Day 7

Now that's what I'm talking about. Twelve straight hours spent with the students who will be coming to California in March. It's why I'm here! Even though I was exhausted by the end of the day, it was the perfect way to get to to know each student.

They broke themselves up into 4 groups, and each group had 2 hours to spend doing something fun with me. The first group took me to have coffee at Tant Grön (something like My Old Green Aunt?) I also had a very small cinnamon roll which was delicious but not too big. I did not overeat today. I did not! Anyway, we sat at a little table and the four of them asked me all their most worrisome questions about their trip to California. What are the families like? What sports/PE classes can I do at the JC? Will the weather be nice (to us, weather in spring is variable, to them the answer is always yes when I tell them the temperature spread)? Will I have to live in a family who has snakes? Will they make me eat hamburgers all day? Will we get to ski, watch football on TV, or see a live basketball game? The other people in the cafe tried not to stare (actually they didn't try very hard) as we talked and laughed in English. A lovely 2 hours.

They walked me back to the school where the next group met me and walked me back into town for lunch. We ate at the Viskan Cafe (I only ate HALF my sandwich, because I just ate a cinnamon roll.) The 6 students in this group and I sat and talked, and they asked me all their most important questions about coming to California (see list above and add questions about local shopping meccas.) This cafe contained mostly young people, so no one stared. After lunch we walked back to the school where the students voted. Apparently it is a national policy to poll all gymnasiet (high school) students to see how they will/would vote in the election which takes place on Sunday. The votes are counted and the results are published by school, I think.

I sat for five minutes before the next group came and we walked to the bowling alley in town. What fun! We had 2 teams of 3. I'm a terrible bowler; hit nothing, hit 2 pins, strike, hit nothing, hit one pin, strike, etc. but we had a great time anyway. There were a few difference from American bowling. First of all the shoes were help-yourself. Second we were asked to change our shoes in a locker room where there were actually showers. Third all the ads on the scoring machine were in Swedish, very strange. Other than that, I felt right at home! The students were great. We laughed, teased and encouraged each other, commented on the other bowlers, and generally had a good time. I don't think anyone in this group had any questions for me...OK with me! :)

By the time we walked back to the school, my feet were toast. So when the fourth group announced we'd be walking several kilometers to someone's house, I revolted. They finally managed to find a driver and we arrived at a beautiful home in Borås. Our job was to bake a kladkaka (chocolate cake) for dinner that night. I ate the other half of my sandwich from lunch so I wouldn't be tempted to lick the beaters, then we got to work. I remember when I was on a missions trip in high school a woman commented that many of my friends had obviously "never walked through a kitchen." Yep. The cake turned out lovely. The frosting ended up being a very nice sauce we poured over the top. It was all good. These students had only a few questions for me, mostly asked as I sat with my feet up in the living room while the cake was baking. Can I play American football while I'm in California? Can I ski? Will someone take me to San Francisco to shop? Will my family be able to feed me enough? (Actually, this last question was mine and I have my doubts that this student ever actually has "enough" to eat.)

A new chauffer/student drove us to the next stop which was another student's beautiful home. All of the students were there (except one who had a soccer game.) Now, I have heard many times from Swedish students that the Swedes are much more equal in their gender roles than we Americans are. So when I entered the home I was a bit surprised to see all of the girls working hard in the kitchen and all of the boys sitting on the sofa playing video games. Uhuh. Tell me another one.

We sat together and ate tacos (actually we would call them burritos.The ingredients were the same ones we would use with a couple of exceptions, namely cucumbers and pineapple. Interesting! The tacos were great, and we had good discussions about The Swedish Chef, American Idol, and how much time they would be able to spend sunbathing in California. Then we had some staring contests, complete with lewd tongue maneuvers, followed by the amazing dessert we made earlier. As I was contemplating calling it a night, I noticed some of the students were doing karaoke. I'm not sure if I've ever witnessed this strange phenomenon live, but I for darned sure never did it! However, for those of you who know my motto when in Sweden, you won't be surprised that I said yes when asked to join in. I sing badly, and when nervous (like when a room full of Swedish teenagers are watching) even worse. But after finding the only song I knew in the list (Stand By Me,) I did my best, and actually had fun! Who knew?

Only a short drive back to Pär and Lena's house, and a little time watching the politicians give it their last best shot on TV, and that was it for me.

God natt!