A town by any other name

Go ahead, look up the word "tarm" in your Danish to English dictionary...
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Oh, you don't have one of those? Allow me:

tarm: intestine

Yes, that's right. I guess when the town is named after this particular organ, you must then add something really splashy to the town entrances to make it attractive to those who may pass by!

Wait 5 minutes..

It seems pretty much anywhere you visit, except perhaps in Aruba, the natives are famous for saying.. "If you don't like the weather, wait 5 minutes and it will change."

But in most places, that really isn't the case at all. However, in Denmark - the saying hits the nail on the head! I have never lived or visited any other place where the weather changes so quickly. The wind is always blowing something in - sometimes good, often bad, but it just keeps coming and keeps changing. I can sit at my desk for an entire day and depending on which 5 minutes in the day you ask me about the weather, chances are my answer will change. I have seen severe thunderstorms after bright sunshine, hot, cold, hot, cold, sun, rain, sun, rain - each time you glance out the window you're in for surprise.

Check outside; weather is gorgeous! Say to myself - I really should get out and do something! What a perfect time to pluck those pesky weeds from the garden. By the time I've gone to my closet and changed into appropriate clothing and shoes, my gorgeous day has now vanished and it's raining. But if I actually go change my clothes and give up on the idea, then of course that gorgeous sunshine will be there again.

As Ole likes to say... "that guy Murphy again."

It's a small world after all

We've had a house on our street that's been for sale for quite some time, and then we noticed it had been sold. Over the last couple of months we have seen a guy coming and going, cutting the lawn, etc., but he appeared to be alone.

Then, about a month or so ago, Ole was out walking Zoe and saw some children playing soccer with a man. That's not news - what is news, however, is that he was sure he heard them speaking English - American English. So we started to wonder if perhaps this could have something to do with the house that had been sold?

I love dogs, and I love to see Zoe play with other dogs, so much so that if I'm out walking Zoe, and spot a dog somewhere, I will alter my route so that we can say hello to said dog. Or, if we're out at the hundeskov getting close to leaving, and I see a dog coming in, or hear a dog on another trail, we are no longer leaving. This behavior has led Ole to calling me a dog stalker.

With this behavior in mind, it suddenly became my mission to find out who exactly had moved into this home on our street. So, that meant we had to walk past the house on our evening walks so that I could either run into these English speaking children, or simply get another clue to the mystery.

Clue #2 - Pontiac TransAm parked in the driveway. This is not a car you see often in Denmark. In fact, I'd go so far as to say, pretty much never. And, on the driver's side in the bottom corner of the windshield, there lay a few stickers - this is how many states in the US display the car's registration. I was on to something!

A few days later, out with Zoe again, I saw and heard the two little girls. By this time, I just had to know! So I walked over to them and asked them if I had heard them speaking English and indeed they were. They told me that at the moment, they were just visiting, but that they were moving here in 2 weeks. Weeee! I now had facts, even if those facts did come from an 8-year old source! (my guess on the age).

The bike trail that we typically walk on runs right behind said house. And we were out walking with Zoe again one evening a few days later. We ran into one of Zoe's doggie friends so Zoe and Molly were running around chasing one another as we chatted with Molly's dad. As we chatted, we hear a very loud 8-year old yelling.. "Look, Mom! There's the husband of the woman I told you about." And from that, we officially met our new American neighbor - an American, from Alabama, married to a Dane.

Seriously, what are the odds in this world that two American women, married to Danes, would end up residing not only in the same small town in Denmark, but on the same street!

It's fun, it's exciting, and it just proves, the world isn't quite so big after all.

Where does the time go?

I must officially be the world's worst blogger as I now see that it's been almost 4 months since I last added something. So, as of today, I hereby vow to try - try - to add something more frequently. There are always things running through my head about this wonderful country!

I am pleased to say that my Danish studies are coming along, however, I am not so pleased that for some reason, I still cannot understand what most Danes are saying when they attempt to speak to me. If they slow their speech when I ask, I do get a larger part of it, but I still can't quite grasp it all and I find that incredibly frustrating. I just have to keep telling myself.. it will come!

Spring....

I think that in this vast land of winter darkness, when spring time arrives and the clocks are finally moved that hour forward, you appreciate the light that much more. Winter in Denmark is dark - we're talking sunrise 10am, sunset 3pm, dark. It's brutal. So, alas, the clocks have sprung forward and here I sit at 6:20 pm vastly appreciative of the light! While there isn't much sun to speak of today, it's up there somewhere, and it hasn't even considered setting itself away just yet. THIS.. I love :)

Welcome back Sir Sunshine!

Staring

I was just catching up on some other expat blogs I follow and the topic arose about being stared at in Denmark. It reminded me of some funny situations I've been in since having moved here.

The staring - as I said in a comment elsewhere - it amuses me! For the first 6 months I was here I found myself constantly whispering to Ole.. "they're looking at me again!" I fought off the urge to break into my best New York/New Jersey accent and say "Are you looking at me?" "Do I amuuuuse you?"

I tend to conveniently forget that I'm in a foreign land when we're together as we speak English between us. So when we're out and about and speaking English it slips my mind that it may be strange for others to hear us talking. Especially since I'm not really a quiet person - I'm the one in the grocery store holding something up and yelling down the aisle.. "Look honey - they have REAL Ocean Spray cranberries!". This inevitably leads to the stares - all the heads whipping around at this strange voice.

Granted, I live in a small town smack in the middle of Jylland, so I understand it. I suspect at times that I'm known around town for being the "American" girl - granted no one has gone to the point of running away when I approach, but still! Our house is also somewhat of a fishbowl as we're located on a corner with about 5 other houses facing our house from one side or another. I think the residents or our little dead-end street are amused by me, but that's another story. :)

But the Danes definitely aren't shy about staring at something different or unusual. In the US, we're brought up with the "it's not polite to stare" mantra drilled into our heads, so we stare a bit more secretivily. You know, hold up the newspaper in front of your face and sneak a glimpse as you turn the page, etc. Not so in Denmark - if they want to look at you, they do. They just stop and stare. It's a bit unnerving now and then!

One of my funniest stares came a few weeks ago at the Sprogskole. It's a language center so those in the neighborhood must be used to it by now, right? Maybe not. We were on our break and a few of us were having a conversation in front of the school, in English. Our school is right next to a Netto shop. This very old women came out of the shop with her Netto sack in hand - she was strolling past us and just stopped dead in her tracks, whipped her head around and just stared at us. I turned and said Hi to her and she then smiled and went on her way. But the way she looked at us you would've thought she had seen the second coming.

Homesickness

So, I'm away from home this week. Away from home in my former home - Washington state. Washington was a temporary home as I was only there for 5 years. Before that it was New Jersey for 10 years and then my 'hometown' in New York state for the rest of the years adding up to my current age (no need for specifics here).

I'm homesick.

For those who know me, this is a new phenomenon. I'm not a person who gets homesick. But, in doing some thinking, perhaps none of the above were ever really 'home'. They were places I lived, they had their ups and downs, but I wasn't married and there wasn't anyone that I was going 'home' to when I was away.

There was nothing wrong with any of the places I lived, and I had nice apartments. I had the cats (always hesitate to say that for fear of the whole cat lady stereotype). But - it's different now.

Now I have a wonderful man in my life. A man who makes my house a home. And as such, it makes my home a place that I really really miss when I'm not there. So, for the first time in my life I believe I'm experiencing true homesickness.

The good news is - tomorrow I get on the plane and go home. :)