It is pitch dark outside and it has been raining for hours. Jochem and Joop are trying to save one of the boats from sinking but now they’ve been gone so long that I think they either drowned or gave up and found a dry place to heat up. Last option being the most likely of course! I guess the battery died again. Being a boat owner has its ups and downs but Jochem has no regrets so far. He just wish he had more time to work on them!
We just got back from a 5-day visit to the Netherlands and it was great to see friends and family again and to enjoy some sunshine and warmth. Unfortunately we didn’t have time to meet up with all of you but I hope to see the once we missed at our next visit. 5 days is just not long enough! One of our main reasons for visiting the NL this time was to enjoy an evening in the company of Paula and Martin who celebrated their 10th anniversary in style inviting 40 friends to one of the best restaurants in Nijmegen. Thank you so much for a culinary experience to dream about for a long time and great company!
Autumn should not be here yet but it is. The trees are changing colour, the football practice is almost over for the season and the changing weather makes it difficult to plan what to wear. Some days are struck with sun and warm winds while others stay grey and wet. On those days eating marshmallows in front of the fireplace becomes an inviting option!
Next weekend we celebrate Elsa’s 10th birthday with the family and once again I look at the numbers and wonder how fast time can actually go. The move two years ago to Sweden was the best thing ever for Elsa. I guess she is just a very Swedish child and she loves her school, her group of close friends and cant wait to have a sleepover party in a few weeks time. The slower paste, the outdoor lifestyle and easy access to different activities (not taking the car everywhere and lower crime rate) suits her perfectly. Currently she is talking about a future in Switzerland (restaurant school) but we will see what the future holds (heard they had really good restaurant schools in the NL as well). Ingrid (11) will start the English International School next year and that is about how far I dear to plan in our family life (unless she hasn’t emigrated to Australia by then). Jochem just quit his job and moved to Sweden and now the girls are talking about leaving the country. Well, a few more years I guess we can hold on to them! Luckily Nils (6) still live with the notion that he never wants to leave us!
After an intensive week of travelling to Belgium, back to Sweden and then to the NL I am looking forward to two weeks in Ulriceham, working and spending time with the family! Enjoy yours!
May 2013
in Ulricehamn
Sunday, September 12, 2010
Saturday, September 4, 2010
A moose head for the wall?
Where have you been? Are you OK? You haven’t written anything on your blog in ages…
Yes, I am guilty. During summer I lived in Internet free land (which was absolutely great for a while! Try it if you dare!)and then when work started again I was sucked in with the tornado of overwhelming work. Today, which is Saturday I got in at work at 8 am and left at 6 pm with no break, no lunch and a head as a veggie, no doubt. I am trying to finish a proposal before Tuesday and this week I got a no on a previous proposal. I hate when that happens and the only thing I can do to make me feel better is to sit down and try it again but then better.
Jochem knows how I am and let me do my thing. He spent a day at the swimming pool, in the park, at the playground and cut the lawn while simultaneously looking after 10 kids. No wonder he had to get away to pick up a moose head in between. I have no idea what he wants to use it for (it is huge!) but maybe this is as close he will ever come to the Swedish hunting culture. He can kill flies but that is about how far he goes when it comes to killing living species.
This week we celebrated the multicultural aspects of Ulricehamn and I enjoyed a performance on discrimination, a tasty lunch made by some of our newcomers and a football tournament which was held within the municipal organisation. Different departments played against each other and one team consisted of refugees currently taking part in the introduction program. The football tournament was great! We were really good at passing the ball between us as very few of us were fit enough to run but until next time we need to practise making goals. You know you are getting old when you start talking about the importance of taking part instead of winning. Or as one of my colleagues said: You see the ball, you think you can reach is and somehow you just don’t! We ended last but had a ball doing so!
After the game, the organisers (our refugee department and the people attending their program) served hotdogs and we had some time to chat. Ulricehamn has a success rate of 86 % of the newcomers getting into work and local businesses are good at taking in newcomers, which is really important! The week was filled with activities but I didn’t have time for more than this but I heard form others about really interesting and fun seminars and next year I will try and take part in more activities. Integration is not about them finding their way into our society. It is about us meeting them and them getting a chance to meet us!
Tomorrow we will have a day with the kids, watch a football game and on Monday I go for a day to Brussels. In the end of the week we are off to the Netherlands for a short visit and we are all looking forward to it! The kids are planning to eat lots of fries with mayo and I will go shopping, see friends and family and Jochem and I will attend the 10th anniversary of Paula and Martien. We are all longing to go!!
And, if you wonder how Jochems gap-year is going (started 2 months ago) I can tell you that he is starting up a new business and has lots of plans for the coming year. Did you ever think he would do nothing for a year!
Take care everyone!
Yes, I am guilty. During summer I lived in Internet free land (which was absolutely great for a while! Try it if you dare!)and then when work started again I was sucked in with the tornado of overwhelming work. Today, which is Saturday I got in at work at 8 am and left at 6 pm with no break, no lunch and a head as a veggie, no doubt. I am trying to finish a proposal before Tuesday and this week I got a no on a previous proposal. I hate when that happens and the only thing I can do to make me feel better is to sit down and try it again but then better.
Jochem knows how I am and let me do my thing. He spent a day at the swimming pool, in the park, at the playground and cut the lawn while simultaneously looking after 10 kids. No wonder he had to get away to pick up a moose head in between. I have no idea what he wants to use it for (it is huge!) but maybe this is as close he will ever come to the Swedish hunting culture. He can kill flies but that is about how far he goes when it comes to killing living species.
This week we celebrated the multicultural aspects of Ulricehamn and I enjoyed a performance on discrimination, a tasty lunch made by some of our newcomers and a football tournament which was held within the municipal organisation. Different departments played against each other and one team consisted of refugees currently taking part in the introduction program. The football tournament was great! We were really good at passing the ball between us as very few of us were fit enough to run but until next time we need to practise making goals. You know you are getting old when you start talking about the importance of taking part instead of winning. Or as one of my colleagues said: You see the ball, you think you can reach is and somehow you just don’t! We ended last but had a ball doing so!
After the game, the organisers (our refugee department and the people attending their program) served hotdogs and we had some time to chat. Ulricehamn has a success rate of 86 % of the newcomers getting into work and local businesses are good at taking in newcomers, which is really important! The week was filled with activities but I didn’t have time for more than this but I heard form others about really interesting and fun seminars and next year I will try and take part in more activities. Integration is not about them finding their way into our society. It is about us meeting them and them getting a chance to meet us!
Tomorrow we will have a day with the kids, watch a football game and on Monday I go for a day to Brussels. In the end of the week we are off to the Netherlands for a short visit and we are all looking forward to it! The kids are planning to eat lots of fries with mayo and I will go shopping, see friends and family and Jochem and I will attend the 10th anniversary of Paula and Martien. We are all longing to go!!
And, if you wonder how Jochems gap-year is going (started 2 months ago) I can tell you that he is starting up a new business and has lots of plans for the coming year. Did you ever think he would do nothing for a year!
Take care everyone!
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