Andreas and his dad picked me up at the bus station and on the way home we stopped at one of their family friend's house and picked up some fresh lingonberries. Apparently she had gone out in the forest that afternoon and picked them. We were going to make something out of them but forgot. When we finally got to his house about a 15 minute drive from Karlstad I met his two sisters and mother back home. We ate dinner, which was salmon! I ate one whole piece! It was actually really good (Maybe because of the seasoning) but I definately did not hate it and it didn't smell fishy at all. We talked for a few hours at the table and then just hung out at his house watching tv. We had to stay up until about 130 to pick up his sister from the bus stop so she wouldn't have to walk back in the dark by herself.
Saturday we woke up around 10, ate breakfast and went into town. We dropped his sister Astrid off at her soccer game on the way. Karlstad is a really cute city (about 85 thousand people) and I think I like the center of town better than Jönköping. We met his friend Joel and had Fika and then went to a Billiard Hall and played some pool. After we finished we walked around town. We then went back to his house for dinner and hung out there until 8 or so. That night we went out and I met some of his friends. I had a really great time meeting all of them and they all spoke english around me and even when I wasnt in the room. It was really funny. They loved speaking it I think because then they could say things that they would hear on TV but never got the chance to say. We hung out at his friend's apartment until pretty late and then walked around town and his friend wanted to prove to me that Sweden's McDonalds milkshakes are better than America but I didn't notice a difference. We went back to his house around 130.
Sunday we woke up for church around 1030. The church is really old and was built in the 1600s. The outside is red and is made out of wood and a graveyard surrounds it. On the inside it has really old wooden pews that make you sit very proper and everything about the style is very ornate. After church, we went back to his house and even though it was raining we dressed in rain gear and took his two Airdale Terriers for a walk in the woods. The woods behind is house is so much different than the woods in America. The tops of the trees are very full but then on the bottom half there arent any branches and on the forest floor there is just moss and its incredibly soft to walk on. We walked for about an hour and then went back for lunch. They had invited Andreas' other brother over so that I could meet him. There were 8 people at the table and it was so wonderful to be there and see their family. I had seriously the most wonderful time and I just look at the pictures of their family and it makes me happy. I am so glad I went.
Apparently Andreas' dad knows the principal of my school, Anders Andersson so he gave me something to give to him. It is a big joke with all of us about Anders because of his name and he just seems like a really cool principal. Christine and I are going to go meet him tomorrow and we are pretty excited about that!
One thing I do not like about this journal is that all the pictures I put in are backwards. So if you look at an album start at the last picture and then go back.
