ESC 2011 - The final version of the israeli entry

So... We have Dana's final version of "Ding Dong". Mixed feelings... It definitely bacame more powerful however there was still room for more improvements! I still like it but I have a big objection! Where on earth is my intro?! The intro was the best part of the song and it's completely gone! That beautiful melody is gone and we don't hear it anywhere in the song! Oh Dana what have you done? Why did you remove it? I mean go ahead! Listen to the old version and see for yourself! That intro is fantastic! It makes you feel like you're gonna listen to a great song (even if the rest of it isn't so powerful and the new version could be even more powerful!).  

The bridge in the new version is much better. The chorus on the other hand hasn't been changed a lot... I had a completely different version in my mind when Dana said that she will add some beat on it. 

Is there anyone out there who can make a good mix of the new and the old version? Add that beautiful intro in the new version? Aaaaah! I want the intro in ESC!! :(

Israel is still in my top 5 but... oh well...

ESC 2011 - Dana International wants her fans to choose her ESC dress

World famous fashion designer Jean Paul Gautier has offered his brand new collection to this year's Israeli Eurovision representative Dana International. She will have to choose from a number of eight creations by Gautier and decided to give her fans the right to get involved in the election of her Eurovision outfit. 

Read more at esctoday.com

Interesting. I've seen the video and I have to say that I like all dresses except for that orange! It's horrible. But the rest are pretty good for the ESC imo. I think it's cool that she asked her fans to choose her dress but I'm not sure if the final choice would work... I can only think that she liked all of them and she couldn't pick one otherwise I don't think she'd let her fans to choose instead of her. 

But honestly, I'm mostly interested in the new version of "Ding Dong"! We are still waiting!

ESC 2011 - Slovenia: "No One"

Finally the english version of Maja's "Vanilija" is here! The english title is "No One". I was opposed to this as I am with all the english versions translated from the language in which the song was originally written but I have to say that I like this version a lot! Now Slovenia is definitely in the final. But I think it would be better if they had kept a verse and a chorus in slovenian!

ESC 2011 - Eric Saade will take his glass cage to Dusseldorf

Apparently Eric Saade will have his glass cage in Dusseldorf! EBU said they'd let him keep it if he puts something like a carpet just as Azerbaijan did in 2008 where they poured wine.

This is the info I got. I am almost sure that we will see Eric breaking the glass cage in May but I leave a small window open just in case.

ESC 2011 - The english version of the slovenian entry

The Slovenian public broadcaster RTVSLO has announced that the final version of their Eurovision 2011 entry No one, with English lyrics, will be presented next Saturday, March 26th, at the Spet Doma show. 

The programme will run from 20:00 to 21:40 CET. During the show, the final Eurovision version of the Slovenian entry No one will be presented to the public.

Read more at esctoday.com

I have a feeling that I won't like the english version as much as the slovenian... All we have to do is wait until Saturday.

En till, en till!

I speak swedish. Not fluently and I understand more than I can say. But whatever I do, wherever I go here in Sweden I speak swedish. Except for when I meet famous people. That's where I have to speak english because they don't have all day for me. So when I meet them (sometimes) I am quite nervous so I can't try to speak swedish. I have to be fast because there are people waiting to meet them. Plus, it's a good thing to show them that they have fans outside Sweden. So we have our conversations in english. And then comes the time for a photo! In 90% of those meetings I am alone so I have to ask someone else to take the photo. So we take the first photo and then I say to that person "en till, en till!" (one more, one more!) and for some reason whoever I'm taking the photo with, repeats that and laughs (not at me!). I did this twice! Once with Andreas Lundstedt and once with Linda Bengtzing! They both repeated "en till, en till" and they both laughed! I know it's not wise to say everyone does that coz I did it only twice but hey, I've got 2/2! I should try this again but this time with not-so-crazy artists. Both Andreas and Linda are crazy (in a good way!) so...

But seriously is it so funny? Or I guess they're thinking "she doesn't speak swedish but she knows how to ask for a second photo!" hahaha. Oh I don't know...

Sanna Nielsen - I'm In Love (album review)

I always had in mind the album reviewing and I think it's time I began reviewing the albums. During the last week of Melodifestivalen I bought a few albums and I want to review them. I recently saw a review of Sanna's album and I kinda got jealous. Hehe. So I think this is the right time to start since Melodifestivalen is over and there are no more NFs waiting. There wouldn't be a better album to begin with since Sanna's is the one I'm listening to the most. OK here we go.

1. Devotion*

T & m: Bobby Ljunggren, Marcos Ubeda

"Devotion" was the first single of the album, released on 18th January 2010. So it's not actually a new song. There wasn't a better song to be first on the tracklist! It's a great song! I love the lyrics! It makes me happy!

*the lyrics are wrong but it was the only studio version I could find on youtube

2. I’m In Love

T & m: Bobby Ljunggren, Irini Michas, Peter Boström, Thomas G:son

Aah this song! Sanna's entry in Melodifestivalen 2011. Before we listen to the song Sanna described her feelings when she first listened to it. She said she wasn't so impressed until it reached the chorus. After listening to the chorus she had to enter Mello with this! So when we first listened to 1 minute of each song competing in the second semi-final I didn't get the feeling Sanna got. I was disappointed until I watched her performing it live*! After that I said "OK Sanna was right". Listening to the full song made me entirely change my mind! This is so schlager and for a schlager lover like me, it's perfect! 

* the video is from the final

3. Part Of Me

T & m: Henrik Wikström, Amir Aly 

"Part Of Me" was the second single of the album. I hadn't listened to it until I bought the album. I don't know why... This is not one of my favourites. But this doesn't mean I don't like it. Honestly there's not even a single song of the album that I don't like! It's just not an wow song for me. It's all about taste. ;)

4. Not Afraid To Love

T & m: Sanna Nielsen, Henrik Wikström

A really relaxing song! I love it! It fits Sanna's voice! Just great!

5. If You Were Mine

T & m: Bobby Ljunggren, Kristina Lagerström, Marcos Ubeda

The video is from the first official presentation of the song and I am really glad I was there! Another relaxing song that I enjoy listening to at nights.

6. Can’t Stop Love Tonight

T & m: Marcos Ubeda, Thomas G:son

I just love this! I love the chorus! That rhythm! "And we livin' it up!" shit! Amazing!

7. Demolition Woman

T & m: Sanna Nielsen, Henrik Wikström, Kristian Lagerström, Amir Aly

OK this is my FAVOURITE song of the album!! While we were waiting at Åhléns City a few songs of the album were playing until Sanna got on stage. "Demolition Woman" was the one stuck on my mind! The one that impressed me the most. I buy the album, I get home and I see that Sanna is one of the writers! She has to write her own music! From now on there should always be a few songs (co-)written by Sanna! "Demolition Woman" is totally the most played song of March! I usually put it on repeat! I really can't describe how much I ADORE this song!    

8. This Time Love Is Real

T & m: Oscar Holter, Jakke Erixson, Alexander Bard

Love it! Haha this album is full of love! It's a fantastic song! That's all I'm gonna say!

9. Take Me Home

T & m: Oscar Holter, Jakke Erixson

Hmm another not favourite song but again, not a bad song. I really like the parts right before the chorus and I like the lyrics!

10. Foolish Heart

T & m: Henrik Wikström, Kristian Lagerström     

Love it love it love it! Really strong melody and lyrics! For some reason I wanted this to be higher on the tracklist. Not that the tracklist has anything to do with which songs are good or bad but I feel like this should be in the first 5. It feels strange... Anyway! Love it!

11. Just Like That

T & m: Henrik Wikström, Kristian Lagerström

I think I just realised why I wanted "Foolish Heart" higher on the tracklist. "Just Like That" is a relaxing song and it just doesn't sound right coming after a song like "Foolish Heart" hehe. I like such relaxing songs. I love sleeping while listening to music and this song is perfect for that! Of course this doesn't mean that I don't listen to it during the day! haha

12. Paradise

T & m: Bobby Ljunggren, Marcos Ubeda

"Devotion" was the best song to be first on the album and "Paradise" is the best to end the tracklist! The title fits perfectly with the music! If you listen to the song without knowing its title you'd definitely bring paradise on your mind! Personally I bring to my mind a picture of a deserted beach. And it's the best way to go to bed! It's 1am so good night!

Oh and as you noticed I haven't put links to all of the songs. That's because they are not on youtube. But you can listen to a few seconds of them here. 

OK people, this is an album you should definitely add to your collection. It's a masterpiece! Go ahead and buy it here!

 

ESC 2011 - The bulgarian entry will be performed in bulgarian in Dusseldorf

Poli Genova, the singer representing Bulgaria in the 2011 Eurovision Song Contest has release a new version of her Eurovision Song Contest entry Na Inat. As well as the new Eurovision version of the song, English and Spanish recordings will be released soon in the hope of gaining airplay on international radio stations prior to the contest. It has bee confirmed that Na Inat will be performed in Bulgarian at this year's contest in Germany. 

Source esctoday.com

I'm really glad about this! In case you didn't notice I am eurofan that loves to see the songs being performed in native languages. I am totally fine with english (which I think is the best language on this planet) but when you choose a song in your language send it in your language! People, even if they are the only ones who understand the lyrics, loved it in bulgarian and voted for it. If you translate a song that they loved it in its original form, then you destroy it and you deceive them. The fact that you're translating the song in another language doesn't make the song as good as it used to be and definitely not better! Well maybe in extremely rare cases but some songs were written to be sung in the original language! 

So thank you Bulgaria and good luck! I just wish you kept Miro's song in bulgarian as well... :/ 

ESC 2011 - Eric Saade won't have the glass cage in Dusseldorf (?)

© Magnus Sandberg

This is old news but I wanted to comment that. It's everywhere! Right after his victory on Saturday, Eric Saade said to the press that he will fight until the end to keep his glass cage in Dusseldorf because it is a big part of the story of his song (ehm right whatever). One day later he says that the glass cage isn't so important and that he has a thousand new ideas. Are you kidding Eric? But I don't blame him. I blame SVT and Christer Björkman! They knew the glass cage wouldn't be allowed by EBU and yet they let him use it. But of course this is Melodifestivalen. Cleaning the glass takes too long but Björkman was the one to choose the running order of the semi and the final so he placed Eric last and the cleaning was no longer a problem.

So Sweden. You were deceived big time! I hope you are happy now. Just watch once again Eric Saade breaking the glass cage because you won't see that in ESC! You voted for something that is not allowed in ESC!

So I will say it again and I hope someone from SVT is out there reading this post.

Melodifestivalen must have the same rules as Eurovision! And that means 6 instead of 8 people on stage, LIVE backing vocals instead of pre-recorded and DO NOT ALLOW gimmicks that EBU will reject! End of story!

Melodifestivalen 2011 - Linda Bengtzing would sing in swedish in Dusseldorf

I just wish I knew this before the final! Linda Bengtzing would have sung "E Det Fel På Mej" in swedish if she was Melodifestivalen's winner! Damn you Sweden!! You left Loreen out and you didn't vote for your best choice in the final! I wanted Linda to win and the only negative thing for me would be the translation of the song in english! And yesterday I found out that she would have kept it in swedish! It's been 12 years since the last time we listened to swedish on Eurovision's stage and that was in 1999 where Charlotte Perrelli (at this time Nilsson) sang the last chorus of "Take Me To Your Heaven" in swedish at the reprise. I wish Linda keeps coming back with her marvelous turbo schlager every year until you send her to the ESC! She and Sanna Nielsen deserve a chance to represent Sweden! 
Good luck Sweden with Eric and without his glass cage! But I will comment that on another blog entry!

ESC 2011 - The running order

The draw of Semi-Final 1

In each half of one respective Semi-Final, one country received a wildcard to choose its starting position. The remaining positions were drawn afterwards.
The draw for the first Semi-Final:

1. Poland (wildcard)
2. Norway
3. Albania
4. Armenia
5. Turkey
6. Serbia
7. Russia
8. Switzerland
9. Georgia
10. Finland
11. Malta
12. San Marino
13. Croatia
14. Iceland
15. Hungary
16. Portugal
17. Lithuania
18. Azerbaijan
19. Greece (wildcard)

The commercial breaks are scheduled to be after the 5th and 14th song.

The draw of Semi-Final 2

The draw for the second Semi-Final brought the following result:

1. Bosnia & Herzegovina
2. Austria
3. The Netherlands
4. Belgium
5. Slovakia (wildcard)
6. Ukraine
7. Moldova
8. Sweden
9. Cyprus
10. Bulgaria
11. FYR Macedonia
12. Israel
13. Slovenia
14. Romania
15. Estonia
16. Belarus
17. Latvia (wildcard)
18. Denmark
19. Ireland

The commercial breaks are scheduled after the 5th and 14th song.

The automatic Finalists

For the Grand Final, the starting positions of the Big 5 countries (Italy, France, Germany, Spain, and The United Kingdom) were also drawn, with one of them, again, getting a wildcard to freely choose their starting position:
11. France
12. Italy
14. United Kingdom
16. Germany
22. Spain (wildcard)

Source eurovision.tv

What can I comment here? Happy for Hungary. Greece was really lucky (thanks to the wildcard). So-so draw for Israel and happy for Spain!! 

Melodifestivalen 2011 - Eric Saade won!

A night I never wanted to end! The best night of my life! Well almost coz the result isn't the ideal. OK. First things first. The winner!

© expressen.se

Eric Saade with "Popular" won!

See the full results here.

I don't know where to start! Living the final's experience was just AMAZING! Globen was full! There was such a panic after every performance! Needless to say that my two favourites were Linda Bengtzing and Sanna Nielsen! And believe it or not I predicted their 12 points! Sanna got two (for a moment I was glad to be Greek! The greek jury gave 12 points to Sanna!) and Linda got one. But the fun part was after the final! I won't comment the songs one by one coz I liked them all tonight (strange!). The only song that didn't make me get up was Nicke Borg's! I even enjoyed The Moniker's song! This song annoys me but tonight I enjoyed it! To the fun part now!

So after it was over I stayed in the arena until they told us to leave. Just after exiting the arena (I was still in the building but not where the final was held) I saw Joakim Ramsell (Sanna's boyfriend). I thought "he's probably waiting for Sanna" so I stayed there. But he left after a few minutes so I left too. At the exit (of the building this time :P) I saw Lena Philipsson! I was shocked! There were just a couple of her people around her so it was easy to take a photo! Yes! A photo with Lena PH! 

I decided to leave but while leaving I found the entrance to the efterfest (party). Some people were there waiting for the artists to arrive, get photos etc. I joined them. And because of that I took 5 photos! :D And I saw many other artists that I didn't really care about. Hehe But I didn't get a photo with Brolle coz he was in a hurry. Actually it wasn't his fault. He stopped to take a photo but there was a guy there who dragged him inside! Duh! And unfortunately I didn't see Linda Bengtzing. 

First photo with Loreen! We also had a nice 1-minute conversation! 

- Hi Loreen! Can we take a photo?

- Sure where are you from?

- From Greece.

- Oh I love Greece! 

- You were my winner.

- Oh thanks. You have a really good taste. *laughs*

- I know! Sweden doesn't!

- *laughs*

Hahahaha Amazing Loreen!

Second photo with Shirley's Angels! And at this point I want to really really thank Vera Prada! She and Jessica Marberger arrived together. There were many people there and they had to go inside. Shirley Clamp arrived a minute later but because of the many people asking for autographs and photos their friends and co-workers tried to take the Angels inside but Vera was the one who told Shirley and Jessica to get a photo with me. I guess when they know that a fan isn't from Sweden, they don't want to let them down coz who knows when it will be the next time! So, THANK YOU VERA!

Third photo with Sebastian. Nothing special happened here. Just a photo.

Fourth photo with Måns Zelmerlöw! Again nothing special happened.

Fifth photo with my lovely Sanna Nielsen! 

Well I wasn't planning to take a photo with Sanna coz I will meet her tomorrow. Ehm today? Whatever! I just stopped her to say "hi".

- Hey Sanna!

- Hey Ifi! You wanna take a photo right? 

(again too many people there!)

- No no! Go! I'll do it tomorrow!

- But it's ok. Lotta (a friend of hers) can take the photo.

(could I really say no there? hahaha)

- Thank you Sanna! See you tomorrow!

- *laughs* See you tomorrow!

Adorable or what?

Wow! Just wow! Now that I'm done with the "after final" things (good coz I didn't want to forget the dialogs!) should I go back to the final? Well nothing special comes to mind! I had the time of my life! And time went by soooo fast! :( And somewhere at this point I realise that there won't be any Melodifestivalen next Saturday! It's over! We have to wait another year! This s u c k s ! Really!

Prediction to Eric's outcome in ESC? Well I'm afraid to say top 5 so I will say top 10 but I'm hopping for the best! He will have problem with the vocals AND with the glass! I was there! I saw how long it took them to clean the stage! The 30 seconds in ESC are not enough! But on the other hand maybe they took their time since Eric was the last one to perform. I don't know... I hope they figure something out until then!

And now a question that is everywhere right now. Did the right song win? No! The right song was Loreen's! And if I had to choose another song from the final I said I wanted Linda or Sanna!

No matter what good luck to Eric!

Sweden - My Love!

The original post was made in October 2010. This is why the time frame is inconsistent with the new post date.

I am writing this blog entry because everyone asks me why I love Sweden so much and how my love began etc etc. So from now on when someone asks me about it, my answer will be the link to this blog entry.

Ever since I was a baby I loved snow. Every time someone said the word “Finland” I immediately brought to my mind (and I still do) one picture. A forest of pine trees and a lot of snow! I knew Finland was a different country and that it was north. Of course I had no idea what “north” meant but I knew it was north. Now about Sweden? Well, it all began when I was 5-6 years old. Subconsciously (please keep that in mind until I reach to the year 2005). My dad had a record player and I was listening to ABBA. There was a record that on A-side was “Waterloo” and on B-side was “SOS”. A single! Haha I didn't like “Waterloo” back then so I was only listening to “SOS”. MANY TIMES A DAY! But I didn't know that this song was an ABBA song and I had no idea that ABBA was Swedish. I was listening to this record every day until one day I broke the record player (it was an accident!!)! That was it! I listened to ABBA again about six years later when I was 11. We had a second record player (we still have it but it's in the basement) and I found dad's records so I started listening to ABBA again. But for only a few months because we had to move it to the basement (as I said). Eurovision 2001 and Greece sends Antique with “Die For You”. Antique, as I’m sure most of you know, consisted of two Greek singers that were born and raised in Sweden (Helena Paparizou and Nikos Panagiotidis). They brought us the 3^rd place and the song became a huge hit in Greece. Until then I had no idea what Eurovision was, how often was the contest being held or even if they show it on TV! 2002 and I accidentally watch the ESC. There was one song that stuck to my mind that night and for weeks! It was the Swedish entry called “Never Let It Go” by Afro-Dite. I fell in love with that song and I wanted Sweden to win (just for the record they finished 8^th). Eurovision 2003 and I also like the Swedish song but not as much as Afro-Dite's. It was Fame's “Give Me Your Love” (5^th place). Eurovision 2004 and the Swedes sent Lena Philipsson with “It Hurts” (5^th place). Another song that I liked but my mind that year was in the Greek entry (Sakis Rouvas - “Shake It” - 3^rd place). Summer 2004 and I was watching MAD (something like MTV). They were showing all day a song called “This Is The World We Live In” by Alcazar (hmm I think with this blog entry you'll understand, apart from my love to Sweden, my love to Alcazar as well). But at first, every time the song began I was changing the channel until one day I decided to listen to the song! I loved it!! I even bought a CD with the summer hits just because I wanted this song! So in December Alcazar performed “TITWWLI” at a Greek talent show called Fame Story. I could watch tv on my pc so I recorded their performance. Please note that until that time I didn't know Alcazar was Swedish!! And here we go! 2005!! We choose to send Helena Paparizou to represent us in the ESC of 2005. Surprise surprise Helena was born and raised in Sweden as you all know! So these days there was “a lot of Sweden” on our TVs. They brought a new Greek commentator from Sweden (I won't comment the fact that they kicked out my favourite commentator in the history of Eurovision – Daphne Bokota) called Alexandra Pascalidou. They brought her from Sweden so that she helps us get votes from the Scnadinavian countries.

A few weeks before we choose the song to send to the ESC I found Alcazar's website and I saw they were Swedish! I also found out in their forum that they are competing in Melodifestivalen with a song called “Alcastar”. So the night we chose the Greek entry, to my surprise, Alcazar was there (as Sweden) to perform a medley with their songs. They were not allowed to sing “Alcastar” because Melodifestivalen was not over and Sweden hadn't chosen the song to represent them. I really don't know why Alcazar came to Greece and not another artist but I guess they came to promote their work... After that performance I bought my first Alcazar CD!

Back to the Greek National Final. We had 3 songs. “My Number One”, “OK” and “Let's Get Wild”. Guess which one I loved! Yup it was “Let's Get Wild” written by the Swede Douglas Carr! This was and is my favourite song of that night. If I had to choose again one of these songs, I'd pick “Let's Get Wild”. Even if I KNEW that with “My Number One” we would win the ESC, I'd still vote for “Let's Get Wild”!

It's May 21^st, the final of Eurovision 2005 and we get 12 points from Sweden! How can you not love that country after giving you 12 points? Hahaha You know the rest... We won!

But Eurovision wasn't over for the year 2005. In October we had Congratulations, 50 Years Of The Eurovision Song Contest, a show held in Copenhagen, Denmark to celebrate the 50 years of the contest. For a few months there was an online voting and the 14 songs with the most votes would compete in Denmark. Among the 14 songs was ABBA's “Waterloo” and Helena's “My Number One”. This is where I began learning the history of the contest. The winning songs/countries, how the rules have changed, the artists etc. That night we listened to the 14 songs and we voted for the winner. But before we listen to a song, an artist who competed in Eurovision got on stage and gave us some info about the song. The first artist who came on stage was Carola! We watched a small video about her. She brought to Sweden the 3^rd place in 1983 with “Främling” and the 1^st place in 1991 with “Fångad Av En Stormvind”. During the video about Carola and her career we were listening to her song from 1991. I liked it a lot!! She later performed “Främling” and that's when my interest to her songs began.

The winner of the night? ABBA with “Waterloo” which by the way I voted for! That was the first time I voted! Of course some votes went also to Celine Dion and our Helena (we were able to vote for our country that day). But I was extremely happy that ABBA won and especially when I saw Helena waving the Swedish flag, singing “Waterloo” and dancing with Carola and the rest Swedes! In automn 2005 I found out that Alcazar split up! I won’t comment anything here coz it will take a lot of time and writing! hehe

A few months later I found out that Carola was competing in Melodifestivalen  2006 with a song called “Evighet”. Magnus Carlsson from Alcazar was also competing with “Lev Livet”. Carola won and she came to Athens to represent Sweden in the ESC. Right after I found out that she won Melodifestivalen (I was already in love with the song!) I said: “This is the song I am supporting this year!”. And I guess that's where my real interest began for Sweden. In the ESC of 2006 Andreas Lundstedt from Alcazar was also competing but for Switzerland! In spring 2006 I bought my Swedish flag with which I was wrapped during the semi-final and final of the ESC, and around the same period I bought a book with Swedish dialogs and some grammar. That's when I began learning Swedish alone (well not intensively. Let’s say twice a month! Haha). I already knew how to read swedish (well not perfectly) because I was singing to Swedish ESC songs!

2007 and I was interested in Melodifestivalen. Alcazar, as I said, split up in automn 2005 but Andreas and Magnus entered 2007's Melodifestivalen as solo artists. None of them won. Sweden chose the worst possible song of the year! Whatever, I still supported Sweden in ESC but the result was awful. To be honest, 2007's Eurovision was awful. At least for me. Whenever I recall 2007 I feel really strange and I don't know why. I had 2-3 songs that I liked but I don't like listening to them... Even 2007's Melodifestivalen had...something... I wish I could erase the ESC of 2007 from my mind!

Anyway, in automn 2007 I began my last year at school and that's when a friend put me into thinking and I decided to study in Sweden. I finished school in spring 2008 and I applied to a swedish course at Linköping's university. You can't study there if you don't speak Swedish. Well I wasn't accepted and in January 2009 I started taking Swedish lessons in Thessaloniki. Surprisingly my teacher was born and raised in Gothenburg but her father's hometown is Drama which happens to be my hometown and the place I live! What were the odds huh? Well in May 2009 I sat the exams for the Swedex B1 and I passed (!!). I had also applied for a second time to the Swedish course at Linköping's university but because of a misunderstanding my application was rejected again. So the only solution was TISUS (Test in Swedish for University Studies). So in November 2009 I went to Athens for the TISUS exams. Well TISUS is like the Proficiency in English so your guess was right, I failed in all 3 parts (reading, writing and speaking). The only good thing of that trip in Athens was that I went to the Swedish embassy (it was the examination center)! God I love this place! I could live in there! Swedish, Swedish, Swedish everywhere!! Hahaha The only beautiful place in Athens!! But I didn't give up on TISUS! I gave it one more shot in May 2010 and I passed the reading and the oral part!!! I still can't believe how I passed the reading part! In November I answered all the questions in the reading part and I failed. In May I didn't answer a few of them and I passed! How crazy is this?!?! As for the speaking part? Here comes the good part! I had to talk about EUROVISION AND MELODIFESTIVALEN!!! How lucky was I?!?!?! HAHAHAHA I had 15 minutes to prepare myself and I had to speak 15 minutes alone (I hate that part! I want to have a conversation not just sitting and talking to a tape recorder). So when the examiner gave me the papers with the subject I had to talk about, the key words caught my eye! They were all about music and downloading! So I immediately looked at the title of the subject and when I saw the words “Eurovision” and “Melodifestivalen” I started smiling! I didn't start thinking what I was going to say. I didn't start preparing my speech! I just sat there for a few minutes smiling and thinking “How lucky am I?” but I also thought “Oh my God! If I pass this and fail in the other 2 I'm gonna die!” and that's because if you pass the 2 parts then you have to take again only the part you failed. But if you fail in 2 or all 3 parts then you have to take the test all over again! But I passed 2 out of 3 so now I have to take again only the writing part! And here I am! Blogging from Sweden!! Surprisingly my hometown is also connected to Sweden! As I mentioned earlier, the woman who taught me Swedish was born and raised in Gothenburg but she comes from Drama and here comes the other fun part. Before we leave Greece we knew that there was a Greek taxi driver in Stockholm that was also from Drama so we called him and after a few days of being in Sweden looking for a place to stay, he called us and told us that he found something. A Greek-Swedish who also comes from Drama (!!!) gave me a place to stay without paying any rent! Call this a coincidence or however you want but I call it destiny!

So this is pretty much my story. I know there is too much Eurovision in it but it's all about music. That's what made me like this country but I also like cold weather so Sweden is my country. I like everything about this country! The music, the people, the weather (yes yes the weather!)…EVERYTHING!!

So now people, QUIT ASKING "Why Sweden?"!