morning at home, so I was lacking my typical verbal skills. When we arrived home, Cecilia my host mom gave me a tour of the house and introduced me to two of her three daughters, Sofia who is thirteen, and Amanda who is seven. She showed me the room that I would be staying in until David left, at which point, I would move into his room. I was reluctant to leave the room considering the bed that was sitting there. Unused and begging me to climb in and go into a deep hibernation. Cecilia suggested that I stay up until about 9 p.m. so that I would have a chance to get accustomed to the time change. I agreed and we moved on with the tour. Let me just say something. Swedish homes are beautiful. In the case of this house, they take minimalism to a new level while still keeping the cozy feeling that every home should have. My favorite part of the house was instantly the outdoors terrace. The moment I walked out the doors, I knew that I would be spending a lot of time here. On one side is a table, sheltered from the wind but still in the sun, and on the opposite side of it is an outdoor couch and coffee table just waiting to be used on a sunny day. The part that really caught my eye were the grape vines growing up the pillars and covering the entire roof, creating a canopy of green and purple. From the terrace you can see the yard that stretches to the road and within it are a flock of chickens, a trampoline, and a small pool. Across the street all that you can see are fields and fields of wheat, until eventually they run into a small forest. At the time that I had arrived, there was a thunderstorm rolling in which made the view that much more impressive. After the tour, Amanda came over and asked me if I wanted to go swimming. I actually couldn’t understand her because she only speaks Swedish but Sofia translated for me. As an exchange student we are prompted to always say yes, and this sounded fun so that is what I did. We went outside in our bathing suits and Sofia informed me that Amanda wanted to jump off of the trampoline into the pool. We dragged the trampoline across the yard and immediately Amanda jumped in. Sofia and I were soon to follow. The water was freezing so we only stayed outside for about ten minutes, but I was glad because this had given me a chance to get to know my host sisters. Once we had dried off, Cecilia called us all to dinner. I was pleasantly surprised to find that we were eating dinner outside on the terrace. I was even happier to see that they ate much more than fermented fish in Sweden. The dinner was delicious and I knew that my health-nut dad back at home would be proud of the meal, which included many fresh fruits and vegetables. When dinner was cleaned up, Cecilia suggested that I go on a walk with Mattias, my host dad, and their three dogs. I was expecting the walk to be about thirty minutes, but Mattias kept asking me if I wanted to see the next landmark and I kept saying yes. About two hours and seven kilometers (4.3 miles) later, we had done a large loop around the area and made it home just when it started to rain. I was exhausted but had a great time getting to know Mattias. The last thing that I did on my first day as an exchange student was give my host family little pieces and souvenirs from my home in Sitka, Alaska. The entire family sat on the couch in the living room and everyone got a present. Amanda watched as I unwrapped one of the packages of presents and was overjoyed when I gave her a small walrus figurine. She also received a pair of socks that had “Alaska” printed on them. I also gave them some authentic Alaska smoked salmon jerky, and a small book on Sitka. After everyone got their gifts, I handed out Reese’sces to everyone and David let me try Swedish chocolate. I was immediately ashamed of the American chocolate that tasted like burned sugar in comparison to the Swedish delicacy. We sat around and I got to know everyone a little bit better before going to bed promptly at nine at night. No bed had ever felt as amazing as that one did then. I feel asleep to the sound of thunder and the smell of fresh rain, while imagining all of the possibilities for my year in Sweden.