Guys, are we still in Jokkmokk...?

Hej,

So another week has past, and we have had some more exciting adventures. Tuesady we had Svenska class again and then we got to hang out around the school, where we spent our time playing ping pong and checking emails. Then in the afternoon we worked with a class of 10th grade girls. They were still kind of shy, so not to much was said. On Wednesday we had a class at 8:45. This class was a of all 10th grade guys. They were really talkative, which was really nice. As it were, it turns out half of the stuff they told us was false. For example one of the boys in my group tried to convince me that his name was OKAY, so i was like oh okay... and he proceeded to correct me...NO it's OKAY. I should have told him that I knew that his real name was Viktor, but I decided to play along with it. Also during this time, one of the boys decided to explain to me what Midsummer is and this is the discriptiont that I got..."We dance around a stupid tree and I hate it!". By the time class was over, we were all laughing and joking around (in English) which was really fun. When we left they had to make sure that we were coming back again, because they really enjoyed talking to us. After the class had ended my craving for students speaking English to me was satisfied, even if they were lying half the time. The rest of the day was spent in Svenska class and then at school where we once again played pingis (ping pong) and checked emails. Thursday morning was spent with classes 6a and 6b(6th graders). All I can say is these kids are talkers and I loved it. This was the first time a class seemed interested in speaking English with us, besides the 10th grade guys. We laughed and talked a lot and even play some games. After the classes were done, we sat down in the commons area, but this time we had the kids we had just got talking to, swarming around us. It was the greatest feeling, knowing that some of the students actually want to learn enligh and knowing that we were appreicated. I learned that the 6th graders like me!! Hurray!! After lunch we had 7b, they were talkative, but unfortunately not as talkative as the 6th graders were.
Friday we had Svenska class again and then we helped out with the 7a class. This group really frustrated me because they didn't seem to want to talk at all and they were really rude about it, so we sat there in awkward silence. I would ask my group a question and one or two people would respond and then we would sit in silence again. Finally I told them that their teacher would give them homework if they didn't talk, that worked for a little while, and then it got quiet again. Finally I gave up and forced them to play a game, I felt bad, but that's they only thing I could think of doing to break the awkward silence. That night we had Grottan. Once again it turned out to be really fun, even though not as many people came. We played pingis again, talked a lot and even play TELEPHONE PICTIONARY, which was a blast. I love teaching people new games, especially this game.
Today, we had a free day, so we decided to go on a walk. We found ourself by the lake, which is beautiful. Then we decided to take a walk through the woods. It was very peaceful and calming, which was exactly what I needed. It was nice to be able to get out of the house and go exploring the woods, I love being in nature. I took lots of pictures, but unfortunately I left my camera chord back at the house, so I will upload the pictures sometime soon, so you may all see Sweden at it's finiest.
Next week, is week 44, which is a vacation week. We decided that we are going to go to Luleå, which is about 2 hours away from us, so we can get some winters boots and other warm items because it is cheaper to purchase them there. I also hope that during this time we get to explore the area around us somemore.
Life in Jokkmokk is still going great. I feel like I'm actually starting to settle in, which is a very nice feeling, it's almost like a home a way from home kind of feeling. I also feel like everyone here is starting to see us as their neighbors and not as the team that came from America.
Well this is all I have for now and I will add the pictures as soon as I can!!

-alyssa

Hej Hej från Jokkmokk

Hey all,

Well as most of you know, we finally made it to Jokkmokk last Tuesday around 3:30 pm Swedish time, so about 8:30 am back home in the states. The flight here was good, extremely long though about 8 1/2 hours and I think that I slept for a total of 30 minutes because I was so excited to finally be heading to Sweden. Since I couldn't sleep, I think I watched about 3 movies and listened to some Swedish techno that the plane provided. The only thing that bothered me was that everyone spoke Swedish, so I got really confused. Thankfully the female flight attendants realized we didn't understand Swedish, so the would speak to us in English, except for the male flight attendant. He refused to speak to me in English, so I would give him a really confused look and he would proceed to point at what he was talking about and continue to rattle on in Swedish. Thankfully we had made some friends in the form of an elderly Swedish couple, and thankfully they sat behind me, because they would translate what he was saying for me. I'm pretty sure that he thought I was Swedish and that either I just did't want to talk to him or that I wanted to be incredibly difficult. We finally landed in Stockholm around 7:45 am, so 12:45 am back in the states. The airport was kind of confusing and once again everyone spoke to me in Swedish, so I got a little bit frustrated. Finally after much confusion and aimless wandering, we reached our terminal. It was at this point we decided to take a nap. When we woke up it was time to board the plane that would take us to Luleå, so at 11:10 sharp we boarded. We landed in Luleå around 12:10 and Tom was there to greet us. We collected our baggage and made the trek to Jokkmokk.
Jokkmokk is the most beautiful town I have ever seen, as soon as I get some more pictures of the town I will post them. It is located in between some mountain ranges and is about 10k above the article circle. The weather here is cold. The on the first day we were okay just wearing light jackets, but one day two we had to bust out our winters coats, gloves and scarves. One day I mention that it was a little bit cold outside, and they all told me that I was in for a big surprise when the winter season starts.

Any who... here is a summary of what we've done so far.

On the tuesday that we got here, Tom gave us a brief tour of the town and then we had supper at his house and met his family.
On Wednesday we got to "sleep in". I say it like this because I am still having trouble adjusting to the time change. I find myself going to bed at 12am and waking up at 2am ( 5pm and 7pm in the states) and not being able to go back to sleep because my body is telling me that nap time is over. Around 10:30 am Tom came to take us to lunch, they eat lunch really early here. After lunch we were brought over to the school and introduced to the faculty and staff. Once we had been properly introduced, we had some free time and got to use the computers. Then we headed home for a short period of time and then went to make traditional Swedish sandwichs for the Bingo players (bingo is the cool thing here...especially if you are old)
Thrusday we started our work. We helped out at the snack shop at the school for a while and then were told to mingle with the student. We ended up teaching them the only card game we know, SCUM. As it were, one of the students, Nicolas, knew how to play, so we would tell him the rules in English and he would translate it to Swedish for his friends. It was a little rough at first, but by the time the kids had to go to class, we were having a blast. They are very quick learns and they are very competitive. After that we helped teach English to a class of Columbian immigrants. I never thougth I would hear Spanish being spoken in Sweden, let alone use what little Spanish I know, but I guess you are shocked by something new everyday. It was at this time we recieved our first dinner invitation from a Columbian by the name of Andres. So our night was spent with his family enjoying a traditional Swedish meal (potatoes, cheese and sausage all mixed together).
Friday was our first time actually working in an English class with the Swedes. It was a little bit awkward at first because they are shy and don't like to speak English in front of their whole class. So the teacher decided it would be for the best if we took 4 students at a time and talked with them. The first group didn't turn out so well, but by the time the second group came in we a discovered which questions were okay to ask and the ones that weren't, so it went a lot better. After that we ate lunch with Melissa, Turcan and Emelie, some of the girls that have become attached to us. When we came finished lunch and came back to the school, it was like someone had flipped the "The Americans aren't weird, let's invite them to play ping pong and talk to them" switch. It was great. I got owned in ping pong. Turns out that they are all really good at it. Then evening came around and it was time for our first Grottan (youth center) experience. We were all a little nervous and didn't really know what to expect. The way Tom had made it sound was that there wasn't going to be anyone our age there, they were all going to be young and not many people came. All of these things turned out to be wrong. It was a little slow at first, but soon we had a least 30 people there. It was a blast. I spent most of my time playing a ping pong game in which there are 4 or more people, two on each side, then you serve the ball and run to the other side. The point is to not let the ball hit the ground or to be the one that messes up, because you only get 3 strikes and then your out. You continue this until there are 2 people left and then you play normal ping pong. Well the Swedes are very competitive, so things got pretty intense. After playing ping pong for what seemed like ages, I sat down and talked with one of the Afgan refugees, named Salin. This peaked the interest of some of his friends, so they would ask him questions for me in Swedish and he would translate for me, then I would respond and he would translate for them. After a while some two of the guys that would speak in Swedish decided to try English... it was a bit broken, but I understood enough to get what they were trying to ask without to many miscommunications. All in all I thought it was a good night, with a good turn out and I can't wait for the next one.
Saturday was spent helping paint Andres's parents new house. After we had finished Andres invited to watch a moive and eat pizza at his house. I learned 2 things about Swedish pizza that night 1. It's freaking huge and 2. It's the best pizza I have had, besides Giordano's of course.
Sunday we went to our first meeting (church service). It was all in Swedish, so we didn't understand anything, which was very frustrating. Finally Tom and Disa came to sit with us and translate for us, which was very nice and helpful. After the service, we enjoyed some fika (snack time, they have this all the time here). Once fika was finish, we were introduced to the congregation. Before the meeting they had us write 4 facts about us that are true, and then they would guess which fact belonged to who, it was fairly intertaining. After the guessing had finished, they all prayed for us and welcomed us into the church. The afternoon was spent at school watching the Jokkmokk floor ball team crush some team that I don't know they name of. Floor ball is basically floor hockey, but instead of a puck they use a ball. It's a very intense and vicious game, I love it. I found myself cheering when they would do good and wincing when someone would get slammed into the wall or hit with a stick. That night we ate a delicious meal of fish and potatoes at Tom's house. After dinner, we chatted for some time and Emelie and Elis, church kids and our new friends, came over for dessert. Once dessert was finished we chatted some more about our interests, for example Elis (Emelie's older brother) loves to play football (good thing I brought one with me). Then it was time to go home and while we were getting in the car, Elis comes running over and tells us that you can see the Northern Lights. So he took us to the spot where you could see them the best. Wow they were beautiful! I have never seen anything like them. Elis then informed us that the colder it gets the prettier they become, so I can't wait to see them in the dead of winter!
Monday we had our first Svenska (swedish) class. It was really confusing yet fun at the same time. We learned how to ask what someones name is, where they live and where they came from. We also learned the alphabet and how to respond to the questions we learned to ask, I felt like a little kid starting school for the first time, but instead of being terrified of the first day, I was super excited! After our classes were done, we ate lunch and then headed back to the school where we spent the afternoon playing ping pong and talking to the students. That night we had a free night, so I decided it would be a good idea to go on a bike ride. It was really fun, except for the fact that I haven't been on a bike in about 8 years, so I was a bike wobbley at first. The ride was good, but I couldn't really see much because it was dark out, which kind of sucked. I hope that sometime in the near future we get time to explore the town in the light.
Today we had Svenska class again. We learned animal names, for example lodjur is bobcat and gås is goose. We also learned how to count in Swedish and write out simple math problems in Swedish. Right now we have free time, so I decided that this would be a good time to finish my blog. Around 1:15 we have a meeting with Tom, then more free time. One of the girls asked us to hang out with her today and I think/hope she is going to cut Sam's hair!!! After that we have to go to a concert. As you can see we are very busy.
Well this is my life in Jokkmokk so far, and I try to keep you updated as often as I can.

Adjö

-alyssa

And then there were three

Hey all, sorry I haven't blogged in such a long time, so here we go.

The last week and a half of orientation has flown by. I don't really remember all that was said or done, but I do remember it was super fun.
There is one thing at is embedded in my mind is last Friday. Dorothea and I went to the Shedd Aquarium, it was a pretty good time. I think we had more fun making fun of the fish than actually looking at them and reading about them. After the aquarium we headed to meet up with the rest of the group. We were all to meet at a restaurant called Cafe Too for our final goodbye meal as a group. Cafe Too is a restaurant that takes homeless people who qualify and train them in the cooking arts. The meal consisted of 3 courses. For the first course I had portabella and goat cheese on bread, which was exceptional. For the second course I had ribeye, which was quite possibly the best ribeye I have ever had in my life. For the last course I had a chocolate tart that had coffee beans in it, and it was amazing.
To end the night Krista took us on a walk to a mystery location. The night was cold, but we trudged on because we were anxious to see where we ended up. There had been some talk of going to the Hancock Tower, but as we continued to walk, it became apparent that the top of the Hancock tower was not our final destination. We continued to walk, we heard the crashing of waves on the shore. We climbed up a small hill and found ourselves on the shoreline. It was gorgeous. We climbed down the steps that led to the beach. Krista told us to sit, so we sat in a large circle. She proceeded to tell us that we were going to pray for each team. So each team got together and stood in the middle of the large group while the rest of the teams put their hands on the team in the middle and prayed. After each team took their turn in the middle, we circled up again and sang.
When we finished, we took some pictures, broke off into groups and headed home. My group consisted of Craig, Krista, Tyler, Lee, Becca, Kristen and myself. We walked for what seemed like ages until we finally reached the "L". At this point we were all tired and freezing, so it was a silent ride on the "L" and the walk home from the "L". We finally reached home and went to bed. The next day rolled around and I said my goodbyes to the England team again, then left with my family for the day. We didn't really have a set plan, so we found ourselves in Millennium Park, my "second home". After walking around, playing in the fountain and taking random pictures in the bean, our parking time expired, so we left with a new mission, which was to go to the Hancock Tower. We drove and drove and drove and still no Hancock Tower. We eventually found ourselves in Greektown and on a normal day that would have been fine with me, but we really wanted to go to the top of the Hancock Tower, so we followed random streets and eventually found ourselves at the base of the Hancock Tower.
We parked and headed to the lower level of the tower. We walked into the Northface store that is at the bottom of the tower. This turned out to be a bad idea because I have a strange obsession with Northface. After prying me away from the store we wandered around until we found the elevator that would take us tot he lounge on the 96th floor. We reached the top and looked around. The view was amazing, but we didn't really want to pay for food, so we went to the facilities, as it were the view in the women's washroom was beautiful.
After taking numerous pictures, we got bored and made the descent. We left and headed for our next destination, which was Navy Pier, but not before purchasing gloves and an ear warmer from the Northface store. We made it to Navy Pier and decided to eat at Bubba Gumps, which was great. After satisfying our hunger, we walked around, took tons of random pictures and decided to head back to the hotel my family was staying at. After stopping there for a short while, we headed to IKEA to get the Swedish cookies that I adore so much. For supper, we went to Mr. Greek's to get Gyros. We went back to the house and partook in the Gyros, which were delicious as usual. After that my family decided to head back to their hotel, so we made plans to meet the next morning at 11.
I went to bed satisfied and awoke the next morning and began my usual routine. It was then that I realized that sometime was different, we were missing Rachel, Kristen and Lee. It was a very strange feeling, but it was one that I would all to soon become accustom to. Any who my parents came to pick me up and we went to get deep dish at Giordano's and then got dessert at Artopolis. After we finished, I said my goodbye's to my parents and spent the rest of the afternoon doing laundry and other various activities.
The next morning came about and it was time to say goodbye to the Brazil team. It was very sad to see them go, but also good because it meant that they would be beginning the next chapter in their adventure. It was during this time that it was said "And then there was 9... soon the be 3". It was then that it hit me, that after Tuesday there would only be 3 people in the house, which was a very strange thought. Any who, it was shortly after the Brazil team left, that Sam and Bethany found out that their visas had been approved, which led to a Swedish team "Happy Dance". After the dancing was over, the rest of the day was spent with the Paraguay team. That night as a final goodbye, we went to a deep dish place called Gino's, which was delicious.
The next morning was spent saying goodbye to the Paraguay team before we set out for our first service project. As soon as the Paraguay team rounded the corner, the Swede team in unison utter those 5 words... "And then there were 3". After standing there for a while we headed to Vital Bridges, which is a food pantry that helps HIV/AIDS victims. Instead of giving them random food items, they give them food that goes with their medications. I thoroughly enjoyed my time there and I can't wait to go back again on Friday. When we finished around 4, we headed home and walked into an empty house. We even walked into the house and called out hello before we realized that no one was there to respond. It was the strangest feeling knowing that the house had once been full of people and is now only occupied by 3. It was kind of depressing, but we have some how found a way to manage. The rest of the night was spent at a Battlestar Galatica forum, which was very interesting.
Today, we went back to GADS Hill. It was really fun being able to play with the children again. I got to go back into the class that I had been with before. It was really exciting to see the kids again. The day went by super fast, and soon it was time to head back. We were all exhausted when we got back, but we needed to get some food so we wouldn't go hungry, so we got some food. When we got back, Sam and I crashed for a while and by the time we got up, it was supper time. The rest of the night was spent relaxing and watching movies which was really nice.

On a different note, WE ARE LEAVING FOR SWEDEN ON MONDAY AT 4:25 P.M. and we will be arriving in STOCKHOLM around 7:45 am Sweden time have a lay over there until 11:10 am and then arriving in Lulea around 12:30 and then driving for about 2 hours until we reach JOKKMOKK!!! If you can't tell I'm super excited!!

Well this is my life thus far and I will update again soon.

-alyssa