I spent my first two nights in Stockholm, as a welcome weekend. The first night because it was pretty late and I was very tired, we just went out to eat and then to bed. We stayed at a 4-H Farm. In Sweden they don’t have projects like we do in the U.S. The bigger clubs have these farms where they keep a couple of cows, horse, sheep, and other animals. This gives the kids in the city a chance to be around and learn about agriculture but the animals had all been moved for the summer. I’ve been impressed with how much people my age know about the U.S. My (sounds like “Me”) and Elinor are the two girls showing us around, they know a lot about our pop culture and slang words, I’ve learned they really like MTV here.
There are 3 other IFYE’s here in Sweden, Simon from England, Tanja from Switzerland, and Chao-ya from Taiwan. We spent most of the day Saturday, walking around Stockholm. It was very busy because their crowned princess was getting married. There was a big parade to the church were they were getting married so people were out staking their spots to try and catch a glimpse. All the Royalty from Europe were also in town for the wedding, but we weren’t lucky enough to see anyone. Later that day we went to another 4-H farm and went canueing. Later that night we had a BBQ with some of the 4-Hers.
Sunday we all headed to our first host families. Simon and I are both in the same town so we road the train together (which was nice because is was a 5 1/2 hour train ride). I’m in the very southern tip near a village called Hörby. Their names are Elna and Lars Andersson. They are very nice and the kids are fun. Johan, (sounds like: “e-one”) the oldest, is 12 and speaks a little English he has had it for 3 years in school. He really likes soccer and keeps me updated on the World Cup (yay the U.S. goes on!!). We’ve been talking while sitting at the computer so that we can look up words we don’t know. David, is 11 and has had 1 year of English so he only knows a few words but he is really into the farm and likes Case tractors. Elise is 7 and very cute and lovable. She doesn’t like not knowing what I’m saying but she likes to give me hugs and sit by me, she can sing Twinkle Twinkle Little Star, so we do that together. Elna and Lars both speak English well, but you all would be proud of how slow I’ve been talking!:) They farm potatoes, barley, and wheat but only have 1 dog, a cat, and a rabbit, so no farm animals. It is all very beautiful here, and much cooler, it’s been somewhere around the 60s everyday.
Monday we spent at their home, they showed me around their farm and I played with the kids. They are busy with 3 kids and all their schedules. I went with Elna and Jahan to his soccer practice and Elna and I went running and then watched Johan play.
Tuesday I went to work with Elna, she works as a feed consultant for dairy farmers. We spent most of the day traveling around to dairy farms taking silage samples so it could be analysed and she could tell them what kind of feed would be best to mix with it. I really liked seeing the farms and talking to the farmers. Most spoke a little English, but were shy to use it. That night we went and visited Elna’s parents farm where they still dairy with her brother. Her father also keeps bees and makes honey, it looks different than our honey but they gave us some so I’m excited to taste it!
Today (Wednesday) I went to work with Lars. He manages a potato chip factory, the company is called OLW. He showed me how they bring the potatoes in, clean them, and store them. It was interesting and I like learning about new ag industries. We also went out and visited several farmers to check on their potato crop and how it was coming along. Again I liked talking to the farmers, and most seemed interested in me and glad to have me. One farmer also had a large poultry operation, so he showed me the barns, however they were empty because they had sent them off to slaughter the day before. Lars took me around and showed me a bunch of old castles and estates in the area. They are all very beautiful and had a farm connected with them. Lar’s took me to the one where he had his first job as a tractor driver. All the estates had a forest farm, which was new to me, but Lars is good at and love to explain and show me things! I also got to meet Lar’s parents, they have raised pigs in the past but now they just farm land with one of Lar’s brothers. They each spoke a little English.
I’m having fun! I hope all is well with each of you, I hear it’s hot back in Kansas, stay cool!
