I've been lost the past few days and I've had a hard time sitting down to write. I finished up class at Jonkoping University on Friday and said goodbye to all the friends that had shaped the last month of my life here in Sweden.
From there Mom and Jason picked me up in a car and we drove to Bästad to run a half marathon the next morning. It was late and I was grumpy but we finally arrived at 1 am and went right to sleep. The next morning we woke up and got in the car to run the half marathon. I had no desire to run this as I had not trained at all. So like most things in my life I was pouting a fair amount when we arrived and through the start of the race. Bless my mom's heart that she had to deal with that.
Anyways the race got started and I had no expectations for myself and didn't really know if I was going to finish it to be honest. But I just kept running and once I set my pace a little below 10 minutes per mile I knew that I could finish in 2 hours and 10 minutes, which would be a huge deal for not training at all. Anyways the whole thing ended up being not as bad as expected and everyone in my family ran great times for themselves and the amount of work they put in. Who knows, I might try another one, one day.
From there we packed up and traveled to Gothenburg for two nights. To be honest we were just wiped from the half so we didn't do a whole lot while we were there. We walked the city which is very cute and found places to eat and took a few naps. All and all it was a great trip. (minus the airb&b... but will save that for the review)
Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a wonderful month in Sweden. I really enjoyed getting to know their culture and lifestyle for a whole month. It truly is a beautiful country and there is so much to see and do. I hope that you will consider spending some time there and fall in love with it the same way I have.
Needless to say I was a little sad leaving yesterday. We took the high speed train from Gothenburg to Copenhagen. ( I did some work on the train instead of writing this, but trains are truly the best place to do work). We got to enjoy the easiness of the Schengen area from traveling by train from Sweden to Denmark. ICYMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area
Pretty cool concept and the truth of the matter is even with the ability to move people freely between countries, you will see that most individuals feel very loyal to their country of origin (for the most part). Anyways so no display of passport or, "work or leisure" questions for us yesterday.
I will wrap up my European travels on Thursday at noon when my flight departs for Rio de Janeiro. My mom asked me a lot of questions last night about what I've learned since coming to Europe and what were the most memorable moments I've had. I really truly think that the opportunity to study in another country creates a new confidence in an individual. I saw so many people in my study abroad group grow in such a short period of time and I felt myself growing as well. I know for certain that I could move to another country for work (not indefinitely) and get by because I've studied abroad.
I also have a new appreciation for people who differ from me. I want to hear their stories and understand. I feel like in the states we want to make people American. We want them to speak the language we speak and we want them to act like us. But for the past month I have been living in a region of the world that has adopted a language to fit with the trend of the english language, or maybe (dare i say) the stubbornness of the english speaking people. What open-mindedness and love I have seen from these people.
Mom also caught up on my blog yesterday and had to go on and on about how 'I'm not just average.' So I do need to take a second to comment on that. I'm not saying I'm average and I do understand that there is a 0.05% of the population that becomes college athletes and there is only a 40% possibility that you get into the IB program if you apply. I do understand I'm not average. But I'm also a competitor, so not achieving at the level I hope for wears on me in ways that I cannot truly explain. But the point is, with all that reflection I have done on my time in Columbia, that this experience has truly given me a new confidence in myself and in the lifestyle I'm pursuing in the states. And I do hope to return to the states with a new perspective and MOSTLY a little less stress.
Before I go I must say, Happy Fourth to All. God bless America. It truly is the greatest country on the Earth.
From there Mom and Jason picked me up in a car and we drove to Bästad to run a half marathon the next morning. It was late and I was grumpy but we finally arrived at 1 am and went right to sleep. The next morning we woke up and got in the car to run the half marathon. I had no desire to run this as I had not trained at all. So like most things in my life I was pouting a fair amount when we arrived and through the start of the race. Bless my mom's heart that she had to deal with that.
Anyways the race got started and I had no expectations for myself and didn't really know if I was going to finish it to be honest. But I just kept running and once I set my pace a little below 10 minutes per mile I knew that I could finish in 2 hours and 10 minutes, which would be a huge deal for not training at all. Anyways the whole thing ended up being not as bad as expected and everyone in my family ran great times for themselves and the amount of work they put in. Who knows, I might try another one, one day.
From there we packed up and traveled to Gothenburg for two nights. To be honest we were just wiped from the half so we didn't do a whole lot while we were there. We walked the city which is very cute and found places to eat and took a few naps. All and all it was a great trip. (minus the airb&b... but will save that for the review)
Yesterday afternoon we arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark. It was a wonderful month in Sweden. I really enjoyed getting to know their culture and lifestyle for a whole month. It truly is a beautiful country and there is so much to see and do. I hope that you will consider spending some time there and fall in love with it the same way I have.
Needless to say I was a little sad leaving yesterday. We took the high speed train from Gothenburg to Copenhagen. ( I did some work on the train instead of writing this, but trains are truly the best place to do work). We got to enjoy the easiness of the Schengen area from traveling by train from Sweden to Denmark. ICYMI: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Schengen_Area
Pretty cool concept and the truth of the matter is even with the ability to move people freely between countries, you will see that most individuals feel very loyal to their country of origin (for the most part). Anyways so no display of passport or, "work or leisure" questions for us yesterday.
I will wrap up my European travels on Thursday at noon when my flight departs for Rio de Janeiro. My mom asked me a lot of questions last night about what I've learned since coming to Europe and what were the most memorable moments I've had. I really truly think that the opportunity to study in another country creates a new confidence in an individual. I saw so many people in my study abroad group grow in such a short period of time and I felt myself growing as well. I know for certain that I could move to another country for work (not indefinitely) and get by because I've studied abroad.
I also have a new appreciation for people who differ from me. I want to hear their stories and understand. I feel like in the states we want to make people American. We want them to speak the language we speak and we want them to act like us. But for the past month I have been living in a region of the world that has adopted a language to fit with the trend of the english language, or maybe (dare i say) the stubbornness of the english speaking people. What open-mindedness and love I have seen from these people.
Mom also caught up on my blog yesterday and had to go on and on about how 'I'm not just average.' So I do need to take a second to comment on that. I'm not saying I'm average and I do understand that there is a 0.05% of the population that becomes college athletes and there is only a 40% possibility that you get into the IB program if you apply. I do understand I'm not average. But I'm also a competitor, so not achieving at the level I hope for wears on me in ways that I cannot truly explain. But the point is, with all that reflection I have done on my time in Columbia, that this experience has truly given me a new confidence in myself and in the lifestyle I'm pursuing in the states. And I do hope to return to the states with a new perspective and MOSTLY a little less stress.
Before I go I must say, Happy Fourth to All. God bless America. It truly is the greatest country on the Earth.
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