Payton’s Journals

August 31, 2026

BRB, I'm Moving Countries

Hej Hej! 

I CANNOT believe I am actually on this journey. My flights here were pretty good. My first was about 9 hours, and my second was only an hour and a half. During my layover, which was five hours, I was so tired, so I decided to get coffee. There was only one place called Espresso House, and it was so good. After a week here, I found out that it was like the Starbucks of Sweden, which I thought was great because it was so good. When I met my host family, they had a sign that was a Swedish flag with "Välkommen Payton!" written on it, which was so sweet. We didn't get a picture, but that's ok. My host dad is Peter, my host mom is Titti, my younger host brother by only 4 months is Anton, and my older host brother is Rufus. Anton is 17, and Rufus is 19. I landed at Arlanda Airport, and it was about a 45-minute drive home. During the drive home, we talked about my expectations for my exchange, some Swedish culture, and that I probably wouldn't be meeting my older host brother for another week or so because he was out traveling. When we got back, I learned that the city I would be living in with my first host family is called Skärholmen, which, by train, is about 30 minutes outside of Stockholm Central, which isn't bad. I do have 

The first night we ate Swedish potato pancakes with Lingonberry Jam, which was SO good. I am obsessed with that meal and would eat it every day if I could. After dinner, we went over simple house rules, expectations, and talked about things I could do to help around the house, such as my responsibilities. The next day, we went to the biggest IKEA in the WORLD!! If you Google it, it says there are two bigger ones in the Philippines and South Korea, but those are both storage-focused and not really store- and shopping-focused. Anyways... The food was absolutely amazing, and I had missed it so much. 

My first two weeks in Sweden were A LOT of exploring... by myself... which honestly made it more fun! Stockholm is such a beautiful place filled with so much history. Gamla Stan is my favorite place to go because I feel like every time I go there, I am constantly finding new places that weren't there before, and it makes me so happy. Its name is also one of my favorite reasons to go there; it translates to "Old Town", which is a really good way to describe it, as it is the oldest historic district in Stockholm. There is so much history that you can see, literally... There is a cannonball sticking out from one of the buildings. Not to mention, the main square there is where the Stockholm Bloodbath took place, where 80-100 Swedish nobles and citizens were killed. So that's cool!

One of my favorite parts about living here is the food culture. Eating here is so important. Every meal counts, but they have an extra one. Maybe not a meal, but a really tasty mid-day snack. It's called Fika. It's between breakfast and lunch, or lunch and dinner, where you drink coffee and eat sweet pastries. It was created in workplaces to slow down, take a break, and socialize. It eventually moved out of the workplace and into society and has been a common practice/tradition since. Plus, it's another reason for me to eat more food!

My first day of school was August __, and I'm not gonna lie, I was so freaked out. Not even because it was my first day in a school where I was gonna learn in a completely different language; it was because of the way I dressed. I wore skinny jeans on my first day of school, and I got SO many weird looks. The next day I asked someone I had gotten close to the day before, and their response was, "Skinny jeans are so six years ago". OH... MY... GOD... for a second I thought I was in the movie Clueless or Mean Girls for a second because what do you mean "so six years ago"? That's when I started paying attention to what people were wearing, and living here is like living in the early 2000's. Low-rise jeans, white tank tops under shirts, lace around shirt necklines, push-up bras, super bronzy make-up, concealer lips, and so much more! I am honestly loving it, though not gonna lie.

In the first week, I made two decent friends, Jolin and Lea. They have both been on exchange to America through different programs, so they're english was pretty good. We're still in an awkward phase, but that's ok. I think we're going to become great friends and that there's much more to come!

I have already had the time of my life here and am so grateful to be here and am so thankful for the support from my family back home who have supported me, as well as the Rotary Club of Columbus and Rotary District 6900, the people who make opportunities like this possible. I cannot wait to venture further into my journey and make so many new memories. Until next time...

Hej då!