March 15th Trollhattan

Hej everyone! We are nearing our halfway mark and have already met so many friends that I know will be life long. Sometimes we have individual host families and sometimes we share a family. The Rotary Clubs in Sweden have been so generous with their time and homes. Stephanie and I stayed with Gunther in Alingsas and enjoyed his hospitality even though he spoke very little English. We spoke just enough Swedish words that we were able to communicate a little. I visited the hospital in Alingsas and met with the ICU supervisor. The healthcare system is financed very differently in Sweden but the hospitals and equipment look very similar to the USA. Although, they only send nurses and doctors out in their ambulances. Wilhelm and Amilitta were my host family in our next town, Vanesborg. They made me feel right at home and even let me do laundry! I was very grateful. I enjoyed staying up late and sharing stories. We had a wonderful time touring the Alloy plant and the ‘green bag recycling plant. We have also visiting many municipalities and learning about their government structure and green planning. Since we are studying sustaining the eco-community in Sweden, we get very excited about garbage. Our next stay was in Uddevalla. I stayed with Erik and Ingilil at their beautiful home by the sea. We were able to take a long walk by the sea the day after it snowed a couple of inches. It was truly beautiful. I have a lot of pictures to share when I return (about 820 so far and I am only two weeks into our five week visit!). In Uddevalla we visited a habilitation center for disabled adults. They do pottery, quilting and painting at the sight. They are work is phenomenal that these adults create. We are in Trollhattan this weekend for a rest and to regroup. We have been relaxing, walking, and, of course, eating. The sun was finally shining today. Only the 2nd or 3rd day of sunshine but it hasn’t altered or affected a wonderful experience. We move to Patrilla tomorrow for a few days, so we will keep posting. Here are some of my pictures. Jennifer