Swedish Host Families

At first I was so scared to switch families. After having such an amazing first half of my exchange with the Carlssons I didn’t know how I would do with another host family.

It’s been over a week and I’ve decided Swedes are where it’s at! I just can’t believe how lucky I am to be meeting such lovely people.

See that bowl? That‘s what I wake up to. My host mom leaves for work early in the morning, but she still likes to put breakfast out for me. Too sweet! I can’t thank her enough for all she does for me.

She’s helpful with swedish, we speak a lot of it together. After going to a workout class together I was pretty sore (very out of shape, I know). She taught me that träningsvärk is muscle soreness after working out.

My older host sister is pretty cool. I havent gotten to know her and her mom that well yet, but I already know they’re such amazing people. I really lucked out again

I miss the Carlssons a lot though. My host dad had a great sense of humor and cooked the best food-just like my real dad.

When I got dumped in September, my host dad fed me cake and took care of me.

Another time, we visited his fathers grave together, and left a potato there. He said his father loved potatoes very much.

When I was late getting home on the train, he’d stay awake downstairs and make sure I got home safe. Even picked me up at times too.

I know my real Mom has taken a liking to my host mom because she always sends her photos of me on my latest adventure. When it came to traveling, she always printed out maps and train times so I wouldn’t get lost. She’d even sit down and explain the papers to me (I tend to get lost easily, but I always find my way). So considerate!

My little host sister is one of a kind. She’s so thoughtful for her age, and smart too. On Christmas Day she asked what food I loved the most. The next day she bought a jar of it for me. But that’s not at all. Not only did she pick out a ton of gifts that were perfectly me, she made me up a box of all my favorite Swedish things to take home to Alaska. This kid is so unbelievably awesome, and she actually took a liking to me!

See, the catch with Swedes is they show they care a lot differently than Americans. Americans are louder, and more verbally expressive. Although the Swedes are reserved and seemingly closed off at times, they remember the little details. I love that about Swedish culture.