Features
Spending a Summer in Sweden
By Michelle Chung '17
September 1, 2016
Tags features
Summer: a season typically associated with extreme heat, hours of daylight, and, for most college students, replacing the worry of classes with thoughts of relaxation and freedom from school.
While some spend their days sleeping in late or working long hours, others use their time to go on wild and enlightening adventures—including student Maddy Carlman ’19, who truly experienced the summer weather when hiking in Sweden, a place where the sun never sets.
Carlman had never been on a wilderness excursion or any extensive outdoor trip, away from home and constant mindfulness. Many of her friends and family, her mom and brother included, had gone on NOLS (National Outdoor Leadership School) courses, though, where individuals learn about the environment and acquire leadership skills and other lessons that last beyond the trips. Carlman seized the opportunity to make her own memories and made the 28-day journey away from her home of Jackson, W.Y. to trek all over Sweden.
While Carlman did spend a majority of her time with her fellow trip members and two days by herself, the unique opportunity immersed her in an entirely new environment, culture and lifestyle.
“There were many types of people there, including reindeer herders, who we spent time with making lavus (which is a sort of teepee), eating reindeer stew and hearing their stories,” Carlman recalled.
“One afternoon, we were in a fjord with beautiful waters and mussels all along the beach. When we went to the docks, and I caught a fish, I was so overwhelmed that almost immediately after, I was up on the road having a conversation with one of my instructors about how I wasn’t expecting to catch this fish at all. During that talk, we watched an avalanche fall down off the side of a fjord, and it was absolutely breathtaking. That whole afternoon was so memorable and incredible.”
Ironically enough, however, her cultural perspective didn’t change when she arrived in Sweden, but when she returned to the United States.
“The real culture shock came after the course, when I went back into society. Coming back was really hard just because I was very off-the-grid for a while, and it’s a lot to go from feeling all the resources that you need being right there and met, like your hosts taking care of you, having food, having water, hiking every day—where each day is very simple and, in my opinion, an easier way of being—to coming back and having a million people who you know through your phone talking and saying stuff using Facebook and Instagram,” Carlman said. “I deleted Facebook and haven’t used Instagram for two months just because it was so overwhelming. So the culture shock definitely came at the end of the course and not at all at the beginning.”
Even with the difficult transition back to society, she wholeheartedly recommends this life changing trip to any willing individual.
“It’s a challenge—the hiking is hard... On our biggest day, we hiked 28 kilometers, and then our shortest day hiking was 5 kilometers, but I would say that it’s not so much about going on a camping trip,” Carlman said, adding that three participants were sent home for recreational drug use. “It’s much more about going to a school and a course that will teach you how to be a wilderness leader, and it’s something you have to take seriously.
“But it’s also ridiculous amounts of fun. The places that you see are places you’ll never see again, and so I would absolutely recommend it. And, if there’s anyone hesitant, it’s really not about the kilometers or the distance of the terrain; it’s about preparing yourself to live for it. You just need to accept that it’s going to be a long day and keep putting one foot in front of the other, because it’s all so worth it in the end.”