Is anybody out there?

Months have gone by and here we are. It's Christmas time once again... but Christmas will be different this year, like never before. We are now 3. Here is a quick family portrait:

Parenthood took us by storm... it's been a really hectic few months. The sleep deprivation took us to new levels of low but I think we are slowly coming out of the fog. Can one ever catch up on the lost sleep? Little Miles is not so little anymore, at 18 lbs he sure gives me a workout. He is so sweet and lovely... He is a funny little guy, super strong and really sure of what he needs. Slowly we are getting to know his likes and dislikes... he dislikes wrinkled paper noises but loves my singing... he dislikes being on his belly but loves kicking off his blankets for exercise while lying on his back. He coos all the time and laughs at me a lot. Most of the time at the pattern on my clothes.

My posts will continue... but please let me know if you are out there reading this. In order to find some encouragement to write.

Så kommer sommer!

I could not let June pass me by without having at least one entry in this little blog of mine... Life seems to have sped up for a little while but now I am finding it necessary to slow down. The little person I am carrying around my belly has a way of ensuring I slow down, and eat a lot, but that's a whole other story. Teaching Spanish is far behind me for now, and I am so happy to have successfully launched a Spanish program at my local library. Who knew that in a little suburb of Copenhagen there would be many senior citizens eager to come and sit in a room with me once a week to be able to practice my favorite language! Summer is here now so we will take a break but I am looking forward to returning in the winter time when I will be given a budget to organize events.

Have I mentioned the new weekend job I started? Out with one job and in with a new one. This time, at the pier. Related to what I did last year, except back then I was getting the clients as they were ending their cruise and boarding their flights home... which meant grumpy and tired passengers. This year, I get them right at the beginning, while they are still happy and excited about being on vacation. Which makes a huge difference with the interaction that we have. I check passengers into the ship, check passports, visas, open billing accounts, etc. The job is buckets of fun. I enjoy scanning stuff and typing and stapling. Even photographing each passenger for security reasons. It amazes me how sensitive people are when it comes to having their picture taken. Here are some snippets: me in my uniform (which soon will no longer fit) and the parade of ships that arrive each weekend.

Another highlight of the month was getting a visit from Chris' childhood au-pair Claudia Schrade. It's pretty cool that she has stayed in touch with the family for so many years and even cooler that she is a super cool person! We had a great afternoon with her and her partner and we will make every effort to visit them in Hamburg in the near future. Here is Chris with the ladies:

Wishing everyone a great summer! Stay tuned for updates from baby central. In our circle of friends, two babies have been born this past month. Ours is next.

The Canadian Perspective

One of the best things about having visitors from Canada is hearing their perspective on how they view life in Denmark. It is funny to find patterns... for starters, they are blown away by the deliciousness of the baked goods. Forget French pastries and Belgian chocolates - the Danes have got it down pat. And they keep it a secret. Everyone that has visited has insisted on going to the bakery every day to get treats... despite the calories!! The other refreshing perspective is to hear how relaxed everyone seems... especially in the way they dress. You don't really see women wearing huge high heels and everyone dresses for comfort (while maintaing that chic Scandinavian style!) These are some of the points my Canadian friend Izzy and I discussed during her recent visit. Still a popular chocker: a mother leaving her baby in a pram on the sidewalk while she goes inside to have coffee. That often gets the most reaction... ha! ha! I can't say I will be the most comfortable practicing that habit, I am just not wired the same...

I also had the chance to visit the zoo. Having visitors allows you to do these things that you generally wouldn't do in the city you are living in. I am still not sure how I feel about zoos and their captivity of animals but I need to do some research on this first before I make any judgements on animal welfare. The zoo was definitely entertaining simply because of the small size of it. I could almost reach the brown bear that was only a few feet in front of us and the hippo the size of a truck was an arms reach away when it decided to yawn. Wow, do they have large teeth!! The local aquarium left much to be desired... I think they are just letting it fade away until they open the new and beautifully designed aquarium in 2013. The Ny Carlsberg museum proved to be quite impressive, especially their winter garden. This is just a small snippet:

A night out with the girls:

Chris looking very happy with his galette - another little gem in downtown CPH:

Us in front of the galette restaurant:

Shopping for shoes and dinner.

Funny how the pregnant mind works... tonight, just as I finished cooking dinner, I decided to cook another. The first dinner, a frittata and salad, just didn't cut it, so I spiced it up and decided to go for a full on Indian dinner with tikka massala, cumin-seed rice and naan. Mango chutney and all. It helped that I have a grocery store right next door so that I can just pop down and grab items as the cravings hit. The grocery store could improve its hours though... they are closed on Sundays, and they close at 7pm during the week. But I guess these limited hours are what give it that market feel... I also just recently found out that if you find an expired product on the shelf, you can trade it in for a free grocery item. This apparently is quite common in Denmark and people have been known to walk around the store to check dates and get their free grocery item in return. There is also a mama-papa shop across the street that is usually open on Sundays. This is a really cute place to shop... the store keeper offers all kinds of services... including holding your baby while you shop. I've actually seen this happen several times... mom walks in and says, here can you hold him while I shop. I have also seen the store keeper help the elderly by carrying their groceries out to their car or even going into a lady's purse to get her money out, pay himself what's due and put her change back. I guess this is a task that gets tough as you get older... much older.

Shopping in Denmark can be quite a different experience. Shopping for shoes the other day, I was still amazed at the lack of customer service. You usually need to go up to the cash register (and wait in line if there is one) in order to ask if they have the shoe in your size. Makes you want to NOT shop, really. It's effort and hard work. Clearly they don't work on commission.

Some snippets of our latest ins and outs:

Making plans for a Royal Wedding Party... and showing my latest proportion.

At the Royal Wedding Party... special attention to the wedding hats I made for everyone.

Late night pizza craving... notice Chris' home made drink - a margarita in a jar.

Our Danish friends trying Mexican cooking for the first time!

It takes a village...

Since we found out we are expecting our first baby, many questions are circling... one of which is "Are we ready for society to help raise this little person?" And by that I mean, growing up in Denmark, there is a good chance that an older person will often reprimand youth for intolerated behaviour. Just the other day, a couple of teenage girls sitting on the train had their feet up on the seat, the older gentleman beside them, a complete stranger, gave them a piece of his mind.... something along the lines of 'respect others, be courtious, take your feet off the seat' the girls giggled and so then he let them have it! In a very imperative voice he told them to start using their brains to be more respectful ... something or other. It was amazing - then the girls got it. They have been told off - so they took their feet down. I've seen it happen also when a group of kids are smoking where they should not be - an older person will often walk by and have them all but their cigarette butts out. The funny thing is that they listen! Can't really play tough guys in front of the older folk. Maybe this is what a heavy social-democratic culture is like, people rely on each other to try to insert some sense of value into the younger generations. What ever it is, I kind of like it. Now when I see a young person doing something I don't believe to be right I think, where is that senior citizen when you need them!

The Danish perspective.

One of Chris' colleagues was in Japan during that major earthquake. When interviewed by all the colleagues once back in the office here in Denmark he claimed the feeling he had during the earthquake was ''incredibly uncomfortable." I thought this was a funny way of putting it... I mean wouldn't we all just about freak out??!! Being uncomfortable is an understatement! I've noticed this lack of reaction of many of those local citizens around me... the only people that tend to react to anything around here are the non-danes. Most of my workday takes place at the local library where I teach Spanish. The washrooms are co-ed as they are in most places here, but the reaction you get from foreigners when they walk in is quite funny. Especially when a girl, me, is in there, and an older male foreigner walks in and has a look of shock when he sees me washing my hands. Usually they bolt right out looking at the sign to ensure they are in the right room. It's classic, really.

Spring has sprung and we are back to enjoying those bike rides along the sea, ice cream treats galore and eating brunch on our balcony. Here are some highlights of our most recent celebration.... Chris' birthday!!

The most delicious chocolate cake... ever!

Birthday boy!

Birthday lunch with some great friends!

Back from sabbatical.

Wow. It's been ages since I logged into this platform to put down some thoughts... I'm surprised I still remembered my password. Since the new year, much is a changing... more to come on that later. For now, I would like to share with you some of the interesting facts I've encountered in 2011 to date:

-when the bus company in Denmark goes on strike, one can take a taxi and the bus company refunds you the money.

-if you have a special needs child, the government will work out a reduced work scheme, and pay you the difference, in order for you to be able to be home more.

-as a student, if you are stressed, sick etc and cannot be in school, the government pays you a salary in order for you to focus on getting better.

-it's illegal to work for free here. Volunteer positions are regulated by a union that says no more that 2 hours a week.

As I keep coming across these interesting schemes that really help the people, I wonder, how can Denmark not be the happiest place on earth??