Off the beaten path...

Or any path, for that matter.

Today, I went for a hike. A long hike. I have been walking the trails around here, which I used to refer to as 'hiking' but those were really more of a walk. Blazing through at times waist-deep snow is now what I will call hiking. I have tried looking at Google Earth to see whether I can make a trail of where I went, but it all looks so different in summer and without altitude layers. There are ski trails that extend a few kilometers south of Jokkmokk, which I walked next to for some time, then I started finding my own way to the top of one of the more sparsely-covered hilltops. There are many around here, most have trees thickly covering them. I really wanted to get a good view of the surrounding hills and valleys, and was surprised to be able to see Jokkmokk from where I ended up. I saw a lot of really cool things on my way up, but I was not able to take many pictures because I had forgot to charge my camera battery. There was the occasional rabbit track (they look almost like rabbits, but taller with different ears), but plenty of reindeer tracks and foraging areas. To get food, reindeer must dig through the snow, and you can tell where they decide to stop and look because about a 30-foot radius of snow gets compacted (and they leave other signs of there presence, if you're smelling what I'm stepping in). Some of them were obviously old, but many I stumbled upon were made after the last snowfall, which was last week. It was very tiring to climb through the many feet of snow, but luckily I didn't get hurt or fall too much. I did end up getting the contents of my backpack wet from falling over, but nothing too valueable was in it. It was well worth the journey up, however, and I plan to do it at least one more time when I'm here. The view was spectacular- today was sunny and clear, and I could see mountains at least 25 miles away as the sun was just beginning to set that turned a spectacular shade of pink. The world is almost surreal when you know you're literally the only person within a mile of yourself. It dawned on me that this hike was probably as isolated as I've been in my life, but I wasn't in the middle of nowhere, so I wasn't worried. I saw this plane, which was really odd, but the trail behind it was the color of turquoise, which was sweet. I should probably shower soon, however- I think I smell like wet death. I took this video at the 'summit' where I just fell back into a reindeer hole and ate lunch:

Two days ago, we went to the Sami museum again, but got a guided tour. It was so much more interesting to learn about Sami dress and religion from this woman who could answer our questions rather than having to decipher what all the labels said in Swedish. We got to sit in a Sami hut, which looks like a teepee but larger, with thatching and reindeer pelts on the floor. We also learned a lot about the Sami drums, used by the shamans to predict things and find truth. The earliest drums they have are from the 1700s, when missionaries took them away from the Sami people and brought them back to Stockholm, and eventually some ended up in continental Europe and America. The clothes were interesting as well- each Sami village has it's own style of dress, but all use blue, red, green, and yellow in the design. It was interesting to hear how 'loose' the styles can be, and how there isn't a uniform Jokkmokk hat, or shirt. A lot of the jewelry is cool to see too, because you can see the influence the Catholic church had on it's design. Many M's and A's make it into the silver, which stand for the Virgin Mary and her Mother, and there are other bells that resemble incense holders, and the cross (although not as common) does appear in some of the necklaces. These pictures are mostly random- knives, and the dolls that depict the creation story of the Sami. I don't know the story, but these dolls speak for themselves. Next week is the Sami fair, so were all getting pretty excited. The prince is going to show up for 20 minutes on Monday, but between 30 and 60,000 people are expected to show up as well.

Reindeer video links

Hey all-

I just posted all of the videos from yesterday on youtube. You can search Sweden 2009 and find them, look for Contracase's videos, or simply follow the links below:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aW1Tq_aIbzY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE_mnaj6qhQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IJfr0xlTr4s
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nh5AIsGGi9Y

P.S. Saunaing every day feels great!

Reindeer herding like no one expected

I went reindeer herding today! Since that's the cooler part, I'll start with yesterday's time spent at the Ajite museum right next to the Sami school. It tracks the Sami throughout their archiological history, as well as presents information about the local wildlife and geological history. This picture was taken in a room about sedimentary rock and continental drift, and I was so shocked to see this that I took a picture of it. There were quite a few taxidermical treats in the museum, from owls to wolverienes to rodents. We got free roam of the museum on the day it's usually closed, which is why I was able to sneak a lot of pictures. I think we're going to be taking another tour Thursday with a guide, so I might have more to say about it then and post a few more pictures.


On a much more interesting note, I took a couple of videos today that may help me explain what was going on with the Reindeer herding Samis:

(You would have seen it here, but the uploader sucks)

This first video was our first impression of the reindeer corral. There were about 400 reindeer running around, as well as a lot of herders and a few families with their kids. Some, like the reindeer pictured here, had bells around them as a marking by one woman. Most, however, are totally indistinguishable except by an individual's marking placed in the reindeer's ear. That's how the herders are able to identify their reindeer in the pack as the lasso into the group of reindeer that have crowded around. In the next video, you will see what happens when the herders being to pen the reindeer together to begin sorting them:

(You would have seen it here, but the uploader sucks)

In this picture, you should look closely and you will see the largest antlers of the day directly in the center. Although they may seem smaller at this scale, their antlers were humongous with a great amount of detailing. The reindeer make their antlers by rubbing their stubs against their back legs, which store a hormone that helps the antlers grow. Most have symmetrical antlers, but some cannot make them the same because of physical ailments, and some break their antlers off over time. Although we had a few antlers break today, they only bleed for a little time before healing.

Next is the fun part. When the herder lassoed a reindeer, it was our job to steer them into a smaller corral attached to the larger one, or out to their owner's trucks. Here's a video of Roland Thorstensson and Bryan untying one, and the following picture is them guiding, pulling, and shoving the reindeer to the pen.

These reindeer are maybe smaller than you're used to seeing, but it still takes two strong people to get them to move. Bryan and I were able to steer some of the young ones by ourselves, but it was tiring work. Most of us could only do two in a row, and then had to sit down and rest for a few minutes. We had a runner with us say "I can run 13 miles easy, but I'm out of breath after taking back one," and he's in really good shape. On top of just transporting them, I got to hold one down while it was castrated (gross!) and we saw one get gutted and taken apart too. From what we gathered basically no one outside the herding group usually gets to do this, and it's an experience I know I won't soon forget. We're all going to sleep well tonight.

Lastly, on our way back, we decided to stop at the arctic circle line and take pictures. Bryan took his shirt off and stood by a sign to get photographed, but I don't have that picture (not that I would post it anyways) but I also had my picture taken. It's only know that I realize I look like a Japanese tourist (note the peace symbol, camera, and too big smile):

As a final note, I think I will upload those videos to youtube and post links next blog. I'm sorry!

The day when the sun rose!

OMG! The sun still exists!

We all were beginning to worry about it. This morning, when I managed to get up at 10:45, this is what I saw from my window. Yep, 10:40 sunrise today. I was so inspired I decided to take a walk down by the lake trails. I think people here must get really excited too when the sun shows itself, because lots of people were outside enjoying it today. Down by the lake there are lots of walking and skiing trails, so I decided to go on the 5km walking trail and see what the hills to our south were like.


The trails are very well kept, and it was a gorgeous walk the entire time. I ended up passing two boys on xc skis (well, a few times, but then they would pass me going on hills, and I'd pass them again going up them, but I think I heard one say they were cold and they stopped racing me) but saw only one other person while I was out. The silence was eerie at times, but there was a great calm feeling all around the woods. I only heard one bird, otherwise just the loud crunching of snow beneath my feet. This photograph to the left was taken at about noon, so that gives you a little perspective as to how high the sun gets here during the day.


By the time I got back, the sun was just peeking out over the hills. You can see that the lake is used a lot by skiers, snowmobiles, and even cars. Last night two of the girls on our trip went with two Swedes and (apparently) drove around the lakes doing doughnuts at about 60mph. When I asked they said basically everyone does it, and it's rare to hear about accidents because of it. They're probably only safe because everyone drives a volvo here.

The past few days have been really nice. I've gotten a chance to walk around the town, meet a couple new people, and finally relax after spending so much time traveling. The town is small, but beautiful. There are a few highlights, however, like the church (left) that the locals refer to as the 'big church' or stor kyrka. I placed the camera in a snowbank to take this picture, if that grants any perspective as to how big the church actually is. There is another smaller church built in the 1600s here which Linneaus stepped into when he visted Jokkmokk in the 1730s.


What's probably the most aesthetically pleasing part of Jokkmokk are the many small stores and resturants lining the main streets. This one that I'm standing next to is a huge Swedish eatery guarded by these bear statues. One of the interesting things I've found about places in Jokkmokk is that they all seem to have growing plants in the windows, and usually have outdoor lights, which gives a little life to what would otherwise be a cold, gloomy atmosphere.

In the next few days we'll be learning more about the Sami, the Swedish language, and on Tuesday we'll be taking a field trip to a yet undiscolsed location to see another reindeer hearder. Maybe it will be cold enough by then to warrant some of the winter clothes I have brought along. As a final note, this is what I've heard can happen if you don't move your car for a week in Jokkmokk:

I'm in the arctic circle!

I realize I've been writing some longer blogs, so here's the one that will compensate for it. We just arrived in Jokkmokk today, and I'm officially living in the arctic circle. However, I have found it to me far less oppressive than I was led to believe. The low for today was -8 (Celsius, mind you), there have been overcast skies for a week, and there is *only* 3 feet of snow on the ground. in fact, here is a picture of me without a hat or jacket coming back from the pizza place tonight just to prove that I'm north of Hudson Bay and am too hot with a jacket.


We did have another 8-hour bus ride today, which all of us are starting to get used to. I don't really realize it, but the distance from Umea to Jokkmokk is about the same as Chicago to Minneapolis, which is also about as far as Umea is from Uppsala, which is only a half an hour away from Stockholm, so really Sweden is much larger geographically than I had thought. But cloudier, and not as cold.

I did manage to find a few things entertaining in the midst of all my travelling. Some fun things I have learned is that the sun sets quickly, but they sky remains a dark blue for many hours as the sun spins behind the horizion. It gets BLACK at night. There are no major mountains until Norway, and the terrain here looks exactly like the Iron range, but with fewer hills. The street lights are still the red, yellow, and green we know in the US, but right before a light changes to green both the red and yellow lights turn on to signal the drivers. Swedes call moose elk, and their antlers are much smaller because they live in the dense forest. Reindeer are the same species as caribou, just a different subspecies. Double decker buses are really common in Sweden, especially in the well-used and well-kept public transit systems. So are roundabouts, which is almost sickening when you're riding on a double decker bus. These double decker buses also double as space ships- or so I think. The cabins are sealed by automatic doors that open with a button, and all the lighting is green (usually of the rope variety) but turns red when you're getting off the bus. Lastly, I found this 'monument' of sorts quite odd. I took this picture at a bus stop in the middle of knowwhere on the ride to Lulea, the last major city on the northern coast of Sweden:

That's all for today, but soon I will have some more information about the Sami fair coming up in two weeks, as well as more pictures and experiences at the Sami school in Jokkmokk. Thanks for all the correspondence! I will be able to keep up better now that I have a stable internet connection.

Umea is over...

So, after a great week in Umea, I figure I should update my blog!

So far, it has not been sunny here. In fact, the weather has been pretty odd! In the mornings, it is usually cold, but mild. As the day goes on, it gets colder as the sun supposedly comes out, but then get warmer as the sun sets and evening begins. Weird, eh?

This week we have been focusing much on Sami Culture.






On Monday, we went to the University at Umea to meet with the International studies program, as well as meet with the Sami Studies faculty. They taught us much about how Swedish students choose to study abroad (mostly in English speaking countries like US, UK, Aus, and New Zealand) and how the Sami people are integrated with the Swedish gov't and culture (in their case, not well).

Tuesday, we met with a faculty memeber from the language department, originally from Norway, who introduced us to many of the language and Sami study graduate programs at Umea university. That afternoon, we had the opportunity to see both the Umea museum of Arts as well as the Sami Museum.

The Art Museum was filled with artists' interpretations of the world, ranging from upside down maps to documentaries of land use before and after the German concentration camps. One picture in particular I was not fond of- a Brit's from memeory interpretation of the world and it's major cities and features (see picture).















At the Sami musuem, we were able to meet many of the researchers and follow their work throughout Vasterbotten (the provice I'm in), from archieological digs to recreation of Sami archietecture to reclamation of Sami textiles and pelts. I also saw the oldest skis in the world (made 5,200 years ago) and was able to touch many pelts and even visit a forest Sami tent (see picture)












Today we went to a Reindeer farmer about 15 minutes outside of Umea. She was a rare female herder, which among the Sami is a new phenomenon. She and a friend are starting a tourist buisness, and we were her first 'customers.' We got to lasso reindeer, see lots of photographs of her work herding reindeer throughout the year, and coolest of all, meet some of her more domesticated reindeer. Maya was very helpful in understanding both the government and social prosecution Samis face daily: she sees herself as part of a dying breed of peoples, fighting for her way of life among encroaching private lands and public interest.

All in all, these past few days have been both educational and rewarding. Besides being able to walk the town and meet plenty of Swedes (and celebrate Barack's inaguration), I have been more connected to the social and political strife of the Swedish indegenious people than most Swedes ever are able too, while at the same time just beginning to scrape the surface of what this program has to offer.

I am looking forward to a great time in Jokkmokk, the next stop on our trip. It is a town of about 3000 people and can easily be seen on programs like Google Earth. We're staying at the Sami school, and hope to be involved in the Sami fair, starting at the beginning of February. We have an early day tomorrow with a long bus ride. Hopefully the internet will be more consistaint, so I can keep in touch with all of you better in the coming month. One week down, many more to go!

My flight/ the first few hours

Hello everyone!

I am writing to you from my room at the STF Vandrarhem youth hostel in Umea, Sweden. The current time is 11:14 PM, and I just finished all 32 hours of travel between when we started at 8AM on Friday (Central time) to just 15 minutes ago when I got the key to my room. I posted a picture of it.

Our trip to Sweden was not as seamless as we had hoped, however. Friday morning we got to the airport 3 hours early (because the hotel shuttle required us to) and found our plane heading to Newark, NJ. I saw Amy Sutter there and we talked for a little while- she's going to Vermont. We found out right before our departure time that another airplane was experiencing some technical issues, and the passengers from a Houston flight were taking our airplane. This was really the point at which I knew Continental was not thinking ahead, because basically all of the people traveling to Newark had connecting flights, some international, and they would have to rebook us all. Two group members got on another flight to Newark on Northwest, but the rest of us were told to wait until a 3:15pm flight to Amsterdam. As we get close to boarding, we find out we do not actually have tickets for the flight, but are just on the waiting list. Since I have a different return flight, I was not with the large group of 8 that was placed on the list but among the rest of the remaining students who were behind the big group. As the plane begins to board, only the big group has tickets, and we 5 remainders begin to panic because our faculty adviser was getting on the plane, and we would have to make our own way to Umea. Luckily, they still had many of the bulkhead seats free, so all of us ended up getting good seats interspersed throughout the plane, and we all took off for Amsterdam together.

On the flight, I sat next to two Danish women, Inger and Anna, mother and daughter (Inger, the mother, was 84). We had some polite conversation (although getting through the accents was hard at first; good thing I have had a little practice over the years) and then Anna told me she lived in Minneapolis and I brought up Danebo on the river and she recalls having met or seen Bebo either at Danebo or at St. Peder's! Small world, eh? The funniest part for me was that Megan, a student traveling with me on this program, sat next to me and she told me afterwards that she didn't have a clue what either of them said the whole time.

We arrived in Amsterdam at 6:15am their time, 11:15am our time, and the first thing we hear is "final and immediate boarding call for flight (?) leaving for Stockholm in gate D67," which was our connecting flight. We had come out at gate E32, and the gate D1 could be seen in the distance. Needless to say, we missed our flight.

We once again had to change our flight, but as we were doing so we found out our baggage had flown on our original flight to Stockholm, and we all sulked around knowing we won't see it for at least a day. Luckily, there was a morning flight to Stockholm, and we all got tickets for that one no problem.

As we landed in Stockholm at about 11:00am Stockholm time (4:00am Central) I was just starting to fall asleep for the first time. It was then I realized how long of a trip this could be.

We landed too late to catch the one connecting flight to Umea on Saturday, so we all hung out like zombies on the floor of the terminal in Stockholm waiting for our fearless leader (Roland Thorstenson) to figure something out. What we ended up doing is taking a 3-hour train to Sundsvall, and then a 4-hour bus ride to Umea. I have tried desperately not to sleep because I don't want to fall victim too badly to jet lag, but I probably fetched 3 hours worth of sleep total, making the amount of sleep I've had since getting up at 6:30am Friday to catch my original flight roughly four hours. I'm exhausted.

I had a moment right before I started writing this where I started feeling the pangs of homesickness: I think this picture explains it all:





The toilet paper is like cardboard with the top layer taken off, exposing the frayed ridges in the middle.

In all seriousness, however, I am already having a great time, making new friends, trying to speak Swedish, and not yet overwhelmed by my situation. The biggest difference between Sweden and Minnesota? Here, everyone drives Volvos and Saabs, but the sports cars have been replaced by micro cars and even the school buses are made by Volkswagen. Love you all, and I will update when I have some daytime pictures of Sweden to show off!

Leaving Details

Greetings friends and family!

Just so everyone knows, I depart from MSP Airport at 11:00am Friday, Jan. 16, but will not reach Sweden until Late on Saturday, Jan. 17. The trip itinerary is as follows:
Umeå- Jan 18-21
Jokkmokk- Jan 22-Feb 13
Mora- Feb 14-Mar 14
Uppsala- Mar 14-24
Stockholm- Mar 24- April 3
???*- Spring break- April 4-14
Jönköping- April 13- May 20

*I will be hopefully flying to Norwich to see Patrick Stewart and Ian Mckellan perform Beckett's Waiting for Godot during this time.

After May 20 I will hopefully be spending time with Lennart Sacredeus, a member of the Swedish Parliament. If this does not take up the whole month, I plan on visiting my relatives in Denmark and further pursuing my planned post-graduate Fulbright application on Swedish Cultural Integration and Justice.

If you wish to keep in contact with me, I will still be able to answer e-mails (alexlegeros@gmail.com), google talk and video chat, and will get Skype if people are not able to use Google video chat and still wish to talk 'face to face.' I will be keeping this blog, as well.

Hopefully I will be updating as soon as we touch down in Sweden. Thanks for visiting!