no lie, i found pinocchio

Yesterday afternoon, I was wandering through the city in my normal fashion—destination in mind, map in hand, but still lost.  And then, I looked up and there is was.  The giant Pinocchio.  Standing a good nine meters tall, this statue walks through the middle of a roundabout on the outskirts of city center.  While Pinocchio was not the destination I had in mind, it has definitely been on my list of things to find so I was pleased to happen upon it. 

This bronze statue was created by Jim Dine, an American pop artist.  He was commissioned to make this piece of art in the early 2000s.  In 2008, the statue was unveiled in Borås to commemorate Gustaf Tenggren, a Swedish illustrator who grew up in a nearby city and worked on the Disney film Pinocchio.  

rain with a chance of slugs

Over the past few days, we have experienced some scattered showers here in Borås.  With these showers have come the slugs.  Similar to the earthworms which venture out when it rains in Minnesota, these giant, succulent, dark brown slugs emerge after it rains in Sweden leaving trails of slime everywhere they travel.  I must admit, this phenomenon has taken a little getting used to.   

On a side note, Rut seems to be waging a small war with these gastropods.  Every other night at about a quarter to nine, she goes outside with her red bucket and yellow glove.  Carefully, she combs through her garden, plucking out the slugs and tossing them in the bucket.  Thunk.  Thunk.  After making her rounds, she goes back inside where the slugs get a bath in boiling hot water.  As she would observe, what else are you going to do?  If left to their own devices, the slugs would ravage her gardens leaving her with holey plants and gnawed on veggies.

settling in with a sauropod

I have officially lived in Borås for one week now.  People have told me that Borås is often rainy and that generally Sweden has been having a cold summer.  However, this past week, the sun ventured out every day and temperatures hovered around 75⁰F.  While this beautiful weather may not be typical for Borås, it was a perfect backdrop to my adventures this past week.  Here are a few stories from week one.

One of the first things on my to-do list involved making my move to Sweden official.  In order to do so, I needed to pick up my residence permit and apply for my Swedish personal number.  The residence permit allows me to live in Sweden for an extended period of time.  And, the personal number is like a social security number, except that you are expected to give it out everywhere—even when buying internet and getting a cell phone.  I was able to get both of these official documents without hiccup, and even had the pleasure of finding out that the migration office has a nice plastic sauropod in their office.  Apparently, they use the sauropod to encourage kids to smile when they are having their photos taken.  What an excellent choice for a smile stimulant.  (For those of you who don’t know, I like dinosaurs.  Especially sauropods.)

After getting some of the official stuff out of the way, I had the opportunity to meet up with two of the other teachers who work at the school I’ll be at.  Both teachers are from the US and have worked at the school for a year.  Together, we played a few rounds of Skip-bo while they told me about the school and life in Sweden. 

By mid-week, my need for transportation was continuing to mount so I ventured out to find a bike.  After visiting a few shops, I made my selection and brought her home.  I will more formally introduce you to her soon, but in case you are curious, her name is Lena.

Having secured transportation, I spent a good amount of time finding my way around town.  In particular, I enjoyed playing the game, “What does this shop sell?”  After several hours of wandering in and out of various shops, I think I have a pretty good idea of where I can find what.  Eko is like Kmart.  Oöbs is like Sam’s Club.  ICA is like Cub Foods.  Giganten is like Best Buy.  And Jysk is like Bed, Bath and Beyond. In between exploring the shops, I also found the city library, town square, and a few churches.  In the evenings, I ventured out onto the trails in the forests surrounding my place.   

Towards the end of the week, I was beginning to feel more settled in, so to round off my adventures, I spent a bit of time watercoloring in Rut’s garden.  Borås and I are slowly becoming acquainted, and hopefully, soon I’ll be able to call it home.

trollgatan. home.

For the next year or so, I will be living on the ground floor of a small house on Trollgatan.  In Swedish, “troll” means “troll” and “gatan” means “street”— so, I am living on Troll Street.  This neighborhood is situated in a quiet area just outside of town.  The street is lined with several dozen small houses in which both the young and old reside.  By bike, it is about fifteen minutes to city center, ten minutes to all the essential shops, and five minutes to school. 

The house I am staying in belongs to Rut, an older Swedish woman who loves gardening and has two grandchildren who go to the school I will teach at.  Rut speaks no English, and I speak no Swedish (yet), so our communication is somewhat limited these days.  Typically when we pass by each other, we exchange a quick “hej” followed by a long pause because we both want to say something we know the other won’t understand.  Hopefully, I’ll begin to learn some Swedish soon. 

Inside the house, I have a bedroom, bathroom, and living area equipped with a small kitchenette.  Fortunately, my accommodations came fully furnished, so I have had to do very little in the way of gathering items and decorating.  When I first arrived at the house, Rut had even placed a fresh bouquet of flowers from her gardens on my table. 

The view from my window looks out onto Rut’s gardens.  Every day I look out, it seems she has placed new flowers in front of my window.  Yesterday, I only saw the pink and white flowers; but today, there now sits a new selection of purple and orange flowers.  Just beyond the gardens, I also have a view of the nearby forest.  Needless to say, I am quite happy about where I live.  Both the accommodations and people I have met are lovely.  

all seven

When I first traveled abroad, my dad insisted that I have seven ways to communicate with him at all times.  He explained to me that in case one fails, I must have a back-up.  And in case the back-up fails, I must have a back-up for the back-up.  And in case the back-up for the back-up fails….   At all times, I must have seven ways to communicate with him. 

So, what were the seven ways for communication?  Here’s the list:

  1.  Skype: an excellent option that has both visual and audio capabilities

  2.  Instant Messenger: a good back-up to Skype, but limited video options

  3.  Phone card: a solid back-up, but not ideal with the long string of numbers that must be used

  4.  Internationalized cell phone: expensive, but good for emergencies

  5.  E-mail: great option for daily updates

  6.  Snail mail: slow but reliable

  7.  And, last but not least…the one and only, Magic Jack

For those of you who are not familiar with Magic Jack, it allows you to make phone calls from your computer at a very low cost.  You get a special device that allows you to plug a corded phone into your computer.  Yup, you read that correctly.  A corded phone.  If you read between the lines, it probably will not take you long to realize the implications of this method of communication.  In order for it to work, I must pack a corded phone.  And that is exactly what I did.  I brought a corded phone to New Zealand.  Not only did I bring the corded phone all the way to New Zealand, but for some reason, I also felt compelled to bring this corded phone back home as well.  Two trips across the ocean. 

This blog post is now growing a bit longer than I expected, so I will cut to the chase.  When packing for Sweden, I once again had to consider my methods for communication.  Given that I never used the Magic Jack when living in New Zealand or Finland, I thought it would be safe to leave the corded phone at home this time.  Six methods of communication should be sufficient.  And, after all, it seems mildly ridiculous to be carrying around a corded phone in these modern days.  I explained this to my dad, and he took the news surprisingly well. 

Or so I thought. 

While unpacking my bags earlier this week, my hand hit something hard as I reached into my suitcase.  What’s this?  My fingers ran along the contours of a smooth piece of plastic.  Wrapped around this smooth piece of plastic was a twisted mess of coiled wire.  Unintentionally, I once again brought a corded phone across the ocean.  The same phone that accompanied me on my previous adventures.  On this corded phone was attached a small note: “We’ll send the Magic Jack that goes with this.  Love, Dad.”  Rest assured, I now have all seven.  Thanks Dad.

norway. a recap.

Hi all.  I know, I know.  It has been a little while since I last posted.  I’m sorry.  My family flew back to the US on Sunday, and I’ve spent the last few days settling into my new home.  However, before going any further with life in Sweden, here is a quick recap of our trip to Norway…

After flying over the Atlantic, my mom, dad, sister and I all jumped into the car.  Now, I should probably mention that this car wasn’t just any car.  It was a manual car.  That's right, stick shift.  To some, this small detail may seem inconsequential.  But for those of us who aren’t accustomed to the ways of this beast and are a bit groggy from a not-so-short flight, this small detail is no small detail.  Let’s just say we might have stalled out a few times while learning to tame the beast.  

We spent the first two days on a quick excursion down to Sweden.  This excursion gave me just enough time to get a taste of Borås.  While in Sweden, I was able to set up a fake bank account (you can’t have a real bank account until you have a Swedish social security number), get a quick tour of the school I will be teaching at (more on that later), meet the principal (she seems amazing), and scope out my new accommodations (again, more on that later). 

Here is the staff lounge at the school I will be teaching at.
I love the splashes of color and clean IKEA look.

After our excursion down to Sweden, the fam and I swung by Oslo once more to pick up my brother who flew in from Seattle.  We then made our way westward towards what was to be our base camp for the week—a lovely nordic house in the small town of Vassenden.  On our way across the country, we drove over snowy mountain passes, passed through quaint villages, sampled the local cuisine of fish and tomato sauce in a can, and crept passed several dozen sheep who were napping on the road.

This house was our base camp for the week.
From the dining room, we had a spectacular view of
Jølstravatn lake and the small town of Vassenden.

From our base camp, we went on daily adventures to various parts of Norway’s lush countryside.  Our first adventure took us south to Balestrand.  This town is located on the shore of Sognefjord—the largest fjord in Norway and the second longest fjord in the world!  We spent the afternoon wandering through Balestrand’s quiet streets, and enjoyed a few Nordic treats at the local aquarium. 

Emily enjoyed all the Nordic treats in Balestrand.

The following day, puffins were on the agenda.  (Puffins are a small sea bird with large orange beaks and orange feet.  They only live on cliffs, fly like a hummingbird, and mate for life.)  Before continuing on, I must explain to you my brother’s passion for puffins.  James likes loves has an unexplainable obsession for puffins.  He wears his puffin t-shirt.  He eats puffin cereal.  He has puffin pillows.  He even outfitted his deck with a lovely puffin wind chime.  I think you get the picture.  So, upon finding out that Norway has a puffin colony on the small island of Runde, it was a no-brainer that this island would be a destination.   Two ferry rides and a short hike later, there we were standing on the cliffs of Runde admiring the puffin colony.  As my brother would say, “puffins are always good.”

James found his puffins.

We weren’t sure what could top puffins, but the following day we found that Norway had even more to offer.  On this day, we took a drive down to the tiny town of Solvorn.  Solvorn has one shop, about a dozen residents, and beautifully gigantic raspberries.  Beautifully gigantic and delicious.  From Solvorn, we took a short ferry ride over to the even tinier town of Urnes. Urnes houses Norway's oldest stave church, built in the early 1100s.  At the church, we were greeted by one of the most sincere tour guides I have ever met.

Left: Here is the oldest stave church in Norway.
Right: Dad picks up some scrumptious GIANT raspberries.

The next day, our adventures took us north to Geirangerfjord.  Our first ferry ride down this fjord lasted about 5 minutes before we realized we had gotten on the wrong ferry.  But, no worries, the captain turned the ship around and let us drive off.  Our second ferry ride was a bit more substantial.  For almost three hours, we cruised down the fjord, enjoying the elegance of the steep cliffs which rise out of the water.  On these cliffs clings a number of old, abandoned farms on which farmers used to tether their cattle to prevent them from falling off the cliffs.

The fam enjoyed cruisin' down Geirangerfjord.

After traveling by boat, we thought it appropriate to also travel by train.  So, our next adventure took us south to Flåm, a town nestled in the crevices of Aurlandsfjord.  (You may recall that I visited this town a little over a year ago with Maria, my Finnish flatmate.)  From Flåm, the fam enjoyed riding the Flåmsbana, one of the world’s steepest trains.  This piece of track winds through 20 tunnels, passes by surging waterfalls, and parallels a river filled with only the clearest water.  After Flåm, we wandered over to Undredal.  With approximately 75 residents and 400 goats, this town’s claim to fame is its goat cheese.

Mom and Dad enjoyed the Flåm train ride. 

You can only get goat cheese like this
from one place in the world—Undredal.

Our final adventure took us southwest to the town of Holmedal.  It is in this town that one of my neighbors back in Minnesota has family connections.  His cousin works at the local Helle knife factory, and his relatives’ names are listed in the church records.  We had a very nice time in Holmedal getting a detailed account of this town’s history from one of the local volunteer historians.

Here's the Helle knife factory in Holemdal.  It is located
right on the sea for easy shipments in and out.

On our final day, we made our way back to Oslo, and parted ways the following morning—James back to Seattle, Mom, Dad and Emily back to Minnesota, and me down to Borås.  Needless to say, I think we all had a lovely time exploring the simple beauty of Norway.  

Here is one last photo to convince you of Norway's beauty.

...1, 0, let 'er go

I woke up today, and it looked like it would be a lovely day to move to Sweden.  So, to finish off the countdown that started just over 6 months ago, tonight I will be leaving Strawberry Ct and boarding a plane for a flight across the pond.  I have a short layover in Reykjavík, and a final destination of Oslo.  (Oddly enough, I think I took the same flight out two years ago when I moved to Finland.)

My family will be joining me for the initial leg of my Swedish adventure.  For the next two weeks, we will be traveling around Norway, exploring the fjords and tracking down puffins.  After getting their fill of lefsa and lingonberries, my family will fly out of Oslo and I will catch a bus down to Borås, Sweden—the town of textiles, mail orders, and one giant Pinocchio.  It is here that I will be living for the next year or so. 

As Bilbo Baggins softly remarked as he departed with the Elrond at the end of The Lord of the Rings,
"I think I am quite ready for another adventure."

countdown to lingonberries

This past semester, I would oftentimes come home on Sunday afternoons to find little science experiments whirring away in the back porch.  Sometimes there were temperature studies.  Other times the duration of batteries was being explored.  And one time I even walked into an investigation involving trigonometry.  So what were all these experiments for?  Weather ballooning.  My dad recently became interested in launching weather balloons to capture images of the edge of the Earth.  This new hobby culminated over Memorial Day weekend when my family and I flew out to Seattle to launch the weather balloon.  After a simple countdown from 10, the weather balloon was released and off it went on its adventure into the wispy worlds aloft.  (To see the full adventure, visit http://vimeo.com/43288441.)

Much like the countdown we used to send off my dad’s space capsule, I have had a bit of my own countdown these past few months.  While my adventure will likely not take me to the edge of the Earth, this countdown will culminate in two days when I depart from Minnesota to pursue my first teaching job in Sweden.  In order to give you a little background on how this adventure came to be, what follows is a countdown of sorts of the events leading up to my departure. 

10, 9, 8, … It was Thanksgiving weekend when I received an e-mail informing me that a Swedish school was coming to the U of M to interview for various teaching positions.  Excited by the idea of returning to the land of lingonberries, reindeers and other Nordic novelties, I applied and interviewed in late January.  However, walking away from the 10 minute interview, I was pretty sure that Sweden would be a no go. 

 

7, 6, 5, … In early March, I got an e-mail from one of the principals in Sweden.  After a lovely phone interview with her and several e-mails back and forth, I was offered and accepted the job at her school in mid-April.  To be honest, I never would have expected that the first teaching contract I signed would be written in both Swedish and English. 

4, 3, 2, … Since signing the contract, accommodations have been arranged, plane tickets purchased, and a residence permit waits for me in Göteborg, Sweden.  My bags are packed containing necessities such as mittens and a toothbrush.  More obscure items like fractions circles and patty paper also seem to have made their way into my bags. 

It is two days until my departure, so I will not finish this countdown now.  For those who are interested, please feel free to follow my blog.  As I will be a first-year teacher this upcoming year, I can’t promise how regularly the blog will be updated or the quality of the posts.  But, with some luck, there should be some pictures and perhaps sporadic updates on the number of Swedish words I have learned.  Please keep me posted on your lives as well!  Skype is always a good option.