Hooray - for the first time since August 9 I was able to swim in a pool. I thought I was showing up for masters swimming, but the pool was filled with people of all ages and all speeds. It turned out to be the Danish Long Swim, which is an event arranged by the swimming federation to encourage people to swim. The point is not for the swimmers to compete or to raise money, but to swim to help the team, or town. The town with the most participants and the town with the most meters swum collectively each win a prize. There is a prize for individuals, too, but it certainly was not the emphasis. The event was free, open to all, and they provided lap counters.
Earlier in the year our town had a health day that included a free 25km bike ride (t-shirt included) and free 5km run (another t-shirt). These were also non-competitive events put on to encourage people to exercise together for fun.
It seems that a lot of events are done to bring people together. There is a nationwide anti-bullying campaign that has an entire agenda of events. The after school program had a parents' event in which we broke into groups and discussed solutions to hypothetical dilemmas. Each school class goes to a cabin in the woods overnight to bond (younger classes have parents join them, older classes go during the week without parents). Arlo's class has playgroups with a mix of kids that might not otherwise play together. An international group has formed to help newcomers and locals mix. We do feel that people are reaching out to us and making us feel welcome.
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