Good News!!!

I got a job!  Yea! Starting in February I will be the assistant preschool teach at the International Preschool in Lund.  The website is here: http://www.ipsl.se/ The job is perfect for so many reasons.  First of all it is part time.  I will be working Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays from 8:30 to 2.  But maybe most important everyone speaks English!  Glorious English!  Don't get me wrong.  I am trying to learn Swedish, I really am but it is proving to be more difficult than I anticipated.  Part of the problem is that it is too easy to just speak English to everybody!  I am so excited to be a working mom again.  I have never not worked and the past three months in Sweden unemployed has felt weird for me! Ups and downs just like everything else :-)

St. Lucia Day and other Christmas celebrations

So in Sweden in December it is dark really early.  If it is an overcast day, which is often, it is dark by about 3 pm.  The sun sets about 4 pm but it dark earlier than that.  A Swede told me that is why there are so many traditions and celebrations around this time of year and most of them involve light.  St Lucia Day is on December 13th and the day celebrates St Lucia who brings light to the dark winter days.  We went to a St. Lucia concert the weekend before the holiday at Domskyrkan (a huge cathedral in the middle of town).  It was beautiful but very hard to capture on camera.  It began with about 35 people carrying candles as they sang the traditional Lucia song.  A song a knew pretty well by then and I will tell you why in a few minutes. This concert was special because it was specifically for children and families which means that Annalise got to sit in the aisle with her friends and get an unobstructed view of this awesome concert.  Of course she spent the majority of the concert playing and talking to her friends and enjoying the freedom of sitting with the other kids but that was fine.  It was so beautiful to hear the songs sung in Swedish.
The reason I knew the Lucia song is because both Ray and Annalise had been singing it over and over again preparing for St. Lucia Day.  Both of them performed in a program on St. Lucia Day. The day began earlier than usual as Annalise's program was supposed to begin 7:15 am.  This was Annalise's first school program and it was in Swedish!  She knew all the songs because she had been singing them over and over again for a week but during the program she stood in the back with her mouth closed!  Even during the English songs, not a peep.  it was fun anyway!  After listening to the kids sing we had fika and ate yummy Lucia rolls!  Next it was Ray's turn!  Lucas and I took the bus to work with Ray so we could watch the program, and enjoy another fika!
In my department they make all the newbies sing Lucia songs in Swedish. There were 10 of us and we performed two Lucia songs in Swedish, jingle bells, Lucia in Italian and our special parody of a parody which we called Food project (think a bad remake of Bad Project which was a great parody of Lady Gaga's Bad Romance). On a side note, I caught an HBO special of Lady Gaga's Monster Ball at MSG and it was fantastic. We had food costumes and food props for the Lady Gaga remake. I was the Lucia and wore my lab coat as my white gown, a red ribbon around my waist and a crown of candles on my head. Our performance lasted about 10 minutes and everyone enjoyed the off key singing.  It was a ton of  fun.  Lucas and I loved it and we have it all on video!!!
Spending Christmas thousands of miles away from family and friends is hard.  We knew it would be.  It was one of the big cons on our pro and con list.  So we decided to embrace Christmas as much as possible.  This involves getting a real tree which we hadn't done since I was pregnant with Annalise.  But how do you get a Christmas tree home with no car.  First we asked to borrow our friends' cargo bike but that didn't work out.  We decided we would have to carry it in the stroller somehow.  We brought bunjee cords and we felt prepared.  But let me tell you how you know if you are Swedish.  If you bike to pick out a Christmas tree with your two kids and then after you buy it you put your kids in their bike trailer, heave the 6 foot tree over your shoulder and bike home with one hand.  The guy was so fast I couldn't get a picture!
Another fun Christmas activity is building gingerbread houses.  Ray's dept has a party every year where everyone makes a house from start to finish (quite a long process!) and then they get judged by the Sustainability Engineering Dept.  This was a first for Ray, Annalise, and I and we had a lot of fun but we have a lot to learn about making gingerbread houses!  We could not get our roof together and had to bake another piece of gingerbread and try to glue it on!  Needless to say we did not win; but we did not finish last either.  The mushroom house pictured below won!
We finally got a chance to take some pictures of Christmas lights and Lund all decorated for the holidays but I have not uploaded the pictures- I will soon.

Our trip to England

This trip was full of firsts!  The first of many "firsts" was our first flight on Ryan Air.  In case you don't know about Ryan Air it a super cheap airline in Europe, (think southwest and then tons cheaper!).  In some ways it was a crazy experience.  After getting our gate announced right before we had to board the plane we literally ran with about 100 other people across the airport to make it there in time.  The whole time we were on the plane the flight attendants were trying to sell things to us; it was like being in an informercial. Weird! But the tickets were so cheap who cares! Our good friends Harriet, Mike, Oliver, and Martha live in St. Albans about 30 minutes north of London.  We had not seen them for three years since they left Denver and it was so great spend time with them again! Mike came to pick us up at the airport and Ray and I got to ride in a car driving on the wrong side of the road for the first time.   Just when I thought we were used to it Mike had to make a turn and I swear I thought the other car was going to hit us! Also, the whole weekend we were visiting Ray and I kept trying to get into the car on the drivers side!  May I add that it felt a bit luxurious to be riding in a car!
It was so fun to introduce Lucas to Martha and see Annalise and Oliver play together.  We ate the best food and drank more red wine than we had in a long time. Mike and Harriet are the best cooks. It felt so great to be surrounded by friends and to spend time with people who really "know you." We have started to make friends in Sweden but it just takes time to let the relationships develop.  It was also great to spend time with friends who love our kids!

While we were there Mike and Ray hit up a couple of bars in St. Albans including Ye Old Fighting Cocks, which is one of the oldest pubs in England; Angela and Harriet had a night out in; we crashed a three year old's birthday party where we rode on a steam train and met a crazy Santa; and we took the kids into London for some sightseeing. Sightseeing in London with 4 kids is crazy tiring but really fun. We stopped off at Buckingham Palace to have tea with the Queen. Annalise and Oliver kept yelling, "Queen, Queen come out and play with us!" Then we caught a double decker bus and saw Big Ben, The London Eye, the Marble Arch, and some famous stuff.  We had afternoon tea on Oxford street and then enjoyed the Christmas lights and Department store display windows. Finally we caught the tube back to St. Albans at rush hour. Every time we had to stop for the bathroom while we were in London it took about 1 hour to get all people in and out. We spent more time going to the bathroom than riding the bus! Our last night was relaxing and fun as the kids got a chance to play some more and we drank more wine. Thank you, thank you, thank you Mike, Harriet, Oliver and Martha for being such great friends and great hosts! Come visit us in Sweden soon!
When it was time to go it was a little sad to say good bye to our friends, but also it was hard to leave an English speaking country.  When we got on the plane to come home I heard Swedish for the first time in four days and I have to be honest it made me sad.  This was our first trip where coming home meant coming home to Sweden and it was difficult.  There are still ups and downs but that is life.  Hope you enjoy the pictures!

Jul Market at Kulturen

Christmas is a big deal in Lund and the festivities are just getting started. Many of the streets and store fronts are decorated, musical and choir concerts are held in the city squares and Advent candles are everywhere. This past weekend, Nov 26-27, marked the "official"start to the holiday season. A Christmas festival/market was held at Kulturen, which is an awesome outdoor/indoor museum featuring Swedish life over the past 200 - 300 years. There was a blacksmith shop, small farm houses, larger aristocratic houses, a small church, and a replica of a town center with narrow cobblestone streets and an open courtyard. Outside of each building was a box which had toys representing that time era. One of the toy boxes contained wooden swords and shields. This prompted a spontaneous sword fight between Ray and Wes.  

 There were many vendors spread out across the museum grounds selling homemade goodies and handmade goods such as hats, scarves, jams, jellies, breads, mustards, Christmas ornaments, wreaths, books, glugg (spiced wine), jewelry, etc. The small church was where the chocolate venders set up (praise the Lord!). There were also arts and craft demonstrations for the kids (and adults). One fascinating vendor was a lady making marbled paper. We watched her do this several times and Angela fell in love with one of the papers so we bought it. The process is shown in the slide show below along with the piece of art we now own and plan to hang in our apartment. Annalise got a gingerbread cookie shaped like a pig with her name one it (pork is so good in so many different ways).

We are going to soak up as many Christmas traditions in Lund as we can. Here's to a bottomless cup of glugg.

God Jul!

ps. We leave for England tomorrow to visit our dear friends Mike, Harriet, Oliver and Martha. So excited to reconnect with old friends!

What we do during the day

People have been asking me what the kids and I do during the day so I figured it was a good subject to post about.  I made up a slide show to go with the post.  First of all, we spend time at home playing.  Lucas likes to taste anything and everything he can get his hands on and Annalise loves to take care of her bubu and play dress up.  Lucas and Annalise pretend that the laundry basket is a boat; okay Annalise is pretending it's a boat and Lucas just loves to be near Annalise!  One of Lucas' favorite things to do is to pull all of our shoes off the shoe rack and chew on the laces and soles!  Annalise and I have also been doing lots of art projects and making cards for all the people we miss in the states!
Sometimes we walk Ray to the bus stop and then take our own bus to Kulen, which is an open preschool in Lund.  Lucas usually rides in the stroller on the bus and Annalise sits in a seat by herself sometimes and rides in the stroller sometimes.  In the picture below Annalise is holding on to her bubu but a few minutes after the picture was taken she left bubu on the bus!  It was a big drama but we got bubu back thankfully!
Kulen is one of my favorite places in Lund so far.  Open preschool is a really neat concept.  Even though it is called preschool the majority of the kids there are under the age of two.  It is a school that parents bring their children to and the parents stay.  There is two teachers and all the typical preschool like activities.  Because of the great parent leave here there is usually more dads with kids than moms with kids! There is an art room, a gym room, a room with lots of toys and a slide, a kitchen area with a large table, and a large area to gather for music time.  Lucas loves to taste all of the toys at Kulen and Annalise loves to get her face painted!  We like to get there in time for music at about 10:15.  I love to sit in the circle and listen to to the swedish children's songs.  The ones that are repetitious and have gestures are somewhat easy to understand.  They have their own version of Itsy Bitsy Spider and another one where you clap different parts of your body.  There are also some simple dances that we participate in.  The other day I overheard Annalise singing one of the swedish songs to bubu; it was very sweet.  After music there is play and fika.  Below is a picture of Lucas in a high chair at Kulen.  Fika is awesome!  It is a coffee break that the whole country participates in.  I'm probably not describing it as well as I should.  You should just come visit us in Sweden and experience it.
Another activity we do during the day is play at the park.  There is a great park called Stadsparken, translated The City Park, that is about a 20 minute walk from our apartment.  We have met some friends already so sometimes we meet friends there and sometimes we just go by ourselves.  We also go to the library, called Stadsbiblioteket, where there is a great children's section with books in English and many other languages as well. Below is a picture of Annalise pointing to the Engelska sign.  I have heard that there is also adult books in English but I have not had a chance to explore that part of the library.
Annalise started school yesterday and so our days will change a little bit.  From now on she will be in school from 9-2 and Lucas and I will be going to Kulen and exploring the city on our own.  It will be great for Annalise to have a chance to play with kids and learn Swedish and it will be great for Lucas and I to have some time to enjoy each other one on one.
Although there are still ups and downs we are getting settled and we are all very happy to be in Sweden.  But we miss all of you and think of you often!  We wish is was a little warmer here but we are happy.

Sending love and hugs from Sweden!

The first month!

I cannot believe we have been in Sweden for one month.  Sometimes it feels like we just arrived and other days it feels like we have been here for a lot longer than a month.  Here is a short list of the most important things that Ray and I have learned in our first month in Sweden.

1. Reliable and safe public transportation is awesome but takes patience.
2. Never leave home without a rain jacket and the rain cover for the stroller.
3. Despite the worrying Annalise and Lucas love sharing a room and both of them are sleeping well.
4. If it is sunny get outside and enjoy it.
5. You cannot do squat without a personal number.
6. When you are a foreigner it is easiest to meet other foreigners.
7. A steady diet of coffee, pastries, and cheese makes for beautiful people.
8. No matter where we live we will always fika.
9. Road bikes and cobblestone streets do not go together.
10. Always keep potty money on hand, usually you need 5 kroner to go.
11. Swedes like to use the phrase, "no problem" but I'm not sure they know what it means.
12. I will get back to you in 5 minutes could actually mean five hours or five days.
13. Bicyclists rule!
14. Foggy days can be warm and pleasant.
15. Everybody speaks beautiful fluent English even if they say they say they only speak a little bit. Although all adults speak English kids who speak English are rare.
16. Swedes separate their recycling into multiple categories.
17. The washing machines aren't broken; no laundry after 8 pm.
18. Despite hearing that Swedes are reserved there are a few outgoing ones!
19. We will meet wonderful, friendly people wherever we go.
20. The Swedes know how to celebrate the successful defense of a dissertation.
21. Don't worry about customs.
22. Traveling by train is really fun.
23. Lund is an awesome city and that will be so fun to explore.
24. Spend good money on waterproof shoes and outerwear, it is worth it.
25. Things will go wrong (stroller breaks, computer charger doesn't work, sweater and sweatshirt rip, breast pump charger gets fried when it is needed) but it all works out somehow.
26. Ryan Air is so cheap!
27. Life without a car is a big adjustment.
28. "Slut" has a very different meaning in Sweden.

Here is a compilation of photos from our first month.



Sending hugs from Sweden!

City of Lund in the fall

I wanted to share some pictures of Lund.  Ray and I love our city!  It is so beautiful here.  I will write more about the city later but here are some great pictures.

Ikea trip

About two or three weeks before we left Denver an Ikea store opened.  I really like Ikea.  I have only been to the store a few times but I like the style.  As we shared our news that we were moving to Sweden everyone kept saying, " have you gone to Ikea yet?"  I decided that I was going to wait until we moved to Sweden to go to Ikea.  For one thing, even if I did go I wouldn't be able to buy anything.  We were trying to get rid of everything, or almost everything!  For a month and a half our lives were literally ruled by craigslist as we rid ourselves of all our stuff. But I think another reason I didn't go to the Ikea in Denver was because I wanted to have something big to look forward to when we arrived.  My wonderful friends and coworkers gave us a very generous gift card to spend at Ikea when we arrived in Sweden so we would be able to buy some things to make our home feel more like home.  Our trip began with a borrowed car and some nice weather.  Ray got to drive in Sweden for the first time.  We had also borrowed a gps system but spent almost the entire drive trying to figure out how to change the language to English!  We arrived to the huge store just outside of Malmo and the parking lot was virtually empty.  I took a picture of it for our Denver friends who have told me that there is 50-60 people parking cars at the Denver Ikea (like at a concert!)  We dropped Annalise off at the childcare and with sleeping Lucas started through the upstairs maze.  It was a lot of fun!  And we were able to pick up loads of stuff including a crib and mattress, picture frames, things for the kids' room, kitchen stuff, and some stuff just for fun!    Then we went to the cafeteria for some yummy and cheap food.  Ray took a picture of me eating my first swedish meatball in Sweden!  Thank you, thank you, thank you to everyone for the gift card.  We had no trouble using it and (we think) we got a pretty good exchange rate :)  

Tivoli Halloween Festival

We have made some fast friends here that have been mostly international like us which has been wonderful.  We have met only one other American family who is here for just 11 months.  They invited us to a Halloween festival in Copenhagen so we of course went!  We have heard that they do not celebrate Halloween in Sweden so we needed to go to Denmark to experience a little Halloween fun! We took the train to the Tivoli in Copenhagen and conveniently the Tivoli is across the street from the train station. The Tivoli has an amusement park, performing arts stages, restaurants and bars, carnival games and a few small gardens. It was packed with people who were there to enjoy the sunny weather and festivities. We enjoyed a theater show performed by a five witches (all in Danish but nonetheless very entertaining), a parade through the park, a hay bale maze, lots of carnival food and a ride on a double decker carousel.  Annalise loved the good witch and talked about her for days after the festival.  Here is a link to some of the pictures: Tivoli Halloween Festival We will definitely go back another time for the adults rides and beverages.  Although we didn't get much of a chance to see Copenhagen we will go back soon because even the little we did see was amazing.

Dissertation Party

We went to our first Swedish party tonight.  It was a dissertation party.  Apparently in Sweden when someone finishes their dissertation they get an awesome party!  During this large fancy dinner party people get up and make toasts and everyone sings songs before taking shots of schnapps.  We had a wonderful time!  Annalise acted so grown up tonight.  She was sitting across the table from me because she wanted to sit where her name card was and next to her was a woman from Spain.  Annalise asked her if she spoke Swedish and this woman said no.  She told Annalise that she was only going to be in Sweden for about nine months and so she was not going to learn any Swedish.  So my sweet and smart little girl decided to teach her Swedish.  It felt good to watch Annalise teach this woman some of the Swedish words she knows.  Annalise has been going through some big transitions lately and honestly there have been some hard times.  I know it is all to be expected but there have been a few moments recently where I have been unsure about whether we were being fair to our daughter. The truth is Annalise is going to have a different life than if we had stayed in Denver.  Not necessarily better or worse but just different.  We have to enjoy the highs (like tonight) and life through the lows.  Tonight Annalise not only had fun but she also made lots of international friends and charmed the pants off of two woman from Spain.  Today was a good day.

Beverly Hills 90210

I am curious about Europe's fascination with this show.   As some of you know I spent a summer in France when I was 15.  I remember the first week with my host family and I was feeling a little homesick and they turned on the tv and there was Beverly Hills 90210.  It is a little silly but I remember feeling a little less homesick watching an american tv show.  I learned in the time I was there that reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 played frequently and that it was a very popular show. Now at that time Beverly Hills 90210 was also a popular show in the US.  People I met asked me how close I lived to California when I was in France and I wondered if they were thinking about the show.
Now, many years later (18 years; I can't believe it!!) I find myself living in Europe and everyday reruns of Beverly Hills 90210 are on tv.  Now it is important for me to add here that there are lots and lots and lots of american television shows.  In fact, Ray and I have noticed that at any given day or time there is about 4 or 5 american shows or movies to choose from. And thankfully these are not dubbed; they just play with swedish subtitles.  Which, by the way, is helping our understanding of written swedish a lot.  We have heard that all the american tv that swedes watch is part of the reason why they speak such great english.  Makes sense :)

The Secret Language

This question is more for the parents out there. How would you like to have a secret language you could use to talk about things in front of your kids without your kids knowing what you were saying.  Wouldn't it be great! Apparently that is how English is used here sometimes.  This is what happened at Ikea this past weekend.  I was on the edge of a play area in the cafeteria watching Lucas and Annalise play.  Annalise was playing with a little girl close to her age and this little girl also loved Lucas and kept giving him hugs.  The little girls dad was standing next to me and we had exchanged a few smiles as we watched our children play together and I had heard him speaking Swedish to his daughter.  I always have to explain to Annalise that the other kids don't speak English and I think he told his daughter that Annalise didn't speak Swedish.  Suddenly his wife walks up and in beautiful fluent English he says motioning to his daughter, "Her meal comes with an ice cream but I don't think she needs it."  I laughed and asked him and his wife if they use English when they don't want their daughter to understand what they are saying.  They said that many parents use English in this way in Sweden.  I think it is so hilarious but also very useful!  When Ray came back from refilling his drink I shared the story with him and he said we could use Swedish in this way but we would not be able to say very much.  Hopefully soon Annalise will be in preschool here and then she will know Swedish.  We keep hearing that since Annalise is so young it will probably only take three or four months for her to learn Swedish.  One thing that has been difficult is that children don't speak English.  Ray and I are having no difficulty communicating.  None.  Everyone and I mean everyone speaks beautiful fluent English; even if they say they only speak a little are lying.  We had been told this but it still surprised Ray and I a little.  The only people that don't speak English are small children.  That means that the little kids we meet at the park and the library that Annalise wants to make friends with look at her a little weird once she opens her mouth and starts talking.  I try to explain it to her but she acts as if her feelings are hurt.  She asked if the kids just don't like her and I told her that is not true but she is only three and some things are hard to understand  Right now she is on the wait list for preschool but it could take up to three months.  We will see what happens....

Pure marketing genius!

Who ever came up with this product name and marketing slogan should have gotten an instant promotion!

We arrived!!

We made it safe and sound to Lund!  Our big journey began in Washington D.C. when we boarded an Icelandic Air flight.  I was helping get the kids settled and all the sudden I realized that no one was speaking English around me.  It was not until that moment that it finally hit me; we were leaving the United States.  We were leaving all our family and friends and everything familiar and safe.  Annalise looked at me and asked, "mommy why are you crying?"  But I only let myself be sad for about a minute and then the excitement took over!
After an entire night or day (depends on how you look at it) full of traveling we flew into the airport in Copenhagen very tired but in one piece.  We gathered our luggage (none of it was lost!!) and we headed towards customs. Since we had already gotten our passport stamped in Iceland all we had to do was walk through some doors.  On the floor there was two paths; one path named "Nothing to declare" and one smaller path named "Need to declare."  Ray and I were stumped.  We certainly had brought lots of stuff with us.  Four big suitcases and two big hiking backpacks and two smaller backpacks contained all of our carefully packed clothes, toys, books, and misc. items we just HAD to take to Sweden.

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Here is Annalise with all our luggage!

I was especially worried about our three computers because we had heard that electronics are sometimes limited.  In addition we had a guitar, bike, and a big stroller.  We stood there and just staring at these two paths and then I told Ray I would go talk to the official.  I walked up to the desk and had the following conversation:

official- "can I help you?"

me- "I don't know if I have anything to declare."

official- "Do you have anything you shouldn't have?"

me- "Like what?" 

official- "Do you have any food or drugs, things like that." (he is getting exasperated with me I can tell.)

me- "I have baby food and medication for my baby but I have a perscription for it."

official- "You have nothing to declare.  Just walk through the doors."
And so we walked through the doors and entered a whole new world.

Everyone has different things that stick out for them.  Ray says he won't forget walking out of the Copenhagen airport and seeing all the taxis lined up.  Apparently they were all Mercedes Benz.  I didn't even notice that.  What I did notice was the wind when we walked out of the airport, it was freezing!  Also it was the middle of the afternoon.  It felt like it should be the middle of the night.  I also remember feeling strong gratitude towards Lars (one of Ray's new colleagues) for renting a huge van and picking us up from the airport.  I could not imagine having to take a train or bus to our apartment with the kids and all of our stuff especially since I had been awake close to 36 hours.

The drive to Lund was sort of quiet.  We chatted a little bit but we were pretty tired.  As we got closer to Lund I started to get excited again.  After getting lost a few times! we arrived at our apartment.  Now this was one thing that I had been pretty apprehensive about.  I really didn't know what to expect and I was trying to keep my expectations cautiously low.  Turns out I didn't need to be worried.  First of all there is an elevator which is good since we are on the forth floor (the top of the building) and I had been worried about getting the stroller and two kids up the stairs.  Our apartment is great and bigger than we thought it would be.  **hint, hint for those of you who want to come visit!** There is a large entryway, a large bathroom, one really big bedroom and one smaller bedroom, a kitchen, an eating area and a big family room.  Apparently the apartment was just renovated.  Honestly it looks like a picture out of the Ikea catalogue.  Most of our furniture is white (except the couches) and we have big windows to let light in.  We also have a nice balcony.  Right in front of our apartment building there is a small playground area with two swings and some climbing structures.  Annalise and Lucas love the swings and it is nice to have a small play area so close!

Hope all is well with all of you and Ray and I will both write more this weekend.  Ray especially wants to blog about a cat food they have here...stay tuned!

Hugs from Sweden!

Welcome to our blog!

Hi all! As life takes us all on different journeys we wanted to start a blog to stay updated with everyone. runyoning.blogspot.com will be the place where we share our adventures through photos, videos, and a few stream of consciousness musings.

The inspiration for the name of the blog came from our friend Ben Edelman who coined the phrase "Runyoning" years ago after several trips with us. So, if you want to know what we are up to and have a hankering to go "Runyoning", then either come hang out with us in person wherever we are or log on to the blog.

Love,
Ray, Angela, Annalise, and Lucas (aka Rangelannalucalise)