Calm and Comfortable

(photo credit: Jen Fox)









For those of you who also are following the Gustavus Term In Sweden blog (http://gustavusterminsweden.blogspot.com/) you will find some overlap between my post on that blog earlier today and this one on my personal one. I will try to add in some variation.

Our first week in Jönköping has passed quite successfully. I am so happy to be back with the group and I feel more relaxed than I have in a while. After our incredibly long and stressful day of traveling from London back to Sweden, we arrived here on Sunday evening and walked into our dorm rooms which were complete with personal bathrooms and closets! I almost fell over with joy. Though we were exhausted, Sonja and I immediately turned up the Frank Sinatra and went about unpacking our overweight suitcases and then shoving the empty counterparts into a corner where they will remain until May 17th. Coming from sharing a room with 20 people in London, this little bit of privacy seems like such a luxury. I have no idea what I will do when I return home and have an entire basement to myself.

Being together with the group feels so very wonderful. After we unpacked on Sunday night, we could all be found in one room, laughing loudly and sharing all of our Spring Break adventures. We are calmer and comfortable.

Jönköping is wonderful. The students are quite excited to meet us and hear our story of why we are in Sweden. Everyday more of them approach us at lunch or dinner. Even on our first night, there were knocks on our doors, curious to who these new loud English speakers might be. The city is gorgeous. The school is located on top of a huge hill which looks down into the valley. Every night that I walk outside to go to the sauna, my breath gets taken away a little bit with the view.

I am also loving our classes! We are engaged in our Sweden Today class and our Nobel Laureates class. We have already read quite a bit and have pretty top notch class discussions. This rhythm of classes and homework feels natural and pleasant. If was fun to be a tourist, but this feels better.

I am beginning to worry what it will feel like to leave this place and these people that I have fallen pretty deeply in love with. There is a growing realization in my mind of how when I return home, no one else will understand my experiences than these eleven others. I can show pictures and tell stories, yes, but no one else will really grasp what these 5 months were.

Time to Head Back!

London has been great, but it is time to go "home." It is interesting that whenever people asked me where I was from during Spring Break, I would say the US but I would have to qualify that by explaining that I was actually studying in Sweden. So- the U.S...by way of Sweden. Coming from Sweden, London feels very much like the US, and it was so odd to have everything in English again. Well, almost everything. Today I saw an incredible production of Shakespeare's "The Tempest" performed by a Russian theatre company so it was in Russian. It might be my favorite of the shows I saw here.

I am so excited to join the rest of the group tomorrow and hear about the adventures they all undoubtedly had over break. I am also so excited to be in one place for 5 weeks and I will actually be able to unpack my suitcase.

London was pretty great. The weather was incredible. I even got my first sunburn of the season which I was so proud of. Yesterday the three of us sat in the sunshine in Hyde Park for about an hour and a half and it felt so fantastic. It's a shame that the air will likely be slightly cooler in a matter of hours. Our flight leaves Heathrow at 7 am but the tube stops running at midnight so yes, you guessed it, we're waiting at the airport. At least I have a book and an ipod right?

Some other things we have done: Buckingham Palace, Hyde Park, St. Paul's Cathedral, Camden Town and the Camden Market. (Sadly Bob Cratchit of A Christmas Carol was not there to greet us...) We also saw Chicago on West End and loved it. Much fish n' chips have also of course been had.

Spring Break!

Well I am in London! The weather is absolutely gorgeous and not at all the dreary typical London weather I expected. Yesterday I got much too warm walking around in a t - shirt! On Tuesday night after we arrived Janella and I rushed a production of "The Blood Brothers" which is fitting as it takes place in London. The show was absolutely incredible and we had pretty great seats for rush tickets.

Yesterday we set off for the tower of London and the major sites. We saw Tower Bridge, Big Ben, The Tower and spent several hours at Westminster Abbey. I saw another familiar face! As I was walking around the cathedral that is so beautiful I have no words, I saw my parents' dear friend from Gustavus, Ruth Johnson! It was so exciting to see her and I eagerly filled her in on my adventures to date. I am constantly surprised with how very small the world seems to be.

Last night Janella and I were lucky enough to snag tickets to "The Children's Hour" starring Keria Knightley. I have seen a lot of theater, but this is certainly one of the most powerful productions I have ever seen. It was so beautifully executed. If nothing else goes well on this trip (which I highly doubt) at least I got to see that show.

Today Sonja joined us at the hostel after spending the last two days with her friend who is studying here. I am sitting in the hostel lobby waiting for her to shower after her trek across town, moving her luggage through the vast subway system. Today's schedule?: It's looking like the Globe Theatre, Buckingham palace, St. James park and I imagine much more!

Love to everyone!

A Little More of Stockholm

Well Spring Break has officially begun. Friday morning we packed up and left our ship to go our various ways. Nearly all of us decided to stay in Stockholm through the weekend are situated at various hostels throughout the city. Anthony, Janella, Tyler and I are at Zinkingsdamm which is quite nice. Though it is not the beloved ship and I don't get to wake up with sunlight shining through a porthole, it's fun to explore another part of the city.

But for now, a little of what we did in the past week. On Monday, we went out to Vattenfall, one of Sweden's largest power companies, where we met more Gusties, Lena and Annika. As is becoming the usual, we got a private presentation on what the company does. Eric mentioned to Annika that we have seen Vattenfall at every juncture on our adventure. She mentioned that she was quite glad to hear that. I couldn't help but think if she would still be so glad if she knew the context we had heard about the company. When we were in the north, we discovered that the Sami have very clear ideas about the company as so many hydro plants have severely disrupted reindeer herding patterns. Though it is so admirable that Vattenfall is doing so much to improve the environmental impact of electricity, I can't help but wonder what we might have asked Lena and Annika were we here two months ago, fresh from our experiences in Jokkmokk.

We took a trip to the Karolinksa Institute. This is the facility which chooses who will be receive the Nobel Prize in medicine. We met Amy, yet another Gustie. While we got to learn a lot about the company, I think my favorite part of the visit was where Amy asked all of us what our dreams for the future were. My first thought was, "Does she think we're all Science kids and want a career here?" No, she just wanted to hear about us. I get pretty defensive when I'm asked what I want to do with my life. I mean, there is a lot I want to have happen. I thought that I would be judged when I told Amy, and the rest of the group for that matter, that I want to keep living and studying abroad and eventually be a theatre professor and an actor. There was no judgment, however, which leads me to believe I was maybe the one doing the judging all along.

We also went to the Riderholmen Church, which is the royal burial place. We saw so many gravestones and it's incredible how much history is present there. I caught myself thinking like my mother for a minute and imagined all the ghost lore and spirit activity which must take place once the doors have been closed for the night.

Cassandra also turned the big 20 right before we left for break. We had a lot of fun finding more places with live music in Old Town. Since being on break, I have visited several more museums and had a lot of fika time. Now that it is break I miss the rest of the group, and absolutely can not imagine what it will be like when we part for real on May 18th. I'm trying not to think about it. I am entering the fourth month that I've been gone and I'm realizing how much time that is. That's more than a summer vacation! Time has passed in such strange ways.

I am excited to go to London on Tuesday and do lots of theatre-y things, but I find that what I'm really excited for is to meet everyone in Jönköping on Sunday evening where we will all be together again and where we won't have to move our suitcases from place to place for 5 whole weeks. I have really missed the connections we get to have with places and people, like when we were in Jokkmokk and Mora- smaller towns with students to spend time with. This time in Uppsala and Stockholm has been great, but also strange. This is more time than we would have if we were merely tourists, but not enough time to really feel like it's ours. Here we go.

Moving Some More

It's snowing a little bit outside of my porthole. I went out for some fresh air and to take in the incredible view and was greeted with wet spitting snow. (Thanks for sending it, Minnesota...) I have been doing some writing tonight. I'm sitting on my bunk with the News from Lake Wobegon playing out of my computer speakers. Life feels good. Today was another good day. A few of us went back to the cathedral for a church service in the cathedral. It was beautiful. I was so impressed with how welcoming the church and the pastor was. When it came time, she instructed the congregation to say the Lord's Prayer in their own language. It was so fascinating to listen to so many languages echo through the impressive space. As one little boy in the choir passed up and down the aisle, he waved each time he saw his family. I was reminded of another little kid who often got in trouble for being more content to wave and smile at her parents than look at the Cherub Choir director....

After church we met the rest of the group for fika at yet another cafe. We did some window shopping at the posh Stockholm, NK, where the cheapest thing we found was a $15 pair of socks. Still, it was fun to dream. Shockingly I feel pretty deeply in love with a $600 dress...

After, Anthony and I went up to the hill to the Modern Art Museum. Even for someone who sometimes struggles with Modern Art, I really enjoyed it and got to feel all artsy for an afternoon. The exhibit of photography was well worth the entrance fee in itself.

Cassandra's family was here for the weekend and tonight some of us went out to dinner with them. How nice it was to be with a more traditional type of family than the one we have become. Tomorrow we go to Vattenfall, one of Sweden's largest power companies for a tour.

Incredible Hospitality

Yesterday was a fantastic day. We began the day with a visit to the office of Anders Wall, a businessman who loves Gustavus and is a very big donor to the Gustavus Semester in Sweden program. Upon arrival, we were told that Anders was one of the biggest businessmen in Sweden. This was evident as we walked into the plush board room where individual bottles of sparking water waited for us. We told him about all the incredible things we have done so far and he told us about his business. What a wonderful man. He told us about his foundation which gives lots of money in scholarships for young people to attend school. We couldn't thank him enough for the part he has played in our experience.

After our meeting with Anders we moved on down to the cathedral. What a beautiful place! This is where our "friend" Crown Princess Victoria got married this summer. Apparently it cost the parish $2million just in cleaning expenses to prepare for the royal celebration. The church dates back to about the 13th century. We met the dean of cathedral, Åke Bonnier, who gave us the grand tour. (He is on the Gustavus Board of Trustees) We saw the impressive statue of St. George slaying the dragon and the grave stone of Olas Petri, the Swedish equivalent to Martin Luther who began the reformation in Sweden. Åke even brought us up into the bell tower for the most incredible view of Stockholm. Not everyone gets this perk.

After descending the narrow spiral staircase, we had a long, candid discussion with Åke about the church. He and his wife, Christina, graciously invited us into their home for the evening. We were served an incredible dinner in the most beautiful house I have seen in a long time. We had such a lovely evening of great food and conversation. We are living out of our suitcases and generally feel slightly rumpled, but last night, it was so beautiful to have a home to go to. Even if it was only for a few hours.

On Wednesday we traveled to a suburb of Stockholm to tour the Ericcson corporation for a tour. Elin Ahldén is a Gustavus graduate who is working her way up the corporate ladder of the company. All I knew about the company was that they made cell phones. we walked in and I thought I had walked into a trendy bar or club instead of into a technology company. We had a great tour and talk with Elin. She studied English and Classics at Gustavus and is now pretty high up in the corporate world. Though she admitted she didn't ever think she would work for a huge corporation, she really likes what she's doing. I think what she had to say was valuable as she was speaking to a room of students where the majority are studying something in the humanities.

Since Today is Saturday and we don't have any official things scheduled on weekends, some of us went back into Old Town for an organ recital at the cathedral. I sat 10 feet from where the royal family sits when they attend the cathedral. We had fika and then went on to the Dance and Theatre museum and then on to the Swedish Architecture museum. Stockholm continues to treat us well.

Stockholm Is Off To a Great Start!

Well folks, Stockholm is off to a great start! We arrived yesterday afternoon after a far too short 45 minute train ride. I say far too short because naturally I fell asleep I couldn't even get a good nap in. We were greeted with sunshine and wonderfully warm weather. We loaded all of our luggage into a van to be brought to the hostel and proceeded to walk through the city. (A milestone: I got far too warm wearing only my light jacket) We are living on a ship which has been converted to a hostel. I wake up with sun shining through a porthole. I can't even begin to describe how very cool it is. At night I get to look across the water to the incredible lit up city. We were all in some of best spirits yet as we looked at "our boat" set against a huge city just calling for us to come explore.

Our ship is in short walking distance of Old Town. To get there, we walk right past the Royal Palace- no big deal. Last night, a few of us found a Palestinian Restaurant which was literally a hole in the wall. Afterwards, some of us ventured down the very old streets and found an Irish Pub which advertised free live blues music Tuesday- Saturday. Loving free things like we do, we figured why not go in? Best decision to be made in a long time. We walked down to the "Jameson Cellar" and packed in among other music lovers. I hear a lot of live music and this was the absolute best I have heard in a long time. All of these musicians could easily be professionals. In fact, one guy who was singing got in trouble with his agent for singing 3 songs for free and got pulled out of the place. I can't wait to find more places and go back to this one!

Today we got some love from home. Tom Young and Barb Larson Taylor from Gustavus came to meet up with us. (Barb even brought us Girl Scout cookies!) I am realizing more and more that Gustavus has fantastic connections. I started to see this earlier this week in Uppsala when we went to the Botanical Gardens. They are not open on Mondays, but they opened it and gave us a special tour because we are Gustavus and there is a Paul Granlund statue outside. These connections were also evident today. We went in the back door of the palace and basically saw where King Carl parks his car. We got a presentation on the monarchy and then were given a tour of the royal library. (incidently also named the Folke Bernadotte Library like Gustavus.) This is the library where Strindberg was a librarian and this is where Nobel Laureates hang out and talk about world affairs the night before they receive their awards.

We then got a tour of Parliament and got to talk to a member of the Liberal Party, Frederich Malm. He was very candid with us and we got a great presentation. After that, we moved on to the Swedish Academy. This was so incredible. We sat in the chairs where the Nobel Committee sits and chooses who is going to win the Nobel prize. There is so much incredible symbolism- everything is done just as it was done when Gustav III began the academy. We walked through the door the Permanent Secretary walks through to be blinded by cameras to announce who is going to win the Nobel Prize. It was so interesting how it is mandated that the winner give their speech in their mother tongue and not the one most will understand. It's all part of preserving culture.

Today was full. After our tours, we ventured down the streets of Old Town and found the "Sten Cafe." ("the Rock Cafe"- like our favorite River Rock Coffee Shop in St. Peter?) We walked down into yet another cellar- I saw a sign that it was 700 years old. We had a two plus hour fika where we discussed all we learned today.

I came to the realization today just how much we are ambassadors of Gustavus. This is a big responsibility but also such a fantastic one. This makes me remember how very much I love Gustavus and how incredibly lucky we are to be here.