Every day life -- the same, but not

A quaint, hidden courtyard in Helsingor

I walked with Travis and the boys to the bus stop this morning and I noticed Ben actually look over his shoulder before he stepped into the bike lane. I thought, "Wow. We've come a long way." In fact, we're feeling pretty settled. It took until now, but we finally have our residence cards, bank cards, and the all-powerful yellow cards (similar to a social security card, but far less protected; it's public information for everyone and IMPOSSIBLE to function here without). We've managed to acquire five of the six bikes we need, through Denmark's version of 'Craigslist' and the generosity of Trav's co-worker. The kids have been to birthday parties. Ben has ridden home from school, by train, to play at a friend's house. Maurie has gone shopping, by train, with friends from school. Trav has begun serving as the secretary in the High Priest Group at church, and I'm a ward pianist. I guess you could say we're back to business as usual--just in another country. In fact, that's one of the things that has surprised me...just how much like America it is in Denmark.

Maurie and teammates walking off
the field at halftime. (Looks like a field
in Coeur d'Alene or Rathdrum, right?)

Just like at home, we've become involved in sports and scouting. Maurie is playing on a soccer (fodbold) team. She has fun with it but the language is definitely a challenge. Of course, the coach just speaks in Danish so Maurie has to ask one of the girls to translate when she can't figure it out on her own. We just think it's fun when we watch her games and listen to the coach yelling in Danish! Maurie rides her bike through a small forest to get to and from practices. 

Grant's U12 team still has to play with
short hoops here. Bummer, but he's
adjusting. (This place is set up just like
"The Hub" in Spokane.)

Grant is playing on a basketball team. His coach happens to be American so he has no problem following instructions (other than the fact that he's a 10 year old boy). One of the other boys on the team has deemed himself the team translator and explains in Danish what the coach said when the players don't seem to understand. Grant thinks its funny to hear words that don't translate (like "lay-up") right in the middle of all the Danish words. Games in Denmark are just like games in the States, though, there are always reffing calls to complain about! :) Grant either rides the bus or in our car to and from practices. 

Does this look enough like an international school?

Jared and Grant are both joining the international Boy Scouts of America Troop in Copenhagen. It seems to be an active troop so they're looking forward to monthly camp-outs and weekly activities. They've met lots of other Americans through the troop, most of whom are here with parents who are working in the US embassy. A few, like us, are ex-patriots for private companies. 

Surprise, surprise! Kendama is popular here, too!

We even found a local library and managed to check out some books! Of course, it was a little different to look for books in the 'foreign language' section of the library, but we were happy to find a few in English! 

Finessing his short game.

Travis's work group had a team building activity a few weeks ago and invited me to come along. We went to a nearby forest area to play frisbee golf and have a barbeque. It was such a nice evening. I had no idea frisbee golf was an international craze! And this course was not for the novice player. Each hole had a professional, mens, and womens 'tee-off,' and the course itself was super challenging. There were narrow fairways, water obstacles, and steep uphill fairways where we couldn't even see the top. It was so fun to play along side Trav and his co-workers and get to know them, Danish culture, and Denmark a little better. 

Just like at home, we lose her when she has a good book. Not even the rain could make her stop.

 Last Saturday was a nice, warm afternoon so a few of us went to the shore in Vedbaek (4k from our house). Only Grant, Ben, and Trav were brave enough to get in the water, and only Grant and Trav got in all the way. (I hid behind the camera.) The water, a sound of the Baltic Sea, is FREEZING! It feels like Twin Lakes just after it has thawed. The swimming was brief but the warm sun and sand felt great! (If you look carefully, you can see Sweden across the water in the picture below.)

The Royal Hunting Cabin

Just as we start to feel like everything is like home here, we realize that it's not. On a nice walk through Deer Haven with my friend, Liesl, we came upon this mansion. It was built for the king of Denmark, centuries ago, to be his hunting cabin. The park, 7 times larger than Central Park in NYC, was stocked with deer. Today, the animals are still protected there but are no longer hunted by the royal family. On our walk, we saw a herd of probably 100 deer. Apparently, it is quite overrun now. Coming upon buildings from the 17th century during a casual afternoon walk, remind me that I'm not in Idaho anymore. :)

Last weekend we were invited to eat dinner with one of Maurie's teammates and her parents. These are people we had never even met and they invited our entire famiy to their home for dinner. We arrived at 6pm. In typical Danish style, we had appetizers (rye bread chips, olives, grapes, and smorebrod--open faced sandwiches) and drinks outside in the 'garden.' As it began to cool down, we went inside for the meal (lamb, chicken, potatoes, corn on the cob, and barbequed vegetables) and dessert (some nougat deliciousness that I cannot begin to describe). Five hours after we arrived, we were headed home. This is so Danish and something I really love! They take their time here. A meal is an evening. It's called hygga. This is a Danish word that doesn't adequately translate into English. It basically means cozy time with people and usually food. They say during the dark winter months it's important to "turn up the hygga" by lighting some candles, bringing out some good food, and enjoying your family. With Ben literally falling asleep at their table, we began politely suggesting we should get him home to bed. About then, dessert came out and the conversation picked up. When we finally walked to the car at 10:30p.m., they walked all the way to the car with us and waved to us as we drove off. I've never had such a pleasant evening with complete strangers! These Danes are teaching us the importance of "hygga" time. Slow down and enjoy the people in your life. All activities, stores, museums, and etc., are closed by 7p.m., so hygga time is how we're learning to spend our weekend evenings--with family, or new friends--and we love it!

(I have to add a heroic anecdote about Ben. Not knowing what to expect in the meal we were about to be served, and knowing the honesty of children when it comes to food likes and dislikes, I prepped the kids as we drove to Maurie's soccer friend's home that Saturday evening. I told them to be sure not to make a face or say anything if they didn't like the food. I told them they should just try a little of what they're offered to be polite. Well, on our drive home that night I told the kids I was impressed by their good manners through the evening. I especially complimented Ben because he had really surprised me. During the appetizer portion of the evening, the hosts had brought out smorebrod which was a toasted baguette with thinly sliced raw fish on top. (It may have been smoked, but it definitely felt raw in my mouth.) Ben was the first to grab this appetizer! I worriedly looked over at him so see how he would handle it and was really impressed because he ate the whole thing and seemed to like it. In the car at the end of the evening I mentioned this to him and he exclaimed, "I didn't like it! I just had to eat it because I took it." He went on to explain, "When I was swallowing, I felt something come up from my stomach into my throat but I didn't let it out." OK. I think the bar of good manners has been raised if a seven year old can pull that off!) 

Cute Americans on a boat tour in Copenhagen.

LDS Temple in the middle of downtown Copenhagen