One Month

So, one great thing that AFS Sweden is doing (I believe for the first time this year) is they are offering to all of the exchange students the option to use Rosetta Stone. Which is fantastic because normally Rosetta Stone is very very expensive however, I only have to pay around $75 (as long as I complete all of the levels before I leave). And what is even better is that my amazing Aunt has offered to pay that cost for me! So, I have been attempting to learn Swedish and it's actually a lot of fun. Swedish, in my opinion, is very hard to pronounce however the grammar is not as hard as Spanish or English.  Which is awesome because I think (hopefully) once I start picking up on how to pronounce those different vowels and understand how to pronounce the sound like in the number seven (sju) and all the different sounds and patterns of Swedish I will begin to pick it up much quicker. I have also switched my phone and facebook into Swedish so that I can learn new words while making a call or getting directions to a friends house.

Also, I have officially booked all of my flights! I leave of the 14th of August and fly to NYC for Orientation and then I flu to Berlin, Germany (and I have a layover there), then Stockholm, Sweden where I'll have another orientation and then meet my host family! Getting all of this information is really exciting and it makes me realize that I am only a month away from leaving the comfort of my home, family, and my little town in Georgia where everyone speaks English. But at the same time I am incredibly excited to get out of my comfort zone and hopefully learn new things.

In addition, just a few days ago I graduated from high school!!!!! I have been taking online classes over the summer since freshman year so that I could graduate before I leave for Sweden, because my school told me that they would not except any of the credits from my Swedish school.  So, my hard work has finally payed off! And the best thing is that this year (because I graduated) I don't have to worry about all of the AP summer work like all my friends do! Also, I think just for fun I'm going to show up on the first day of school and laugh at everyone and then go home and go back to sleep. It's a great feeling knowing that I don't have to go back to my old high school (that's so weird to say) but at the same time, it's not like I am done with high school; I am now going to go to school in a foreign country where all the classes are taught in a language I don't know. Not to mention that I have to start apply to colleges.....

BUT I'M GRADUATED!!!!!

Ahem.... well in other news (or lack of news) I still don't have a host family, I know I know it's shocking well, the reason for that is because the Royal family of Sweden decided that they wanted to host me so that's why it's taking a little longer than usual for it to become official that's all. But, the real I am actually not stressed out about finding out my host family (well at least not nearly as much as everyone else seems to be); because, a few months ago last year I still didn't know if I was going to be going abroad or not so I am just happy to know that I will be going to Sweden in a month! However, I would like to find out my host family soon because I still don't know if I need to go back to eating meat or not. And after six years as a strict vegetarian if I do need to go back to eating meat, I am going to need sometime to transition.

I've been cleared by my doctors, got some vaccinations in the process, and I am basically all ready to go! I've begun my shopping process for Sweden as well by getting plug adapters, new stylish clothing (you can't go to a new country without new clothing), and warming clothing in general (and let me tell you that is not an easy task to do during the summer, in Georgia. So, I guess all that is really left to do is to pack, which is an extremely daunting task.

Wish me luck,
Bryana Shook