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I say potatoes, you say potatis

I always thought a potato was a potato... Until I arrived in Sweden. Oh my goodness, they are fantastic here! Any way you have them - roasted, mashed, pressed or plain old boiled. They really have a superior spud over here. Even the birds and animals here think so. The cranes which stop in Falköping on their way from Spain to northern Scandinavia originally did so so that they could feed on the potatoes. Just a bit of carbo loading for them on their marathon journey north. When I was out riding with my host family this morning I passed a pile of potatoes around the size of a child's sandpit, just lying out in a field. They were NQR for human consumption, so the farmer had left them out to be eaten by moose, deer and wild boars. Apparently they would be gone in days.

On the topic of potatoes, we've been here only two weeks, and the GSE (aka Girth Size Expansion) program is going really well. I'm happy with the stretchy fabric of our uniforms, but am a little concerned that polysester/viscose/elastane may not be able to take another 3 weeks of fabulous Swedish food. Which is why I'm setting my alarm early each morning to go for a shuffle and try and even up the energy input-output ratio. It gets light by about 5.30, so it's pretty easy to get going early. And we're still being treated to such glorious Spring weather, so it's quite lovely once you get out. There's a Swedish saying about this time of the year that says "the birch trees have mouse ears" which means tiny green leaves have appeared. It looks lovelier each day. When I get back there's usually a breakfast of bread with caviar and cheese waiting, which derails earlier efforts to a certain extent, but I am determined to embrace all aspects of Swedish culture. I wonder why Aussies haven't cottoned on to the cheese and caviar for breakfast concept yet... I plan to import that one.

MI: climb that windmill

Jag pratar Golf?

After today, I've decided I play golf much like I speak Swedish - I try hard and do my best, I often put things in the wrong spot, I sometimes embarrass myself, and while I'm not really good at it, the Swedes are patient in encouraging me despite my frequent rough patches.

...where better to talk about organisational psychology, recruitment and HR?


"No building of other towns called Ekedalen here" ("Ekedalen förbjuden! Ej Ekedalen!")


Tack till Patrick, Katta, Conny, Nils och speciellt tack till Familjen Wärmegård... Tack också till alla vem har varit så snälla till mig i Tidaholm / Falköping. Jag hoppas vi ses snart! Och som jag får tackar på bloggen, jag måste också säger speciellt tackar till Jonas och Carina Ahlström, Göran och Kerstin Grahn och Anders Ånborg!

Just like heaven

Did you ever imagine yourself climbing 98 metres into the sky, the last 20 metres being held up only by a harness and your own upper body strength? No?

Well, we did yesterday. Four of the team spent yesterday afternoon ascending to dizzying heights in what felt like (but we're sure wasn't!) a rather rickety elevator, then climbing a ladder for the final 20 metres to stand at the top of a 98-metre tall wind turbine.

Pictures will follow, but I assure you the view was incredible!

The Beautiful Redheads of Tidaholm

Today we visited Swedish Match Industries AB and saw where the Aussie Redheads come from. Tidaholm has been significant in match production since 1868 when Tändsticksfabriks AB Vulcan was founded.

Retire! Retire! Tjäder Attack!

Here's the bird that Koren wrote about in her post which caused us to run! Hiking in the Billingen near Skövde we were priviliged enough to see a beautiful tjäder (grouse or black woodcock). It is rare to see one in the wild. The tjäder wasn't too happy though and quickly defended its territory.

Fartlek is not a dirty word...

Nothing like a fartlek run in the Swedish country side to start your day! (Click the link to find out more)

Images in the countryside

Swedish country side where we have hiked and beautiful timber homes

Cold weather outside Läckö Slott Castle, and Jamie running from a smelly forest pit toilet

A Lazy Swedish Sunday

It's a quiet Sunday evening in the lovely land of Tidaholm

http://www.maplandia.com/sweden/skaraborgs-lan/tidaholm-kommun/tidaholm/

and I (along with the rest of the team) have had the last few hours to take a breath, sigh, pinch myself a few more times and marvel at the range of experiences we've had over the last 9 days. Apologies for the the run of blog entries today after a long quiet spell from many of us, but as you can see, there has been way too much Swedish fun to be had to sit down and write about it!

Jamie was right in saying that it's impossible to know where to start when we have already seen and experienced SO much. Let me start by saying "Tack så mycket" to the families who have given us a bundle of magnificent memories so far. I would like to personally thank:

• Kalle & Eiwor Bynke in Skara
• Katharina Grahn & Tobias Mann and their children Carl and Anna in Mariestad
• Kenneth Franzen & Jörel Holmberg and their children Ida, Astrid and Jens in Skövde
• Sven and Birgitta Ingvar-Nilsson in Tidaholm (where I am staying now)

While all of us have been fortunate enough to have travelled a bit of the globe in our lives, we are so grateful to have this amazing experience of being welcomed into homes, families and very busy life routines. It's been terrific to be part of it all - cruising the supermarket aisles, meeting extended family members, walking dogs, chatting over the breakfast table, playing piano duets, going to concerts, riding horses and enjoying lots of Fika (coffee and cake break).

I remember marvelling at the glossy photos in my Sweden guidebook before I left Australia, but now that I'm here I can't believe how beautiful this country is in real life! The churches and houses which are nestled in the countryside are all so beautiful and so....Swedish. Words don't adequately explain, so as soon as we're able we'll post some photos. But for now, just imagine how you would design a perfect doll's house, and there you have your average Swedish country home, which usually comes with rows of daffodils and a long tapered Swedish flag flying. Most of the houses and barns are painted in red, the pigment of which was originally surplus copper from mining. With the white trim, they're a bit like gingerbread houses (or maybe I've just been eating too much cake at Fika time...)

We have really arrived at the prettiest time of the year. In less than 2 weeks we have seen some magical Spring transitions. Carpets of blue flowers gave way to tiny white flowers speckling the forest floors. More and more birds are bursting into song, and there are hints of brilliant green on many of the trees now. Also, the weather has been just glorious over the past few days. We even saw a Swedish lady gardening in her bikinis yesterday. We did freeze in the first few days we were here, which wasn't helped by our Aussie false assumption that a blue sky meant leave the warm clothes at home. Whoah, Jamie and Mike learnt their lesson when we visited Läckö Slott castle on the edge of Lake Vänern. Our experience of the initial cold snap (and pathetic coping skills with it) means that like the Swedes, we can really celebrate the arrival of the Spring now. We had a glorious walk through the forest in Billingen near Skövde on Thursday, and I assert that if there is a forest in heaven, that would be it.

Well, I think that's nearly enough from me for today. I'm going to sleep well tonight after the District 2380 Conference Gala Dinner last night, the conference today. Thanks to Conny for translating some of the speeches into English. It was really terrific to catch up with our friends from the Swedish GSE team this weekend. After the conference this afternoon I went riding with my host-mother Birgitta on her Icelandic Horses. This breed was brought to Sweden by the Vikings around a thousand years ago. They have a lovely temperament, and are well known for their extra pace, the "running walk" in which you can hold a pint of beer while riding and not spill a drop. I'm yet to test that out. These horses are also stable-trained, and can take a whizz on Birgitta's command! It was exciting to see my first deer in the forest when we were riding, and then come home to a wonderful meal of moose and potatoes - all from the farm.

Falköping

Wow, the wonderful GSE committee in district 2380 has created the most amazing program for us during our stay in Sweden. Each of us has already had wonderful experiences with our host families, seen incredible sights and made informative and eventful vocational visits. Right now the team members are breathing a little easier after making our presentation at the district conference. Thank you to all of the rotarians who got up early on a Sunday morning to listen to us speak and offered us such lovely comments. However, the formalities are by no means over and we look forward to our next presentation tomorrow at Titaholm Rotary Club.

Disco Mania

After anointing District Governor Jim Studebaker 'Disco Jim' at the 2009 District Conference in Launceston, it appears we have found his Swedish counterpart here in District 2380!

During the banquet dinner at Conference in Falköping last night, several groups made toasts and entertained us with songs. Not to be outdone, the Swedish GSE team soon took the stage, dragging the Aussie team up with them to sing Mama Mia. Who should suddenly appear alongside the group, dancing with Helena, but District Governor Sigvard Oscarsson. It seems that dancing is a pre-requisite skill of District Governors worldwide!

The legend of Disco Jim has spread far and wide, as in front of all gathered at the Conference plenary session this morning, District Governor Sigvard asked the team to pass best regards to 'Disco Jim' from 'Disco Siggy'!

Perhaps we need to consider changing the title from District Governor to Disco Governor?

Q: What do vegetarian canibals eat? A: Swedes.

Where to begin?!

I have been delaying writing a blog as it's a daunting task right now with all that we have seen and so little time to convey it. So here goes. I need to straight away send a big thank you to each of my hosts in Sweden - you have been wonderful and have treated us like royalty - we feel very priveleged!

Ok - down to recent news.

Today we presented to the District Conference in Falköping (pronounced something like "Fahlshurping" for those back home). While the feedback from our presentation was very warm, no doubt the standout moment was Mike teaching all the Swedes how to laugh like a kookaburra - who better to learn from than the man voted as having the best laugh in Victoria?!

We received some beautiful crane statuettes from the District 2380 District Governor, Sigvard Oscarsson, who after last night has been dubbed "Disco Siggy" for his dancing efforts with the GSE teams from Sweden and Australia. Something about a District Governor dancing and singing along with us to Abba's Mama Mia seemed strangely familiar...

Yet while singing Abba songs might sound Swedish, it's been by no means the most Swedish thing we've done. We've seen (as well as eaten) moose and reindeer, we've visited the biggest meatball factory in the world, we've had herring and caviar for breakfast frequently, we've picked the native wildflowers and drunk from fresh springs in the mountains, we've played a hybrid game of golf and soccer, we've visited viking burial mounds and runestones dating back thousands of years, we've enjoyed been forced to drink in moderation much aquavit, wine and local beer and we've been well and truly inducted into the great Swedish tradition of Fika (coffee time!). I am considering changing my name to Björn to keep up with all this Swedishness.

As for the Swedish people and the way they go about their work and their lives, Catherine perhaps summed it up best today when she told our Swedish audience that the word "balance" comes to the forefront of our minds when describing the Swedish ethos. In every facet of their lives they seem to strive for things to be "lagom", or "just right" - the balance of seriousness and informality, wealth and humility, the economy and the environment, conservatism and innovation - it seemingly pervades everything - even the toilet paper, which is often a nice balance between grit 60 and grit 70 sandpaper. (The exception is of course the wonderfully soft Lambi paper from Metsätissue, the paper producing company we recently visited! Mmm Lambi soft)

So presently, I am trying to work on being "lagom" when it comes to eating and running off the calories.

At most recent calculation I have about 536 Swedish miles to run after the first week.

Jag ska skriver igen snart! (I'll write again soon!)

Jamie

P.S.
In regards to Koren's first blog post, yes I will admit I did go into a local McDonalds - I couldn’t help but investigate whether they had any local delicacies – McRawHerring? McAbba? McInga? McSauna? McStefanEdberg? But the best they seemed to have is a new burger called the Chicago Star burger – Ironically a burger that tastes like Mexican food. Go figure. So yes, my first feed in Sweden was a Swedish-American-Mexican burger!

P.P.S.
A quick little discovery to mention before I end my first blog back. Do you remember the tennis star Björn Borg? Ever wondered what ever happened to him? Well in the shower my first morning as I reached for the soap, I couldn’t help but notice the soap was branded Björn Borg. Apparently after his tennis days were over, the Swedes believed he no longer served a purpose and in the great Swedish tradition of recycling to protect the environment, they micronised him into little molecules and turned this emulsion into soap. Ahh smell that Wimbledon locker room freshness....

True story.
;)

Heaps of Cranes

Our host families have shown us many beautiful sites in Sweden. In the first week we were lucky enough to see thousands of cranes at Lake Hornborga where they come annually on their way from Spain and Africa to the far north of Sweden.

Catherine and Belinda Make Headlines

In Skara, Catherine and Belinda were a big hit when they visited Mariebergsskolan. The rest of the team were surprised to recognise someone in the local newspaper the next morning. Mariebergsskolan has about 280 pupils from nursery to comprehensive school.

Adventures in Sweden

The team on Billingen

Where is the time going? We've now been in Sweden for 9 glorious days. In so many ways it feels like we've been here forever and yet like we've just arrived.

Over the past week, we have:

• made several individual vocational visits


• sampled ramslok, a wild, garlic-flavoured leaf, fresh from the hills of Kinnekulle mountain


• discovered the ancient Swedish ritual of fika and drinking our combined body weight in coffee


• taught numerous locals the ancient Aussie ritual of the Tim Tam Slam


• caught up with two lovely ladies of the Swedish GSE team, Annica and Maria


• become celebrities thanks to Cath and Belinda appearing in the Skara paper
• thrown some snowballs


• imitated Benny Hill as we ran from a rather irate grey grouse (or black woodcock)whom we had angered in pursuit of a photograph


• seen how paper is made at MetsaTissue


• picked wild nettle to make (an extremely delicious) soup with


• entertained many a Swede with our rousing, incomplete version of Waltzing Matilda


• eaten. eaten. eaten.


• encouraged several unsuspecting hosts to sample Vegemite (sorry)


• explained unique Australian phraseology - no worries, mate!


• had the Australian and Rotary flags flown in Mariestad town square in our honour


• fallen in love - with the scenery, the food and the people

Thank you to all our wonderful hosts, each of whom has made the idea of going home that little bit harder. Your generosity, hospitality and willingness to share your country with us will be long remembered.

I would like to say a particular thanks to Bengt and Birgit Lindhe of Skara, the Dahlberg family of Mariestad and the Gullstrand Hallberg family of Skovde for welcoming me into your beautiful homes and making me feel like one of the family. I hope to repay the favour in Australia some day!

I'm loving it

After spending 28 hours in a metal tube we arrived in Sweden last Wednesday. And it is awesome! There are no words to describe it here really other than to say it is everything you expect and more. The people, the sights, the atmosphere, the learnings... what else can I say but thank you, thank you, thank you Rotary.

From the moment we arrived we have been extremely well looked after. We were met at the airport by Conny and Lars-Göte who promptly took us to a spa resort to get over our jet lag. There we all enjoyed the spa, walks through the forest and our first Swedish meal of pickled fish. Well, with the exception of Jamie. On the way from the airport his hunger got the better of him and his first Swedish meal was... wait for it... McDonalds! Don't worry, he has copped plenty of grief from his travel companions for that one.

I don't know what they put in the water at the spa but it worked in curing our jet lag. By the following day we were bright as buttons and ready to go, which was a very good thing as our vocational visits started for me on Thursday.

I was taken to see Scan AB, one of northern Europe's largest meat/cured meat producers and on Friday I visited Ecco Finishing, makers and sellers of spray painting guns to the world. Two places that I never thought I'd see the inside of and yet completely and utterly fascinating. A big thank you to Ulf Lundgren at Scan and Dick Svensson at Ecco Finishing for your time - I really enjoyed learning more about your companies and Swedish business practices.

On Friday, Jamie and I were invited back to Scan to see how their famous meatballs are made. It's a shame we couldn't take photos as the plastic get-ups we donned (for hygiene reasons) needed to be seen to be believed. I daresay that it was the only time in my life that I will ever be seen in plastic pants, plastic jacket, plastic shoes and shower cap, but it was worth it. Particularly when we got to sample the product!

Yesterday was spent climbing mountains, visiting lakeside castles where the temperature was 5 degrees plus windchill (the boys near froze to death as they did not think to bring jackets), sampling wildflowers and eating in Sweden's oldest inn, finishing with a Swedish smorgasbord dinner and singalong.

Right, off into the kitchen now. After taking me to see a lake where 15,000 birds stop off on their migration north each year (total there today: 1,200) and a 1,000 year old church today, Birgit is going to give me another learning experience and show me how to stew moose!

WE'RE HERE!

Vi ar i Sverige! We were met this morning in Gothenburg by Rotary District 2380 GSE Chair Conny Johannson and Assistant Governor Lars-Gote Lofdahl. We enjoyed the most scenic drive through the Swedish farmland and pine forest, passing beautiful red painted timber houses and open fields beside peaceful lakes. We arrived safely in the pretty town of Lundsbrunn, where we are staying for tonight in a Spa Resort. We look forward to having a wander around and taking a few photos to post on our blog, but for now we need a bit of a rest after a long 28 hour journey and our first delectable meal of pickled herring!

Now that we have pulled it off and arrived in one piece, we have a number of personal thanks we would like to give:

Mike

I would like to thank my wife Lara for her enormous support especially in caring for our daughter Kayla (4) and son Billy (2) while I am in Sweden. I would like to thank Rotarian Spencer Bock, Past District Governor John Wigley and the Rotary Club of Melbourne for their encouragement along my journey in Rotary to GSE team leadership.
I acknowledge with appreciation the value placed on my Rotary endeavours by my employer Silcar Pty Ltd, the Sentinar JV and Telstra Corporation.

Jamie

I would like to thank Philip Archer in particular, whose guidance, patience, support and encouragement have been invaluable. A great boss to work for at the Archway Group and someone who has provided me with a great exposure to Rotary. A huge thanks similarly goes out from me to the Rotary Club of Southbank for the trust and faith they showed in nominating me for the Swedish GSE trip – I will endeavour to repay your belief in me. I would also like to thank my family for their assistance, understanding and help in getting me this far. I’ll give you a buzz from Sweden when I need more money. Just kidding. Last but not least, thanks to my fellow team members and team leader – I’m really looking forward to the trip with you and again would like to express my gratitude for you help, understanding and good natures – I feel honoured to be travelling with such a great team!

Koren

Thank you to the Rotary Club of Hawthorn for sponsoring me to take part in this magnificent program, with particular thanks to Henry and Jane Drury. Your guidance has been much appreciated and I look forward to sharing my learnings with you all on our return. A further thank you goes to my colleagues in Victoria Division at CPA Australia for their enthusiasm and encouragement of my involvement in the GSE. You couldn’t hope to meet a more supportive bunch of people and it is my privilege to work with you.

And finally, thank you to my partner Dave and my family for all of your understanding, assistance and guidance during the preparation for the trip. Your advice did sink in - I managed to pack (semi-) light!

Catherine

An enormous thank-you to all at the Rotary Club of Canterbury, particularly Gerry Cross, Jim Clements and Doug Hawley for their support and encouragement in the GSE application process. When I met this enthusiastic and dedicated group of people in the Philippines in 2006, I couldn’t have imagined that two and a half years later I would be travelling to Sweden on the GSE program. I continue to be inspired by the Rotary Club of Canterbury, am grateful to have been involved with their Philippines projects and am very proud to be representing this club.

Thank-you to my employer Doutta Galla Community Health Service and my colleagues in the Chidren’s Services Team, who have supported my participation in this wonderful experience, and are continuing to run our programs in my absence.

A final big thank-you to my family and friends, who have supported me in too many ways to mention.

Belinda

I would like to extend a huge thank you to the Rotary Club of Laverton Point Cook for the tremendous encouragement that they have shown me throughout the process of applying and preparing for the Group Study Exchange program. In particular I would like to thank Kay and Peter Kearney for their support of me both personally and professionally, and Fay Lunn who presented me with the wonderful idea in the first place. I would like to acknowledge the staff at Carranballac College who have ensured that my mind can rest easy whilst I am away.

I look forward to returning from Sweden and sharing with the club and my workplace all that I have learned and experienced. Finally, a great big thank you to my friends and family who have shown me nothing but unwavering encouragement and displayed continued excitement on my behalf.

Thank you #1

As a team we would like to firstly thank all Rotarians for their support of the Rotary Foundation, through which we have been given the opportunity to go on the Group Study Exchange program. We would like to in particular acknowledge the support and organisation work of District Governor Jim Studebaker, District GSE Chair Dennis Shore and all those on the District 9800 GSE Committee – your advice, support, wisdom and preparation (often behind the scenes) is greatly appreciated. A big thank you must also go out to the Rotary Club of Bendigo for organising our farewell dinner, we enjoyed meeting with you all.

We would also like to express our gratitude to a number of corporate supporters who have aided us greatly by way of provision of products and discounts. Thank you to the following companies for their support:

Myer (who helped us with our formal team outfits)

Tommy Hilfiger (who provided support with the mens’ informal team uniform)

The National Gallery of Victoria (who assisted us with gifts for our hosts)

Noone Imagewear (who have also assisted us with gifts for our hosts)

The City of Melbourne (who have provided us with a number of promotional materials depicting Melbourne)

The Archway Group (who have provided facilities and material assistance to support our preparations)

Thank you: