The week before school started was a hectic mess. I worked and unpacked and worked and unpacked. David spent his time unpacking. Surprisingly enough, we're still not really finished.
David has also been using his time to get familiar with the kitchen. He has baked all of the bread we've eaten in the past two weeks. In addition he has experimented with a couple cakes and a batch of muffins. Outside of the oven he has whipped several excellent meals including chicken soup, fried fish and mashed potatoes, and a hearty meat sauce. I always look forward to coming home after washing at the dentists' office to see what he has whipped up.
David has not been alone in the use of our kitchen. I have contributed with corn bread (thanks to a very expensive package from Mom containing corn meal) and corn bread muffins. My dinners have included lemon chicken, stir fry, fajitas, and delicious salads.
My job at the cafe has turned into a job at the Akademi. The Akademi work is very similar to working at the hotel, it just pays better and is closer to home. It also involves checking guests into their rooms. Since I'm there pretty much every day, they can ask me to work at a moments notice, whenever they need me. I have yet to hear from the hotel and, if it works out at the Akademi, I won't call to remind them that I can work...
So far our classes have consisted mostly of rehearsals. That is, we've had six days of rehearsals and two days of folkemusikkformidling (promotion and presentation of folk music) We're getting ready for a concert at the Nordsjøfestival in Farsund.
Last year the festival was a great way to kick off the year, with concerts and late nights. This year, we get to be one of the concerts! This festival is well organized with almost all of the concerts at the same hotel everyone stays at. There are also a number of concerts within easy walking distance and midday concerts in the public square. Last year we got to take a boat trip with our teacher; I'm hoping the weather holds out for a repeat!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
Driving back to Rauland
Reasonably early on Friday morning (August 7), we piled into the van and headed west again. David and I promptly passed out in the passenger seats while his father drove. In Karlstad we stopped at Biltema, a hardware store with everything you could possibly need. Almost. We spent about an hour and half buying tools and equipment to help us make the apartment nice and keep David busy for hours.
We stopped for lunch at the Swedish equivalent of McDonalds, MAX hamburgare. This was at my request, having heard so much from visiting Swedes in Seattle about the superiority of MAX vs. any of the American hamburger chains. I would have to say that, while the hamburger itsself was better than one from a chain, and the free coffee was a nice touch, the fries left something to be desired (something like a lot of grease) and the hamburger was really anything special compared to a real burger from a quality establishment in the US.
We pressed further across the late summer landscape, stopping outside Oslo to stretch our legs and eat the remaining spanikopita. We switched drivers and I took the wheel. Things went reasonably smoothly. I choose the wrong road at the big traffic circle in Drammen, but that much a delay is hardly noticable.
The most exciting part of the journey came on the tiny road we drove on for the last 90 minutes. After a few cars passed me by, I took the signal to drive faster. That is 80km/hr roughly. Having not driven in a while and driving a much larger car, the twisting and turning on a narrow road at that speed was intense, to say the least. Not to mention the time we almost collided with another car on a one lane bridge. Thank goodness the van has good breaks!
We drove directly to our new apartment and started unpacking. Our landlady, Anne, came out and asked us if we wanted to join them for some fish soup on the patio. In the short time it took her to whip up the soup, we unpacked the van and stuffed the apartment full of things. After dinner we took a mini road trip to see the view from Vierli. Then it was coffee at my old apartment where Anders was sleeping and off to our first night in the new apartment.
We stopped for lunch at the Swedish equivalent of McDonalds, MAX hamburgare. This was at my request, having heard so much from visiting Swedes in Seattle about the superiority of MAX vs. any of the American hamburger chains. I would have to say that, while the hamburger itsself was better than one from a chain, and the free coffee was a nice touch, the fries left something to be desired (something like a lot of grease) and the hamburger was really anything special compared to a real burger from a quality establishment in the US.
We pressed further across the late summer landscape, stopping outside Oslo to stretch our legs and eat the remaining spanikopita. We switched drivers and I took the wheel. Things went reasonably smoothly. I choose the wrong road at the big traffic circle in Drammen, but that much a delay is hardly noticable.
The most exciting part of the journey came on the tiny road we drove on for the last 90 minutes. After a few cars passed me by, I took the signal to drive faster. That is 80km/hr roughly. Having not driven in a while and driving a much larger car, the twisting and turning on a narrow road at that speed was intense, to say the least. Not to mention the time we almost collided with another car on a one lane bridge. Thank goodness the van has good breaks!
We drove directly to our new apartment and started unpacking. Our landlady, Anne, came out and asked us if we wanted to join them for some fish soup on the patio. In the short time it took her to whip up the soup, we unpacked the van and stuffed the apartment full of things. After dinner we took a mini road trip to see the view from Vierli. Then it was coffee at my old apartment where Anders was sleeping and off to our first night in the new apartment.
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Uppsala
Since David and I are moving into a mostly unfurnished apartment, we have been shopping here in Uppsala. That is, we have basically lived at IKEA. I'm pleased to report that the IKEA in Seattle is very much like the IKEA in Uppsala. The Seattle IKEA really needs to get the self-serve soft-serve because it is the coolest machine.
In addition to IKEA we spent an afternoon/evening with David's sister, husband, and three kids. They are currently living in San Francisco, but are in Sweden for the summer. The whole family was great, plus I got to play with the baby (totally cute at 11 months old)!
We spent a day wandering around town and met up with one of David's friends from school. She was a load of fun. We sat outside and ate ice cream while she told entertaining stories about what seems to be a rather thrilling life. Later we managed to buy new clothes for me and new shirts for David; it had been far too long since my last shopping excursion.
On our last night in Uppsala, David and I made dinner. That is, I made spanikopita and David helped. Turns out, you can get pretty decent phyllo dough in Sweden. The rest of the family enjoyed the spanikopita, which we served with rice and salad.
We also packed the car that evening, which was quite the experience. The car was actually a full size van with most of the rear seats removed. We stuffed it full of clothes and bookshelves, necessities from IKEA and instruments. Somehow we managed to find enough room for ourselves as well.
In addition to IKEA we spent an afternoon/evening with David's sister, husband, and three kids. They are currently living in San Francisco, but are in Sweden for the summer. The whole family was great, plus I got to play with the baby (totally cute at 11 months old)!
We spent a day wandering around town and met up with one of David's friends from school. She was a load of fun. We sat outside and ate ice cream while she told entertaining stories about what seems to be a rather thrilling life. Later we managed to buy new clothes for me and new shirts for David; it had been far too long since my last shopping excursion.
On our last night in Uppsala, David and I made dinner. That is, I made spanikopita and David helped. Turns out, you can get pretty decent phyllo dough in Sweden. The rest of the family enjoyed the spanikopita, which we served with rice and salad.
We also packed the car that evening, which was quite the experience. The car was actually a full size van with most of the rear seats removed. We stuffed it full of clothes and bookshelves, necessities from IKEA and instruments. Somehow we managed to find enough room for ourselves as well.
Silver lining
Last year's medal testing experience was a rush of sheer adrenaline. I didn't know what to expect. I had worked really hard to get there. I had spent a lot of money. I really had something to prove.
This year was less about the amount of training I had put into the three dances I had presented and more about the training I have built up during a lifetime of dancing and performing. Since Larry and I were on different continents until ten days before we tested, it was a little difficult to put a lot of time in prior to the big day. We worked hard at Furudal, but a week of rehearsal doesn't build the same hunger and sense of entitlement to pass as six months of rehearsing.
The dance floor in Orsa was slick. Like ice. Testing on Saturday gave us a little time to get used to it. The evening dances were really fun, although I left them all early because I was pretty tired. I did a fair amount of practicing with Larry, although I mostly danced with David. I did get to dance with David Eriksson, always nice.
After I danced on Saturday, I was fairly certain that things went well for me. We danced cleanly, if not perfectly and we got good music. Larry and Karlyn got difficult music, so their Saturday night was a little more nerve-wracking. To smooth things over, David and I made a chocolate cake.
On Sunday they started with the certificates; the tensest moment was waiting to hear Larry's name when they were calling people who in the process of earning the Big Silver. Even though I was the last one of the Seattle crew to get called, I was relaxed after Larry and Karlyn walked across the stage. I knew that if they had passed with the difficulties they had experienced, I had passed. The word on my certificate is 'gott' (good or well). Not quite as poetic as last year, but perhaps next year will be better.
This year was less about the amount of training I had put into the three dances I had presented and more about the training I have built up during a lifetime of dancing and performing. Since Larry and I were on different continents until ten days before we tested, it was a little difficult to put a lot of time in prior to the big day. We worked hard at Furudal, but a week of rehearsal doesn't build the same hunger and sense of entitlement to pass as six months of rehearsing.
The dance floor in Orsa was slick. Like ice. Testing on Saturday gave us a little time to get used to it. The evening dances were really fun, although I left them all early because I was pretty tired. I did a fair amount of practicing with Larry, although I mostly danced with David. I did get to dance with David Eriksson, always nice.
After I danced on Saturday, I was fairly certain that things went well for me. We danced cleanly, if not perfectly and we got good music. Larry and Karlyn got difficult music, so their Saturday night was a little more nerve-wracking. To smooth things over, David and I made a chocolate cake.
On Sunday they started with the certificates; the tensest moment was waiting to hear Larry's name when they were calling people who in the process of earning the Big Silver. Even though I was the last one of the Seattle crew to get called, I was relaxed after Larry and Karlyn walked across the stage. I knew that if they had passed with the difficulties they had experienced, I had passed. The word on my certificate is 'gott' (good or well). Not quite as poetic as last year, but perhaps next year will be better.
Fun in Furudal
June 30, 2009
Generally, I prefer to be well prepared for any kind of exam. Seeing as how I haven't been in Seattle, it's been difficult to practice with Larry. The first day or so involved a lot of remembering how to dance, especially my dances (Storpolska fr. Vemdalen, Slängpolska fr Malung, Gammalvänster fr. Oviken). Things are going better now that we've been at it for a few days. Leif and Margareta are, as usual, full of gentle and constructive adjustments and, occasionally, a compliment.
The weather here has been wet and mosquito filled. We have managed to have dry enough weather for the evening camp fires and hot-dog grilling. Friday night we took a little trip down to Boda to catch the Boda Spelmann playing on home turf. David was on his way up to visit from Uppsala and met us in Boda. It was great to see him and talk to him in person (Skype is nice, but it ain't the real thing). It was really great to dance with David.
The rest of the week progressed as to be expected. General drama unfolded that comes from being with the same people for too many days in a row. Mostly we worked on our dances, relaxed and grilled hot dogs. They way things are supposed to be at Furudal.
Our last night there was probably the best, in spite of its misadventures. After dinner, four of us from Seattle (me, Larry, Tom, and Karlyn) headed down to grill the last of our hot dogs. We tried to get Bonnie to join us, but it was pretty late already. We were the only ones who headed down that night and, while we had firewood, we were lacking anything to start a fire with. Instead of grilling hot dogs, we sat and enjoyed the view and each other's company, swapping stories until the mosquitos had sucked us dry.
Cold and not quite ready to say good-bye to Furudal we stayed up late watching TV. The rest of the gang bailed sometime during the Danish mystery program with Swedish subtitles. I sure slept well once I finally went to bed!
Generally, I prefer to be well prepared for any kind of exam. Seeing as how I haven't been in Seattle, it's been difficult to practice with Larry. The first day or so involved a lot of remembering how to dance, especially my dances (Storpolska fr. Vemdalen, Slängpolska fr Malung, Gammalvänster fr. Oviken). Things are going better now that we've been at it for a few days. Leif and Margareta are, as usual, full of gentle and constructive adjustments and, occasionally, a compliment.
The weather here has been wet and mosquito filled. We have managed to have dry enough weather for the evening camp fires and hot-dog grilling. Friday night we took a little trip down to Boda to catch the Boda Spelmann playing on home turf. David was on his way up to visit from Uppsala and met us in Boda. It was great to see him and talk to him in person (Skype is nice, but it ain't the real thing). It was really great to dance with David.
The rest of the week progressed as to be expected. General drama unfolded that comes from being with the same people for too many days in a row. Mostly we worked on our dances, relaxed and grilled hot dogs. They way things are supposed to be at Furudal.
Our last night there was probably the best, in spite of its misadventures. After dinner, four of us from Seattle (me, Larry, Tom, and Karlyn) headed down to grill the last of our hot dogs. We tried to get Bonnie to join us, but it was pretty late already. We were the only ones who headed down that night and, while we had firewood, we were lacking anything to start a fire with. Instead of grilling hot dogs, we sat and enjoyed the view and each other's company, swapping stories until the mosquitos had sucked us dry.
Cold and not quite ready to say good-bye to Furudal we stayed up late watching TV. The rest of the gang bailed sometime during the Danish mystery program with Swedish subtitles. I sure slept well once I finally went to bed!
The road to Furudal
July 24, 2009
Larry and his mother picked me up in Rauland. They arrived several hours earlier than I was expecting them. I was mostly packed and the apartment was a rough approximation of clean. When I left Rauland, my bags were packed and the apartment was a little closer to presentable.
There was just barely enough room in the back seat of the rental car for me and the roads from Telemark weren't any friendlier than usual. At least I was in a car and not on the bus! By the time we arrived in Hokksund, I was slightly green. We spent a lovely evening with Chris and Terry-Anne, with a walk down to the river and songs late into the night.
We dragged ourselves out of bed early the next morning, Sweden bound! Karlyn called from the train station just as Larry had come down for breakfast, so he headed straight off to find her. We enjoyed our breakfast and coffee while Karlyn entertained us with her travel updates. We were on the road before 8am.
We drove through Oslo to Kongsvinger. We picked the most direct route, along the small roads through Finnskogen, Värmland, and Dalarna. We didn't see to many other cars, but we did hear shooting in the distance just after we crossed the border. We cruised Malung, got some groceries in Mora, zipped through Orsa, and happily arrived in Furudal in plenty of time to find our rooms, unpack the car, eat and get to the dance floor early. It was a long day for Larry who drove the whole way!
Larry and his mother picked me up in Rauland. They arrived several hours earlier than I was expecting them. I was mostly packed and the apartment was a rough approximation of clean. When I left Rauland, my bags were packed and the apartment was a little closer to presentable.
There was just barely enough room in the back seat of the rental car for me and the roads from Telemark weren't any friendlier than usual. At least I was in a car and not on the bus! By the time we arrived in Hokksund, I was slightly green. We spent a lovely evening with Chris and Terry-Anne, with a walk down to the river and songs late into the night.
We dragged ourselves out of bed early the next morning, Sweden bound! Karlyn called from the train station just as Larry had come down for breakfast, so he headed straight off to find her. We enjoyed our breakfast and coffee while Karlyn entertained us with her travel updates. We were on the road before 8am.
We drove through Oslo to Kongsvinger. We picked the most direct route, along the small roads through Finnskogen, Värmland, and Dalarna. We didn't see to many other cars, but we did hear shooting in the distance just after we crossed the border. We cruised Malung, got some groceries in Mora, zipped through Orsa, and happily arrived in Furudal in plenty of time to find our rooms, unpack the car, eat and get to the dance floor early. It was a long day for Larry who drove the whole way!
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