Tonight is our last night in Jokkmokk. Some of us are ready to go and some of us are sad. I would have to say that I am in the later category. When we were on our two day trip up north to Kiruna and Pajala, we kept referring to coming back to Jokkmokk as "going home." Indeed, when we pulled into town on Tuesday night and I was greeted by familiar sights, I felt the same feeling I get whenever I pull into St. Peter or my hometown of Paynesville after being away for a while. In conjunction with these feelings, I think about the Sami literature we have read about how the Sami feel about the concept of "home." We have read literature describing home as being a place in the heart. I am grasping this concept more and more. How interesting I can feel so comfortable in a place I have only been for 3 weeks.
On Monday, after our brief stop in Finland, we found ourselves at our digs for the evening. We were housed in the most fantastic apartments and fed some of the best food we have had on the trip. It felt like a nice little touring break or vacation. After dinner we had a discussion about the book, Popular Music from Vittula, (Read it!) which takes place in Pajala. It was fun to drive around the town and imagine the characters in the book darting through our imaginations. After the discussion, we of course found ourselves in the sauna. I'm suspecting the Gustavus Sauna Society will gain some members when we return to campus....
The next morning, after an incredible breakfast, we heading toward Kiruna. On the way, we made a stop at the ice hotel. It was so stunning. Though the tour was in Swedish, I feel like I picked up on some of the high points. The hotel gets re designed every year after pieces of it melt. (My mother was insightful enough to point out sarcastically that it is not too different than the South Dakota Corn Palace which also must be rebuilt every year due to birds eating large portions of it...) The part of the hotel we spent the most time in was the art exhibit part. Designers from all over the world apply to design bedrooms made of ice. There was so much intriguing stuff! There was a room designed to be like a refrigerator, a mid winter night Children's room, a 1950s style car bed room and so many more. We also took a look inside the ice bar, where even the glasses are made entirely of ice.
After leaving the ice hotel, we traveled on our way to Kiruna. We spent some time walking around the city and stopped at the church which is considered to be the most beautiful building in all of Sweden. I must say, I have seen a lot of churches in many different places, but this one trumps all. No picture could ever do it justice. Upon opening the huge front doors, we were greeted with a blast of incredible music. Someone was playing a series of pieces by Chopin (obviously my favorite composer...) It was like our own private concert. It must have been quite a sight to see 12 Gusties positioned around the pews, mouths open in awe, taking it all in. We spent about 45 minutes just sitting there. We then got back into the vans and began the trek "home." We were greeted by our silent dorm building, but a functioning sauna, which was much welcomed after driving for two days in vehicles with only marginal heat.
The wonderful thing about this trip is that we get to see so much of the country and experience so many diverse and incredible things. The other side to that is that we will find ourselves saying goodbye to the places which become home, sometimes regretfully and maybe sometimes gladly. So, here we go. 10:45 tomorrow morning: to Möra. At what point will we refer to this new place as "home?"
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