Nu är det jul igen! This is the text from a Swedish Christmas song- now it's Christmas again. This song has special meaning at the village where we celebrate Christmas every other week. Last night Lucia came to our cabins. Traditionally, Lucia comes early on the morning of December 13th when the days are short and the nights are at their darkest. Because it's summer and we don't want to do Lucia before the sun rises (which is around 5 am in Northern Minnesota), we instead do Lucia around midnight the night before. Last night the electricity went out at our site, and indeed all around northern Bemidji, right around 11:15, making for a VERY dark night at Sjölunden. But Lucia went on as planned, and it was extra lovely to hear the chior singing outside when our whole world was dark and silent. According to my alarm clock, we must have regained electricity around 2 am.
Today we're thankful for cooler temperatures, after a long week of 90 degrees plus. Right now it's activity time and a group of kids are at the beach sailing, while other weave in our new weaving studio. There's a chior practicing upstairs and kids painting in the craft room. A group of villagers is playing ultimate frisbee out on the soccer field, and another is slinking around doing 'spy' activities. Just another day at Sjölunden!
Friday, July 27, 2007
Thursday, July 19, 2007
Visiting our new site
Today the entire staff went out to Salolampi AND to the new Sjölunden site. We enjoyed a meal together at the newly constructed weaving studio, and did several hours worth of planning and meetings. Our sailing staff headed down to the beach to practice their skills, and our credit teachers began planning their lessons. We met our new head cook, David, and also spent some time observing the Salolampi program in action. On our bus ride back, the staff broke into song as Axel played our favorite tunes on the guitar. Looking at back at the staff from the front of the bus, it was very reminiscent of a classic summer camp movie- except all in Swedish! Smiling faces, slightly pink from a day in the sun, singing happily as the bus bounced back towards Bemidji. What a beautiful sight!
Tuesday, July 17, 2007
Orientation
Sommaren är här!
It's finally summer, and 2007 Sjölunden staff have gathered on the campus of Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota to prepare for upcoming sessions. Our staff consists of many names familiar to returning villagers: Kajsa, Pia, Linda, Sandra, Ellinor, Isak and many more. We also have 7 native Swedes coming from Stockholm, Falun, Ljusdal, Linköping and Malmö. Our staff is excited to get to out to the Village and to create this very special place that so many of us call home each summer.
Because I am the Dean, during our orientation I stay in private room on the first floor of one of the residence halls. My window looks out onto a plush lawn where the Language Villages staff like to congregate. I am accustomed to laughter and chatter in various world languages late into the night as the staff get to know each other and debrief the workshops of the day out on the lawn outside my window. I usually drift off to sleep lulled by the happy voices outside my window. But this morning I was actually awoken by the music of my favorite band- ABBA. And not only that- outside my window were the Swedish staff doing Friskis och Svettis. Friskis och Svettis is sort of like Jazzercize- it's a national aerobics group in Sweden, characterized by it's friendly and encouraging leaders wearing red spandex shorts and white t-shirts. They were clapping and jumping and making me feel a bit lazy. One of our Credit Teachers, Ebba, is an official Friskis och Svettis teacher and she'll also lead aerobics this summer at Sjölunden. So tomorrow morning I think I'll join them!
It's finally summer, and 2007 Sjölunden staff have gathered on the campus of Bemidji State University in northern Minnesota to prepare for upcoming sessions. Our staff consists of many names familiar to returning villagers: Kajsa, Pia, Linda, Sandra, Ellinor, Isak and many more. We also have 7 native Swedes coming from Stockholm, Falun, Ljusdal, Linköping and Malmö. Our staff is excited to get to out to the Village and to create this very special place that so many of us call home each summer.
Because I am the Dean, during our orientation I stay in private room on the first floor of one of the residence halls. My window looks out onto a plush lawn where the Language Villages staff like to congregate. I am accustomed to laughter and chatter in various world languages late into the night as the staff get to know each other and debrief the workshops of the day out on the lawn outside my window. I usually drift off to sleep lulled by the happy voices outside my window. But this morning I was actually awoken by the music of my favorite band- ABBA. And not only that- outside my window were the Swedish staff doing Friskis och Svettis. Friskis och Svettis is sort of like Jazzercize- it's a national aerobics group in Sweden, characterized by it's friendly and encouraging leaders wearing red spandex shorts and white t-shirts. They were clapping and jumping and making me feel a bit lazy. One of our Credit Teachers, Ebba, is an official Friskis och Svettis teacher and she'll also lead aerobics this summer at Sjölunden. So tomorrow morning I think I'll join them!
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