Students

October 31, 2025

And if not now, when?

It's wild that I've already been here for three months! I know I still have many months left but time is starting to go a lot faster and it's getting a bit sad that I know this will eventually end. I believe that this is a bit good though because it helps remind me to stay present and make the most out of this amazing experience. 

As for  things I've done this month I've been to a few rotary meetings and was actually able to go golfing with some Rotary people! I've never been golfing before but I really enjoyed it. With their help I'm hoping to pick it up as a sport this spring. In Sweden playing golf is a bit different than in the US. Here in Sweden, before you just go play golf on any course you are required to get a Grönt kort (green card). To get your Grönt kort you must pass a knowledge test about basic rules and etiquette and play a game of golf with 54 handicap. 

This month some of the other exchange students came to my town to go to the Strängnäs market. The market is the biggest in Sweden and there were around 15k people here. We shopped around for a good few hours then they took their trains home. After they got on the train I went to the fair (part of the market) with some friends from school. We spent around an hour there although it was very overpriced at 50sek a ride. 

I also went mushroom picking for the first time! We went out to the woods around noon and stayed there for two hours. We picked lots of chanterelle mushrooms, blueberries, and had fika in the woods. It's interesting to see that people here go out and pick the mushrooms and berries that they eat. It’s cool that people can access the same things that you would buy so easily and for free if they go look for them. 

One of the benefits of living so close to Stockholm is how often I can visit. A few weeks ago there was a board game night that one of the exchange students put on. Everyone brought some food and we hung out and played board games for a couple of hours. We also just had Autumn break and I was able to spend lots of time in Stockholm. I spent around four days in Stockholm exploring and taking photos. Closer to the end of the month I was able to take another short trip to Stockholm to go to Grona Lund. Gröna Lund is a big theme park on the water. We went at night when there was this Halloween event going on. There were a few haunted houses and lots of scare actors walking around. What my favorite part was was a ride called eclipse where you sit on these benches and get swung around high in the air. It was really cool to see the skyline of Stockholm as the sun was setting. While I was on the ride it was great to talk to one of the other exchange students and really made me appreciate this whole experience.

I also had the privilege of going to Uppsala for the Uppsala marathon. Me and two other exchange students did the uppsala relay marathon. Pretty much we split it up into different sections instead of us running the whole thing. One of my friends did 10 kilometers, the other did 24 kilometers, and I did the last 8 kilometers. In the US I didn't run at all but while I've been here it's started to grow on me. I'm hoping to do at least a few more races this year while I'm abroad. 

In conclusion, things here are going amazing! One thing I also want to include is this new Swedish word I learned. The word is “assiett” ( ah-she-ett ) and means a small plate, usually used for dessert, bread, or snacks. It's quite obscure but I'm enjoying learning some of the more unique words!