✧ Michaela in cali ✧

A while ago I went on a sunset cruise with my friend who visited from Sweden. It was a lot of fun, mostly the other people on the boat were entertaining us but other than that the view from the ocean over Santa Barbara was stunning and just breath taking! There were loads of older people gathering together drinking wine and other alcoholic drinks so we thought they would fall into the water after a while. Everyone luckily kept their feet steady and seemed to be having a great time to.

We didn’t only get to see the sunset on the cruise but also some seals chilling on a kind of floating thing far out from the harbor for boats to see. While passing it there was a strong disgusting smell but I managed to capture some pictures anyways haha! 

We also saw dolphins which made the trip 100% better, it was amazing and I was the happiest girl on the boat at that moment. I felt like a little 12 year old girl cheering for dolphins like they could hear me, it was riddiculous!

I was mostly excited for the photos that I could take from the boat and ofcourse I have tons of them to show, enjoy!

Till next time!

One weekend my housemates and I went to the Santa Barbara Zoo. We got to see some really cool animals but they were in poor condition and didn’t really have enough space to move so my heart broke a little bit. I don’t know why but I have always had a huge passion for animals and since I’ve come to Santa Barbara far far away from my pets at home it’s only grown stronger by the minute. I dream about my pets and look at photos of them everyday, I think I’m going crazy sometimes. Not a dog can pass my without having me staring at it like crazy!

The day at the zoo was fun though I captured some crazy pictures and videos to be seen below. Felix really wanted to see the monkeys and Marte wanted to see the Koalas so we spent some time by them haha! We all ate way to expensive lunch but for me it was for free though I got a gift card at the zoo from all of my kind housemates!

The day turned out to be a great success and I couldn’t have asked for a better day to hang out with the San P Squad. We had a really great time that weekend and I’m so grateful for it!

I would lie to you if I said it was a lot to do for the finals week next week. I’m lucky to only have quizzes to do! One in class and one online so I really hope I’ll pass. I’m so worried over the Astronomy class and PE class, I hope I am going to pass them both but it all always sorts out in the end right?

I’m counting down the days till I get home now. I miss Sweden so much, more than I thought I would! It’s riddiculous how much you can miss something, that for sure is something I’ve learnt over here. Can’t wait to go out and have a good time with my friends. Meeting my pets and hanging out with my family! About 12 Days left now, I’m so excited!

Tomorrow there is no class though Leadership is officially over YAAAY! We only have the final online that opens noon on Sunday till Midnight on Monday so I’ll do it then. I am going to discover parts of Santa Barbara tomorrow, I’ve decided that I haven’t seen enough and am tired of just being at the same place not taking advantage of my time here! I’m stepping up my game now, going to wake up early and go on an adventure.

Here are some beautiful pictures I’ve captured the last couple of days,

Today was an amazing day.

Me and 5 others went up early today to pack our bags and head to six flags! The view in the car towards six flags was beautiful, we drove besides the ocean and deserts with mountains in the background making it complete. I was so excited for this day though I’ve heard so much good about the place and couldn’t wait to get there! 

I already pre-paid a ticket to get in to the park the night before but my friend was going to buy it before we got in. We didn’t know though that there was a “bring a friend for free day” just the day we were going so my friend got in for free and another friend got his ticket for half price! I split my entry ticket with my friend who got in for free so the day just got 100% better cause the entry was way to high priced from the beginning!

I went on crazy rides where you actually feared for your life a bit haha! I have never in my life experienced such crazy force and speed ever and it was such an experience and addiction in wanting more! My absolute favorite was called “Superman”. You started off by being pushed 160km per hour (crazy speed) BACKWARDS and then going straight up in an 90 degrees angle to fall down in a much faster speed! It was over pretty quick but since I love speed and the crazy feeling about it I went on it two times!

There were no people in the park today so we basically just walked 5 minutes where there was suppose to be a huge queue just to get to the attractions! We were very lucky and the day just turned out great! I ended off the day with going in a circled liked swing that had seats around it. It spun and went faster and faster back and forth and at night it had beautiful colors.

Till next time!

It’s Wednesday night and 2 days till weekend!

This week started off awesome according to me, I got a good score on my leadership quiz and even extra credit for an assignment I handed in though half of the class forgot about it. My Tuesday morning started off awesome in another way haha, the teacher came in to tell us to go out and make people go vote instead of having class though it’s a big deal here! Everyday since Tuesday people have been stalking every person stopping by “vote” stands on campus asking if they are registered to vote etc. I guess it’s good so we can make a change but I just don’t feel like my voice here will effect to much and to be honest I really didn’t have the energy to go vote anyways. So I spent my Tuesday morning to play the saxophone. 

I’ve been playing my sax everyday since Monday now and have to continue with it though I have a concert coming up the 29th and am freaking out about it. Right now I am the only Alto Sax in the band though the woman also playing Alto Sax dropped the class. This makes me nervous though you can hear me so clearly, if I play something wrong, if I play it to slow or just not at all. So I am so strictly committed to playing everyday to be as fluent and good at playing like the guy beside me playing Tenor Sax.

I snapped some awesome pictures with my polaroid camera I’ll show someday but I got some on my phone to I’ll show you here. The sunset that day was just amazing and I got a moment to just get all excited and happy feeling so lucky.

Last weekend some of the people in San P gathered together to go to the Escape room that is located here in Santa Barbara. We were suppose to save the world from an alien invasion haha! It was really fun and something I would love to do again with hopefully the rest of the house joining in. We found codes and keys trying to figure out how to get out of the room until the time ran out. We got when there was only two more minutes to go so we really did a good job!

Tomorrow I’m gonna practice my sax again after class and do some Astronomy quizzes though I really have to succeed in that class and it’s so hard but I’m managing it with a little more effort!

Till next time!

Happy halloween to everyone!

Today is halloween, finally! It feels like people have been so excited towards this day preparing and decorating their houses for weeks, it’s nothing like Sweden! I got so suprised when I bought 1 huge and a little pumpkin for only 50kr. Then I started to understand why all of the houses has at least like 6 pumpkins on their porches! The halloween spirit here is just so big compared to Sweden and I love it. It feels like every season is taken 100% seriously here, I’m not kidding . . there is a store that already removed their halloween stuff and stuffed the place with christmas items haha!

So I’m 20 now and nothing really has changed haha! I got a huge celebration from my housemates, they are the best. I got a skirt I’ve always thought about buying and some random snacks I always eat 24/7 here haha! I also got a beautiful dinner at a restaurant. They really know me it feels like. Before our halloween party I got one last gift that really made my day to, a gift card at the zoo!!! So I’m gonna grab the house and take a trip to the zoo one day, I am way to excited for that! 

For halloween I was Luigi while my closest friend here got to be Mario. We were looking fab! The whole house actually dressed up which was really fun, I just think everyone in this house gets along really well and I’m so grateful for that! 

This weekend I got a crazy idea bringing some people from the house who wants to join to go to an escape room in town! They thought it was a great idea so I really hope we go though it would be just really fun!

Today it’s a chill day! I only have leadership and I’m finally doing well on the quizzes so I’m having a good day just thinking about it. I think I’ll go snap some pictures with my polaroid camera which I bought on my birthday, I am totally in love with it and it’s so much fun coming up with new ideas in what to snap and which lightning to have etc!

I’ts been a chill day today, I mostly focused on not stressing to much as I always do. If things get in the way there is always a way to solve it in another. I started the day off with buying the best Starbucks latte I have tasted. I also facetimed my friend at home while on my way to the computer lab. I miss her a lot, after spending everyday together for 3 years it’s getting quite empty without her beside me all of the time.

At the computer lab I watched a Life Fitness video, you can watch videos instead of working out so it’s kind of cheating but kind of not haha! I have to have 9 hours until 8 pm on Wednesday and am really working hard (watching videos) to get those hours! Right now I have 7 Hours and 20 minutes so I’m sure I’ll make it! If I don’t I’ll get dropped from the LFC class and that just cannot happen cause then I will loose my credits and I have to have at least 12 credits.

I’m getting all hyped for our halloween party on Saturday already! I’m gonna make some halloween cupcakes with my housemate the day before and hopefully decorate the house so it’s in the halloween spirit! I’ve invited a friend from my leadership class and apparently we’re having the same kind of costume so it’s going to be quite fun to see how each other looks like! I’m gonna give you a preview of some sunset pictures that the website is about on here!

In my marketing class we’ve made a website of 5 pages that I think I can share for everyone to have a look at if you’d like. I really enjoyed doing it and am so excited for next semesters Web Design classes.

CLICK HERE TO SEE THE WEBSITE (don’t forget to look at all 5 pages, you can change page by clicking in the upper right corner on all of the subjects)

I’ve been busy these couple of days and up in my own thoughts. It’s actually funny because I actually found some people here with the same thoughts as me. I came here with a goal in studying marketing and I’ve just lost interest in it. I have just come to an conclusion that it isn’t for me. There is a small part in marketing though that is called Web Design and it really caught my attention in class. I am considering taking web design classes next year and I want to major in Multimedia Arts & Design here to but I don’t think thats possible so I’m just going to have to take a few separate classes included in the Multimedia major.

These past few days have been stress full but I always manage to find some free time to sit at my favorite spot on West Campus. Theres never to many people there and sometimes if I’m lucky I can see dolphins swimming by the boats. I also have a bad habit buying a latte from Starbucks to enjoy the view with. . . But I always convince myself that I deserve it haha! I’m adding some beautiful pictures of my “calm spot” here for you to enjoy.

My online math class ends today and I’m so nervous to see if I’m eligible for math 95 or not. Whatever happens there is always a way to solve it though so I’m not super anxious. I’m just getting more and more excited for next semester though I’ve looked up some Multimedia design classes and found a class which includes you to do an internship in multimedia arts & design which just sounds to much fun to not choose! There are so many things I want to do here, the time flies by to fast and I just don’t want to leave!

I started this day off with waking up way to late. I should have woken up early to practice my leadership presentation but ended up just having 2 hours before class, which was ok anyways. The presentation was, I shall not lie saying it was amazing. The whole group really messed it up but we managed to get through it and thats what counts right, team spirit is the most important part?

After leadership class I walked home with 2 others. One of them wanted some company to the store so I followed and bought some goodies while I was there to. Apparently he was german and just lived 10 minutes from where I live so I wonder why he hasn’t joined any of our parties yet cause the people living close to us always attends our parties. I’m sure he will now though.

Tomorrow I have my final math exam and I’m so not excited or hyped for that but somehow I always get through things around here so it will come out great for sure.

On my way to Astronomy class yesterday I went for a little walk and found a beautiful garden, I think there is a class at school you can take for gardening and it must be there the classes takes place. It felt like Alice In Wonderland for a bit. I also managed to capture this amazing picture of the sun between the palm trees, it was about to set but it hadn’t begun yet so I was there in a really special moment luckily! 

It’s crazy hot here!

You never know what to wear when you wake up, I always dress to cold and bring a sweatshirt if I freeze. Today it’s been ok, not to hot in the morning but right now I’m in the shadow it’s quite warm to so there is no place to hide haha!

I started the day with marketing, it was actually quite fun though we got to learn about webpages. I really found an interest in that now, I’m thinking about a webbdesign class next semester but there is still a lot of time to think!

After marketing I was determined to go to the gym, but I brought the wrong shirt so it looked really weird though it was to short! I have to buy more longer t shirts, I only have short ones though I tuck them in my skirt or shorts. So I walked happily away from the gym and went to check out the Food Pantry!

The food pantry is a place at collage where you can get 4 free food items everyday! There is everything from chicken to meat, eggs, corn, veggies, soup etc! You can come back everyday and get 4 free food items which is just awesome! I got some frozen chicken together with 3 tomato soups haha!

Right now I’m sitting at a beautiful place where we had our first meeting with STS (the agency I’m traveling with). It’s my first time coming back here since then and it is just amazing, of course I have got some great shots I’ve taken to show!

I have had so much to do so I totally forgot to update here!

This weekend has been crazy, a lot of homework to do as well as we we´re hosting a party on Saturday. I decided after a while to go meet my friend from Astronomy class instead and we went to this beautiful view over Santa Barbara. It’s crazy how many beautiful views you can see and go to around here. I love it! We we’re just looking at the stars talking for hours it felt like, I totally lost the track of time but I just loved the moment so much. It was so calm, far away from loud noises and just the sound of a fountain and crickets. You could also hear the ocean from a distance which was really lovely. My Saturday night was pretty great to be honest except for the studying that had to be done the days before.

Tomorrow is a new day and I don’t really know what to expect from this new week coming up. I have my final math test this week which I’m not to stoked about but I just really want to be eligible for math 095 here next year so it’s very important that I pass! I’ve been trying really hard to catch up with my math skills and I actually feel an improvement which makes me want to keep going. 

My roommate has been gone this whole weekend and the weekend before that to go explore the US with her closed ones so I’ve had the bedroom for myself a lot. Sometimes it feels empty without her but I know she will be back soon.

My birthday is also coming up (Next Saturday), and I am excited for it of course but would be more hyped if it was at home though I get more beverages of turning 20 in Sweden than here haha. It’s my first time ever not spending my birthday with my family so I’ll miss them a lot.

I’ll post some beautiful pictures I’ve taken tomorrow, now I need to refuel for a new week with new possibilities . . . Woohoo!

Finally Friday!

I just had a succesfull jazz improvisation class, my buddy wasn’t there as usual but there are a lot of nice people there anyways. I’m the only international person in the class which feels good for once, there are Swedes everywhere here! Sometimes it feels like I’m in Sweden with a different climate. . . Anyways, the class went awesome! I actually managed to do a great solo and got a lot of great feedback and nice comments from others. It just made me in a really good mood.

On my way home I stopped at a park we have nearby, it’s really cute and so calm. Sometimes you just need time for yourself so I like finding these calm spots where you can just stop and think for a while. I’ve become such a philosopher here in the US haha!

I love this place so much, I haven’t had this much time to just focus on myself before and I’m starting to enjoy it. In the beginning of getting here I felt alone but now I’m taking my alone times and making them into something so much more.

This day has been tiring so far. I started off with marketing as usual on Thursdays but tried to make it a little better by playing the saxophone after. I actually felt like I’ve made some progress for once, I just want my own saxophone very bad every time I play the one I’m borrowing at school. I have such a huge passion for instruments it’s something I don’t think I will ever give up on. I’ve got beginning jazz tomorrow morning, thats the class where I’m playing the saxophone in. There is a really nice guy playing the saxophone as well called Ryan. Without him so far I don’t think I would like that class as much. I feel like I’m not as good as everyone else so lose a lot of self confidence but he always helps me out so I appreciate it a lot.

Tonight the San P squad is having a bbq which I am really excited about. I just cleaned the grill though it looked disgusting. You may think Emilia was helping out but she basically just wanted to be a model . . . I bought some marshmallows to grill and veggies to, haha I think I’m getting hungry again just writing about food. . . 

Idag har jag storhandlat ensam för första gången, ingen behövde köpa mat men mina hyllor ekade så jag fick ta det i egna händer. Jag har börjat äta mycket flingor här borta, gillar det inte annars hemma men det finns oändligt många roliga flingor att prova här så det är en liten favorit att handla! Sen är jag väldigt mycket för grönsaker så jag köpte lite paprika och champinjoner mm som är roligt att grilla för vi ska nämligen ha en grillkväll imorrn! Jag gav förslaget då jag har en massa mat som är god att grilla som jag än inte ätit. Köpte också marshmallows, gud vad gott det ska bli! Jag skriver så mycket om mat för att jag är hungrig tror jag haha!

Jag har iallafall hittat en super fin strand här i Santa Barbara som heter Shoreline beach, det är som en liten dröm strand. Speciellt för mig då det springer en massa hundar där som gärna gör nya vänner. Jag och Emilia satt där ett par timmar en gång och såg en massa sälar i vattnet också, jag blir lika fascinerad varje gång. Sälarna är så söta som bara sticker uppsitt lilla huvud och försvinner snabbt ner igen. Här har ni ett bildflöde med ett gäng grymma bilder.

Nu ska jag plugga och lyssna på riktigt bra ny musik jag fått reda på av en kompis från min astronomi klass. Han har riktigt bra musiksmak och hans spellista är så typisk amerikansk.

Äntligen får jag visa det lilla av East Campus ,ni kommer märka skillnader mot West Campus då jag mest tagit bild på det finaste från den sidan. Det är inte mycket intressant som händer på East Campus, det är dit man går om man behöver köpa något i Bookstore eller är sugen på något i cafeterian. Annars så har jag Online Marketing, Gymmet och Astronomi på East side. En kväll gick jag lite senare till gymmet och fick en riktigt fin bild på solnedgången.

Det finaste på East Campus är gångarna med de fina blommorna som hänger ovanför. Det känns som att man är på ett fint bröllop nästan. Man blir på så bra humör när man går där, man känner sig speciell typ haha! Nedanför åt vänster kan man se en byggnad, där har jag Astronomi.

För att komma till skolan brukar jag oftast gå, det tar ca 15 minuter så jag har riktigt tur med att ha fått ett så fint hus som ligger super nära skolan! För att komma dit dock krävs det nästan att man har träningskläder på sig typ för det är en väldigt lång trappa upp till East Campus som känns som att den aldrig tar slut. När man äntligen kommer upp känns det som man sprungit 3 varv runt jorden, eller så är det bara jag som inte riktigt är i form haha! (Bilden är tagen när jag är påväg hemåt). Utsikten när du väl är uppe är otrolig, jag tröttnar aldrig på det här.

Idag har jag ledarskap, sedan ska jag stor shoppa på Ralphs (Santa Barbaras lilla version av Ica Maxi). Jag tycker det är så kul att handla, jag provar på massa nya roliga saker här. Vanilj colan är super billig jämfört med Sverige och det är min favorit läsk så det kanske jag köper lite för mycket av haha!

Ikväll hade jag astronomi men innan var jag och Emilia och besökte matte klubben! Det verkar riktigt roligt så vi får se om vi kommer till nästa möte, idag bjöd de på pizza och gav förslag kring vilka aktiviteter som man kunde göra för året. Efter mötet gick jag och Emilia och köpte plock mat och satte oss på West Campus klippa för att kolla ut över havet. Hon är riktigt rolig att vara med, man blir alltid på bra humör med Emilia! Jag tog några riktigt fina bilder jag bifogar nedan (p.s. Vi såg delfiner!!). På lektionen sedan lärde jag mig om jordens atmosfär bland annat samt också om vad de små och stora hålen i månen innebär. Det är mycket som gås igenom på de lektionerna så man får se till att försöka hålla sig vaken och anteckna så mycket man kan! Ibland förstår jag inte orden läraren säger så jag skriver ned dom på ett separat papper för att söka upp dem när jag kommer hem. Skriv gärna nedan om ni vill att jag lägger in lite roliga astronomi fakta jag lär mig då och då för att få lite variation i inläggen. Det kanske är kul att höra vad jag lär mig om också ibland?

Jag skriver lite om mitt hushåll då någon ställde en fråga kring det, huset kan jag ta i ett annat inlägg och så skulle jag berätta om East Campus också som får bli i ett annat inlägg! Det är så mycket som jag vill berätta om jag lär nog få uppdatera lite oftare.

Då jag bor på San Pascual Street så kallar jag alla jag bor med tillsammans för ”San Pascual Squad”. Det finns 2 hus på vår tomt, ett stort där jag och 7 andra bor i samt också ett mindre hus nedanför vårt. I mitt hus bor det fyra norska och fyra svenskar. Vi pratar endast svenska och norska så man kan säga att jag lär mig norska när jag är här tillsammans som jag förbättrar min engelska haha! Vårt gäng i huset är riktigt härligt, alla kommer rätt bra överens och det blir aldrig ensamt när man bor så många. Jag tänkte skriva en Positiv/Negativ lista någon gång kring att bo så många och att bo så långt hemifrån. Finns mycket kul att jämföra med så håll i er! Jag bifogar en bild på alla som bor i det stora huset nedan, den är från när vi ställde upp i en volleyboll turnering tillsammans. Vi vann inte men vi hade riktigt roligt, jag sprang mest ifrån bollen men upplevelsen var rolig haha!

I det lilla huset nedanför vårt bor det 3 danskar och en svensk. De brukar komma upp till oss lite då och då och hänga. Man kan säga att vi är 12 som bor på San Pascual tillsammans fast i två olika hus bara. Vi i det stora och lilla huset tillsammans brukar ha riktigt roligt på helgerna och umgås, ibland flera helger på rad!