Hej Blog Buddies,
Thursday, January 22:
When I last wrote, we were on a bus from Umeå to Luleå. We had a brief layover in Luleå, and had an hour or so to explore. The bus we were on was terribly hot, to make things worse, most of us were quite hungry, so when we got off in Luleå most of us were out in just long-sleeve shirts, cooling off. We went in search of a cheap quick lunch, but ended up at a grocery store, which didn’t have much more than sweet, sweet “godis” (candy) and pre-made sandwiches, but made it back with plenty of time before the next bus left.
On the bus ride from Luleå to Jokkmokk, I saw something I have never seen in the U.S. I’ve heard that the quickest way between two points is a straight line. The same is true in Sweden, even if it means going over a lake… from the bus I was able to see a truck plowing a path across a lake called an isvägen (an ice street), which functions as any normal road would for cars. I could not, however, see any traffic signs (maybe it’s like the Autobahn, and one can drive as fast they like… on that note, I’m moving to Luleå..) The rest of the ride was pretty nondescript, as we were unable to see much further than, perhaps, 100 meters away from the bus.
When we arrived in Jokkmokk (also spelled Jåhkåmåhkke, which means “the bend of the river” in Sami), at about 5:00pm, it was dark, but not just the typical nighttime dark. It’s a blackness that seems to absorb all light, the kind that leaves nothing unaffected by its presence. The streetlights, of which there are many, don’t offer much more assistance other than being able to see where the next one is. The good thing about this, though, is that by 5pm, it is as dark as it’s going to be at 2am, so it doesn’t get worse. This is, however, with a complete and perpetual overcast; I fear that when (if ever..) the clouds go away, it could get even darker. I had no idea that such an absence of light was possible. Typically, when it is overcast, the lights of a city reflect off of the clouds to offer a little solace, but in a small town (…village?) of about 2,000 people, there aren’t nearly enough lights to make any such difference.
We got settled in our dorm room at the Samernas Utbilningscentrum (Sami trade school). The rooms are actually very nice (better than any dorm room at Gustavus) we have two large, shelved closets (it was great to finally unpack and be able to actually find things!) a large desk, and a bathroom with a sink and shower.
After we had time to organize, we went to a restaurant called “Opera” (steakhouse/pizzeria/authentic Swedish/Greek cuisine/bar… rather multi-purpose). (If you ever find yourself in Jokkmokk, go here and order the mashed potato, meatball, and lingon plate it’s delicious). It was here we met our first “Jokkmokkian,” which also happened to be the most memorable thing about this place. He was an unlikely person to meet here; he was an Iranian-immigrant. I was extremely surprised, of all places in Sweden, to find him here, in this tiny town, above the Arctic Circle.
[Sweden is more multicultural than one might think. They have, in recent years, become a safe haven for political and war refugees. Many Iraqi people have come here to avoid the ongoing war there, as well as a significant number of people from Iran, Somalia, Sudan, and other developing nations. Other Nordic countries, Denmark and Norway specifically, have been turning these people away, and have very tight immigration laws, whereas Sweden has been very accepting of these new people.]
Friday, January 23:
We began our day with breakfast (very similar foods that we had in Umeå) at a nursing home a few blocks from the school that we’re at. We didn’t meet any of the residents there, but that possibility does exist. After that we went to back to the school and heard a lecture by a Sami man, about the current situation of the Sami people, as well as the overall goal of the school and the type of courses that they offer. The school only has about 35 students, so it is quite small, but the campus is deceptively large. They have different areas that students can study, such as traditional Sami clothing, Reindeer herding, food, as well as craft making (things such as knives, cups, bowls, and decorative things) out of birch, reindeer/moose antlers, and animal bones.
We were able to tour where the students were working. It was very cool to see how ornately all of these things are made. (I didn’t get a photo, but I’ll post one when I get it). [I might be phrasing this wrong, but..] In the Sami culture, a person has no value or worth to the community until they have learned a trade or skill. That’s why it is so important that these students are here for two years to perfect their skills. Everything they make, they sell at the upcoming Sami Market. I’ve heard the prices are quite steep (bowls costing over $10,000, knives in the $4,000-5,000 range etc..)
After the lecture and tour we were done for the day; so at lunchtime, most people walked around the town to see it (while they could). There isn’t much to it: two old churches built in the 1700s and 1800s, a few restaurants and bars, two grocery stores, a few shops, and liquor store, among other things…
The school I am at has a sauna, so I took my very first Swedish sauna. There were about 10 or so people in there. The geographical areas represented ranged from southern Sweden to the very north of Sweden, even into Finland. It was quite the experience. I was surprised to see everyone drinking, (beer) in the sauna. This, combined with the fact that my Swedish listening skills need improving, made it significantly more difficult than normal to communicate and interact with them.
I spent the remainder of the day working on things for my classes: reading poems and articles, writing a journal, and meeting the Swedes and Sami.
The restaurant we ate at the first night (Opera) is transformed into a “nightclub” (of sorts…) on Friday nights, which is (supposedly) the hot spot. About ten members of the group, along with our new Swedish friends went to it. There was a live band (the age of the group members were, roughly, 40, 50, 57, and 60) playing Swedish folk music, Swedish music from the 1950s, as well as a few old American songs. (… It was a pretty happening place…) Couples aged 60+ years, doing some form of the foxtrot, dominated the dance floor... The 18-30 year olds were likely out numbered by those 55+.
This was a great place to have informal (and therefore better) interactions with the typically timid Swedes. I got to know some of them fairly well. I also got to use my language skills, which was pretty exciting.
Saturday, January 24th:
Today was the first day that I was able to sleep in, (well, 10:00am isn’t exactly “sleeping in”), but we had our first formal Swedish language lesson at 10:30am. I am very excited by how much I’ve improved in the short time that I’ve been here, and I really hope that I can continue at this pace.
After Swedish class, I finished writing my journals, which were due today. Then two others and myself went for a walk around the lake. They have some great hiking trails with extremely beautiful scenery (it reminds me of Canada). I don’t know the first thing about cross-country skiing, but from what I could tell, they have miles of well-groomed trails through the forest and nature preserve.
We had a pretty low-key night, watched some Swedish movie, but ended up chatting more than watching.
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I am really frustrated with my computer right now. The school has a very fast wireless network, but my computer is unable to connect to it. It is very frustrating, but luckily some friends are allowing me to borrow their computers so I can keep in contact with all of you from home. I hope you’re enjoying the weather at home (I saw that it was in the minus-teens there) whereas it’s pretty stable here in the 10-20ºF range. I do, however hope it gets colder here, because along with the cold comes clear skies, and the possibility of actually seeing the sun, or even more desirable, seeing the northern lights.
The Sun has now been M.I.A. for nine days. Hope you all are enjoying it! Send someof it this way…
Har det så bra,
Andrew
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