This week we have been in the region of Darlana. A brief re-cap of what we have been up to. On Tuesday we had our vocational day in Borlange. I toured two schools...
one older and larger school and an recently built school. Both offered some more ideas...but more on that to come.Tuesday night we joined our host at his local gym for an aerobic class and then had a delicous dinner and relaxing evening.
On Wednesday we headed West where we stopped at an optics factory to learn how eyeglass lenses are made. We had lunch at a gymnasium, which is equivalent to a high school in the US. In their highschools, students are able to pick a specialty in which they will take classes pertaining to that area. There are such things are language, sports, etc. This school was unique because they also offered four specialties in the areas of agriculture. So this school had horse training as well as learning about different aspectes of farming. We saw the milk house...all of it was automated. No longer do people have to milk the cows. When the cows are tired they have to pass through this walkway to the sleeping area. A machine reads whether they have been milked recently and if they haven't a door opens and they are forced to go into a milking maching. When we were done there we moved on to looking at the small city. We were still a little unsure of where we were staying,
but enjoyed visiting a local church. 
We also did some shopping before departing to our evening at a remote cabin in the area. We enjoyed a peaceful and scenic meal as well as some activities that included orienteering (map reading) and listening to an exchange student from Australia sing and play the guitar (she was amazing).
The next day, my teammate Mike and I went on a morning hike at 6:45am. We got some great views of both nearby lakes. Then we went to the factory that makes the hard bread that is so famous in Sweden. It was really interesting to see how they make the bread, starting with grinding their own flour..to making dough...to rolling it out by machine and baking it. 
The warm free samples were also much appreciated. After that we had a rotary lunch and presentation and afterward we went back to the cabin grounds to rest before our departure to Mora.
The warm free samples were also much appreciated. After that we had a rotary lunch and presentation and afterward we went back to the cabin grounds to rest before our departure to Mora.In Mora that girls slept at one host family and the boys at the other. We ended our Thursday night with dinner at our host family. A delicious meal of fish, salad, and potatoes. Anna Britta, our host mother, told us that we had to eat all the food so that there would be good weather. Needless to say, everyone had went home with a full stomach that night.
On Friday we started the day by going to the museum that is all about the famous cross country race they have that ends in Mora. The Vasaloppet is the longest cross-country ski race in the world, held every year at the beginning of March. There are about 15,500 skiers that competed in the main event, which is held over a distance of 90 kilometres between the village of Sälen and town of Mora. A total of more than 40,000 participated in one of the seven
different races held during the first week of March. The race was started in 1922 being inspired by the run that the future King Gustav Vasa had made in 1520. The winner of the first race was Ernst Alm from Norsjö, 22 years old, who is still the youngest ever winner of the race.The Vasaloppsmuseum in the Sports Club tells the story of the race.
After that museum, we also saw the art collection and home of a famous Swedish artist name Anders Zorn. People in America may be familiar with him because he painted some paintings of early American presidents. We saw several watercolor as well as oil paintings that he completed.
We also toured his home which itself was like a museum with all the collections and old furniture.
Lastly, we went to the place where they make the famous Dala horses. Here is a blurb about the horses taking from Wikipedia:
A Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (Swedish: Dalahäst) is a traditional carved and paintedwooden statuette of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna. In the old days thehorse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol ofDalarna as well as Sweden in general. Several different types of Dala horses are made, withdistinguishing features common to the locality of the site where they are produced. Oneparticular style has, however, become much more common and widespread than others. It is stoutly carved and painted bright red with details and a harness in white, green, yellow and blue. Dala
We were able to see how they make the horses. First they only use Swedish pine and someone cuts out the basic horse shape. Then they are widdled and shaped by hand. They have people who work in their shop as well as some locals who do this at home. They are not sanded because the way they are carved makes them smooth. After they are crafted, they are dipped in a red paint. If there are any crack or imperfections they are filled in and then sanded and re-dipped into paint. Then after that paint dries, there are people who paint the horse by hand. It was amazing to watch one woman do the painting and see that even though the horse is painted so intricately, she is able to do it very quickly. I guess practice does make perfect in this case. We were told that each painter has their own unique style so that the people who work there can actually tell who has painted each horse. When the horses are died then they are dipped in a varnish as the final stage. It was amazing to see all these horses, which by the way, are a bit expensive! I did purchase a small black horse to take home. The evening ended with a dinner of friends and one of the most interesting presentations we have done. Today will be a day of relaxing before we depart tomorrow to our last region and our last week in Sweden!
On Friday we started the day by going to the museum that is all about the famous cross country race they have that ends in Mora. The Vasaloppet is the longest cross-country ski race in the world, held every year at the beginning of March. There are about 15,500 skiers that competed in the main event, which is held over a distance of 90 kilometres between the village of Sälen and town of Mora. A total of more than 40,000 participated in one of the seven
different races held during the first week of March. The race was started in 1922 being inspired by the run that the future King Gustav Vasa had made in 1520. The winner of the first race was Ernst Alm from Norsjö, 22 years old, who is still the youngest ever winner of the race.The Vasaloppsmuseum in the Sports Club tells the story of the race.After that museum, we also saw the art collection and home of a famous Swedish artist name Anders Zorn. People in America may be familiar with him because he painted some paintings of early American presidents. We saw several watercolor as well as oil paintings that he completed.
We also toured his home which itself was like a museum with all the collections and old furniture.Lastly, we went to the place where they make the famous Dala horses. Here is a blurb about the horses taking from Wikipedia:
A Dalecarlian horse or Dala horse (Swedish: Dalahäst) is a traditional carved and paintedwooden statuette of a horse originating in the Swedish province of Dalarna. In the old days thehorse was mostly used as a toy for children; in modern times it has become a symbol ofDalarna as well as Sweden in general. Several different types of Dala horses are made, withdistinguishing features common to the locality of the site where they are produced. Oneparticular style has, however, become much more common and widespread than others. It is stoutly carved and painted bright red with details and a harness in white, green, yellow and blue. Dala
We were able to see how they make the horses. First they only use Swedish pine and someone cuts out the basic horse shape. Then they are widdled and shaped by hand. They have people who work in their shop as well as some locals who do this at home. They are not sanded because the way they are carved makes them smooth. After they are crafted, they are dipped in a red paint. If there are any crack or imperfections they are filled in and then sanded and re-dipped into paint. Then after that paint dries, there are people who paint the horse by hand. It was amazing to watch one woman do the painting and see that even though the horse is painted so intricately, she is able to do it very quickly. I guess practice does make perfect in this case. We were told that each painter has their own unique style so that the people who work there can actually tell who has painted each horse. When the horses are died then they are dipped in a varnish as the final stage. It was amazing to see all these horses, which by the way, are a bit expensive! I did purchase a small black horse to take home. The evening ended with a dinner of friends and one of the most interesting presentations we have done. Today will be a day of relaxing before we depart tomorrow to our last region and our last week in Sweden!
