Back from the Woods

7/16/07

Sweden owns a culture which has developed itself based on the circumstances of the seasons. Summertime is so short here that every minute of it is savored. Many Swedes own a summer home which is always painted red and white, with a Swedish flag hanging in front. I have learned that the blue and yellow colors of the flag are representative of a sunny day, and for them – the most appropriate accessory to bring along to a celebratory occasion is their own flag.
I have had the pleasure to stay in a real summer home right next to a lake. We brought buckets of lake water up to the house to wash our hands and dishes with. And of course have a separate bucket in an outdoor room as a toilet. There is not a person in sight, and it was more peaceful than you can imagine taking a canoe out and being the only person on a vast lake surrounded by tall verdant trees whispering to your ears how you are not alone at all.

I had a thought that traveling across water is much like living life. You can point your boat in a certain direction with the intention of getting somewhere, although arriving at your destination is inevitable, sometimes it takes a little longer than anticipated because there are currents which you have no control over. If you fight the current, you will simply tire yourself. Sometimes it is just fun to see where the current takes you and remove the paddles from the water, but if you do this too long, you will surely end up where the rough brush is. It would be nice if the current could always take you right to your destination…but that wouldn’t exercise your arms now would it?

Chirpin-Hamun (Copenhagen)

7/14/2007

I found where all the people are hiding: Copenhagen. I definitely need to visit this city again. There are incredibly old and gorgeous buildings here – the stones on the outsides have been stained by the elements over time and the roofs are made of copper which have become vividly green against the blackness of the stone. There was a Jazz festival in town today which attracted a large amount of people.

Ulla, Stina and I were tourists today and went around to the common places. There is a quality about the general attitude in Copenhagen that is very easy-going and quite warm. This is a special city because it is home to people of many nationalities, and yet it is scandinavianly clean. There are canals running through the city, which can be traveled by public transportation boat-busses. There is a constant juxtaposition in this city of old next to new – they recently built a new model of their public library right next to the old one, and this new one is called “the black diamond.” It is stark, black and pointy like a monolith, which is pressed snugly to the old, charming library.

Tomorrow Ulla and I are going to a Swedish summer house which has no running water or electricity – we get to fend for ourselves for a few days and then make our way back up to civilization in the big city.

Uber cleanse

7/13/2007
I took a shower standing up last night and I felt like I was bathing in God’s water. The typical showers here that I’ve been using thus far are a little bit different, there is a bathtub with a hand-held shower sprayer. Most people sit down in the tub and wash themselves, but if the tub isn’t clean then you squat or carefully spray yourself so you don’t get the whole bathroom wet.
Ulla and I went to an old college town called Lund (Loond). This is where Ulla attended her University and met all of her friends which I have been spending time with. In Sweden, people pay higher taxes than in the US, but the government takes care of the people very well. After a person here graduates from high school (gymnasium) they apply to whichever school they want, and based on their grades if they get into the school, their education is already paid for. Walking around this town was like walking on a movie set. The streets are cobble stoned, lined with hip shops for college aged people plus cafes and restaurants. The buildings are beautiful in all their antiquity. Just breathing the air made me feel a little more academic.
We visited an incredible museum which for me as an artist was like eating a meal – It was the museum of sketches, which does not contain finished works but contains all of the sketches and processes the artists went through before creating their final piece. I found that each sketch or pre-painting had so much visible passion and spontaneity – I was very much touched by the inner thoughts of these creators. I could see how much this particular painter Isaac Grundwald loved women and being in love – his initial sketches captured that feeling of being consumed with someone.
This Lund town is so charming, so far this is one of the towns that I would like to live in other than San Francisco – it has many good qualities, and its about 45 minutes away from Copenhagen across a bridge.
Later in the evening Ulla prepared a traditional Swedish meal which was a rich reindeer stew. Reindeer tastes like a new combination of beef and lamb – its actually really tasty. I video recorded her cooking process and I’ll edit it for you to view when I have some time. Kalle and I played chronicals of Narnia on my computer for a few hours in the evening. I painted a picture of a girl holding a traditional Swedish horse (a Dollah horse) which can be found in almost every Swedish home.

Videogames

7/12/2007
I made a new friend named Kalle (Cal Eh). He’s about 11 years old and the son of one of Ulla’s friends (Stina and Lasse). We’ve been playing on the Wii and the game cube. He of course wins at Super Mario Kart every time we play… but the language barrier between two people becomes less thick when you play a game with them. Ulla and I have become a A Swedish traveling duo and are staying together at Stina & Lasse’s parents house while they are away. After seeing a few Swedish homes thus far, I’ve noticed some trends: Lots of artwork hanging on the walls – usually artist’s lithographs and etchings, small sculptures of horses, and many candelabras. Every door In the house is usually closed – even to the bathroom – So its always a little bit easy for me to get lost in a house here.
Ulla took me to meet with some neighbors in the countryside – there were two sisters there… One of the sisters there is a painter, and the other sister is a graphic designer for a large book publishing firm here in Sweden. It was fun to talk with her because she uses the same software that I do, and she designs book covers. I spent the rest of the evening like a family member at Stina and Lasse’s house, and felt very cozy.

Fish and Champagne

7/11/2007

Rain was the theme today, but there was a fortuitous sunny window for about 2 hours today. Taking advantage of this window, we went as a group to an old archeological site which is similar in style to Stonehenge. It overlooks the sea and the flat Swedish landscape but it is a perfect calendar and sun clock. The stones are in the shape of a giant ship and is mathematically perfect. I don’t know if this is common, but the tour guide gave his whole speech in English just because of me. I felt very embarrassed, but I expressed my gratitude after his tour in front of the whole group. He said thank you for the opportunity to practice his English.

I am so impressed by the ancient cultures who were so in tune with their surroundings that they could create a calendar – I think it would take us a long time to figure that out today if our technology disappeared.

We ate in a small fisherman’s town, I had a plate with a 2 inch thick slab of smoked salmon with mashed potatoes and yoghurt dill sauce. Awesome. Well its dinner time, and I’m about to enjoy Swedish Smorgasbord, which is basically a table filled with an assortment of foods that you can pick from (kind of like a mini buffet. I learned that Thursdays for Swedes are a designated day for having split pea soup and thin dessert pancakes. I was told that a good champagne should have notes of chocolate on your tongue.. I was surprised to find this is true.

Carefree but not Careless.

7/10/2007

I’ll tell you what feels good… When you have no idea what day of the week it is.

We celebrated another birthday today, for a girl that I have been spending time with. She turned 16 and is excited for her driving license training to begin. Here in Europe, one has to go through extensive, expensive training starting when they are sixteen (costs about $2,000 by the time lessons are over) and they take their test when they are 18 years old.

She is 6 years younger than me but I feel like our maturity level is equal. The pace of the countryside is so relaxed. We wake up when our eyes open. Bring the food outside when it’s warm, and smell the breeze as it comes through the windows. I picked berries in the morning There are little red ones (red currents) and big green ones (gooseberries) that grow in the backyard of the farm house. I sat in the sun cleaning the stems off and not having a single mission in the world other than berry cleaning. I felt a little too careless after my berry picking, so I volunteered around the B&B sweeping floors and weeding the rose garden. Work gives us such a sense of purpose.

Party at Kulturestallet

June 8^th, 2007

A typical Swedish breakfast is a bowl filled with Buttermilk tasting yoghurt, corn flakes on top and lingonberry jam. Today I came to the realization that my visit to Europe is not only important for me to see their cultures, but for me to represent the United States the best that I can, although most of the people I have met understand that the policies in the US are not representative of all the people, they still do not expect much from us. I have made a conscious effort to be very aware of myself and how my words and actions might be understood.

We visited a small town today by the sea, and a restaurant called Hello Hello! - which was a very kitschy place, with a very funny owner. We sang birthday songs for 2 people in the restaurant and he found out that I was from America and asked me in front of the whole restaurant “So what do you like about Sweden!?” and I said “Everything, Especially this place” as I tapped the table. And the man smiled and said Excellent! And clapped for me…

Later this evening was Ulla’s birthday celebration. Her friends prepared the food, Ulla made her cake, and we all had a beautiful time together. I felt that this dinner was very important for everyone to bond with each other.
The girls showed me how to play a Swedish lawn game outside called “koob” – its easy enough that everyone can play, but it definitely takes skill in aiming. You have to knock down your opponent’s blocks and eventually knock down a large king piece in the center of the field by throwing a block, but standing backwards and looking through your legs. We then had cake a played pictionary… I couldn’t have had a better time. They really know how to bring people together.