In Sweden, I...

(Living overseas is so wonderful in so many ways, but I think one of the best things about it is that you encounter so many funny things and have so many funny experiences! I thought I would write about some Sweden "funnies" we have had so far in this blog post. :) So, in Sweden I...)

1. ...wake up with the sun at 3 a.m.! When they call Scandinavia "the land of the midnight sun" they mean it, folks! It gets dark at around 11:30 p.m. and is light as can be three and a half hours later!

2. ...squeegie my bathroom floor! As advanced as Sweden is in terms of technology, they have yet to make shower STALLS common! For the most part it's a tile floor, shower rod, and flimsy curtain...PTL for squeegies!

3. ...walk on a divided sidewalk! There are two lanes on the sidewalks here: one for pedestrians and one for bicycles! The road IS used but cars and buses are the minority here for sure.

4. ...get mistaken for a Swede! Maybe it's the blonde hair and blue eyes...whatever it is, it's always funny when the cashier at the supermarket tells me the price in Swedish; I can only smile and nod in agreement for so long before she realizes I totally did not get what she just said and that I speak "engelska"!

5. ...usually get a check at the end of a meal that is between 75-89...thankfully the kronar/dollar ratio is 7.5 to 1! It definitely had some people on our team worried when we went to the ICA (the only grocery store chain that there is in Uppsala) for the first time!

6. ...LOVE the sayings our team has, most of which we learned during briefing! Some of these we use EVERY day!
a. ADAPTIBILITY, ADAPTIBILITY, ADAPTIBILITY! (yep, this is one of those daily ones)
b. It's not wrong, it's just DIFFERENT! ...except when it's just flat out WRONG
(we added that last bit after we got to Sweden - it definitely comes into play sometimes!)
c. "Oh, snap!" (there are MANY opportunities for this phrase to be used every day!)
d. Fem Fika - a word we came up with for our girl coffee time before church every Sunday morning...usually at the Sweden equivilent for Starbucks: Wayne's Coffee! (my Daddy would be proud!)

7. ...discovered that NUTELLA is a must! We live on nutella and banana sandwiches around our hostile!

8. ...went to a Mormon church for the first time! There is a "Church of the Later Day Saints" right beside our hostile, and since our rooms are so small that's where we have been meeting for our group Bible studies. I bet the elders never thought the building would be serving a group of Christians when it was built! :)

9. ...never thought I would be able to wear the short sleeved shirts I brought without a jacket! I definitely did not bring enough winter clothes...it has been wayyyyy colder than I expected it would and the rain has not helped much. Me and one of my roommates told each other a few days ago that all we wanted to do was to be able to say, "I am soooo hot!" Well, this weekend we got our wish! It has been in the 80s, sunny, and absolutely gorgeous! And yes, for the past two days me and Ally have looked at each other and said, "We are SOOOOOO hot!" :)

10. ...am always amazed when I talk to a Swede about my wonderful Savior and they respond with the standard, "I've never thought about God before". That's why I'm here this summer! Please pray for us this week as we share the Gospel with these precious people!