Slagelse

Freya and I are sitting in a Burger King restaurant at the Copenhagen airport waiting for Freya's friend Megan to arrive with her little brother and parents. We've rented an Airbnb together for a few days here in Copenhagen and then they will come back to Kolding with us for a few more days before going to London and then home. We are pretty excited to show them around and have some good quality friend time.

Had another wonderful day with cousins. This morning Marianne picked us up and we drove to Slagelse to see her brother Martin. I was pretty excited to see him because it has also been 17 years since we have seen each other. Now I have been reunited with all of my cousins and I can return to Canada a happy lady.

Between the islands of Fyn and Sjælland, there is a tiny island where "bad girls" were sent in the olden days, girls who were pregnant out of wedlock or generally misbehaving. They were taken there and were not able to leave. It is no longer an island as it is now attached to the large bridge between Fyn and Sjælland and is no longer used to house bad girls of course.

Ila trying out the zipline at a playground just before the bridge

...and Mei trying out the swings

stretching our legs with a walk to the beach before heading over the bridge to Sjælland

Sprogø - "the island for loose women"

Storebælt

After seeing Martin's place and meeting his two cats and his dog that reminds me of the alien Stitch, we went to a cafe and a few secondhand stores together. He showed us an old bulding that was once a school that Hans Christian Anderson attended. They dropped us off at the train station where we took the train to Copenhagen Central Station. It took some time for us to find the Metro and we got on a train going the wrong direction before we figured out what we were doing. Made it safely to the Airbnb though which is close to a train station and right above a little grocery store.

Martin in front of his rækkehus

Otto

Me, Martin and Marianne

Me and Martin in front of Sct. Mikkels Church in Slagelse...and Freya in the background

Latinskolen, a school that H.C. Anderson attended, downtown Slagelse

Mei settling in to the Airbnb

Freya on the train, showing off the awesome purse I got from a secondhand store in Slagelse

cousins and cars

Had another wonderful weekend, this time with the addition of two more cousins, Allan, who I haven't seen in 17 years and Thomas, who I haven't seen in over 25. It was the first time the five of us have been together since my grandparents 50th anniversary. A picture was taken of us a long time ago that we all remembered where we were lined up from tallest to shortest, so this is our recreation. I'm still in the middle, but my two little cousins are not so little anymore.

Allan, Lars, Lisbeth, little Thomas, big Thomas
(my family calls me Lisbeth)

the original, at our grandparents place (Gejlholm)

Freya and her little buddy Oscar

Lars and Thomas

That morning, Lars gave us a tour of his place of work. He runs a "gentleman's garage" for Porsche owners called My Garage where people can store and service their vehicles, socialize with like minded people, sell and buy cars or rent a space.

Freya and the creepily realistic statue 

checking out the cars

more pretty cars

little Marvin

feeling like a gentleman

0202 2020

Liam was born on 02-02-2000 and turned 20 yesterday on 02-02-2020.  Happy birthday Liam!
He didn't want a big party so it was just the girls and Liam and I but it was still nice. It's always a treat when he comes to visit.

He's not a teenager anymore!

Liam came to stay with us for a few days and my brother Thomas came to visit again Friday night. Thomas gave Liam the best present ever - two boxes of Original Kraft Dinner from Canada.

On Saturday we all went to a small town north of us called Børkup where my cousin Lars lives with his wife and two kids.

visiting Lars and his family

Mei colouring with Oscar

food

Our family has gone through stages of what we like to eat as we discover new things. When we first arrived, it was smørrebrød (open-faced sandwiches on rye bread) and pølsehorn (danish sausage rolls like pigs in a blanket) with remoulade (a sort of mayonnaise/relish) and dry roasted onions. The kids got tired of the rye bread quickly but it took a few months before they tired of the pølsehorn. I'm sure that when Dean gets back, he will be into them again.
Fun fact: I worked in a pølsehorn factory for one day, rolling the dough around the little hot dogs, wearing a hair net, white clogs, white uniform and gloves. It was hard.

Lately, we have been into curry dishes, which are popular here. Also traditional meat and potatoes meals, like the one we had tonight with potatoes, peas, frikadeller (like Swedish meatballs) and a parsley white sauce. There is a surprisingly large selection of potatoes here.
The only things I have noticed so far that are cheaper in Denmark than in Canada are beer, pop, carrots and potatoes.

We also love æbleskiver (like apple dumplings) which are traditionally a Christmas treat served with jam and icing sugar but we are having it later tonight for dessert. It has been fun to see the different foods that come out during different holidays. Something that is popular right now due to Fastelavn coming up are fastelavnsboller, which are sweet buns stuffed with whipped cream and various flavours.

The cheeses: My kids have not been impressed with the cheeses here but I am in cheese heaven. There is no blocks of cheddar cheese, only bags of shredded cheddar. The cheese that is sliced for sandwiches is all white. White cheese in various consistencies, ages and flavours. Companies even release a birthday cheese on their anniversary and a Juleost at Christmas. This year's Christmas cheese was delicious. My favorite so far is a strong aged cheese with caraway seeds. Yum.

The breads: We live right in between two small grocery stores. Rema 1000 is where we get our candy on Fridays and we frequent the other one, Netto, after 8pm for half price bakery items and there are sometimes some yummy pastries left over. Combating food waste is big here and there is an app called TooGoodToGo which allows you to order leftover food items from bakeries, grocery stores and restaurants that would otherwise get thrown out at the end of the day. We have gotten it a few times from the gas station close to our house that has a good bakery selection too. This app is used in other countries as well.

At work, we get free breakfast/lunch on our breaks. It consists of the traditional Danish breakfast/lunch food of sliced bread or buns with various toppings, fresh fruit and Skyr (a thick yogourt). And free coffee. Danes drink a lot of coffee. The coffee selection at grocery stores is impressive. I haven't drunk coffee for years, but I will always love the smell...

In general, despite all the coffee, alcohol, candy and pastries, the food here really is healthier. We could taste the difference as soon as we arrived. Everything seems more fresh. There isn't as much canned and preserved food. You can buy things like bread and soup in frozen form instead. There are more regulations concerning what is allowed to be put into food and I think that has made a big difference.

fredag slik

Something we learned about and took advantage of the first week we were in Denmark, thanks to my uncle Finn, was the cheaper bulk bin candy on Fridays. They call it fredag slik (Friday candy).
The candy section in Bilka is huge and the bulk selection extensive.  We usually go to the smaller store by our house called Rema 1000. It's something for the kids to look forward to during the week and a good way to limit candy consumption to just one day a week. Half of it contains salty black licorice so it's really actually not that hard for them to stay away from it.

the selection at our local store

my favorites

candy galore at the Bilka department store

the Bilka bulk selection

What're the young people wearing these days?

I really want to take pictures of the teenagers at the bus station but I don't want to be a creep or violate their privacy. Also, Mei forbids it. I told her I wanted to write about the styles of teenagers in Denmark and she summed it up perfectly in two words: modern 80's.

So picture this for the girls: 

-Doc Martin's boots, colourful Vans, or white "dad sneakers"

-high waist jeans with wide legs, too short slacks (flood pants?) and if the pants are long, they are either rolled up or cut off, low-cut socks so your ankles can experience all kinds of weather

-tucked in shirts, big soft sweaters

-trench coats and pea coats in beige, black or plaid (I love the plaid ones)

-big soft fuzzy jackets, no hoods

-fannypacks worn across the chest

-Fjallraven Kanken backpacks and designer cloth bags

-long blonde hair with blunt cut ends

...and the boys are similar but their too-short pants are skinny, and they wear black quilted or lined demin jackets instead of fuzzy sweaters and coats. And no designer cloth bags. And short hair.

There are some pretty cool authentic 80's and 90's looks out there too.

The men and women are all pretty sophisticated looking with almost only black or neutral colours (or mustard yellow), skinny pants with leather shoes, black umbrellas, etc.

My favorite look is long flower print dresses with leggings and sneakers. Most comfortable outfit ever. If only they would put pockets in dresses. Then I would wear this getup every day.

The kids clothes are all pretty stylish too but I am not around younger kids very often.  The toddlers and preschoolers are all in full mudgear when I see them and the babies are happily sitting up in their prams with cute little bonnets like the ones my mom always made for my kids.

the backpack

baby style

Velvet tracksuits are making a comeback.  Yes! Can I pull one off though?

the education system

I have not learned or come to understand everything about the school system here but there are a few things I have discovered. I mentioned when our kids first started school here in September how important learning through play is. That seems to be the philosophy of most primary schools here. They don't focus as much on academic achievement during the first part of their education as they do in Canada. They are more concerned about a child's ability to problem-solve and have confidence in their own abilities to complete tasks and learn new things. Gross and fine motor development and general life skills seem to play a larger role here as well. Freya and Dean are in a different class than most Danes of course because they are in receiving classes with other newcomers, but they will eventually start to integrate into regular classes with their Danish peers. Some of their experiences are unique to their classes and may not always represent what a regular class is like. It is normal for Freya and Dean to spend a whole afternoon preparing food or making toys out of wood.  I have heard that Danish children are behind other countries during the first part of their education but quickly catch up when they are older. This doesn't concern me at all with Dean because he is only in grade two but I was a bit worried about Freya falling behind in math. I wanted her to be able to keep up with the Alberta curriculum so that when we returned to Canada, she wouldn't be lost. I brought distance learning material with me from home and have been trying to supplement her math here with that, but it's difficult to convince her to have a math class at her home after being in school all day. I tried homeschooling with Liam when we lived in Mexico for a bit, but I am just not a natural at it. So I will just have to do the best I can with it and give her extra support next year if she needs it.

In most families here, both parents work and have an average of two children who attend daycare after maternity/parental leaves are over. All children start school a year older here and must attend 10 years of "folkeskole", which includes kindergarten (grade 0) and grades 1-9. They can then attend an optional grade 10 as well as a few years of "gymnasium" which is like high school in Canada. After grade 9, they also have the option to take a sabbatical where they can work for a year to gain some life experience and perhaps get a better idea of the direction they want to take in their education. There are many workplaces who have specific positions reserved for employees aged 16-18. It is also common for youth to attend an "efterskole" for a year after grade 9 before going on to gymnasium. These are boarding schools that concentrate on specific areas that they may be passionate about, such as science, sports or the arts. A few of my cousins did this after grade nine and my cousin's son who is Ila and Mei's age is currently attending a boarding school in the south of Denmark which is located in an old castle. This also gives teenagers an opportunity to become independent and perhaps appreciate their family some more.

Those who are more interested in the trades can go into technical schools after 9th grade and those interested in eventually attending universities would attend gymnasiums. At the end of grade 9, students take exams to gain entry into their desired program. The school that Ila and Mei attend is called Kolding Gymnasium. It has a regular Danish gymnasium program three years in length and also has the International Baccalaureate program, which consists of the Pre-IB year that Ila and Mei are currently in, as well as two additional IB years. This same program is in many countries around the world and is taught in English. Lethbridge has one as well at their north-side high school. Ila and Mei have made friends with many kids in the IB program as well as some from the regular Danish classes. The group of IB students is small compared to the rest of the school with just two groups of students attending all the same classes together. This, combined with their varying cultural and linguistic backgrounds, makes for a very unique social environment, one that Ila and Mei have thrived in.

The schooling after grade 9 here is much more flexible and the options more specific to the individual students' interests. The age of the students is also more varied. In Ila and Mei's classes, the youngest student is 15 and the oldest is almost 20. This is common in the years after 9th grade as kids take time to work and figure out the path they want to take.
When students reach the age of 18, they can receive a study grant from the government to attend gymnasium, technical school, university, etc. They receive enough to pay rent, utilities and meet day to day expenses. If they are living at home with their parents,they can also receive a little bit of pocket money. Post-secondary school is also free here, not just for Danish citizens, but to any citizen of the EU.

Despite the fact that the children seem to lag behind academically in the beginning and have only ten years of mandatory education, studies have shown that Danes are among the most literate people in the world and Denmark has one of the best higher education systems in the world. Not having to go into extreme debt for post secondary education makes a difference in the amount of people who choose to become educated. There are no huge gaps between economic and social classes here due to the country's extensive investment in education.
I think they have it figured out.

Kolding Gymnasium, where Ila and Mei attend Pre-IB (grade 10)

Life

I've gotten into such a routine here with work and regular life that I forget to notice things around me or even take the time to explore. I ended up getting enough hours with my job at Bilka packing online orders that I was able to quit my other part time jobs, which has been easier. My life has become quite simple; go to work, buy groceries, clean, do laundry, make sure everyone is fed, etc. I attend Danish classes once a week and have made a few friends through our kids (parents of their friends) and through some local international and expat groups. The classes, the occasional get-togethers with friends, my own family members and work all fulfill my need for a social life. I have also been lucky these past few weeks to have had my brother visit. He is in Malmo, Sweden on a work project and has taken the train to Kolding to stay for the weekend a few times. It's been nice to be in Denmark again together. He is two years older than me and when I was 9 and 11 years old, we travelled to Denmark on our own during summer vacation. We stayed with our grandparents for six weeks both times. We went once after that with our whole family for my grandparents' 50th wedding anniversary. My older brother has been back several times over the years, even attending a short post-secondary program here in his early twenties. I only returned once before now; when Rus and I were newlyweds, Liam was three years old and I was pregnant with Ila and Mei. My Danish language skills deteriorated quite a bit over the years but have improved quickly while living here. During my first few weeks of working at Bilka, I was mentally exhausted after work, having to think and speak in Danish for so many hours. Now, it's not as bad and I have noticed that my internal monologue is sometimes in Danish. I think my dreams are all still in English though...

My brother, my cousin and I all together again after a few decades!

🎶 standin' on the corner, waitin' for the bus 🎶

Most of the bus stops aren't actually on corners but every time the bus is late, this Violent Femmes song runs through my head. Freya is sick of hearing me sing it.

many hours have accumulated waiting at these bus stops

The public transportation system here is actually pretty good. I miss having my own vehicle that I can just hop in whenever I want and get to my destination quickly without relying on anyone or anything else, but owning a vehicle here is expensive. I would even be paying a tax according to the weight of the vehicle, which would end up being a lot, with the kind of vehicle we would need for our large family. So, we've gotten used to walking, cycling, or taking the train or bus. And we're all getting stronger muscles from carrying heavy bags full of groceries home. On weekends, the buses don't run early enough for me to get to work on time, so I ride my trusty e-bike. On the way to work, I take the main roads, but on the way home during daylight hours, I often ride through the forest. The bike trails are extensive and in some of the higher traffic areas, the bike lanes have their own traffic lights to regulate bike traffic. It's illegal to use your cellphone while riding and you will get fined if caught.

weekend commute through the forest - Marielund Skov

Godt Nytår!

Fireworks can be legally purchased in Denmark by the public starting mid-December and can be set off from December 27th to January 1st. It was tempting to buy some of those big rocket ones just because I have never set one off myself but I chickened out. I had a bad feeling that something would go awry so I settled for a box of snaps and some sparklers. Ila and Mei had a couple of friends over at our place while Freya and I had a sleepover with our English friends at their house. The fireworks starting going off December 27th and increased in amount and frequency until New Year's Eve where they went off all around us continuously for a couple of hours. The last of the fireworks went off last night. There has been some debate over whether their use should be more restricted and regulated due to noise and air pollution, their effects on wildlife and pets, and the increase in hospital visits and property damage. Just after midnight, we walked down the street to get closer to where one of the neighbours was setting off rockets. We were across the street when one of them exploded on the ground instead of in the air. The kids and I instinctively screamed and ran. We heard swearing but a few minutes later, they resumed launching again.

Other traditions that we partook of: eating kransekage and jumping into the new year.
I missed the Queen's speech so I will have to check that one out later...

Glædelig Jul!

My cousin invited us to spend Christmas Eve at her house and it was a wonderful evening full of traditions, from rice pudding to dancing around the tree holding hands and singing.  Here are a few pictures from the last couple of Christmas filled weeks:

Christmas Eve
Liam, Freya, Mei, Ila, Thorbjørn, Gorm

Christmas Eve

present game at my aunt Karen's house

festive public transportation

baking at my aunt Kirsten's house

picking out some of my aunt Kirsten's crocheted elves

at Kirsten and Finn's acreage

Meanwhile, in Canada:

Dean and his gingerbread house

Rus and Dean with "mall Santa"