Post 26: A visit with TAB in Sweden
Teachers Across Borders - Sweden pulls teachers from all over the world to participate in a two week summer program in Siem Reap, Cambodia. The teams work together in ongoing intentional conversations about classroom practices to help each other fully live out our calling as teachers. We strive to enhance the quality of education through teacher coaching, a partnership that shares methodology with bright teachers in Cambodia who are looking for creative ways to share their knowledge of their subjects.
With a bit of time between conferences in Spain and Egypt I planned to reconnect with some important people in my life. At some point during my sabbatical I wanted to go to Sweden to see my colleagues from TAB who are based in Stockholm. It just so happened that a party and planning meeting were scheduled during my gap week. I also had it in my mind that I wanted to go to Scandinavia for the first time during my sabbatical. Flying to Copenhagen and making my way to Stockholm would be a great introduction.
In my rush through airports this year I always find myself stopping with a look of wide-eyed wonder when I see items in a vending machine that you wouldn't expect to see in a vending machine. From winter parkas to smoothies to portable charging systems for rent to...Legos.
I didn't have to pinch myself to know I was in Denmark!!!!
On a dark and dreary afternoon I settled in for an eighteen hour visit to Copenhagen, choosing to spend my time in the picturesque Nyhavn Harbour. I came close to getting a tattoo, but chose to wait on the perfect design I have in mind and a few more shots of vodka in me.
From Copenhagen, Denmark I took a train to the town of Kalmar, Sweden where I was greeted by the Katarina and Urban Åström. They took me to their home on the island of Öland (see red mark in photo above) where we spent two glorious days together. I met Katarina and Urban in Siem Riep, Cambodia during the summer of 2018. They added a brilliant component to the TAB program by bringing their experience as high school administrators and helped coach several local principals and heads of schools. I was in awe by their warmth, generous spirit and love of schools. They invited me into their home and I thoroughly enjoyed the rest, shared meals, walk to the Baltic Sea and wonderful conversations.
Oh, that yellow house. I simply fell in love with it. Could I get away with painting my house in St. Louis that color? Turns out, the color of the houses in Sweden, primarily some yellow and some red, comes from the people of Sweden copying the Swedish royals who copied the French as early as the 17th century. And the iron oxide used for red pigment had become very cheap because of the increasing mining at the time so that the ordinary people could afford to paint their houses instead of just taring them.
Since the king didn’t want to have a house looking like every other house, the palace in Stockholm was repainted in an exquisite and expensive yellow color. Soon after though one found a way to create cheap yellow stone houses by adding copperas to lime and then all royal and army buildings, and noble palaces was soon yellow in accordance. Ordinary people was on the other hand forbidden to use yellow on their facades and therefore red houses has remained popular. The pigment is used on wooden houses and log chalets, and it is basically anti-rotting agent. It impregnates the wood and prevents it from weathering and rotting. Its origin was the Falu copper mines leftovers from copper ore calcination, and it was found that by mixing the leftover red stuff ground fine, with linseed oil and spoiled rye flour as thickener, you get a beautiful paint. The copper mines began to sell their leftover products with profit. The yellow color remains a byproduct of the copper industry.
We then drove up to Stockholm to partake in the TAB fundraiser and information meeting. It was a reunion for me to reconnect with friends and colleagues I met in 2016 and 2018. If anyone reading this has any questions about the TAB experience, please don't hesitate to reach out to me. I'd be happy to rave about the program and the people.
And little did I know, my trip to Iceland in October counted as my first trip to a Scandinavian country. I guess it depends on who you ask. So now I just need to make my way to Norway and Finland...and the Faroe Islands?
The house color story is such a fascinating bit of history—I had no idea the yellow pigment came from copper mining leftovers and that ordinary people were forbidden from using it! It’s those little cultural details that make travel blogs so enjoyable, especially when they come wrapped in memories of warm hospitality like your visit with Katarina and Urban on Öland. The way you describe the TAB community makes it clear how meaningful those two-week summer programs in Siem Reap really are for everyone involved. It sounds like the perfect way to reconnect with colleagues while also getting that first taste of Scandinavia—even if Iceland technically stole the thunder. If your travel photos from that snowy walk ever turn out…
AI Font Generator sounds like a great fit for anyone curious about how the two-week Siem Reap program turns teacher coaching into a real partnership. I also loved that you timed your Stockholm visit between conferences in Spain and Egypt just to reconnect with those colleagues.
I really enjoyed reading about your visit with AI BG Remover in Stockholm. It's wonderful to hear how the team connects globally to support teachers in Cambodia through coaching and sharing creative methods. The way you weaved this visit into your sabbatical between conferences sounds like a perfect blend of professional inspiration and personal reconnection.
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