Hej! My name is Anna, and I come from Ukraine. One month passed since I have started my EVS in Alvesta. Time goes fast and I write this small text to keep my first impression, first emotions and, maybe, expectations. All this things could be boring for people, who spent more time in Sweden, but this small sketches made my first month.
One month in numbers and facts:
got lost in Växjö (2 times)
discovered Alvesta (all, few times)
found a lake (if you don’t know, what to do in Sweden – find a lake, they are everywhere)
froze up (endlessly)
prepared an exhibition (2)
hammered nails (nearly 100 or more)
learned about gluten free food (much more, then I knew before)
had interview for an article in the newspaper (1 time)
people told, they had seen us in the newspaper (near 20)
was volunteer during volunteering 
watched many-many movies 
spoke Swedish with people without knowing the Swedish language
and finally understood, how to pronounce letters ”Å-Ä-Ö” (i hope)
Acquaintance with Alvesta starts from…Japan.
What do you expect to find at the exhibition in a small Swedish town? I didn’t expect to find “Japan”. This year is special for the Exhibition Hall — it celebrates 20 years. And now you can see the same objects, that were here the first time. So we got a chance to plunge into the past and to see how this story began. In general, Alvesta Kommun Exhibition Hall is an amazing place and we have many different tasks. But it’s a story for the next time.
Fika
If you ask me about my favorite thing in Sweden, it will be “fika”. And it is not only about tea with cookies (but who doesn’t like it?), it’s about time to communicate and relax. During fika we learn Swedish, plan our work, discuss tasks, learn more about Sweden, Swedish culture and meet new people. Persons, who doesn’t like fika – just never had fika
Snow
I like the idea to have no expectations, especially when I visit new places. But, in any way, my head was full of stereotypes or strange ideas. So when I came to Sweden, I expected to see snow. A lot. Everywhere And now I feel, weather in the south of Sweden is even warmer than in my home town this winter.
Town
One month ago, I was sure, I had been living in a small city. But not anymore. I found, there is a big differences between 7 and 700 thousand citizens. When I arrived to Alvesta, streets were empty and it looked like a post apocalypse movie or western with snow. The last days of winter holidays were lasting.
Hobbit
Sometimes I feel, most things in Sweden are made for tall people. And yes, there are many tall people. So I am a hobbit. My bicycle is quite big, shelves in the closet are too high and even in the mirror in the bathroom I can see only the top of my head:)
