Third and last day of orientation! We are all so anxious to get on our flight. There are fifteen students going. Thirteen are girls and two are boys…that should be fun! In addition, we have a Gustavus faculty, Jeff Jeremiason, who is a chemistry professor, and his family.
This is mom dropping me off two days ago. The hotel is so nice!
Orientation has been a lot of logistics. We had an introduction to the Sami people and their culture yesterday by Roland, who is a native Swede and with be with us in Våxjo. We also started agreeing on terms for a group contract. It is inevitable that there will be some tension, especially when we get home sick and tired, so we feel it is imperative to have a set of social rules. So far everyone is getting together wonderfully.
Last night we ate dinner at the Mall of America at Krave. So delicious! Sushi and creme brulé :) Who knows the next time i'll get that! Afterwards we watched the movie Into the Wild directed by Sean Penn. One of my favorites! The main character always reminds me of my dad, the mountain man. Today we will discuss how that story relates to our adventure. Besides the fact that he faced the cold of Alaska and we are going to face the cold of northern Sweden, I think the true message is about the importance of community and relationships. At the end of the movie he writes "Happiness only real when shared." I can't even explain how excited I am to share this adventure with these great people.
Left: Hannah/Thumper
Middle: Me!/Petrie
Right: Sidney/Walley
*My two rugby friends that are going!! Hence the crazy nicknames :)
So nice to hear things are going well, and that your droid survived its plunge into the toilet. Your sharing makes my happiness real. BTW, I survived Alaska.
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