little saturday

hej! sorry for the infrequency of my updates these days. the påsk/easter holidays have thrown the schedules of this little town off as everyone headed into the mountains to their cabins for the holiday. the kids have all this week off school, as well as some days the week before that. the sami kids will soon have 3 more weeks off so that they can accompany their families and reindeer into the mountains for calf markings and such. the spring holiday for me kicked off with my attendance to the first party i've been invited to since i moved here. it was at the new home of 22 year-old vidar sergeström, in a giant old house he recently purchased upon his return from travels in new zealand. here are some snaps from that - i cannot emphasize how good it felt to hang out with other people my age...


elina kuhmeneu


hilke hagedorn - german exchange student and good friend of mine here


ivan from greenland and viktor sergeström


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cousins sigrid and ivan sergeström




except for the few days i've spend in two southern cities - stockholm and luleå- it's been almost a three months since my feet have touched bare concrete. that is, concrete not covered in inches of ice or layer upon layer of snow. it feels good to run and stroll and not have to watch each step so carefully. the melting is lovely right now, as the ground is still frozen and the seas of mud have yet to give way. the long, long days have also snuck up on us, here in Jokkmokk, for now, the sun does not completely set until at least 11pm. the streetlights have been turned off for good now, as the sun rises at 3:30 or 4am. very soon there will be 24 hours of daylight...i hope i will adapt to this quickly, because i haven't slept well in nights/days because of the lack of darkness. and this isn't even the true midnight sun! this week i leave for Finland, to Romanievi, and then Inari, and soon, into Norway. my time in Jokkmokk has been so varied and full, though riding out the arctic winter in a small town of 3,000 may not sound like it could have much to offer. on the contrary, i've come to know in small ways the spirit of the people and a town ( a home) that i know i wouldn't have been able to grasp had i not given myself the time and patience to do so. i've learned that i have the ability to cope with loneliness in many different forms. the loneliness of language, of looking differently, of simply being a stranger in a place where near-familial friendships often go back three or more generations. observing the bonds that can be built in a place that many people in the south see as a nowhere with little to offer has been a humbling experience.
in order to prepare for my move to Finland, inspired by my pal Erin, i've begun to read the Finnish epic poem the Kalevala (thank you Project Gutenberg). in a word - incredible.

Golden friend, and dearest brother,
Brother dear of mine in childhood,
Come and sing with me the stories,
Come and chant with me the legends,
Legends of the times forgotten,
Since we now are here together,
Come together from our roamings.
Seldom do we come for singing,
Seldom to the one, the other,
O'er this cold and cruel country,
O'er the poor soil of the Northland.