A day in the life of an aupair

After two months in Denmark I feel quite settled, and very very happy.

What goes on in the life of an aupair?

Well, my aupair friends each have their own stories - it depends entirely on the family you live with... I can only speak from my experience. Here's "a day in the life" of this aupair!

"Godmorgen!"

I wake up about 8am (the baby usually wanders in saying "Hi? Hi? Hi?...and pats my face if she doesn't get the response she's looking for!),

I grab some muesli for breakfast, down my coffee and start looking after the Patricia at 9am.  Usually I check the laundry and then head outside to play.  Usually we go for a walk or play at the park, but on Mondays we go to 4-H.  

She loves feeding the animals and playing with the other kids.

After some lunch it's nap time.  I put the baby down for a nap at noon and tidy the house, and cut up some potatoes for dinner (yes, we have potatoes for dinner every night). 

She wakes up at 1pm, I get her a snack and play with her until her Mom and brothers come home at 2pm.   She loves to play with her music toys or play dress up (from my closet! lol!) and when her brother gets home they both love it when I crank up the [Danish accordion] music and run around the kitchen table giggling until we all fall down in a heap!!

I'm "off" work at 2pm, and often I'll sit and have tea with Mette - the mother of the family who is rapidly becoming a dear dear friend.  

Then I have the rest of my day free - and I read, listen to music, go for a bike ride, and spend way too much time on Facebook!

My evenings are spent watching movies, talking with the parents of my host family about Danish culture or going out.  I made a couple of Danish friends who know where to find some music or play pool!!


I really love this family, and I'm happy here.  Soon I will start taking Dansk (Danish) lessons and my Danglish will improve greatly!  I'm looking forward to that... :) 

Copenhagen, home of beautiful people, hotdogs, and hippies.

Welcome to Copenhagen!  It's a city where you'll find plenty of beautiful cobblestone streets and copper sculptures in every square and atop many buildings.  It has tall, narrow buildings and canals much like Amsterdam - but this city has a bit more flair, and space (as in people give you bubble space here - Amsterdammers don't!)!

Copenhagen is known for a few things.

It's been rated as the best city to live in the world for quality of life (2008, Monocle magazine).  It's known for being full of beautiful, fashionable people.  Every corner has a hotdog stand.  And hippies?  There's an autonomous neighborhood of about 850 people in the midst of this metropolis - "Freetown Christiania",  which is probably best known for it's hippies, art and mary jane. 

Dog, curry ketchup, fried onions, sweet pickles.  *so Danish!*  You eat it standing up at the "Poelse" cart!

One of the reasons Copenhagen is lauded for quality of life it's walking streets and bike lanes which creates community and is environmentally savvy.

This is the main walking street.  It's packed with shoppers and boasts street performers, musicians and open-air galleries.

And there are tons of bikes!

After an afternoon exploring the city, it was time for a stop at the bakery for a coffee!

Ahhh, coffee!

 Christiania is a strangely wonderful, yet tacky place.  It got its start about 40 years ago when some squatters took over a Naval base (below: Christiania follows the coast line where you see all the trees and the land juts out).  They made it the home of free spirits who wanted a different kind of life.

 Being here felt a bit like Peter Pan's land of imagination.  If you can dream it, and scrounge up materials for it - you can make it! There are no rules.

Okay, there are a few rules: their Common law includes things like "no guns", "no hard drugs", and "no explosives". Not bad. 

There was graphitti absolutely everywhere!!

Wandering through the different neighborhoods within this "neighborhood" you constantly feet lost.  Dirt roads curve from a cluster of houses with erratically spaced out-buildings and random uses of space - a ship under a tarp "guarded" by an image of Daffy Duck, an industrial-sized dumpster plopped sideways next to a house, and stacks of all sorts of lumber here and there.  Generally, it's chaotic, if not colorful.  Yards seemed to always be quite unruly, but filled with flowers! ...and in the case of this house... marijuana.

Maybe this is why there are "NO PHOTOS" signs everywhere???

Haha!  Oops - got a photo anyway..!

This is one sweet ride!

After a few hours I was ready to head back out into the "real world":

Next stop: the Palace.

The Queen's guard.

The Palace consists of 4 buildings.  Here you see one of them, and the statue in the center of the square.

Time for a night out!  Notice the sign which reads, "Probably the Best Beer in Town".  Not too tempting.. sorry.

Prefunc: listening to the DJ spin jazz before dancing the night away!

After a 4-day weekend, if asked my rating I would say.... Copenhagen is great.  Fantastic even.  But the catch -  this city is about twice as expensive as other European cities such as Amsterdam or Barcelona.  Youch!  So, I'm sorry Copenhagen,  you're just shy of winning the "amazing" award from me.  But still - it's a wonderful place to visit!

Denmark, you are adorable!

Last weekend I spent my Saturday venturing to the "big city" from my tiny village.  This town is about the size of Hood River... but what I found did not disappoint!  

Welcome to the hustling, bustling enchanting little town called "Svendborg".  Join me for a virtual tour...

First stop: town square!  This is where you'll find the essentials: food, flowers and fashion!

Let's start with food!

First stop: the fish cart!

Here you can buy smoked fish roe (caviar), pickled fish... and fish balls!  These look like a little muffin or pastry, but they're savory and SO delicious!

At the cheese cart you can find incredible cheeses from all over Europe.  Including whiskey cheddar from Great Britain, and this coriander Gouda from Holland.  Yummmm!

Flowers!  There are rows of flower stands. The woman in this photo is "very Danish".  Blonde, short hair and wearing earth tones or a monochromatic ensemble of some sort.

And while we're talking fashion...

These teens and their skinny jeans are on a mission - shopping!!

Speaking of shopping...  I found a really adorable boutique there.  The clothes are great, but I found something even more impressive...

...this antique cash register!  (yes, this is still what they use!!!)

 

This woman is just sitting taking in the whole market square while she has her coffee and a smoke.

Bikes are big here in Denmark too!  It looks and feels a lot like Holland that way.

Just down around the corner, past the Apothek (pharmacy), cerca 1879, I found lots more shopping, people-watching and food!

Hot dogs!!!  Now, I'm not much on hot dogs normally, but Danes are known for their pork, and this is one amazing hot dog!    It's roasted to perfection until the skin is just crunchy.  Then it's crammed in to a slightly toasted pistol roll, covered in secret sauce, and it's unlike any American dog I've met!!

As I was wandering down the street - hot dog in hand - I came up to a grocery store.  Which is where found this little cart with dogs locked inside.  And I met "Mick" the dog dude.

Apparently I caught him on day one of his business pilot: "Dog Safe".  He sells these little.... dare I say "dog locker"s?  It's a brilliant business really.  If little Fluffy can't join you when you stop in for bread, cheese and licorice, wouldn't it be nice if you could tuck her away for 10 minutes while you run in? Now you can.  Thanks Mick!

Well, my day in Svendborg was a success.  I got to see everything, meet people, try the food, and I found this:

Design Sale!  Next Sunday... sweet!  Guess what I'll be doing next weekend? :-)

The "H" word.

Okay, I've been holding out - as if by not admitting it, I will somehow make it evaporate.  But it's time to say it, "I'm homesick".  

What I miss most from my beloved Oregon...

(1) The food!   I'm SO bored of bread! So far in Holland or Denmark (apart from a couple of incredible home-cooked meals), I have yet to hit that place where you're ready to die happy after a wonderful meal.  I miss Laughing Planet's burritos, Old Town's Pizza, Som Tum's Som Tum, and Living Room's Mezza plate! (I'm getting choked up just thinking about it!)

Lunch in Denmark: bread, butter, sausage, mayo, fried onions. Yummm!

(2) My car. Yes, I miss the independence of jumping in and going from point A to point B.  Without working out the tram schedule.  Or allowing time for the wind to blow your umbrella out of your hand 17 times while you ride your bike in the wind and rain.

A typical commute in Amsterdam in the rain.

(3) Portland Beer.  Ahhh, the beer is so amazing! Here, "beer is beer".  Do you want one or not?  It's going to be an 8-ounce pour of something like BudLight... "Cheers!"  Forget getting a good Oatmeal Stout or even a good Amber Ale. 

(4) Night life.  Yes - there's plenty to do in Amsterdam, but it doesn't really "start" until 1am, and goes on and on and on until even I am yawning and ready to die. Now that I'm in this tinseey, weensy village I'd settle for a pizza joint with a jukebox if it had people in it!

My "nightlife": a bike ride to the next village.

...the next village!

(5) English, and Dollars.  Somehow I've adjusted and it now feels "normal" to sit through dinner understanding nothing except the laughter and the baby's "LaLa!" (which translated roughly means "Lynae").  Shopping in Dutch or Danish isn't bad, but I really can't be bothered with the currency.  I just hand them 100 Kr and hope they don't notice the dumb stare on my face as they announce the total.

Danish Dinero: called "Kroner"

(6) A clothes dryer!!!!!!  Holy cow.  Call me a whiner, but in Denmark we're hanging laundry to dry in 94% humidity, and it's is a joke! At least in Holland the dryer will warm up your clean clothes (picture pulling soggy, warm clothes out of the dryer)!

(7) Music.  GASP! Wow, Portland - you rock my face!!!  Where once I could go out 3, 4, 5 times a week and hear a live show, someone on tour, or a jam session... there's just nothing close to that here in my village for certain, and not even Amsterdam.  Yeah - there's lots of great music, but Portland has many of the same names, PLUS the local scene. 

Okay, okay all the whining and fuss aside - I have to say that none of this has me buying a ticket and heading back to the "land of the free and home of the brave" any time soon.  There are heaps of wonderful things I'm enjoying here!  Mmany of them I've blogged about - but then there are the "little things" that maybe I take for granted now, and I won't really notice... until they're left behind!
 

Disclaimer: friends and loved ones are not mentioned here only  because it's so much easier to talk about things I CAN live without! Yes... you're very missed!

when kids get hungry...

The poor zucchini didn't make it...

Or, more accurately, Patricha didn't make it ...until dinner time that is! She got too hungry, so she took matters into her own hands (and mouth!). 

Well, her brother was fine.  Of course, Viggo spent the afternoon with the almond butter jar, so it's no wonder!!!

The accordian that bought a boat...

At age 6 my host father started making money playing shows with his accordion.  After saving up for a while, he bought this boat at age 11.  He asked it made to his specs by a local craftsman, and by age 12 it was completed. 

(He's shown on the left, helping his son up out of the boat).

It's still in beautiful condition, and the family enjoys summer days out in the bay.  The boat is made in typical viking style, like this ship which used to be manned by a 20-man crew to England from Denmark: 

Check out the Serpent's head on the bow:

Naturally, flying the Danish flag.

The craftsman who made it - now his son finds work by repairing his father's boats, but they're not made anymore because the process is so labor-intensive and newer technologies have taken over. The wooden planks of these old viking-style boats (including Lars') had to be bent to make the curve of the boat which is extremely difficult and time-intensive.

It's beautiful.  

Newer boats in the harbor.