So far, so good

Many years ago the theatre department at Gustavus produced a Japanese folktale with a Robin Hood-like narrative called Find Hakamadare!   A recurring line throughout the play was “So far, so good.” (To really appreciate this you have to imagine Midwestern college students in exaggerated make-up saying this with their best Japanese accents.)

Today, as I was thinking about the first few days of our journey, that line popped in to my head.  So far, so good.

Since I chose economy over efficiency, our path to Mora, Sweden, involved flights from Minneapolis to Toronto, Toronto to Reykjavik, Iceland, Reykjavik to Stockholm followed by a train from Stockholm to Borlänge, then a bus from Borlänge to Mora.  We should have been able to take the train all the way to Mora, but they were repairing the tracks.  We left our home in St. Peter, Minnesota at 11:30 on Friday morning and arrived safely in Mora, Sweden just before 6:00PM Saturday evening.  So far, so good.

We got to explore a number of new airports, and Josh, with his shoulder length hair, earrings and Bob Marley t-shirt, triggered a few extra security measures along the way.  Minneapolis was the most extreme requiring a full-body scan and pat down, whereas in the airport in Reykjavik required every electronic device to be removed from your carry on and placed in bin, in addition to the usual shoes, belts, coats, etc. 

While we arrived safely in Sweden, Josh’s suitcase did not.  We filled out all the appropriate paperwork and just learned today that it had been left in Toronto.  The good news is it has been located, arrived in Stockholm this morning and we should have it very soon.  Okay they said it would be delivered today and it is now 10PM local time – so we have our fingers crossed for tomorrow.  But it was found!  So far, so good.

Sunday afternoon we had a wonderful dinner at our host Anna’s beautiful home got to meet the two charming men in her life – her partner, Tjell and her son, Isak. Sunday evening Josh watched movies with a friendly international student from Venezuela who is here training to try and qualify for the 2014 Winter Olympics in cross-country skiing.  This is Mora – home of the historic Vasaloppet Ski Race from Sälen to Mora.

We spent this evening with another colleague from the Folk school and her two sons.  It was so fun to listen to them compares favorite TV shows (Simpsons and Scrubs) and Game Cube games, eat homemade food and hear stories.  Tomorrow Josh will attend school with her 14 year-old son.  I cannot wait to hear about his day. 

Everything, so far, has affirmed my decision to begin our year of travel here.  We have truly been warmly welcomed.  Now the little voice in my head saying So far, so good has a Swedish accent.