Eight Degrees of Separation

Life in limbo

2009-10-02T22:25:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay, of course)

We have been back in Seattle for nearly a month now, living in temporary housing in an apartment complex close to Microsoft. Everything so far is going well and according to plan - we've found a house, Tom is working hard at his new job, Cavan has started afternoon preschool, and me....I've become a stay-at-home-mom-driver-of-an-SUV. With Cavan's new preschool a good half hour from our apartment (though it will be 3 minutes from our new house) I am literally out and about all afternoon, running errands with Devon, going for walks, basically killing time from 12:30 when I drop him off until 3:00 when I pick him up. Back in Denmark, when I envisioned my return to the States, I anticipated much less driving than we are actually doing now. Hopefully that will change once we move and are reunited with our bikes and trailer again. Then, of course, it will start raining and getting dark at 5:00, so maybe we will opt for the comfort of the SUV after all....

I've been feeling the need to blog today, because I think I have finally reached a moment of clarity in my transition from being an "American-Living-In-Denmark" to a "More-Danish-Than-Your-Average-American-American-Living-In-The-U.S." This entry, my friends, is all about identity, and how contextual it is. (I want to say 'situated' but that would just be me using my educational jargon).

In choosing to live in another country, and to learn another language more specifically, you are choosing, in a sense, to begin a new life, to open a new door and walk through it. Many people travel and "eavesdrop" in a sense on the languages and cultures of others, but to really put yourself into that culture and language requires the creation of a new persona, a new you. When you choose to be brave and do this, you must quickly come to terms with the fact that you will become a stuttering, sputtering, incomprehensible idiot (okay, that's a bit harsh, but that's often how it feels). You mispronounce your own street name, you respond inappropriately when someone gives you a compliment, you watch to see how other people are behaving in social situations so that you don't look like a bafoon eating your pizza or your burger with your hands. So in these early days, the identity of "bungler" is born.

Later comes confidence, routine, assimilation. The daily life of bungling through a new language and culture slowly gives way to an identity of one who perserveres. The wins begin to edge out the losses. The successes overshadow the failures. People stop treating you so much like a foreigner, and converse with you as they would any other person. You become a "master foreigner".

So here is where the trouble begins again. You move back to your own country. Suddenly you are walking down the street (or driving your SUV) just like everyone else again. There are no external markings to show where you have been, who you have become, or what you have gained. You have mastered being a foreigner, but suddenly that job title has no meaning. Even for yourself, the persona you have created starts to slip away. Your hard-earned identity no longer has a context. You must pick up some of the pieces of who you once used to be, before you ever moved, and try to start forging some new ones.

For me, there has been less culture shock in coming back to the States, as there has been this "life shock" as I like to now call it. It doesn't help that at the same time that I'm floating between two countries, I am also floating between graduate school and a career. The experience has been so jarring for me, that I quickly sought out a Danish-speaking playgroup as soon as we got to Seattle. I have met twice now with some Danish mothers and their kids. And today it makes sense to me why I felt so compelled to join this group - to have a context to validate the Danish-speaking-Lindsay identity that I have been crafting over the past 2 1/2 years. I say that I want to keep up the language (and I do) but I think I am also afraid that that part of who I am will disappear if I don't actively pursue it.

I worry about this for Cavan too, as he became a user of language and aware of himself as a person in a bilingual context. It both surprised and saddened me on Wednesday during our playgroup when I found that after just 6 weeks of being out of Denmark, Cavan could not find the voice to speak to anyone in Danish. Of course he understands still (and maybe he's just temporarily feeling weird about speaking Danish with strangers) but his confidence was gone. He, like everyone else who moves to another country with a different culture and language, is adapting himself to the present context. As a child, however, he is reacting in a less nostalgic, more pragmatic manner. The friendly and nurturing Danish of his teachers and peers at day care are gone. The familiar and powerful English of his family life is now all around him. As he told me himself when I tried to speak Danish to him one day, "I'm not a day care boy anymore. I'm a preschool boy." Context. That identity is no longer relevant for him.

He and I are taking different paths in our return to the States, but these experiences are shaped by our surroundings, and how we are choosing to identify ourselves in relation to them. I hope that by continuing contact with Danish speakers here in Seattle we can preserve at least some part of who we were...are...becoming.

Hjemrejse....the journey home

2009-08-10T03:24:00.000-07:00

written by Lindsay

It seems that this blog is about to reach its end. In just eight days, I will be flying out with the boys (and since I haven't updated in forever, boys = Cavan + Devon, now 3 months old) and Tom will follow a few days behind. Moving back to Seattle. When we left, we weren't sure if we'd ever live there again, but as it turns out, we get to come full circle in this adventure. We are right now in the midst of all the usual stress of moving, though the emotions this time are a bit different. Instead of looking forward to an adventure into the unknown, we are craving the comforts of home. Instead of sightseeing, getting lost and being misunderstood, we will be visiting our old favorite hangouts and getting together with friends we haven't seen for years.

The thing that makes me most sad about leaving Denmark is missing out on the opportunity for the boys to grow up here. It has just been a joy to watch as Cavan has begun to explore his identity as an American living in Denmark, as a speaker of two languages. It is both exciting to think of what it will be like for him to interact with more kids in his first language, and sad to know that all that he has learned in the past 2 years will blur and then fade and then someday be forgotten - even though I know that these experiences have shaped him profoundly and will continue to effect how he thinks and learns for the rest of his life. I feel the same for myself in a way. Somewhere along the way, I developed my own identity as a foreigner and have grown used to the tension of trying to piece together the right things to say, of saying nothing when I couldn't find the words. I have both loved the challenge, and regretted that my true self has been inhibited in many of my personal interactions. It has been in some ways painful being different, but I think it has helped me to find out what I am and what I am not. Or will it all change again once we are back on familiar ground?

Two things stand out to me as "souvenirs" that I would like to take home from Denmark. The first, I want me and my boys to continue learning foreign languages and for that to become a part of who we are as a family. And second, to keep biking! As I look online for houses in Seattle, I find myself examining neighborhoods for bike-ability to shopping, trails, etc. I will be happy to drive my Honda again, but I am reluctant to move back into the car culture. If only we could take the bicycle lanes home with us.

We will likely update a few more times as we re-enter the atmosphere, as we discover what those eight degrees of separation feel like all over again. Stay tuned!

Homesickness

2009-02-22T10:19:00.000-08:00

(written by Lindsay)

We are soon coming up on the two year mark of living in Denmark. While there are a mountain of things that we have come to miss about being in the States (and can't wait to go back to), I personally feel like I have adjusted to living here. Being able to speak the language, having a job to go to, seeing people that I know at the grocery store, and of course having a car, have helped life to settle into a new normal.

Every once in awhile, however, homesickness hits me out of the blue and makes me realize just how far away my life has drifted from the familiar. Last weekend, I was out by myself shopping at the grocery store, when I heard some country music playing over the store's radio. This may not seem so remarkable, but virtually no one listens to country music here - it's not on the radio, and I don't think you can buy much in stores. So while I was picking out avocados, I was pulled back through time to "You Picked A Fine Time to Leave Me Lucille" and was discussing with my sister whether there were four hungry children or four hundred children. In the frozen food aisle, it was "Blue" and I was suddenly transported to a warm summer night, rocking with the waves on Mom and Dad's boat at the Lake. And it just brought tears to my eyes, missing the warmth, my family, and the familiarity of all those country songs.

Today, Cavan and I went to see the new Disney cartoon "Bolt". The movie was dubbed into Danish, as children are typically not good at reading subtitles. Believe it or not, after nearly two years of living in Denmark, this is the first time I've seen a movie in the theater that was not in English. I had no problems understanding, and I assume Cavan didn't either - another sign of how far we've come and how much we've learned since living here. And then came the scene, of Bolt and his road companions working their way West across the United States to find Penny in California. And the homesickness hit me again, as they crossed state lines into Missouri and Kansas. The road trip, the never ending highway, the waffle houses....we have taken a car trip or two since living in Europe, but it's not quite the same.

I like living in Europe for many reasons, and I feel that we as a family have done a good job at integrating ourselves into many of the lifestyles changes that go along with being here. But I am in my heart a proud American, and there are a great many things I miss about my culture, which I don't even realize on a daily basis. These little moments, however, break into my consciousness and call me back home. I'm not ready to go just yet - as I know that once we leave, this time in our lives will become something like a dream itself - but I do look forward to our homecoming, with all the small surprises of the things we didn't even know we'd missed for so long.

The Darkest Day

2008-12-20T23:23:00.000-08:00

written by Lindsay

Welcome friends and family to the darkest day of the year. According to weather.com, the sun will rise today at 8:37am and set again at 3:39pm. It's 8:25 in the morning as I sit here and type, and I can verify that I first saw some light in the sky about 15 minutes ago. The cloud cover looks a little lighter than usual, so we may even possibly see a few rays of sunshine today. A few weeks ago, when the sun came out for a few minutes on a Saturday outing, Cavan was absolutely blinded by the light - it was as if we'd just crawled out of a cave. You would never believe how pale we all are right now!

Despite the dark and cold, we do have a reason to celebrate this weekend. Yesterday, after weeks of relentless pursuit on car-buying websites, we finally found one to call our own. We bought privately, so got a little bit newer car for the money - it's a white '99 Ford Escort with a hatchback. The space is incredible for a European car. We will easily be able to transport two kids, the dog and a barnevogn (pram) when we finally get around to buying one.

As much as I hate to sound like a spoiled American, I couldn't be more relieved right now. I will actually be able to run quickly and get groceries after getting off work and picking up Cavan from day care. We can drop off our recycling materials at the recycling center without encountering 20 minutes of blustery bike-riding there and then back again. The biggest relief, however, comes from being able to retire my bicycle for the time being. As much as I have enjoyed the exercise and the forced exposure to the elements, I have discovered that 20 weeks of pregnancy and winter weather are not the most ideal conditions for such a lifestyle. While I have no problems riding my bike at the moment, I have found that getting on and off requires more intense effort and concentration. The laws of physics were bound to catch up with me, as I rode down a wet street with a 20 pound belly, a 30 pound child and 10 pounds of groceries balanced on the top of my two wheels.

Looking forward, there are only brighter days to come. More mobility, and hopefully more fun activities. Right now we're looking into local swim halls, so that Cavan and I can get some good old-fashioned indoors exercise. Here's to living a more normal life !

Why Buying a Car in Denmark Sucks

2008-10-27T12:53:00.000-07:00

written by Lindsay

We have survived over 1 1/2 years without a car to drive, and for the most part we are used to the challenges and can plan effectively around them. However, with Baby #2 on the way (due in May) our transportation options are quickly dwindling. We're hoping to make it a few more months with me on my bike, and in the meantime we're considering our options for either buying or leasing a car for the duration of the pregnancy and through the newborn months.

But let me tell you, this is not an easy decision to make, nor a fun process to go through. Through the searching I've done so far online, here are the Top 6 reasons that I've come up with why buying a car in Denmark sucks:

Unit conversion - odometers are in kilometers, gas mileage is in liters, and prices are in kroners. Sure, I can use my calculator, but it takes a long time to figure out what kind of car you can get for the money.

This is the kind of car you can buy for the equivalent of $5000 - depressing. (that is a 1997 Fiat Cinquecento 1,1 Sporting with 185,000km, by the way)

Tax on said yellow car is 25% - an extra $1250.
Have you ever heard of these makes/models: Citroen Xantia, Fiat Brava, Opel Astra, Renault Clio???? This is mostly what a search in our price range yields. How am I supposed to know which car will likely not break down on the motorvej?
$7-ish per gallon for gas. Once we do find a car, we're still likely looking at heavy operating expenses. If gas costs this much, what about regular maintenance? What do we do if the old clunker does break down?
We've been in Denmark long enough to settle into a comfort zone, where we have safely excluded life dealings that we're unfamiliar with. Buying a car takes us into uncharted waters - getting a Danish driver's license, buying insurance, reselling the car when we leave, etc.

On the bright side, once we get past this stage of figuring out what in the heck we're going to do, I have the feeling that owning a car in Denmark is going to open up a whole new world of possibilities for us, and make life unbelievably easier. No more waiting an hour for the next bus for a Sunday day trip, no more looking at the sky to see if a trip to the store is in the question. And we can start taking Sasha out on more adventures with us again. Not to mention, easier access to McDonalds and the grocery store that sells American items - two things that are guaranteed to make a pregnant woman happy.

Working in Danish

2008-08-19T10:55:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

My command of the Danish language is very shaky, yet somehow I manage to get through each day at my new job as assistant teacher in a vuggestue (day care for children up to 2 1/2 years). It helps that children I work with have a average working vocabulary of about 4-5 words. Of course, there are many things I have to negotiate and communicate with my co-workers on a daily - scratch that - minute-by-minute basis: So and so needs to be changed. Who's going to get the food cart from the kitchen? What time do you leave today? So and so just woke up. We can't rinse the hard-boiled eggs because the water has been shut off while they're fixing the washing machine down in the basement. Little things like that, over and over again all day long.

So to say the least, I'm getting in some good practice. My co-workers assure me that it is not too irritating working with me, my American accent, and my limited comprehension. I get what they say for the most part. By the second time for sure. They understand me for the most part, by the second time I repeat something usually. It's a little trickier talking with parents because I never know what they're going to pull out of the air to talk about. Mysterious illnesses or rashes that I have never heard of, references to lost articles of clothing, specific instructions for what so and so can eat because his tooth is loose after a fall. And then there are lunch breaks in the staff room, which surprisingly haven't been too hard for me to follow. We talk about vacation, other day care institutions, the weather, how long I've been in Denmark and how long I plan to stay.

All in all, I like going to work. Being with small children, there's rarely a dull moment, and it's nice to have a real experience observing learning in an institution after so many years of studying learning in institutions. After just three weeks, most of the kids have grown fond of me, and sometimes fight over my lap. It's a good feeling to give and receive so many hugs in the course of the day. Certainly more tangible rewards than sitting and writing a dissertation alone in my house. Throw in the free snacks of rye bread and banana slices, hot lunches of beef stew and rice, and an income to support our traveling habit, and I figure I've got a pretty sweet job (for now).

Cavan's bicycle

2008-08-02T00:29:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

One of the most interesting aspects of our move to Denmark has been our transition from having a car to biking and taking public transportation. Jumping on our bikes to head to the train station, the grocery store, or to take a ride for fun out in the forest is second nature to us now. It has been fun seeing how Cavan has experienced this as well.

In early May, a couple of weeks after we returned from our trip to the States, we noticed that Cavan was spending a lot of time at his day care on these orange bikes that they have, which have no pedals. They sit low enough for kids to push along on the ground with their feet and are amazing at helping them to learn to balance on their own. One day when I picked Cavan up, I watched as he picked up his feet and began to coast down the sidewalk there on the playground. I talked to his lead teacher a few days later, and she told me how much Cavan loved to ride that bicycle all day, and how it would be great if he had one of his own that he could bring (apparently because he just stood watching when another kid was using one of the orange ones). So we ordered one on the internet and surprised Cavan with it a few days later. In Danish, it is called a løbecykle which translates to "running bicycle."

Ever since getting his own bike, Cavan has learned so much about bicycle safety and the rules of the road. Every day, on the way to day care, we both ride our bikes together through the "Skovly" - a collection of small houses and gardens in a relatively closed off area. He has learned to listen for cars (which drive very slowly) and to pull off to the side to let them pass. We also bike around in our neighborhood, where he has learned to ride beside me on my right side, on the street. He has learned to stop at intersections and to look both ways for cars. A few times, I have even let him ride on the bicycle lane with me on a busier street near our home. One day, he even managed to keep up while we went for a ride on a path through the forest, near our home. We were out riding for over 40 minutes! He's had a few small crashes, but for the most part, he rides very under control.

In the U.S., it seems that we get bicycles as toys. While Cavan certainly plays around on his and enjoys riding, his has been a very different experience. Already at 2 1/2, he uses it for transportation and understands that he is a part of traffic when he rides. And all of this on a bike that has no pedals! So here are a few pictures and a short video of Cavan riding, in case you're reading and wondering what in the heck I'm talking about:

This is a picture of our ride home through the Skovly:

There is a place there in the middle for him to rest his feet while he's coasting. Definitely a great feature that this particular bike has, which I haven't seen on other models.

And here's a short vid of Cavan riding, about a week and a half after he got his bike. I don't have anything more recent, but this is still cute, I think:

Hot, Hot Summer Days

2008-08-01T10:38:00.001-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

In comparison to last summer, you'd think we were living in Texas. This year, we have had two long stretches of hot dry days, with temps reaching the mid-80's. This may not sound like much to all you Americans with an air-conditioning thermostat on your wall, but when there are very few places to get relief from the heat, it wears you out. Due to all the brick and the stone courtyard, our house gets pretty hot in the afternoon and stays that way until early morning. But I'm actually not complaining (much) because soon (maybe tonight) it will all be over, and for the first time in years, I have a decent sun tan!

We have been out and about quite a bit in recent days, in large part because it's no fun to sit and bake in our house. Last weekend, we had a fun multi-stop adventure in Copenhagen. It's that time of year when all the locals are sunning on the beaches of Spain, France and Italy and all of the tourists from everywhere else are making their way through the tourist attractions. So we got to pretend to be tourists for a day, which is always fun. Our first stop was the Rundtårn near Nørreport station, a spiral ramped tower adjacent a church which leads up to a great view of the city. Tom and I were hoping to take a good look around, but it turned out that Cavan was not too thrilled about the view (or possibly the height) and he quickly pulled us back down into the stairwell.

After the tower, we made our way to Tøjhusmuseet or the Royal Danish Artillery Museum. We found it in one of our guidebooks earlier that day, and thought it would be just the thing for the little guy, who loves to pretend to shoot his guns. There, we saw weapons from canons to machine guns to swords, and uniforms and armor to boot. Cavan really gravitated toward one canon in particular, which he kept asking if we could buy.

After the artillery and a quick lunch under a shady tree in the park, we set off past Nyhavn to a harbor where a large ship from Italy was docked. We had read in the paper that there would be tours and thought it might be cool to check out. The tours included the top deck only, and honestly, I was too terrified to enjoy it. After climbing the narrow stairs up to the deck, with the ocean looming below, and then noticing that the edges of the ship had absolutely no barriers to prevent small children from falling right off the side, I clung onto Cavan the entire time. I was so glad to be back on dry land.

To conclude our day in the hot, hot sun, we stopped for awhile at a playground in the shade to let Cavan run around and to recoup my sanity. It was a nice, fenced in area. We relaxed on a bench while Cavan climbed and spun around on this spinning seat thing. We weren't paying much attention to what he was doing over there, so apparently he'd been spinning a bit too much - when he stood up to walk back to us, he began walking at a right angle to where he intended and crashed into another couple who was sitting on a bench. I couldn't stop laughing. He just looked so confused. All in all, a great day out. Cavan is such a good traveller, and it is so fun to take him to experience these new things all the time. How lucky we are to live close to such an interesting capitol city!

Where have the last 8 months gone?

2008-07-24T11:34:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

There's no excuse for failing to blog for nearly 3/4 of a year, but nevertheless, I will catch you all up on our lives by giving the longest string of excuses you've ever read. Life has been busy! Starting in November....

November Tom's mom came for a visit for Thanksgiving. While she was in town, we discovered small spots on Cavan, and discovered that he had an illness called ITP - a platelet deficiency. It ended up being a temporary thing, but because he was at high risk for bleeding, we had to keep him home from day care for weeks, and monitor his every toddler motion so that he didn't fall and hurt himself.

December brought a series of ear infections for Cavan, and a Christmas-time trip to Sweden to go skiing. We were as far north as either of us had ever been, and during the darkest days of the year - with about a total of 7 hours of daylight a day. Tom and I took turns on the slopes. Cavan developed a new ear infection while we were there, and we went right to after-hours care as soon as we got back from our 12-hour drive home.

January, I started working on my dissertation in earnest, and also continued to go to language courses in the evenings, two days a week. The winter days were terribly gloomy and dark, and we found ourselves staying home most weekends just to stay out of the ickiness.

Mid-March, we took our trip back to the States - three weeks for me and Cavan, and two weeks for Tom. The kiddo and I went through Philly to see my sister Kristie and family, flew to Kansas to visit parents and sister Jenny and family, drove to Texas, through Dallas to see some friends, and ultimately landed in San Antonio for brother Patrick's wedding to Sinath. Tom met us in Texas and we drove back to Kansas together - 17 hours on the road in one day! Then Cavan and I flew back to Denmark and Tom onto Seattle for a week of work and all-expense-paid meals!

In April and May, I dug into my dissertation revisions, and set a deadline for myself to finish in late May. It started getting much nicer, sunnier, and warmer, so we started taking more day trips on the weekend, including a return to Bakken and to the Zoo. Tom and Cavan spent Danish Father's Day in Helsingor at the Technology Museum while I stayed home and plowed through my work.

In June, I flew back to Seattle to defend my dissertation and graduate - all in four days time! Everything went well, and Mom and Dad flew up to attend the ceremonies with me. A week and a half after coming home, we drove to Amsterdam (another long drive!) where we rolled a family vacation and an educational research conference into one.

Now it's July, and things have finally slowed down -sort of. I still had final dissertation changes to make, and I spent my spare time searching for a job. About two weeks ago I found one - at a day care just up the road. Starting Monday, I will be working full time (35 hours a week) with the smallest kids (9 months to 2 1/2 years) and hopefully improving my Danish. I guess all of that work going to classes paid off. I'm excited to be working with kids - just nervous about the daily struggles I know I'm going to have with understanding everything.

So I promise never to do a laundry list blog like this again. I hope to update more frequently, as I have new adventures at my new job and beyond! Also, more pictures to come soon!

How Halloween Went Down

2007-11-01T15:12:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

It was a little difficult to work up the energy to go trick or treating with Cavan. Sure some of our neighbors had pumpkins on their front porches, and I'd been told that Halloween is starting to "catch on" here, but still we weren't sure what to expect. Dressing your child in a tiger costume and sending him around to collect candy from the neighbors isn't a cultural practice that necessarily translates.

But when it started to get dark, it just didn't feel right not to be going somewhere on Halloween, so Cavan got on his tiger suit, and we put together a make-shift trick-or-treating bag for him. Once we told him he was going to get some candy to put in his bag, he was all ready to go. We went to our friends' house first, as a test case. I don't think we caught them too off guard, but we quickly realized that even though people may know about Halloween, they are not necessarily opening the door with heaping bowls of candy. Fortunately, of the three houses we went to (people who I knew to have kids and who had pumpkins on their doorsteps) they each had some piece of candy to offer, which saved the evening from being a total embarrassment for us. But let's just say, trick-or-treating in Denmark was just not the same. As a classmate of mine said of the holiday in England, "It sort of feels like sending your children out begging in the street."

Cavan had a great time though. He caught on to the concept quickly, and was eager in his pursuit of more candy. We supplemented his three pieces with some that I had bought in the eventuality of trick-or-treaters at our own house (we had one group of kids, actually). Like every kid, he couldn't wait to dump it out on the floor and see what he'd collected.

Here's a few pictures of our little tiger:

Happy Halloween!

2007-10-31T03:12:00.001-07:00

(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!

2007-10-21T04:41:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-09T11:20:00.000-07:00

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

2007-10-08T12:33:00.001-07:00

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.

A day at Bakken

2007-07-16T12:40:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

Everyone I talk to says that this has been an unusually cool and wet summer for Denmark. It has rained more days than not, and I can only recall a handful of times that I have left the house without a jacket. It has definitely been dreary for us, considering we have just survived some of the craziest winter weather back in Seattle. This past weekend, however, we finally got a bit of a sun break, so we decided to spend that precious time outdoors.

A 15 minute bus ride and 10 minute journey on the train found us at Bakken, Denmark's oldest amusement park. The rides and games remind you more of your run of the mill county fair, but there is a certain charm and excitement to the place nonetheless. Admission to the park is free - a short walk through a forested area and you are there - but you pay for the rides and the games and the food. We bought a whole little booklet of tickets, and proceeded to scout out the Cavan-sized rides.

Cavan was fascinated with everything - the bumper cars, the balloons that other kids were carrying around, the umbrellas over the tables at a cafe. We probably could have had a perfectly amusing day just walking around and taking it all in. But of course we wanted to put our little boy on his first ever rides :) Most of them were built for adult and child to ride together, so Tom and I took turns taking him. The first ride, a bunch of "boats" going around a large elephant, was a little too fast and the elephant noises a little too scary. Cavan just looked bewildered when we got off. So then we tried something a little slower: the carousel. He loved it!

And the spinning ducks...cried when it was over.

The Oldtimer cars...screamed when it was over. Yeah, we had to do that one twice :)

At 6:00 we caught the train back to Vedbaek, but when we got to the station realized we'd have to wait 45 minutes for the next bus. So, we walked home. It was a 40 minute walk, but it was such a lovely evening to enjoy, picking flowers and talking to the sheep on our way. This is our life. It takes us forever to get where we're going, but I realized on the way home that night that I don't really have anywhere else to be. Maybe it's because we're living in a foreign country and don't have the same feeling of obligation to things as we did back home. Or maybe it's because the pace of things here (and without a car) is forcing us to slow down. Or both. Either way, I find it refreshing. Even when it's raining.

Biking around

2007-06-27T11:56:00.000-07:00

On June 1st, we said goodbye to our apartment in Frederiksberg and moved to our permanent (well as permanent as it gets for me and Tom) rental house here in Trørød. We love the space, the neighborhood, and we love finally having our bikes! The community where we live is not really close to any major shopping areas, and without having a car here, our transportation options are either bike it or bus it. I definitely prefer biking. I have a child seat on my bike and Cavan just loves going places in it - he enjoys the process of getting all strapped in and will point to my seat and say "Mommy!" telling me that I should sit there so we can go! I also have a bike trailer to pull behind if I need to go on a bigger grocery shopping trip or to pull Cavan in once the weather gets colder. So far we haven't used it too much, but it's definitely a necessity.

When the weather is nice, biking is wonderful! We get to breath the fresh air, feel the blood pumping through our veins, and experience all of the new sights and smells at a close proximity. There's a road that we take from our little town of Trørød to the bigger town of Vedbæk where we can stop to see sheep graze out in the fields. There's really no stress about cars running you over because the whole infrastructure in Denmark is set up for bikers. In the picture here, you can see the very wide sidewalk on the left - the part that is asphalt is for bikers only. Unless you are on a very small and residential street, you most likely have your own bike lane.

There are times when our transportation situation can be a bit frustrating, however. Like today: this morning it was a little overcast, but it didn't feel like rain was headed our way, so I decided to bike with Cavan down to our friends' house in Hellerup, which is about 9 miles away. The ride there was lovely - a little path that ran alongside the train tracks, through a small forest. We biked through several small towns, past train stations, and after a few wrong turns finally arrived at our friends' house.

Then it started raining. Lightly at first, but as Cavan and Isabella played and had lunch, it got much heavier. Since biking home for an hour through the rain didn't seem like a good option, I decided we would take the train home (you can take bikes on the train). We got off the train at Vedbæk station and had to bike only about 12 minutes to get home....well by the time we made it here, we were soaked. We're talking I can see the color of my skin through my khaki capris, water dripping off my helmet, shoes are completely soaked. Cavan stayed a little drier as I block a lot of the oncoming rain for him, but his pants were pretty wet too. We walked in the door and just stripped down in the entry way. As yucky as it felt, though, we still had a good laugh about how wet we were. A few minutes and some dry jammies later, we were feeling better and ready for a nice long nap!

The good news is, there IS such a thing as rain gear, we just have to go out and buy it. They make rain coats and pants for kids and adults alike, which you can wear over your clothes. There are ponchos designed for bike riding that keep your legs dry. It's just like having windshield wipers on your car - as long as you're prepared, the weather really shouldn't stop you from going anywhere.

Now off I go, back into the rain to take Sasha for a walk :)

Karneval!

2007-05-27T10:38:00.000-07:00

The weekend of Whitsunday (or Pentecost) is a weekend of celebration in Copenhagen. A three day festival kicks off Friday evening and lasts until late Sunday night. The occaision is marked with parades, music, dance, food, and games, all centering around a Brazilian Carnival-type theme. We were able to go today and we got a pretty good taste of the event, hearing lots of drumlines, scantily clad dancers, and good beer.

They had a diverse lineup of bands. The ones we saw included several amatuer drumlines, a samba group (lots of drums and dancers with feathers), as well as a Cuban rumba band. Cavan loved the Cuban band and was mesmerized by the twirling dancers that zoomed past him. When it was done, he kept asking for "More! More!"

Meeting people through our dog

2007-05-06T12:40:00.000-07:00

As it turns out, the best way to have friendly conversation with people here in Copenhagen is to take our dog Sasha for a walk. There is a park a few blocks from our apartment which is unofficially a dog park - a big empty field lined with hedges where dogs young and old take their owners to socialize. Dogs are excellent at breaking the ice. As soon as we get to the park, I let Sasha off her leash and when other dogs are there, she quickly bounds over to greet them. The dogs end up romping around together, and us humans, for lack of anything else to do, begin talking to each other about our dogs. And other topics as well. For instance, the fact that we are all standing around in the middle of Copenhagen speaking English to each other is usually an entree into talking about where I come from and what I think about Denmark. And once that's been talked about, there's always the weather. And if nothing else, you can always talk about how silly and cute the dogs are. We're there often enough that people know Sasha by name, and Tom and I by association. It's not much, but it's the social outlet that we need, I think. Even having someone recognize your face (or your dog's face) in a foreign land helps it feel just a little bit more like home.

What are Danes like?

2007-04-25T13:04:00.000-07:00

(written by Tom)

Many of you may be wondering what Danes are like (at least the ones that live around Copenhagen). Well, here is a list of what I've learned from the culture classes, heard from other people, and observed for myself. Yes, I am stereotyping and I know that not everyone here fits this mold, but I will use the first item as an excuse...

1. Danes love to stereotype - things works better if everything and everyone fit into neat little categories
2. Danes do not like to initiate any sort of interaction - if you pass someone on the street, they will always avert their eyes, even on the train it is often eerily quiet
3. Danes love to hear what foreigners think about Danes
4. Danes love to explain to foreigners what Danes are like
5. Danes resent the fact that their country is known primarly by the Little Mermaid statue
6. Despite #5, Danes make sure everyone knows who H.C. Anderson was
7. Danes are humble - I have never met a single one who was snotty or condescending
8. Danes do not like being compared to Swedes
9. Danes think of Germany as a country they have to drive through to get to the rest of Europe
10. Danes can speak excellent English - except for the older generation
11. Danes will usually not stop to help or hold the door for you, unless you ask, in which case they will be very willing
12. Danes love pizza
13. Danes think bathtubs are a luxury
14. Danes complain about the high taxes but really don't mind so much
15. Danes are obsessed with candles
16. Danes use any excuse to display the flag
17. Danes are patient in all circumstances except for getting on and off the train/bus
18. Danes don't like George Bush (but then again, who does outside of the US?)
19. Danes are very liberal with their use of swear words
20. Danes still fondly remember when they won the European Football Championship a few years ago (actually it was more like 15 years ago...)
21. Danes from Copenhagen consider their island the mainland, while Danes from Jutland consdier their peninsula the mainland
22. Danes are not all blonde-haired, blue-eyed - but a lot of them are!
23. Danes leave their babies outside in their prams while they shop
24. Danes dress their babies up in extremely warm clothing, even when it's not that cold outside
25. Danes are not known to provide excellent customer service
26. Danes put a strong emphasis on work-life balance
27. Danes are fond of their Viking heritage
28. Danes love their royal family - the emblem of the crown is seen everywhere
29. Danes have a do-it-yourself attitude
30. Danes have a forward thinking sense of gender equality

Disaster of an outing

2007-04-16T11:47:00.000-07:00

(written by Lindsay)

It was a simple enough plan. I have a bike trailer, but no bike (yet, it's coming on the boat) so I thought I'd rent a bike for a few weeks. I could get out a little more, see more things, take Cavan out on fun adventures. There is a bicycle rental place downtown next to the train station, so I planned an outting today to take Cavan down via the metro/train and ride home on a rental bike.

I push Cavan in the bike trailer, which doubles as a stroller, and we find our way to the rental place downtown. I rent a bike that also has a baby seat on the bike. The "mechanic" guy from the shop comes out and helps me get the trailer attached to the bike so I can wheel it home, and shows me how to operate the wheel locks, etc. "Okay, Cavan, let's get in and go home. But first you have to put your helmet on......"This is when all hell breaks loose. Putting a helmet on this child, you'd think I am poking him with a hot brander. He screams and screams and then screams some more - and I still have to adjust the strap on his helmet. So I spend about 5 minutes doing this while he continues to scream. I manage to wrestle the helmet onto his head and buckle the straps. Cavan is lifting up on the helmet as hard as he can - so hard his whole head might just pop off.

Okay, Plan B. Let's put him in the bike seat and THEN put the helmet on. Once he realizes how cool it is to be sitting on top of the bike, he won't notice. WRONG.

Okay, Plan C. I'll put him in the trailer and then put the helmet on. WRONG.

Okay, Plan D. let's just go and once we start moving, he'll realize how fun it is, and will leave the helmet alone. WRONG.

So I am pedaling around on this bike, which turns out is way too large for me anyway - I'd have to jump off to reach the ground. There is a roundabout so I go around it once. Twice. I don't know where to turn. Cavan is still screaming bloody murder. That's it. I'm done. I'm ready to scream. We're taking the bike back. I stop at the corner and Cavan has already managed to wrestle his helmet off, and is still screaming/sobbing in the trailer. We go back into the bike shop and I explain the situation and ask for my money back. The guys there are nice and give me no problem. They can probably tell that someone's going to lose their head if they tell me no.

Once the money is refunded, I hold Cavan, and push the trailer back to the train station. We are both stressed but relieved that that ordeal is over with. There is a McDonald's at the train station so we stop for nuggets and a coke. After all that, I need something familiar. Cavan is happy sitting in the chair and eating his nuggets and seems to have forgotten all about the helmet.

Until the next time.

Pizza everywhere!

2007-04-06T01:19:00.000-07:00

If you've ever spent any time in Seattle you'll know what I'm talking about when I say there's a terriyaki restaurant on just about every corner. Well here in Copenhagen it's the same thing with pizza places. You can't walk 2 blocks without running into some little place that sells pizza. In fact, there is a takeout place right across from our front door - we can see it if we look out our front windows. In such establishments you can usually also pick up sandwiches or even Shawarma.

The Land of the Vikings

2007-04-05T13:41:00.000-07:00

Yesterday we decided to turn in the rental car, but before I did so we decided to take a trip to Roskilde, a town West of Copenhagen on the island of Zealand. The main attraction for us was the Viking Boat Museum, which sits on the edge of the Fjord of Roskilde.

The museum was interesting because the main exhibit was a collection of boats that had been excavated from the depths of the fjord back in the 60s. Apparently, back in the 11th century when folks had to worry about raids from unfriendly neighbors, several boats of various types where loaded with rocks and sunk at one of the channels to block the ships of the incoming hoards of invaders. In the end it turned out to be a great tactic because it forced them to land elsewhere, giving time to evacuate and prepare for battle. The early Danes were victorious and the scuttled ships survived the centuries at the bottom of the fjord until recently.

We packed a lunch and put Cavan in the backpack. Afterwards we stopped at a small playground just outside the site. The most exciting thing for him was encountering a city park worker with a 4 wheeler. He chased after her yelling "Tractor! Tractor!" (although it sounded more like "Cackou! Cackou!").

News on the house - we had an offer from someone last week and the inspection was supposed to happen today. We're keeping our fingers crossed!

Our first week

2007-04-02T12:58:00.000-07:00

Well, we've been in Denmark for a week now. Up until tonight, each time that I (Lindsay) thought about posting on our blog, I just felt overwhelmed. Where would I begin? What events were most important to talk about? It occurs to me that in the midst of a change as great as moving overseas, there are moments where you're not sure what you know and don't know, or how you even feel about your surroundings from moment to moment. Even though we're in a city that's easy-going and safe, and where the majority of locals speak very clear English, there is still a panic that sets in. No matter how much support you have, or how prepared you feel you might be, you are in over your head and you know it. It happens as you are walking through the grocery store and trying to make a quick decision about which type of crackers Cavan might actually eat, or which item is butter and which is cheese; when you're paying for your new Danish/English dictionary and the cashier begins speaking to you in lightning speed Danish and you just nod and shrug and wonder what type of technical question she's asking you (as it turns out she just wants to know if you want a bag or not); and just as you are trying to make sense of how to get from here to there. It is all laborious and hard because it is all completely new.

But aside from the challenges, we are doing really well and having a great time in Denmark. We are settled into our temporary apartment in the town of Frederiksberg (in Copenhagen but its own municipality) - the place is much nicer than what we expected. All of the furnishings are modern and clean, even if the doors and floors are old and creaky. We're learning to get by without a dryer - our clothes are currently hanging on a very large drying rack here in our living room. We're experimenting with having bread and cheese as a nightly after dinner snack. And thanks to another American family from Microsoft, we're learning where to go shopping for what, and where to find deals. Our biggest shock so far has been the cost of things. It seems that most grocery items are at least 50% more than what we'd pay for them in the states - so we are also strategizing about how to stretch our dollar (well, Kroner) as far as we can. This fact alone, I think, is setting us up for a more economical, European lifestyle :)

Cavan is doing amazingly well with the changes. He seems content in the stroller on our walks to the grocery store and back - pointing out many, many bikes and cars and flags along the way. He loves going out in the back courtyard to toss the ball for Sasha (just like at home) and there are some sand toys and swing that he plays with out there. He doesn't have very many toys here yet - just a few that we could fit in our luggage - so we feel at times that he goes a little stir-crazy here in the apartment. Tom and I laughed today when we found him in his room crawling forwards and then crawling backwards, to no apparent purpose. "Yep, he's bored"

Sasha - well, let's say she's adjusting too. Thank goodness for the courtyard, or I think we'd all be going crazy. We take her out probably 4 times a day, either to play in the yard or go for a walk. She has learned to pee and poo on the sidewalk, because sometimes there's just no grass or dirt to be found. But she does a relatively good job walking on her leash amidst all the baby buggies and bicycles and cars and people and other dogs walking past.

In terms of things coming up: this week, Tom has already been allotted some vacation time from his boss (gotta love their work ethic here) so that we can spend some time to get settled. Thursday, Friday and Monday are all national holidays here because of Easter anyway. Tomorrow, we expect our air shipment from the States, our "reinforcements" of clothes and toys, Tom's desktop PC, and some other miscellaneous items. We won't really start looking for a permanent place until late April or early May, once we have gotten to know the areas better. Once we do move, I will likely start language lessons, and start looking for part-time day care for Cavan. Other things too that I can't think of right now.

So I think this officially exhausts my blogging energy for the evening. Keep checking back for updates and more pictures of lovely Denmark!

Lindsay

The time has come!

2007-03-21T20:36:00.000-07:00

Well my last day at work has come and gone. I said farewell to all my coworkers and had a few last games of foosball (I think they let me win).

Tonight is fairly busy because we have to be ready for the pack & move crew to come by tomorrow morning. I'll be staying home tomorrow and Friday supervising the move while Lindsay and Cavan are out and about.

Tonight is our last night sleeping in our home. Starting tomorrow, we'll check into the Residence Inn. We were able to sell my car, but we decided not to sell Lindsay's Accord. Her folks are flying in tomorrow afternoon and will drive it back to Kansas for us to keep for us until we return. We just thought it will be nice having a car waiting for us when we got back.

Saturday we plan on spending cleaning the house and then Sunday our flight leaves at 6:50pm. It's a 9.5 hour nonstop SAS flight and we'll get in around 1pm local time. From there we have a hotel reservation at the Hotel Scandic Copenhagen for 3 nights. After which we'll move into our temporary housing. The address is:

Bentzonsvej 20, 2.tv.
DK-2000 Frederiksberg

That will be where we'll live for the next couple of months, until we find a more permanent place to rent.

Well, we've got a lot of work to do, so I best get at it. You'll hear from us after we touch down on the other side of the pond. Wish us luck!

Leave date

2007-03-05T20:34:00.000-08:00

Okay, and now what everyone's been waiting to hear... when do we leave for Denmark?

My last day of work is Wed 3/21. The movers will be here from 3/22 - 3/23. During that time we'll be put up in a Residence Inn, and will fly out of Seattle on 3/25, arriving in CPH 3/26. After a few days rest I will start work on 3/29.

The house still hasn't sold yet. We hosted an open house yesterday but no one even came out to look at it. That was kind of depressing. :(

We're hoping it will sell soon so all we have to worry about is the closing while we are overseas.

Lindsay is working hard to get her car in shape to list it for sale. We're hoping that will sell quicker than the house.

Not so fast my friend...

2007-02-27T21:40:00.000-08:00

Well, we thought we had the house sold, but the buyers backed out the day the inspection was due. Yeah, that really stinks. Because we live in a buyer-friendly state there's not really anything we can do to get the earnest back. Apparently the couple buying the home is going through a divorce and couldn't agree on the house. Kind of strange if you ask me.

After recovering from our anger and disappointment, we put the house back on the market. Well, it's a little harder this time around. We haven't had many people look at the house since then and of course no offers. We've decided to hold an open house this Sunday in the hope that it will draw in a few more people.

Now for some good news... our visa applications just got accepted yesterday from Danish Immigration! I FedEx'd our passports to get the stamps so we can be legal to reside in the land of the Danes. We should have them by this week.

So... when do we actually go? Well at first we thought that the sale of the house would hold us back, but our agent says we will still be able to sell or close on the house while we are overseas. Also, my new boss suggests that I start work by 3/29. So now we are looking at a departure date of the weekend of the 24th. Oh my gosh that's less than 4 weeks away!

We've got a lot more to do between now and then, but with a tangible date in mind I think we are both a little saner.

Gone in 60 seconds

2007-02-12T19:32:00.000-08:00

Well that was quick. We put our house up on the market on Friday, and by Saturday received an offer for our asking price. We accepted the offer on Sunday and today our status changed to "Pending Inspection." The closing date is March 22, but we will be able to rent back from the new owners until April 7, if we need to.

Such a relief to get that out of the way. One less thing to worry about. And not having to worry about keeping the house spotless 24-7 is nice, too.

I definitely recommend Redfin if you ever want to sell your house. Currently they are located only in Seattle and San Francisco, but they are looking to expand to other cities in the future. The only problem we had was getting the for sale sign up in time, but other then that, things have been going smoothly. We're saving a bundle on not having to pay a commission to a listing agent.

This week will be the 4th week since our paperwork was submitted for the visas. 4-5 more weeks to go...

A Farewell to Wings

2007-02-06T21:28:00.000-08:00

Tonight Jazmine went to a new home. We decided that taking him with us to Denmark didn't really make sense. It would probably have been too much strain on the little guy, especially having to travel on a long overseas flight.

He was adopted by the mother of one of Lindsay's colleagues at school. We know that Jazmine is going to a great home and will get lots of love and attention as his new mother recovers from breast cancer surgery.

Jazmine joined our family over 5 years ago, not long after we got married and soon after arriving in Seattle. Since that time we've gotten to know and love his traits and eccentricities. That's why it was hard letting him go. He's been through a lot with us, from an initial case of mistaken gender, to getting his toes chewed off by a macaw, all the way to helping us raise a puppy and a baby. He's made a lot of kids smile and will continue to do so, I am sure.

Good luck Jazmine! We'll miss you!

Redfinned

2007-01-30T21:39:00.000-08:00

We were pleased to have Grama Joanne and Grampa Ed drive up from Oregon to visit us this week. They arrived Sunday and left to go back this morning. They were very helpful in helping us rearrange furniture and "frame" the house so we could take pictures to put on our listing.

This afternoon we ventured down to Pioneer Square to the startup-ish office of Redfin to speak with our assigned selling agent, Kelly. Things seemed to go smoothly enough. Except after a while Cavan got tired of being cooped up in a meeting room with nothing to play with but dry erase pens and highlighters. I don't blame him - I've been tired all day. We are scheduled for an appraisal on Thursday, and by next week we should have enough information to go live with the listing. Then the fun begins! We haven't decided whether we want to have an open house. It seems to be more hassle than benefit and Kelly told us it's really just a way for buying agents to pick up clients more than anything else.

Right now we are just packing away our "clutter" and finding some other place for it and sorting out the stuff we want to get rid of at the garage sale. Step by step we are making the house sellable. Actually Lindsay is doing most of the work on the house while I relax at the office all day (hah!).

Superbowl Sunday is this weekend. That's something American I'll definitely miss while we're in Denmark.

Departure delayed

2007-01-22T16:39:00.000-08:00

Well, it doesn't look like we're going to leave when we thought we would. It took until last week to get the passports and papers ready to submit to apply for work & residence visas. And unfortunately the legal people are saying it's taking up to 10 weeks for the Danish Immigration Service to process visas these days.

So that puts us into Late March/Early April for our leave date. Kind of makes it difficult to know when to put our house on the market and sell our cars, but oh well. We'll get there eventually.

This Friday we're scheduled to meet with the movers at our house so they can do a pre-move survey. I guess they want to know how many boxes they need to bring to haul our junk over there.

The die is cast!

2006-12-27T10:14:00.000-08:00

(written by Tom)

Back in November I flew to Copenhagen, Denmark for an interview for a position as a software tester with the Dynamics NAV division of Microsoft. Well, they offered me the job, and finally after reviewing the contract, getting numerous tax consultations, and lots of discussions with our families, we decided to accept the position and move the fam to Europe.

I am scheduled to start on 2/12/07, but before that we will have to sell the house and the cars, get the necessary paperwork done for working and living there (through a relocation agent), and say our countless goodbyes to loved ones.

Microsoft will handle all the details of actually getting there and put us up in an apartment until we find a place we want to stay.

Most likely we will want to stay 2-3 years. It will be an unbelievable experience and one that comes at just about the right time in our lives. Cavan is just over 1 year old and is just learning to speak. He'll have no problem picking up the native language. Lindsay is intent on finishing her dissertation after we move there and later possibly finding a job.

We hope to use this blog as a means to keep you guys updated with the latest goings on and detail our exploits in the land of the vikings.