First full week of school

The week of August 24th to 28th was my first full week of school. My school is so different from any other school I've been to that there is still a lot to get used to. It's so big that I don't know much beyond the second floor where I have my music classes, the cafeteria on the first floor and on the third floor I'm lost. It's hard to find someone unless they're in your class because there are no common breaks, for everyone has their own schedule. The cafeteria is open for lunch between 10:15 and 12:45 when you can come and go and eat as much as you want. On Monday, We, my music class and I, had our little concert which we've been preparing since Thursday. It went well. I played the melody on trumpet in "Dihndi", the piano accompaniment in "Pride, (In the Name of Love)" and the piano and trumpet in "Stayn' Alive". The audience was the 2 classes in the younger grade of the music program. they were a dead audience, sitting there like stones the whole time. But we were having fun, rocking out on stage. Tuesday was an activity day, so we can bond with our classmates, get to know the other kids in the music program and have some fun before the regular classes start. It was a hike along a skiing trail mapped out by the teachers with questions to answer along the way. It would have been more fun if it hadn't been so long, or so hot or had some sort of bathroom facility. But it wasn't all bad, I was in a nice group and the forest we were walking through was beautiful, I can't wait to ski along the trail. We hiked up a small mountain to the top where they gave us lunch and the view of the harbour, that we had up there, was breathtaking. Wednesday was our first day of regular classes. Everyone, but me, got their schedules. I figured out which music classes I want to take, music, music theory, jazz, choir, trumpet and piano lessons, then I wrote down a request for the other random classes I want to take such as cooking, a computer course, traditional handicrafts, history and Swedish. Since I'm a special case, not taking the mandatory core classes, they are still fitting it together and I should get my schedule some time this week. In the mean time, I can go to which ever classes I want. So Wednesday, I followed my classmates to their classes and read a book because all the classes were in Swedish. All they really talked about in class was their schedules, the courses they need to take to graduate and what choices they have after high school, so I didn't miss much. Thursday, was a more interesting day, I had some classes in the morning which I read my book during or slept, but then at 11 o'clock, I left the school to play in a low brass concert. The concert was made up of Anna and I both playing tuba, a trumpet, trombone and alto horn played by music instructors from the Blaspopperna band. We had the concert in an elementary school for some grade 3 kids. We played songs from kids' TV shows like Pippi Longstockings and the Flintstones, which had all the singing along. The point of the concert was raise kids' interest in playing low brass instruments. Later that day, we had our first Blaspopperna band practice and I met some of the kids from the previous weekend's camping trip. I met my new trumpet, Lars, teacher and we set up lessons for Tuesdays. Friday, I had my first Swedish lesson at school. It's very nice, casual class, there's only one other student in the class, Jessica, a girl from Germany who is here for 6 months. We are at about the same level of Swedish so we don't have to go through the basics again. Afterwards, I had a choir lesson and besides sitting in the wrong place and starting at the wrong ques because the instructions were given in Swedish, it went well. The song we are practicing is in English, Early Autumn, so I was able to participate. After choir, my classmates dispersed to their separate courses so I didn't have any more classes that day. I went to the cafeteria and had lunch with 2 girls from the mechanics program. They were very interesting to talk to and gave me a tour of their machining lab and welding lab. Later they went home and I went into an interior design and textiles class that had several large wooden looms. I was curious to see how they worked so the teacher gave me a demonstration. When I get my schedule, I might see if I can fit in some time for weaving. That evening, Marita came back from a 2 day conference and Hakan came back from a 4 day meeting in Russia, so we had a nice family evening.

Camping

Last weekend, August 22 and 23, Anna and I went camping with a group from her band called the Blaspopparna. The weekend was organised by Per, an older member of the band, who was in town for the holidays. He rented some canoes and set up a camp on an island in a lake where he has a summer house. Saturday morning, we, the 8 of us, met by his house, loaded up the canoes and paddled the 10 minutes to the island. It was raining but that didn't stop us from pegging down the tent, setting up the camp fire aria and building a lean-to (which we didn't use). We spent most of the afternoon in the bell tent which had a stove and chimney in the middle. We lit the stove and told jokes and stories. When the rain lessened, we took the canoes out fishing. Here is a picture of us, Jennifer, Anna, Oskar and Sara, fishing with the canoes lashed together. We caught 7 good sized fish between the 6 of us. I even caught a fish, though it was too small to bother killing. We cooked them as supper appetizers. The rest of supper was hot dogs and instant mashed potatoes. That evening, it had stopped raining so we went swimming. It wasn't very warm outside because the sun had already gone down but it was still fun and refreshing. We had a nice campfire that night and most of the kids spoke English so I could join in the conversations too. In the tent, nobody got much sleep, it was a fun day. The next morning, after a breakfast of oatmeal and left over mashed potatoes, we packed up camp. Then we took the canoes out into the lake towards where it meets the ocean, then back again. It was a nice sunny day so I took a nap in the back of the canoe. The other picture is of us hanging around the camp ground playing frisby. Around lunch time, we all drifted back home again.

Vimmerby

From Falun, Judith and I arrived in Vimmerby after 7 hours of traveling by train. We spent the week, August 10th to 14th, with 30 other students form Canada, the US, Mexico, Brazil, France, Austria, Germany and Japan. We stayed in a boarding school on a hill that looked over the town and we got our own rooms. We had classes in Swedish (learning the basics), Swedish society (history) and sports (learning the Swedish names and playing). We had a lot of fun getting to know each other, playing games and sports and spending our free time watching Borat or exploring the basement of the school. Vimmerby is famous because it is the home town of Astrid Lindgren, the auther of Pippi Longstockings and many other childrens' storytales. There is a theme park/children's fairytale land based on her books. We got the chance to visit it one afternoon and I wished I was 6 again because there is so many cute houses, parks, and kids' toys and attractions there. Here's a picture of us standing in front of Astrid Lindgren's World. The other picture is of Villa Villacula, Pippy's house. I found the park very interesting because they had live music and performances, they would play skits from the storybooks. I didn't know what they were saying, but the little kid actors were so cute. We had 2 hours at the park but it was some big, we couldn't see everything there. It was a fun week and there are many other trips and activities planned for this group throughout the year. Friday, after a long train trip and a lay over in the Stockholm terminal, I was back home in Hudiksvall with a week or so before school started.

Falun

August 8th to 10th, I visited Falun, a city 4 hours southwest of Hudiksvall with Ewa, my Rotary district chairperson, Judith from Germany and Emma from New Zealand. We spent the weekend touring around the city and getting to know each other. Falun is famous for its really old copper mine. It was the biggest copper mine in Europe during the middle ages and only shut down a couple years ago. We got a tour. Here's a picture of Ewa, Judith and Emma standing in front of the mine. Saturday night, we went to a Swedish opera in an old open pit limestone quarry. It was an amazing facility and a perfect night to watch an opera outside.Here's a picture from behind and above the opera before we started the walk down into the pit. The performance was incredible, it was Mozart's The Magic Flute in Swedish with English subtitles. It had a modern twist with a motorcycle entrance and they incorporated the water in the stage. When it got dark they fit fireworks in to the story! It was the best finally I've ever seen! Falun is in the Dalarna region of Sweden which is famous for the Dala horses, the little red painted wooden horses. So we visited one of the factories. Here's a picture of the newly painted horses drying on shelves. Everything is done by hand in the factory to keep with tradition. I bought a little horse and had one of the painting ladies write my name on it. We had a fun time in Falun and on Monday, from there, Judith and I went 6 hour farther south to Vimmerby where all the other international students in Sweden met for a week long Swedish language camp. We had to wake up and get on a train at 5 in the morning to get there but it was worth it!

First day of school

I had my first day of school today and it's nothing like any other high school I've been to. Bromangymnasiet is a huge school of about 2000 kids in grades 10,11 and 12 which is actually called grades 1, 2 and 3. There are alot of different disciplines or directions for the kids to chose from, everything from child care to science, literature to mechanics. I'm in the ascetics music program and will be with the same 22 students all year. Today was the first day at school but the regular classes don't start until next Wednesday. This week is for catching up with friends, hanging out with teachers and discussing what the year will bring. Most classes met and dismissed within an hour, but not mine. We were split into groups and given music to practice for a concert on Monday. I'm on keyboard with a few short parts on trumpet, playing with a lead guitar, bass guitar, drums and singers. It was all a bit overwhelming because I've never played the keyboard with a band or played guitar cords and I didn't understand what anyone was saying. The songs my group is playing are Stayin Alive and Pride (In The Name of Love). We practiced from 8am to 3pm and tomorrow will be a similar day.

My family

There are some pictures of my family. The first one is of Elin, Hakan and Marita and we spent the day at an auction at a farm. All the farm houses are painted red and white. This is a rich farm with alot of buildings like this and alot of windows (the number of windows shows the wealth of the farm). The second picture is of Anna, Elin, Marita, me and Aunt Lena. We are outside at a dance in the middle of the forest with a live band playing traditional music. Its a really fun Swedish tradition.

Hudiksvall

Hey! I'm in Sweden on the International Rotary Youth Exchange for a year! And I'm loving it! Here, I'm staying in a town called Hudiksvall which in about 300 km north of Stockholm on the coast. It's a cute little town with about 35000 inhabitants and lots of red, orange and yellow houses and old buildings. I live 3 km from my school and a 5 minute walk from the center of the town. I'm living with a very nice host family. Hakan-Dad, is a manager of an eco. fuel company and travels alot to do business. Marita-Mom, is a chairperson of a fibre optics research and production company. Anna-sister, is my age and interested in journalism and retro stuff. Elin-sister, is in Port hope, Ontario right now on exchange so I get her bedroom. Rosa-cat, is very fluffy and affectionate but she recently broke her arm and has to wear a cone around her head, which she hates. We live in a yellow, green and red house. It looks very nice and Swedish inside with pretty wallpaper, hardwood floors and ceilings, white furniture and big windows. I get my own room with green walls, black accent furniture and a slanted ceiling. We have a very nice backyard and like to eat outside on the patio. Hakan is really good at barbecuing and Marita is an excellent gardiner.