My Two Worlds Combining
I had a really yummy salad, while my friend enjoyed a oven fired pizza!
Busy weekend! Saturday like I said I cleaned allllll day, went to the gym, then came home and went out with my friend for her birthday! We ate at a super cute little outdoor café that is right by my house. We went at around 8 so we could have a late dinner and then watch the gorgeous sunset.
Sunday was a big day, I went down to Copenhagen and picked up a special guest….MY GRANDMA!!!! She surprised me and came to visit all the way from America!
It has been completely surreal having her here. I feel like I am in a dream or something. I like to pretend that I have my two separate worlds now, “America” world and my “Sweden” world, but with my Grandma here now it feels like the two are mixing together and it truly is a bizarre experience.
Today, we woke up early and went for a long walk along the sea. Then enjoyed some yummy breakfast and went out to explore the town! I treated her just like it was my first day all over again showing her the fortress, downtown, the spa, etc. She was stunned by the pure beauty of it all, just like I was and still am.
I am so forever grateful that my host mom, Bea, so strongly encouraged me to have a family member come. At first, I was against it, not for homesickness reasons or anything like that (truthfully I have “reverse homesickness” now as I call it and am dreading leaving 🙁 ), but because I did not want my separate worlds to mix.
I was being selfish almost now when I think about it. I have a whole different life here. Different house, family, hobbies, activities, different everything and I wanted to keep it that way. Sweden is now such a special part of me I wanted to keep it all for myself. I was scared that if my family came and saw it, somehow it would ruin it for me. Make my dream life here forced into reality again.
Now though I am SO HAPPY to have someone come and experience everything. Someone back home who will understand when I go on for hours talking about just how clean the air is, or rant about how crazy shy Swedes can be, or how magnificent the fortress truly is, or how the sea in the morning can simply take your breathe away, and do not even get me started on the food!
Coming home is going to be very hard for me. I have changed a lot over here, and trying to adapt back to my American lifestyle is not going to be easy. I like to joke that I am feel like I am on a permanent vacation here because I have so much more freedom and time. Back home is my reality, where I have a job, homework, chores, responsibilities.
Knowing now that there will be at least one person back home who “gets it” is so comforting to me. When I am having a bad day, or really just missing Sweden it is so nice to know that I will be able to turn to my Grandma for support and she will be able to understand what I am going through.
Grandma relaxing on the patio after a long day of sightseeing. I think she is going to walk more in this next week than she ever has in her entire life!
After a busy morning, we are both exhausted and just relaxing the rest of the afternoon. Tonight the family is gone, so I will make a cozy dinner for the two of us 🙂
Tomorrow I will take her to see Gothenburg for the first time. I think I am more excited than she is about this! I really hope that she finds it as amazing as I do.
Swedish Word of the Day: “äventyr” – adventure
