We got here!

Hello from Sverige (Sweden)!

We got here Monday at about 7:30 in the morning (local time). We are 6 hours ahead so we got here at 1:30 am (eastern time). So basically it was like we were starting the day over when we should be in bed. It was a looong day and we were all exhausted but it was a fun day of exploring the city of Uppsala. My group went to a Thai buffet restaurant and were the loudest people in there. Apparently Swedes talk in almost a whisper at all times. It's something we're getting used to. Anyways, then we did a scavenger hunt around Uppsala for about 5 hours trying to get acquainted with the city. This place is GORGEOUS! There's a river flowing down the middle of it and there's cobblestone streets. The thing that surprised me is how similar Uppsala is to America. The only way I can tell we're in a different country is the fact we hear the locals speaking a different language and there's signs in Swedish. And they were playing Adele's "Rolling in the Deep" in a man's Swedish voice in Ikea. Odd. haha. We had to ask directions a few times during the scavenger hunt and the Swedes we talked to spoke perfect English and were so helpful and kind. So that helped my nerves about starting conversations with strangers.

After 10 hours of sleep, we woke up and ate breakfast in our hostel. Oh by the way, about our hostel, we are staying in a nice place where everything is really clean and they have great breakfasts. But there are 6 girls crammed in my room into a space where about 3 people could fit. There are bunk beds and very little floor space to put our luggage. And there's awkward 2 inch slits in the wall where we have to slide our luggage into vertically. Also, the bathrooms are co-ed. Awkward. Besides that, those are the only negatives! Everyone on my team is INCREDIBLE. We all have so much fun together and everyone is so nice and encouraging.

Back to my day today. My group walked across the city (about a 20 minute walk) to the psychology and arts building. We went to the cafeteria to eat lunch and my friend Nancy and I sat with two Swedish girls. At first they thought it was weird we sat down at their table and kept talking to each other in Swedish. But then Nancy said, "Excuse me. We are new here and we want to know more about Uppsala. Can you help us?" We introduced ourselves and this led into a discussion that lasted about 2 hours. We did talk about church and their belief in God for a few minutes, but we talked a lot about them and their lives. We talked about everything from where they're from to what they do in Uppsala to why they're studying Psychology. They also had a lot of questions about America. The one girl visited Oregon and California about 10 years ago. One of the things that's different here is students usually wait a while after high school to start college. The girl who visited America is about 30 years old and still has 2 years of college left. At the end of the conversation we got their phone numbers and we're going to meet with them again, probably next week. We might go clubbing with them or just get coffee. Either way, Swedes are very willing to talk to us and they are so nice! They want to hang out and get to know us so that makes our "job" a lot easier.

All in all this is a beautiful place. The weather is perfect. The people I'm with are amazing and we're having a blast. Tomorrow we have our first full day of ministry so be praying for more girls that Nancy and I talk to.

Thanks for reading and thanks for your prayers!!