When Extraordinary Situations Strike in a Life Lived Abroad

On March 12, 2020March 12, 2020 By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Expat Life16 Comments

Don’t Underestimate the Emotional Quotient of Feeling Far Far Away

AND ALSO | PLEASE DON’T JUDGE MY RESPONSE

We live in Copenhagen. For the last five years. And last night, the Prime Minister of Denmark announced that the country would go on lockdown, in an effort to mitigate the spread of the novel Coronavirus COVID19. Schools and universities and daycares would close. Public sector employees would be sent home (with pay.) Cultural institutions should shutter. People were recommended to work from home. Indoor gatherings of 100+ participants to be banned. This is serious stuff. Not since World War II has the little Scandinavian nation of Denmark recommended such a lockdown. Continue reading “When Extraordinary Situations Strike in a Life Lived Abroad” →

How One Little Word Can Mean So Much When You Live Around the World

On June 4, 2019June 5, 2019 By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn #expatinDenmark, Expat Life2 Comments

Sometimes it’s the simplest of interactions that make the most impact

SAYING SEE YOU LATER ALLIGATOR IN DANISH

“Ses!”

Walking away from our middle son’s most recent football match, we were passed by some of his teammates heading home from the game by bicycle. Because it’s Denmark. It’s how you do. As they rode past, each called out, “Ses Q!” See you. A small head nod or raise of the hand with his reply, “Ses.”

See you. It’s such a simple phrase. Ses. Spoken between boys. But the sentiment behind it? So very powerful. Especially for an expatriate. Or an immigrant. Or a migrant. Whatever you want to call me. It’s powerful. For me. For him. For us. Choosing a life lived across borders. Calling Denmark home. Continue reading “How One Little Word Can Mean So Much When You Live Around the World” →

Happy St. Patrick’s Day from this American Mutt

On March 17, 2018March 19, 2018 By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn Copenhagen, Expat Life8 Comments

I am going to go full American on you for a minute. Or two. Bear with me. But it’s Saint Patrick’s Day. And with 32.3 million¹ self-proclaimed Irish-Americans, myself included, it’s our day to do so. That’s 1 in 10 Americans people. But wait. Isn’t St. Patrick’s Day Irish? Like from IRELAND. Yes. Yes. It is. Did you see what I did there? Claimed it for my own? Pretty American eh? Hang on. Don’t be offended yet. Let me explain.

Saint Patrick’s Day is kind of a pretty big deal in the United States and my given name is Erin Kathleen. Kind of Irish. My brother is Michael Shannon and my other brother is Colin Patrick. We had an Irish Setter named “Paddy” growing up. And as cliche, groan-worthy or just downright confusing as it may sound to actual Irish people, every year on March 17th my mom made corned beef and cabbage, soda bread and a side of green jello salad. I now know how Irish-American that meal is. Especially the lime jello. There was nothing grown from the earth in that “salad,” just saying. My own children made leprechaun traps at school and my sister in law puts green food coloring in the toilet as “evidence” of their sneaky appearance overnight. Think of it like the “Elf on the Shelf” of March. Thanks Pinterest. March 17th is a big day. To us Irish-Americans. “Kiss me, I’m Irish.” Continue reading “Happy St. Patrick’s Day from this American Mutt” →

Things I am Thankful for Living In Denmark

On November 25, 2016November 30, 2016 By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Copenhagen, Denmark, Expat Life, ExpatinDenmark17 Comments

Thanksgiving is not a holiday in Denmark. There is no time off work. The kids get no break from school. We will not be traveling anywhere. Unless you count my husband’s day trip across Denmark to a meeting in Aarhus, delivering him back home late. My eldest son was busy delivering pizzas. The youngest had studies for a spelling test today. It was a regular day here in Denmark. It was Thursday. Torsdag to the Danes.

But that is ok. Full turkeys are hard to come by. If you do find one, it may cost you a pretty penny. Or plenty of kroner. Probably both. And good luck finding a Russet or a Yukon gold. There is some crazy nut tax that makes pecan use prohibitive or down right luxurious depending on your position and wallet. Canned pumpkin is equally overpriced and only found at the “American/British” aisle in certain grocers popular with expatriates. Maybe you have an inside source at the American Embassy. Or maybe you thought ahead and smuggled back a few cans of Libby’s and the requisite evaporated milk.

Most everything else you can find for your traditional recipes that you may or may not have printed, preserved and packed over the border with you when you passed. But, I didn’t make them yesterday. It’s ok. We’ll do it tomorrow. When we have time and can tune in some American college football via the old rabbit ears of streaming internet with VPN hiders. Yep. We may even head to the nearby park and toss the pigskin around. The football. Not the futbol. The football. It’s brown. And has laces. At least ours does. At Thanksgiving.

And while it may not be traditional or specifically timely, thankful we are. Grateful that we can. We miss family and friends celebrating afar, especially on days like Thanksgiving. But we are grateful that we have had this opportunity to explore this life across borders. Over here in Denmark. These are some of the things that I’m thankful for. Things that make this our Danish life.

THINGS I AM THANKFUL FOR IN OUR DANISH LIFE

Colorful buildings and cobblestone streets.

In a country where the normal dress is some shade of black from head to toe and the light fades more with each turn of the calendar – I appreciate the Danes preference for colorful homes – inside and out. Cheers from #Copenhagen!

A photo posted by Erin McMillen Gustafson (@oregongirl_aroundtheworld) on Nov 5, 2015 at 2:28am PST

Continue reading “Things I am Thankful for Living In Denmark” →

Slik eller Ballade is Trick or Treat for Danes

On November 1, 2016November 9, 2016 By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn #expatinDenmark, American Expat, Copenhagen, Denmark, Expat Life, Halloween12 Comments

Last night we celebrated an authentically Danish Halloween. That statement alone may seem controversial to some. Do Danes even do Halloween? Why yes. Yes they do. But Danes fall on two sides of the fence when it comes to the prevalence of what they see as a very American holiday. Some embrace it full on, while others ignore it, or worse, admonish the obvious escalation in adoption of the holiday here. We have witnessed an increase in participation, just in the two years that we have lived in Copenhagen. More jack-o-lanterns gleaming from windows and restaurant perches. Orange and black decorations in shops and on the street. Pumpkins for sale for the entire month of October.

And for what it is worth, last night’s Halloween was definitively Danish. How so? Let me share. First of all we took our daughter to a Danish neighborhood. One of the cutest neighborhoods in Copenhagen if you ask me. Trick or treating in apartment blocks where we live proves a challenge. What bell to ring and which floor to traipse to? Hard to know in a town that only partially celebrates. So we walked a little ways to the Kartofflerækkerne. The “potato rows.” Darling little row houses sit sandwiched along several blocks near the Lakes in Østerbro. You can find them running between Øster Søgade and Øster Farimagsgade. Each with a little fenced yard, on Halloween their gates and doors are open. Decorated with cobwebs, jack-o-lanterns and fog machines. Many sporting more haunting decor.