Hi, everyone! It’s been a long time but now that it’s adventure season I’ll be updating more often. We went on a trip to northern Scandinavia so I will be telling you the story.

We went to Northern Scandinavia on a road trip to visit the Sami indigenous people in Norway, Finland, and Sweden. It was very fun. We went into Finnmark (county in Norway), into Finland and Sweden and back to Norway.  My dad is studying the indigenous people in Norway. That’s why we went on the trip, not to study the Sami, but to get a feel for what the communities are like and what their lives are like. Below is a map of our trip and I am sharing my video that I presented to my class. It is in Norwegian, but I think you’ll like it.

The Sami are indigenous people of Scandinavia. They are reindeer herders/hunter-gatherers. In my video below, I explain how they lived, but it’s in Norwegian so I will explain it in English also. Their lives depended on reindeer. The used to mark their ears with special patterns to identify them, but now they mark them with numbers. They build special huts called gaohtis. The Sami have colorful clothing and different designs for each family. At the Sami Park in Karasjok, we learned the Sami creation myth. It says that there was a magical white reindeer. When it died, it veins became the rivers and streams, it’s hair became the forest, its eyes became the stars. Its heart was buried in the earth and it beats and keeps all living things connected. They say that if the Sami ever feel lost they just need to listen for the heartbeat. I liked the story because it is about being connected to nature and that nature created earth.

This trip was super cool because we saw many museums. At the museum in Alta, we saw stone carving that had been carved into rock 6000 years ago. They drew fish, reindeer, moose, and hunters. I thought the drawings were neat but not exactly artistic like the Mona Lisa.

On our trip, we discovered many cool campsites, saw many caribou and other animals. Finland had lots of pine trees and I think dad liked it there best. Mom, I think liked Norway best and I liked Sweden. Sweden had pine trees, frozen lakes, etc. I couldn’t help but notice that the words are very long in Finland!

 

The Weather was weird. It was supposed to be summer but it was a snowstorm half of the time. We finally got some nice weather in the Lofotens. After a long day of driving, we found the perfect camp spot by a beach with clear water and mountains. After being in a car all day and I wanted to go swimming because it was nice to get some fresh air. The Lofoten Islands are one of the most beautiful places on earth (see below).

 

In other news! I am graduating from my welcome class into real Norwegian 6th grade and I’m very excited!!!! Also, I watched my first movie at the theatre in Norwegian and understood it all!! It means a year of Norwegian practice is paying off. See you next time!

 

– INTERNATIONAL MOOSE!!!