I try to take one day at a time, but sometimes several days attack me at once. ~Jennifer Yane

Hello everyone!

It's been a little more than a week since my last blog update, and I'm sorry about that. I have been a very busy but productive girl!

Last weekend my friend Caylie and I decided that we should take the ferry over to Denmark to check out the town of Helsingor. Unfortunately when we arrived on the shores of Denmark and starting walking around the streets- there was nothing going on. It was like a ghost town, the streets were empty, narrow, quiet, and dark. On the ferry over to Denmark, Caylie and I had some Albanian guys who were trying to trick us into following them to a bar, but of course we aren’t that naive. When we got to Denmark and saw that we were somewhat alone and we had those creepy guys following us around, we only had once choice. We decided that we’d rather go back to safe Sweden, our new-found home where at least we knew where everything was, and the night life was a little fuller with activity. So, we climbed back onto the ferry and boated our way back across the water. Thankfully we did that because when we got back to Sweden our night turned around. We had a lot of fun and met some new people, so all and all we had a good time.

The next day I was able to spend some time with Alicia, which was really nice as well. We went to the mall here, they just opened up a new wing and Alicia and I had not seen that yet so that's what we decided we would do. It was fun to see the Swedish style, I really like some of it. But the funny part is that so many things in this mall had the American flag on them, or something about America... it warms my heart. haha! 

On Monday, I was bombarded from all different sides. I found out that my first college exam was going to be held on Wednesday, and on top of other homework, I had to produce a three page essay for History. That had me a little stressed, but of course I never lost my head. On Monday I also had to get several things in town done.

First of all, I had to go and talk to the Swedish school to find out when I could start classes. When I got to the school, the lady at the desk didn’t speak English. Regardless of the communication gap, I learned that I was supposed to go to the tax office first and get a form before I came to the school to sign up. I would have to go and get that paper from the tax office and then come back on Wednesday to register. I then walked to the tax office, and on my way there I stumbled upon a local foods market in a churchyard. That’s one of the great things about living here, I never know what I am going to find!

After acquiring the proper paperwork from the tax office, I went to the bank to ask them why it was taking so long for them to open up my new account. My mother once told me “the squeaky wheel gets the oil” and that saying definitely held true in this situation. I went into the bank and asked them what was going on, and they had completely forgotten about me! I got that all straightened out, and I felt so good about how much I had already accomplished that day. Lastly, I went to a gym that’s here in town to ask about a membership. I think joining a gym will be very beneficial, not only from the health perspective but also because when it starts getting colder I still want to be able to run, or dance, whatever I want to do. I have to wait until the bank actually opens my account before I can become a member of the gym, but at least I know now that is definitely something I want to do.

The next day was filled with studying and brainstorming. On Wednesday I logged onto my school website, not really sure of what to expect from this exam. I was told that I had forty minutes to complete the test, but I wasn’t told how many questions there were or what kind of questions they were so I of course rushed right through it. I only used 16 out of the 40 minutes! There were forty multiple choice questions on this test… not exactly what I thought a college exam was supposed to be like but I’m relieved. Now when the next one comes along I'll have nothing to stress about. 

 Also on Wednesday, after completing my "college exam" Caylie and I headed over to the Swedish school together to sign up for classes. I am so excited that we are doing those classes together, it will be a lot more fun with her there with me. We got signed up for our night classes, they will be every Monday and Wednesday from 5pm to 8pm. Hopefully that's enough for us to learn decent Swedish in a year! 

I have since then finished my essay, and now I’m sitting nice and relieved on a Friday night. 

Well, now you all are caught up in what’s happening in the world of Cori. Hope you have a wonderful weekend!

Routine in Photo Form

This little dog waits patiently for me to take  him on walks, and sometimes I walk the kids to the bus. 

After I walk Faux, I normally go inside and clean the kitchen

This includes taking the trash to this little building and sorting it out

Then I normally come back inside and get on my computer

I get all of my school supplies together

I log on to my school website

This is my history teacher giving a lecture 

These are the kinds of questions I have to answer

Around 2p.m. I use this bus card to take the bus into town to pick up Mira from school 

Some days we go to cello lessons

After Cello I take the bus home in time to make dinner

This is the bus stop I get off on every day

5 times every two weeks I make a planned dinner from Lina's Matkasse. It's a pretty interesting program! The other days of those weeks I cook just about anything I can think of for dinner.

Of course, this was just one version of the type of day that I can have. Some days are more relaxed than others! I have a few hours during the day that I designate for "me" time- I might go into town and explore or window shop, I might zumba or go for a run in the lush forests, I may just relax and read more for school, who knows! I also have started joining Greta (boss) in Yoga lessons, I am really enjoying that, I never realized how relaxing that could be! Also I get to take care of Hilma the horse maybe once or twice a week... AND I am also supposed to start Swedish lessons here pretty soon. . . but I have to wait a few weeks until I acquire this four digit number that will allow me to take the Swedish class for free. I think when that starts I'll be taking night classes, so I'll have a busy schedule for sure! 

Happy Trails To You

Howdy!


Happy Labor Day! 


Normally around this time of year, my parents pull us kids out of school for a long weekend spent in Eminence, Missouri. We spend the weekend at a horse-camp, riding our horses through the wooded trails, tubing, crawfishing, and swimming with the horses in the Jack's Fork river, line dancing, listening to live bands, wearing cowboy hats and boots, going to a mess hall to get grub, meeting fun people, and just having a great time in general. When you ask our foreign exchange students what some of their favorite things that they did in America are, I can almost guarantee that all of them who went will say Eminence was one of them. 


"Cori, put your hands down, heels down, HANDS!"


Flash forward to the present-day. Instead of a cowgirl hat, I wear a helmet. Where there was once jeans now there are tight English riding pants. Instead of my brown, pointy-toed boots now I wear black English riding boots. I'm still the same girl but I'm sure not in Kansas anymore. 


Hilma, the cute Fjord horse I am riding for the year, is a very nice horse. Sweet tempered, she listens, all that good stuff. I'm lucky to be able to ride her for this year. 


I guess it's going to take a little time and a lot of habit-breaking for me to develop a somewhat decent technique, but I'm learning. Some of the main things that I have to learn are.. well everything. Even though I've been raised around horses, not everyone has the same way that they do things. In the stable, I have to learn the ropes of what goes where, what happens when, how to clean things, etc. I have to learn how to brush the horse and clean the hooves properly. I have to learn where to place the saddle, how much to tighten the girth, how much to adjust the stirrups, how tight to put the straps on the bridle, how to hold the reins, how to keep my legs, everything. My biggest issues right now are keeping my hands down, keeping my balance with my legs without using my hands, and keeping my heels pointed down and my legs tight against the horse.

"There is a certain relief in change, even though it be from bad to worse; as I have found in traveling in a stagecoach, that it's often a comfort to shift one's position and be bruised in a new place."

— Washington Irving

If I were to try to compare riding Western, (the cowboy way), to English, (bouncing up and down (also called posting)), I would compare the horses to cars. Driving an automatic car is a lot like riding western- You can get up and go, it's low maintenance, easy to take care of, and you don't have to worry as much about how you ride it's more just to go. Whereas, English riding being compared to a stick shift car- you have to examine every moment, what goes where, what to do when, much more attention being focused on the machine. Both are fun in their different ways. I would most definitely prefer riding western on long hauls, and for fun on the weekend camp-outs. But I think the English style is more showy, and it's sort of fun to think about what you're doing. 


That's all for now- Hope everyone had a nice Labor Day Weekend