Let´s get creative again!

Yup!

I was gone - I know!

But, now I am back....or at least going to make an attempt at comming back.

It is all thanks to my sweet Martha, who with a passing comment reminded me that I used to have a blog.

And I used to love to blog and add pics....but somewhere along the line this job of mine has squeezed all my energy, time and creativity out of me....

Question is...why did I let it do that to me? Ahhh...whatever - I am back!

This time I am bringing someone special with me. Dedicating todays entry to my sweetheart Robert, who accepts all of me for who I am and who shows me daily how much a person can appreciate, love and care for you. Thanks baby!

Day 10 - Munkedal & Stockholm

Tuesday
0700 Wake up call!
0830 Load all luggage in van and depart hotel. We are late due to complications with check out system. Drive to the municipal building where the project facilitators are waiting together with half of the group of participants! Just seeing them brings joy to my heart, they are smiling and happy to see us and hugs are exchanged!

0900 We arrive at the Plantschool, where we meet the rest of the participants and our guide for the excursion we are doing together this morning. We will visit the Nordic Ark, a group who preserve and take care endagered nordic animal species. Drive another 15 minutes to the location, a huge outdoor zoo-like location in the middle of the oak forest! Everything is emerald green, lilacs are blooming as well as lily of the valley – sunshine and blue skies! In a relaxed fashin we walk through the compund, which gives me the opportunity to talk to each participant individually, listening to their experiences of the exchange, their hostfamilies, workplacements, counterparts and challenges! The group is doing good, only normal, average hardships which come with being in an exchange like this for 6 months. Spending time with them like this gives insight somewhat of wether or not the goals with the exchange are fulfilled, one thing is obvious – individuals have grown stronger as well as having gained knowledge and experience on our theme of sustainable entrepreneurship!

1130 We need to leave the compound but a journalist has showned up and starts to interview the Director General of CDD (highest ranking visitor from Thailand). The participants go ahead to lunch, we follow shortly once I have been able to give time for the interview as well as move our group ahead - we have a TIGHT schedule today!

1200 Leave the compound with the journalist as our guide – I have never driven here before! Arrive at the school and everybody eats lunch while I talk to the journalist to make sure he has the correct facts about the exchange. In the end I have 15 min to down my lunch before everybody gathers in a classroom to listen to the participants present their exchange to a swedish class of hormonal youth. It is inspiring and uplifting and we cheer them on encouragingly! Gifts are exchanged and some words are said to the group from me as well as DG.

1400 Depart hastily, with a 2 hour drive ahead of us. Everbody else is sleeping, and my eyes start drooping after 1 hour – I am tired.

1545 Arrive in Skövde, fill gastanks and ask random individuals on the street for directions to the centralstation. Dump all passangers and 20+++ luggage at the train tracks, drive the rental vans to another parking on the opposite side of the train station and run back, return the keys, make sure we are on the right plattform – and the train rolls in!

1647 Train depart for Stockholm. Dog tired. Make sure everybody is comfortable, then sit down and download the menu of the restaurant for the evening and place an order by phone. No time to waste! Arrange some last minute things with Nathalie who is meeting up with us at the hotel to assist. Martin is working equally as diligently, arranging all kinds of practical things for our group.

1840 Arrive to Stockholm. With luggages and all, and only one elevator it takes us 20 minutes to get to the taxi. Arrive at the hotel, no elevator and the heaviest luggages ends up going to the third floor. No choice but to carry luggage once again! Nathalie assists wonderfully, plus she provides with espresso I have ordered – need some caffeine by now. Call the restaurant and inform we are on our way, they are prepared. We make the 20 minute walk from the hotel to Medborarplatsen, all the way answering questions about Sweden, Stockholm and things we see on the way.

2000 Dinner at thai restaurant! An array of delicious dishes of food are displayed on our table, we taken well care of by the waitresses. Everybody enjoys! Erika is there to keep us company and welcome our guests officially from CIU.

2130 Martin and I excuse ourselves from the company. Nathalie and Erika take care of them the rest of the evening. Head home, wash clothes, repack for going to Storuman in the morning – it is still winter up there! Take care of some important emails for work as well as checking some financial matters. Phonecalls are made and other practical matters taken care of – such as making sure I have enough gifts to give our guests on the final evening.

0030 Lights off! Cannot sleep...4 hours of poor sleep tonight! This is day 10 and physically I am pretty tired.

Day 9 - Munkedal

Monday
0630 Wake up, shower, check out the entire group. Reception confused - I need two receipts, one for the 7 thai visitors and another for us that my job pays for (this has been the case everyday, wether it is meals, hotel or anything else – two groups, two receipts and two credit cards).

0800 Breakfast meeting with contact person from Vara municipality, who would like to be hostcommunity next year.

0930 Reception still not done checking my groups out!
0945 Leave the hotel and drive 10 min to a main road, where i meet up with the rest of the group who have had a meeting with the muncipality of Götene. Some come to my van and we begin our 2 hour journey by car to Munkedal, a small town close to the westcoast of Sweden.

1150 Arrive to Munkedal, welcoming by the municipality, gifts and words are exchanged. Followed by lunch all together, which again turns into a logistic challenge of explaining the menu of a local pizzeria/lunch place to the thai. Too much food is again ordered, they start laughing in surprise when the huge pizza arrives. Discuss the future of the exchange with head of municipality.

1400 Visit a workplacement, Stone mason company with a twist! Run by a creative female entrepreneur. Two of the participants have this as their workplacement and they are there to show us around. Listen and talk to them about their exchange.

1530 Check in at Munkedal Herrgård, a mansion turned into a hotel! Very nice, located on a green slope, butting against the dense oak forest. Carry heavy pieces of luggage as our guests are in need of assistance with this. Make sure everyone has a room, park the minivans and drop my own luggage in my room.

1600 Pick up at the mansion by same group of municipal staff from lunch and a few others, including 2 hostfamilies. A bus takes us all, in total 19 people, far into the forest – where they have arranged an adventure event in the wilderness for us to experience. Divided into teams, mix swedish and thai, we do various tasks – chopping wood, logging machinery, transporting logs from one island to another etc. One of our esteemed guests from Thailands experiences an unvoluntary swim in the swedish lake! Brrrrr!! We enjoy deer meet bbq at the indoor fire lodge by our camp and we love it! We sing thai and swedish traditional songs, tell stories, jokes, laugh and eat together! Give a speach about the greatness of our exchange, with our group as an example of the extended exchange experience, and the importance of developing our young people!

2200 Arrive back to our mansion for the night, do some work on the computer, manage some finance issues.

2345 Lights off!

Day 8 - Götene

Sunday
0700 Wake up, lovely breakfast in a dining hall full of people there for mothers day celebration.

0830 Depart for Kunskapscentrum, where we meet all the participants! Excited to see them and I make sure everybody is greeted personally! They have prepared a presentation for us about their time so far in Sweden. Time is given for me to talk one hour just with the swedish participants, the thai visitors spend the time with the thai participants. Talk more in depth about their experiences, what has been good and what has been challenging. The group is happy, they have a really good energy and they enjoy Götene! Homesick of course, but at the same time dont want the exchange to end..

1100 Depart for Falkängen, an old, traditional crafts village. The youth are given a task by their project fascilitator, to do a SWOT analysis on the craftsvilage! I love it as I watch their keen interest and engagement. Walk around and look at the arts and crafts, shop some gifts and talk to the participants. Director General of CDD wants to see the lake so I make a quick drive with them to the lakeshore – take some pictures and return back to the group. Gifts are given to the youth and we go for lunch! It has been good to see the participants!

1300 After lunch at local asian restaurant, with 15 dishes at least, we visit three hostfamilies – all very different! Love seeing how other people live and the people of Götene are very warm and friendly. It is a beautiful sunny day and at one of the families we are served rhubarb pie and coffee!! Highly recommended! The final hostfamily takes us to the mink farm the father works at, a request from DG. Here I come to fully understand what this is all about and decide that I am not for this kind of thing. Feel very sad for the animals! Not to mention the stench!!

1800 Return to the hotel and take care of some things, freshen up and then take the group to the local pizzeria where we have booked a table. Finding anything open in this area on a Sunday was almost an impossible task. The Lebanese owner takes good care of us and we are full and satisfied when we return back to our rooms at 2130. Take care of few things...

0000 Lights off!

Day 7 - Götene

0600 Wake up, get ready, breakfast, depart house and take subway to centralstation.
0830 Pick up my colleague, Mr Nimit, from Nordic Sea Hotel
0845 Meet up with entire group of 7 visitors from Thai Ministry, they landed 2 hours earlier in Stockholm
0915 Get on a train to Skövde, 2 hour train ride

Making sure everybody is all right, feel welcome, try to be hospitable and accommodating!
Some of the guest are tired from the flight, they sleep on the train and this gives me an opportunity to make a few phonecalls to my friends - who by now think I am dead and gone!

1115 Arrival in Skövde, Martin (my assistant trip arrangor) and I hurry to get two rental minivans to transport all 10 people and their 20+++ pieces of luggage! I am travelling light, camera and one large handbag.

Somehow we find our way out of this small town I have never driven in before and head for Götene municipality, about 1 hour away. It is a beautiful sunshine day, blue sky, green grass and spring blossoms everywhere....I love this part of Sweden!

Arrive at Lundsbrunn, where we will stay for the night. Lovely lunch which culminates in one of the guests from thailand wanting to play golf rather than join the sightseeing arranged. Fine, make everybody happy! Golf it is, while the rest of us get back in a minivan and head for a historic church, stone carvings and a stunning view of the area from a lovely hillpoint! Ice cream is then consumed, happily!

Guests are jetlagged, return to the hotel, only to find that there is no hot water there for them to shower - in addition to that we have been accomodated in a house with only one shower for all 10 to share! Cant stand by any longer, step in and make some moves at the receptionist - whom, with my help, now can see clearly that she has other rooms we can move to, each room having their own shower - and I also help her to see that this will not cost us more due to the small fact that it is not our fault nor responsibility that there is no hot water. She agrees we should have the new, better rooms at the same rate as the initial booking. Now I am happier...but still not satisfied with some food arrangements. Sort this out, food is provided and I make sure all drinks are served, all guests are tended to and the bills paid in an orderly fashion.

Scratch my leg and blood gushes all over my foot - just what I need!

2200 Finally get everybody moved into their new rooms. Withdraw to my own in order to write up some receipts and documents, answer urgent emails in my work inbox. Sms:es and phonecalls incomming until midnight, when I decide to download the days pictures from camera to computer - and realize I want to make a record of this hectic schedule these days to come....

So, welcome and hope you have the guts to join my adventure!

....and if you are wondering - yeah...I am tired...beyond tired....but today I am happy!