Happy Halloween!

(written by Tom)

Halloween is apparently catching on here. I haven't yet seen any houses done up quite like they are in the US, but I do see people putting carved pumpkins and candles outside their doors. As far as candy, I'm not quite sure what they do for trick or treating because the candy bags they sell in the store do not seem to have individually wrapped treats. Lindsay bought some candy and is planning on putting them in ziplock bags to hand out in case any goblins come by the house tonight. Cavan was going to dress up in a tiger suit tonight but we may have to cancel because he has a little ear infection. We'll try to get pictures out when we can.

Last weekend I was invited to play in a friendly game of flag football that pitted some Microsofties against a selected few from Mærsk, a shipping company. Most people had never played before, not to mention even knowing what the rules are. But it was fun. I got bumped aroud a lot but managed to make a few good defensive plays. The Mærsk guys were just too physical and were able kept us out of the endzone. One of the guys on the other team was a rugby player and at times I think forgot he was playing "flag" football. I've never been hit by a truck but I think I came close to experiencing it on Sunday. X(

More cake please!

written by Tom

Interesting thing I’ve learned about Danes, especially at work, is that when it’s your birthday it is customary to provide cake for other people. In the US it’s usually done the other way around, and other people get the cake for you, if they remember. I like the Danish way better – there are less hurt feelings. :)

When I mentioned this to a friend, here's what he said:

"Oh then you would love my work place. We almost push people or the company into cake at any excuse. When newly employed you have to bring cake or breakfast (some bread and butter etc.) after three months when the trial period is over. Each birthday of course. Going on holiday. For unexpected big orders. When a house or a car is purchased. Or when you sell your house. Anniversary. etc."

Jazz in the city

written by Lindsay

Late last week, we were trying to figure out what we would do for fun over the weekend. Our options usually include staying home and cleaning the house, walking to a nearby playground, attempting to go shopping (although everything we find is too expensive and we can't bring ourselves to buy anything) or going "out" somewhere to explore. I thought it might be fun to find some live music, so that Cavan could see people playing instruments. He loves getting the guitars out at home to play with them, and always pretends the bass guitar is an upright bass. I wish I had a picture of him doing it, cause he actually has really good pretend technique. Anyway, Tom looked online at the Copenhagen This Week site, and we actually found that there would be a free kids' jazz event at a coffee shop downtown. So Saturday, after allowing Cavan a short nap, we headed out by bus and train into the city.

Cavan does really well on the train these days. We usually take along a snack, a couple of his little animals, and a car and he is pretty content to sit all the way there. Once we got to the main train station in Copenhagen, it was about a 5 minute walk to the coffee shop called PH-Cafeen. This place actually reminded me of the coffee places back in Seattle, which seem to be pretty rare here. Street cafes, where they serve not just coffee, but food and alcohol as well, are much more common.

In the back room of the coffee shop, we found the show just beginning: the jazz musicians wearing grey wigs, and the MC/singer dressed up as god knows what. I couldn't understand too much of what she was saying, but throughout the show she was shedding some kind of grey fuzz all over the place. Despite the odd costuming and rather depressing story line, the music was great. Tom got us some drinks and a candy bar to share, and we sat and enjoyed some jazz for about 45 minutes. At that time, Cavan told us, "All done!" We had noticed some other families with small children making their exit already, so we didn't feel too bad about leaving during the show. And when Cavan's done, he's done.

It was still early in the afternoon after the show, so we decided to wander around the neighborhood and see what we could see. We began heading west toward Vesterbro, uncertain of exactly where we were, since we had neglected to bring our map book. Much to our luck, we stumbled upon a huge playground, hidden behind a very old-looking city wall or gateway. It was bustling with activity, with families out enjoying the rather warm fall day. Cavan took his time scouting the place out before finally deciding on some equipment to play on.

Around 4:30 we decided to head out of the city. We took the train to Holte, a small town about a 10 minute bus ride away from our house. There is a rather small city center there, with a few restaurant options. So we decided to have dinner out. Cavan had such a long day on little sleep, but instead of getting cranky, he got completely silly. He provided some really interesting dinner entertainment for us, including the unforgettable moment where we asked Cavan if he wanted to "boogie" (to the music) and he said "yeah" and pointed up his nose. We had such a great day,

My first parent meeting in Danish

written by Lindsay

Cavan's day care had a "Parent Meeting" tonight, and I decided that I would attend. I knew it would be difficult to keep up, but I viewed it as an opportunity to hone my still shaky Danish skills. There are about 100 children in the whole day care, ages 1 1/2 to 6 - I would guess about half of the parents showed up. For the first 30 minutes or so we were all in one room, and the institution leader talked about the changes that have taken place in the organization of the day care over the past year. I could follow along on a very basic level, but most of it was over my head since they were talking about finances and allocation of resources (I assume).

The rest of the meeting we spent in smaller groups, according to our children's age groups. Maria, the pedagog in Cavan's room, led the discussion. She told us about the typical day for the children, and parents jumped in at times with suggestions for how things might run more smoothly. For the first hour, I felt like I was following along quite well. And then toward the end, everyone started talking faster and faster....more people talking at once...topics changing every few minutes...like any meeting, people go off on their tangents. There's only so much a brain can take, however, and I think mine shut down there temporarily.

I left the meeting feeling somewhat proud of myself. In just over 6 months, I have learned enough of this completely new foreign language to understand at least a little bit when people are talking at normal speed. And I also left fighting back tears. It is very hard work being a foreigner and quite depressing at times. You don't quite know what's going on, and once you figure it out, you don't know quite what to say, and then once you've formulated a thought in your head, the topic has already moved on to something else. I'm sure if I'd been attending this meeting in my native language, I would have had lots to say. But I sat there as silent as a rock, hoping no one would speak to me or ask me questions.

Of course, everyone here does speak at least a little English, and Cavan's pedagog (lead caregiver) Maria actually speaks it quite well. She came up to me after the meeting and gave me a hug and told me that she thought I was doing well, and to ask her if I ever don't understand what's going on. It's so helpful to have that support there, to have someone acknowledge that you might be confused. It's a steep learning curve no matter how you slice it, but people like Maria make it feel less impossible. We are really quite lucky.