ECU Pirate Lost In Växjö Sweden

Final Update

2006-12-11T02:19:00.000+01:00

Hello everyone!

By now most of you, if not all of you, know we came home early. I was done with classes, so instead of traveling around Europe and sightseeing, we decided to come on home to be with our family and to return to our church.

We arrived back in Jacksonville on Tuesday, December 5th around 6.30 pm EST. We were very sleep deprived after being awake for 22+ hours. Our trip home was good other than the one lost piece of luggage. Ofcourse, it is Mariah's big suitcase with all her cloths, my textbooks, and lots of souveniors. Oh well, US Airways is still looking for it!

Thank you for all your encouragement and support during this adventure.

Tomteland ~ Santaland Mora, Sweden

2006-11-23T10:51:00.000+01:00

On Thursday, Nov 16th we decided to go ahead and go on a weekend trip. This trip was to Mora, Sweden. Mora is about halfway up the country and is situated on Lake Siljan. Mora is home to the cross-country ski race, the Vasaloppet, which from meagre beginnings in 1922 has grown to become one of world's largest ski events. In the winter, there are several excellent tracks for skiers. Those who don't fill curageous enough to ski or snowboard but still want to experience the great outdoors can go by snowmobile instead. Mora is also home to the original Dalecarlian or Dala horse. Unfortuanately our trip was too short to enjoy the ski slopes. Maybe we will get another ski chance before we leave Sweden.

Santa Claus lives here, too. At Mt Gesunda, he has his own park—Santaworld—where you can see his house, his workshop and all his animals and helpers. Mt. Gesunda is about 17 kilometers (just under 11 miles) north of the town of Mora. At Santa World you are right in the middle of the adventure. Maybe the Trolls have made a mess of things; so then you can follow Santa’s Elves in an exciting Troll hunt. Luckily there’s the Troll School where you can learn everything from the language of the Trolls to how to turn a Troll into stone.The Witch just loves to tease all the mums and dads. The gingerbread lady helps you to bake your own cookies. Father Christmas has a lot to tell and share. Come and join him in his world and participate in Santa's school and other exciting and fun activities at Santaworld.

Santa´s House When you enter Santa’s House you’ll feel immediately at home as soon as youre in the little hallway where Santa’s skis are standing. By the big fireplace Santa's favourite chair is standing. A feeling of peace and quiet spreads through the room as you look at Santa’s things. In the Kitchen, it smells of cinnamon and vanilla. You might try Santa’s chair and table, then wander into his workroom. The Christmas tree shines as does the beautiful wrapping-paper by Santa’s bench. You can write in his large guest book, if you want. On the way out, you can sneak into Santa’s bedroom and lay down for a little rest under the rainbow canopy.

The workshop At Santa’s Workshop there’s a Coffee Shop where you can enjoy scrumptious sandwiches, pies, pan-pizzas, newly baked cinnamon buns and hot chocolate. If you feel like something sweet, The Candy Shed is close by. Crispy, yummy Troll sweets, soft chocolate fudge, sticks of toffee, The Fairy’s cotton candy and much, much more. At Santa’s Post Office you can get your postcards stamped by Santa himself. Up stairs is also a Shop full of handicrafts, toys, Christmas gifts and all sorts of souvenirs. Before you leave, take a look at The Mechanical Elves. They show how it looks when the real Elves work through the night making Christmas presents. Maybe tonight is the night when your present is being made. The workshop is the largest building at Santaworld. It is actually the largest log cabin in Europe. In the workshop you will find Santa‘s store, museum, snacks, exhibits and more.

Winter season Winter in Santaland means adventures in the snow, the smell of ginger bread cookies and cinamon, the sparkling candles and the open fire places.In the winter, if it's cold enough, Santaworld tuns in to a white fairytale land. Lake Aurora, is covered with ice and the fountains from the summer turns in to proude ice sculptures. Take a ride with the horse and sleigh ride in Santa's forrest. Then it’s time for more adventures. A play on the second floor in Santas house, Help santas helpers sort out the mischief of the playful trolls. If you are lucky you might catch a glimpse of the Lady of the Woods and the fairies. The winter is lovely at Santa World!

Mariah had such a great time at Santaland. She got to spend one on one time with Santa several different times. She is no longer afraid of Santa either. She told him everything that she wanted for Christmas, including a Pony.... hmmm. That's going to be a hard one. Oh well, atleast Santa discouraged the pony idea by telling her he can't fit a pony in the sleigh or down the chimney. Mariah enjoyed speaking with Santa and of course he can speak all languages (at least English, Spanish, Swedish, German, French, and Japaneese). He is a smart Santa.

While we were there, it didn't snow. The temperature in Mora was up to the low to mid 40's however on the mountain it was cooler. The snow from the previous week was still around. There was roughly 1.5-2 foot of snow depending on the location. The lake was begining to freeze over. There was a coat of ice all the way across, however towards the middle it was not thick enough for skating yet. Santa's helpers said it would need about 2 more weeks. The snow was not the best packing snow for snowballs. It did have a thin hard shell of frozen ice on the top but once you walked on it for a minute you could make snow angels and could play!

The snow was lots of fun. The snow was thick enough for the horse pulled sleigh ride up to see Santa's newest reindeer. Rudolf was away teaching other reindeers to fly (atleast that is what Santa told Mariah). The sleigh ride was quite an experience; especially when I had to explain to Mariah that the fur "blanket" she was sitting on and liked so much was actually reindeer hide. It was comfy though.

We both had a great time. Also on this trip we went to Sweden's capital city, Stockholm. That was a great time too.. However, I will post later this week about it. I don't want the post to be to long and I am limited to how many pictures I can put into a post. Mariah wanted me to add, that she told Santa to bring her friends lots of presents this year too! I hope everyone has a great Thanksgiving. We miss you all and can't wait to see you. Its exactly one month from today. I can not beleive how fast the time has rolled by. It seems almost like yesterday when this experience was just a possible thought and not even close to being definite. We close by sending our love! God Bless You each and everyday.

Update from Växjö ~ Weeks 13 & 14

2006-11-16T11:05:00.000+01:00

Okay, well I guess I have gotten lazy when it comes to updating. Once again, it has been two weeks since my last post. However, not much has happened.

School:

My classes are ending. Yeah!!! I had my first exam on Nov. 8th. This exam was for my social work class. It consisted of a ten page research paper and a ten minute presentation. My topic was the effects of foster care on children worldwide, especially the United States and Sweden. I received a pass with distinction for my grade. Its hard to get used to no letter grades. My second exam was on Nov. 10th. This exam was for my Optional Content Health Class. The exam consisted of another ten page research paper, including field research, and a twenty minute presentation with critical review. Once again I received a pass with distinction. Yeah!! My third exam was a doozie on Nov 14th. This night Mariah stayed with friends until my exam was over at seven o'clock. I have never had a written exam this hard. It was twelve pages all in Swedish, even the instructions were in swedish. The last part of the exam was a 100 word essay about my family in Swedish. I am not sure of my score yet, we get that back on Tuesday. I don't think I did well; I am not sure if I even passed. If I didn't pass, I will retake the exam on Nov. 30th.

My Birthday:

Since my last update my birthday has come and gone. I had a good birthday. Mariah woke me up singing Happy Birthday to me. She had also colored me some pictures. We had a special breakfast with french toast and the works. We spent the whole day together. That evening she was suppose to spend the night with Paula and Louvis; while I went out with some friends. However, I ended picking her up and bringing her home after we went out. We went to the Bishop's Arms. It is a british pub in downtown Växjö. Kira brought me a birthday cake, but cake doesn't go well with the Guiness I had at the Pub. Mariah enjoyed the cake and I did the next day. Some of my friends that went to the pub are Amanda (a local from Växjö), Ulricka (a local from Växjö and my buddy), Gina (a master student from Illinois), and Kira (from ECU). I am also posting the picture of the cool earrings Amanda suprised me with.

Mariah:

She is doing good. She had her last piano lesson yesterday. She made the comment the other day that she didn't want to leave Sweden. That she wants everyone to move here. Although, I think she has changed her mind again. This morning she wanted to know how soon we could go home. She has made lots of friends at school. She gets upset when I come to pick her up early. They get sooo excited when we get there in the morning. Her school pictures came back! They are pretty good, I think but I am a little biased. The ones I have added here are pictures of teh pictures so they probally won't show up very good.

Travel:

We haven't been anywhere lately due to my class schedule and field work schedule. However, we leave tonight to go to Mora, Sweden. It is quite a bit more north than Växjö though it is not in the northern tip. It has been snowing there for several weeks. The reason we are going there is Santa Claus and the elves live there. Here is a link if you would like to check it out. www.santaworld.se and here is a link to the webcam for Mora http://kamera.mora.se/ you can check out the current weather and see the snow on the ground. When we leave Mora, we are headed to Stockholm. Stockholm is in central Sweden and is the capital. We will be back here on Tuesday in time for my class.

We love and miss you all. Thank you for thinking of us and remembering us while we are gone. We can't wait to see everyone in December. There are only 37 days left in our amazingly wonderful trip of a lifetime. Thank you God, mom, and dad, for this oppurtunity, for your love and support.

A Prolonged Update from Växjö Sweden (weeks 11 & 12)

2006-11-04T23:37:00.000+01:00

Wow, time does fly when your having fun or atleast when you have a jam packed schedule. The picture to the right is one Mariah took after our shopping day last week. Mom sent me money for my birthday, early so we went shopping. I got the sunglasses, the scarf, the necklace, and the brown leather belt that doesn't show. The belt and sunglasses match my purse I got a few weeks ago and the necklace matches the earrings and bracelet I got in Gothenborg. The belt was a must though...I couldn't keep my khakis up anymore, they were falling off. The past two weeks have been really crazy. I have had a busy class schedule on top of a full time field study schedule. My classes are quickly coming to an end. All the lectures and seminars are over, with the exception of my last to Swedish classes that are this week. . Now we are down to the final examinations, which here are not test like at home. Here the final examination is turning in your research report and presenting it to the class. During the presentation, your classmates can ask questions, debate your research methods, or try to dispute your research results. These are also not small papers. I am still in the processs of writing them, however my shortest one right now is 9 pages. The minimum is 6 pages, but the average we were told is 10-15 pages. Lots and lots of work, especially since the papers have to be thoroughly research from the US perspective and Swedish perspective. My first presentation is Wednesday and my second presentation is on Friday. Please keep me in your prayers those days, pray that I will do good and get a passing grade! . Now to what has happened in the past two weeks. On Saturday, Oct. 21, we went to Malmo Sweden. It is the third largest city in Sweden and it is on the southern tip, the beach! It was just way to cold and rainy to try and find the beach. Oh well. We did have fun. My friend, Gina, went with us. She is studying abroad here from Charleston Illinois. She is working on her masters in business. She is also the youth minister at her home church. On this short day trip, we did a lot of walking and looking at buildings and the castle. However, our main reason for going was Gray's American Food Store. It is one of the 3 places in Sweden that we can find American Food. The prices are astronomical. We purchased bisquick pancake mix, pancake syrup, root beer, peanut butter, and goldfish. What a wonderful combination but you can not find those items at any local grocery stores and they were only twice what you would pay at the highest priced grocery store in the states. Just for a comparision: a small box of poptarts $9.00, a box of betty crocker cake mix and a container of betty crocker icing $15.00, a six pack of mountain dew $12.00 (you have to purchase 1 can at the time at 2.00 per can). When I get old and retire, I moving back to Sweden to open an American Food store....I would make a fortune at those prices!!! . On Saturday the 28th, we had our first snow fall. It was just a dusting but it was nice to see. On Sunday the 29th, we tried to make it to the moosefarm in Kosta Sweden. Its only just over an hour away by bus, so a good day trip. It just didn't work out. We waited until after lunch to leave due to the light snow on the ground. When we arrived in Kosta, we were informed that the brochure on was wrong about the distance to the moosepark from the last bus stop. It was a 3 kilometer walk. We started to walk it but it was very cold, windy, and beginning to get dark. There was no lights on the road to the moosepark just open forest with signs that say no pictures. I am not sure why, but the sunset was too pretty; I took a picture any way. . Monday, October 30th, I registered for my spring classes at ECU. It is not the schedule I had planned on. I am going to go ahead and take a tough spring semester, so I don't have to take classes over the summer. I will be going to G'ville on Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, from 8am until 4 pm. I will be taking Organic Chemistry with lab, Physics with lab, Statistics, and two health classes. . Then it was halloween. Halloween here is not anything like the states. The Swedish are just now trying to bring in the halloween traditions we have celebrated for many years. So, no trick or treating. :( However, we purchased a pumpkin cake at the local bakery to celebrate in the Swedish class I had that night. Mariah wore here halloween outfit and carried the pumpkin bag Nana Shue sent her. . Then the other big event this week was the snow. It starting snowing on Tuesday evening late. When it finally stopped on Wednesday lunchtime, we had 3 inches in most places. This morning when the rain started, there was still some snow on the ground in shaded places. The picture on the left is during the afternoon after the snow had stopped falling. The picture on the right is from our walk to school in the morning when it was still snowing, the foggy look to the picture is actually the snow. . I am going to close for now. I will write later this week to tell you all about my hospital field studies. Its getting late and I want to add pictures. I hope you are all doing well. We miss you very much. We are counting down the days until we come home; eventhough Mariah did say the other day that she wants to stay. We send our love and we keep you all in our prayers. Only 47 days until we board the planes to come home!

Weeks 9 & 10 Update from Växjö Sweden

2006-10-20T23:42:00.000+02:00

This pirate misses home! I don't regret my discussion to study abroad. I would do it again, provided I have the opportunity. However, now that we have crossed the halfway point in our journey, I really miss my family and friends and church. I miss coming home to mom and dad. I miss our nightly family dinner. I miss Saturday morning breakfast with dad. I miss talking to mom 100 times a day, at least that’s how many times her and Mrs. Norma say I call. I miss playing cards on Friday nights at Grandma's or Greta's house. I miss being able to run to Greta’s house and spend time with her while Mariah spends time with Robert. I miss going to Paula and Jace’s house and seeing my favorite middle schooler Morgan and of course Bradyboy too. I miss talking with Ann and Kristin while the girls take ballet. I miss Mariah's play dates; they were fun for me too. I miss talking to Kelly almost everyday; most mornings when I don't go to Greenville, I start the morning talking with her. Or, when I go to G'ville, I talk with her on my way home to pass time. I miss the teaching style of the ECU Professors. I miss my friends and family at church. I miss the sermons and the fellowship of my Christian brothers and sisters. I miss seeing all the smiling faces of “my” kids in class every Sunday and Wednesday. Lastly for now at least, I miss the country cooking. They don't know what collards or creamed corn or even biscuits are. Biscuits here are more of the English type; they are hard and sweet like biscotti’s. As much as I miss these things, I do realize once I am home, there are thing that I will miss about Sweden too!

Enough of that, now for an update. We haven't been anywhere lately. I have been extremely busy with the start of classes. That is also why I have not posted in two weeks. On the 9th, I started my four main academic classes. I also still have my Swedish class going on. Classes here are much different. They do not recommend taking more than 2 at a time due to the fact they are primarily research based. However, somehow my schedule got messed up and they all started together. There are no test or quizzes in any of my classes, just one big research report at the end that you have to present. The research reports have to be 10 typed pages and thoroughly researched in the field and through literature. The social work class is the easiest so far. The two health care classes are tough and have intensive field studies. Which brings me to this week.

This week I have worked at the Ljungby Hospital in the Dialysis ward. The first day I shadowed Paren. Paren is the head Dialysis nurse; he has been on this ward since it opened in the 80's. Most of the patients were older 70+ and did not speak very good English if at all, when possible Paren translated interviews for me. Thursday was my last day there, by then several of the patients greeted me in English and said goodbye in English too. I also managed to interview two patients while they tried broken English and I tried broken Swedish. This was a great opportunity for me to learn more about the renal system and dialysis, but it was an even better opportunity for me to practice Swedish. Next week, I start another field study. This time I will be working in the Växjö Hospital Surgical Ward.

Mariah is doing well. On Friday the 13th, she started taking horseback riding lessons. It is at the stables behind the apartment. She loves the horses. She is doing well in school and has made lots of friends. On Sunday the 14th, she had a birthday party to attend. She was really excited about going to a new friend's birthday. It was also an excuse for us to do a little shopping. Would you believe I purchased a purse and sunglasses for me? Mariah got Pippi Longstocking pajamas. On Monday the 16th, was Mariah's school picture day. The pictures are supposed to be back before we leave. I do hope so.

Well, that’s all I can think of to say about the past two weeks. The rest was just day to day life and not very interesting or attention grabbing. I paid the remainder of our rent for our time here this week. Oh, and I was tested for multi-resistant bacteria today. It was required to work in the surgical ward. Lots of cotton swaps in lots of various places. Not fun at all.

Tomorrow, Saturday the 21st, we are headed to Malmö for a short trip. I will post sometime next week about that.

For our family and friends at home that are reading this. I wish you all could be here. Thank you for letting me share our experience with you. We send our lvoe too you. I hope God is watching over you and blessing now while we are apart and always. I hope you are all doing well. Please keep in touch. We love the emails and the letters. It is just a small connection that we have with home. I don't know who gets more excited me or Mariah when we hear from you, our friends, family, and loved ones. We also received our first care package this week! Thank you so much Greta. I love my early birthday present too. We can't wait to see you in December. There are only 63 days left!

Week 8 Växjö Update & Pictures from Weekend in Copenhagen

2006-10-07T16:13:00.000+02:00

Hello to everyone back home. I just wanted to share our wonderful side trip. This weekend we went to Copenhagen, Denmark. We left Växjö by train early on Friday morning. The train ride was only about 3 hours long and there were no train changes. We got back about 10pm Sunday night. It was a weekend of sheer fun. Mariah went on her first boat ride, while we toured the city by canals. We saw museums, castles, churches, lots of people, and lots of other things. I won’t go into everything now, because I am going to try to post as many pictures as possible. Remember that you can click on the pictures to make them full size! I hope you all enjoy them.. Jens Olsens Verdensur

The 1955 mechanical astonomical clock that shows several different times and calendars. .

Horse and Rider statues are all over the town of Copenhagen. They represent the great leaders of Copenhagen's past.

Harbour & Canal tours.

The tours go through the beautiful Danish Capital. Mariah loved the boat ride. We also video taped the 1 hour tour. .

The fish bride as this statue is called pays tribute to the heritage to the fishing history of Copenhagen.

Dinner the first night...The waitress took this picture. We ate American! at the Hard Rock Cafe. We couldn't pass up the chance for a good ol'fashion cheeseburger.

The Marble Church By far this has to be one of my all time favorite old churches. The entire church is done in white marble except for a few areas. The dome is hand painted marble. The dome is divided into 12 sections. Each section is painted for one of the 12 Apostles. I couldn't take too many pictures inside due to restrictions. On the outside in the church yard surrounding the building are marble statues of different people from the bible, including Jesus, Moses, and Paul. .

In this picture of the Amalienborg Palace, you can also see the Marble Church in the background. This palace is the winter residence of the Danish Royal Family. In consist of four identical buildings in the shape of a diamond. At each building there are palace guards. We did get to witness and tape the changing of the guards on Saturday. Infront of the palace not in the picture is a large fountain and then the waterfront of the main canal into Copenhagen. .

The royal library.

. Christiansborg Palace. This palace has been destroyed 4 times. The stone entrance posts and the stone bridge leading over the canal into the palace courtyard are all there is left of the original Christiansborg Palace.

Copenhagen is home to the famous Hans Christian Anderson. The "small" white house in the center is where he grew up and supposelly wrote The Little Mermaid. In the harbour is the statue of the Little Mermaid. The statue's head has been sawed off atleast 4 times. Each time the police treat the case like an actual murder.

This last group of pictures are from the NY Calsberg Glyptotek Museum. This is a world class museum of art located in central Copenhagen. The museum main emphasis is on the art and culture of Ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, 19th century Denmark, and 19th century France. This was Mariah's first museum. I didn't think that she would want to see all the statues and paintings. However, she loved it. She was fascinated with the museum and wanted to go in all of them in Copenhagen, but we didn't have time. The gardens outside the back of the museum were just as interesting. The corners of the building wore adorn with huge stone statues of Angels. Then in the garden there were many other statues including the Gremlin that Mariah had to pose with....

Inside the building there was a side room that only had 3 statues. The center of the room, the focal point, was a stone statue of Jesus Christ. To his left was a statue of Death and the maiden. To his right was a gorgeous statue of one of Jesus's parables....

Can you guess which one??

You will have to email me if you can't figure it out....I am sure you all know this bible story, its one of my favorites.

This last picture of a building is one I don't remember. I know it is in the town center but I don't know what it is. Finally, Mariah was missing her stuff animal friends that she left behind in Jacksonville. So, we found a Build-A-Bear workshop in Copenhagen. She now has a new pink and white playmate.

We are both going good. My main classes start on Monday. We didn’t do much this week other than on Thursday I represented ECU at the International fair to promote study abroad. We miss you all and send our love. We will be home in 76 days!!!

Weeks 6 and 7 Update from Växjö Sweden

2006-09-28T20:13:00.000+02:00

I am so sorry I haven't posted lately. Nothing has really happened to cause great excitement lately. Last week, I had class on both Tuesday and Thursday. This class is the Swedish language night class, which Mariah attends with me. It is a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I'll just have to work harder to make my Pass with Distinction (that's the highest grade here; they don't use ABCD or F).

On Wednesday the 20th, Mariah started piano lessons at Växjö Kulturskola, Växjö cultural school of the arts. It is a very hard to get into school of music, theatre, and art. Local students have to to be 7 years old to attend and have to audition and interview to get in. Her teacher, Ulrick, agreed to keep her as a student after her first meeting/ lesson. Before this Mariah was taking lessons with a concert pianist from Stockholm that lives outside the Växjö area. It was just too far away and the language barrier was too great. During next week's lesson, I will take pictures and post more details.

This past weekend, we decided we were tired of traveling. We spent the entire weekend at home in and around the apartment and the university. What boring people we were. Oh well, everyone needs lazy time once and a while.

This week began with a welcome dinner at the Teleborg Castle. This dinner was presented to the exchange students from the town of Växjö. The mayor and vice mayor were in attendance, as well as many other people in the community including the director of education in Växjö. She was very interested in our perspectives about Mariah school, Furutå förskola, and her teachers. The dinner wasn't fancy. It was mainly sandwiches and finger foods. Then a guided tour of the castle.

Other than the normal, going to class for me and going to school for Mariah then coming our apartment to relax and going to the park or the lake, we have not done much this week. We are leaving tomorrow for Copenhagen Denmark. We are traveling there by train and will stay at our favorite hotel chain here the Scandic hotels. We will be back late Sunday and will update then!

We love and miss you all. Thank you for thinking of us and remembering us while we are gone. We can't wait to see everyone in December. There are only 85 days left in our amazingly wonderful trip of a lifetime. Thank you God, mom, and dad, for this oppurtunity, for your love and support.

Happy is the man who finds wisdom and understanding for the gain from it is better than gain from silver and profit better than gold. - Proverbs 3:13,14

Weekend Excursion to Göteborg, Sweden

2006-09-18T13:27:00.000+02:00

Going into the weekend we had no plans to go anywhere. We were going to spend a weekend at our apartment and just hang around in Växjö. However, mom talked me into going and doing something. So, late Friday we decided we would go to Göteborg for the weekend. I am so glad I listened to mom; we had a blast! A little information on Göteborg. Göteborg is the second largest city in Sweden with a population of 467,000 people.. It is also the biggest port in Scandinavia with 12,000 ships and 4 million ferry passengers arriving each year! Göteborg is considered a green city. It has 175 square meters of green space per city resident and is home to the enormous National Science Discovery Center. The NSDC is over 10,000 square meters; we will have to visit this next trip! However, the primary reason for our trip was Liseberg. Liseberg is the biggest amusement park in Scandinavia with over 3 million visitors a year (mainly in early summer and during the Christmas season).

We traveled by train from Växjö to Göteborg and then back again. It was a nice train ride and a straight shot with no train changing. The train is called Kust to Kust (coast to coast). The one way trip takes about 3.5 hours. Central station in Göteborg is really pretty. It doesn’t look like any other train station that I have seen. It’s about the same side as the Jacksonville mall. It has 16 platforms and there is a train in all of them most of the time. Mariah slept almost the entire way back. We stayed at the Scandic hotel. This is the same hotel chain as we stayed in our first night in Sweden. This chain caters to children and is run by the Hilton. They have children’s playrooms in all their hotels, children stay free in the parents room, teenagers can get adjoining rooms of their own for discount prices, there is always a nice indoor pool (that we never seem to have time for). They even have a children’s mascot…Siggy the hedgehog. They also provide a smorgasbord breakfast! All this for less than 70:- (kronors) (about 10 dollars) more than a single room in a youth hostel.

Across form the train station is Nordstan. Nordstan is the biggest shopping mall in Scandinavia with over 150 shops not including restaurants all under one roof. I took pictures, it’s not a really special looking building but I was trying to really show how big it is. It took three pictures just to get the front of the building. There is even a hotel attached to the mall. We spent several hours here before our train left to return home. However we only purchased a few items, including a Christmas present. Mariah got a baby doll. She has been missing hers and it was on sale! I actually picked out some girly jewelry for me! The main part of our trip was at Liseberg. We arrived at the park about 2.30 pm and didn’t get back to the hotel until after 10 pm. Mariah had so much fun. It was a sheer delight to see the big smile that was plastered to her face. She is finally tall enough to ride the most of the rides. There were only about 7 rides she was to short for and of course those were the ones she wanted to ride on. Mariah’s favorite ride was the small rollercoaster. She rode it and rode it and rode it! She also rode some other rides that I thought might have been a little rough after we got started on them. We went on the Ferris wheel too. We were able to take some really cool pictures from there. The one ride I really wanted to go on was the wooden rollercoaster, but Mariah was 20 cm to small. Oh well. They also had a storybook ride that was really neat. You sat in boats that were on a suspended track and moved through the storybook castle. The stories in the castle were the Emperor’s New Cloths, Alice in Wonderland, Aladdin, Cinderella, and some others we didn’t know. The mascot for the park is a neon green bunny rabbit that can be found all around the park. Next month they close the amusement park and change things around for the Christmas festival that starts in November. We are planning on going back to Göteborg at least one more time before we leave Sweden. There is so much to do we could easily spend a week there! Hope everyone at home is doing well. We love and miss you all. Thank you for your prayers and your support. There is only 95 days left in our amazing adventure!

Hello Again from Växjö Sweden

2006-09-15T22:52:00.000+02:00

Well, it is very late here and I should be asleep right now but for some reason I am not sleepy. I paid rent for the first time today....would you beleive the bank here (where I have to pay rent at) charged a service fee for paying rent inside the bank. Oh well, here the is a price for everything. When you purchase soda or anything in plastic bottles and al. cans you pay extra for the bottle and can. However, the extra is returned to you if you bring the cans and bottles in for recycling. This week has seemed to fly by. On Monday, my squirt decided to she needed an extra mommy day. So she stayed home with me and we just kind of hung around the campus. Tuesday and Wednesday not much happened. Other than on Wednesday night, Mariah started piano lessons with on of the national concert piano players. Thursday, I started my first class!! It didn't start until 5pm (our time of course). It is a Swedish language course. mariah gets to take it too! After class, we went to the local Baptist church for new-in-town introduction night. The church service is much much different than I am use to. On Sundays, they gather at 10am. First, they pray and do announcements. Then they sing some songs. Then it is time for Feekuh (I am not sure of the spelling but I am spelling it as it is pronounced). Feekuh is a customary light snack that the Swedish observe several times daily, alteast in once in the morning and once in the afternoon. After feekuh is the serman, a couple songs, and a closing prayer. Oh well, it is the closest church in likeness to anything that I know. Alteast it a place I can meet with other Christians and worship our Lord and Saviour. Oh well, it is very late here and we have a train to catch in the morning. We are of to one of the largest amusement parks in Europe. It is located here in Sweden about 3 hours by train. Here is a weblink if you would like to take a look and of course I will post pictures when we get back! http://www.liseberg.com/NR/exeres/ABE9129C-ECE1-49AF-9DA7-E562867C1E07.htm We love and miss you all. Thank you for your prayers and support.

Adventures in Växjö Sweden Week 4

2006-09-10T16:46:00.000+02:00

On Friday, we went on our second trip. This time we went to the Skånes Djurpark- The Zoo of Nordic Animals. This trip turned out to be very frustrating. It started off by waiting for a bus that never showed up. Then missing our train and having to wait 2 hours for the next train. The arriving in Höör after the mid-day bus to the zoo. When we finally arrived at the zoo we only had 1.5 hours to spend before the return trip to our apartment, which was just as bad as the trip there...

At the zoo we saw many different animals, all of which are native to Scandinavia. Mariah's favorite were the different breeds of horses, the moose, the reindeer, and the seals. The moose were just a big as we imagined. The horses were some of the biggest I have ever seen. The zoo has horse riding on the lake front beach but we missed it this time. We plan on going back to the zoo soon for another visit when we can stay all day, especially since the pass you purchase to get in is good for the entire year!

Every Saturday, we do our weekly grocery shopping. It is an adventure all its own. We empty our bookbags and gather up plastic bags that we purchased our first week here. Then we head out for our .5 mile walk to the local supermarket ICA, pronounced eeekuh. At ICA, as with all shopping centers here you have to rent a shopping cart or just carry a basket and you have to bag your own groceries in your own bags that you bring or purchase at the cash register. Once finished we head back to the apartment; Mariah rolling her book bag full of groceries, me wearing my bookbag and carrying atleast two other bags. But atleast we eat. I have talked to some exchange students that eat nothing unless they can purchase it out and others who live on cereal and sandwhiches. Here is pictures of our full weeks groceries put away of course.

Also last night was the big VIS Welcome Dinner and party. We both got dresed up with our nails done and make up on. We weren't even late!!! We were early. We had to purchase our own drinks. We were greeted by two hyper Vikings, who provided the entertainment for most of the night. We were served first a shrimp and crayfish salad, second course was elk, potatoes au gratin, and steamed veggies. The final course, desset, was a lingonberry serbet, creme fraishe mouse, and a crunchy cookie biscuit. After the food the vikings invite people to come on stage and perform something from their home country. I tried to talk Mariah out of it but she had to go on stage and sing! It was a song from ballet/tap class that she took over the summer with one of her best friends Bailey! Everyone thought she did very well. We came on home around 10pm our time and skipped the after party at the campus pub.

Other than all this, the week has just been another week with the exception of Thursday, when we were followed around by a local reporter for the Smalandposten.. I start my first class this coming Thursday. Also on Thursday we are going the the local Baptist church for the New-In-Town open house and dinner. Other than that there are no plans for this week. I do hope everyone is doing good. I thank everyone who have been keeping in touch via email, phone, and skype. It really helps keep the homesickness away when you can have some type of contact with those you love and care about. I do ask that you remember dad in your prayers as he goes into eye surgery on Monday, mom who goes for blood work and check up on Thursday, Grandma with her upcoming hip surgery, and Aunt Paula who goes to Duke on Monday the 18th. As always, I pray that God keeps you all safe, healthy, and happy. We send our love! Only 102 days until our return!

When in doubt turn to God, he is the only one who can provide strength, love, compassion, knowledge, wisdom, and happiness, all at the same time. He is only a short prayer away!

Second Växjö Update!

2006-09-05T11:42:00.000+02:00

Hello to our family and friends that we miss very much. We have finally gotten use to the time change and many of the differences here in Sweden. I have actually gotten use to using public transporation (buses and trains) to get around when the distance is just to great for pat and charlie (right and left feet). We have gotten use to the 6 hours time difference between here and home. Finally, we are getting use to the food differences. As for food, there is quite a few things that are the same with just different names. Soda is much more expensive and there is no Mt. Dew or Dr. Pepper. There is no Gatorade or Kool-aide; and the juice boxes here are 100% juice twice the size and you get 3 boxes for roughly $2.75. We like the bread and milk much better, they doesn't have all the perservatives and additives, we have to purchase fresh every 3 or so days. Would you also believe the people here don't really know what goldfish or fruit snacks are. All the meals we have had prepared for us have been really good. Mariah gets hot traditional Swedish meals everyday at lunch. She has liked most things other than potatoes but she has really never like potatoes unless they are french fries. The one thing I wish she hadn't tried that she really didn't like was blodkorve or blood sausage.

This weekend was spent with orientation stuff. We had meetings and activities planned for us on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. There is 350+ students studying abroad here at Vaxjo University. These students represent 40+ countires. There are 3 of us here from NC, with me and Kira both from ECU. Go Pirates!

This weekend we are going to the Skånes Djurpark- The Zoo of Nordic Animals. Here is a link if you would like to know more about it. http://www.skane.com/cmarter/cmarter.asp?doc=1952

On this Saturday we are to have dinner with all the other exchange students, their fadders (buddies), Vaxjo International Student Association, and the international department. It is a traditional welcome dinner, I think.

Well got to run. We love you and send you hugs and kisses. We miss you and can not wait to see you in December! We only have 107 days left!

Weekend Escape to Vimmerby Conclusion.

2006-08-27T20:34:00.000+02:00

After a fun filled weekend of lots of walking and excitement, we boarded the train home. We arrived back to our apartment after 7pm last night. We had lots of fun. Now its time to rest and relax until our week starts tomorrow. The only thing on today's agenda was grocery shopping. Which is an experience in its own. We walk 1/2 a mile to ICA (pronounced eecuh) with our empty bookbags on. Here you have to bring your own bags or purchase bags to carry your groceries in. We do the shopping, loaded our bookbags and two plastic bags. Then we walk back to the apartment, all the while Mariah is rolling her bookbag.

This week there are really no big plans. Just pre-k for Mariah on Monday through Thursday. Then on Friday this week, I actually start orientation at the university and Mariah is suppose to attend too.

We miss everyone very much and love ya. We can not wait see you in 116 more days.

Weekend Adventure in Vimmerby Sweden 2

2006-08-27T19:37:00.000+02:00

This weekend was supposed to be Mariah’s special escape weekend. I think we achieved that. Mariah loves Pippi now more than ever. Mariah got to actually meet Pippi and play at Villa Villekulla (Pippi’s house). She got to ride on Pippi’s pony and play at Emil’s Farm. There was even a play hotel with slides to exit the building. We ate dinner at Lotta’s Kitchen which is a pasta place right in the heart of Astrid Lindgren World (Värld). While eating dinner, we were accompanied by a wild bird that flew into the front door. It didn’t actually land at our table or any tables. It chased it out. We decided after dinner just flew in and then the waitress to shop at some of the little places in the park. We only purchased one souvenir, a book “Do You Know Pippi Longstocking” in English of course. There was a big obstacle course that Mariah enjoyed. It was called Don’t Touch The Ground, a play on the game Pippi plays don’t touch the floor at her home Villa Villekulla. A local sculptor and artist in Hjorted Smaland Sweden, hand carved all the animals out of local solid oak. These were in addition to all the real animals that were there to see too.

Just a little bit of information about the park. Astrid Lindgren’s World is a storybook setting come to life, with lots of fun things to see and do. So much in fact, that it’s sometimes hard to know where to start. The theme park dates back to 1981 and last year the record for the number of visitors was 352,000 just during the summer season. The park features many of Astrid’s best loved settings including Katthult, Bullerbyn (Noisey Village), the house of Karlsson, Matt’s Fort, and Troublemaker street. Here you can meet Pippi, Emil, Karlsson on the Roof, Mardie, Rasmus, the Brothers Lionheart, and other children’s favorites face to face. They are portrayed by a team of around 70 actors who play and sing in character. Also, at the park is Little, Little Town. It is a scaled model of the Vimmerby as it was in the 1930s when Astrid Lindgren grew up. It is built child-friendly for exploration.

Weekend Adventure in Vimmerby Sweden

2006-08-27T13:53:00.000+02:00

We had a good week. Mariah went to school Tuesday through Thursday. On Friday, we left for a little get away to Vimmerby, Sweden. Vimmerby is where famous children's writer Astrid Lindgren grew up and based many of her books, including Pippi Longstocking. We traveled train both ways. Upon arrival we walked through the town Centrum (downtown). The whole town is about the same size as Växjö. In the Centrum is a bunch of small shops, the information center, a small stage, and of course a really cool playground. This playground is also centered around the Pippi theme. The main part of the playground has a huge Captain Longstocking (Pippi's Papa) Ship and the tiny play cottages. Mariah had a blast. After some playtime, we headed up to Astrid Lindgren's World and Campsite.

Upon arrival we were able to go ahead and check in to the cabin. Now, I knew that it was a camping cabin and I didn't expect air conditioning or plush amenities, but this was roughing it for me. It was a very small cabin with only one window that could open. It had a sink, a fridge, 2 sets of bunk beds, and a table. That’s it, there was no running water. For showers, cooking, and using the potty, we had to go to a community service cabin that you couldn't were shoes in. At least our high temperature was only 73 on Friday and 66 on Saturday. All around the cabin there were plenty of things to entertain children, ranging from 3 playgrounds, a put-put golf course, and these large boulder rocks that Mariah likes to climb on. I do think all in all we enjoyed the cabin and it was cute on the outside.

Mariah's School

2006-08-19T00:04:00.000+02:00

This is the front of Mariah's building. It goes from age 2 through Pre-K (age 4). Opposite is Mariah on the playground. She has already made friends with some of the little girls in her class.

This is the front of the main building. This building goes up through 6th grade.

Tire swings Overview of playground from the door. This is the playhouse. Big slide Inside the barn, is where the trikes are kept. Notice more tires.

Pictures of the Outside and Inside of Our Apartment

2006-08-18T23:57:00.000+02:00

The bedroom. The horse ranch. This picture was taken from our bedroom window. The living room.

Close-up of living room. We love this chair! Eat in kitchen. Desk area, between living room and bedroom. Kitchen. No microwave or dishwasher. :( Front of Outside

Front of Outside

Pictures of Växjö University Campus: Including the pond, the lake, the castle, and the fruit orchard

2006-08-18T23:51:00.000+02:00

Trummen Lake, right beside campus. Teleborg Castle Centrum of the Vaxjo, the two points are the cathedral. This is from campus side of Trummen. Teleborg Castle

Campus flower pond. Fruit Orchard. We have picked some fruit, but haven't tried it yet. Mariah standing by the small campus pond.

This is the front of the main building on campus. The first site we saw when we arrived.

First Växjö Update!

2006-08-18T23:47:00.000+02:00

Sorry, I haven’t posted. This first week has been very difficult for both me and Mariah. We had very good flights the entire way from Jacksonville, NC to Stockholm, Sweden. There was a slight delay in Charlotte due to new security measures. Upon arrival in Germany at the large Frankfurt International airport, we did get lost but eventually we found an English speaking security agent to help us. We arrived in Stockholm on Sunday August 13th at about 12.30 pm our time! Then we set off driving. After wasting almost a full hour driving around Stockholm in circles, we were on our way in the rain. Exhausted we arrived in Jönköping around 4 pm. Jönköping is a large town in central Sweden. To the north and the east the town is surrounded by large natural lakes. To the west is what we would call foothills. To the south is forest and farm land. This is the direction we would take in the morning. We were able to get a room at the Scandic Elmia Hotel at a decent last minute student rate for only one night. Monday we set off to finish our drive to Växjö. We were supposed to be only about 1.5 hours away. It took us almost 3 hours though. Driving wasn’t bad. At least they do drive on the right side of the road! Our biggest changes with driving are turnabouts, speed limits, and lack of stop signs. Turnabouts are abundant at every intersection big or small. The two intersecting roads have no stop signs, just yields. Then the roads lead into a big two lane circle with a landscaped center circle. The locals fly into and out of these, most the time without signal lights. The speed limit is always in km/hour here. On the major road from Stockholm (E4), it is like I40 or I95, the limit is only posted when the road is passing through a town. Other times people just fly. Oh well, that is enough about that. I have turned in the rental car. So, now there is no more driving just Pat (left) and Charlie (right). The university is very nice. It is under construction in certain areas. It has grown more than double in the past few years. Our apartment is on campus. It is not very old. We got very lucky; our apartment is on the back side of campus. We over look the horse ranch from all the windows. It is a much better view than construction or one of the university pubs. To the east is Trummen Lake and Teleborg Castle. To the south is our favorite horse ranch. To the west more lakes that I don’t know names of yet. To the north is the Centrum of Växjö, what we would call downtown. Everything here is located downtown. For us it would be quite a walk over 2 kilometers, so we take the bus. Luckily, the bus stops right at our apartment building. Mariah had her first day of school here on Wed. Her school is Gläntan Furutå Förskola. They focus on creativity and imagination. There are two teachers in her class, one female and one male. There are 14 students and then 2 part-time students. They play outside everyday for at least 2-3 hours no matter the weather. Have I mentioned its rainy season! Well, I am going to quite for now. Be sure to check out the pictures of our first week too! God Bless all of you. We miss everyone dearly but will see you in 126 more days!

As The Time Winds Down....

2006-08-07T20:07:00.000+02:00

Only a few more days until we are suppose to board the plane bound for Sweden. We have finally begun last minute preparations. However, we still have NO residence visas. I have spoke with the Consulate General in New York and Anne at the International House in Vaxjo has spoke with the head of the department at the Migration Board. But, there it has all been without prevail. I can't help but worry right now. Yet, I am trying to turn my worry over to God. At this point all I can do is pray about it and leave it in God's hands to control. This past Saturday was the going away party that my parents threw for us. I decided to do the cooking, since it would be the last time for a while that I get the opportunity to cook like that. I was so thrilled to have a bunch of my church family there to say good bye. Other than God, who will be with me through my travels, my parents, who I will miss so very dearly, and my immediate close personal family friends and second mom Greta; my church family are the next most important people in my life. I thank everyone so much for their support and encouragement. I, especially, thank my parents. Without their love, support, encouragement, and help, this wouldn't have ever been an opportunity. I am so attached to my parents and I some times wonder if they know how very much they mean to me and Mariah and how much we love them. I will deeply miss them and think of them all the time.

Countdown Continued

2006-06-22T04:11:00.000+02:00

Wow, time goes by so fast now. I can not believe how easy everything has come together so far. It seems like only yesterday that I first discussed the possibilities of studying abroad with my daughter as a single mom. I am so happy that I have a wonderful study abroad advisor, Brandi. I wouldn’t have had this opportunity if it was for all her hard work. I am also blessed with a great contact at Växjö University International Office, Charlotte. She has handled all my paperwork in Sweden. She has handled all Mariah’s daycare/preK paperwork too! I am thankful that all the paperwork is completely done for now. At this time, it is just a waiting game. I am waiting on our Swedish Residence Visa to be returned without it we can not leave! Unfortunately, I was a little slow sending it. Hopefully, the Swedish migration board won’t be slow sending it back. Good news though….I finally found a nice 6 piece luggage set and purchased it. The large upright with rollers doesn’t fit anywhere. I can’t stash it under the bed or in a closet….Mom will just have to deal for with it sitting out in my room for 50 more days!

2006-06-12T14:33:00.000+02:00

As I embark on a journey of lifetime, I must bring myself to the reality that I am leaving some of the most important loved ones in my life, my parents, behind. They have been my rock to which I have anchored my life. They are my light in darkness that will always guide me home. They have taught me to love through their love. They have taught me faith, humility, self respect, and compassion. I will greatly miss their daily presence and influence in mine and my daughter’s lives. Luv ya both very much! This officially starts the countdown until our departure. We have 60 days left in the USA!