Getting Settled

Well, it was only a little bit longer than a week ago from when i first arrived in Sweden. Now thankfully, I have fallen into a somewhat normal schedule. Here is what it is like. I wake up around 10 30 and get ready for the day and then I have a breakfast of cereal at around 11. as my host parents are typically out working at this point, i either read (which i have been doing quiet a bit), go for a walk, or do chores. Then after lunch, my host brother ludvig and i will head out and do something in town or in the near by city of Gothenburg. After said activities, we return for supper at around 7, and after supper we watch a movie on TV with the family until bed time. Although it is not a super crazy schedule, i like it quiet a bit. Now, for a quick commentary and a related story. The Swedes love nature. My family and i spend most of our time outside, either walking or biking or sailing or swimming. the majority of the things to do here are done outside, which i love. also, most places you go that aren't actually down town Lerum (the only way to describe the city is its like they took a town and placed in the middle of the boundary waters, everything is surrounded by woods and lakes), the paths and woods are linned with edible berries. This thankfully includes my backyard which on its own contains at least four different kind of berries or fruit, which you can pick and eat as you walk where ever, which includes the berries in public. The most common by far is rasberries, which is everywhere here but i have also seen wild blue berries and other berries i dont know the name of. Another common activity is swimming. First off the lakes here are amazing. The water is not incredibly cold, and it is very clean and clear. The lakes (there are many around the town), are surrounded by forrests and what i would call, short mountains. So a common thing to do on a summer day is head off to a lake for a day of swimming and grilling by the lake, which is in my opinion a great day. so this leads me to my story. So my host mother and brother and i decided to go to a near by lake for a quick swim one evening after supper. so i grabbed my swim suit and we headed off. after a short drive, we pulled over on the side of the road and got out to walk the rest of the way to the lake. so after some hiking and picking of wild blue berries in the woods, we arrived at our destination. It was a small rocky clearing by the lake, just beautiful. I was the first to arrive to our destination and noticed two women swimming in the lake. i couldnt see them that well, as i did not have my glasses, but it appeared that they either had very light or skin colored swim suits, or they were out for a nice naked swim in public. so after waiting at a safe distance for a bit, my host mother and brother arrived. Ludvig walked on down to the water so i began to follow as my host mother talked to the older woman and her daughter in swedish. then as i got the water i was informed that in fact the two women were naked, but didnt mind if we swam, as long as we were in the water when they got out. So as we hopped in, and in a little bit they got out, and despite being a bit suprised at the situation everything was good. But yes, besides that, nothing incredibly funny has happend to me yet, although i am sure it will. The rest of my time has been spent attending a Rotary Meeting which was ok, going to a going away party and meeting a bunch of cool Swedish and Rotary kids, and exploring the town of Lerum. Nothing crazy new, but still an amazing time thus far.
-Gage