More Guide Dogs and Ikea
Last Saturday, I had made plans to meet up with some of the guide dog handlers that I had met last month for Swedish fika. David, Zorro and I took the T-Bana and yes, we did get a bit lost. We exited the station at the other end, but we found our group of friends :) We were happy to meet another guide dog handler, Elisabeth with her German Shepard, Gosan. We sat outside and enjoyed the bit of sun peeking through the clouds :) It was fun seeing them again and meeting new friends! Elisabeth told me that she's been a guide dog handler since the 1980's and actually felt that access was easier back then than it is now! I was so surprised to hear this! She said things got more restrictive and difficult in the 1990's - maybe a shift in the government, not sure. Usually you'd think that things would have gotten better not worse through the years! Interesting...
Through the different topics we kept jumping around about - there is no specific School for the Blind in Sweden, all kids are mainstreamed, similarities on stereotypes about people who are blind - I was extremely disheartened to learn how difficult it is to gain accessible media for those pursuing higher education!! Ida told me that she dropped out from pursuing her degree in Social Work because the University was not willing to make the coursework accessible!! It was so challenging that she was so far behind and the help was practically non-existant! :( Now, I was so supset!! I was under the impression that all these devices were handed out pretty easily, but maybe it's more difficult to get specific textbooks, etc in an alternate format. Here's another story for SVT, let's bring awareness!!
OK, I wasn't able to get more information because we had to wrap up after chatting for a few hours! But, they were shocked to hear that I relieve Zorro on concrete and pick up after him! It all started when they were telling me that the trainer comes to their home and leaves the new guide dog with them after the first day! I was confused because I said how do you clean up after them if you are a new guide dog handler? They couldn't understand - there is so much "forest" around, that they always relieve their dogs on grass and do not have to pick up after them! What?! I think we all thought each other's guide dog relieving protocols were strange, HA! ;) Zorro has relieved on grass here and there but I still pick it up - got to love how cultural differences even exist with our guides :)
Oh and guide dogs are not trained to go on escalators. When we had gone to a store with Crystal and Fredrick, we realized that the elevator was out of service. So, the escalator had been stopped and we walked up the escalator. Funny that Zorro was a bit confused that it wasn't moving but he still did a bit of a hop when we got to the top, HA! ;) Time to begin saying goodbye, wow, it's hitting us now, time in Sweden is really wrapping up! Pictured below: Elisabeth with Gosan, Zorro and I, Crystal with Bella and Ida with Lana
Sunday we decided to check out the largest Ikea in Sweden - it started here, why not?! ;) So, we took the T-Bana the opposite direction for the first time, kind of cool! So, we exited and tried to figure out where the bus stop was. It was pretty confusing, but we eventually found it. We weren't the only ones confused, once we got to the bus stop, all these people kept checking the maps and going back and forth, trying to figure out which bus island to stand in. One of the buses we were looking for appeared and we took it 2 stops. It drops you off right in front of the Ikea. As we got to the entrance, David noticed a sign about dogs, allergies and guide dogs. So, he took out his Swedish dictionary to try and decipher it - what we figured was that no dogs are allowed due to allergies except guide dogs - awesome!! :) Yay, Zorro is welcome in Ikea and their restaurant, go Ikea!! Well, I can tell you for a fact, there is nothing majorly different. Maybe the only thing I could think of, is that the layout here is in concentric circles while back in LA, it's moe spread out. The restaurant is much larger too. But overall, it's Ikea, so you're not missing anything! ;) Plus, we confirmed that at least 90% of our current apartment has been furnished by Ikea!
When we got outside, we ran into Ida and Lana! So, is Sweden a small country or is it a small world? ;) We caught our bus and back home we went. Isn't it funny how the way back always seems so much faster than the way there?! Zorro was awesome on all the public transit, of course! After being home for a couple of hours, it starts to seriously rain with thunder and lightening! Well, I can safely say that "June Gloom" is an international phenomenon! ;)