God Morgon! (Good morning)

The last few days have been great. I've met many of the teachers I'll be working with this year. I'm looking forward to beginning my first year of teaching!

We start in-service August 7th. All the details will start becoming more clear and I can begin to finalize some planning for the year.

I'm looking forward to travelling during my down time. Many of the teachers have been to various places across Europe, a few have yet to return. Visiting Croatia is definitely a priority this year and I'd also love to visit Barcelona. Other than that, I'm open to suggestions! On my window sill sit coins from the Czech Republic, Norway, Turkey, and Switzerland amongst others.

Various currencies collected by the others that lived in my apartment.

Chloe (a friend from home) has been visiting since Friday afternoon as she completes her half a year of travels around the world! We've come full circle since her goodbye dinner in March as I become settled in Eskilstuna. It's been a nice transition into a new country having a friend from home visit. She of course has had so many wonderful stories to share about here adventures.

On Friday, we headed downtown for some dinner and to check out the night life. People in Sweden are very social. Currently most people are enjoying their 6 weeks of mandatory summer holidays so many locals are travelling or spending time at their summer homes on the lake. Downtown was still quite busy. The high standard of living is a bit noticeable when out for dinner but it doesn't differ all that much from Canada in my opinion.

Lauren, Myself and Chloe

I took advantage of Saturday and Sunday to explore Eskilstuna. There are beautiful running paths through the forest nearby. The paths are even lined with lighting to accommodate for the dark fall/winter months. Currently the sun sets around 10:30pm and begins to rise again it seems around 3:30am - pretty crazy! I'm not looking forward to the opposite. The wild blueberry bushes that line the paths are a nice touch (delicious too). 

I finally finished unpacking by Monday afternoon. It shouldn't have taken so long but there were many more exciting things to do it seems. Chloe and I headed on an excursion with Lauren and Margarita. We spent the afternoon at Vilsta which I'd describe as a park with a small sandy beach. The natural elements of Sweden are very similar to Canada! I felt as though I was at tiny beach up along a lake in Ontario's cottage country.

Feeding the ducks!

Beautiful Sunset!

Near the running path

Most recently, I set aside Tuesday to take care of administrative things. I travelled to Västerås albeit not so smoothly (we missed the train, had to take a +45 mins detour) to head to the migration board. The detour wasn't so bad as we got to explore Arbogo, a tiny little town with a beautiful church built in the 1200's and a real medieval feel. Afterwards Chloe and I explored the main sights as we ran through the rain. Västerås is the 6th largest city in Sweden with a population of 130 000. It is surrounded by lakes.

Arboga

Tunnel @ Västerås Castle 

Looking into the city centre - Västerås

Along a canal

Today is Chloe's last day in Sweden. We're heading to Stockholm this afternoon to check out the city and spend the day exploring. Hopefully we make our train this time!! 

Välkommen till Sverige!

I arrived in Eskilstuna last night around 8pm. Unable to maneuver anywhere with 3 suitcases, I had to recruit some local help. I was met at the train station by Tina who works at the senior school. She brought me to my apartment. I was pleasantly surprised by my new accommodations. It's a lot bigger than I thought!

Before that, she took me on a quick tour of the town by car. Eskilstuna is designed as a bike town which is pretty interesting. Tina's going to help me find a bike in the next couple of weeks. 

 Eskilstuna has the feel of other European cities such as Amsterdam and Brussels but on a different scale. The buildings do not seem as old however. There is something else unique about it (can't quite pinpoint it) which I'll surely discover as I spend more time here.

I leave you with a beautiful picture I took as I flew into Stockholm and a story. I met a family on the train into town. Their little girl named Mora asked me how I had travelled here. I told her that I flew and she replied with, "I didn't know you had wings!"

I hope I can always view the world with a lens of child-like wonder. Mora's little bit of humour helped relieve some of the stress I was feeling.

Cause I'm leavin' on a jet plane...

Tomorrow is the big day. I'm excited and a bit nervous, but overall pretty anxious to begin this next chapter. I've had a wonderful last few weeks in Canada spending time with friends and family. I think the following quote from J.M Barrie's "Peter Pan" is a good representation of my mindset. 

The Complicated Art of Packing - ["Now you just bring the stuff you know you're going to need." - George Carlin]

George Carlin's comedy bit on "Stuff" sums my feelings as I begin packing and figuring out what to bring along to Sweden.

Only 5 weeks to go..

I've finally graduated and am certified to teach! What a wonderful feeling.  My flight is officially booked for July 24th and I couldn't be more excited! I'll have just over two weeks to get acquainted with Eskilstuna before embarking on the journey that is my first year of teaching. I'm buzzing with feelings of excitement, uncertainty, and anxiousness. 

It just hit me that I have only 5 more weeks/weekends to enjoy with friends and family before the big move to Sweden. I had an amazing weekend in Muskoka (LOVE the cottage life) and am looking forward to this weekend at Susan's in Sarnia. There are so many things I want to do and people I want to see before I go.

In other news, everyone at IES Eskilstuna seems very welcoming and kind. I've spoken with a few of the teachers via email. They've been very supportive in answering my questions and helping me to organize the many, many details. This is all extremely important as I prepare move halfway across the world!

I'm currently reading "The First Days of School" by Harry Wong. I think it's important to be prepared as I embark on this exciting journey of teaching. The book  was recommended to me by a principal at my first practicum placement. Interesting insights so far with a focus on clearly outlining expectations and procedures. Students are more likely to behave when consistency is focused upon. Relating this to my current experiences I'd have to agree.

On another note, I've been practicing yoga at PYC [Power Yoga Canada] and have been mulling over the idea of incorporating this into my teaching somehow. This book seems like it provides an interesting overview of the benefits of yoga for kids. Definitely going to check it out of the library this week to find out more. 

Stay tuned for more updates in the coming weeks!