Nu är det jul igen...

Maybe you've heard the Swedish Christmas song that goes 'nu är det jul igen'. It translates as 'now it's Christmas again'. Yesterday was indeed Christmas at Sjölunden, and it caused our new Swedes on staff to chuckle. Imagine being served a warm Lucia bun on a warm July night. Or to dress up in red pajamas and a red stocking cap as you swat away the mosquitoes. Christmas at our village is truly special. Somehow we manage to decorate the dining hall enough so that you can almost feel as if you've been transported 2 seasons into the future. Watching Kalle Anka while eating rice pudding certainly helps too.

Tonight is restaurant night, and the kids have been talking all week about who they want to go with. They will all have to call in to make reservations for a table tonight. And our staff will transform from counselors into wait staff and pizza chefs. It's always an adventure! Watch for the pictures later tonight!

Staff Orientation

There are a few words being thrown around liberally this week at our staff orientation. Those words include 'på svenska' (in Swedish), 'roligt' (fun), and 'jätte bra idee' (really good idea). This week our entire staff is living at Bemidji State University and attending numerous workshops on how to teach language in the village. It's also a chance for us to get to know each other, and to begin to plan things like the first night in the stuga (cabin) and which activities we will offer during the first session.
Tonight we are having a song exchange, and we've been practicing camp songs all week to help the new staff get acquainted with them before they are expected to teach them. We will also get the chance to learn songs in Italian, Japanese and Korean. In fact, there are 9 other villages here, with staff from all over the world. But you can tell us apart by our blue and yellow clothing and all that blonde hair!

Time to get ready to sing!
Magda

Summer begins!

Hej allihopa! Summer is back, and so is my blog!
It's been a long winter here in Minnesota, and I'm excited about getting ready for camp. Are you ready? It's time to pull out the Swedish t-shirts and shorts, and gather all the magazines, books, posters and games I've collected during the year, and drive my little car up to Bemidji. We have 9 native Swedes working this summer, and so far 7 of them are in the Twin Cities. The last two arrive on Saturday. The 7 that are here are all helping out at the American Swedish Institute's summer day camp this week. I'm looking forward to meeting most of them tomorrow.

Today Annika came to my home to work on our Orientation schedule. We also talked about where we will house villagers and staff, and we are very excited about our new cabin! It makes housing so much easier! I posted some photos of the new cabin on the website, so I hope you'll go take a look.

I've seen a few of you during the year, and it's been great to keep in touch! I can't wait to see everyone else on an opening or closing day this summer. Keep checking this blog for updates about Sjölunden 2008!
Vi ses snart!
Magda