30 Days before Goodbye

"Jag tycker att Piteå är en mycket vacker stad. Jag älskar hur Piteå byter från ett vinterparadis i vinter till en livlig och varm stad under Sommaren. Jag älskar att ha fika i krokodil på kvällarna och att lyssna på musik. Jag älskar palt och pitemål. Jag älskar Strömbackaskolan där har jag träffat många fantastiska och duktiga människor. Jag älskar max, för att dom har bättre hamburgare än Mcdonalds. Jag älskar lilla Tages Bro som jag går över varje dag. Jag älskar att sova under en himmel fylld med norrsken och vakna upp till den distinkta lukten av Piteås pappersfabrik. Piteå är som mitt andra hem." - Alannah Valentine

I started this journey with 365 days of adventure, and I can't believe that, as of today, there are only 30 days left. This year has been something I will never forget, It already doesn't feel real. How does one live a life in a year? Well, here is the answer. You learn to love it all. Those little habits you pick up along the way, the people you will never let go and the adventures that stick to the front of your mind as burning memories, coloured with every emotion is what makes this year a lifetime. And I wouldn't give up this year for the world. As it draws closer to the end, it is hard to know how to spend the time. You want to fit in every single thing possible that you haven't been quite able to fit in before. You want to spend every second with each person you have met along the way, and thank them for every moment. You want to spend the days relaxing and living it like any other day, because it won't be the same when you come back. It's definitely difficult. So, what have I been doing with my short time left here? Actually, quite a lot.

Little Signe, my host sister, has recently reached 1 year old! The gorgeous little girl was dressed in pink for her special day, and family and friends gathered to celebrate. Signe is such a sweet little girl with a love for music and energy to dance no matter what the hour. It is so funny to see her dancing and bopping to music in an advertisement or the sound of a guitar. So, I am sure she was very happy when she received a toy piano with a microphone and tambourine. This little girl will be starting her own band before we know it! I look forward to attending the concert.
In the meantime, I will be busy attending Greatgig. This is a coverband which performs each year in Piteå and is quite popular. Matts, one of my host dads this year, was the drummer in the band and was able to get me two free tickets! They covered Coldplay music and did a fantastic job of it. It was so great to see the band get so involved with the music, and how the crowd danced and sang at the top of their lungs with their favourite music.



The town is looking gorgeous as ever with lights dangling from the walls and stars shining through the windows. Santa has also started making trips to Piteå, making a grand entrance with his booming 'Ho ho ho' and taking note of the good girls and boys for this year. Of course, I couldn't miss my chance to say hello! We were visited by Santas from all across the world this year, which was quite interesting. Santa Claus has some personal unique traits in each country and it was interesting to see how his outfit changed slightly depending on the culture. Of course, with Christmas soon on its way, there is a big rush to buy presents for all our loved ones. I recently received a package from my family in Australia with some gifts, and I'm excited to open them on Christmas! My host mum and I also did some Christmas shopping of our own on a trip up to Luleå where we stayed a night in a hotel. We also treated ourselves to a lovely 3 course dinner and a face mask! The hotel spa had numerous facilities such as steam saunas, a season shower and footbaths, so you could pamper youself before the treatment. I thought the season shower was pretty cool because it uses different temperatures, sounds and smells to portray each particular season.

Now, I have also been busy making sure to say my thanks to everyone before I have to head home. This included a goodbye speech to my Rotary club (although I do plan to visit at least once more before my return to Australia!). The whole speech was completely in Swedish, and a little excerpt of it is found at the top of this post. For those of you who are not fluent in Swedish, I did check, and Google translate provides a somewhat understandable translation. The speech went quite well, with only a few hiccups due to problems with the microphone. I was able to sing a song as well. I chose something which I felt really portrayed how I felt about saying goodbye to all these people that had been in my journey, and how they had all changed me to make me who I am today. For those of you who might know it, the piece is 'For Good'. Totally recommend it for any other future exchange students who feel the same way as me!

So that is enough from me for this time. I will post again soon about my little adventures experiencing Sankta Lucia and whatever else I find myself doing!