Caroline

The U.S. will never stop to amaze me. I would never have thought about selling gigantic pickles at the movie theatre. It’s weird, funny and without a doubt the worst snack I’ve ever had.

I think it’s so cool. No matter where I turn, there seems to be someone planning a wedding. In this course I know of three people getting married soon. That’s like 19 percent of the class! As you can tell, I’m not use to the getting-married-early-thing.

I met a 24 year old girl who was in the middle of her wedding plans. I told her that it is kind of surprising to me that people are marrying this early in there lives. But of course, she didn’t think that this is early – in fact she thinks that it is late!

So, here’s the deal: I’m turning 23 this year, and I have no plan of getting married in the following years. In fact, I don’t even know anyone back home that are marrying this early. At the weddings that I’ve been to, the people getting married has been close to 30 years old.

But – and there is a big but here – after doing some research about the area, I’m confused. According to statistics, the most common age to get married in Sweden is 25-29 years old. In Oklahoma, the average age for a female to marry is 25 while the average age for a male is 27. Do you see my dilemma? How come I perceive such a difference between Sweden and Oklahoma, when people actually are almost the same age?

By the way, did you know that a basic wedding in Oklahoma cost about $5,714.00?

Wedding Statistics - Oklahoma

Some people are impressed. Others just tell me that they would never have put themselves through it. You see, during the past six years I’ve been in a long distance relationship. If you count out the summers, I’ve never lived closer then 620 miles from my boyfriend.

People often ask me what we do to make it work. I always reply that it’s not that hard. But that’s not always the truth. It is hard. It’s like riding a rollercoaster with your love – but not sitting next to him or even being able to spot him from where you sit. When it all starts you’re positive, thinking that nothing can ever tear you apart. Throughout the ride you experience ups and downs – just as in any relationship. The problem is that when you get sad, sick or afraid, there’s no one to give you physical comfort. When all you need is really a hug, the only thing to do is to give your love a call.

When you’re never physically together, it sometimes feels like you’re not really a couple. So let me just tell you this:

1. I really don’t like long distance relationships.
2. To be honest it is just stupid that I’m putting myself through it.
3. I must be crazy in love.

Do the American people like Swedish food? Either that, or there’s a lot of Swedes living in the U.S. I’ve just found the store “Sweden’s best“, where they sell Swedish food and candy. Okay, so they don’t have my favourite candy, but at the moment almost anything - that actually tastes like candy - will due.

You see, I have a small problem with the American candy. Mainly because the licorice is sweet and that some of the chocolate tastes funny. But now that I’ve found “Sweden’s best” I may actually be able to endure my time here. Don’t you think that it’s sad that things like this make me happy? Because I do…

My time in the U.S. has really screwed me up. Before I went here I was afraid of the future: I couldn’t imagine myself having a nine to five job, settle down and get an apartment or even own my own car. Now I’m actually planning what kind of furniture I’m going to have in my future apartment and thinking about whether I would like to have a cat or not. If I’m getting a cat, I will probably name it Måne, that’s Swedish for moon.

Cat or no cat, that’s not what I’m bothered about right now. I’m surprised by the change that I’ve obviously been thru the last three weeks. The fact that I am no longer afraid of the future, just hit me yesterday, and I don’t really know how to respond. Yes, it’s great and I like it. I like the fact that I no longer shiver when I think about the future. But in the meantime, I’m wondering why my opinions changed and if many more of my opinions will change. It wouldn’t be surprising, I’m in Oklahoma and many people here have a different point of view on life than I do. So, who knows what kind of view on life I will have in four months?

Today I miss the home cooked dinners. I would kill for some regular boiled potatoes, meatballs and lingonberry jam.

Wide, personal and most likely very difficult to write about. That’s probably the best way to describe the topic of my blog: feelings. I’m gonna try to capture the different kinds of feelings that you may experience when you pack your things and move across the globe. Because that ’s what I did three weeks ago.

It all started a few month ago. I made the decision to go to Oklahoma State University, even though I had no idea what the school would look like or what it could offer me. What I did know, was that the school was situated in the United States, and that was good enough for me. Just after celebrating the new year, I said goodbye to my friends, family and boyfriend. 24 hours later, I had replaced my home country Sweden to the U.S.

At some point in our lives, we are all in the situation where we have to leave someone we love, just like I left my friends, family and boyfriend at home. This is, without any doubt, one of the hardest things I’ve ever had to do. Still, this is my own choice. I am going to use this blog as a kind of therapy, where I can write about and discuss the different kinds of feelings that I will experience.