YPC of NYC Blog: Experiences from Sweden!

Wednesday, April 25, 2012

Experiences from Sweden!

On Monday, I woke up and went to school for a half day. My teacher made an announcement to the class about our trip to Sweden. My class wished me good luck and a friend of mine asked if I could take him with me in a suitcase! (He weighs 49 lbs...under the weight limit for international travel!)

My parents picked me up and we went to the 92nd St Y. My mom was so surprised about YPC's check-in stations. She said it looked like customs when you go to foreign countries. The bus ride was fun and really quick to Newark Airport. I sat with my friend Dylan who was my roommate at CME in Ithaca, NY last summer.

The airplane was late, but when we boarded the plan, it was really exciting. I sat next my good friend Miki. (She and I wear the same ”Lin” basketball shirts at rehearsals.) I slept for four hours on the flight. Francisco told us that we needed to sleep to save our voices so we can be useful in the trip, so I did my best even though it was early to sleep. When we woke up, we were fed croissants and fruit. I felt so excited and happy to be landing in Stockholm!

Once we landed, we boarded a bus and arrived at the school which was really big and absolutely beautiful. We rehearsed right away, and in the afternoon we had some free time - I had a chance to play basketball with my friend and the Swedish pupils from the school that we met. In the afternoon the host families came to pick us up. When my family came, they made me feel comfortable right away! My family is really cool. They have three boys in the family - Olle age 13, Johan age 10 and Pelle age 4 - and they go to the Adolf Fredrik school. Their mom, Helene, is really nice and everyone speaks English.

Sweden is awesome and I am excited to see more of it and make some amazing new friends and music at this festival!- Howell John, age 11