Big Kids

The big kids have arrived! Yesterday was the first day of our older 2-week session and 47 young people arrived ready to learn Swedish. I am really impressed with all our new villagers who are here for the very first time. It takes courage to start learning a new language and to come into a village like Sjölunden. It can be pretty intimidating, with so many kids who have been here for SO many years. It makes me think back to my own first summer at camp. I originally ended up at Swedish because the German camp was full! And so I arrived on the first day after customs had closed. I was the last kid to show up. I was 13 years old and had never heard a word of Swedish in my life. I had never seen a Dalahäst, nor had I heard of St. Lucia. I didn't know what mormor meant, and I had never worn clogs before. When I got to my cabin there were no more beds left, so I got to sleep on a couch in the cabin.

Within the first few hours I began to get the hang of things. And then for evening program my counselors Nica and Ingrid told us we had to make up our own cabin song. Then they played a song for us and it was noneother than ABBA! I knew ABBA because my mother was a fan. But I didn't know that they were Swedish! From that evening program on, I knew that Sjölunden was the place for me. The first evening of the older session always makes me remember how scary the first day at camp can be, but also how wonderful it is when your cabin pulls together to create something new. Last night our cabins created cabin songs and I saw many new faces laughing in the light of our campfire. What a wonderful sight!