Our Time in Sweden

Three months have past since we said our goodbyes to our life in Sweden.  We have been busy settling back in to our Canadian home, school, work and family life.  Christmas has come and gone; Graeme has been playing hockey with his former teammates; there have been tests, speeches and plays to prepare for school; and in the midst of all this normalcy, I have to stop and ask myself...was last year a dream?  Did we really move our family to Sweden?  I recall the feeling I had when we were adjusting to life in a foreign country, that of amazement that we were going about our day-to-day activities just like we had back home.  But what I realized when we began our daily life back here in Canada, is how much more energy it took to accomplish those daily tasks in Sweden.  Before we left, we were waking the kids at 6:45am, out the door by 7:30am to drive to the subway station to catch the subway for a short ride to the station at the University, where we caught a bus to take them to school.  All in all, a 45 minute production!  Kris would head off to catch another subway to work, or if it was my good luck to have to take them to school, I would do the trip in reverse.  Running errands always involved much more thought and awareness than I was accustomed too:  deciphering labels in the grocery stores, guessing at sizes in the clothing stores, paying the appropriate parking fee to avoid receiving an outrageous $50-80 ticket.  Starting at two new schools while living in Sweden took alot of work, and at one point in time we had even considered trying the kids at our neighbourhood school where English wasn't taught until Grade 4.  Attending football games, reading maps, visiting museums, and listening to the radio...all these and many activities required extra attention and effort to make the most of them.  The feeling of success when we accomplished these ordinary tasks made the discomfort of the challenge tolerable.  It often felt like we were on a roller coaster ride, the highs were really high, but the lows were sometimes miserable!

We made the most of our time in Sweden, this I know for sure, and this blog is a testament to that!  All of the museums, nature walks, city tours, and excursions to outlying areas enriched us considerably.  The kids have had their eyes and minds opened to appreciate the vastness of the world and it's people.  They have a different outlook now and a great interest in how people of other cultures live.  They aren't so quick to judge a person by their appearance and they display a greater tolerance and acceptance of people in all shapes and forms.  They've developed an ability to cultivate friendships and also to maintain them from a distance.  The relationships that we all formed, individually and as a family, are what we will treasure as time goes by.

There is a great number of people who made our expatriation the success we will be remember it as.  Beginning with Kris' employers for proposing the position, to Keirstin, our relocation expert who found us our lovely home.  To our neighbours, Helene, Mats, Samuel and Sophie, for their warm welcome and ongoing friendship.  To BIPSS, the school where we first tested the international waters and emerged stronger from it.  To Rosie, Suzanne and Katrine, expatriates themselves who offered kindness and friendship to me in the quiet early days.  To Graeme's hockey organization, for employing such likable and confident teenagers willing to repeat themselves in English for the one little guy who didn't understand a word.  To Elise and Renee's football teams, for giving the girls an experience they will never forget.  To the parents of the other children on the girls' teams, who welcomed us, and looked after our girls when we weren't there to.  To Lasse, Ava and Vigo, who welcomed us into their home and their lives from start to finish.  To Lise, our Swedish teacher, who graciously accepted the fact that we were not going to master her language but never shook our fragile confidence.  To Shahin and Lovisa, for their youthful friendship and the opportunity to share their wedding day with them as well as a memorable last night in Stockholm.  To Jan-Erik, Suzanne, Elin and Philip, for taking such good care of us (we hope to have the chance to return the favour when you visit Florida!).  To the enthusiastic teachers at Rödabergsskolan, who made such an impact on our children in just three months that it will last a lifetime.  To the kind and fun kids that befriended our children at this school, they will be remembered as a great bunch of kids.  To Nadja, for her companionship I am grateful, our conversations made the hours I spent waiting for the girls to finish school fly by!  And to Sanjay, a great friend to Graeme, always ready to play.  To Scarlet and Jimmy, for the opportunity to reminisce about North America and watch the joy in you as first-time parents to Sydney.  To Tara, Ben, Aidan and Seamus, for showing us what true courage is all about as you settle your family in Sweden without the safety net of a big company to fall back on.  To Kristi, Mike, Evan, Maggie and Katherine, for sharing our trip to Tallinn and other neighbourly enjoyments!  It's amazing to take a few moments to stop and think about all of the people I've mentioned.  We are so blessed to have had such great people around us and so thankful for them.

                       

Graeme's Blog

Graeme recently had to present a speech to his class at school.  He chose to talk about his best friend from Sweden, Sophie.  Here follows a copy of the speech he made to his class:

Me and Sophie


When I moved to Sweden, I was sad because I left all my friends back in Canada.  One night after school my sisters and I were sledding down a big rock in our yard and Sophie and her mom Helene came over to say Hej (Hi in Swedish).  We spent the rest of the night sledding together and throwing snowballs at my Dad.  I now had a best friend in Sweden!

At first Sophie and I could not talk to each other because I could not speak Swedish and she could not speak English.  So we made up our own language, which was a mix of English and Swedish and we called it Swinglish!  When other Swedish kids were at our yard playing Sophie had to translate Swinglish for them, but it did not always work. One time Hendrick was over and asked for the bathroom and he ended up peeing in our garden!

Every kid in Sweden has a trampoline and Sophie’s parents did not have room for the trampoline in their yard.  So they put it in our yard.  All the kids in the neighbourhood came to our yard to play on Sophie’s trampoline.  One sunny summer day Sophie’s brother (Samuel) and my sisters decided to set the sprinkler up on the trampoline we had fun until Samuel hit his head on our house and cut his elbow.

Swedish summer days are very long because the sun never sleeps.  This gave Sophie and I lots of time to play on the trampoline, swim at the lake and ride our bicycles.  It also gave Sophie and I lots of time to trick our parents into giving us treats. We would always ask Sophies parents for ice cream and once we finished there we would ask my mom and dad for cookies.  We thought we were so sneaky, but I could never finish my dinner on those nights.

Sophie and I also liked to tease my sisters, we really enjoyed taking Renee and Elise’s Webkinz and throwing them out the window.  We only got in trouble when they landed in the bushes and my Dad had to get them out.

Sophie and I had lots of sleep over’s.  At first we only slept at her house because my parents could not speak Swedish.  The first time I slept over at Sophies, her mom asked what I ate for breakfast I told her I always had pancakes which wasn’t really true, but I did like the Swedish Pankaka.  Instead of maple syrup you put jam and whip cream on pan cakes, but I only like the whip cream!  My last week in Sweden Sophie did sleep over, and my dad said we were both snoring when he went to bed.

I really liked having my best friend living next door, I never had to ask to go for a play date I would just have to go outside and wait for Sophie to come out and play.  When she wanted to play she would sit on the tree swing in her front yard, which would let me know it was time to play!

Now that I have moved back to Canada I miss my friend Sophie in Sweden.  I know I will see her again, I just hope that I remember how to speak Swinglish!

Lazy Summer Days in Sweden

Yesterday we went to a nearby lake for a swim with our neighbours. The area was rocky but had a great wooden dock for sunbathing and jumping off into the cool water. Graeme took awhile to come alive (we are jetlagged and had slept in until 12:30pm that day!) but he was soon running across the rocks like a true Swede. Every now and then he would lay down but only for a few seconds, then he was up and scampering across the rocks again.

The kids have re-established their relationships with the kids next door, and are having more fun together than ever. Kris and I were pretty sure that this idea of jumping on the trampoline under the sprinkler was a bad one, and soon put a stop to it! (But not before we took this photo!)

Unfortunately, when Kris decided to play popcorn on the trampoline with the girls later in the day, Renee's knee came up and banged her hard under her eye. She has developed quite a black eye.

This evening, we had the pleasure of watching a fleet of hot air balloons soar over our heads, just above the height of the trees here in our neighbourhood.  I understand that having these balloons float over the city of Stockholm is a rare treat as other capital cities have forbidden this.

We're soaking up the sunshine and long days in anticipation of the dark winter that seems to be far around the corner.  If only summer could last forever....

Renee's Blog

I really enjoyed my time in Sweden. I’ll miss the trails, football, and our neighbours. My favourite part of living in Sweden was riding the subways and buses to school. I loved going on the trips to Egypt, France, Italy, Spain and Estonia.

When we first got to Sweden, we were going to a school called BIPSS (The British Primary school of Stockholm). In the summer, we visited Canada for one month. After that, we started going to a big school called ‘Rodebergs Skolan’. There was many children from grade nine to one!

There we all had really nice teachers: Graeme had Vasugi, Elise had Mr. Wilkinson, and I had Mrs. Simonsen. Vasugi is from Singapore, Mr. Wilkinson is from New Zealand, and Mrs. Simonsen is from Ireland. On October 24th, 2009 we jumped on a plane to Spain, Barcelona. There we stayed at a amazing new hotel, the ‘W’. We got settled in our room and then went to the beach.

We walked along the beach to where all the shops and restaurants are to eat. Once we ate, we walked back to the hotel and explored. We got really tired and went to bed. In the morning, we ate breakfast at the hotel.

When we were full with food and energy, we hurried to get the tour bus. The ride was seriously boring. I highly recommend that you skip it if you go to Barcelona. After that boring ride, we got another ride to the cruise ship.

Once all that boring checking in was over, Mom and Dad bought themselves wine for the trip. Finally we got on The Voyager of the Seas! Mom and Dad took us swimming.

Yeah! (NOT) The water was freezing cold! Even the hot tub was like a ice cube!

At dinnertime, we had to seat with people we didn’t know! We sat with a really nice family: Robin, Ashley, Rose, Fiona and Paul. Our waiters were Andre and Yenny.

The rest of the week was really fun!

I really liked Sweden, I think I’m really going to miss it. Everyone in Sweden is really going to miss us! When we told the Oscarssons, they almost started to cry! It was really random when Dad told us!

I think Sweden was a good experience for all of us. I really missed Canada! But, soon I’ll really miss Sweden!!

Elise's Blog

When I first moved to Sweden I was scared because I didn’t know if I was going to make any friends. But I was also very excited because I hadn’t gone on a plane for a really long time! When I first arrived in Sweden I couldn’t wait to see our new house! But my parents didn’t tell us anything about the house so all of us were like kernels in a microwave just popping up and down!
When we arrived at the house we just couldn’t believe the size it was like five times the size of our old house!
Our neighbourhood was fantastic but we all felt a little sick because it was our first time making new friends!


First Day of school

My first day of school at B.I.P.S.S. was very inviting. In the last month we went to Gotland, an island. I was very nervous and didn’t want to go, but mom got me into going. I had a great experience!
At the end of the school year my class was graduating so we had a Musical about FISH! I was a sparkly Herring and I stood out so much and since I was the shortest I had to go in front do these different moves!


Summer Time!

In Sweden before we came to Canada we had three weeks of summer vacation. It was kind of cold but it was fun because we went to this pond near our house and there were giant fish and I mean giant! But the water was really warm and the sun was really hot if you stayed still for a while.


New school again

Rodabergs Skolan is fantastic! I really hate that we have to leave it soon.
My teacher is from New Zealand! He has long blond hair and is really funny sometimes or he tried to be and the class was just silent!
Some of the fun things we did were going on a 10 Km hike; going to a museum where I almost broke my nose! and much more. Mr. W has this Quote Board and unfortunately I’m on it! After the 10Km hike we came out of the subway and I said ‘’Are we outside” and he started laughing and he wondered if I’d even came. But it just looked so fake that’s why I said it. I’m really going to miss Rodabergs Skolan and all my new friends but Mr. W said I’m welcome back!


What I liked about Sweden

I liked being outdoors in Sweden because you just never knew what would happen or what adventures you’d go on once you stepped outside. And the best thing about Sweden was the old town. It is just so cool and different!

A Walk Amongst Trolls

While enjoying a walk around Ekebysjön one day a while ago, we had the feeling that we were being watched...We stopped and looked around more closely, and sure enough, we were.  Nestled in tree roots and on logs, hidden by fallen leaves and hanging from branches, were trolls!  We delighted in finding them and pointing them out to each other...they were made from shells, wood, rocks, buttons, yarn and paint.  I had the idea then that we should have the kids create a troll of their own and leave it in the forest.  This past weekend the kids began early to paint their rocks that we had collected from the area.  Graeme made a troll holding a sword, Renee painted a Canadian flag and Elise made a funny face.  We carted the rocks back to the forest and scouted out the perfect spot to leave them.

 

Graeme decided to put his on a log and the girls followed suit so that they would all be together.

So, there are a few more eyes watching people walk this trail.  I hope they are there for a long time for others to enjoy!

Montserrat, Spain

On Sunday, after leaving the ship, we boarded a bus for a hair-raising drive up into the mountains an hour away from Barcelona.  The mountains are called Montserrat, and it means "serrated".  They definitely didn't look like any mountains I had ever seen.  There is a monastery sitting up here and lots of trails to walk on. 

There is actually quite a lot of activity up on the mountain.  Restaurants, shops, a hotel and of course not to be forgotten, the monastery.  It was a very foggy day and we could not see far in front of us. 

 

I'm sure this funicular ride is spectacular for those brave enough!  We opted to have a quick peek at the church and then have a walk on the trails.  We also managed to squeeze in time for two hot, strong coffees and a chocolate croissant!!

 

There were lots of really energetic people running and cycling up the mountain.  The trail we started on gave us a great view but we didn't have time to go very far.  The drive down the mountain was less scary, but I hated to see people leaning to one side, craning their necks for a look.  The bus took us to the airport where we hopped on a shuttle to take us to a nearby airport for our last night in Spain. 

We had a great vacation.  Cruising was a really nice way to see alot of different places without having to schlepp our bags around and find places to eat.  It gave us a taste of Italy and France and let us know that there is much, much more to see!