Random blabber.
Since last time (and mostly today) I've;
- Completed yet another quarter here at Cal Poly, and I barely passed my bio class. But "D" stands for "D-iploma" right?! ;]
- Went on my first real American Spring Break to Daytona Beach,Florida , which was.. just like in the movies! Not even kidding.. Spring Breakers everywhere, booze (yea yea), pool parties, beach parties, beach, fun, sun, just.. awesomeness.
- Started the last quarter of my freshman year (so sad, I don't want to be a sophomore..), the so called Spring Quarter! I am taking Math 117 (with a grad student as a teacher, who seems more confused then the class), Stats 217 (thought it would be boring, but it's actually not that bad.. I like the teacher.), Coms 101 (Public Speaking class, LOVE the teacher - Miss Laidlaw!!! Imagine a mix of my aunt Robin and the mom from Gillmore Girls! Just.. amazing!) and Chem 111 (kill. me. now. -_-). Started off the quarter with only 7 units and now I have 17! Oh no, excuse me, 18! I think... I'm taking a work shop for Chem that I am pretty sure is worth 1 unit. Like the grad student that teaches that work shop, very sweet girl!
- Concluded that Peppermint Mocha is my favorite Starbucks coffee.
- Concluded that caffeine (especially 2 Grande Peppermint Mochas) makes me very inspired to be creative (duuh, I am updating my blog [!], and I also cut up two of my shirts I never wear and made them awesome!)
- Cleaned my room after 4 weeks of clutter, packing and not unpacking my bag (and not to mention my desk which was probably overly cluttered since last quarter started..!) and realized that a clean room equals a harmonized Maddie (or maybe it's just the caffeine..).
- Concluded yet again how much I love it here, but also how much I miss home. <3
New year, new beginnings.
Happy 2011 y'all! ;] When I was home in Sweden for Christmas break, everyone of my friends and family yelled at me for not updating this blog more. And I know, I've been terrible at updating this, but I am the kind of blogger that if I don't get feedback (comments) on what I write, I won't have the motivation to keep updating. So think of your comments as a fuel to my blog - the more you comment, the more I will update! :]
"Quick" recap from the last quarter:
- I had a period of time where I was feeling a little bit depressed over my life here. I had such high expectations, and even though I thought I was prepared that those expectations would not be fulfilled completely, I wasn't. The idea we Swedes have of college is from the movies. And even though, it is exactly like the movies here, you're life won't be as the characters in the movies. Yes - there are a lot of hot guys and girls here. Yes - there is a lot of partying. Yes - the campus is filled with students sitting in groups, alone studying, playing frisbee etc. But I thought I would get that Hollywood life and have that stereotypical romantic comedy ending.. No. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it here! It's just not what I thought it would be (La-La-Land)! When I got into my down period, I completely shut down and spent most of my time in my room. Therefor, I have New Years resolutions that I will keep in mind for this year to make it better; I will be more positive and take more chances. It's a new year and since I am alive and healthy I should live my life to the fullest. I am where I want to be, and this is the time to enjoy it - before it is too late!
- School. I had a very nice and easy first quarter at college. Being an international student, I had to take an tutoring session for English along with my English class (Eng 134). Then I also had a math class and a business law class (Bus 207). I was also very lucky to get awesome teachers, that made it easy for us students. I also got better grades than I expected to get, and now have a GPA of 3.5 (4.0 is max). To be an international student and a freshman at college, a GPA of 3.5 for my first quarter at college is pretty damn good! :D I am even a part of something called The Honers Society, which is all the ones who got a GPA of 3.2 or higher, and it's really good to have on your resumé.
- Weight. That people gain weight when they go to the US, is no new thing. There is even a thing here in college called the Freshman 15 (freshman gain 15 pounds during their first year of college). It came to a shock to me however, when I stepped on to the scale at home and noticed that I had LOST 3 kg (7 pounds)!!! I mean, who loose weight in college in the US?! I'm so happy, and it gave me motivation to loose more weight here (not that I need it, but imagine how toned my body will be for the summer!? ;P)! Last quarter I went to the gym 1-2 times a week, and I also walk a lot on campus. This quarter I'm going to try and go to the gym 3-4 times a week, and also cut down on my weekly juice intake. :] These past weeks I've been doing very well; I've gone to the gym 5 times a week and I've been drinking loads of water. :] I think the reason for me doing so well is because it's a new year and a fresh start, and I also have a goal - a hot beach bod for Spring Break'11! :D
So we are now 4 weeks into the winter quarter and classes are going well. I am taking Math 116 (precalculus), Kine 250 (Healthy living), Theatre 210 and Biology 111. Really really don't like my bio class. I don't like bio to start with and it doesn't help that the class is at 7:40 AM...! Blegh. Other than that, I really like my classes, even though I'm going to have it harder this quarter than the last one. I have two midterms this week (math and bio), and one next week (theatre), so we will see how I'll do!
I think that is it for the "huge update". I promise I'm going to try and update, like once every other week or something.. :]
Love you all!
Xoxo Maddie
Ps. Oh btw! Did I tell you that it's like 25 degrees celsius and sunny here? No? Well it is. ;]
"Quick" recap from the last quarter:
- I had a period of time where I was feeling a little bit depressed over my life here. I had such high expectations, and even though I thought I was prepared that those expectations would not be fulfilled completely, I wasn't. The idea we Swedes have of college is from the movies. And even though, it is exactly like the movies here, you're life won't be as the characters in the movies. Yes - there are a lot of hot guys and girls here. Yes - there is a lot of partying. Yes - the campus is filled with students sitting in groups, alone studying, playing frisbee etc. But I thought I would get that Hollywood life and have that stereotypical romantic comedy ending.. No. Don't get me wrong, I LOVE it here! It's just not what I thought it would be (La-La-Land)! When I got into my down period, I completely shut down and spent most of my time in my room. Therefor, I have New Years resolutions that I will keep in mind for this year to make it better; I will be more positive and take more chances. It's a new year and since I am alive and healthy I should live my life to the fullest. I am where I want to be, and this is the time to enjoy it - before it is too late!
- School. I had a very nice and easy first quarter at college. Being an international student, I had to take an tutoring session for English along with my English class (Eng 134). Then I also had a math class and a business law class (Bus 207). I was also very lucky to get awesome teachers, that made it easy for us students. I also got better grades than I expected to get, and now have a GPA of 3.5 (4.0 is max). To be an international student and a freshman at college, a GPA of 3.5 for my first quarter at college is pretty damn good! :D I am even a part of something called The Honers Society, which is all the ones who got a GPA of 3.2 or higher, and it's really good to have on your resumé.
- Weight. That people gain weight when they go to the US, is no new thing. There is even a thing here in college called the Freshman 15 (freshman gain 15 pounds during their first year of college). It came to a shock to me however, when I stepped on to the scale at home and noticed that I had LOST 3 kg (7 pounds)!!! I mean, who loose weight in college in the US?! I'm so happy, and it gave me motivation to loose more weight here (not that I need it, but imagine how toned my body will be for the summer!? ;P)! Last quarter I went to the gym 1-2 times a week, and I also walk a lot on campus. This quarter I'm going to try and go to the gym 3-4 times a week, and also cut down on my weekly juice intake. :] These past weeks I've been doing very well; I've gone to the gym 5 times a week and I've been drinking loads of water. :] I think the reason for me doing so well is because it's a new year and a fresh start, and I also have a goal - a hot beach bod for Spring Break'11! :D
So we are now 4 weeks into the winter quarter and classes are going well. I am taking Math 116 (precalculus), Kine 250 (Healthy living), Theatre 210 and Biology 111. Really really don't like my bio class. I don't like bio to start with and it doesn't help that the class is at 7:40 AM...! Blegh. Other than that, I really like my classes, even though I'm going to have it harder this quarter than the last one. I have two midterms this week (math and bio), and one next week (theatre), so we will see how I'll do!
I think that is it for the "huge update". I promise I'm going to try and update, like once every other week or something.. :]
Love you all!
Xoxo Maddie
Ps. Oh btw! Did I tell you that it's like 25 degrees celsius and sunny here? No? Well it is. ;]
Small update before the big one.
I know I know. Don't judge. I've been super busy with living life, school and living a nightmare (even though I love it here!).. I am going to make a big.. no, HUGE update as soon as possible, but for now I just had to tell you something that I did today which cracked me up, while I was alone. Sitting on my bed. Doing homework. But it was hella funny! (Yes - Hella!)
Anyways, one of the questions was in what environment we felt that we could write best. My personal preference is in bed, even though I've been told that the bed is not a good place to study. I started typing this up as an answer -" I was told in school not to study in my bed, because it tricks your brain that you are going to go to sleep and you get tired." Okay, I then wrote: "But I am the most productive when I am in bed."
I was supposed to have that class in one hour, 6:10pm-8:00pm, but it got canceled. He sent us an email explaining he wasn't feeling to well and decided to cancel class and gave us an assignment for monday. The email, was the best email I've gotten from a high authority figure. Just read this first part of the email and you will understand:
Okay, so like I said I was doing homework. For my English 134 class, which is an awesome class btdubs. The professor, Medley, is one of the coolest professors I have had. He's in the style of Mr. Rodriguez and Mr. Urban, for those of you who knows who they are, but way more chill and.. Californian. Okay I'm not staying on topic here..! For that class we had to answer a Writer's History Survey. A survey which my professor has made to learn more about what we think about writing, how we are as writers and what we want to accomplish with writing, this class and our life. I loved filling out this survey. He had really good questions, made me open up a lot and it really feels like he wants us to improve and also care about us. As strange as that may sound, haha!
Anyways, one of the questions was in what environment we felt that we could write best. My personal preference is in bed, even though I've been told that the bed is not a good place to study. I started typing this up as an answer -" I was told in school not to study in my bed, because it tricks your brain that you are going to go to sleep and you get tired." Okay, I then wrote: "But I am the most productive when I am in bed."
I then stopped typing, looked at what I had written - and burst into a big smile! Hahaha! I quickly changed it to "But I am the most productive when I am sitting in my bed in my own room, with the computer on my lap typing." I wonder what he would have thought if I would have kept it there. Maybe nothing, maybe I am the one with a dirty mind. But if he would have thought the same thing, I know for a fact that he would have been chill about it. He probably would have made some smart ass comment about it, which would have made me like him even more! I'm sorry if I am making anyone uncomfortable with telling you this, but I thought it was hella funny and just had to share it! Still cracking up when I think about it!
I was supposed to have that class in one hour, 6:10pm-8:00pm, but it got canceled. He sent us an email explaining he wasn't feeling to well and decided to cancel class and gave us an assignment for monday. The email, was the best email I've gotten from a high authority figure. Just read this first part of the email and you will understand:
"Ladies and Germs:
Greetings and Salutations. Carson here. Good news and bad news. How about the good news first. No class tonight. I am feeling really under the weather and don't want to get anyone sick this early in the quarter; we still have a long way to go. The bad news? Well, I won't get to see y'all tonight. No class. Wait. What was that noise I just heard? Sounded like a cheer. Or maybe tears? Hmmmm."
Hahaha! The most awesome teacher ever? I think so. So now I am thinking of going to the gym, where I haven't been yet. And then go to the soccer game tonight, which I would have missed if I would have had class. And then maybe go out. We'll see.
Till next time lovers!
Dan före doppardan..
I want to start off by thanking my wonderful cousin Emelie for making the awesome header you see above! THANK YOU EM!
So I don't start this blog off pretty good do I? :P Haha! Well this week has been dedicated to dorm room shopping at IKEA, meeting some of my relatives here in California (Aunt Marianne and Uncle Hal <3), more dorm room shopping and exploring SLO Town, which will be my home from here on out. Un-frikken-belivable!
I was at my first American american football game on saturday! My first College football game! Cal Poly Mustangs vs. (Montana Grizzly bears or something lame like that!)Oh. My. God. First driving around looking for parking, we passed by like 2-3 fraternities, who I assume were pre-partying before the game (or just partying..). There were frat guys, some girls, music and red cups out anyways! :D I had trouble breathing and had to text the only one who would understand - Cammie. As we had parked the car and made our way to the stadium, you could hear the roar from the stadium all across campus! My heart started beating so fast and I had a smile from ear to ear. It was the best of my two favorite worlds - football+college! Blogg.se is being difficult right now, so I can't upload any pictures right now, and I can't really describe it with words right now either.. it was.. intense and amazing. Intenzing. and Cal Poly Mustangs won!!! 35-33, really exciting game! That plus the crowd, the marching band, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the big score board and the speaker - a true American football game! I'm even more in love with football now than I was before.
So today is sunday, which means that IM MOVING IN TOMORROW!!!!! I'm so excited and nervous! On a scale of 1-10 of how nervous and excited I am, I'm probably a 20 (10 nervous + 10 excited!).. The thing is, I haven't really understood it yet.. even though I have moved from my home country Sweden, brought two suitcases who were about to explode because I've had to pack so much, talked to fellow Cal Polys through FaceBook and txts, bought tons of stuff from IKEA, SEARS, BedBath&Beyond etc etc, got an American phone number (thanks Ken!) been in SLO which is filled with incoming freshman and had a last dinner with mom and dad - it still doesn't feel like I am going to stay here, studying and living the life of a Swedish college girl.. Even when I type it out right now in black and white, it's still not real to me. But the day has come. Better go to sleep, got a long day ahead of me!
And I promise I'll try and update more! But I've got to live a little too right? ;] So long for now darlings! Wish me good luck! <3
So I don't start this blog off pretty good do I? :P Haha! Well this week has been dedicated to dorm room shopping at IKEA, meeting some of my relatives here in California (Aunt Marianne and Uncle Hal <3), more dorm room shopping and exploring SLO Town, which will be my home from here on out. Un-frikken-belivable!
I was at my first American american football game on saturday! My first College football game! Cal Poly Mustangs vs. (Montana Grizzly bears or something lame like that!)Oh. My. God. First driving around looking for parking, we passed by like 2-3 fraternities, who I assume were pre-partying before the game (or just partying..). There were frat guys, some girls, music and red cups out anyways! :D I had trouble breathing and had to text the only one who would understand - Cammie. As we had parked the car and made our way to the stadium, you could hear the roar from the stadium all across campus! My heart started beating so fast and I had a smile from ear to ear. It was the best of my two favorite worlds - football+college! Blogg.se is being difficult right now, so I can't upload any pictures right now, and I can't really describe it with words right now either.. it was.. intense and amazing. Intenzing. and Cal Poly Mustangs won!!! 35-33, really exciting game! That plus the crowd, the marching band, the cheerleaders, the dance team, the big score board and the speaker - a true American football game! I'm even more in love with football now than I was before.
So today is sunday, which means that IM MOVING IN TOMORROW!!!!! I'm so excited and nervous! On a scale of 1-10 of how nervous and excited I am, I'm probably a 20 (10 nervous + 10 excited!).. The thing is, I haven't really understood it yet.. even though I have moved from my home country Sweden, brought two suitcases who were about to explode because I've had to pack so much, talked to fellow Cal Polys through FaceBook and txts, bought tons of stuff from IKEA, SEARS, BedBath&Beyond etc etc, got an American phone number (thanks Ken!) been in SLO which is filled with incoming freshman and had a last dinner with mom and dad - it still doesn't feel like I am going to stay here, studying and living the life of a Swedish college girl.. Even when I type it out right now in black and white, it's still not real to me. But the day has come. Better go to sleep, got a long day ahead of me!
T-8 HRS TILL MOVE IN!
"I'm Home Baby!"
After traveling for 18 hours yesterday, I finally landed at LAX, in heels. I'm home baby! Haha! I honestly feel a sense of belonging here, even though this still feels like a vacation - not an installment of my new life as a college girl in California!
Let me introduce myself. My name is Madeleine, but nickname is Maddie. I'm originally from Sweden but have now moved to California to go to college, a dream I've had since I was a little girl. Can't believe it's coming true... Even though this blog was made first and most for my family and friends at home, I'm very welcoming to new readers! I'm not sure if I should mention my schools name in the blog though.. but it will probably be presented sooner or later. I haven't fully decided which language I should write in either, swedish or english.. Tell me what you think in the comments, about what you think about mentioning my college and also what language I should write in! :) Thanksss!
So aannywaayysss, after my mom, dad and I landed on LAX yesterday (after a bumpy flight) we had to go through customs, as you always do. This is usually a pretty nerve-racking experience I think. Not that I have something to hide, just that you have to fill out your forms correctly, answer some questions and they are usually not very friendly, the custom officers.. and all this after traveling for 18 hours, can I hear a "woot woot"? No, exactly - not fun. But this time, everything went on smooth and they were all really friendly for once. Maybe it was that I had my VISA and I'm going to study here, maybe they are more welcoming then? Haha, I don't know, but I did feel very welcome! :] And all our luggage arrived safe and sound, so no worries there!
We then got our car and headed to our hotel - JW Marriot. Dude, this hotel... Oh. My. God. Luxury to the extreme! Thanks to our good family friend, we can afford to stay here! It's in the middle of LA LIVE - which is a place of large business buildings, Staple Center (where lots of concerts are being held) restaurants and cinemas. It's big and powerful - very American! However, it's not that much to really do here if there's no event happening. So when we had checked in yesterday and had a look around, it was pretty empty. Another factor to this was that it was Labor Day yesterday.. which means there is a lot of places closed. There is also no shopping to do in the nearby area, so thats pretty sucky. But the hotel - is awesome!
But after looking around in the area, trying to find a place where we want to eat, we ended up going to ESPN Sportsbar - the one of few places that are open, and it looks pretty empty as the rest of the open restaurants. But when we ask them for a table, they tell us that it's full! After walking around in this empty LA LIVE area, we have a hard time believing what this guy is telling us. But he tells us that everyone is watching the game, but that there's boots at the bar were we can sit and just order from the bar. This was even more awesome than if we'd gotten a table. We got to sit and watch a college football game between Boise State and Virginia Tech on ESPN's channel, while eating delicious chicken fingers, quesadillas, spinach dip and cheese fries. You know, that healthy first dinner in America! ;] It was Awesome - with a capital A!
We then went back to our hotel, stuffed as turkeys on a thanksgiving dinner. Mom fell asleep almost right away, I don't know who won between dad and I - we had a bet on how fast she would fall asleep (Dad; 5min, Me; 10 min). Dad and I continued watching the game at the big flat screen in our room, while being on our computers, until I also fell asleep. The game was very exciting though, Boise St won by 33-30 against VA tech.
Now, it is day 2 - the 7th of September 2010. I woke up at 4 am, and couldn't really fall asleep, so at 5.30 am I decided to start writing this. I've never really had jet lag before, but something woke me up and since it was 1 pm at home - my body decided I didn't need anymore sleep. It is now 7 am and dad and mom are starting to wake up! Gym, pool, shopping and dinner at Outback is on our schedule today! Sounds like another awesome day to me! :]
I will give y'all an update later on tonight!
Till then lovers!
After traveling for 18 hours yesterday, I finally landed at LAX, in heels. I'm home baby! Haha! I honestly feel a sense of belonging here, even though this still feels like a vacation - not an installment of my new life as a college girl in California!
Let me introduce myself. My name is Madeleine, but nickname is Maddie. I'm originally from Sweden but have now moved to California to go to college, a dream I've had since I was a little girl. Can't believe it's coming true... Even though this blog was made first and most for my family and friends at home, I'm very welcoming to new readers! I'm not sure if I should mention my schools name in the blog though.. but it will probably be presented sooner or later. I haven't fully decided which language I should write in either, swedish or english.. Tell me what you think in the comments, about what you think about mentioning my college and also what language I should write in! :) Thanksss!
So aannywaayysss, after my mom, dad and I landed on LAX yesterday (after a bumpy flight) we had to go through customs, as you always do. This is usually a pretty nerve-racking experience I think. Not that I have something to hide, just that you have to fill out your forms correctly, answer some questions and they are usually not very friendly, the custom officers.. and all this after traveling for 18 hours, can I hear a "woot woot"? No, exactly - not fun. But this time, everything went on smooth and they were all really friendly for once. Maybe it was that I had my VISA and I'm going to study here, maybe they are more welcoming then? Haha, I don't know, but I did feel very welcome! :] And all our luggage arrived safe and sound, so no worries there!
We then got our car and headed to our hotel - JW Marriot. Dude, this hotel... Oh. My. God. Luxury to the extreme! Thanks to our good family friend, we can afford to stay here! It's in the middle of LA LIVE - which is a place of large business buildings, Staple Center (where lots of concerts are being held) restaurants and cinemas. It's big and powerful - very American! However, it's not that much to really do here if there's no event happening. So when we had checked in yesterday and had a look around, it was pretty empty. Another factor to this was that it was Labor Day yesterday.. which means there is a lot of places closed. There is also no shopping to do in the nearby area, so thats pretty sucky. But the hotel - is awesome!
But after looking around in the area, trying to find a place where we want to eat, we ended up going to ESPN Sportsbar - the one of few places that are open, and it looks pretty empty as the rest of the open restaurants. But when we ask them for a table, they tell us that it's full! After walking around in this empty LA LIVE area, we have a hard time believing what this guy is telling us. But he tells us that everyone is watching the game, but that there's boots at the bar were we can sit and just order from the bar. This was even more awesome than if we'd gotten a table. We got to sit and watch a college football game between Boise State and Virginia Tech on ESPN's channel, while eating delicious chicken fingers, quesadillas, spinach dip and cheese fries. You know, that healthy first dinner in America! ;] It was Awesome - with a capital A!
We then went back to our hotel, stuffed as turkeys on a thanksgiving dinner. Mom fell asleep almost right away, I don't know who won between dad and I - we had a bet on how fast she would fall asleep (Dad; 5min, Me; 10 min). Dad and I continued watching the game at the big flat screen in our room, while being on our computers, until I also fell asleep. The game was very exciting though, Boise St won by 33-30 against VA tech.
Now, it is day 2 - the 7th of September 2010. I woke up at 4 am, and couldn't really fall asleep, so at 5.30 am I decided to start writing this. I've never really had jet lag before, but something woke me up and since it was 1 pm at home - my body decided I didn't need anymore sleep. It is now 7 am and dad and mom are starting to wake up! Gym, pool, shopping and dinner at Outback is on our schedule today! Sounds like another awesome day to me! :]
I will give y'all an update later on tonight!
Till then lovers!
Once Upon A Time..
Now the story of my new life begins. Now I get to live my dream. Now I get to live the life I have always wanted - the life of a college girl. In california. Let me tell you the story.
Once upon a time..
