Tag: #americanexpat

Norway by Rail

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Family Travel, Norway, Scandinavia, Travel36 Comments
Start Your Norway in a Nutshell Tour by Train from Oslo

Summer break is almost here and maybe Norway is on your list. If you haven’t taken the overnight ferry from Copenhagen to Oslo – that is an experience in and of itself. Spend time in the elegant and accessible city, but don’t limit your Norwegian trip to Oslo. Norway really shines outside the capital. Ride along as I revisit our train trip from Oslo to fjord country… this is Norway by rail.

ALL ABOARD | STUNNING NORWEGIAN SCENERY FROM THE TRACKS

Wending along in the eighth of ten cars, feeling the pull and sway along the tracks. Remarkably insulated from the bracing sound of metal wheels upon steel rails. Suprisingly infrequent is the clickety-clacking one most associates with this mode of travel. I love riding the train.

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Open letter to my newly expatriated self

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Expat, Expat Life14 Comments
So You’re Moving Around the World?

Hello you doe-eyed, adventurous, naive, cute little baby expat you. Hi – how are you? Here in Denmark – we say “hej!” It sounds like Hi. Don’t worry – you’ve got that one in the bag. No accent required. Have you moved yet? No? Ok. So – you are still super excited, anxious, about ready to pop, explode inside and get this ball rolling. About as ready as you were to have your first child at 39 weeks pregnant. People just need to stop telling you how much easier it is when the baby is on the inside and how much sleep you won’t be getting. All you want is to meet this little creature kicking and prodding you and keeping you awake at night. Get out already. That is what it feels like right now before the big move abroad. I get it. You want to start the starting. Move already.

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Valentines Day American Danish British

Valentine’s Day is not the same to a Dane (or a Brit.)

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Copenhagen, Denmark, Expat Life12 Comments

There were things we knew before even stepping on that plane – flying us around the world from Portland, Oregon to Copenhagen, Denmark. Our family of five was very aware that some cultural assimilation would be a baseline requirement in making our expatriation successful. Language barriers aside, there are little cultural norms and rules that make a society tick and operate smoothly. On the surface, life in Denmark is not radically different from our life in the United States. And because we “look like the locals,” there is a blanket assumption that we will know, understand and adhere to all those little rules. Danes like rules.

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Copenhagen Denmark Snow

Copenhagen in the Snow

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Bike Culture, Biking, Copenhagen, Danish, Denmark, Expat Life, ExpatinDenmark, Family Travel, København, Scandinavia, Show Your World, Vikings40 Comments

Winter in Denmark can feel long, dark and damp. When the little white lights of a perfect Dansk Jul are boxed up and put away ‘til next… October, the limited daylight of January and into February here can be challenging. But if you are lucky and like manna from heaven, the city becomes blanketed in fluffy white flaked goodness – watch out – Copenhagen’s charm shifts into overdrive. Snow. Snow. Snow! Sne in Danish.

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Being Human

On By oregongirlaroundtheworldIn American Expat, Being Human, Copenhagen, Danish Healthcare, Denmark, Expat, Expat Life, ExpatinDenmark, København8 Comments

Writing a blog about an expatriated family – our growing pains and exploits in a new local and as we travel is a fun, cathartic way to explore oneself while sharing our adventures. But when the world goes and throws crazy at you in every iteration – like organized terrorist attacks in the City of Lights; Stateside school shootings in your “from” and now NOT your from; bombs in Middle Eastern cities; or refugee babies dying on beaches next to their families trying to escape an unspeakable horrific only to encounter more horrific and unwelcome. It makes me stop. It cramps my fingers. I can’t write. It cramps my heart. It makes me sick. It wakes me up at night. I have to breathe through it all to survive.

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