This would be my grandfathers second couzin Ann-Christin and me. :)
This is the grave of Knute Hansen (Ivar's Father)
Oh my goodnes!!!!! I got to go to Sweden yesterday and visit some old relatives of mine!!!! I was so excited, and it turned out to be a wonderful time. Let's start from the beggining. So, yesterday we woke up, had some breakfast, and left the house around eight oclock. We hopped in the car, and four and half hours later, and three stops, we were there. I was so excited. When we arived, we had a delicious dinner that they prepared for us. We talked, me in english, Ivar and Trude in Norwegain, and Elsy and Ann-Christin in Swedish.....somehow, we were able to understand each other. :) Quite well, if I might add. I never knew that Swedish was that similar. After we ate, Ann-Christin took us to the gravesite of her father, and that was really neat. We got to see the church too. Everything there reminded me of home. After we had been in Sweden for a while it started to look more and more like home. The fields got bigger, and the mountains got lower. ha. and the trees more scarce. It made me appreciate Norway so much more. Now I am glad that I was placed in Norway because it is soo different from the America. I dont think that it would have been as great to go to a country that is identicle to you home. I did this exchange to experience change in culture and lifestyle....and right now, in Norway, that is what I am getting. I love it. Actually, I can understand why Bishop Hill is Swedish, because its the same type of invironment. It was a great place for them to settle. Anyway, what else....k...so, after we got back from the cemetary we looked at photo albums for a while and it was awsome to be able to see all the people and who they were and match faces to stories. Elsy had said that she remebers going to America and seeing my grandpa and his family. :) It is neat when people can tell you stories of people that you know back home. It was really neat. I keep saying "neat". Opps, sorry, but I dont know any better word...thats what it was....it was "neat." :) Elsy had made some little deserts. So, after we looked throught the albums, we sat down once more and talked over coffie and Kula (?) cakes and other deserts. They were so kind to us!!!!! Thank you guys. And......THANK YOU IVAR AND TRUDE for driving that whole way for me! So, now for the real shocker. So, we were driving back home and right when we were about to pass back into Norway, I realized that I had forgoten my passport! So, Trude and I waited at the "customs" place or whatever, while Ivar drove two hours back home to get it and back. HAHA. Just kidding. Naw, nothing like that happened at all. Actually, it was quite shocking. Going into Sweden we just kept driving. No stop, no check points, no nothing. On the way back in I was asleap, so I am guessing that the same thing happened. :) It was kinda the same thing like when we go to Burlington. Differnt laws, differnt rules, yet....no problem. :) ha. Anyway, after we were in Norway for about half an hour or soish, we stoped at the grave of Ivar's father. I think it was nice to be able to share the same experience with them, that they just had with me. It was a day of cemetary visiting. :) hehe. By the time that we had gotten there though, it was dark. Many of the graves had candles next to them, so the whole entire cemetary was all lit up. I tried to take a picture of that too, ha, but it didnt work so well. All the lights show up, but the stones don't, so it just kinda looks like random lights everywhere....not so cool. :) The church for this cemetary appeared to be what I think Americans accosiate with the Russians. You know, those "onion" toped roofed buildings. (Whats funny is that in Norwegian, it is actually called løk lignende tak wich is onion look alike roof. ha.) Okay, we gotta speed this entery up...I gotta go to class. :) So, we drove the rest of the way home, I called my parents and told them about my trip....and then I went to bed. Later for now!
1 comment:
sara! that is SO cool you got to go to sweden! you wanted to go there so bad, and norway too, of course, so that's super cool that you got to go there, and with no problem too! :) that's exciting. the country laos is about an 1 or 2 hours away from me...it's so close! but i can't go because of thailand's visa laws. :P i think it's silly because we're so close...also, i was in chiang rai the other weekend, and that's in the north-eastern part of thailand, and it's super close to burma. we actually went to this temple on a hill that had a cool tower you could go up, and you could see the river just a little ways away and on the other side was burma. so, i guess i haven't been to burma or laos, but i've been sooo close! haha. anyways, it sounds like you are having an AMAZING time. it also sounds and looks so beautiful. i'm super jealous because norway seems like such a classy cool place....and i love thailand but i live in the city and so everything's close together and kinda dirty. the countryside is usually amazing, though. ahhhh anyways, i miss you, and i'm glad to see you're having a great time!!! :) much love!!!
<333
lauren :)
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