day 3

I slept well :) I wake up around 6:30 when I heard Madeline and Anders moving about because they had to pick up Vivian at the airport. I learned that she goes by Vivian, not Wan Yan. I fell back asleep until 9:30. for breakfast I ate yogurt with frosted flakes in it and orange juice. The yogurt here comes in a cartoon like milk does. And instead of putting milk in their cereal, they use yogurt. I kinda like it. I finally was able to take a shower. It was kinda like a half shower/ half bath because it was in a bath tub with a handheld shower head. But it sure did feel good! After I relaxed and took some pictures of Loota, the dog. I think that’s his name… Loota was scared of the camera and would bark when he saw the camera. Then Vivian and Anders and Madeline came back from the airport. Vivian is 21 years old and she is from Hong Kong. She’s alright at English. Soon after, we left to Karlskrona. The landscape is very green. Lots of farms and fields. And at some points, trees. On the way we stopped by at Dan and Monica’s house. They are the directors of the South Nature camp that I will attend in 3 weeks time. After chilling there for a little while and eating some glass (ice cream) we were off again, but not before we stopped at the store to pick up some food for the next week. Finally we arrived at Anders and Madeline’s home. It is very nice, 2 stories. Vivian and I each have our own rooms on the second floor. We all settled in and just chilled in their backyard eating cheese w/ bread and watched the Spain vs. Netherlands game of the world cup before going to bed. I think I'm gonna like it here. :)

Day 2

i have it written out... just not typed so i will post it once i get time to type it

Day 1- traveling

Today I felt like I was jumping off a cliff into the unknown. Very scary! But in the end it all worked; I had safe and successful but also very boring flights.

I had to wake up super early, around 4:45 am in order to get to the airport by 6:30 am. Checked in then tried to delay my going through security so I could spend more time with my parents. The plan was to eat breakfast together but there wasn’t anything to eat outside of security so we just chilled inside a bookstore. Hugging my parents goodbye was a bittersweet moment, on one hand I wouldn’t see them for 5 weeks but on the other I was off on an adventure.

My flight to GA was boring. I tried to sleep some. In the back of each seat, everyone had their own TV but it cost $6 per movie so I said “no way!” for a short while I took out my Scandinavian travel guide and studied it. Overall, it was very uneventful.

When I landed I called my dad to reassure him I was still alive and set off to find my next gate, get food for lunch and to buy more food in case I wouldn’t like the dinner on the plane. For a very short second I got lost finding the gate. I landed in concourse B and I need to be in concourse E. But then I found what my friend Alex called the people mover and I was all good! Thanks Alex! My next mission was to find food which was really easy; there was so much to choose from. Then I called my dad once more to tell him my flight was boarding and got inline to get on the plane.

When the gate guy scanned my ticket, something flashed and he told me to wait at the desk. This worried me a lot. I thought I wouldn’t be let on the flight for some reason. But I didn’t need to worry, they only wanted to change my seat. I don’t know why but its all good because I ended up having a free seat next to me! :)

Got comfortable and soon we were off. Once we were in the air they served us drinks and dinner. The choices were chicken or pasta. I ended up getting pasta but I just picked at it since I wasn’t hungry yet. On this flight we didn’t have personal TVs so I didn’t watch anything. Oh and I think my iPod broke because I was listening and I couldn’t change the volume and also it was playing out loud and not through my headphones. I got a few rude looks from that, pretty embarrassing! But they had a whole 9 hours to forget about it so hopefully they did.

I love the feeling of being in a state where time isn’t known. For the whole time I didn’t know what time it was. I just slept when tired and ate when hungry.

dear Haley, this picture is for you. It is Haleyville…I think in Alabama.
I checked this like a million times
my lunch and dinner. I know I know, McDonalds, very bad but I was craving French fries and that was the only place selling some. So yeah also I got cheese pizza, plan pasta, bean and cheese burrito and a soda. I was all set! :)
airplane food that I didn’t really eat.

AH!!! im leaving in less then 13 hours!!

Sweden here i come!!! im am so excited! you cant even comprehend. i hope my family is nice. they probably will be. i hope none of my flights are delayed and everything goes smoothly. ive been praying to the plane and weather gods that everything is well and ive done nothing to displease them so...good, hopefully.
I cant believe im gonna do this! 5 whole weeks away from home! and i wont even be remotly close to home if anything goes wrong. but i can do this! im almost 18, in fact im gonna turn 18 while in sweden. wow! im old!
i will especially miss my cat, well no, not only my cat. of course i will miss my parentals and brother. and the rest of my family and friends!

Dear Jay D.,
please dont destroy my room, i am still coming back. sorry but its only for 5 weeks. its not like im going off to college. please and thank you. love you bye bye i'll miss you!
-Deanna

Dear Mommy and Daddy,
aww, your little baby is growing up! when i come back be prepared to find me covered in peircings and tattoos. and my hair dyed neon green. just kidding...maybe... i will definetly miss you both, dont worry!
love,
Deanna

packing

fun stuff! this packing stuff. some people feel packing is a chore but i actually like it...means im gong somewhere exciting! yay! i cant wait!

PS. the Mac & cheese is for when, appearently i have to cook or bake something American, thus Mac n' cheese :)

My to do list

I have a lot to do before i leave! im getting excited!

Karlskrona, Sweden

im going to Karlskrona, Sweden this summer. as a youth exchange for a whole 5 weeks in July. im excited!.
the date im leaving is sometime around July 10th. that means that i'm going turn 18 during my time in Sweden. Overall though i am so excited! I cant wait! I love airplane rides, especially when i can ride them alone...it gives me a sense of responsibility and plus its way less stressful then when im traveling w/ my family. :P ive flown plenty of times alone, even across the country, just never to a foreign country alone so it shall be a fun adventure!
So most people think of me as super shy and what not, but weirdly the thing im looking forward to the most is, meeting new people. Let me try to explain, i'll be in a foreign country so I’ll have to make new friends which will be fun. oh another advantage of making new friends is i'll have more penpals :) i love sending and receiving mail and so far i dont have any friends that i can mail letters to that live outside the United States. Maybe after this trip I will!
so today i got an email from the family i am staying with. this is some of what i learned:
~a girl named Wai Yan from Hong Kong is also going to be staying with the family while im there. :) im thinking that she will probably be my first friend i make in Sweden!
~ i will be attending a nature camp
~ Madeleine along with her husband are going to be my host "parents"
~ their house is 8 kilometers from Karlskrona.
~ they have a swimming pool! :)
~ they have a dog named Zack that is 7 years old and two cats one named Sven who is 18 years old and the other named O’Tiger who is 5 years old.
Yup yup i really cant wait!!!!
only a little more then 3 months!