As you have read before in my blog I’m sharing thoughts, events, news etc about the New York acting industry and today I wanna share an interview I did recently with my hard working and talented acting friend, Amanda Erixon. I was curious of knowing more about where she gets her drive and inspiration from since she is constantly working on new productions and projects.

 

We have worked on a few projects before that you produced and acted in. How do you combine those two big roles in a production?
For me that’s been working out well. Working on the bigger picture and administrational part of a project only feeds me in working on the character. It’s interesting and challenging and really something I learn a lot from.

 

Since we’re both from Sweden originally I’m curious about hearing more about your decision of coming here to New York. What made you make the move to the United States to pursue a career in acting?
I was accepted to Stella Adler Studio of Acting and I was ready to make a big move in my life. I had just worked as a singer and entertainer at a Hotel in Europe and I saw my chance to combine my previous experience with additional training in an industry I’ve always wanted to work in. I had been working in musicals and with my vocal gospel group N’Harmony so New York City felt like the right place for me to be to move further with my career goals.

 

You recently had your Off-Broadway debut in the musical production ESTHER. Tell me more about that experience.
I had a really great time working for Theatre 315 and the story and music of this play spoke to me. When I get to pursue my arts and tell important stories I feel very content as an artist. I’m happy that it was very well received and that I had the chance to play such a fun character.

 

What’s next for you?
I’ve been offered the principal role “Shelby Eatenton Latcherie” in a new adaption of the play Steel Magnolias which opens this summer here in New York City.  I’m very excited about sharing more information about that soon. I’m also writing on a short-film together with a friend that I promise to talk more about next time.

 

Thank you Amanda Erixon for this interview and good luck on your future projects! I can't wait to hear more from you! 

I'm alive!! I promise. Wow it has been quite a while since I wrote here. But there has been a crazy month! I am still in New York so don't you dare think I returned home. I am still here, in school and I am truly having the time of my life. 

 

Okay, so since last time a lot of things has happened but I will try to not bore you with too much text. I will try my best okay? Okay. Let's go.

 

So, school started on the 26th of september I think. It feels like ages ago to be honest. The first wekk we had all these get together things with a boat thingy and then free pizza and ice cream at school. Best thing. We then had to do a screen test and then we got devided up into groups. I am so happy to be in my group. We are like a little family already and I couldn't be happier with all the amazing people around me. Yey group A. 

 

I'M HERE!!! Omg. It feels soooooo good to be back and I am so happy and thankful that I get to do this. It has been ten crazy days and I don't even know how to tell you everything that has happened but at least everything is alright now and we are going to be fine and everything so I am just so happy today!! Yey. Okay but let's take a look at some of the things we have been up to. 

When this blog post is up on here I am on my way to New York!!!! Omg. I have been so stressed these last weeks, I have also been nervous and sad because hugging people goodbye is the worst thing I know. Been trying to hold back the tears though because I hate crying hehe. Anyways, the packing should be ready now (I do hope so since I'm in a plane across the Atlantic) and this weekend I bought one and a half kilo candy to bring with me since it was more than fifty procent cheaper than usual. Score. It was chaos at the supermarkets candy corner though and people were pushing each other, yelling, babies were crying and old men were screaming at teenagers for taking the last pieces of the best candy. Sweden everyone. Anyways, enough about my candy experience. I hope you all had a great monday. Wish me luck on my travels and I'll try to update on here later this week when I have settled in a bit! Byeeeee. 

 

I haven't been this tired in such a long time. Like I am right now in bed just staring at the wall because I can't bother to move my eyes to the tv. I almost feel like these babies who has such a big head so they can't hold it up by themselves. Something like that. But yesterday was so much fun so it was totally worth it!

 

But let's just start with the day before yesterday. I spent the whole day baking two cakes and it was a nightmare. Like something always goes wrong when I'm baking. This time it was the white chocolate mousse who just wouldn't be a mousse but more like a dough. Like can you imagine spending the whole day baking and then at eight pm over one liter of whipped cream and one kilo of chocolate just goes "nope". I was this close to throw the whole thing out of the window and go and hit something. BUT thankfully I didn't, I managed to save it and it became the best white chocolate mousse I've ever done. *cries happy tears* The cakes turned out really good. I didn't eat it but it's just two slices left so I think that is a good sign. 

 

And then yesterday. CRAYFISH PARTY YES. So this is something we do every year and I am looking forward to it every time. We basically get together the whole family, wear these funny hats, sing these funny "snapsvisor", eat a lot of crayfish and other nice food stuff and just have the best family gathering ever. I had so much fun yesterday and it is always nice to spend time with the people who matter the most to me. We ended the night with some frisbee in the dark and I will be surprised if I didn't get any bruises from that game. We (I) take it very seriously. I almost chopped of my cousins head with the frisbee. But let's not talk about that. I am a nice person really. 

 

 09.00

Okay so my alarm really went off at eight but it was way too early for me so I kind of snoozed. Then I realised I had to leave my house in less than half an hour and I had to take a shower, get ready and eat breakfast. Never been that quick before. Not a morning person as you can see.

 

Okay. I did it. I removed the stitches. Or not me. But a nurse did. And I was super close to fainting because the whole room started spinning. But thankfully she was really quick and managed to get it done before I hit my head in the floor. This is my "omg I did it and I am so happy but I need some more air so I don't faint from thinking about it"- face. 

 

Okay so since I am baking a lot of stuff for the crayfish party this weekend I needed to buy a lot of things so we drove to this mall not too far away. I bought almost two kilos of chocolate so the cake better turn out great. I also really needed a new t-shirt (not really but why not), a lipstick and to fix my glasses. 

Hello from the fitting room! *hand emoji*

 

After shopping both clothes (I swear I don't shop that often omg it just sounds like that on here like I am broke af) and food stuff we decided to call it a day and I drove home. This is me, super happy for some reason that I drove a car??? I don't know what is going on.

 

 So the cookies didn't turn out thaaaat great. I kind of forgot about them and they are not cookies but more like... very crunchy and hard cookies. Yes. But the vegetarian pie I made for my cousin did turn out great and look at it!! I am chocked it turned out so good? I might qualify for a housewife after all?  

 

And yes. That is my day. Described with pictures of me. Omg. Well, sometimes that happens okay. Deal with it.

Right now I'm in bed trying to keep myself from going to the kitchen and take a cookie. They might be rock hard but they contain vanilla fudge so they can't be that bad right? Anyways. Tomorrow I'm going to get my hair done *angels singing* and then bake two cakes, workout and clean my room since it can't look like this when there will be people here this weekend. I need to look like a person who was her life together. 

Okay so it has been very empty here for a while now. And it's basically because I haven't been up to anything special lately. I have just been doing some packing, celebrating two birthdays, some more packing, been on some powerwalks with my dog and spending cold days inside watching tv-shows. And I haven't been feeling that great either so therefore no blog posts.

 

 

But I am feeling much better this week though so it won't be as boring as last week was! Let's look at some of the things I'm going to do. And yes. I do like lists.

 

 

+ Baking

I am going to bake some cakes for a party on saturday!! Oh how I love to bake. Even though it will probably take days to finish this cake this time since it has to be enough for everyone... I have been making this cake a few times (own recipe) and now I got an order to do it for this weekend. No pressure. 

 

+ Haircut

I am finally gonna get a haricut! I haven't been to the hairdresser for like a year... Oops. Better late than never I guess. 

 

+ Remove stitches

I finally get to remove my stitches so I can act like a normal human being again. Not being able to workout the way I want to has been driving me crazy. Powerwalks isn't that much fun.

 

+ Crayfish party

YES. It's time for the annual crayfish party. I am so ready. If you're not from the nordic countries and have no idea what I am talking I will make a blog post about it later this week and show you the perks about being swedish. Or just google it if you want to laugh at us. It's okay. I promise.

 

 

 

Okay. I HATE going to the doctor because blood, needles and that weird smell. I have been worse than I am right now but it's still pretty bad so I am a bit nervous to remove stitches since I have never done that before. I will probably have to lay down to not faint like I have done several times before. (Do I have to mention that it was just like a year ago that I started to go by myself when I had to leave blood samples? No let's not bring that up.)

 

- Paperwork

This endless paperwork. I just got an email where I have to print out eleven papers and sign all of them? And then scan them and send them back by email? Why? W H Y?

 

- Payday

Could have been a + before this one but I just remebered that I only worked one day during july. And the lowest income of the month goes to *drumrolls* ME. And I just got a letter from the tax agency telling me it's time to pay taxes. Shit. I hate being a grown up.

Dun dun dun. The title of this blog post says it all. A battle. Between NYC and Sweden. *drum rolls* 

 

Okay this is a question I get a lot. To compare Sweden and my city here with New York. So even if I only been to New York a couple of times is still consider myself appropriate for this task. Because even if I have been in Sweden waaaay more than New York I still know some important pros and cons.

This is like a rap battle.

Without the rap.

Okay. Here we go. 

 

 

 

* A lot of hot guys (of course)
* There is always something to do even if it's four in the morning

* Cheap pizza (I live for this)
* Shake Shack (their chicken burger holy moly)
* Huge buildings with great views (I don't have that where I'm from)

* It is a huge city which means that you can hide if you want to (not trying to sound like a criminal)

* It is never completely quite (I love this because silence makes me go crazy)

* Cheap nail polish (mucho importante)

* The subway system is easy to understand (might not be the best in the world but yeah, easy to understand!!!)

* Like the possibilites?? 

* Forever 21 (they have the best shirts)

* These cinemas where you get a chair that you can make to like a "bed" (best thing EVER take me there and I am yours forever)

* You can get everything with the flavour "peanut butter"

* Reeses pieces (I swear this candy lasts forever, I still find pieces of it in my bags)

* So my dad told me that there is salmon in the Hudson River that you can fish??? (would never eat it though, feels like it could be radioactive or something) 

* You can get anything fried (even salads have a fried option)

 

* If you drink the tap water your body will be like 50% chlorine because that is how the water tastes

* It is a very expensive city to live in

* You might have a rat as your neighbour (not sure if this is a pro or a con hm I guess it depends on the rat)

* The air is a serious problem for people with allergies (hello asthma)

* Rush hour is no joke

* It feels dangerous to take a bike anywhere else but a park (cars drive like crazy)

* If you walk in a short skirt at Wall Street because chances are that some scumbag in a suit thinks that he has the right to cat call you (don't let that stop you though!!!)

* There's this guy called Trump

 

 

* Fresh air that isn't toxic to breath in

* A lot of things are free here in Sweden which is great (health care, school, surgery), America you seriously need to look over where those tax money is heading 

* The water tastes like it should (in other words like water)

* We have a lot of great bands/artists

* You can drive to a nearby farm and pet cow babies

* The pizza might not be as cheap as the New York one but it's better oops

* Sweden is very small so it doesn't take days to drive to another part of the country, you can like drive to different countries in less than a day

* Cold winters with a lot of snow (yey for skiing)

 

* If you don't own an Michael Kors bag you are an "outcast" (if you are a swede and disagree with me you probably own one of those bags) 

* This douchebag Jimmy Åkesson and his political party (pls don't support them people)

* If you live in my town there is no fast food close and everyone is racist and sexist here

* Swenglish (that horrible accent)

* You always run into someone you don't want to meet, ALWAYS

* The swedish "dream" that everyone is going for makes me totally panicked

* The summer weather (hello rain and hail)

* If you live in my town no one wants to come and visit you because you live way too far from civilisation

 

Okay I think I got the most basic ones. So conclusion? New York has a lot of awesome food and hot dudes and Sweden has better water and the air is better to breathe. You must cleary see why I choose to study in New York rather than Sweden. Nah jokes aside. Sweden and my little city (it ain't even a city but yeah) is all good and I do like it here. But after spending almost twenty years of my life here I kind of feel suffocated. Everyone knows me and I feel like I can never be anything else here. Never achieve what I want to achieve. I need something else.

So even if the air in New York sucks I kind of find it a bit easier to breathe there. 

 After a long Skype-session a couple of days ago with my roomies to be we finally decided on when we should leave for NY. Me and Jenny will go over first to do some house hunting and then Carla will join us later on. In about a month I will be on my way to the city again!!! Woop woop! I booked my flight yesterday and after hours of googling if it's safer to sit in the back or in the front of the plane I found an article that said that if the plane crashes it is more likely that I will survive if I sit in the back. So that feels good to have the odds on my side. And I will also get the food first. Surviving is always better on a full stomach. 

 

So now I basically just have the packing left. Dun dun dun. I am kind of scared to even start because yeah, how the hell will I get all the things with me?? I have done a list on everything I need to bring with me and it is a mess. I have nine pairs of shoes on there. NINE. Five of them are sneakers. In different colours. I do love my sneakers. I have decided to leave my camera at home and that gives me room for roughly two more pairs of sneakers. Priorities. Totally my strong side.

 

Yup. Here we go again. A list. But I do love them. And more people keep showing up here (it is so much fun, welcome!!!) so let's get to know me a bit better with some questions. And mix it up with fun posts I have been finding on tumblr recently. Sounds good? Awesome.  

 

 

I am outside in our backyard listening to some music with these awesome headphones I got to borrow from my brother (he's the best). Thankful to have a brother who is a gamer and only buys proper headphones. Even though my head is way to small to look cool in them...

 

 

 

 

To die. I feel like I have so much left to do with my life and yeah. It kind of scares me not to be able to do all those things. And when people with an unknown phone number calls me. That is some scary stuff right there. 

 

 

 

Getting postcards or letters!! I love opening up letters that are addressed to me omg. Sadly I barely get any fun letters these days, only bills and boring stuff. Oh and when someone starts telling you about something with "this reminded me of you..."

 

 

In five years I am hopefully working as an actress in the US (if someone from the US government is reading this I would never ever work illegal I promise!!!!!), is able to travel the world and having my own island in Carribbean. True Johnny Depp style. But if you should listen to the rumours going around about me right now I am probably married by then. This is amazing news for me that didn't even know about this though because then a green card is not that far away. *inserts crying/laughing emoji* No please if these rumours have reached you please do know that it's not the case. I am not going back to NY for a guy. Hahahaha omg. 

 

 

 

When animals die in movies. Jeez. Heartbreaking. 

 

 

 

If you were a type of tree, what would you be? 

 

I love these questions. Totally important. If I were a tree I would be... *googles types of trees*. I only found a wikipedia site on important trees and none of them seemed to have had a fun life so I am just gonna go with a christmas tree because who wouldn't wanna be a christmas tree??

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Well this depends on the person I'm texting but probably something like "heeeeej" or "hiii". I like to have more than just one letter if you didn't notice. It makes it waaay more exciting. Yeah see, I did it again.

 

 

 

 

 

Preparing for a year abroad isn't the easiest thing to do. It might not seem like there is much to do at first but just wait. It will be even more than you could imagine. First there is hella many papers you have to fill in and send to every single person on the whole earth. Not really but that is how it feels. And then like I already mentioned in a previous post, you probably did something wrong and have to send them all the things again. After all the paperwork is done you have to visit the US embassy. And it is not the best place you've been to. They are quite rude and want to know EVERYTHING. And when I say everything I truly mean everything. At first I was a bit unsure if the guy was hitting on me but then I realised that he really wanted to know if I had a boyfriend in New York. So be prepared to answer a lot of questions that feels like a joke. I promise you they are not. Do not make my mistake and laugh at the guy asking the questions. They don't think it's funny. Anyways after the most stressful fifteen minutes of your life, the guy that clearly doesn't like you says that your visa has been approved and you get to run out of there. Best feeling ever. 

 

Okay and then you are basically good to go. Nah not really. I hate to be the one to tell you but there are plenty of things left. Like for example finding a place to live. Which I tell you is HARD. If you have budget. If you are a rich f*cker then get the hell out of here. So basically it is so hard to find somewhere to live when you are across the Atlantic and every broker thinks that you are a scam. And you will have to buy everything when you get there and beds aren't that cheap you know. 

 

And then we get to the whole packing situation. How the hell are you gonna bring all your favorite things with you? All your shoes? All your clothes? Without having to pay a ridiculous amount of money? What will you leave? What can you live without? Is seven pairs of black jeans really necessary? (yes it probably is.) How do you say goodbye to family and friends? How do you say goodbye to your dog? (this will for sure be the hardest thing for me, to say goodbye to my dog.) Which flight should you take? The one that is a direct flight but more expensive that the one where you have to wait for four hours at some random city in Finland? Will they loose your luggage that you totally over packed but have EVERYTHING in? There are so many questions you will have to ask yourself and you basically don't know the answer to them so just close your eyes and hope for the best.

 

 

And after that you are basically ready. Ready to get on that flight that will take you towards something that you really want to do. And everything will be worth it. All those hours you have spent on doing paperwork. All those hours you spent on filling them in again because something went wrong. All those hours it took for you to get to the embassy and wait there for your turn to have your interview. All those hours you spent house hunting and never thought you would find something. All those hours you spent on trying to fit everything in your suitcases and cried a bit over those pretty adidas shoes that you just couldn't take with you because they wouldn't fit in the bag. All those hours you spent on saying goodbye to the people you love the most. All those hours were totally worth it. Because you did it. You are on your way and will probably have the best time of your life. You will meet knew people, learn new things that you would never learn back home and eat fantastic food (best thing). You will learn the language much better and you will learn so many important things about yourself too. You will meet incredible people that will make your life so much better and maybe, just maybe, you will have a new place to call home. And you did it all by yourself even if it felt impossible at some points. And I promise you. It is the best feeling ever.  

 

Okay and now here are some great tips to whoever is thinking about going abroad to study for a longer period of time in USA. Or to do something else. I don't know. Anyways. Here are five tips that I think will help you a bit on the way! 

 

* Don't worry too much about what to wear to the US Embassy. I got the information that I had to be very nicely dressed like for an important job interview. But do not fear. You don't have to buy a new skirt and a blazer for your visit at the embassy. Like you don't even get to "meet" your interviewer. They are sitting behind a glass window and they won't even see what you are wearing. So relax. Just dress in something casual. As long as you don't wear sweatpants and crocs you will be fine. 

 

 

 

* Applying for CSN or some other student loan? Well, when you have to send them paperwork like acceptance letter, the cost of the school and other things SEND THEM EVERYTHING YOU HAVE. Or even better, contact your school first of all and ask them to send you the paper that they normally use for CSN or other loans. They usually know what students are applying for. Then you probably don't have to send them papers again and again and again. Like I had to. Learn from my mistakes. Send them every damn paper there is about your studies. It will save you so much time and you will get the money much quicker! 

 

* Bring two suitcases with you. I know. It will bring an extra cost to it but if you are like me and doesn't want to buy too much over there it is totally worth it. Especially if you are studying and probably won't make money every month. You will not regret spending twenty dollars extra to bring with you soooo many extra clothes, shoes, pillows, or whatever. It might feel a bit like wasting some money and you might wonder how you will do carrying those two big ass suitcases around but it will be worth it. If I can get two suitcases that was over twenty kilos each up seven narrow stairs without falling and dying, you can too. 

 

* Got some more room in your suitcase? Probably not. But if you do, that is great!! You can know bring some things with you that you would have to buy over there anyway. If you are a Swede then IKEA is your best friend. If you are are from somewhere else then IKEA is still your best friend. I have a feeling that some of their products are a bit cheaper here in Sweden so if you have some space left buy small stuff and fill up the empty place in your suitcase. It can be everything really. Forks, knives (be a bit careful with this one so it's not something the customs will take you for), plastic things for the kitchen and so on. Or if you prefer to take an extra pairs of shoes with you instead of kitchen things I totally understand you. Totally. I would probably do that too. 

 

* Don't worry if you are going alone without someone by your side. It might seem scary not knowing someone but there are always people in the same situation as you. You will not be left out I promise! As long as you are yourself and a nice human being it will work out. I actually prefer going on my own the first time because then you are forced to get to know new people. If you bring a friend with you it is always nice of course but then you might just hang with that person and not getting to know more new people. So trust me on this one, you will be glad that you went on your own even if it feels a bit scary in the beginning. 

 

Oh my, hi. I haven't forgot about my blog I promise. I have a valid reason why I haven't updated in a week. Because I totally need one and have to explain myself. Yeah. Anyways. I have been at my dads summer house again and there is no wifi there (panic). Therefore I haven't been able to write any blog posts. I did buy some internet to my phone that I shared with my computer but I spent that on Netflix. I think you all understand my choice. Okay enough about that. I had a great time as always up there and it's nice to spend time with my family now that I'm gonna be away for a year. Up there I went kayaking again! It is so fun even though I am terrified of water. I didn't fell in this time either but next time I'm up there I think we're going to pracitce how to tip over and make it out of the kayak alive. Sounds terrifying. I know. I also did some fishing of course and lost a big fish and spent the rest of the night being upset about it. I take fishing very seriously if you didn't know that about me already. I also had a day where I had the place all to myself. Partaaaay. Nah dad, I promise I didn't wreck the place. I slept in, had breakfast outside, took a few "I woke up like this"-pics (as shown below) and then I tried to enjoy being in the sun even if there was twenty eight degrees outside. Didn't go so well.  

So yesterday when I woke up I decided to check the news on my phone and the first thing that pops up is that Pokemon Go has been released in Sweden. Holy shit yes finally. I know it's still in beta version and kind of sucks but who the hell cares. I finally get to live my childhood dream where I get to be a pokemon trainer. *Cries a bit* At the age of twenty. Amazing. And if I don't get fit from running around catching pokemons I don't know what. 

 

So besides catching pokemons (I just have like two because they don't spawn pokemons in the town where I live becuase it's so small so I basically have to run for more than an hour to get somewhere where they are hiding) I have been having some really good lunches (I live for food to be honest??), been to this market they arrange one time every year to buy candy (nothing more important than candy), explaining to a guy that was probably 40+ in the line at the grocery store how to catch pokemons (never thought someone would ask me that) and meeting this really cute cat that followed me around and screamed when I walked away from it. Heartbreaking I know. And yeah then other 'normal human-being stuff' not really worth writing about. But writing about me meeting a cat totally is. Yup. I have my priorities. 

 

 

So being back home again could just be really nice but sadly I have to do all these boring things now that I got the time to do it. Is this what growing up really is about? Like for example filling out different forms for CSN and the I-20. Like it takes such a long time. And then when you are SO proud of yourself that you filled everything in and sent them all the paperwork they crush your dreams and ambitions and tell you that you filled it in incorrectly. Yeah, I truly love when it happens. Nah it ain't that bad to be home again. I mean my dog is super thrilled that I'm home again and wakes me up every single morning at seven am by licking my whole face and jumping on me. Even though he is a small dog it feels like he breaks my ribs every single time. And he looks happy while doing it? But lately I have been thinking about being away from him for a year and I will truly miss him even though he is crushing my ribs way too often, makes packing so hard by sitting on/in your bags, goes crazy every single time someone says the swedish word for cat or the fact that he probably should use braces because the first thing people say when they see him is "aw look at his teeth".