Things I will Miss about Sweden
My time here is winding down, I have a mere 8 days left in Sweden. 8 days. How crazy is that? It literally feel likes just yesterday that I was sitting on the floor in my room in America, surrounded by a tornado of clothing, desperately trying to figure out how on earth I was suppose to fit all of my clothes for 7 months into one suitcase, and now it is almost time to pack up everything once again.
I have been a whirlwind of emotions lately. One second I am so sad to be leaving I want to handcuff myself to my Swedish room and never leave, and then the next I long for home so much that I wish I could skip the next month all together and take the first flight home. It is strange really, I honestly have not had a problem with homesickness my entire time here, but this past week I have been more homesick than ever before. By that I do not mean I am sitting in my room sobbing all day, not that at all, I haven’t shed one tear in fact. I just mean that I have been thinking about home a lot more as my departure gets closer and closer and I am beginning to miss/look forward to a lot of things.
Seeing my friends for the first time, sleeping in my own bed, going for a morning walk with my mom. All things I have subconsciously missed, but not really have thought about because home was so far off, but now I find my mind constantly drifting toward these fond memories making me really miss home.
Bea says that this is totally normally and she has experienced the exact same thing. She says that our minds “protect ourselves” in the beginning, by not letting us think about home/things we miss because it is so far away in the future. However, as time goes on and the end comes near, your mind starts to drift to home and let down its walls that have been up the past months.
All of this being said I am still having a great time here in Sweden! I plan to make the best of my last week here and it is already jam packed with all sorts of fun activities such as forest hikes, barbeques on the beach, and Midsomer!
Below I have made a list of “Things I will miss from Sweden” “Things I will not miss from Sweden” and Things I miss in America”. Hope you guys find it interesting, I took the simplest things from home for granted – it is funny to see what I so desperately miss, definitely not what I expected to long for that’s for sure.
Things I will miss from Sweden:
- beach/sea
- walking everywhere
- Beas cooking
- having a castle right outside my bedroom window
- THE GYM!!! (seriously I am in love with my gym here, I may actually tear up my last workout)
- trains
- simplicity of life
- the yogurt. Seriously, the pour-able yogurt brings yogurt to a whole new level
- “sauna”- ing/nude beaches
- forest walks
- Fikas in MorMors garden
- cars actually stopping for you when you want to cross the street
- the market
- long afternoons with Bea on the balcony
- and of course, the thing I will miss the most – the BEST, most amazing host family I ever could have asked for
Things I will NOT Miss from Sweden:
- the wind. You have to experience it to know what I mean, but the wind off of the sea can be absolutely deadly.
- having near 24 hour lightness in June. It was cool for a day, but now I am really tired of the sun rising at 3 am and the birds with their nonstop chirping.
- all of the stores closing at 5 on week days, 3 on Saturdays, and nothing being opened on Sunday
Things I miss from America:
- Peanut butter and Jelly sandwiches. It has been over 6 months since I have had one of these beauty’s. SIX MONTHS! They simply do not exist in Sweden. I tried to explain to my friends what they were and they thought it sounded repulsive. Now technically I suppose if I really wanted I could make my own (thanks mom and dad to send me 6 jars of peanut butter), but it just isn’t the same.
- Noisy Mornings. Back home in the mornings we have the news blaring, Dakota going crazy, Belle yelling, Dad running everywhere looking for his keys, mom cooking, you get the picture. It is madness, but I miss the madness. Especially the news in the mornings. Here in Sweden we have very quite mornings, no tv, no craziness, dim lights, etc. While I have gotten used to it and find it somewhat relaxing, I am really looking forward to my hectic mornings back home.
- Morning walks with my mom and dad
- CANNED PUMPKIN! Another strange one, but it actually does not exist here. I cannot wait to get home and buy a giant can so I can make my beloved pumpkin oatmeal, pumpkin granola, pumpkin bread, pumpkin everything!
- My job, ha okay maybe not, but I do miss the money that comes with it.
- and all my real family that helped make this dream come true. I cannot wait to come home and share this wonderful experience with everyone.
These are just a few things off of the top of my head. The lists could really go on and on, but now I am feeling lazy and the weather is simply too nice out to be sitting inside any longer – so I am off for a nice long walk!
Swedish Word of the Day: “vecka” – week
