Seasons Endings

Since my arrival to Sweden, I have been given the unique opportunity to assist Daniel as a volunteer coach with Ljungby Volleyboll Klubb in the second-half of their season, where they would play in the Vårtvåan South-West. The bottom two teams would move down to Division 2, and the top four teams would remain in Division I. The first-half of the season, Ljungby struggled to compete against their Division 1 South opponents, taking only two sets of their eight total matches.

Initially, progress was slow, but steady, and as the weeks rolled on, the athletes' improvements became more and more evident to the few fans we had. Practices often started sluggish, but by increasing the demands and pace of the drills, we were able to get a lot accomplished. The girls' skills and expectations of themselves increased every month as well. Initially, the team was satisfied with a single-set victory, which they had achieved two additional times in January's matches against VK Veddige (16-25, 25-17, 9-25, 20-25) and Eneryda Nsf (19-25, 19-25, 25-21, 18-25). By February, winning one set was no longer enough. After 5 weeks of focused practices and dedication, they were able to secure their first 5-set match, falling to Tuve VK 21-25, 25-23, 25-23, 19-25, 16-18. Despite the loss, the girls, parents, and club were rejuvenated, feeling as though their commitment to the team had begun to pay off. It was big step in the right direction, but still, we wanted more.

One month later, Ljungby faced Eneryda Nsf on their home court, and pulled off their first and only win of the season: 25-21, 10-25, 25-15, 25-14. This match also marked the first time Ljungby had been victorious in the first set of a match this year. Mentally, the girls had overcome the fears, doubts, and worries they had been plagued with since the club's decision to have this former U17 team as the new LVBK A-team competing in Division I. They initially met this challenge with hesitation and uncertainty, but with their newfound success, their confidence was growing. It was a turning point in the season.

Although we qualified down to Division 2 for the next season in a tough 4-set loss against Tuve (26-24, 26-28, 23-25, 13-25), Ljungby continued to impress spectators and opponents alike. Our final match was against nearby rival Gislaved. Again, we experienced another nail-biting 5-set match: 20-25, 25-21, 25-19, 21-25, 12-15. With loss comes disappointment, yet the players were happy with all they had accomplished in this season. Each player had stepped up to the task in front of them, and left all they had on the court. It is a great day in athletics to see such a vast improvement in this short amount of time. I am so glad to have had this opportunity to help make a difference in this team. I cannot have imagined a better and more inspiring group of athletes to coach. Each day coming to the gym, they were eager and willing to learn. They challenged me to create technical but fun drills. I cannot express my thanks to the club for welcoming me back into their organization. I hope that I can continue to give back to the sport of volleyball. Until next season...

How-To: Look Like a Swede

Tall. Slender body. Blonde. Blue-eyed. Flawless skin. High cheek bones. That is the image that many have when they picture a Swede. Don't get me wrong, the media has provided many prime candidates to prove this true: Malin Åkerman of Couples Retreat, Alexander Skarsgård of True Blood, musician/DJ Avicii, and Tiger Woods' ex-wife Elin Nordegren.

Malin Åkerman

Alexander Skarsgård

Avicii

Elin Nordegren

Take, for example, this photo-collage of when I played in Sweden during the 2011-2012 season. All blondes with blue-eyes...

Pictured left to right: Emma and Sofie, me and Jo (both American), Malin, and Lisa.

Although many of the Swedes I have met DO, in fact, have eyes and hair on the lighter side, blonde hair and blue eyes are not a Swedish guarantee. Despite having a population of 9.64 million people, there are a vast amount of foreign-born immigrants, which causes a mixture of physical traits. Sweden does not base demographics on ethnicity, thus making exact numbers difficult, however national backgrounds are recorded and show that 14% of Swedish residents are foreign-born. The top ten foreign-born groups hail from:

1. Finland
2. Iraq
3. Poland
4. Former Yugoslavia
5. Iran
6. Bosnia and Herzegovinia
7. Germany
8. Turkey
9. Denmark
10. Somalia

Such influx of immigrants has been a major source of population growth and cultural diversity throughout Swedish history. 

To maintain the Swedish figure, many adhere to their native "Nordic diet" in which they consume local, seasonal vegetables, fatty fish (rich in Omega 3's) and often participate in regular exercise. Genetics will play a strong role is your body-type, and as in any first-world country, abundant food options can allow for consumers to fall victim of over-eating. Depending which side of the food-spectrum you choose to participate, your body shape will likely follow.

I have also noticed that Sweden makes staying active an easy part of everyday life, thus promoting the Swedish slender figure. Most cities and towns have bike and walking paths that makes getting around safe and easy for all ages. People are much more likely to ride their bike to and from school or work than they are to drive; not only giving them an outdoor exercise, but also keeping down on the overall pollution. Many people will also participate in some sport, hiking/skiing, or just going to the gym.

Town map of Ljungby

Of course, as the seasons change, so do the activities in which the locals will participate. In the summer, you can find Swedes hanging out near any body of water they can find, enjoying barbecues, tanning, golfing, beach volleyball, and soccer. As winter approaches, people turn to skiing, hiking, and hockey. Whatever the weather, Swedes will find some way to get outdoors, even if for a short time.

Ljungby by the Numbers

I recently reconnected with a middle school church friend, with whom I have stayed in rather loose contact with since my family's move from Birmingham to the St. Augustine area. She has since relocated with her husband - which is very weird to say - to South Korea, while I am now living with my boyfriend in Sweden. Despite an 8-hour time difference, we were able to chat for a while on Skype and decided that we needed to learn a bit more about our respective "home towns". Thus the idea to generate a "City by the Numbers" blog, intended to provide our readers, each other, and ourselves with a bit more knowledge. I give you: 

Ljungby by the Numbers.

The Kingdom of Sweden is the 55th largest country in the world with 9.64 million inhabitants. For an American perspective, this country is slightly larger than the state of California, with a population more similar to that of North Carolina. On average, Swedes live to be about 81.3 years, with 87% of adults age 25-65 with a high school degree. The country has an average household income of $26,242 per year; while working just 1,644 hours per year.

Geographically, the country is divided into 3 landsdelar (areas of the country), from north to south. These areas are non-functioning, with their main purposes being that of weather-reports tailored best for the region in which you live.

1. Norrland - "Northlands", 60% of Sweden, with only 1.15 million inhabitants, best known for it's natural wilderness 
2. Svealand - "Sweden Proper", the original Sweden with 3.53 million inhabitants
3. Götaland - "Land of the Goths", the most densely populated at 4.35 million inhabitants within deep forests and farmland 

Culturally, Sweden has twenty-five landskap (provinces), as shown on the colored map. These are meant to preserve historical legacies and allow for cultural identification. I live in Småland ("Small Lands"), alongside 720,358 others. This province is full of forests, lakes and bogs, with mostly barren land.

Politically, Sweden is divided into twenty-one län (counties), in which there is an elected governor and county administrative board to oversee various domestic needs, such as health care, and ensure that the county develops in line with national goals. The governor is appointed every six-years, and assisted by an elected city council. Each county is further divided into kommunes (municipalities), with their own representative in the county council, elected every four-years.

Sweden has 290 kommunes, each with a city council with the responsibilities of managaging facilities and services including housing, roads, water supply and waste-water processing, schools, public welfare, elderly care and childcare. 

Kronobergs Län, where I live, is located within the heart of Småland and has eight kommunes:

1. Älmhult Kommune pop: 15,640
2. Alvesta Kommune pop: 18,766
3. Lessebo Kommune pop: 8,161
4. Ljungby Kommune pop: 27,365
5. Markaryd Kommune pop: 9,608
6. Tingsryd Kommune pop: 12,290
7. Uppvidinge Kommune pop: 9,291
8. Växjö Kommune pop: 82,180

Finally, Ljungby Kommune is comprised of eight urban areas, or localities:

1. Ljungby pop: 15,205
2. Lagan pop: 1,751
3. Ryssby pop: 689
4. Lidhult pop: 635
5. Kånna pop: 365
6. Vittaryd pop: 306
7. Angelstad pop: 276
8. Agunnaryd pop: 215

This has provided me with far more numerical information than I had ever expected, and opened my eyes to the endless possibilities of new blogs that can easily be stemmed from my current research. Although many of you have little, if any desire, to read this, for those of you that HAVE done so, I express much gratitude. Until next time...

IKEA - a Swedish Design

IKEA is the best and worst thing that has happened to me in Sweden. It is a store with endless opportunities of ways to recreate your kitchen, bedroom, foyer, dining room, living room, or bathroom with their ready-to-assemble furniture items. You can physically insert yourself into any of their display rooms and generate an imaginary life for yourself. Did I mention they also have a restaurant? Check out this scene from 500 Days of Summer for an inside look:

Luckily for me, the first-ever IKEA store was founded in Ämhult, a mere 43 minute drive from my new hometown of Ljungby. Rumor has it that Ingvar Kamprad, the 17-year-old founder of IKEA wanted to open the store in Ljungby - as he is from a small village just outside of the city, but was turned down as Ljungby already had a "similar" furniture store. Talk about your missed opportunity.

Daniel and I purchased a dresser, bathroom cabinet, bar-chair, small bedside table, and ceiling lamp for a grand total of $253.96. Upon departure with all of our new goodies, we were overly satisfied with our economical efficiency. So many great purchases for a fairly low price, and items we could keep and use for years. Then we had to assemble the pieces. There is no language in the world, except perhaps hieroglyphs that can help prepare you for and IKEA instruction manual:

The sheer frustration of this seemingly impossible task was breaking us. We managed to assemble the chair and the ceiling light unscathed, but the bathroom shelving unit was a real jerk. It seemed best for our relationship to call it quits after our 4th failed attempt to straighten the door of the cabinet. The next day, we awoke refreshed, and ready for our final piece: the dresser. A few minor hiccups kept us busy for the entire day, taking small fika breaks here and there to ward off any tension that may be bubbling under the surface. 

Dressers in our bedroom: both from IKEA

Bathroom cabinet

It's fair to say that IKEA brings more to the home than just the ability to create the perfect image of your dream bedroom or kitchen; IKEA helps solidify relationships. If you can make it through the carrying-boxed-items-up-the-stairs + the what's-the-word-for-Phillips-head-screwdriver-in-Swedish + Meghan-can't-read-pictorial-instructions, then your relationship is bound to last. Thank you, IKEA.

My Life as a Swedish Chef

The original Swedish Chef first premiered on The Muppet Show in 1975, 14 years prior to my existence on Earth. He is famously known for his incomprehensible mock Swedish spoken aloud as he prepares some faux recipe for his TV viewers. In every episode, he fails, resorting to some ridiculous antics. Unfortunately for you, dear readers, I am no where near as entertaining.

No. My cooking is much more tame. I recently spent an entire day searching the web on Pinterest, PoorGirlEatsWell.com (yes, that's an actual website), and AllRecipes.com for the easiest meals possible. I've come across one website where you can enter all the contents of your refrigerator and pantry, and it will generate meals you can make based off of these items; the best we had was grilled cheese. YUM! So when reading further, I found a few articles that seemed doable...at first.

The eager chef and sous-chef ready to tackle the kitchen!

The other night, Daniel and I attempted to make Twice-Baked Potatoes. I research many recipes for the easiest, and received different ideas on the temperature at which to cook the potatoes. We started the first 30 minutes at 175 C, and increased it to 200 C for the second 30 minutes. Unfortunately, we didn't know to wrap the potatoes in aluminum foil (thanks for the late tip, Piper) so they were a bit undercooked. Even so, our hunger was satisfied with this beautiful masterpiece:

The finished product: 2 potatoes, salad, and 2 skin-fries each

It was a tough feat, one that will be an ongoing battle between me and the kitchen appliances. At least nothing's caught fire or burned too badly...except for Daniel's thumb.

52 Days of Summer

My summer with Daniel started June 7. We traveled 1,526 miles (over 24 hours of driving) in just FIVE days. Our Trip: Atlanta - Lake City - Lake Park  - Boca Raton - Miami - Key Largo - Ponte Vedra - Athens. 

This was all just 2 days before our week-long trip across the country 4,821 miles from Atlanta, GA to Fairbanks, AK. Despite the exhaustion (and occasional complaints), every second of this trip was 100% worth it. How many people have an opportunity in their life to go to Alaska?

4 wheeling along the Alaskan pipeline

Enjoying the scenery in Denali National Park and Preserve (Mt McKinley)

We spent the next week in Athens packing up my apartment, realizing that there is NOTHING to do in an American college town during the summer, and preparing for our next journey across the Atlantic. We traveled 5,500 miles from Atlanta to Budapest to begin our 2nd coaching tour with Bring it Promotions' Southeastern team. Keep in mind that this was not a direct flight. Our team finished 2nd overall in the tournament, losing to reigning champions Falconara juniors from Italy. For a group of college athletes that had only met 8 days before, we were extremely pleased with all they were able to accomplish. 

2013 BIP-SE team, Global Challenge tournament: Budapest-Pula-Venice

We finally concluded our seven weeks together traveling 1,089 miles from Venice to Ljungby via bus, plane, train, and car. I could not have asked for a more memorable summer. As sad as I am to be leaving Sweden and our summer together, I know that this is just another stepping stone in creating our lives together. 

My trip back to Athens continues adding back over 4,578 miles and a 6-hour time change between Daniel and me. 

Curricular Activities

Besides my stint as the volleyball team’s “video coordinator”, I spend most of my days in my Sports Pedagogy classes, conveniently located in the Ramsey Center. I’ve managed to make a few friends, but have limited time to hang out due to my busy schedule. It’s nice that my program here is relatively compact, and most of my classes are made up of the same students. My professors aren’t too intense, but exams and papers are starting to pile up, so I’m sure it’s only a matter of time. 

Since my undergraduate degree was in Exercise Science instead of Education department, I have a few undergrad level courses I have to take to fulfill my teacher certificate degree needs. Hence, my classmates are split between undergrads in my Teaching Net/Wall Activities and Foundations of Sports Pedagogy classes and graduate/doctoral students in my Instructional Planning and Analysis of Pedagogy in Sport classes. There are a few people who I am in every class with, making our subgroup a little bit closer. I'm lucky to have a good core group of peers who are all (obviously) interested in the same things as I am (sports). 

I was able to go to an art studio called Pints and Paints with two girls (Erin and Meg) from my classes to celebrate Meg's birthday. As I'm sure you were able to get from the name, you drink pints while painting...it's a fantastic combination attempting to distract you from your atrocious painting skills (or in my case, lack thereof) through consumption of alcohol. It obviously worked:

Just made a little bit of a mess 

Everyone's final masterpiece

My finished painting - hanging proudly in my apartment

Some of my undergrad classmates came by our first home tournament at the start of the season, and rumor has it that they are planning something interesting for this upcoming weekend vs Alabama and Arkansas. Stay tuned for more curricular happenings......