Week 1 In Sweden

DAY 5: August 18th 2017

The last full day with Emilia and her family came pretty quick and we were planning on driving to their country house near Jönköping. We left for Jönköping at around 10am. I packed up all my stuff from the week along with the plates, bowls, mugs, forks, knives and spoons that Emilias family so graciously let me borrow for my semester in Jönköping. The drive down took a little over 3 hours because we took some stops to sight see and be in the moment. We ate lunch at this cute little town with a river that led into the lake. We sat by the river and ate and then when we were finished we walked the length of the river to the lake. The wind was blowing (which some would find as a disturbance but I find very spiritual and a connection with the world and with God). We walked and talked and just enjoyed the day which was more than beautiful (I keep saying everything was beautiful because words can’t describe how beautiful this country is). We walked back to the car and continued to drive to the country house. I fell asleep in the car as I was still tired from the week of travel and adventure. We made one more quick stop to buy me shampoo, conditioner and body wash so I could shower when I arrived at Södra Vatterbygden Folkhögskola (we also stopped for candy and food for the night). We arrived at the country house and it was amazing. They owned three houses along with a barn and a large section of the land which was so green and natural I instantly fell in love. We unpacked a little bit and then Emilia, her sister and I went to go jump on the trampoline before dinner. The sky was so blue and the world was so bright and full as we laid on the trampoline and looked up at the green tree and blue sky. We ate dinner which was very similar to the first one I ever had in Sweden on the first night. We talked and ate and sat in the silence and no part of it was weird to off to me. Being still and not filling every little silence with pointless conversation was something I had finally come to learn. After dinner we explored the land. There were two horses who roamed the land freely and we saw the treehouses that Emilia and her sister made when they were little. The house was covered with artifacts from their childhood like pictures and clothes. We came back after exploring and decided to take a ride in the back of the tractor that was on their property. The world was so beautiful and untouched. We all got bit by mosquitoes but it was all worth it. When we got back to the house we decided to play a game and drink tea and eat the candy we had bought earlier. We played the European version of Ticket to Ride (which is a super fun game if you haven’t played it already; I recommend it). We played three rounds of the game which I lost all of them; this was totally fine with me as I was enjoying the company. After our third round of Ticket to Ride we decided to play a game with dice which I also lost. We then got ready for bed in the upstairs part of the house and prepared for Fika (Swedish coffee break with pastries and good company) with her cousins who lived in Jönköping on Sunday before taking me to SVF.