I flew on Norwegian Airlines from London to Stockholm, so naturally I was surrounded by a slew of other Scandinavians. Listening to the other passengers speaking Swedish, paying in kronor for my coffee (seriously? paying for coffee on the plane?), saying, "Tack" as I got off the plane -- I honestly could not stop grinning. THIS is what I've been waiting for.
Don't get me wrong, London was wonderful, but it was all new to me. I feel so comfortable in Stockholm. Even the smell, ascending the marble staircase up to my grandma's apartment, brought me back to family vacations in years past. I went for a run down St:Eriksgatan today, and seeing the advertisements with familiar words and even brands of ice cream gave me such strange flashbacks.
And yet... a lot has changed since I was last here. I was 15, going on 16, and so naïve. Riding the subway by myself felt like a huge feat, which is hilarious to me now, having ridden the subway in Boston, London, New York, and shortly Paris. I brought wayyy too much luggage. My Swedish was fairly terrible when I arrived. I hadn't even thought about where I'd like to go to school yet.
I stayed with my Farmor (dad's mom) last night, am staying with my aunt and uncle tonight, and will be shoved around wherever is convenient for my family here. Which is fine by me. Tomorrow will be a day with my cousins -- the most Nordic-looking children you've ever seen in your entire life -- and then we'll see what the next couple of weeks will bring.
With a head full of foreign words,
Anneli xx
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