Archive for 2013Page 5
Thursday 2/7 — The Jokkmokk Winter Market in Full Swing
The morning was rather slow and sleepy, at least for those in my room, but outside the Winter Market had begun. A few of the most eager of our group had set out to explore the various shops and activities by mid-morning, but some of us didn’t start looking around until the early afternoon. I […]
Rudolph the White-Nosed Reindeer
January 25th, Jokkmokk Lars-Anders Baer was our last speaker of the week, and he was full of interesting information. He is a lawyer and Sami politician, and he is heavily involved with various UN committees concerning indigenous people. He appeared to be a very important person as he was on the phone when he came […]
Class discussions: Using what we’ve learned.
January 28 Our first day of Swedish classes and class discussions went very well, I would and do say. In Swedish 202, we spent the class reviewing material and discussing what areas would be most useful to focus on. Chelsea also used this time to see where we were in our mastery of the Swedish language. After […]
Tuesday’s Thoughts
Settling into our second week in Jokkmokk, we find it easy to navigate. We hold classes in the same classroom (follow the ‘Gustavus’ arrow) and eat in the cafeteria for lunch. The grocery store, which I’m sure I visit almost daily, is within walking distance. The public library and other shops are even closer. I […]
Coming Home
As we leave Atlanta on the final leg of our journey, reflection comes naturally. There are many ways to “count” this trip and experience. Days: 17 Busses: 5, one with a broken window Countries: 4, well 5 if you count Vatican City Miles: Countless. You’d have to ask Demitri or Franz or one of our […]
The Land of the Nile
My name is Matt (or Mat-ta here in Egypt because the word mat in Arabic means dead) Erdahl and I am spending a semester in Alexandria, Egypt in order to learn Arabic. I am originally from Chaska, Minnesota, about 6,000 miles from where I am now. Even though I’m majoring in political science and […]
Pisa
Our time in Italy is coming to an end. The images above are taken from the interior of the baptistery in Florence, a surprise hail storm by the Arno River, views from Orsanmichele and our beautiful day in Pisa. This weekend was gorgeous weather. Matt and I had all of the students to our apartment […]
Closing Ceremonies
Well… Today was our final full day in Europe, and as Gustavus suggests, we made our lives count. The day started out with us meeting our tour guide for the day Heidi. While Heidi was not the most fleet of foot she was sweet and knowledgable. She reminded many of us of our own dear […]
Just above the Arctic Circle: Reindeer husbandry with the Sami
(Wednesday, January 23, 2013) Many of us were sore this morning from playing Innebandy (similar to floor hockey) yesterday afternoon. After our group introduction to the Sámi school (who we were, why we were there, and our different ethnic roots), we had a lecture on Sami language from Anna-Margith Påve. She spoke both North and Luleå Sámi. […]
Chinese New Year Preparations
Chinese New Year celebration is just around the corner in Malaysia and anywhere in the world where Chinese people live. Anywhere one turns there are signs declaring Gong Xi Fa Chai (“wishes for a happy, prosperous new year”). Inside homes New Year preparations are taking precedence over most everything else. Lots of shopping takes place– […]