The adventure has begun!

All buckled in for 9 hours to Amsterdam!

On the 8^th of August, 2014, we made a spectacle of ourselves as we left our home in Rathdrum, Idaho, bound for Copenhagen, Denmark with 27 bags and 7 people. We flew to Minneapolis, Minnesota, where we spent our last American money on Subway sandwiches and boarded a flight to Amsterdam. Exhausted when we got off the plane, we sat at tables set inside of HUGE Holland-style teacups at “The Dutch Kitchen,” eating half-dollar sized pancakes (LOTS of them) and listening to people walk by speaking languages from all around the world. Two hours later, we landed in the Copenhagen airport and managed to find our way to our new home in Trørød, Denmark (just North of Copenhagen).

At the shore 4 km from our home

The first week after arriving was like living in a fog of jetlag and wondering what on earth we'd gotten ourselves into. There was so much to figure out--residence cards at government agencies, bus passes and bus navigation (Kyle made an adventurous solo trip into the center of Copenhagen and actually returned alive!), the first days of school for the kids, how to pay for parking, how to get to church, getting cell phones with Danish SIM cards, and how to find recognizable food. Figuring out what to eat has been a BIG deal! I have been to a grocery store everyday except Sunday and we still have an almost empty pantry! I thought poor Grant was going to pack up and go home after one particularly hard to swallow breakfast of something like raw oatmeal mixed with dried fruit and nuts. Our storage room full of Honey Bunches of Oats, Life, and Lucky Charms is a distant memory for my poor cold cereal-loving boys! We're finally getting to know our way around the food stores, though. The translation app on my phone has saved me! And I now know how to make about 4 dinners successfully. Maybe eventually I'll work my way up to making a different meal each day of the week. :) I think it's funny I brought my recipe binder full of recipes requiring ingredients like Cream of Mushroom Soup, Chicken Broth, and etc...when none of those exist in Denmark! However, for those of you who made fun of my packing tons of ziploc bags, I couldn't be happier with that decision. Now, if only I'd brought more peanut butter, mac & cheese, etc.

The people we've met here have such international backgrounds it's crazy! We've met people from Australia, South Africa, Kenya, Poland, Austria, France, London, and Argentina--to name a few. Most people speak several languages and have lived in multiple countries. In fact, I've met people from so many different countries that when I recently met our next door neighbor I felt the need to ask her if she is Danish! What a ridiculous question when living in Denmark! But I promise it made sense based on all the people I've met. On the first day of school for Grant, his teacher--from Lithuania--asked each student to tell where they visited this summer. Grant reported to me, "Some kids went to Berlin and Paris. Another went to London. Everybody said these really cool places, and I don't think they were kidding!" I asked him what he said. He told me, "I said I went to California for two days, and I went camping for a week." Then he added, "I think they were a little disappointed." This international community has been eye-opening for all of us. Ben's teacher is from London so now Ben often says things are 'spot on,' with a lovely British accent. Jared's class field trip this year is to London. Maurie just returned from a class trip to Sweden. I should mention, too, that Maurie is the only American at her school and the only student who only speaks one language.The boys have two other Americans at their school--both from Kansas, of all places. 

Streets of Helsingor

We've managed to go out on our first field trip. Last Saturday we visited the city of Helsingor, which is the main city on the most northern shore of our island. (Who knew Copenhagen is on an island? It's called Sjealland) We enjoyed wandering through the shops and seeing the unique architecture of the buildings. Of course, we found our way to a bakery for delicious strawberry treats! We also found a cheese shop, with less delicious results. You'd think that in a shop entirely dedicated to cheese we could find a little cheddar or mozerella. No. We tasted a few cheeses bitter enough to immediately need something else to mask the taste, and then found some yummy gouda. It's all part of the experience.

Cheese Shop