DDA’s Rose Oliver and long-term Taiji student and friend, Sven Eriksson, recently co-organized a cultural exchange sightseeing tour and Taiji workshop in Sweden.
?The visit was designed as both a sightseeing tour to Helsingborg and a chance to enjoy local life and culture, including homestay visits for the 12 Chinese guests from Shanghai, which included DDA Taiji disciples, students, friends and their relatives.
Rose and Master Wang Ming Bo led the group of Chinese guests and taught the Taiji workshop, in conjunction with local teacher, Master Marianne Telford, who is now also Sven’s teacher in Helsingborg.
The daily itinerary and local activities were organized by Sven, who retired to his native town of Helsingborg several years previously, after running his company Glopack in Shanghai for many years, where he first met and began his Taiji training with DDA.
Commencing on 13th July, the group enjoyed a casual get together with Sven and the local families providing homestay accommodation at the group’s hostelry, after a fun day of casual sightseeing around the town and harbour, which is close to Denmark’s Copenhagen, overlooking their beautiful coastline and “Hamlet’s Castle”.
With sightseeing around some of Helsingborg’s beauty spots and adjoining areas, including M?lle, Kullaberg, R??, Helsing?r, Copenhagen, Krooks forest and nature trail, fishing villages and coastline; the group enjoyed local cuisine, hospitality and local customs, like picnics and BBQs in the forest and at the beach, plus, a fantastic BBQ lunch at Sven’s home, where we got to try some local Swedish beverages and local spirits!
Throughout the trip, DDA’s Chinese guests enjoyed a thoroughly unique Swedish experience, which was enjoyed by both the local Swedish group as well as by our Chinese guests alike.
On many tours abroad, tour agencies tend to rush Chinese visitors from place to place, without the benefit of enjoying the local area, scenery or the opportunity to meet local people or to communicate with them in any depth.
DDA’s tour offered guests and local Swedes the chance to really make friends and enjoy each other’s company, gaining firsthand experience of each other’s lives and culture.
On 18-19th July, DDA’s Chinese students and students of local teacher Master Marianne Telford, took part in the weekend Taiji workshop, which included joint classes in Qigong, Joint Mobility Exercises, Tendon Stretching and Joint Opening, Taiji practice and TCM and Tuina. On Sunday afternoon, all the participants took part in an “International Taiji Appreciation Festival”, with demonstrations by local Taiji teachers, DDA’s teachers and students, along with family members and friends, all getting in on the fun.
Especially enjoyable was Bengt Holm’s demonstration of ‘Dog Obedience Training’, with the young Alsatian that he is training for the World Championships in Shanghai in 2016.
In the evenings over the weekend, the Chinese group members also enjoyed friendship exchange and free activities with their respective homestay families, reconvening for morning Taiji practice and returning back to the hotel on the 20th July for the remainder of their stay.
The final day of the tour we enjoyed a boat trip across the sea to Helsing?r in Denmark, a tour of the castle and town, where we enjoyed a day’s shopping and sightseeing, culminating with dinner on the ship on the way home from Denmark.
DDA extends its gratitude to Sven and his wife Marika, for their marvelous hospitality, fantastic local arrangements and wonderful itinerary; thanks to all the local families who offered their hospitality to our Chinese guests from Shanghai and gave them a real taste of Swedish life and community; plus a special thanks to Master Marianne Telford and all her students for their generosity, friendly and enthusiastic support and teaching.
We all enjoyed a wonderful trip and sincerely look forward to our 2nd “Swedish & Chinese Culture Cultural Exchange Visit and Taiji Camp” planned in August 2016.
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