When the Parrish family took in Swedish exchange student Josefine Adding in 2014, it was supposed to be a temporary arrangement.  No one could have guessed how perfectly she fit into their family and how she would become a sister to their daughter, Delaney Marsh.  Inseparable for the year she lived with them and attended Bridgeport High School, the two knew that their “sisterhood” would not end with Adding’s flight home.

 

One year after leaving, the two were reunited. This time, however, it was on Swedish soil and included another BHS alum, Rebecca Turnbull. The plan started before Adding even left the United States and turned into an all-out countdown once the tickets were bought in January. 

 

“Before I knew it, I was buying outlet adapters at Target, preparing for the trip,” Marsh said. 

 

After nearly nine hours of flying, the Bridgeport duo looked out the plane window and were in awe of actually landing in Sweden. Adding picked the girls up at the airport, where they hugged and cried and started their adventure abroad.

 

After grabbing a bite at the Swedish McDonald’s (which, according to Marsh was not as good as the American version), they drove to Adding’s house, surrounded by the Baltic Sea.  “The sea was so calm, it could have been a lake, but it was too cold to swim in,” said Marsh.

 

The girls were privy to every aspect of Swedish life. Differences arose in simple chores such as grocery shopping. 

 

“The stores are much smaller and they shop daily for groceries. Dinners included fish, potatoes, cheese and bread and meals in general were less greasy than American food,” said Marsh.

 

In Sweden, Marsh also observed that the people were very nice and made an effort to look nice all the time. No one wore sweatpants outside their homes and girls wear their hair very neat and little to no makeup.  Another difference was the transportation. “In Sweden, people mainly get around by bike, public transportation, boats or walking. Cars are much smaller and typically stick shift and nearly everyone has a summer home, so they all have boats.”

 

She also noted that “saunas are as common as bathrooms in the homes in Sweden,” Marsh said, “and most people speak English."

 

The scenery was similar to West Virginia and the climate was much cooler and very windy. 

 

“While we were there, the sun set around midnight and rose again at 3 a.m.  It never got totally dark and the sky was amazing there,” Marsh.

 

The first week Turnbull and Marsh were there, everything revolved around Adding’s graduation, which in itself, proved to be very different than graduations in America. 

 

“We had the opportunity to attend school with Josefine. School is much more laid back there, with students allowed to leave school to eat lunch and they could come and go as they wished all day. There was no big ceremony for graduation, but instead, the students were sat in small ceremonies led by the principal, while the families held picket signs outside with the students’ names and baby pictures on them. After the ceremony, the class runs out of the school and dances on a stage to loud music. They even have a school-sponsored tradition where they ride around the city in a dump truck pouring beer on each other. It was very strange, but fun.”

 

The second week of their adventure included going to Stockholm for sightseeing and shopping. They saw the royal palace, some traditional homes and went to a huge mall. Adding then took the girls on a small cruise to Finland for one night and then back to her home where they enjoyed seaside fires and dinner. 

 

“That weekend was Josefine’s birthday, so we celebrated with cake and cinnamon rolls, which are traditional in Sweden," said Marsh.

 

“Josefine lives next door to the Swedish version of the Kardashians. They are the stars of a television show called Parneviks, which focuses on the family, headed by a famous golfer in Sweden. It was so crazy to be around someone so famous. Everywhere we went, people wanted to get pictures with them. The family actually grew up in Florida, so they spoke fluent English and it was neat to meet them.”

 

The last week in Sweden, the girls went to the countryside to visit grandparents and see a traditional Swedish farm, listening to Josefine’s grandma play traditional songs on the accordion around the campfire. 

 

Midsummer, the most traditional holiday in Sweden, was celebrated the last weekend the girls were in the country. It involved flower crowns, singing, raising a Midsummer Pole and dancing around it and trying some “interesting” food, including raw fish. Marsh and Turnbull also visited two museums, including one for the famous music group, Abba. 

 

“The experience was amazing and we can’t wait to get together with Josefine again!  It was so interesting to be immersed in another culture and meet people from all over the world," said Marsh.

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