THANKS

I finally made it to the U.S. On hardly any sleep and loads of Marabou chocolate, I entered Chicago anxious to get on the flight to Columbus. Although I am anxious, it is nice to be able to sit in the airport and relax and think about things to myself. Right now I am sitting at the boarding gate about 2 hours early, surrounded by several individuals, mostly American, re-visiting my time in Europe through my amateur photographs. It was reassuring to buy a Panini and actually put cash in my wallet that fit comfortably—not too large and torn. I won’t see the kronor for a long while, and as I mentioned in the past, it’s bittersweet. Bitter that I had to leave, sweet now that I’m back to my hometown. It is funny, now that as soon as I hit the airport, I quickly realized the differences from Sweden once again. Bathrooms are dirty and grungy, people dress in jean shorts and t-shirts (not sailor style), people are loud, and there are bagels being sold (didn’t eat or see one bagel in Sweden). I have no kind of fetish with bathrooms, but they really stand out in Sweden—all clean, everything works etc… Anticipating seeing my parents’ is a great feeling—never went this long without seeing them, even in college I never went more than a month. I’ll miss everyone in Sweden, the randoms from the bars, the teammates, the people from the buffet, the other Americans sharing my experience, and everyone who helped Erek and I in one way or another—never been treated so nicely. I owe them all much thanks and will repay them (though they think it unnecessary) in some way or another when I get back into my job in Columbus. In speaking of Columbus, it will be great to see Oskar (a guy on our team that is going to school at Otterbein and playing baseball). I spent most of the summer getting to know him, as we painted side-by-side in the Swedish heat for a little over a month. He, like others, supplied Erek and I with rides all of the time, and helped us gather supplies, and showed us a local beach, golfed, and even gave me a great place to get my mom a gift. It will be nice returning the favors as he learns what the American college lifestyle is all about.

I could go on thanking everyone on the team for at least one or two things they did to help ensure that we have a pleasant stay in Sweden. Always making sure things were alright, inviting us to dinners, trips, and giving the notion that they expect nothing in return—truly genuine people. Olov, Bosa, Peter, Tomas A, Tomas J., Tomas B, Morgan, Oskar, Erik, Eric, Patrik, Joel, Johan, Edvin, Felix, Olle, Mattias, Max, Kristoffer, Ardeshir, Mikael S.,---THANK YOU—along with all of the parents and other supporters that made the season possible. Though baseball does not represent the majority of sports fans in your country, you guys put in much work and dedication to keeping Gefle’s team and opportunities alive. If given more opportunity, most of you could compete well back in the states. You do this for fun and competition and the enjoyment of the game. All of you have work elsewhere for support and still find time to come out at least three days a week in the evening to get better—It didn’t go unnoticed and all of you made mine and Erek’s job a bit too easy! The fact that some of you will keep working hard in the dark, winter of Sweden already presents that this team will continue to become better every year! I am very grateful for being surrounded by quality people that were able to give us so much when each one of you had your own lives to balance outside of baseball. I wish all the best with each one of you and hope to stay in touch!

Not only did the adult team supply me with the best summer of my life, the youth team added their fair share of laughter and interesting practices that made for a fun time coaching. As I have said several times to them and others, they were definitely the most unique team I had ever been apart of—consisting of 2 rockers, 1 dancing machine, 1 loud mouth, 2 pairs of brothers (one that contained two future comedians, and the other, a quieter couple that still managed to throw in their jokes), and a kid who could not wear his hat normal and loved sunflower seeds. Others came and went throughout the season, but the core team proved to be the wildest crew in youth Swedish baseball. Yes, we would get stared at during games from all of the dancing and playful manner, but we didn't mean any disrespect and we had a damn good time. Though we had fun, I saw several players improve over the course of the summer. Yes, discipline helps when trying to instill a great team, but I believe this team had a fun and relaxing summer playing baseball—what they need to want to learn and get better. I’ll miss the tournaments, and I feel like the last tournament went very well. Although it was my last weekend, and I had to leave early Monday after we returned late Sunday, I believe it was a great end to the summer—In the end, that is why I am here—to help coach and teach baseball to the youth. Without them, there are no future Gavle baseball teams.

I knew coming out here that I would form relationships that would be unable to continue due to my moving back to the U.S. Another reason the whole “social networking” system is a genius invention, is that it allows me to communicate with those 5,000 miles away. I plan to re-visit Sweden in the future and hope to keep those contacts all my life. People always asked, “Well, what is so good about Sweden, or do you like it?” (Swedish or not). I have had some time to think about it, and it is hard to really grasp what I enjoyed because I was there for a short time. I enjoyed the wilderness—even Stockholm had an outdoor feel supplemented with a deep city life. It is quite a large country (By Europe Standards--about the size of California), but LA has more people in its city than the entire country of Sweden. The openness of the country was refreshing—highways were long and fast—trees were endless (tall, towering pines), the lakes were hypnotic, the ocean was as if it were dyed with dark blue food coloring, and the endless daylight and mild summer made for an absolute beautiful country. Of course everything has its downside to compliment its greatness, so I guess Sweden's winter is considered fairly depressing. I hope to visit sometime to get a good deal of the darkness and cold winter. It is true though, it seems that once the sun comes out from hiding in the spring, everyone soaks it up as much as possible--even girls we had in our camps would be found laying on the field, and when asked why, they responded, "We just love the sun." It also makes for a fairly high rate of skin cancer patients as well. Since Sweden is positioned in a spot on the Earth where the direct sunlight is a bit more intense, people of older age tend to develop cancerous lesions (it doesn't help that there are many tanning salons and that they spend every free hour in the sun), but I do not blame them at all--I'm sure going through one winter would convince me to do the same.

Apart from the weather and climate, Sweden is just easier at times. Everything, at least in Gavle, is built around the inner city. The suburbs are quite close--maybe a 30-40 minute walk at the most, and there are bus lines in every area and passes are relatively cheap (about 200 Kronor a month-- roughly $28 for unlimited rides). Grocery shopping is small and quick--yes, they have Maxi stores, but even those aren't as big as some megastores here. Everything there is healthier too--I have never seen bread spoil so fast, along with other foods. Since most Europeans shop every other day in general, foods do not need the preservatives we use in America (or in vice versa). Also, all milk products were always in paper containers--there were no large gallon plastic jugs. There was no such thing as "Skim milk." The lowest percentage of fat was 0.5%. The largest container I could buy was 1.5L. Mostly everyone drinks higher fat milk and still manage to look thin and in decent shape--primarily because everyone is more active in riding bikes and walking. I saw some beautiful women all decked out for work riding their bike around town. No offense to girls around here, but I would never find a girl loaded in fresh work attire riding their bike--probably because most here can't--too far away, or because most are afraid of looking goofy or getting dirty. I would love to have a bus that I could catch outside of my apartment downtown and have it take me to work. I am definitely going to look into it when I get into my new place. Also, foods in general were healthier, even the unhealthy ones. Oreo-like cookies, called Balarina's, tasted amazing and contained no trans fat and very trace amounts of any hydrogenated oils. Coca-cola contained sugar, not high-fructose corn-syrup (although corn syrup has not been that big of deal, it is still concentrated sugar and there is a reason people started making a mess about its use in the first place). They also have these things called, "Risifrutti." It is basically a rice pudding--soo damn good along with another compartment filled with fruit. Unlike a lot of things in America, the fruit tastes fresh and real, not like sugary goo. I am not saying America doesn't have a lot of this as well, but it is usually contained in the, "Nature" section of stores and is fairly more expensive and you get hardly half the quantity. They also have many berries to select from-- Krusbar (gooseberry)--looks like a hairy grape--as if somebody spliced a kiwi and white grape, Hjaltron (cloudberry)--sounds fantasy-like, but resembles a fluffy cloud and is bright orange like fire--very unique taste and amazing when put into jam--quite expensive as it is only found during the summer in certain areas, red and black currant--very tart, rhubarb (not really a fruit, but taste like a lemon--good pie). You must bag your own groceries, bring your own bag, or pay a very small price for a bag--the only downfall is that everything closes very early, and maybe that was because it is a small city, but it is pretty convenient when you can go shopping at 11:00pm if need be--There, everything must be done by 9pm usually at the latest.

I loved the highways. So open and fast--all of the highways were very well kept (some even tinted red since they use a naturally produced red substance to help build the roads). At one point I went 200 kph, which is roughly 124 mph. Not exactly legal, but cops aren't too abundant (many speeding cameras and you are warned much before the actual picture is taken), and I didn't even realize I was going that fast since the highway is straight and placed in the middle of the country in most places. Most speed limits are around 100 kph, or 62 mph. Police officers cannot sit on the side of the highway and catch people, they must be behind you initially, and a lot times they are un-marked on the highway. They even have their lights on the inside of the vehicle, which looks like an ordinary car--so it is risky at times. The police do not mess around if you are caught either-- a friend of mine was caught going roughly 15 kph over the limit on a back road and the first thing they do is give a breathalizer-- it was at noon. Now I understand why no one there drinks even a sip of beer and drives, even when their houses are so close to everything (everyone else in the car is allowed to drink like fish and have open containers, but if the driver has any, he is screwed--makes sense and everyone sticks to this rule very well--didn't meet one drunk driver, unlike in America). They sometimes will even take your license on the spot if they think it is reasonable-- even for a simple speeding ticket. Anyway, my friend got a ticket for 2,500 kronor ($342)! Pretty ridiculous. As far as drinking in public and what not, they seem more lenient. One night, a girl (definitely underage in the US), was highly intoxicated outside of the local club and could barely cooperate--they didn't throw her into a police car or give her a ticket--simply let her sit on the street and her mom proceeded to angrily pick her up at 4am. I don't think any police at Ohio State would have tolerated that mess.

Alcohol regulations are very restricted in a sense as well. You cannot buy a case of beer--each beer is purchased individually and starkol, or strong beer (alcohol above I think 4%) is only sold in the system bolaget (or country regulated liquor store). If you want to buy beer, you can in the gas stations, but only up to 3.5%. you have to be 18 to drink, but 15 and 16 year olds get away with buying at gas stations (though, weak beer). Most people will take a cruise to Finland or go down to Germany and bring back cases of beer--legal and much cheaper! Alcohol is more expensive in bars of course, but not completely out of reach. The biggest week of the month is the weekend after the 25th, since that is when everyone gets paid--therefore everyone blows a lot on drinks. Everybody, if not, most here, get paid only once a month on the 25th. I think it is kind of annoying--I sometimes wish it wasn't bi-weekly (rather weekly)!

I loved the small villages. When we went on a camping/cabin trip with Morgan, we came across much of the Swedish outback. The air was fresh and the people were nice, and the endless trails and reindeer were awesome. Again, everything just felt much less crowded--and it is--though Sweden is about the size of California, LA in itself has more people than all of Sweden. One of the coolest things I saw or came across was the little hut-like village/town/plantations. These normally abandoned places were usually kept livable by another person, and if one happened to be passing by and needed a place to stay, he or she could stay there for a night for free. They have bunk-like beds and leftover food from other travelers, fresh streams, wood, an outhouse, and fireplaces. Most have guest books, and much history and vintage appeal. Many have found second lives stumbling upon these places--after terrible blizzards or those stranded or lost, several hikers and skiers have been able to survive through one more night from these open hospitality cabins. The one thing that makes Sweden unique is the open rule that any man or woman is free to camp one night anywhere they please if needed, or take fruit or vegetables from anyone's lawn. It is a very free, honest way of thinking, but seems to work for that country and I believe Norway as well. It is another thing that when there isn't too many people, it seems to work out alright.

Overall, Sweden was an experience that I will remember for the remainder of my life. Met a lot of great people from Sweden and America, among other countries. THANKS TO EVERYONE ONCE AGAIN!!