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". 

 

So after hiking for almost a week we drove up to Åre to end the trip there. We started off by staying at a very cute small hotel in the middle of the town. And this is where my body started to completely shut off. Apparently when you haven't been able to sleep for two months and then push yourself to max, it comes with consequenses. Who knew?? It felt like I had been hit by a truck multiple times and I had nosebleeds four times a day BUT HEY I wouldn't let that stop me. And thankfully after climbing a mountain for seven hours and sleeping in a tent for a week I could finally sleep when I got to a comfortable bed. I actually think I could have fallen asleep anywhere. So if you ever have trouble sleeping just climb a mountain and I promise you that it will get better. So easily done and everything. Not being sarcastic at all. Anyways. Getting on with it.

The day after we arrived to Åre we took the car and drove over to Norway! There is a town called Trondheim and it is truly one of the most beautiful cities ever. We had some lunch, walked around and of course we bought some things that you simple can't leave Norway without. Nugatti Air and Stratos. Seriously I don't know what I would do without it sometimes. And I don't want to hear anyone telling me that Nugatti is basically Nutella because it's not. You think I would cross borders to get Nugatti if it was just like Nutella? Don't think so. 

 

After more than two weeks on the road I am back home again. It has been so much fun and I miss it already.

 

 

We started two weeks ago by leaving Stockholm and driving about seven hours up in Sweden. There, in a small town, we begun our hike up to Helags! It's about a six hour hike to the mountain station and the walk is so beautiful and uhm, a bit hard at some points but mostly just beautiful. Last year my backpack was about eight kilos but this year it was more than sixteen kilos. It might not sound that much but when walking uphill for six hours it is A LOT and I had bruises on my shoulders and hips afterwards haha. Like imagine doing squats for six hours straight with sixteen kilos extras on you, that's how it felt. Anyways, we had great weather and me and my little cousin made it to the station first *flexing my non-existing muscles*.