Jay and Laura Do Nashville

This weekend Jay and I went to watch the Gators embarrass Vandy on their home turf. It was a great trip to Nashville and although there are no "daytime" photos (forgot to take the camera with me when we were meandering around Vanderbilt), there's plenty of orange and blue to see!

It started out in the Airport - just having a little afternoon margarita before we board the flight to Nashville!

Ryan and Emily Eastmore & Me at Chilis in the Southwest terminal



At the STAGE in Downtown Nashville






GAME DAY!

(5 in the afternoon, though it looks later)


Jay, Shelly Meyer and Ian


Thanks for the excellent seats, Jay!


Just keeping the ol' heart rate up.


John and Brandon...just two among the huge crowd of Gator fans all the way up there in Nashville!




Celebrating after the victory!



Next week:
Spurrier returns to his home turf... UF v. South Carolina!

The River Fyris

Mom sent me this picture of the river in Uppsala after they went back home. The Christmas evergreens were still lining the bridges and I just really like this picture so I thought I'd share!

A night on the town

The last night that Mom and Dad were in Uppsala, we went to a beautiful concert at the Uppsala Domkyrka (Cathedral) of Handel's Messiah. There was a full orchestra, an organ, a choir and 4 solists.



It was awesome listening to Messiah in that huge cathedral. Afterwards we enjoyed the lights on the river and nice Swedish meals of Salmon and Reindeer at the Carl Philip Restaurant (named after the Prince of Sweden).

I'm BACK!

Hej hej!

After a long sabbatical from my blog, Im back! I just finished my first term courses and I have a few days free until my next (and last) class begins. I see it's been since February 19th since my last blog, so I'm going to take a few blog entries, in chronological order, to catch everyone up on what I've been doing.

First, here's a quick review of my time in Sweden:

I moved here on Jan. 16th - my parents were here with me for a week and classes started on the 21st.

Mom, Dad and Me in Uppsala - Domkyrka behind us










Three weeks later, I moved closer to town, which made a HUGE difference for me - that's when I bought the bike.





My new neighborhood





My bike outside my new house









I joined a Student Nation, participated in the Business School "Welcoming Weeks" events, met lots of International Friends, a few Swedish friends and learned how to bike in snow...




My Swedish buddies and Me at the Business School's "After Ski" Party




I joined the University's International Bible Study group - amazing experience to have bible study with Christians from all over the world.




International Bible Study's Easter Potluck dinner!




I attended a couple of Swedish Gasques (balls to celebrate the beginning of a new semester with excellent food and Swedish Schnapps)





Varmlands Gasque - my table mates from Sweden and the Netherlands



Jay Bacon came to visit from March 7-16th and we took a trip up to the Arctic circle - SO beautiful! We also toured around Uppsala and Stockholm.




Jay and Laura in Gamla Uppsala - the old city - with Viking Mounds behind us




I spent Easter both here in Uppsala with my Bible Study friends and also at my Swedish friend's house in Falun - one of the most "typical" Swedish towns. It was really special to be invited to Marta's house for Easter.





Marta, Laura and Ashley in the Falun Kristine Church




And that's my review.

Anyway, things are going really well here & the sun is shining more and more everyday. We've reached the vernal equinox and in a month or so I'm going to be really glad that I have black-out shades on my windows. I think the days are getting about 6 minutes longer everyday...

Love and miss you all!

Laura's Address

Laura Henderson
Eklundhofvägen 4 B #315
752 37 Uppsala
Sweden

Golden Glory

God dag!

So this weekend, as I mentioned before, I purchased a secondhand bike and I named her "Golden Glory". I'm so happy because not only was it the most stylish bike in the shop, but also the cheapest at half the price of almost all other bikes :). Also, it was one of the smaller bikes in the shop, which is good because many bikes are for tall Scandinavian people here... Anyway, the first bike I tested out was also small, but the shop owner refused to let me look at it any more because "this bike for man". So, I kept searching and found Golden Glory - the sweet little women's golden bike with a purple seat. It makes my life so much easier, especially with the basket I had installed on the front...

Here is a picture of me the day I bought her:


Laura and Goldie


Love and miss you all,

Laura

Hej everyone...

Hejsan!



This is the Uppsala Domkyrka in the city center. It is the largest Cathedral in Scandanavia, and is now the seat of the Archbishop of Sweden. It dates back to the 13th century. On May 4th, the church will install the new Archbishop of the Lutheran Church os Sweden.


This weekend I moved 4 kilometers closer to town! My lovely friends from Finland, Saila and Antti, helped me move with their car - and I am eternally grateful - kiitos!!

Tomorrow I will get all of my papers for my new dorm - and then I'll post my new address. I really really love where I live now - I am close to many people, right next to the river, about 15 minutes from the city center walking, 5 with the bike, and about the same to my school. I will take some pictures the next time it is sunny and post them for you to see...

In the meanwhile, I keep trying to upload this video message that I made... but Blogger isn't uploading it for some reason... I'll keep trying.

Hej då!

Laura