Marknad/Winter Conference

Greetings everyone!

Sorry I've not updated this week's activities on my blog, but I haven't been able to take pictures in a lot of the places I've been, and I've been so busy with other things that it totally slipped my mind. But enough talk...

As I said, Sunday was the beginning of the Historic Winter Market, but it also was the beginning of the annual winter conference. The title this year was "Leadership in the age of Uncertainty," and I was able to attend a few lectures on microbiology, horticulture, soil erosion, and, of course, global warming. After hearing the first speaker say the America is the "Evil Empire" and the GW Bush is "Darth Vader" because of our country's environmental policies, I wanted to show up the next day in my Sith Robe. I knew I should have brought it! Actually, the conference seemed very well put together, and it culminated in delegates from Norway, Canada, Finland, Sweden, Sapmi, and the USA discussing policies in their own country and as a collective group of nordic nations. I got to meet the head of HR at the Stockholm embassy, which was cool to do because I was going to be the alternate to work there this summer (which I turned town- long story).

The market itself is in part really interesting, but there are some parts that are not so fun. What is fun is to see these horse-drawn sleds always coming through town carrying people, goods, and whatever else. There are all kinds of things to buy from jams and breads to traditional Sami knives and crafts. Actually, today I saw some 'handicraft' that looked a lot like the birds and ibis we make at danebod...

Well, besides all the streets being crowded with vendors and people, art openings and performances every day, and more things to do than I can keep track of, I'm getting pretty tired. I've learned a lot this week- attended lectures, watched old films from the 30s and 40s, met new friends, and learned what öl tält means in Swedish, and it's starting to take it's toll. We're travelling to Kiruna and Pajala next week, so I'll be even more north than I am now seeing things like the Ice Hotel and Northern Lights Museum. If I don't write before then, it's because I'm 'recovering.'