The Great Outdoors

When exploring Sweden’s forests, I think about how great it would have been as a little kid having adventures and playing there. The silence of the woods, the aged trees, the green carpets of moss coating the entire forest floor, the hidden streams and waterfalls, and the occasional rock-wall allow the imagination to fly and a sense of tranquility to envelop you. I can easily understand how the peoples here once believed in mythical creatures such as trolls. The mysteriousness of these woods could seemingly be holding all sorts of secrets!

One thing that is hiding in these woods is a scrumptious treat enjoyed around this time of the year … the cherished chanterelle mushroom! Mushrooming in Sweden’s beautiful moss-coated forests is quite the experience. I actually did this activity last weekend, in the great company of the Johansson family. It’s a lot of fun hiking through the woods, keeping your eyes peeled for a bright orange top and scurrying over to find a colony of them. It is fun to hunt them, but it is even better to eat them. They are pretty appetizing!

Another object creeping around Sweden’s forests is the majestic moose. I have yet to see a wild one, but I did find some tracks and scat during my mushrooming last weekend- and I remain hopeful that one day I will spot a moose.

Settled again in Helsingborg, I also find myself spending a lot of time outside. Swedes in general seem to really enjoy every moment they can outdoors, (this worries me a little about what is to come this winter) whether it’s at the beach, hiking in the woods, picnicking, biking, camping, or even basking in the sunlight… if the weather is nice- you best take advantage of it!

On Blending-In

Even with the national stereotypic blonde hair and blue eyes, I somehow sometimes still manage to put off a vibe that I’m foreign. And one thing about being foreign in a country is that you are sure to meet other foreigners. It’s a connection that we can’t deny; being around other foreigners makes you feel less… foreign.

Today I took a train to Malmö to finalize my work visa. All I needed to do was to have a picture and some finger prints done, but it still felt great to finish this. It was about a thirty minute walk from the Malmö Central Station to the Migrationsverket Office, and that walk takes you down several small streets, and my map didn’t necessarily have all of the street names on it. I am very proud to say that I didn’t get lost once! I am getting much better at my navigational skills in large cities. Once I got there, I only had to wait about fifteen minutes, and then it was my turn to get the picture and fingerprints done, so I went in, did it, and walked out. It surprisingly took much shorter than I had anticipated.

On the way back to the train station, I didn’t even have to use my map! I was feeling very accomplished and confident! I was in a completely new city, but somehow I felt like I had been there a hundred times. It was around noon by the time I finally reached the central station, so I headed to the café to grab a coffee and some kind of baked good. As soon as I walked through the door, a tall, built African man widened his eyes at me and smiled, and said “Well , Hello!” I was kind of embarrassed, but I said hello back to him, wondering if he was on drugs, or perhaps a bit drunk, a mental problem? As I walked into the café, I sensed that someone was following me, and it was him. I stood in line, and he was right behind me, and immediately started conversation. The kind gentlemen bought me an iced coffee and took me to the corner of the café, where we held about an hour long interesting conversation. He told me basically everything about him, adding bits of flattery and charm into each topic. Talk about an ego-boost! Apparently he has a love of travel, cultures, and language- just like me. He used to be a handball professional but after his career he traveled around Africa, introducing the sport to different schools and bonding with children. With only a backpack, he made his way to Scandinavia and is now quite a successful cleaning service owner, and part time DJ. (His name is DJ King Lion- know of him?) The more he talked, the more intently I listened, it was very fascinating learning about what he does and such. Well, after the coffee was done we parted ways, promising to look each other up on facebook.

I have made a few of my own friends already! (Including the people met on my train ride from Germany to Denmark) I have met a girl from California (Caylie), her brother, and some other people who I met at a party, and now DJ King Lion. It’s hysterical what kind of people someone can find. And take notice that over 95% of the people I have run into have been foreign to Sweden. Explanation? I must put off a vibe.

Settling In

Exactly one year ago on this day, I made it home from my last ultimate adventure. I could never have imagined that one year later I would be merely beginning possibly one of the greatest escapades yet! For some reason I’m finding it a bit difficult to write this particular blog, there are so many things I would like to share, but the question is. . . where to start?

First of all, I need to read up on my Swedish. Not only the language, but also aspects of the culture here. I am trying to understand how differently people might view things compared to me. I am lucky enough to have a great tool for making the transition from American to Swedish- and that is a book, “CULTURE SHOCK! A guide to Customs and Etiquette- Sweden”. If you are ever moving somewhere for a long time, or feel like you need help understanding a foreign country, you should look up the series; they have a book for nearly everywhere- from Nepal to USA-The South. (I thought it was hysterical that they had to have a whole separate book just for the Southern United States – HA!)

I have already started my job as an au pair. I had a few days in the beginning to learn the ropes- what goes where, what happens when, etc. Then when Mira and Maya (the two girls I am au pairing for) started school, that was my day of starting work.

My basic duties (on a normal week) are to sort and take out the trash (This deserves a paragraph on it’s own, Swedes are so stingy when it comes to getting rid of waste. You have to make sure that anything that could POSSIBLY be re-used is put in the proper bin in the trash house. There is a bin for every kind of trash you could think of! Just not something I’m used to but I kind of like it), fold and sort laundry when needed, vacuum every other week downstairs, clean when needed, pick up Mira from school at 2:30, and if needed, help making dinner. Those duties will fluctuate from time to time, depending on if the parents will be traveling a lot or whatever the case may be. I typically stop working at 6:30p.m., and I have the weekends off. It’s a very nice situation to be in, I have to say!

I love the family that I am working for. They are great! And I think we are a perfect fit. Last night I got to spend the evening hanging out with my new “sister” Maja. We had a girl’s night, we got pizza, we watched Killers (which has not only my favorite actor of all time, Tom Selleck, in it but also Ashton Kutcher) and we baked cookies! It was a wonderful night!

Helsingborg is such a beautiful city, and I am very happy to be able to spend a year exploring it and learning everything I can about this part of the world! I also lucked out because Helsingborg is quite an international city as well. Not only is Denmark only fifteen minutes of ferrying away, but lots of ethnicities come through here, for whatever reason I’ll find out!

That’s enough for now, it’s Saturday so we’ll see what kind of trouble I can get myself into today. ‘Till Next time!

Allt Eftersom Tiden Går

Unfortunately I have been a touch negligent the past week on updating my audience of current whereabouts and the shenanigans that I have been pulling.

I am currently sitting in Helsingborg, Sweden, in my new home that I will au pair in for the next… roughly ten months. How did I get here from Gotland? What inhabits the grey area in-between? Read more to find out!

My last few days on Gotland included touring the museum of Visby, going to the medieval festival and viewing a jousting tournament, touring the Northern island of Fårä with Alicia, and on my last day, we went back out to the family farm and met up with Mikeala, (her cousin), and helped on the dairy farm, had a picnic, and explored the farm.

Alicia and I were allowed to drive her grandmother’s AUTOMATIC car to the island of Fårä. It was about an hour’s drive North, and when we hit water we took a ferry across it. We were lucky enough to have fabulous weather in the morning, so we decided to have a picnic on the beach. We went to a delicious bakery and got some bread and brought it down with us to the beach. We lounged around for a while, and then we were off again to tour more of the island. It was absolutely breath-taking. The big rock picture that I put up at the top of this blog is one of the famous "rauks" which have been formed by the wind and sand.

On the last day of my summer on Gotland, Alicia and I went to the dairy farm! I went on a picnic with them, we all brought fruits and a candy dessert, it was quite pleasant. Then we went on a tour of the farm, which included the dairy and all of the machines, corrals, cows, and chores that come along with it. It was fascinating to see how a large production dairy farm like that works. I’m used to seeing my mother and her two small cows at home, but I wasn’t truly prepared for this large-scale production. It was very fun to see.

The next day Alicia and I took the same ferry to Oskarshamn, then from there we took a bus together to Växjö where I left her, and traveled alone by train to Borås, then down to Varberg to visit Ivar and family. It was a very long day of traveling, exactly 12 hours of it! By the time I got to Varberg, I was exhausted!

The next morning I joined Sophia, Lars, and Ivar on the annual trip to the festival/market. It is a lot of fun, there are tons of vendors, fun foods, funny people to watch, and to top it all of it was another beautiful day. I did a little Christmas shopping, and I got my fair-fix, since I am missing the Illinois State fair, I had to exchange it for something else. We then attended a wonderful bar-b-que at a neighbors.

The next day, I got to hang out with Ivar and his friends around the city of Varberg. I am starting to get this feeling of normality in my foreign life here, and that feels great. That night we rented 127 hours and watched it with his friends, there were about six of us there and after the movie we played Mario cart or whatever it is called. I found out that I am horrible at it haha.

The next was my last day visiting in Varberg, and now I am in Helsingborg, but that whole happening will have to be another blog post. I'm late for a date with Mira and the family to watch "How I Met Your Mother" so ta ta for now!

Medieval Week

The Invasion of 1361:

The Danish King of that time (Valdemar Atterdag) was securing sailing routes in the Baltic Sea and strengthening the Danish kingdom. In the midst of his conquering was the island of Gotland, which happened to be one of the richest islands and also one of the most important trading points in the Baltic.

In the summer of 1361, the final battle between the Gotlandic farmers and the Danish army took place. While the rich city people stayed secure behind the wall, nearly all the farmers from the ages 15-70 years old were slaughtered at the gates. It is said that during this invasion, around two thousand Gotlanders were killed. After much blood shed, the gates were finally opened, and the Danish King had taken over Visby.

There are several different legends about what happened next. First, Valdemar places three large beer barrels in the center of town and told the inhabitants of Visby that the barrels must be filled with gold and silver or the town would be destroyed!

After he got his treasures, he allowed Visby the privileges to trade like they had before.

It is this invasion that the Medieval week is "celebrating" here in Visby.

The celebration kicks-off with a Valdemar Atterdag parade. It starts at the gate, and they tell a brief summary of the historical circumstances, then bloody farmers come running through, screaming and taunting the Danish army. First come the soldiers on foot, then the royals, then the King, and his knights. Then the whole crowd joins in with the parade that takes a tool through town.

All week- people are walking around in Medieval costume, vendors are in almost every alleyway, there is a larger market in the park, there is a re-enactment camp where people live like in the olden days, and there are even jousting tournaments! All of these activities are quite enjoyable to see. And Visby serves as the perfect background to a medieval celebration. If there weren't cars in the streets, one would almost assume they had taken a step back in time!

All of this historical information I gained was from Martin (Alicia's brother), and the Museum of Visby. Thank you very much for taking the time to vividly explain this to me!

Crayfish Feast

Around 7:30 p.m. the Brandt clan and I drove out to the family farm. As we arrived we were greeted by many members of the family. I have met several of them before on my last trip to the farm, nonetheless I was overjoyed to see them again, and to introduce myself to the others whom I wasn’t familiar with yet.

As I learned, it is still a little early to be the season for Crayfish Feasting. Way back when, people were only allowed to fish for crayfish during a certain period of the year. That is why it was such a big celebration! It is still a tradition to celebrate crayfish, but nowadays one may acquire crayfish during any season of the year so in reality it is not AS special now, but it is still celebrated with happy hearts and in good company.

The crayfish feast was put on by Sven and Genina (Caroline's uncle and his wife). They actually live in Arizona and Tanzania but they come to Gotland every summer to visit family and put on a Crayfish feast. They had brought in a tent to cover us in their backyard, and inside the tent were crayfish decorations, and a long, beautifully set table with enough room to fit the whole jamboree of people.

Before dinner Mikeala, Matilda,(Alicia’s cousins) and Alicia showed me around the farm house. It was very old and beautiful! It’s architecture reminded me of a family friend of mine- Anna Stone’s- old farm house, (Victorian-Style, built around the 1800’s) and when I stepped inside, I almost felt like I took a step back in time. The interior of the house was outstanding! Tall doorways, traditional paintings on the wall, a winding staircase, a big, adorable kitchen.. I could definitely live there!

After my personalized tour we came back to the party and started a game of Kubb. This game actually is rumored to have originated on the island of Gotland, so this was the real deal to be playing it this night! (if you would like to learn more about the game and how it is played click on this link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kubb )

We had to take a pause in our game because it was time to eat! First we all took our seats, I was seated at the far end of the table and sat close to all of the cousins. At each seat was a traditional crayfish hat, and we promptly placed those on our heads. First course was delicious, warm garlic bread served with cold (what seemed like potato-leak) soup. We scarfed that down, then it was time for the crayfish!

"Have you eaten a crayfish before?" Sven asked, with a twinkle in his eye.

"Yes I have, but I have never eaten one the Swedish way"

Sven had gone through the work of making me my very own instructions on how to dissect a crayfish for proper eating so I wasn't about to turn that down. It went a little something like this:

When you eat crayfish, you'll have to enjoy picking, cracking, pulling, and breaking apart...

Twist, and pull the tail off the body

Grab hold of the end of the tail. Twist and pull. With a bit of luck, the intestine will follow

If you didn't manage to remove the intestine, do it now. Then, put the tail aside, and save that 'till last. (It's the tastiest part)

Twist off the claws, and break them into smaller parts

If the shell is too hard to break: use a nutcracker. Enjoy the meat of the claws

Pull the legs off the shell. Suck the juice from the body

Use a knife and scrape out the yellow, so called butter, from the shell of the head. Eat it.

Finally, enjoy the tail.

As gory as that sounds, the hard work and carnage of tearing these arthropods apart is well worth while when the tender, delectable meat makes your taste buds sing to the Viking gods.

Our taste buds weren’t the only things singing during this feast. The Swedes take pride while singing their traditional schnapps songs, and after the end of every song, they say SKOL (CHEERS) in unison and drink their schnapps. Now, when I say schnapps, don’t be misled into believing that schnapps is the sweet, easy-going kind like we have back in the States. Nope, the Swedes are too tough for that sissy stuff. Schnapps -to them- is strong Vodka with an earthy flavoring. At this particular feast we had the choice of sipping a Swedish schnapps, called Per Andersson (or something close to that) or torturing ourselves with a Norwegian schnapps, (which was much more brutal when it comes to taste, after taste, burning, and after-after taste).

Sven came down to make sure that I was enjoying myself, and he made sure that I tried both kinds.

“The Norwegians are always competitive with us, and they want to make sure that everything they do it just that much better,” he said with a grin. “Now this Norwegian schnapps,” as he was showing me the bottle, “has been on a ship that has traveled all the way from Norway to Australia and back. They say that it makes it that much smoother because of all the waves that have been rocking it.”

Once he filled my shot glass to the top, everyone smiled at me and told me that I needed to sing a song. Lucky for me, Sven was kind enough to include a schnapps song on my directions, both in Swedish, and in English words that sounded similar to what was being sung in Swedish. I was still a little embarrassed so I asked everyone to join me once I got started. Here’s what I sang once everything got quiet:

“Hell and Gore

Chung hope father Allan, Allen Ley

Hell and Gore

Chung hope father Allen Ley

Oh handsome in the hell and tar

Hand hell are in a half and four

Hell and Gore….

SKOL (this was with the Norwegian one, I tried not to make a face)

… Chung hope father Allen Ley.”

It sounds like complete nonsense but it miraculously resembles what is actually being sung in Swedish.

Once the food was devoured and the songs began to cease, we said our goodbyes and headed home. What a perfect night this was, I couldn’t have imagined a better time! Thank you Sven and Genina for putting this feast together!

“Sun is shining. Weather is sweet. Make you wanna move your dancing feet.”— Bob Marley

My immune system is already hard at work trying to fight off a foreign bug. I don’t know how I got it, but I have a very tight and sore throat, a heavy chest, and these symptoms are accompanied by a pounding headache. Of course I can live with this but it’s still a little agitating.

Of course I’m feeling under the weather when the weather is positively gorgeous. Sun sun sun! It’s been this way almost all week now, so Alicia and I have been traveling to the seaside a few times. The two beaches that we have gone to so far are Tofta, and Snäck.

Alicia and I actually drove by ourselves to Tofta the first time, which was a lot of fun. I’m feeling much more confident in my stick-shift driving abilities! The beach was nice and warm, so we decided to go for a swim.. Unsuspectingly to us, the water was freezing cold, a whopping 11 Celsius ( approx. 52 degrees Fahrenheit) BRR! Of course we didn’t expect the water to be that cold, but we should have heeded the clues that it was a little frigid due to the fact that the children weren’t even splashing around. As we sprinted into the ice water, laughing and screaming, our legs quickly began to tingle-then hurt- then numb. I started to turn around- it was too agonizing for me. But as I was trudging back to shore, Alicia yelled “CRAMP!!! HELP! CRAAMMMPPPP!” Unfortunately I had to go and help her, (haha) but we both decided it was best to leave the swimming for another day- and we sprawled out on the sand for the rest of the day getting an over-dose of good ol’ Vitamin D.

“A girl in a bikini is like having a loaded pistol on your coffee table — there’s nothing wrong with them, but it’s hard to stop thinking about it.”— Garrison Keillor

Today was also a wonderful blue-sky day, so Alicia and I took our bicycles for a 16 mile ride to Snäck Beach. After that bike ride, we just had to take a dip, and lucky for us the water was much more bearable today. We both took turns climbing down the ladder then plopping in. I love the refreshing feeling that envelopes you when you take a plunge into cold water. WAKE UP!!! The rest of the day was spent on the beach as well.

Oh yes, I have officially discovered the secret to why so many girls here have WHITE blonde hair here, and are a perfect cocoa tan! It’s the sun! I don’t know why or how but the Swedish sun is one of the most powerful I have felt. I am already the tannest I have been in, I don’t know how long, and the front of my hair is VERY light blonde! And that’s only from being out for about a week! –HA