Ok, so here’s the whole deal. Sara became interested in studying Swedish when she was 12, relatively out of the blue. We’re not of Swedish descent, and although my great-grandmother had a Swedish-themed room in her home, we didn’t really know anything about Sweden except for Ikea. Nor did we care, to be honest. So when Sara suddenly decides that Sweden is the new utopia and starts to teach herself the language and study the culture, we were just waiting for her to grow out of her latest phase. Pretty soon, though, when Sam started picking up a few phrases of Swedish from Sara’s constant Swedish enthusiasm, we realized that Sara wasn’t just kidding around. Jon found Concordia Language Villages, a summer camp in Minnesota that offers foreign language immersion programs for kids. The camp is part of Concordia College, a well-respected liberal arts school known for its language programs, and the camp had a Swedish program! The camp had an excellent reputation, and my mother was quick to point out that Chelsea Clinton was a graduate, so it couldn’t be too crappy, right? So off she went.
My Mom and I flew out to Minnesota last year to attend Family Day at the camp and to see just what all the fuss was about. I was actually speechless at the end of the presentation (which as you know almost never, ever happens) in which the counselors and students demonstrated what they’d been doing by singing, dancing, and even acting out a little skit. The energy of the staff was infectious and the kids were totally caught up in it. It was really remarkable. I would have been happy with that, but wait, there’s more! Each language program (there are 15) has its own self-contained area that is designed to look like that country. The kids sleep in little cabins that are very typical to Sweden (yep, we know this now) and eat authentic Swedish food (Sara said that last year’s food was the best food she’s ever eaten in her life). Lots of the counselors are native speakers, and many other counselors and staff are former campers themselves. This is big time. This is not your old Camp Sunrise or Camp Moon River or wherever it was that you got sent when you were a kid. There’s no archery, no bug juice, and certainly no shitty arts and crafts out of popsicle sticks. These kids have language lessons, learn about cultural traditions like Midsommar, and find out why traditionally yellow pea soup and pancakes were eaten on Thursday night. As they eat them on Thursday night. They have sailing lessons after which many kids can sail their own boat but can’t tell you any of the terms in English, and the kids use real Swedish currency at the camp store.
OK, so I sort of like it there, you’re getting that by now. After Sara’s experience last summer, we decided to try home exchange so that she could see what Sweden is really like, and put into practice some of what she learned. It truly was her camp experience that set our home exchange plans into motion, and for that we’re all grateful. I can’t say enough (obviously) about the quality of Concordia Language Villages, and neither can Sara. Before she left, she told us that she will get an after school job when she’s 16 so that she can save up enough money to send Sam to camp when he’s 7. If that generosity of spirit were the only thing to have come out of Sara’s experience at camp, it would be cheap at twice the price, as my father would say.
If you’re still reading this (congratulations on staying with it) and want to see what I’m talking about, click here to see the camp and learn about Sara’s first day!
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