Overlevna... Survival Swedish Style.

Am back. Am dry. Here's my story:

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This is what everyone got food-wise for the weekend: A bag of flower and a bag of almonds, chocolate, raisins, and apricots. And little chunks of roots, pine needle tea, and other gathered treasures... not bad.

Additionally, each participant got a pen, a tea candle, three matches, a little notebook, a towelette, a tampon, handsanitizer, and a trash bag. Everyone had to bring a tarp, a sleepingbag, a backpack, outdoor clothing including raingear, a tincan, a flashlight, and either three cigarettes or three snoozes (om man vill - if desired).

We were bussed up north and dropped at a highway exit on a dark, rainy Friday eve. The kids were given maps and directions and... on we went. I was impressed by the leadership some of the elders of the group offered. Several of the youth (between 14 and 27 years old) had either been in the military or are currently volunteering with the military. Others had never slept outside or hiked with a pack. Beef and I hiked mostly in the back, enjoying the energy of the group and the fun unusual way to spend an evening. After several hours of hiking we made it into camp around 3 am. Everyone crashed. Patrick, Beef and I created a little home underneath a tree. I slept soundly between 4 am and 8 am.

Saturday was spent setting up a group shelter, engaging in trust exercises and doing fire times (aka baking, chatting, ember gazing). Here's how Swedes make themselves 'feel at home' in the woods:

Yup, those birch trees were cut for the occasion. Swedes appear to feel less shy about engaging with nature (and utilizing it) than what I've learned during my Leave-No-Trace--Phase in the US.

I like these kids. They're fun and they teach me Swedish. These are some of the elders who worked hard for the well-being of the group. Fun to be around.

That's the finished product. Yes, it was completely dissassembled at the end. And yes, there was a pile of birch trees... no trash. That will take some getting used to for me. Curious to see how I'll feel about it a year from now.

Blissful, no? Our fire bed. The triangle bred on the center rock is mine... filled with "Surprise Cranberries" in the middle. Yum!

The center of the shelter is kept open for smoke management. We were lucky as it didn't rain heavily at all... people sure got cozy in here.

Getting-to-know-yas... the weekend is an integral part of the youth program Back Up. Each school year youth get to apply to be part of the group who ensures that Norrkoping's streets are staying safe for all. By engaging in a weekend of learning how to overlevna in the woods, the new group members are challenged to increase their comfort zones with one another.

Evening activity: Trust Rating (each person had to write down each group members name and rate their level of trust with them - 1: no trust, 10: absolute trust - I got mostly high numbers but also some random 2s and 4s. Beef got a 10!!)

Getting up on Sunday I got some immediate gratification... the sun playing with the colors in skogen. Love it!



When I made it to the group, they had already taken down the shelter and gotten ready to leave... man were they eager to go home!!

I was impressed with the hiking of our group. Not much complaining. A funny moment happened only minutes after this shot. One of the ledare offered pain pills to everyone (me too). This kind of stuff is going to make me feel 'culture shocked'.

Surprise! Michelle brought food to our last stop before the bus. She was greeted with much excitement...!

This was on the menu:

And this is what Beef did. Hang out on the leash. :(
One of the girls was afraid of dogs which made this weekend non-Beef-ideal. We took some time strolling and frolicking throughout though. All in all much fun.

So - we all survived. Even the weather was gentle with us. Good times!

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One memorable moment (for me) happened on the first night's hike. One of the kids asked me how long I was going to stay in Sweden... "Forever!" I said, without thinking. Then I slapped my hand on my mouth in shock. "I mean... for a while". Alter ego talking or what...?