Winter is coming....

Hej hej! Today is Thursday, October 23rd! Only one more day of school until the fall break! It's so different for me to have a week long break in October instead of November. There's really no point for this break...Thats why I like it :) This past week ive done some stuff. I went to a scout competition. I met up with someone who brought a package for me from my parents. I went bowling with my scout troop. I went to theater, and thats pretty much it. It's been really cold here and the days are getting darker and darker. Right now the sunrises a little before 8am and sets just past 5pm! The sun rises a little bit later and sets a little bit earlier every day! This weekend we will set our clocks back an hour, so the sun will rise just before 7am and set at 4pm. By December the sun will rise at almost 9am and set before 3pm! Everyone in Sweden says that Winter here is SO depressing, because of the darkness, but I'm super excited for it! Well ummm I guess thats all for today... TTYL!

This week....

Hej! Its been a while sense I've posted, so here was my week:

Friday: I know I said I was going to go to the doctor, but I didn't go :( The doctors were all booked until Monday! So I just decided I'd wait to get my leg checked, but then over the weekend my leg magically healed!! Yay!! So I never went to the doctor :) I didn't really do anything on Friday.

Saturday: Ummmm.... I didn't do a single thing on Saturday.

Sunday: I went to the YFU POST ARRIVAL ORIENTATION!!! YAY!!! It was in Stockholm and it was just a few hours long, but we had Fika and I got to see all the amazing exchange students that live in the Stockholm area. We chatted and I realized something very important: My Swedish SUCKS. Every one of those exchange students spoke better Swedish than I do. So I'm more dedicated now. I've been studying a ton and I think my Swedish is getting kinda better.

Monday: Well on Monday I went to school, and then I went to scouting. We played games where you play hockey using mops and a rag and a game where you have to use your feet and head to keep a balloon in the air. Then we planned for our Halloween thingy we're doing where we are going to scare the crap out of the younger scouts.

Tuesday: I went to Stockholm with my host dad to get fingerprinted and photographed for my Residence Permit so that I can stay in Sweden :) Yay :) The funny part was when we were getting on the train back. When we got on, I was talking about this weird movie called The Langoliers and some guy who was sitting kinda near us said "You're from Fort Collins?" I was wearing a sweatshirt that says "Colorado State", which is a university in Fort Collins, Colorado. I said that I had lived in Longmont, Colorado(which is a city 45 minutes away from Fort Collins, and where I grew up). He said he knew where that was. It was kinda awkward. Then I continued my conversation with my host dad. When my host dad got off, he confirmed with me how to get to my school from there and then got off and I was alone. The weird American guy said that If I got lost, I could just ask for help. Then he told me not to worry cause I'll be used to the train system in Stockholm after about 2 weeks, and to enjoy my visit. I was thinking "You don't know my life. Actually I've been here for 2 months, and I'm still not completely used to it. And It's not a "visit", I'm an exchange student and I'll be living here for like a year." But instead, I just got off the train.

Wednesday: I went with my class to Tyresta, which is a Sweden National Park near where I live. We walked a long way and then we made food using this weird cooker thingys. We made macaroni and Swedish meatballs, and I tried Swedish meatballs for the first time! They are so good! Then we walked a lot more and I went home. Thursday: Today I went to school and then I came home and made dinner for my host family :) I made quesadillas.

School Nurses

Hej! The title of this blog is "School Nurses" and thats simply because I had my first visit with my school's nurse here in Sweden and it was very interesting. I saw the nurse on Wednesday because my leg was hurting. Actually I've had a severe pain in my leg for about a week now, and so I'm going to the doctor tomorrow to get it checked and make sure i'm not dying. Well when I saw the nurse automatically it was different from America. Here's what happens when you visit the school nurse in America: 1. They ask you your name first, and maybe something like your grade. 2. They check the records to make sure they have written consent from your parents to treat you and to give you medication. 3. They ask you a list of questions: Whats wrong? How long has it been going on? How did it happen? How does it feel? 4. This part depends on whats wrong with you, and if you're in Elementary, Middle, or High school. If you're stomach feels bad, they're almost never going to give you medication. They'll maybe let you lay down for half an hour, or they'll just call your parents and send you home. If you're leg hurts, like mine does, they'll give you some meds and send you back to class. If its very serious like a broken nose or you fainted, then they'll call an ambulance. The nurse will also try to examine you without touching you at all. In Sweden, its VERY different. I don't know what it's like in different situations, sense i've only been once, but I got the picture. 1. The first question I was asked was where am I from, that was probably just because I was speaking English, though... but the nurse never once asked me my name. 2. They ask the basic questions, like what happened and all that. 3. They examine you. Like actually examine you, how an actual doctor would. Its 100% true that Swedes are way more open and comfortable than Americans. 4. They find whatever the solution to your injury and then you leave. Nice and simple. I think the whole drama with Americans needing to know everything and not doing anything at all, comes from the fact that Americans sue people like crazy. Thats why school nurses need consent from the parents and why they need to keep logs of every person that comes in. It's so wierd. I'm not trying to rag on America or anything. America is a great country, and so is Sweden. Well maybe tomorrow(if i'm not dead) I'll post about doctors in Sweden. Bye bye!

Idol and Oktoberfest!

Hej! I didn't post all weekend because I've been super busy, and also super lazy. On Friday, my host sister Veronica and I went to Idol in Stockholm! It was so much fun to see all the different singers and experience what its like to sit in the audience of a live show like that. Even though everything was in Swedish, it wasn't that hard to figure out what was going on. On Saturday my family held an Oktoberfest party at our house. There were a bunch of people there and we listened to music and ate food and did Karaoke. Yesterday was Monday and I went to school and scouting. Well that was my weekend, heres some pictures :)