Swedeventures with Tuck

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Last Weeks of School & Maja's Graduation!

Week 42, 43 & 44:

Hello Everyone! I am sorry for the late blog post but I was having too much fun to post about anything the past weeks! I personally would rather have fun then write the blog since the blog can wait will I make memories with friends!
So to start off the blog, the last weeks of school not much happened. The students had somethings left to complete, for example the last week my Teknik class they had to write a physics exam but other than that we raced the derby cars and there was a concert. Week 42 the year 3 of Music put on a concert for students and their parents. I went to the evening concert since David Johansson (A twin to Simon Johansson, one of my buddies from Floorball) was playing in it. He is a very good guitarist and singer! So it was nice to see the Music class perform! Week 43 some classes got cancelled out of our schedule, so the days for me were very short but on the weekend it was a very big day for my Year 3 friends since it was their Prom! It was nice to see how they did Prom in Sweden. With Prom in Sweden you do not do "Promposals" like we do in Canada and USA. It is more like you just ask a person if they would like to be your date to prom. It does not matter whether the guy asks a girl or the other way around (that is what I understood from it...I hope I am correct in saying that). Then on the day of Prom students usually go in very nice old cars to Mora Parken where their prom is held. They get dropped off at the Red Carpet and walk down it to the doors and as they walk down that is when their parents and friends can take pictures of them and their dates! Maja went with her friend Kalle (I will post pictures below). She looked very nice and same with Kalle! I also seen some more of my friends and their dates! And this is the day Studentveckan begins. To be blunt about it, the gr. 3 students party every night of the week since it is their last week of Gymnasium, and trust me, the Swedes know how to party, how to put on a good party and have fun while doing it! The Police usually are good about it but if there is a fight then they will come obviously but they do not usually bother the partiers. I had a lot of fun this week and got to meet even more people (you will see pics below).
Then last week (44) was Maja's graduation. Many relatives came from around Sweden and even Toronto! It was nice too meet more of the family and even talk to a Swede/Canadian. Friday was the party day and graduation! Graduation is quite the thing in Sweden. I will copy a description my mom put on Facebook about it! **It was taken from a blog so it is not my words** "In Sweden they make a huge deal out of graduating High School with a series of pretty awesome traditions. Before the ceremony starts everyone's families gather together holding placards that have (embarrassing) pictures of the graduates as young children. They also have a collection of gifts that are usually on ribbon so the graduate can wear them around their neck. Snazzy. You'll also notice that the graduates themselves seem to be dressed like sailors. The guys wear suits and the girls (usually) wear white dresses but everyone wears this student cap (studentmössa) that makes them look like a ship's captain. The hats also have the student's names on them. It's a strong look. Once the graduation ceremony is over the students head towards the huge pictures of their childhood faces and are given all of their gifts, which include small bottles of alcohol and whistles, to wear around their necks. Then they head off towards the trucks... That's right, the celebration doesn't end there. Whereas in some countries we might hire a limo or something for this kind of event in Sweden they put together a series of floats attached to trucks or tractors that the student then get in an parade around town - it's super charming. These tend to be party trucks with loud music playing and the students drinking and dancing as they're driven around town. After the trucks there are big parties full of friends and families where speeches are made and even more gifts are given." **Again not mine taken from another Blogger**. Tomas and Åsa think I should bring it to Canada, and trust me it would be so fun to bring it to Canada! Then at night there was a big party at Mora Parken! I went since a lot of my friends were going to be there! Trust me it was worth every penny that I spent...even though I did not think I spent a lot of money...however, I did :$! But what is worth more when you think about it...memories for life with friends you will always have throughout your life or money? For me it will always be the first option since you can always get a job and work back your money again! These were the big things that happened in the past 3 weeks! Hope you enjoy and only 14 days left in this beautiful Nordic country!!

Andreas & his Date

Maja and Kalle

Anton and Lovisa (Both are good friends of Maja)

Selfie with Emil

with Felix

with Anton

with Ellen

with Daana

with David

with Isak

with Jacob

with William

with Moa

with Anton B

with Lina & Jerry

with Simon

with Simon G.

Maja at Graduation

Selfie with Jacob B at Graduation

with Simon Johansson

Selfie with Nico (Nicolas)

The floats they drive around on after grad

Selfie with Wiktor and not sure!

with Clara

with David J

Maja & I at Graduation

Selfie with Isac O.

Tuesday, May 24, 2016

The Weather & Plans for Next Year

Week 40 & 41:

Hello, I am pairing up the weeks since not much has been happening these days!
So, to start off the past few weeks have been very different temperatures most days. Start of week 40 it was very hot outside and then the weather dropped in temperature. Tomas says that in June there is still a chance of getting snow...kind of shocking!
During the past few weeks my Teknik class has been working on "Box Cars" which are what we call Derby Cars. We are making them out of metal piping and wood for the body. I have gotten very good with welding since I am the only one that does the welding in the group, and when we started I knew nothing welding. That is the main thing happening in school these days.
I have also been talking with Mom about my plans for next year and I am trying to get into the Military Reserves but also the Co-op they have for the Reserves. It could be tight for the application to be accepted, but the Recruiters will try their best to get it done a.s.a.p., after my physical test which I hope to schedule when I get home June 29th!
Last Thursday (or Wednesday) night I watched Martin play soccer. I do not find it as entertaining to watch as hockey, but it was still interesting! That is about all that has happened the past two weeks! Nothing too entertaining!
June there is a lot of stuff going on! So I will pair week 42 & 43 together then the weeks after that should be their own posts! Only 4 weeks left to go....

Tuesday, May 10, 2016

Re-Entry Camp & Canadian Visitors

Week 37+38+39:

Hello! I know I have not posted for a few weeks but I have been very busy with exchange business and visitors.
To start this blog off I will start with week 37. This week was fairly quiet, not much happened during this week, but on Friday I was off to Re-Entry Camp with my fellow exchange students from YFU. Vianney (A French exchange student who also lives in Mora) and I got on the train bright and early at 6:27 am to start our journey to Stockholm for the weekend. After a few stops we arrived at Börlange where the three girls (Gertrud from Estonia, Tita from Mexico, and Joelle from Switzerland) joined Vianney and I on our journey. In Sweden there are different regions and in Dalarna (the region I am in) we have five students. We finally arrived in Stockholm just passed 10:00 where there were Leaders waiting for us. From Stockholm Central we had to go to a camp further out from Stockholm. So we had to first take a Subway ride and then a bus to our location. Friday not too much happened. There was 4 sessions, the most important ones were the sessions that we were taught things in. Also we had a Sauna time. During this adventurous time we went from the sauna when we were sweating, run to the 5 degree Celsius water and jump in, then run back to the sauna to dry off until we were sweating again! So we had a great time that night! Then Saturday we had 3 sessions and two interesting activities. The one in the middle block (schedule at the bottom) we needed to get points for doing things, and one thing was one of us had to go swimming! So yours truly stripped down to his underwear and ran and jumped off the dock. Needless to say after I did it some other guys did it too. Then the activity that night Team Sloth did not do good....not even close to good, but we had fun so that is all that counts. Finally Sunday we had clean up, one session and then all of us went our separate ways for the last time.
Week 38-When I went back to Stockholm Central, Johan picked me up since Tailor and Rachel were arriving Monday. Johan took me back to his apartment where he quickly showed me around and then he had to go back to work to do some stuff, so I toured the Mall to waste a little time before he got home. When he got home we went shopping for food. Afterwards his friend came over and we had Spaghetti for supper. On Monday at about 14:10 Tailor and Rachel arrived. We went back to the apartment where they got changed and then we went to the mall for a while where we got Coffee and some chocolate cake. Tuesday, Johan stayed home to take us around Stockholm and teach us how to use the public transport. We first headed to the Nobel Prize museum since it is a Swedish prize(if you were not aware of this). Then we went to the Royal Castle where we got a picture with one of the Royal Guards. We were told not to step in his white box or else he was allowed to shoot us in the foot! So we stayed a good 5 ft away from the white box! We then proceeded to the Royal Armoury which is now a Museum of all the Royal things that have been used. For example, Royal Carriages, weapons, armour and things the royal horses would wear, so it was a pretty neat thing to see! Afterwards Johan really wanted to show us The King's Tree Garden since they are Japanese Blossom trees. The story behind the trees in the garden is that the Japanese Emperor or Royal family gave the trees to the Swedish King as a gift! Then we went to have lunch and just walked around a little more before Johan got called back to work. So Tailor, Rachel and I had to navigate our way on the subway system and buses by ourselves and fortunately we did not die or get kidnapped! Wednesday the 27th I had one Museum I really wanted to see and Tailor and Rachel of course wanted to see the Aquarium. So we first went to the Vasa Ship Museum. The Vasa Ship was a 16th Century war ship that sank due to the fact of her being very top heavy and unstable, so in 1627 it was launched...and a year after it sank. But this ship was important since the King of Sweden ordered it to be built because Sweden was in a war with Poland-Luthuania at the time. The back of this war ship was very beautiful since it carried the King's name and even seeing it now is amazing since the craftsmanship is unbelievable and the size of it is incredible too. So after spending about 30 min at the Vasa Ship Museum we had to go over to the Aquarium. We spent 100 kr at the Aquarium to get in, it was small but it was also interesting to see. Tailor, Rachel and I had a ton of fun trying to take selfies with the Stingrays since we loved how they looked...trust me look in the pictures and you will understand why we tried to get selfies with them! Then for lunch we went to TGI Fridays. It is a little pricey but it was good to finally have some typical North American food! So it was a nice price to pay. That night was fun, can not say much about it, if you would like to know you can ask Tailor or Rachel. Now onto Thursday! This day Tailor and Rachel were feeling rebellious so we went to a Tattoo Parlour.....I think you can understand why. I was thinking about getting another one but I would rather run it by Shelley before, but I plan on getting my Campbell Family Crest over my heart. Let's just say Tailor might not be getting another tattoo for a while since Rachel says she looked like she was going to die. I told her not to get her first tattoo on her foot, but she was determined and she was in pain for a while. Rachel was good with hers, a lot better than Tailor. Then we just toured around the city for the rest of the day since it was our last day in Stockholm. Friday we cleaned Johan's apartment and it was a traveling day but we also taught Johan how to use Cruise Control on his car....he honestly had no idea how to use it but now he does!(Thank god for his Canadian brother & sister) We also stopped at Unihoc since there was a Innebandy tournament happening so Tailor and Rachel got to learn about Floorball! Which they say it has too many rules and Rachel says, ''It is like hockey only for pussies'' I might attach a link to her email or Facebook if any Swede's would like to voice their opinion to her! She would be happy hearing from you I am sure! Saturday the 30th in the morning we went for a hike up Gesundaberget which is a very tall mountain! I will attach a link to the word but also have one below. You can do many activities there but also see where we hiked up! In the afternoon the girls went for a run while Johan and I cooked Tacos. We waited for 1.5 hrs. and the girls still were not back so they had obviously gotten lost, so Johan and I had to start searching. We were glad they did not ask for help since they thought the street started with an ''S'' but it is actually Plögvägen.....not even close to an S. Luckily we found them in 10 min so it was a good day! Then that night you can ask Tailor for the details but it was sort of a good night...aha for some of us. Sunday not very much happened...due to the night before. So we just chilled at the Stenis's and Christer and Åsa also got home on Sunday. They got to see how Tailor and Rachel were.
Week 39-Onto Monday, we went to the Zorn Museum and Zorn House to see the art Anders Zorn did in his lifetime and also we got to see the house he lived in! It is amazing to see how Anders lived since he was a very wealthy man and he had many things in his time other Swedes did not since he traveled to many different countries! After the tour we went to a Coffee House on Mora's Main street where we got coffee and lunch. Afterwards we headed home! Tuesday, was a bit more entertaining! The girls got to try Innebandy a little, since I took them to Unihoc and we just shot and passed. They could not shoot a ball to save their lives! Trust me. Then Christer came home to take us to the MoraKniv factory. MoraKniv is a famous Knife brand that is in Mora. They sell knives to the food industry but also have an outdoors line of knives for Campers and Forestmen. We got to see how that factory runs and it was interesting to see all the different things they do! Now Wednesday, Tomas took us to the Dala Horse factory. It is not actually that big but it is a symbol for Sweden and they are made in Mora, so Tailor and Rachel got to see that. They also bought a horse from there. Rachel took 20 min in deciding what one she should get...seriously she could not decide. Then Tomas took us for lunch at the Zorn Cafe since it was not open on Monday! That night we had dinner at the Nilsson's since Martin and Emma were home and they brought Molly their new dog. She is very cute I have to say! So that was Wednesday! Thursday Tomas and Åsa took us hiking. It was very beautiful trails we went on and got to see a lot of the nature. We also had fika in a very nice spot! It was clear skies, and 25 C, so it was very nice to hike in! Friday was Rachel's and Tailor's last day here so Christer and Åsa took us to Rättvik to see the Market they have there twice a year. It is like the Farmers market so it felt good to be there since I have not been to the Market for a while now! That night we just had a BBQ'ed Moose. I like moose but it was Rachel's first time and she was very worried...after she tried it she says it tasted like cow. So was not much to worry about! Saturday morning Christer, Åsa and I said goodbye to them as they got onto the train to Arlanda! Sad to see them go but only 1 month and 18 days left. So I will see Tailor soon! Sunday the family just went to the Cabin for a little while. Martin, Emma and I tried fishing...nothing was biting at all. The family also went for the first swim of the year! A little cold but worth it after! So this was everything I missed and the rest of the blogs should be on time!

Gesunda: http://www.gesundaberget.se

MoraKniv: http://www.moraofsweden.se

Dala Häst: http://www.theswedishwoodenhorse.com/dala-horse-history