HOME!

We made it in last night, after almost 24 hours en route, through Stockholm, Newark and Houston. I am jet lagged today, but it is SO nice to be home. I really enjoyed my time in Sweden but missed my family, my animals and my own bed! I learned a lot on this trip -- about Sweden; about other ways of thinking; and, about myself. The Swedes definitely have a lot to be proud of in their country. As Americans, we, too, have a lot of which to be proud. I am thankful for the opportunities to learn I have been given through this Group Study Exchange and look forward to the chance to share, with the clubs who have sponsored us, all the insights we gained and the friendships we have forged. One of my hosts is even coming to visit me in October -- I can't wait to reciprocate her hospitality and show her a little bit of our beautiful nation. I am also looking forward to journeying around the U.S. and seeing more of what we have to offer. I will write more later, so thank you for following me and keep checking back here for more adventures of the Bedouin Barrister.

Stockholm

We have made a smooth transition to Stockholm and our hostel. At about eight a.m., Joe and I boarded a train from Sundsvall to Stockholm. The train was neat and clean and the ride was wonderful. We arrived at the Central Station amid heavy human traffic and proceeded into the terminal to find a taxi and have some lunch. Once inside, we needed the facilities and found ourselves faced with something totally foreign to American sensibilities -- the pay toilet. Luckily, Joe had some extra coins. I cannot quite understand the European affinity for the pay toilet. I am afraid the use of the pay toilet in America would lead to rather severe and undesirable consequences.

Once at the hostel, we dropped our luggage and started walking to Gamla Stan -- Old Town. We ultimately got a pass for the subway and were able to ride along. Old Town has some lovely architecture, but I am dismayed at the "Bourbon Street" feeling of one of the streets -- performer on the corner, singing American songs and panhandling for money; eighteen curio shops all hocking wares made in China that have the Sweden logos on them; and, very odd looking people walking around desiring other not so odd looking people to stare at them. Some of their get-ups could be likened to a train wreck -- I simply couldn't look away. I wanted to take some photos, but that would give in to their desire for weirdness too much.

Tonight, we have had a good Italian meal and are back at the hostel. Sarah isn't feeling well so we are medicating her with vitamin C and Ibuprofen. I hope it is just sinuses and not something more serious. We leave Monday morning for home and I can truly say, I am ready to see my friends and family.

Day Two in Sundsvall

Well, two presentations down and one to go. The cuties above are Becky and Teo; ages five and three. We have been playing a Princess Crown game and a balloon game and they are winning. Today, our flight around Sundsvall was cancelled due to the weather but we may be able to go tomorrow. We toured a burial mound site and a graveyard and heard the story of St. Olof, who was ultimately killed in Norway, I think.

Tomorrow morning, we have another presentation, and then we get ready for Stockholm. I couldn't find Tony Chaceries anywhere, so I am having to improvise with the corn dip. I hope it tastes o.k. My hostess put on some music, which included ". . . . went down to the Audubon Zoo and they all aksed for you . . . ." Made me a bit homesick.

First Presentation in Sundsvall

This morning, I received an air card from Leif, the chief police inspector here. As such, communication has gotten a lot better. The photos are mostly from our trip in Harnosand, including the Goulash soup we had at our host from Hungary's home, and the egg that won the strength contest on Easter Saturday. I am going to try to attach a "Schnapps" song, too.

Today, we got some of our travel arrangements cemented for a trip to Stockholm. We will leave Sundsvall on Saturday by train and will be in Stockholm Saturday and Sunday and will join the plane in Stockholm for our flight home via Newark on Monday morning. I am glad we now have train and room reservations. The logistics aspect of these trips is always a stressor for me and as anyone who knows me can attest, I am not someone who can simply spend the night at the train station. I am a bit more high maintenance than that. I now have to figure out what to do in Stockholm, as I never gave it much thought because we weren't going to be spending any time there.

This afternoon, we went to the Permobil corporate offices. Permobil is a multinational corporation that designs and builds wheelchairs. We got the chance to drive several of their models and it is amazing what those machines can do. Freedom is more possible for the impaired thanks to those chairs. The man who invented his line, Per Udden, lived near here and he and his wife had nine children. Since he was dyslexic, his mother read all his medical books when he went through medical school. They joke that it was his mother who should have gotten the medical license. Per Udden spent his life trying to make innovations for those who were handicapped and those who were dyslexic.

Tonight, I need to go to the store and get the ingredients for the dish I will prepare for the pot luck -- corn dip. Easy to make, easy to store and scrumptious. Eddie took my idea to make sweet tea and I am not sure they have all the ingredients for the other dishes I know how to make by heart. Also, I looked and there doesn't seem to be a Johnny's Pizza or Podnuh's to be found. Soooo, corn dip or hot artichoke dip are my best options.

Sundsvall

Well, we are now in Sundsvall and I am staying with Erika and Martin Persson and their children, Becky and Theo, ages five and three. I still don't have wireless Internet, so I cannot upload photos and the like or update the blog as often, but at least I have some access. Today, we took a walking tour of Sundsvall which was burned almost completely in 1888 by a spark started anecdotally by a steam engine. After the fire, all the wood buildings were replaced with stone ones and the town is sometimes called the "Stonetown." Neorenaissance architectural styles are prevalent in the old town area.

Most interesting to me, is the fact that Prince "Chulalongkorn" -- completely phonetic spelling-- of the "King and I" fame, once journeyed to this area, after his father had died and he had become king of Siam. He came to eat lunch in a building I was standing in this afternoon and ultimately spent time in this part of Sweden. He was much loved by these people as well. Nobody else in my group may have thought that was terribly interesting but simply knowing the story of Anna and her influence on the real King of Siam, made the presence of his son in this part of the world, very tangible and exciting for me.

We are working on a plan to see Stockholm before we leave, so that is on the agenda for tomorrow. Also, on Friday, we are supposed to have a potluck dinner -- I didn't tell them that Lutherans all over the world are famous for that -- at which we are supposed to bring a favorite dish from our country. Here I am, in Sweden without a Kentucky Fried Chicken or Taco Bell in sight, and I am supposed to bring my favorite dish. I don't suppose Trejo's or Ming Garden delivers this far, does it?

Harnösand

Happy Easter to you all. We have been staying in Harnösand these past few days and have had no access to the Internet. Talk to you soon.

Moving on to Harnosand

I have had a wonderful time here in Umea. I got the chance to watch two criminal trials yesterday. Tuesday night, I learned the Vasterbotten polska and watched as a large group of folk dancers worked on the dance. Live music was provided by a fiddler and there were just as many men as women in the volunteer group. Amazing. The dance was complicated, too, and I had a good time learning it.

Yesterday, we went and toured the Volvo plant here where they make the large cabs for the commercial line trucks. There was a lot of robot mechanization and it seems that if we could design a robot to fix the other robots, man could become obsolete. After Volvo, we tried Curling. Folks, it is a lot harder than it looks on TV. I slipped and slid around a bit and decided that I didn't want to have any first-hand knowledge of the Swedish medical system, so I left the playing to the rest of the group.

Today, we are moving to Harnosand for a few days. I will write more later.