Socializing in Sweden; A Weekend of Meeting New Friends
Being at home these last few days has let things settle down a little bit. Here in Sweden, I feel like I always have an activity to do or something to look forward to.
Sunday, we threw a welcoming/going away party for my host sister Anna and I. We spent the day setting up the party tent, cooking, and planning games. I was so excited to meet some of the kids who would be in my classes. Once they arrived, it was so easy to talk to all of them which made me excited for the first day of school.
It was fun telling them about America and answering some stereotypical questions like “Is everyone in Florida fat?” and “Do you party on the beach a lot?” I think hearing people’s questions is one of my favorite things here so far, it’s funny to hear what they think! We had hamburgers for dinner and then split into 3 teams to have a little competition.
We played 5 games; the skis, an egg toss, a three legged race, a boot throw, and one where you had to get your team’s ball closest to a small ball.
Unfortunately my team lost, but the dessert of cookies, cupcakes, and klodkaka (my favorite Swedish dessert so far!!! and if you are ever in Sweden it is a must-try) that came after was very comforting! Once everyone had left, we cleaned up and I headed off to bed because my eyes could not stay open any longer after such a fun day.
Monday my host sisters and I started off the day by going to Tom Tits Experiments in downtown Södertälje. It reminded me a lot of MOSI but much more to do. They had mind games, a bubble room, a slide, a human yo-yo, and even a few rides. It was fun to bring out our inner little kids even if it was only for a few hours! After our play time was over, we headed back home to help Mamma set up for Kräftskiva, a big crawfish festival that the Swedish celebrate anytime in August.
Our lovely tables complete with traditional decorations, hats, and Kräftskiva song lyrics for everyone!
We put out decorations around the party tent and set out the crawfish to thaw. Once all the guests arrived, both family and friends, we dove into the crawfish and fun conversations.
The massive amount of crawfish we had for Kräftskiva.
We played all the games again, and I lost again, but later we played a Swedish game called Kubb. In this game there are two teams and each stand behind their own row of 6 wooden blocks that are standing up. There is one king block in between the two rows. Each team tries to knock down the others six blocks with large, cylindrical, wooden sticks and finally knocking down the king in the end. We stayed up talking pretty late so when it was time to go to bed, I had no problem falling asleep.
My school friends and I talking over dessert.
All together, it was a great weekend with lots of food, lots of new people, and lots of fun. Meeting some of the kids from my class has gotten me so excited to start school and hopeful that I will have some people to talk to on the first day of school! It’s getting really close and even though there are some nerves building up, excitement is too! I still can’t believe it’s actually happening!
Ebba and I in our holiday hats!
