T Minus One Month

It's still June, and when summer is supposed to be ramping up, all I can think about is leaving for Sweden.  Today marks my one month day until my departure, and I am so excited, yet along with this is a fair amount of nervousness.  I have yet to start packing, but soon I will need to figure out how to fit a years worth of clothes, gifts, a computer and camera, and whatever else I need throughout the year, into one 50 pound suitcase and my carry on, that will be fun.  It looks like my snowboard won't be coming with me after all; we'll see how well I survive without it.  Maybe I will pick up Nordic skiing instead while I'm over there.

The mainstreet in downtown Sigtuna

Now for a little about what I have to look forward to.  I will be living in a small town of about seven or eight thousand 45 minutes north of Stockholm called Sigtuna.  It is right on the third largest lake in Sweden called lake Mälaren.  I will be living with only one family throughout the year, the Brännlunds.  I will have a little sister Malin (11) and a younger brother Tobias (15) and a sister about my age, Jessika who will be leaving shortly after I arrive for Rotary somewhere on the East coast.  I have also emailed both my host parents, Tomas and Pernilla, about my stay with them.  Through these emails I have become extremely excited about my year with them, they all seem like such nice people and I am more than looking forward to meeting them.

Lake Mälaren

Church ruins in Sigtuna

I will be going to Arlanda Gymnasiet which is in a nearby town about ten minutes away, actually right next to the largest airport in Sweden, Arlanda.  This is where all four of us outbounds are flying in to, and my house in Sigtuna is about 15 minutes from it.

Thats it for now!  I probably won't update this again until just after I have arrived in Sweden, but I will be trying to stay off of facebook, skype, and most of the internet for the first month, except for contact with Swedes who I meet there, so be forewarned if I don't respond to you!