Update

I lucked out again today, as I have no evening work to do here. This morning, I took a group of 4 Belgian scouts out sailing. It was my first time ever teaching someone how to sail, let alone a group of people with only 1 person who could speak both French and English successfully. However, I think it went very well and I got to practice some French. The picture of the group, along with my fellow american Evy, is above.

After lunch, I had to help change water pump hoses on a few of the boats at Fladan. Basically, the pumps are used to empty the boat when too much water collects in the hull. While that was going on, the FS kids were raftbuilding and the Karate Club, a group of mentally disabled adults, were canoeing.

After that, I helped move about 30 canoes to a small bay in outer Fladan. The FS scouts were planning on taking a backpacking trip to the bay, and then planned to canoe back. It was quite a sight to see a motor boat dragging a train of about 6 canoes. Since that activity was actually planned for the evening shift, here I sit, drinking kaffe and updating the blog.

One thing I forgot to mention in my last post: In Sweden, the music program Spotify is very popular. It's like Pandora, but much better. It allows you to stream free music on your computer, like a custom radio station. The only downside is that between every 3 songs there is an annoying commercial and that the only way to use Spotify is to be invited by another user. However, each user can only invite 2 people. Needless to say, I'm trying to get an invite from someone here.

-Lukas

Back to Normal

Tja!

Everything is back to normal now. All the first period Funk and Konfirmands have left. It was kind of weird to walk into the dining hall for dinner on Sunday and see practically no one that I recognized. Even though I only knew the staff for 4 days, it is hard to realize that I will more than likely never see them again. The new staff are just as friendly and polite as before, and I am sure we will all become good friends.

Anyways, today was the first day of normal work at Fladan for me. On Sunday, I was trained how to use the safety boats (motor boats), since they are taken out whenever groups are sailing or canoeing within Fladan. This involved learning how to empty and pull up onto the boat a flooded canoe and Optimist (a small sailboat). This morning, the Kollor (a group of kids from the inner city) booked a full day sailing trip. I helped FS in their raft building, in which they took empty drums, spars, and rope and had to construct a floating raft. As you can see, I took some pictures. The weather today was sunny, windy, and basically amazing. Since both of those things took all day, and no groups were booked for tonight, I now have a rare 3 hours of free time. Tomorrow, I am to help take out a group of French-speaking Belgians (a language I can actually sort of speak) sailing around the island.

Anyways, here's some things I've noticed so far about Sweden, the people, and the culture:
-The weather is very inconsistent. It can be sunny and 25 (C) one day, and then raining and 10 the next.
-Everyone can speak English. It is all just a matter of how willing they are to speak it.
-English is not an alternate language, but a secondary one. It is hard to join in a Swedish conversation without feeling rude.
-When the Swedish swear, which they often do, they do it in English. It's very funny to listen to with their accents.
-Vassaro is not a Boy Scout Camp. From the rules to the lifestyle, everything is different. For example, Vassaro has free condoms.
-Swedes love to eat. And they have good food, too. A great combination.
-Everyone drinks kaffe. So far I've seen kids as young as 10 drink it.
-Fikas are something that need to be used in America.
-No one has heard of Swedish fish.
-They are very open in their friendships and relatoinships. Lots of hugging and such everywhere.
-They are socialists in disguise. I told a few of them this, and they agreed.
-Many are interested in politics.
-The Baltic Sea is not very salty, which makes for a very relaxing swim.
-They are not very patriotic. They never sing their national anthem. Some people feel that displaying the flag in public as being offensive to minorities. Strange...

That's about it for now. I'll write again in another few days, and I'll have more pictures too. Life is basically perfect now. Hej da.

-Lukas

My First Day

Hej,

I just finished my first day. Needless to say, I am completely exhausted. After my flight was essentially cancelled on Monday, I arrived in Stockholm on Wednesday. After 10 hours of flying, I had to take a train, two buses, and a boat to finally get to Vassaro. That took about another 6 hours or so. When I got to Vassaro, dinner had just begun. Also, I arrived just in time for preparations for Confirmation. For the past for weeks, a group of about 50 teenage Protestants have been here at Vassaro, preparing for their Confirmation. The next couple days are now devoted to preparing the island for the arrival of several hundred family members and the Confirmation dinner.

Today, I woke up around 7:30 and wondered around for a little bit and finally found the showers. At 8, the Fladan (meaning "shallow harbor") funk raised the Swedish flag to start the day. Since I am officially working at Fladan in a few days, I was told to shadow them for the next few days. Basically, fladan is the sailing and canoeing area. Groups can book trips from a few hours to a couple days in length. At 8:15, I had breakfast. Swedish meals are very good, but very different manners than that in the U.S. It seemed like a free for all, where everyone was reaching and grabbing for food spread across the table. Not much talking goes on, almost like everyone is rushing to finish. It was kind of weird, but I'm sure I'll get used to it.

It should be mentioned now, that when I woke up, the weather was absolutely terrible. It was raining buckets and the wind was somewhere between 15-20 m/s. Due to that, my "boss" Tobbe (pronounced Toe-beh) cancelled the bookings for this morning, I couldn't take any good photos and us staff basically sat around at the Fladan house talking about politics and such for a few hours until the rain cleared. At Fladan, I met the other American, Nathaniel, who I had contacted through email. He has been very helpful in guiding me, and although he does not speak Swedish, he has taught me. There is also another American, Matthew, who I met and he is from Texas.

Around 11:00, Tobbe took me and Nathaniel out on the Yxlo (Eeks-lah), which is a motor boat the Swedish use for fires. This was still while the storm was raging. So, we all put on our full rain gear (everyone on the Swedish staff seems to have professional sailing off-shore suits) and we got in the boat. I was told to sit in the front, and Nathaniel told Tobbe not to kill me. I thought this was kind of odd, as I thought he was referring to waves splashing over the bow. I was wrong. Instead, once we left Fladan, Tobbe floored it, and the bow of the boat reared back on about a 30 degree angle. Almost instantly, the boat hit one of the roller waves, and the bow drops about 5 feet onto the water behind the wave. Since I was sitting, this meant that my butt bore the grunt of the drop. And, to top it off, it was a metal seat without cushioning. This went on for about 5 minutes, with me taking an absolute beating from the water and the drops. Even though the whole ride was about 10 minutes, when I got back to shore, I could barely sit in my chair for lunch. I was told that I would pick up on the technique for saving yourself from the bruising, but for now, I don't want to go back on that boat for a while.

After lunch, Fladan began preparing for Confirmation. We cleaned up Fladan house (essentially a staff area with work benches and tools), the boat shed, and the life jacket shed. That took about a few hours. The sun finally came out for a few hours, which gave us enough time to bail water out of the few dozen boats there, a long and boring job even with a powered pump. After that was dinner, and we continued to prepare for Confirmation. Our job was to go back to the island, in the pouring rain, and pick up all the candles around the island. After a much calmer ride in Yxlo, we returned just in time for evening Fika (spelling?) Essentially it is a break involving food that is very important to Swedish culture. There are Fikas several times a day, and Swedish unions demand Fikas as part of their contracts. I ate some interesting snacks and played cards with the other staff.

So now I sit here, and it is 11:30 at night. Tomorrow, I'll probably put up a new post with all the observations about Sweden and their culture. It's too much an too late to add tonight. But for now, I am having a great time, even though the work I am doing is nothing that I will do for a while. A new group of Confirmation candidates come in on Sunday, so in four weeks time, I will be doing this again. Tomorrow, I will probably have to bail out the boats again since it has yet to stop raining, and I have to help set up the dining hall for the hundreds of people eating at Confirmation Dinner. I also promise to have some photos, if the weather gets better....

-Lukas

Lift Off

Well, today's the day. After 6 months of planning and waiting, I'm finally leaving for Sweden.  My stuff is all packed, and my bag is about 5 pounds under the weight limit, giving me some room to bring souvenirs back home.

It's kind of weird to finally be leaving, I must admit.  It's one of those things that I've just been talking about, but now requires action.  It's not like I don't want to go though, it's just that I can't believe it's today.

Anyways, I'm leaving in about a half an hour for the airport.  From there, I have a red eye flight to Sweden, followed by several bus transfers to get to the island.  I don't know when I'll post my next update.  But I do know it will include some pictures...

-Lukas

One Week/ NYLT

Hey all,

I am now officially one week away from departing for Sweden! It seems like I've been waiting forever to leave and now that time is here. 

I just got back 

from National Youth Leadership Training (NYLT) at Camp Sunrise.  Basically, it's a week long leadership course for Boy Scouts held at a summer camp.  I was a participant back in 2005, and this was my second year on staff.  It's amazing how much more you learn being on staff.  It really puts your skills (and patience) to the test, as the course is almost entirely led by youth staff such as myself.  I really enjoyed myself, and I'm confident the kids at NYLT learned enough to help them succeed as youth leaders back in their home troops.

One of the cool perks I had, since I'm over 18, was the ability to drive one of the adult's John Deere Gator.  It's the thing in the pictures I posted above this.  It's really useful for transporting gear around camp, and was especially helpful in hauling several full 5 gallon water coolers out to outpost campsites, where the participants spent 1 night camping and living as a patrol.  As you can see, the Gator handles well in various terrains (water!) and can even reach 30 mph.

This week is going to be a busy week. I have to buy some last minute essentials and start packing all my stuff.  I am relieved, though, to have found out that Patrik, one of Vassaro's administrators, will meet me at the airport to help guide me through the several subway and bus rides I need to take just to get to the island ferry. 

-Lukas

Sailing School Part 2

    
    
Yesterday, I completed my sailing class at the International Sailing School. I am now ASA Keelboat certified and now feel more prepared to teach young kids about sailing.  It was a great experience, especially because I was the only one in my class.  I attached some pictures of me and my instructor, Bill.  If you've ever wanted to learn how to sail or just want a refresher, I highly recommend the ISS.  They have great instructors, great boats, and have opportunities for people of all backgrounds.  

P.S. Go Penguins! Stanley Cup Champions!

Some Help

Hey all,

Today I got in touch with an American who's already been to Vassaro once and is coming back again this year for the first session.  In fact, I believe he's already left for Sweden. I asked him what things I should bring and what I should expect.  The first thing he immediately said was bug spray.  Also, the weather can range from 40 to 90 degrees, so he said I should bring a wide range of clothing.  He also said that scouts in Sweden are much more laid back than us.  We view Scouting as uniforms, merit badges, and awards, where in other countries, it is much more low-key and recreational.  

I also learned that the camp has an international staff night, where international scouts such as myself get a chance to leave the island and do something fun together.  Last year they spent a night in Stockholm, but who knows what's in store for this year. Apparently the international staff actually plan it, but I can't say I have much experience with activities in Sweden.

That's about all he told me, but it's definitely enough for me to start planning about what to pack and things I need to get.

-Lukas