Sending a “hej” from the great Swedish lands! It seems like just yesterday I hopped on the plane and flew to Sweden to begin my adventure abroad. Before I knew it, Spring Break arrived and I was reunited with my mother and grandmother who flew overseas to visit me.

We shared laughs, tears, wine, stories and memories all week long; which made me realize how much I miss home and the Gustavus community. Nevertheless, we had an unforgettable week, exploring the stunning city of Stockholm as well as the great city of Oslo.

Our time in Stockholm had been great, but the real fun began in Norway. We ventured over to Norway to visit “our people,” and what fun they are! My family has thick Norwegian roots and quite a long history. It took me nearly four days to even comprehend how complex my family history is.

Let me tell you about my favorite part of our escapade in Norway. We visited the old farm in Hurdal where my great great great great (I think I got them all) grandparents lived. The sons of my grandparents then took on the bold decision to emigrate to the U.S. in the nineteenth century, beginning the American lineage of my side of the family. During our stay in Oslo, my Norwegian relatives took us to the top of the mountains to their cottage. The Norwegian people have their houses and flats in the city and their cottages in the mountains; quite a luxurious lifestyle, ja?

At one point of the day I was sitting on their cottage deck, eating reindeer meat and overlooking the mountain ranges…the day could not of have been better! My cousin Øivind was like a dog with a bone about wanting to teach me how to cross country ski, so I let him. How incredible it was to cross country ski in the Norwegian mountains and I don’t even like skiing.

Almost thirty years ago my mother shared this Norwegian adventure with her grandmother and this past week I shared the adventure with my own grandmother, something I will treasure forever. A remarkable week with the ladies it was.

Our adventure in Norway eventually ended as well as Spring Break so we began our travels back to Stockholm. It was hard to say goodbye to the ladies but how sweet the reunion will be when I return home next month.

My time in Sweden has flown by, however come May I will be ready to head back to GAC. Until then I promise to keep behaving and to continue studying hard.

-Laura Carpenter