Valborg

Valborg - A celebration of the beginning of spring and the first of May. 

Why? you might ask? WHY NOT? Valborg is more of a public social holiday than a family holiday.  

Anywho, on Valborg (April 30th) all of Uppsala is shut down except for trains and busses and the streets are filled with people (mainly college students). 

 The day begins with thousands of people getting up really early and finding a spot along the river to watch the college students float down in rafts that they have spent all week building.  Anyone who attends the universtiy can sign up in a team and build a styrofoam raft with any theme they want.  As you can imagine this does not go so well for two reasons 1. They are crazy college students and 2. The can only use styrofoam.

 Along the rivier there are two mini "waterfalls" that the rafts get to try and survive.  Many did not survive the first, and the ones that did got caught on the ricks that were just after.

 Some of the people in the boats were speaking english seeing as the universtiy offers many courses for english speaking stuends.

 Along the streets there were also college student choirs singing to entertain

 Picnic lunch with Taine (Australia), Sierra (Utah), and Beth (California)

It was so much fun to walk around the city and people watch, seeing so many different people!

 The most populated part of Uppsala was the giant field behind Economicum.

 Me and my friends...My friends and me??...My friends and I? (Ugh English grammar!) Anyways WE went back to one of our houses where we cooked and ate dinner together.

At night when it got dark I met up with some other exchange students in Gamla Uppsala for the bonfire. Although it was a rather nice day, not too warm, but no rain and not too cold, it began to snow at the bonfire!

 The fire was soo warm I felt like a rotisserie chicken because I could not stand in one position for longer than 2 minutes!

 The epic Taine

 And then the next day, First of May, beginning of summer, we woke up to 10ish cm of snow!!!

It seems like yesterday that it was October and everyone in my class was telling me all about Valborg and how it is going to be soo much fun and a very Swedish tradition that I must experience.  

Can't believe it has happened!  Boy has this year gone by too fast!