Here I am.

I am sitting here on my hostel bed, feeling like a zombie. It is 9:33 pm and I have only slept for maybe an hour during my entire journey. I am sharing a room with about 13 other people I have never met before. They are from all over the world. Some of them are whispering in French and laughing about something silly. Little do they realize that I have been listening to their conversations.

Ever since I was 16, I have wanted to be an exchange student in Sweden, and it's finally coming true. Back when I was 14, I started to teach myself Swedish. When I was 15, I was privileged enough to get to stay with friends who live here for a couple weeks. Now I am nearly 22, and I will be staying for almost a year.

This is me the first time I went to Sweden:

First time I ever left the USA. Picture by Kenneth Cope.

This is the second time:

picture by Kenneth Cope

When I first got here, I was even more like a zombie, except a ridiculous one pulling two huge bags. I always like to say I'm a frequent traveler and pride myself on packing light, but this is not light at all. It's rather embarrassing how clumsy I looked carrying these huge things with me through the train stations. As I was muscling my way down an escalator with a bag in each arm, and a nice stranger helped me out. Ha en bra dag, he said. Du också, I replied.

Just a few hours ago, I ate dinner here at the hostel. They offer complimentary pasta, coffee, tea, and random food items that guests leave behind. I was really hungry and decided to do what some other guests were doing: mix pasta with cheese and ketchup. Not the best meal ever, but I just really wanted to eat whatever I could get my hands on. Right as I finished a plate, this nice Brazilian lady asked me if I wanted what she and her husband were making--fried mushrooms, onions, tomatoes, and meat. That was such a nice offer that I couldn't turn it down, and even though I didn't eat the meat I really enjoyed those mushrooms. That was seriously so nice of her.

When you first arrive in another country, it feels like you're in a magical land, which is completely silly because it isn't magical at all to most of the people living there. I think it's the newness that surrounds you mixed with the exhaustion of being on plane after plane for a day straight. Having said that, Sweden is magical. Seriously, people are so nice and everything looks like it was designed by IKEA. I wish I had something more substantial to back up my "Sweden is magical" statement but you'll just have to trust me on this one. It just feels new and exciting and almost unreal.

The lesson I learned today was that you can never underestimate the kindness of strangers. I'll say something more meaningful when I'm more awake. Time to get some shut eye. Good night.