Getting Acquainted.

Hej! (That’s hi in Swedish for all you Americans out there. I’m practically a pro at this language now.) So I know I just posted a blog yesterday, but I was a few days behind on getting that one out, so you get this one today as well. Sorry for partying.  

In a place like this can you blame me for being distracted?

The last few days have been spent really trying to get adjusted and trying not to end up in the middle of nowhere Sweden.  The whole not knowing Swedish thing and not having a phone makes being in the middle of nowhere a lot harder.  Whatever. I’m a man. I could handle it. 

I slept super well on Sunday night.  Maybe this whole jetlag thing is actually a conspiracy by the government.  After trying to figure out what container in the fridge had milk and pouring my yogurt out of a juice type carton(that will forever baffle me) we made our way from Martin’s house to Falun where I’ll be training this whole summer.  A few things about driving in Sweden. They drive on the same side of the road as us(thank god, I don’t think my mind would be able to handle the other option for a full summer).  Stop signs cease to exist. I’ve seen a total of one in all the trips we have made so far. They’re super efficient drivers over here and there’s an absurd amount of traffic circles and roundabouts.  My transportation professor Nathan Belz would probably pass out in excitement.  This just allows trips to be quicker and way more fun.  Also, to get your license you need to be able to drive stick.  Hell yeah.  America take note. Mitchell learn quick.  And finally, people pass others like nobody’s business.  Oh blind turn 300 ft away? Car in front is driving like a Grandpa? Car ahead of him has the space for half a car? You’re mine Grandpa!! Its awesome.  So! After riding the coaster that is driving in Sweden we arrived at Lugnet.  Lugnet is like this epic athletics compound in Falun.  They have everything.  Indoor/Outdoor track. Weight room.  Tennis. Swimming pool.  Floor ball.  Mini golf. Cross Country Skiing. Ski Jumping. Curling. Everything. Pretty sure they probably have a room for poker as well seeing as ESPN thinks that that’s a sport. I had a pretty easy general strength workout while Martin had a much more intense hurdle workout.  

People actually jump off that thing!

During our workout I was introduced to a few runners who are a part of Martin’s club as well as one of the coaches.  All knew English.  So I tried to impress them with my epic Swedish skills.  They had no idea what I was attempting to say.  Maybe I’m not quite pro yet.  I’ll get there.  One of the runners had a NYC hat on which I thought was kind of funny.  He asked me where I lived and I said I was from New York.  His eyes lit up.  Apparently Swedes love NYC.  It really must be the capital of the world.  He asked me why I didn’t stay in New York for school and I made the grave mistake of informing him I wasn’t from NYC.  From here on out, I’m from NYC.  Specifically Brooklyn. That way I just sound like a super badass.  Live and learn I guess.  After all the introductions(of which I don’t remember anyone’s names) I proceeded with my workout.  It’s a good thing it was easy.  I now have proof that jetlag isn’t a government conspiracy.

Martin had to leave to go to work before I was finished with my workout.  This meant that today was my day to explore and really get myself into some trouble.  Don’t worry about me calling for bail. My phone doesn’t work. So, once I finished I had my new friend Dennis(the guy with the NYC hat on) show me where the locker room was.  If it weren’t for him then I probably would have ended up in the woman’s locker room and then you wouldn’t be getting this blog entry for a really long time.  After that I was on my own.  When I went to leave the build I was thrown off because the door had 2 handles and one was highlighted green.  I panicked because I had no idea what handle would open the door.  The first one didn’t work so I just figured that was a decoy or something so I opted for the green one.  Success.  Nice try Sweden, but this American knows how to use a door handle.  Falun here I come!

It was a beautiful day out so I opted to walk downtown rather than take the bus.  I wasn’t mentally ready to take that adventure yet.  Maybe when I’m older.  Falun ended up being this really awesome small city.  It had a big church, a hospital, a bunch of shops and two small malls.  Its also on a river.  I just spent the day aimlessly walking around trying to take it all in.  I had no idea what any of the signs said or what was in each store based on that fact. But one thing I do know.  H&M is a staple here.  Count me in! I never ended up buying anything because trying to do the cost conversion in my head sucks.  I was mesmerized by the fact that H&M’s in Europe sell personal products like razors, hair dye, shampoo etc.  Martin says that’s normal here.  Weird.  I’m thinking I might come home a blonde.  Going to ponder that one a bit.  Other than that I just walked into stores and tried not to have the workers talk to me.  That way I could save the embarrassing I don’t speak Swedish line.  Worked never.          

Now that's my kind of place. 'Merica!

Before I left to go home I figured I’d adventure into one of the grocery stores just to check it out.  Awful idea.  When you walk in there is a one-way gate that closes immediately behind you.  From that point on I was trapped. Panic. The line for the counter was super long and I didn’t know if I was allowed to walk out without buying anything. So like anybody unsure of what to do I paced the store trying to find something cool to buy and put off trying to walk out for as long as possible.  I just did laps around the store and every lap the line never went down.  What was I going to do?!  After about 20 minutes I decided its was time to grow a pair and just walk out.  Hopefully I wouldn’t get tackled.  When I got to the door it didn’t open right away.  Did they think I stole something?! I really was trapped.  What is this place?! But after a few seconds it opened and I ran out as fast as I could. That was an experience and a half.

I found love in a hopeless place.

From there I walked back to Martin’s work and got my instructions for taking the bus.  Basically I get on the bus in Falun. Ride an hour and get off in Vikarbyn.  Easy.  The public busses in Sweden are like coach busses back home.  Swedes like to ride in style. I’m down with that.  So I get on the bus.  The driver says something to me in Swedish.  I swiped Martins card and just kept walking.  Who knows what he said. Probably something like “you need to pay for this trip!” What can I say.  I live life on the wild side.  The entire ride I would constantly try to check where we were in hopes that I hadn’t missed the stop yet.  Well that whole conspiracy that I talked about earlier kicked in and I fell asleep.  No idea for how long, but when I woke up I realized what had just happened and panicked a bit.  Middle of nowhere Sweden here I come! Turns out I was only asleep for 5 minutes and I still had a half hour left.  Phew! That was close. The rest of the ride went fine and I made it to my stop just fine.  Though I almost got off a stop early and that would have been quite a walk. 

The rest of the night I just hung out around the house sending some emails(look at me be all professional) and exploring more Swedish TV until Martin came home and we went to bed.

The next day I finally had my first real workout on Swedish soil.  Hell yeah! The workout wasn’t my best(can I blame jetlag?), but it was so fun knowing I was running in Sweden. The country! A place that isn’t the US! Guys. This is real! Martin just had a short lift, so he came out after and watched me run.  It rules to have someone who can watch you and then help you with stuff again.  Training at home was cool, but not being alone and having some other input rules.  I also got to meet Martin’s sisters’ coach. For those who don’t know(which is probably most everyone reading this).  Martin’s sister are really good.  They have world records and world championships and are really fast.  And I was talking with the guy who coaches them.  Rad.  

Suns out. Guns out. In Sweden!

We decided that since Martin didn’t have to work today, and since I had no idea where I was going the day before, that today Martin would give me a tour.  When we left the locker room I watched Martin press a button and then open the door with the mystical locked handle that I couldn’t open the previous day.  What kind of magic did he possess?!  I proceeded to tell him I used the green handle the day before.  His eyes got real wide.  Turns out that’s the emergency handle.  Good thing the alarm didn’t go off. Sorry for partying!

So from there we adventured.  Martin showed me his high school. We tried to get in but it was locked.  Oh well.  Looked cool from the outside. We then went to the neighborhood he grew up in.  This place was cool.  All the houses basically looked the same. But not like those cheesy developments we have in America.  These were all like old little houses around a block.  Seemed like an awesome place to live.  While walking Martin taught me this game they play with the manholes on the street.  I don’t remember the rules but I do know that I stepped on every one with a V on it so that I could have good luck.  Its going to be a good season.  We then stopped in this little playground in the middle of the development.  So I played on it. I mean it’s a playground. In Sweden. How could I not?! Martin talked about how when he was a kid this was the place to hang out and they’d spend the day just doing flips on the monkey bars.  I was good with the motor bike.

22 Years old. Still Fit. Hell yeah!

From there we just checked out more of the athletics facilities around Lugnet.  I’ve decided that people over here in Sweden appreciate athletics, of any sport, way more than we do in the US. Sure they have their bigger sports like hockey and soccer, but they also give great attention to a lot of the smaller sports and everyone seems to support them.  Be it as a fan or as an athlete.  Its really cool.  I wish the US could somehow adopt that sort of mentality.  We probably wouldn’t be so obese if we did.  Actually.  We’d still probably be obese.  McDonald’s needs to go before that happens.  But that’s a different topic for a different time!      

After we were through with Lugnet we hopped on a bus and headed downtown.  We stopped quick at a grocery store where I was assured I could leave freely if I didn’t want to buy anything. I ended up buying this granola bar like thing except it was made out of sesame seed.  It ruled!

Falun is best known for its copper and copper mine.  I guess the Statue of Liberty is made with copper from here.  Lady Liberty herself.  Cool.  So martin took me through the part of town where all the miners lived on our way to the actual mine.  Again these houses all looked the same but in a super rad way. 

This is a house for midgets.  Actually for real people, but super small!

The mine was really awesome.  Kind of like the Grand Canyon of Sweden except much smaller, not carved out by water and I don’t think anyone has ever tried to tightrope walk across it.  I guess way before our country was thought of(yeah that’s pretty much everything over here) it just like caved in and someone was like hey! Copper! Luckily it was on the Midsommer holiday so no one was there and no one got hurt.  We walked around it and I took some sweet pictures.  Like the one that started this blog entry. After our sight seeing was over, we hopped on a bus and headed back home to go swimming.  While we waited for the bus this random woman just peed in a bush right next to us.  It was real weird.  Sweden you’re not perfect after all! Actually I’ll let that slide. You’re still pretty awesome.

When we got home we decided to instead swim off a pier in Rattvik.  This involved driving again.  This involved Mitchell learning to drive stick. After stalling 3 times in the drive way, almost hitting a flower box, almost pulling out in front of a car and then forgetting to use the parking break I made it to the grocery store in town. Which was pretty much right next door to Martin’s house.  Looks like I need some practice.  We switched at the grocery store.  My choice.  Martin still wanted me to drive even though I almost killed him a bunch of times.  Maybe when I’m older.  

Just take in all the epicness.

We both figured the water would be pretty cold and that it would be like an ice bath, but the water was fairly shallow so it wasn’t too bad.  There was a building at the end of the pier that we just jumped off the roof from. And a post like thing in the water we climbed to jump from. Martin did an epic backflip off it.  I just stuck with my master cannon ball. It ruled.  After a bit we decided it was time to head back.  As we were walking we passed a bunch of people doing what I thought to be Zumba to Swedish music in the park.  It was even more hilarious than Zumba to American music.  I just think Zumba is funny to begin with.  

Sorry. Are my huge muscles distracting you?

The rest of the night I spent just lounging around the porch and relaxing.  A little reading. A little blog writing. A little hot tubing. Hell yeah. A hot tub.  I also finally got to meet Martin’s mother that night.  She’s also super nice and funny.  We ate dinner outside next to this little fireplace on the porch.  It was nice.  Again sitting and listening to conversations in Swedish just rules.  All in all it was a relaxing night. The only thing to note is that now I have shades in my window so that the sun won’t wake me up at 3 am. Very Nice!

Today I think the jetlag has finally vanished as I slept real late.  That or the sheets did their job.  I’m hoping for both.  Since it was raining and we only had premeet for a workout, there was no rush. And we spent the morning just hanging around until it was time to head to practice.

Not American Bacon. As good as it was. It’s still inferior.

We did premeet on the indoor track while some people did crossfit around us.  I hate crossfit.  We got to play music though so I felt epic doing my drills.  After warmup we just messed around with the shotput and did some standing long jumps.  The indoor track has this treadmill like thing where you can attach yourself to a harness and then basically do light weight running type stuff. I. Need. One. Of. Those. It ruled.  From there Martin went to work so I just took the bus home and did some laundry.  Note to the world.  Laundry machines here are in Swedish. And the settings don’t resemble mine back home. MOM!!!!!!!!!!! Yeah she couldn’t hear that.  Oh well.  Like any man I didn’t read the directions(not like I’d understand them anyways) and I dove in head first.  Must have done something right because my clothes smell good. Works for me.  For the rest of the night I wrote this blog. Yes I’m slow at typing. It took me 4 hours. But hey! It got done! I ate dinner with Martin’s parents and we just talked about how different our countries were and stuff.  I also talked with his Dad about hockey and winning the Stanley Cup. He won 4 times. Rad.

Tomorrow I race for the first time over here.  I’m running an open 400 in Sollentuna, Sweden, and since I’ve never run one outdoors before I guess that means it will be a PR. My meet is televised over here, though I’m running in the preprogram so I won’t be on TV. Oh well. Still Pretty awesome.  Also.  The Ethiopians are having their World Championship 10k Trials at the meet.  Super strange but super awesome! I’m going to fan boy real hard.  And then on Friday I run the 400 Hurdles in Gothenburg, Sweden.  Should be a fun weekend.  We’re driving with 2 runners from Martin’s club.  Hopefully I can get better at Swedish overnight.  I’d say I’m nervous to finally compete, but in all honesty I’m not.  I’m just really excited.  I never really got nervous before, but in college and high school there was a small sense of pressure constantly in the back of my mind.  Not that anyone put it on me but more that I put it on myself.  But here there’s none of that. No school records. No conference championships.  Just running fast. I guess we’ll see what happens.  Until next time.  Tuck it real high and kiss the baby!