While at RIG, I got to see my old teammate Nellie! When we played together she was 15, clumsy, tall and adorable. She was what I thought to be a human version of Bambi, so I called her that through out the time I was there. Not so sure she appreciated it, but always humored me with a smile and for that I thank her :) Ok, thats enough talk about volleyball for now.
As some of you may know, I am spending my 4th Christmas here in Sweden. I will be going up to my teammate Maddis' families cabin near a ski resort, the name she keeps telling me but I instantly forget since I can't pronounce it. I believe the name of the resort starts with an S, thats the best I can do right now unfortunately, ha. Of course I would rather be home with my family in warm California but listen to what we are going to do. We will go sledding, snow mobile-ing, building a snow man, cross country skiing, sauna-ing, jacuzzi-ing, going out on the 25th (common for all swedes to party this day) and be in the serene wintery wonderland that is Sweden during Christmas time. Plus Maddis say's that if I enjoy a beer and relaxation time then I would fit right in with her family. Im a shoe in! If I am going to stay in Sweden I would say, this is a pretty awesome way to spend Christmas. Now, I am not saying my two year stint with the Petterssons was not fun at all! I love that family and know they would welcome me into their house any time of the year. Maddis is one of my best friends on the team, so I am sure she and I will have a great time over the holiday break. She has not stopped talking about when we will go out on the 25th, which in turn makes me super pumped. I only hope her family likes me...I heard from another teammate (who has know Maddis and her family for over 10 years) that her father is intimidating. She said that she just recently got over being scared of him. Hopefully the bottle of Jameson I got him for Christmas will help my chances.
If you have never been to a place that snows during Christmas, you are seriously missing out. Christmas time and snow go hand in hand and it puts a whole new meaning on the holiday season. In Sweden, this time of year is a whole other world of beauty. People go the extra mile to show how much Christmas means to them. Let me paint a picture for you. Luckily this year we got snow early which makes everything all the more brighter. Riding my bike to practice at night never ceases to amaze me. Swedish people are very much into advent, lit up paper stars, twinkle lights and lots and lots of candles. You could burn down a small wooden house with how many candles I lit the other night. The thing about Sweden, is most everyone likes the cozy atmosphere during the winter. Its hard to get away from anyhow.
In town (Orebro) at the moment, every corner of every street is lit up and decorated. Starting on the North end of town working south, we have a whole street of trees adorned with white lights, there are about 100-150 trees lining the street. In the square with the castle there is a giant ram made out of pine tree branches (side note: last year it was burned to the ground, horrible smell) and the giant clock balcony has lights on the railings. Moving towards the main square with a big church and statue, is an advent calendar lit up on one of the buildings. Each window shows a different number of the month and then is turned into a picture when that day has come. The trees in this square are lit up with 3D stars and spheres. There are also two Christmas trees with white lights in the branches and the fountain also sports a waterfall of lights. In the last big square, where the malls are located, there are lit up cone shapes on the roof of one building, a giant tree in the other building and white lights in icicle form cascading down the front of one of the malls. On the three streets that make up the center of town, hang pine tree branch garlands with a red bell in the middle and two white stars on the outside which light up at night. On the main shopping street there are lights on all the small trees and also icicle lighting down the middle of the street on the lamp posts. The last street, we like to call the "red ball" street. There are giant red balls that light up down the street. In the trees, hang ornaments and icicle lights. PHEW! ok that is the most of it in town. Just trust me when I say people like to decorate with white lights and ever so cute santa gnomes.
