While many of our friends are leaving for exotic destinations around the globe next week for Spring Break, we will head for Portland. This flight has been planned since we bought our tickets last June and even though we're moving back in summer, it'll be good to see friends, family and take care of a lot of business and shopping. It will be strange to "vacation" in the town we live in, but we will do our best. The girls want to attend Rieke a few days, Craig will go in to the LaCrosse office a couple but for the most part we will be busy just catching up with seeing everyone.
The last two weeks have flown by for me. One museum outing with lady friends, CIS Dinner Dance, 2 luncheons with CIS friends, 2 days spent with my sister Teresa who was in town again (including a fun day in Sweden) and on top of that lots of walking, biking, tennis and my usual yoga/strength routine. It's now Saturday morning and I'm looking forward to a weekend of chores, food shopping, laundry and such. Craig and I are seeing a play by an English Production Company tonight and dinner out.
Craig's had a long week with LaCrosse people in town. The office was a hub of activity until late hours. He's begun to mingle his new U.S. job responsibilities with his current Danish ones. The Controller he hired the first of January is doing a bang-up job and will assume some of the managerial responsibilities while the Portland Marketing Dept. will take others. Craig will travel to the U.S. at least twice and to China once before we move home in June.
We're trying to cram little excursions in here and there amidst Maya's big 5th grade "exhibition" project, end-of-year school parties and packing up. We hope to get to Stockholm, The fjords of Norway, Legoland (on the big island of Denmark) and Croatia after school is over. Sounds crazy but we just have to do it.
Molly continues to create a busy social life. She has a sleepover with a different friend every weekend and at least 2 playdates after school each week. She aces what little homework she gets and has become a stronger reader. Maya likes to come home after school and hang out, do computer games, homework and read. She has one or two playdates a week as well. She confided in me last night that she's torn about moving back to Portland. She's making some good friends here and wants more time to get to know them better. However, she's looking forward to being with her old friends at home. Both girls' worlds revolves around their friends. How lovely and innocent. Aah, to be a child.
The more I visit with fellow ex-pats, the more I realize how very different our experience is from theirs. Many have been assigned and re-assigned jobs globally, and do not have a "home" per se. Where they currently hang their hat, is their home. They bring everything with them and set up their lives, integrating as completely and as wholeheartedly as they can. We, on the other hand, just took a bite out of the real thing. We've always known we'd return and to exactly our Portland existence as we left it. With that, it's been hard to "detach" from Portland and "attach" here. I can understand now, why the first year is the detaching process. It takes about that long to feel connected and get truly involved in activities, friendships, etc.
But, on the other hand, one year will give us the experience of a lifetime. Not only in traveling and seeing other parts of the world and how people live, but the detachment I speak of is also a time to re-evaulate and assess one's life as it was. This self-induced exile from home has been a time of reflection, bonding and growth. We've all become very practiced in the art of patience. At the risk of sounding very Dorothy-like, "There's no place like home". Granted, distance makes the heart grow fonder. But we are very fortunate to have a place we can call home: A place that is familiar, cozy, inviting and safe. A place where roots are deep. We will return home to open arms of loving friends and family.
The sun is up and the skies look friendly today. We've had still freezing temperatures this week, a little snow, sleet, rain mixed with 2 beautifully sunny but chilly days. The only color is from blooming crocus in every lawn. We won't get new growth on trees and flowers for another month. We change our clocks tonight, giving us daylight until almost 8:30 pm.
Enjoy the new birth of spring,
Love and Light,
Mary Jo
comments to www.cohensindk.blogspot.com
Friday, March 27, 2009
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
What a difference a Week Makes
I am feeling much better now. I needed some really hard down time. Perhaps my body and mind felt it was the last "rest" of the winter, as I now launch into spring activities and the procedures to get us home. Although I wasn't really depressed, I felt unmotivated and uninterested and tired. That is so NOT like me. I think that's what bothered me more - the fact that I wasn't my usual self.
I'm waking to a clear blue sky at sunrise, 6 am. The days are rapidly lengthening and with it the hint of warmer weather and cheerier times. I got back on the saddle after a couple of weeks. Monday I rode downtown for an appointment and to the fantastic public library (almost as big as Powells). Tuesday I rode to Christianhavn, Christiana, Fisketorvet Mall and Islands Brygge, where Craig's office is. I explored new roads, got lost, sat in a bakery and ate real "danish" with coffee, of course. The wind was really howling. I rode over 45 km (about 25 miles) in all and the wind made it twice as hard. There were times the wind blew me sideways or stopped me completely. I love riding because it really connects me to the city and makes me feel alive. I see things close-up and get a taste for everything, much more than in a car.
The girls and I had a painting day on Sunday. We got out easels, canvasses and acrylics and let our imaginations go. We all produced some nice pieces. Maya went on a 5-girl sleepover at a Danish friend's house on Friday, after the Primary School disco. She got little sleep but had a fantastic time and never once called home. She is connecting more with her schoolwork, and participating more in the classroom. Molly also went on a sleepover after the disco, then went to a birthday party the same weekend. Birthday parties really keep their social lives active.
I have arranged a group of ladies to go to the Arken Museum this Friday to see an impressionists exhibit. Next week I'm going out to 2 different lunches and an evening affair. My book club is currently reading "Number The Stars" by Lois Lowry. A youth book that is about 2 ten year old girlfriends living in Copenhagen during the Nazi occupation. One girl is Jewish.
This Saturday is the big CIS dinner dance. We are going, much to Craig's disappointment. You know how much he likes to dance. But we are sitting at a table with other couples he knows and has some common interests. I hesitated but decided not to buy a new gown for the occasion. I brought a dress that I only wore once and will do just fine. We are having friends over before for drinks and appetizers. I think the last time we got this dressed up was summer of 2007.
I've decided I have to keep investing in a social life up until the moment I leave, rather than pull back. In reality, all the ex-pats we know are in the same boat - everyone is transient and often could leave with a few months notice as well. The economy is slowly affecting it's way over here and downsizing will occur in Denmark as well.
We are gearing up for our trip to Portland April 3rd. Just 15 days away. We are lining up appointments, gatherings, shopping sprees and errands. Should be an action-packed week.
Love and Light,
Mary Jo
comments to www.thecohen4dk@gmail.com
I'm waking to a clear blue sky at sunrise, 6 am. The days are rapidly lengthening and with it the hint of warmer weather and cheerier times. I got back on the saddle after a couple of weeks. Monday I rode downtown for an appointment and to the fantastic public library (almost as big as Powells). Tuesday I rode to Christianhavn, Christiana, Fisketorvet Mall and Islands Brygge, where Craig's office is. I explored new roads, got lost, sat in a bakery and ate real "danish" with coffee, of course. The wind was really howling. I rode over 45 km (about 25 miles) in all and the wind made it twice as hard. There were times the wind blew me sideways or stopped me completely. I love riding because it really connects me to the city and makes me feel alive. I see things close-up and get a taste for everything, much more than in a car.
The girls and I had a painting day on Sunday. We got out easels, canvasses and acrylics and let our imaginations go. We all produced some nice pieces. Maya went on a 5-girl sleepover at a Danish friend's house on Friday, after the Primary School disco. She got little sleep but had a fantastic time and never once called home. She is connecting more with her schoolwork, and participating more in the classroom. Molly also went on a sleepover after the disco, then went to a birthday party the same weekend. Birthday parties really keep their social lives active.
I have arranged a group of ladies to go to the Arken Museum this Friday to see an impressionists exhibit. Next week I'm going out to 2 different lunches and an evening affair. My book club is currently reading "Number The Stars" by Lois Lowry. A youth book that is about 2 ten year old girlfriends living in Copenhagen during the Nazi occupation. One girl is Jewish.
This Saturday is the big CIS dinner dance. We are going, much to Craig's disappointment. You know how much he likes to dance. But we are sitting at a table with other couples he knows and has some common interests. I hesitated but decided not to buy a new gown for the occasion. I brought a dress that I only wore once and will do just fine. We are having friends over before for drinks and appetizers. I think the last time we got this dressed up was summer of 2007.
I've decided I have to keep investing in a social life up until the moment I leave, rather than pull back. In reality, all the ex-pats we know are in the same boat - everyone is transient and often could leave with a few months notice as well. The economy is slowly affecting it's way over here and downsizing will occur in Denmark as well.
We are gearing up for our trip to Portland April 3rd. Just 15 days away. We are lining up appointments, gatherings, shopping sprees and errands. Should be an action-packed week.
Love and Light,
Mary Jo
comments to www.thecohen4dk@gmail.com
Thursday, March 12, 2009
Snowing on March 12th
I had such high hopes for spring. Not today. We woke to frost that we had to scrape off the windows to drive Craig to the train station, for a trip to Germany. then, around noon it started snowing. Termperatures are right around freezing and I'm sure it won't accumulate. However, this is more of a hit to our spirits, rather than anything else. The winter has seemed so long. Our first snow was the 2nd week of November and since then we've had one day over 7 degrees celcius. I don't know what that is in Fahrenheit. I stopped figuring that out a long time ago.
I'm feeling very blue. Having a second cold in 4 weeks has brought me down. Along with the weather I'm just not as motivated as I was before. I connect with a few mom-friends at school, but not in the way that others do. How much effort do I put in to getting to know people that I'm just going to leave? I suffer from my own desire to be alone. I don't mind it, but then it doesn't get me invitations. I'm not writing this to get sympathy, it's just reality. The life of an ex-pat wife is not all roses.
We live a parallel life to everyone else all over the world. We get up have breakfast, get to work and school, shop for food, cook, do homework, chores and have dinner just like people do in Portland, New York, Rome and Brazil. What makes one feel at home is a connection to their community. If we knew we were to live here permanantly, or that we weren't going back to USA but rather on to another assignment in another county, things might be different. We migh jump in whole-heartedly. But we know differently. We know we are going back. "Short-timers" disease makes living in the present very difficult.
However, no matter how long we might have lived here, chances are we would never have integrated into the Danish social life. We live parallel to them, not with them. Very few ex-pats actually socialize with Danes. One American mother has been here 5 years and still doesn't have Danish friends. Like her, we make friends and socialize with other ex-pats. Outside of school and work, we know very few people. Granted, we don't go out of our way to do so either. It's uncomfortable for us and them. So, we spend a lot of time as a family at home or out together.
In the beginning, I spent a lot of energy wanting to be like the Danes, so as not to stand out; "blend in". But now I've come to realize that I don't really want to be like the Danes at all. I try now to just be who I am and enjoy how I dress and what I do and add only the things that I really like about the lifestyle here to my ouvre.
Many Danish families at CIS are lovely, especially those that have travelled and moved beyond the traditionalist mentality.
Add the isolation, gray skies, cold weather, lack of work or busy-ness, monotonous countryside and life here can be a little boring. we learn to fill it with as much external entertainment and activity that this non-social family can muster.
No pictures will accompany this blog. I'm finding it harder to write about life here. It's just so much of the ordinary. I've stopped looking at where I live as being someplace special, and just a place to live. The bloom is off the rose.
Thank God for my yoga practice and self motivation to keep it going.
Love and Light,
Mary Jo
comments to: thecohen4dk@gmail.com
I'm feeling very blue. Having a second cold in 4 weeks has brought me down. Along with the weather I'm just not as motivated as I was before. I connect with a few mom-friends at school, but not in the way that others do. How much effort do I put in to getting to know people that I'm just going to leave? I suffer from my own desire to be alone. I don't mind it, but then it doesn't get me invitations. I'm not writing this to get sympathy, it's just reality. The life of an ex-pat wife is not all roses.
We live a parallel life to everyone else all over the world. We get up have breakfast, get to work and school, shop for food, cook, do homework, chores and have dinner just like people do in Portland, New York, Rome and Brazil. What makes one feel at home is a connection to their community. If we knew we were to live here permanantly, or that we weren't going back to USA but rather on to another assignment in another county, things might be different. We migh jump in whole-heartedly. But we know differently. We know we are going back. "Short-timers" disease makes living in the present very difficult.
However, no matter how long we might have lived here, chances are we would never have integrated into the Danish social life. We live parallel to them, not with them. Very few ex-pats actually socialize with Danes. One American mother has been here 5 years and still doesn't have Danish friends. Like her, we make friends and socialize with other ex-pats. Outside of school and work, we know very few people. Granted, we don't go out of our way to do so either. It's uncomfortable for us and them. So, we spend a lot of time as a family at home or out together.
In the beginning, I spent a lot of energy wanting to be like the Danes, so as not to stand out; "blend in". But now I've come to realize that I don't really want to be like the Danes at all. I try now to just be who I am and enjoy how I dress and what I do and add only the things that I really like about the lifestyle here to my ouvre.
Many Danish families at CIS are lovely, especially those that have travelled and moved beyond the traditionalist mentality.
Add the isolation, gray skies, cold weather, lack of work or busy-ness, monotonous countryside and life here can be a little boring. we learn to fill it with as much external entertainment and activity that this non-social family can muster.
No pictures will accompany this blog. I'm finding it harder to write about life here. It's just so much of the ordinary. I've stopped looking at where I live as being someplace special, and just a place to live. The bloom is off the rose.
Thank God for my yoga practice and self motivation to keep it going.
Love and Light,
Mary Jo
comments to: thecohen4dk@gmail.com
Sunday, March 8, 2009
Holland Excursion/Maya's Basketball Tournament
We're just coming off our 4-day Dutch excursion. Maya's basketball team had a tournament in The Hague so Molly, Craig and I decided to tag along and sightsee, and support the team. The 4 C.I.S. teams (U12 boys/girls, U14 boys/girls) rode a sweet, double decker touring bus for 11 hours on Thursday, arriving dinner time. The 3 of us flew a little over an hour, arriving dinner time. We stayed in a hotel inbetween the Hague and Amsterdam so we could split our time between games and the city. This is an international school league, 10 schools from Holland, Belguim, Germany and Denmark.
The schools rotate hosting the tournament, for each major sport (volleyball, bball, track and field, soccer) so the kids get around. Most spectators were parents of the closer schools, and only a handful of parents from Denmark made the effort. Since we were "jonzing" for a kids' game to watch we went all the way. (That's been missing in our lives this year - no team sports, no games on the weekends, no social interaction with parents on the sidelines). Basketball is not a european sport and many parents are learning right along with the kids.
Maya's school is one of the smallest of all the international schools therefore the sports programs are smaller and draw from fewer kids. There are no leagues for grades 1 - 4. Their team was up against some stiff competition. Amazing how aggressively these girls played, muscling for every ball and constant turn-overs. Scores never got over 20 points. They ended up 7th out of 8 teams, winning 2 out of 5 games. They played better than the C.I.S. U12 boys, which was an emotional boost. Other than playing, they stayed in a hotel, ate out, watched games, went to an all-school dinner/dance and lastly shopped for souveniers and candy before their overnight bus trip home.
Maya plays guard, and her squad trades off every other quarter. Maya scored 8 points total, scoring in 3 different games. Her skills have developed from last year and she's become more aggressive, offensively and defensively.
The American School of the Hague hosted the tournament. Unlike CIS, The Hague was built specifically as the international school and has a campus similar to most American High Schools and includes Pre-k to High school with state of the art facilities. The snack bar alone was brilliant with all fresh, healthy foods and no sodas or junk food at all.
In our free time Friday and Saturday Molly, Craig and I drove into Amsterdam to mess around. The first day we walked, ate and shopped. The second day we saw the Ann Frank House, ate, strolled and shopped. Both days we were back to the hotel by 8 pm. Sights and activities are much different in Amsterdam with children, vs. as a single adult. However we were able to drink some beers in pubs with Molly. Sadly for me, I didn't get to see museums or buy more stuff, tempting as the lower Euro rate was against the Danish kroner.
The last day we checked out Schevingeren, a popular beach outside of the Hague and headed for the airport. Maya's teams loaded the bus and left Sunday night at 7 pm, drove through the night and arrived at C.I.S. for pick-up at 6 am. The kids have Monday off for a teacher in-service day, so she is writing a research paper on biomes,nursing a headache, a cold and very tired. All in all, it was great experience for her and she is thrilled that she made it and very proud of herself. We are too.
comments to: thecohen4dk@gmail.com
The schools rotate hosting the tournament, for each major sport (volleyball, bball, track and field, soccer) so the kids get around. Most spectators were parents of the closer schools, and only a handful of parents from Denmark made the effort. Since we were "jonzing" for a kids' game to watch we went all the way. (That's been missing in our lives this year - no team sports, no games on the weekends, no social interaction with parents on the sidelines). Basketball is not a european sport and many parents are learning right along with the kids.
Maya's school is one of the smallest of all the international schools therefore the sports programs are smaller and draw from fewer kids. There are no leagues for grades 1 - 4. Their team was up against some stiff competition. Amazing how aggressively these girls played, muscling for every ball and constant turn-overs. Scores never got over 20 points. They ended up 7th out of 8 teams, winning 2 out of 5 games. They played better than the C.I.S. U12 boys, which was an emotional boost. Other than playing, they stayed in a hotel, ate out, watched games, went to an all-school dinner/dance and lastly shopped for souveniers and candy before their overnight bus trip home.
Maya plays guard, and her squad trades off every other quarter. Maya scored 8 points total, scoring in 3 different games. Her skills have developed from last year and she's become more aggressive, offensively and defensively.
The American School of the Hague hosted the tournament. Unlike CIS, The Hague was built specifically as the international school and has a campus similar to most American High Schools and includes Pre-k to High school with state of the art facilities. The snack bar alone was brilliant with all fresh, healthy foods and no sodas or junk food at all.
In our free time Friday and Saturday Molly, Craig and I drove into Amsterdam to mess around. The first day we walked, ate and shopped. The second day we saw the Ann Frank House, ate, strolled and shopped. Both days we were back to the hotel by 8 pm. Sights and activities are much different in Amsterdam with children, vs. as a single adult. However we were able to drink some beers in pubs with Molly. Sadly for me, I didn't get to see museums or buy more stuff, tempting as the lower Euro rate was against the Danish kroner.
The last day we checked out Schevingeren, a popular beach outside of the Hague and headed for the airport. Maya's teams loaded the bus and left Sunday night at 7 pm, drove through the night and arrived at C.I.S. for pick-up at 6 am. The kids have Monday off for a teacher in-service day, so she is writing a research paper on biomes,nursing a headache, a cold and very tired. All in all, it was great experience for her and she is thrilled that she made it and very proud of herself. We are too.
comments to: thecohen4dk@gmail.com
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