About a year ago I started working on a proposal for the European Social Funds for the municipality for Ulricehamn. We had just started a process of changing the structure of how things are managed and run here and had done an analysis about the organization in order to look at improvement possibilities. I suggested that we tried to get external funding for the process of changing the organization into a learning organization and wrote a proposal that granted us 650 000 Euros. So, now we are about to start the process of turning the municipality of Ulricehamn into a learning organization and I have gotten a new job as project manager. A fun and great challenge!
A learning organization is the term given to an organization that facilitates the learning of its members and continuously transforms itself. We live in a global world where we constantly have to improve the services we provide and where new tasks are added. To work in a modern organization demands a lot and the idea with this project is to give all staff the tools they need to do the job in the most successful way. 100 managers and 200 staff member will get extra training but the biggest challenge is to spread the new way of working to all members of staff (all 2000). The main benefits of working this way is to assure both innovation and quality while staying competitive and customer orientated. For an outsider I can see that it sounds a bit unclear but I think this can really make a difference in our organization. If your tasks are clear, well defined and you feel that you know what to do or who to turn to with questions, challenges or problems I think you can do a better job. Secondly, if you know how to measure that you are doing the right thing, for the right price with the correct outcome instead of just thinking that you are doing the right thing we are on the right track.
Obviously the municipality has been working with these ideas before but we have not been able to implement it all over in the organization and different quality systems have developed in different parts of the organization. Now, with the support of the European Union, we can take a holistic approach and hopefully improve both the outcome of the organization and the individual engagement in a positive way. The project involves 2000 people and it will not work out if people do not feel committed, encouraged and involved. It is a fantastic challenge and I am fortunate that I have a fab team helping me in the process!
But, life is not only about work and now we are finally seeing a bit of spring here in Ulricehamn. The bicycles are about to be used, the winter jackets are going into storage and Jochem recently started to work on his boats again. Next week the girls’ drama class will show off their spring performance and in the end of April Nils tennis lessons will be moved outside. I don’t know where time is going but it goes fast for sure. In a few weeks we will enjoy Easter break and hope to visit my family and some friends in Skåne and in the end of April 6 foreign families are arriving for the 15 reunion of “the Fire Station exchange students at Lund University 1996”!
Really looking forward seeing you all!
May 2013
in Ulricehamn
Sunday, April 3, 2011
Friday, March 18, 2011
You will envy me...
I had the idea of writing something about the light that arrives with spring and how different spring light looks in different parts of the world. The sunlight in South Africa is warm, reflected by the red sand and gives all colors a warm glow. The spring light in Sweden is cool, not harsh but definitely not warm. Looking at Scandinavian design and the color scheme we use you see the connection. However, this idea died this morning when I woke up at 6.15 am. to a sound that I recognized but that felt all wrong.
We have had several days of warm spring winds, almost all snow has melted away, the city trucks have been collecting the tons of sand they spread on icy streets all winter and I have started using my spring coats. From my bed I heard something really weird. I heard something that sounded like snow shoveling? And, looking out the window I saw a winter wonderland and asked myself what I have done to deserve this. So, the rest of my family loves winter. Fine, I can admit that a white Christmas is wonderful. Snow is better than grey rain so I have not been missing Welsh or Dutch winters but we got snow already in November and I had already moved on to spring. Jochem is obviously abroad so first I spent half an hour shoveling snow before work this morning and as soon as I got home from work I had to do another hour.
I am not very good at it. My neighbors have slick driveways and on the path passing their houses not a spot of snow. If you want to drive up our driveway you have to watch out for the large pile of snow on the right side and in front of the garage. To me it is still a mystery where people put their snow. I push it to different corners, get tired, sweaty, grumpy and the driveway is full of white “left over’s” (snow that did not stay on the shovel). Maybe it is my southern Swedish genes. I did not grow up with snow so I can’t handle it very well. We never had a lecture at school in how to shovel and I can’t remember doing it as a child. But, it is probably an attitude problem. I feel discontent just thinking about it and know that if I start out shoveling snow with a negative attitude it won’t make the experience any better. So, I try to convince myself that this is good exercise and that my arms will look fab this summer (if we ever get to summer…).
You will all look at my arms and at my J Lo butt this summer and wonder – where did she get that and I will tell you – this is what you get when you live in Ulricehamn!!
Lots of light spring kisses to all off you (now envious) people!
We have had several days of warm spring winds, almost all snow has melted away, the city trucks have been collecting the tons of sand they spread on icy streets all winter and I have started using my spring coats. From my bed I heard something really weird. I heard something that sounded like snow shoveling? And, looking out the window I saw a winter wonderland and asked myself what I have done to deserve this. So, the rest of my family loves winter. Fine, I can admit that a white Christmas is wonderful. Snow is better than grey rain so I have not been missing Welsh or Dutch winters but we got snow already in November and I had already moved on to spring. Jochem is obviously abroad so first I spent half an hour shoveling snow before work this morning and as soon as I got home from work I had to do another hour.
I am not very good at it. My neighbors have slick driveways and on the path passing their houses not a spot of snow. If you want to drive up our driveway you have to watch out for the large pile of snow on the right side and in front of the garage. To me it is still a mystery where people put their snow. I push it to different corners, get tired, sweaty, grumpy and the driveway is full of white “left over’s” (snow that did not stay on the shovel). Maybe it is my southern Swedish genes. I did not grow up with snow so I can’t handle it very well. We never had a lecture at school in how to shovel and I can’t remember doing it as a child. But, it is probably an attitude problem. I feel discontent just thinking about it and know that if I start out shoveling snow with a negative attitude it won’t make the experience any better. So, I try to convince myself that this is good exercise and that my arms will look fab this summer (if we ever get to summer…).
You will all look at my arms and at my J Lo butt this summer and wonder – where did she get that and I will tell you – this is what you get when you live in Ulricehamn!!
Lots of light spring kisses to all off you (now envious) people!
Monday, March 14, 2011
Happy going or not?
We have had several friends from the Netherlands, from the south of Sweden and local friends visiting us in the last few weeks. It is great to have friends visiting from all over, with different cultural backgrounds or different views on life and it gives us input in our daily lives and sometimes it challenges our views. Many guests who come from big cities and busy areas comment on the slow pace, the smallness of things here, the lack of traffic jams and sometimes the lack of things to do (if you are not into sports or nature).
The other night we sat down with some friends, had a glass of wine and somehow the discussion came to focus around what we want with our lives, where we see ourselves in a few years time and what makes us happy. Being 4 adults, two who have suffered a burn out, one recently divorced and one not sure what she wants in life it is safe to say that we did not get to a complete answer. The idea of what makes us happy stayed in my head for a few days and I started thinking about an article I read a while ago that stated that statistically (on a global scale) we are the least happy at the age of 46 (but in Switzerland you hit bottom at 35 already).
If this is true and if there is a U-bend happiness curve (as David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College believes) I will get less happy in the coming years but after 46 life will look brighter. We seem to start out as happy going individuals but due to different aspects of life (wanting to achieve high goals, finding a perfect partner, having kids, fulfilling our individual needs etc.) we get more and more miserable. We statistically hit bottom at 46 but then, somewhere along the way we start getting happier again. According to a writer at the Economist the reason for this could be that we give up the struggle (sounds sad, doesn’t it?) or that we are better suited to deal with trouble as we grow older. We have learnt our life lesson well. What does this actually mean? That we have to fail to feel good again? That we have to throw in the towel and give up if we want to feel happy?
I don´t know but for fun I Goggled happiness and found out some interesting statistics. I you are a happy American you probably live in Hawaii (according to Helathways well-being index, 2011). Actually all American states that score high on happiness are places with a low population or as journalist Carol Bengle Gilbert says; “These states leave the alarming impression that Americans are happiest when they don´t have to deal with another. Are the happiest states the least social?” I crossed checked this comment with The World Map of Happiness which lists the 20 most happy countries in the world and the top 5 countries are the following; Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and the Bahamas. Sweden is on 7th place. Well, all the top positions are held by small countries with a relatively small population. And, with this not whatsoever statistical analysis I can see many favorable aspects for my own little hometown. We are few people, spread out on a large area, with a high percentage married people (statistically makes you happier) and we are socially active in many sports clubs (also indicates an increased happiness). Do we actually know how happy we are?
Feeling happy or satisfied with life is obviously a personal feeling difficult to quantify or to measure. How do I compare my happiness to someone else and is it true, as some say, that we bother too much about happiness nowadays and expect too much out of life? More and more countries are focusing on learning more about happiness (through extensive research) as happy people produce better output, keeps a country stable, reduce crime, keeps healthcare costs at a lower level etc. Unhappy people are more often sick, feel more trapped and see fewer possibilities and sometimes you almost get the feeling that we are worse off now than in the past. I doubt that this is true. We live in a time where self-reflection is an everyday commodity and where “help yourself books” keeps our bookshelves filled. We talk about happiness; we reflect about it in books, films, on the net, with our friends etc. but are probably not less happy than 100 years ago. And, considering that we did not live this long 100 years ago the u-bent happiness curve might have looked different. Did you hit bottom at 36 instead of today’s 46? Do we have our mid-life crises later and later in life as we live longer and what defines the difficult moments? And how much of our happiness is defined by the culture we live in as we see different “bottoms” in different countries.
Well, these questions have no simple answers. I like to believe that we create our own happiness as we go along and sometimes it is easier and sometimes more difficult. Maybe because it is almost impossible to define what happiness is and what we have to do to experience it (as it changes over time). So, for me and my friends we kind of got to the conclusion that if the u-bent happiness curve is true we have already been at the bottom and are now heading for a bright future (despite having several years left to 46). I hope you are too!
The other night we sat down with some friends, had a glass of wine and somehow the discussion came to focus around what we want with our lives, where we see ourselves in a few years time and what makes us happy. Being 4 adults, two who have suffered a burn out, one recently divorced and one not sure what she wants in life it is safe to say that we did not get to a complete answer. The idea of what makes us happy stayed in my head for a few days and I started thinking about an article I read a while ago that stated that statistically (on a global scale) we are the least happy at the age of 46 (but in Switzerland you hit bottom at 35 already).
If this is true and if there is a U-bend happiness curve (as David Blanchflower, professor of economics at Dartmouth College believes) I will get less happy in the coming years but after 46 life will look brighter. We seem to start out as happy going individuals but due to different aspects of life (wanting to achieve high goals, finding a perfect partner, having kids, fulfilling our individual needs etc.) we get more and more miserable. We statistically hit bottom at 46 but then, somewhere along the way we start getting happier again. According to a writer at the Economist the reason for this could be that we give up the struggle (sounds sad, doesn’t it?) or that we are better suited to deal with trouble as we grow older. We have learnt our life lesson well. What does this actually mean? That we have to fail to feel good again? That we have to throw in the towel and give up if we want to feel happy?
I don´t know but for fun I Goggled happiness and found out some interesting statistics. I you are a happy American you probably live in Hawaii (according to Helathways well-being index, 2011). Actually all American states that score high on happiness are places with a low population or as journalist Carol Bengle Gilbert says; “These states leave the alarming impression that Americans are happiest when they don´t have to deal with another. Are the happiest states the least social?” I crossed checked this comment with The World Map of Happiness which lists the 20 most happy countries in the world and the top 5 countries are the following; Denmark, Switzerland, Austria, Iceland and the Bahamas. Sweden is on 7th place. Well, all the top positions are held by small countries with a relatively small population. And, with this not whatsoever statistical analysis I can see many favorable aspects for my own little hometown. We are few people, spread out on a large area, with a high percentage married people (statistically makes you happier) and we are socially active in many sports clubs (also indicates an increased happiness). Do we actually know how happy we are?
Feeling happy or satisfied with life is obviously a personal feeling difficult to quantify or to measure. How do I compare my happiness to someone else and is it true, as some say, that we bother too much about happiness nowadays and expect too much out of life? More and more countries are focusing on learning more about happiness (through extensive research) as happy people produce better output, keeps a country stable, reduce crime, keeps healthcare costs at a lower level etc. Unhappy people are more often sick, feel more trapped and see fewer possibilities and sometimes you almost get the feeling that we are worse off now than in the past. I doubt that this is true. We live in a time where self-reflection is an everyday commodity and where “help yourself books” keeps our bookshelves filled. We talk about happiness; we reflect about it in books, films, on the net, with our friends etc. but are probably not less happy than 100 years ago. And, considering that we did not live this long 100 years ago the u-bent happiness curve might have looked different. Did you hit bottom at 36 instead of today’s 46? Do we have our mid-life crises later and later in life as we live longer and what defines the difficult moments? And how much of our happiness is defined by the culture we live in as we see different “bottoms” in different countries.
Well, these questions have no simple answers. I like to believe that we create our own happiness as we go along and sometimes it is easier and sometimes more difficult. Maybe because it is almost impossible to define what happiness is and what we have to do to experience it (as it changes over time). So, for me and my friends we kind of got to the conclusion that if the u-bent happiness curve is true we have already been at the bottom and are now heading for a bright future (despite having several years left to 46). I hope you are too!
Wednesday, February 23, 2011
85 is not enough! Where is the committment?
I got a mail from Brazil. Fabio, who is interested in immigrating to Sweden and who has been in contact with me before, has gotten a job offer in Karlsborg as a dentist. This is great for him and I am looking forward hearing how things work out for him and his family. I know that we desperately need doctors and dentist also in our region but somehow the recruitment here takes a longer time. With all the discussions in media regarding the difficulties of finding qualified people I wonder why we don’t see more international recruitment going on and why businesses do not look across the border in a larger extent. I guess many businesses do not see the job market as truly global but I think they would be surprised at what qualifications they could actually attract from abroad if they looked into the possibilities out there.
Our neighbor is in need of a programmer with specific skills and to help out Jochem has put an ad on a Dutch webpage aimed at people who wants to emigrate from the Netherlands. At this site employers from all over the world can advertise free of charge for skilled workers. I have no idea if this ad will lead to a successful recruitment and increase the population in Ulricehamn but it will be nice to see what happens. The municipality is currently involve in an emigration project together with 7 other municipalities and the project which is now at its 3rd year has been improving each year (higher educated people address us, less dreamers, people are devoted and studding Swedish etc.) However, I think we could bring it to another level and match the needs of our local businesses even better with the skilled individuals wanting to move here. I want to expand the project, involve more partners, more countries and get EU grants to help us in the process. However, at the moment I get positive feedback on the idea but no resources to put it into action so it keeps on being an idea! In short I think it has to do with ownership. Who is responsible for businesses finding skilled workers and for the growth (in human capital and in financial capital) of our region? All of us together (businesses, politicians, civil servants and inhabitants) but the task itself has no true owner.
The municipality of Ulricehamn grew with 85 inhabitants in 2010. That is not enough if we should reach the goal of 25 000 inhabitants in 2020. We need to get organized if we want to reach this goal and we need to set up targets and discuss ownership. Naturally it is easy to see that the municipality should be responsible for the master plan but it is also vital that we all feel committed to increase the inhabitants of this town and to see this place flourish and grow. Maybe Fabio from Brazil will find his way to Ulricehamn and a job as a dentist in our region or maybe we will see a Dutch programmer living out his dream in Gällstad one day.
And meanwhile I enjoy the days that slowly becomes longer and lighter, giving us the promises of a spring to come. Tomorrow Jenny, Jörgen and their 3 kids arrive to try out the skiing possibilities here and we look forward having them over!
Our neighbor is in need of a programmer with specific skills and to help out Jochem has put an ad on a Dutch webpage aimed at people who wants to emigrate from the Netherlands. At this site employers from all over the world can advertise free of charge for skilled workers. I have no idea if this ad will lead to a successful recruitment and increase the population in Ulricehamn but it will be nice to see what happens. The municipality is currently involve in an emigration project together with 7 other municipalities and the project which is now at its 3rd year has been improving each year (higher educated people address us, less dreamers, people are devoted and studding Swedish etc.) However, I think we could bring it to another level and match the needs of our local businesses even better with the skilled individuals wanting to move here. I want to expand the project, involve more partners, more countries and get EU grants to help us in the process. However, at the moment I get positive feedback on the idea but no resources to put it into action so it keeps on being an idea! In short I think it has to do with ownership. Who is responsible for businesses finding skilled workers and for the growth (in human capital and in financial capital) of our region? All of us together (businesses, politicians, civil servants and inhabitants) but the task itself has no true owner.
The municipality of Ulricehamn grew with 85 inhabitants in 2010. That is not enough if we should reach the goal of 25 000 inhabitants in 2020. We need to get organized if we want to reach this goal and we need to set up targets and discuss ownership. Naturally it is easy to see that the municipality should be responsible for the master plan but it is also vital that we all feel committed to increase the inhabitants of this town and to see this place flourish and grow. Maybe Fabio from Brazil will find his way to Ulricehamn and a job as a dentist in our region or maybe we will see a Dutch programmer living out his dream in Gällstad one day.
And meanwhile I enjoy the days that slowly becomes longer and lighter, giving us the promises of a spring to come. Tomorrow Jenny, Jörgen and their 3 kids arrive to try out the skiing possibilities here and we look forward having them over!
Thursday, February 17, 2011
Friendships to last a lifetime
Sometimes something small can get so big when you realize what it actually means! A letter arrived!
We got invited to the 40th birthday party of a friend here in Ulricehamn. I love parties and I love birthdays and especially when the birthday girl is someone special. The invitation showed a lifetime of pictures – cute, fun and crazy pictures – which all sent a message of the personality turning 40 in April. I immediately started writing down words that would serve as brainstorming material for a birthday greeting and while doing this I realized that I only know her since 3 years. We met at work here in Ulricehamn and today I see her as one of my dearest friends. Our three years here has gone fast but also deep! And, despite not knowing each other for very long I am sure that if we had met at 16 we would have clicked. At least we had the same terrible hairstyle! Wonder when my kids will come home and tell me that they desperately need a perm!
At the emigration fair last weekend someone asked me how long it took for us when we moved to Ulricehamn to get into the social life. They had heard that Swedish people could be difficult to get to know. I can’t answer for all Swedes but I can say that we have been very fortunate in Ulricehamn and that we’ve met people here that will stay in our hearts forever!
So get ready for your big day Katrin and cheers to another 40 years coming on!
We got invited to the 40th birthday party of a friend here in Ulricehamn. I love parties and I love birthdays and especially when the birthday girl is someone special. The invitation showed a lifetime of pictures – cute, fun and crazy pictures – which all sent a message of the personality turning 40 in April. I immediately started writing down words that would serve as brainstorming material for a birthday greeting and while doing this I realized that I only know her since 3 years. We met at work here in Ulricehamn and today I see her as one of my dearest friends. Our three years here has gone fast but also deep! And, despite not knowing each other for very long I am sure that if we had met at 16 we would have clicked. At least we had the same terrible hairstyle! Wonder when my kids will come home and tell me that they desperately need a perm!
At the emigration fair last weekend someone asked me how long it took for us when we moved to Ulricehamn to get into the social life. They had heard that Swedish people could be difficult to get to know. I can’t answer for all Swedes but I can say that we have been very fortunate in Ulricehamn and that we’ve met people here that will stay in our hearts forever!
So get ready for your big day Katrin and cheers to another 40 years coming on!
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Dutch emigration - one way to increase our possibilities!
I drove Jochem to the airport on Tuesday morning and we decided that it is time for a date soon. In the last 4 weeks I have been on 13 different flights, travelled from Spain in the south to Härnösand in the north and been to Jacques funeral in the Netherlands in between. Jochem also had to travel and my parents came over to help out. It is great to have parents who help out despite having to travel in snowy weather to get here, who cook for us and who spoil us all! Now I am planning to stay put in Ulricehamn for a while and enjoy the snow, the family and you visitors coming to enjoy the winter in the coming weeks.
The last 5 days I spent in the Netherlands taking part in a Dutch emigration fair. 305 Dutch people choose to leave the NL each day and the interest for moving to Scandinavia is great. For many Swedish people it is odd to think of emigration if you have a job, a house and a social setting you feel comfortable in. However, the reason that so many people look at the possibilities at living in another country has to do with the size of the country and its population. The NL is 14 times smaller than Sweden with a population of 16 million people. It is crowded, enormous traffic jams, high property prices, higher crime rate than here and almost no more nature. In Sweden, which is one of the largest countries in Europe and with a small population of 9 million, we have a lot of nature and many Swedish people prefer to move to bigger cities. Of the 290 municipalities we have in Sweden, 250 are losing their inhabitants.
You could say that if people do not want to live on the countryside – why care? Why do we want to attract more inhabitants to the Swedish countryside and why should we aim for the Dutch? Well, first of all Swedish municipalities have taxation right and each municipality is an economy of its own. With a decreasing population, less money enters the municipality and the harder it is to maintain a high social standard and offer good schools, good elderly care, run swimming pools, libraries etc. Due to this most municipalities wants to grow and attract new inhabitants. Secondly, when people leave the countryside and move to the bigger cities it gets harder for remaining businesses to find suitable staff, to grow and develop their business. Of all European countries the Netherlands is the most successful country when it comes to starting new businesses and the country is famous for its entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, attracting Dutch families looking for work or to start their own businesses in Sweden is something worth looking into. About 10 000 people attended the emigration fair in Houten this weekend – all interested in a new life outside the Netherlands. At the same time the Swedish labour organisation (AMS) is expecting 65 000 new jobs to emerge in 2011 and in the coming 15 years 1,6 million Swedish people will retire leaving a huge shortage within certain sectors.
In other words – we need the Dutch or any other high skilled worker willing to test life on the Swedish country side and I hope we can get some of the doctors, veterinaries, IT people, teachers etc. we met at the fair this weekend to have a look at life in West Sweden.
And now I will prepare tonight’s salmon dish, enjoy Elsas fruit pie and a read a long, good book for the kids before I tuck them in. Not to forget to arrange for Fridays date with Jochem!
The last 5 days I spent in the Netherlands taking part in a Dutch emigration fair. 305 Dutch people choose to leave the NL each day and the interest for moving to Scandinavia is great. For many Swedish people it is odd to think of emigration if you have a job, a house and a social setting you feel comfortable in. However, the reason that so many people look at the possibilities at living in another country has to do with the size of the country and its population. The NL is 14 times smaller than Sweden with a population of 16 million people. It is crowded, enormous traffic jams, high property prices, higher crime rate than here and almost no more nature. In Sweden, which is one of the largest countries in Europe and with a small population of 9 million, we have a lot of nature and many Swedish people prefer to move to bigger cities. Of the 290 municipalities we have in Sweden, 250 are losing their inhabitants.
You could say that if people do not want to live on the countryside – why care? Why do we want to attract more inhabitants to the Swedish countryside and why should we aim for the Dutch? Well, first of all Swedish municipalities have taxation right and each municipality is an economy of its own. With a decreasing population, less money enters the municipality and the harder it is to maintain a high social standard and offer good schools, good elderly care, run swimming pools, libraries etc. Due to this most municipalities wants to grow and attract new inhabitants. Secondly, when people leave the countryside and move to the bigger cities it gets harder for remaining businesses to find suitable staff, to grow and develop their business. Of all European countries the Netherlands is the most successful country when it comes to starting new businesses and the country is famous for its entrepreneurial skills. Therefore, attracting Dutch families looking for work or to start their own businesses in Sweden is something worth looking into. About 10 000 people attended the emigration fair in Houten this weekend – all interested in a new life outside the Netherlands. At the same time the Swedish labour organisation (AMS) is expecting 65 000 new jobs to emerge in 2011 and in the coming 15 years 1,6 million Swedish people will retire leaving a huge shortage within certain sectors.
In other words – we need the Dutch or any other high skilled worker willing to test life on the Swedish country side and I hope we can get some of the doctors, veterinaries, IT people, teachers etc. we met at the fair this weekend to have a look at life in West Sweden.
And now I will prepare tonight’s salmon dish, enjoy Elsas fruit pie and a read a long, good book for the kids before I tuck them in. Not to forget to arrange for Fridays date with Jochem!
Sunday, January 30, 2011
Religious talks at the breakfast table
I had breakfast with the children this morning and it was a morning talking about granpa Jacuqes who passed away on Saturday night. The girls had lots to say and many thoughts but Nils sat quiet eating his Cherrios. And then, when we were just about finished he leaned over and said:
- Mum, now I want you to tell me what happens after.
- After what I asked.
- After death. What happens after death?
- Oh … I think grandpa believed in heaven. I think he went to heaven. No one knows what happens after death but I like to believe that we go where we want to go. Or where we were destined to go if we go anywhere. I don’t have a complete answer for you but I think you have to find your answer from many places or maybe from within.
Ingrid, who had been sitting opposite us at the breakfast table entered the discussion.
- What do you believe and what does dad think? Why do some people fight about being Protestant or Catholics while you two live happily together?
I wanted to ask her what she knew about Catholics and Protestants and where she had heard about the difficulties that has surrounded these groups for centuries but this was not the moment. We talk little about religion in our family as I think both Jochem and I have had trouble in finding faith in our own systems. Maybe we have created our own personal view on life, death and what brings sense to our lives and suddenly I remembered something Jochem said to Elsa a few years ago.
Elsa, then 5 or 6 came home and said with an angry voice to us.
- I am not baptised and I am the most religious in this family. You two are baptised and you do not believe fully.
Jochem answered her by saying that he sees himself more as a humanist and has always found it difficult to feel truly Catholic but if she was interested in learning more about the Catholic faith he would help her find out more. He then asked her if she knew what the ideas around humanism are and Elsa responded.
- It is something like you. Something about humour!
And then she smiled as if thinking that it was quite suitable for her dad to be a crazy humanist.
Maybe we all have our own ideas about faith, religion and life after death. Nils was not satisfied with my answer and also told me so. I guess a 7 year old needs to get the pieces fit the puzzle but I think Ingrid and Elsa could accept my answer. Together we could all agree that if there is a heaven, Granpa Jacques is there right now.
Tonight my parents arrived from Lund and as we talked about the funeral, which will take place in the Netherlands on Friday, they asked what could be a suitable way to show affection to Nell and to the family. Should they get flowers or put money in a foundation supporting something special? I have no idea. I have never been to a Catholic funeral before and I have never been to a funeral in the Netherlands. In Sweden we sometimes have funerals several weeks after the passing and in the Netherlands it is within 6 days. It occurred to me that even after 13 years together, Jochem and I still learn from each other, discover more about each other’s cultures, religions and families and I feel grateful to be a part of that.
And while on the Internet I found a saying, which I feel, would suit the man who calls himself a little bit a Catholic, a little bit a humanist and a little bit crazy. So here is a quote for Jochem;
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."
~Erma Bombeck
- Mum, now I want you to tell me what happens after.
- After what I asked.
- After death. What happens after death?
- Oh … I think grandpa believed in heaven. I think he went to heaven. No one knows what happens after death but I like to believe that we go where we want to go. Or where we were destined to go if we go anywhere. I don’t have a complete answer for you but I think you have to find your answer from many places or maybe from within.
Ingrid, who had been sitting opposite us at the breakfast table entered the discussion.
- What do you believe and what does dad think? Why do some people fight about being Protestant or Catholics while you two live happily together?
I wanted to ask her what she knew about Catholics and Protestants and where she had heard about the difficulties that has surrounded these groups for centuries but this was not the moment. We talk little about religion in our family as I think both Jochem and I have had trouble in finding faith in our own systems. Maybe we have created our own personal view on life, death and what brings sense to our lives and suddenly I remembered something Jochem said to Elsa a few years ago.
Elsa, then 5 or 6 came home and said with an angry voice to us.
- I am not baptised and I am the most religious in this family. You two are baptised and you do not believe fully.
Jochem answered her by saying that he sees himself more as a humanist and has always found it difficult to feel truly Catholic but if she was interested in learning more about the Catholic faith he would help her find out more. He then asked her if she knew what the ideas around humanism are and Elsa responded.
- It is something like you. Something about humour!
And then she smiled as if thinking that it was quite suitable for her dad to be a crazy humanist.
Maybe we all have our own ideas about faith, religion and life after death. Nils was not satisfied with my answer and also told me so. I guess a 7 year old needs to get the pieces fit the puzzle but I think Ingrid and Elsa could accept my answer. Together we could all agree that if there is a heaven, Granpa Jacques is there right now.
Tonight my parents arrived from Lund and as we talked about the funeral, which will take place in the Netherlands on Friday, they asked what could be a suitable way to show affection to Nell and to the family. Should they get flowers or put money in a foundation supporting something special? I have no idea. I have never been to a Catholic funeral before and I have never been to a funeral in the Netherlands. In Sweden we sometimes have funerals several weeks after the passing and in the Netherlands it is within 6 days. It occurred to me that even after 13 years together, Jochem and I still learn from each other, discover more about each other’s cultures, religions and families and I feel grateful to be a part of that.
And while on the Internet I found a saying, which I feel, would suit the man who calls himself a little bit a Catholic, a little bit a humanist and a little bit crazy. So here is a quote for Jochem;
When I stand before God at the end of my life, I would hope that I would not have a single bit of talent left, and could say, "I used everything you gave me."
~Erma Bombeck
Saturday, January 29, 2011
The last sacrament of Jacques Geeraedts
Jochem called me yesterday as I sat waiting for a flight in Oviedo, Spain to bring me back home to Sweden. The family in the Netherlands had called and Jochems dad was not doing well. It was time for the last sacrament and time to take farewell.
It is never easy to say farewell and especially when it is someone close to you, someone who has had a serious role in shaping the person you have become, the person you are. I think it goes against everything we are used to, to see our parent’s mortality. They have always been there and they were here first.
- He has had a good life, Jochem said to me, as if trying to convince his heart it was not as bad as if felt.
I sat at the airport trying to make my picture of Jacques whom I met the first time in 1997 and I think Jochem is right. Jacques has had a good life. Not an easy life but a life well lived with a partner next to him who made hard times easier. I had a book with me at the airport, which seamed to fit the moment and the mindset I was in. Let me sing you gentle songs by Linda Olsson tells a story about life, death and the choices we have to make to be able to take in love. My Jacques is a gentle, humble man of few words with a great love for teaching and sport – a man who was not afraid of love. I only met that Jacques the first few years in the late 90s and more occasionally in the years to come. In 1999 he got lost while visiting us in Nijmegen and the year after he took Ingrid, then 1, for a walk and disappeared. Several hours later, with the help of the police and an observant person they were found. Jochem went to pick them up and Jacques, filled with shame said:
- all the houses and all the streets looked the same and I had no address.
Jochem responded by telling him how they had written a note with the address and put in the wallet. Jacques had a look in his wallet and found the note. He cried.
Alzheimer is a terrible decease and it affects everyone. Jacques had it but both Nell and Jacques suffered from it, just as the rest of the family. For some years the progression was quite slow but a year or two ago Jochem realized that Jacques did not recognize him anymore. There were moments that were clearer, when memories and people would find a way into Jacques mind but they became more and more rare. Two weeks ago Jacques moved into a special home. It was a big and difficult step for Nell but a step they had to take. They have spent more than 55 years together, shared numerous moments together and climbed both mountains and travelled deep valleys.
The last sacrament is a rite in which God is uniquely active according to Catholics. As a protestant I have little knowledge of this rite but know it is important to Nell and Jacques. Yesterday a priest arrived to sprinkle holy water and say a prayer. I have learned that the last sacrament means that the priest will lay his hands on the person. The use of the priest's hands is a sign the Holy Spirit is being called down to support the dying person. The forehead and hands of the person are anointed with an oil which means that the dying person is given peace in their last moments and sins are forgiven. I like to believe that this is a special moment for both Jacques and Nell, a moment which will strengthen them on the journey to come. If you have shared 55 years together it is not easy to part.
I arrived home from Spain at midnight and Jochem left for the Netherlands at 5 am this morning. We talked about Jacques and we talked about what he has passed on to Jochem and to me.
- My dad took me to the gym hall at the school where he taught PE every Saturday when I was a kid, Jochem said. We would do gymnastic, play football, climb and practice all kinds of sports. He was there, he made me feel great, he had time and if I as a father to my kids can make them feel the same way I will have succeeded.
Every person leaves something behind, something worth keeping. We have had lots of gifts from Jacques.
Jacques Geeraedts 1926 07 18-2011 01 29
It is never easy to say farewell and especially when it is someone close to you, someone who has had a serious role in shaping the person you have become, the person you are. I think it goes against everything we are used to, to see our parent’s mortality. They have always been there and they were here first.
- He has had a good life, Jochem said to me, as if trying to convince his heart it was not as bad as if felt.
I sat at the airport trying to make my picture of Jacques whom I met the first time in 1997 and I think Jochem is right. Jacques has had a good life. Not an easy life but a life well lived with a partner next to him who made hard times easier. I had a book with me at the airport, which seamed to fit the moment and the mindset I was in. Let me sing you gentle songs by Linda Olsson tells a story about life, death and the choices we have to make to be able to take in love. My Jacques is a gentle, humble man of few words with a great love for teaching and sport – a man who was not afraid of love. I only met that Jacques the first few years in the late 90s and more occasionally in the years to come. In 1999 he got lost while visiting us in Nijmegen and the year after he took Ingrid, then 1, for a walk and disappeared. Several hours later, with the help of the police and an observant person they were found. Jochem went to pick them up and Jacques, filled with shame said:
- all the houses and all the streets looked the same and I had no address.
Jochem responded by telling him how they had written a note with the address and put in the wallet. Jacques had a look in his wallet and found the note. He cried.
Alzheimer is a terrible decease and it affects everyone. Jacques had it but both Nell and Jacques suffered from it, just as the rest of the family. For some years the progression was quite slow but a year or two ago Jochem realized that Jacques did not recognize him anymore. There were moments that were clearer, when memories and people would find a way into Jacques mind but they became more and more rare. Two weeks ago Jacques moved into a special home. It was a big and difficult step for Nell but a step they had to take. They have spent more than 55 years together, shared numerous moments together and climbed both mountains and travelled deep valleys.
The last sacrament is a rite in which God is uniquely active according to Catholics. As a protestant I have little knowledge of this rite but know it is important to Nell and Jacques. Yesterday a priest arrived to sprinkle holy water and say a prayer. I have learned that the last sacrament means that the priest will lay his hands on the person. The use of the priest's hands is a sign the Holy Spirit is being called down to support the dying person. The forehead and hands of the person are anointed with an oil which means that the dying person is given peace in their last moments and sins are forgiven. I like to believe that this is a special moment for both Jacques and Nell, a moment which will strengthen them on the journey to come. If you have shared 55 years together it is not easy to part.
I arrived home from Spain at midnight and Jochem left for the Netherlands at 5 am this morning. We talked about Jacques and we talked about what he has passed on to Jochem and to me.
- My dad took me to the gym hall at the school where he taught PE every Saturday when I was a kid, Jochem said. We would do gymnastic, play football, climb and practice all kinds of sports. He was there, he made me feel great, he had time and if I as a father to my kids can make them feel the same way I will have succeeded.
Every person leaves something behind, something worth keeping. We have had lots of gifts from Jacques.
Jacques Geeraedts 1926 07 18-2011 01 29
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
I would do it all over again!
The new year has started with yet more snow and yesterday we discovered that our snow shovel had been stolen (yes, even in small towns things disappear!). Due to the enormous amounts of snow in the last months it is almost impossible to buy a new one. Suddenly it is not only the price of gold and lithium that is raising but how much do we have to pay for a second hand snow shovel in Ulricehamn today? Actually, you cannot even find anyone selling a snow shovel in Ulricehamn right now. Luckily we´ve got great neighbours who lent us theirs. Sometimes I wonder if we will ever get to spring again but so far we are all enjoying the snow and the skiing possibilities we have here. Nils (7) has started to snowboard and the girls spend days skiing and snowboarding (they are still off school).
In March we have lived 3 years in Ulricehamn and I am still stunned and grateful for the beautiful surroundings we live in. 10 minutes outside town we have the downhill ski area and a 10 minute walk from home we can go cross country skiing. I walk to work (as part of our assignment to become a climate smart family) and Ulricehamn greets me every morning with beautiful old buildings, an ice covered lake and slippery hills. I am not sure I would have noticed the beauty of the place had I not lived in so many other places before. I have seen fantastic places around the world but here we have it in our everyday life and accessible for everyone. I think Ulricehamn should use this advantage even more in order to attract both companies, new inhabitants and tourists from close by and far away. (Currently working on it)
In February I will attend the Emigratie Beurs outside Utrecht again and I keep on meeting more and more Europeans who have chosen to move to Ulricehamn. I always ask them the same questions and their answer is often very similar to my own. I ask them why! Why Ulricehamn.
We moved from the Netherlands to Sweden in order to get another pace in our lives, to be able to enjoy life more without traffic jams and stressed people, to improve our living standard and to get a new challenge in life. At the kids school they have classmates from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Norway, Irak, China and Sweden of course. I like to think that the international atmosphere at school balances small town life and give the kids a feel for both worlds at once.
I turned 39 the other day and this weekend I will have a women-only dinner with friends from Ulricehamn and friends from Lund. Jenny and I met 21 years ago while some of my guests are newfound friends – they all give my life an extra dimension, makes me feel included and enhance the feeling that life is what you make of it!
Can’t wait to see them all on Saturday!!
In March we have lived 3 years in Ulricehamn and I am still stunned and grateful for the beautiful surroundings we live in. 10 minutes outside town we have the downhill ski area and a 10 minute walk from home we can go cross country skiing. I walk to work (as part of our assignment to become a climate smart family) and Ulricehamn greets me every morning with beautiful old buildings, an ice covered lake and slippery hills. I am not sure I would have noticed the beauty of the place had I not lived in so many other places before. I have seen fantastic places around the world but here we have it in our everyday life and accessible for everyone. I think Ulricehamn should use this advantage even more in order to attract both companies, new inhabitants and tourists from close by and far away. (Currently working on it)
In February I will attend the Emigratie Beurs outside Utrecht again and I keep on meeting more and more Europeans who have chosen to move to Ulricehamn. I always ask them the same questions and their answer is often very similar to my own. I ask them why! Why Ulricehamn.
We moved from the Netherlands to Sweden in order to get another pace in our lives, to be able to enjoy life more without traffic jams and stressed people, to improve our living standard and to get a new challenge in life. At the kids school they have classmates from Denmark, Germany, the Netherlands, Croatia, Spain, Norway, Irak, China and Sweden of course. I like to think that the international atmosphere at school balances small town life and give the kids a feel for both worlds at once.
I turned 39 the other day and this weekend I will have a women-only dinner with friends from Ulricehamn and friends from Lund. Jenny and I met 21 years ago while some of my guests are newfound friends – they all give my life an extra dimension, makes me feel included and enhance the feeling that life is what you make of it!
Can’t wait to see them all on Saturday!!
Thursday, December 23, 2010
Merry Christmas 2010!
2010 is coming to an end and I wish to take a moment and wish you all a wonderful Christmas and an exciting new year. As I write this Europe is covered in snow and most people who are getting ready to get home for Christmas are in for a challenge. Jochem is in the Netherlands for work but we hope he will make it back tonight to join us when we celebrate Christmas with my family in Skåne (south Sweden). With many cancelled flights at the moment and people trapped on train stations, airports and in traffic jams we keep our fingers crossed and hope that all of you travelling to family and friends find a safe way to get to your destination.
This is our second winter since we moved to Sweden and Ulricehamn and we have really had a chance to experience winter with lots of snow, low temperatures and outdoor winter sports. In the beginning of 2010 Jochem’s brother Harry with wife Miriam, their children and partners visited Ulricehamn for some skiing. The girls even got the local boys to take them on an ice-ride in an old Volvo over the lake and they kept skiing and snowboarding despite a temperature of minus 18 C.
In March Peter and Dorien visited us from the Netherlands and Jochem took them to our newly renovated summerhouse and arrived in a house with an indoor pool. Several pipes had broken when the electricity and heating fell out. It was a real blow to us and we had to redo the whole renovation but luckily we were helped by the talented carpenters and this fall, two years after we bought the house, we finished the project (well, all but the garden). It is a beautiful house with two apartments 30 meters in front of a lake, located 15 km south of Ulricehamn and we hope to use it a lot in the future.
This year Jochem took 5 months off work to spend more time with the family and to get to know Ulricehamn a bit more. He got involved in a local business project, fixed things with the summerhouse, worked on his two wooden boats, took care of the kids and time went very fast. In December he started doing some consultancy work abroad again but now he is trying to work more from home and less days per week. He is still trying to figure out what he wants to do in life but feels better than last year and sees many opportunities. As we celebrated 12 years of marriage this December we both joked about the idea of slowing down the pace in the coming 12 years but then realized that some people (us?) are just not very good at that, but we will try!
I enjoy my work and had a very successful year with several project proposals being awarded EU grants. Through my work I get to travel ever so often and had some fun and exciting trips to the Netherlands (with a bus trip home due to the volcano outburst), the UK and Brussels. I feel ready to increase my learning and hope that my new job in the strategic staff will challenge me.
The kids are all doing well and growing really fast. Ingrid (11) spent a month alone in the US. Well, not alone as there were 47 other kids and 30 adult staff but it was her first trip to the US and her first long camp. She participated in a “CISV – Building global friendship camp” (an international peace organisation) and had the summer of her life. She spoke English for a month with kids from 12 different nations and learned about peace, tolerance and dialog. CISV has become an important part of our lives and Elsa (10) is now getting ready for her camp next summer. I am the president of CISV Borås (local club) and the girls take part in weekend camps and other activities.
Nils (who just turned 7) also went to camp this summer, or at least that is what he calls it. He spent 4 weeks with my parents and learned how to swim while Jochem and I worked at the summerhouse. Elsa helped us out and realized that it feels different being the only child and missed her brother and sister a bit. All the kids enjoy the Montessori school, different after school activities (tennis, table tennis, football, skiing, sailing and drama), to play with their friends and we feel that they are settled and feeling very much at home here.
We had many wonderful visits from the Netherlands, Norway and from other parts of Sweden this year. We visited friends and family in the Netherlands a few times and in November we spent a great week on Sicily. Thank you all for visiting us and for being such good friends! Right now we are taking part in a local project (as a family) trying to become more climate smart and learning more about climate smart choices and attitudes so hopefully we contribute to a better climate (I even have a Swedish blog about it http://klimatsmartfamilj.blogspot.com).
As I write this I sit by the laptop of my parents in the house I grew up in. My parents retired this year and are both doing really well and keeping healthy. We are about to celebrate a traditional Swedish Christmas with my parents, my sister and her family (who are also doing very well) and tomorrow we go to my cousin Petra and celebrate the big family Christmas. For two days we will be surrounded by lots of people, many children, too much food, lots of talking, laughing and exchange our gifts. Christmas to me is about spending time together, enjoying each other’s company and laughing a lot. I hope you all get to laugh a lot this Christmas and that the new year ahead will be filled with many wonderful happenings.
Lots of love from us to you! Thank you for wonderful letters and cards. It is always great to hear how you are doing and to get the latest news from all over the world!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
This is our second winter since we moved to Sweden and Ulricehamn and we have really had a chance to experience winter with lots of snow, low temperatures and outdoor winter sports. In the beginning of 2010 Jochem’s brother Harry with wife Miriam, their children and partners visited Ulricehamn for some skiing. The girls even got the local boys to take them on an ice-ride in an old Volvo over the lake and they kept skiing and snowboarding despite a temperature of minus 18 C.
In March Peter and Dorien visited us from the Netherlands and Jochem took them to our newly renovated summerhouse and arrived in a house with an indoor pool. Several pipes had broken when the electricity and heating fell out. It was a real blow to us and we had to redo the whole renovation but luckily we were helped by the talented carpenters and this fall, two years after we bought the house, we finished the project (well, all but the garden). It is a beautiful house with two apartments 30 meters in front of a lake, located 15 km south of Ulricehamn and we hope to use it a lot in the future.
This year Jochem took 5 months off work to spend more time with the family and to get to know Ulricehamn a bit more. He got involved in a local business project, fixed things with the summerhouse, worked on his two wooden boats, took care of the kids and time went very fast. In December he started doing some consultancy work abroad again but now he is trying to work more from home and less days per week. He is still trying to figure out what he wants to do in life but feels better than last year and sees many opportunities. As we celebrated 12 years of marriage this December we both joked about the idea of slowing down the pace in the coming 12 years but then realized that some people (us?) are just not very good at that, but we will try!
I enjoy my work and had a very successful year with several project proposals being awarded EU grants. Through my work I get to travel ever so often and had some fun and exciting trips to the Netherlands (with a bus trip home due to the volcano outburst), the UK and Brussels. I feel ready to increase my learning and hope that my new job in the strategic staff will challenge me.
The kids are all doing well and growing really fast. Ingrid (11) spent a month alone in the US. Well, not alone as there were 47 other kids and 30 adult staff but it was her first trip to the US and her first long camp. She participated in a “CISV – Building global friendship camp” (an international peace organisation) and had the summer of her life. She spoke English for a month with kids from 12 different nations and learned about peace, tolerance and dialog. CISV has become an important part of our lives and Elsa (10) is now getting ready for her camp next summer. I am the president of CISV Borås (local club) and the girls take part in weekend camps and other activities.
Nils (who just turned 7) also went to camp this summer, or at least that is what he calls it. He spent 4 weeks with my parents and learned how to swim while Jochem and I worked at the summerhouse. Elsa helped us out and realized that it feels different being the only child and missed her brother and sister a bit. All the kids enjoy the Montessori school, different after school activities (tennis, table tennis, football, skiing, sailing and drama), to play with their friends and we feel that they are settled and feeling very much at home here.
We had many wonderful visits from the Netherlands, Norway and from other parts of Sweden this year. We visited friends and family in the Netherlands a few times and in November we spent a great week on Sicily. Thank you all for visiting us and for being such good friends! Right now we are taking part in a local project (as a family) trying to become more climate smart and learning more about climate smart choices and attitudes so hopefully we contribute to a better climate (I even have a Swedish blog about it http://klimatsmartfamilj.blogspot.com).
As I write this I sit by the laptop of my parents in the house I grew up in. My parents retired this year and are both doing really well and keeping healthy. We are about to celebrate a traditional Swedish Christmas with my parents, my sister and her family (who are also doing very well) and tomorrow we go to my cousin Petra and celebrate the big family Christmas. For two days we will be surrounded by lots of people, many children, too much food, lots of talking, laughing and exchange our gifts. Christmas to me is about spending time together, enjoying each other’s company and laughing a lot. I hope you all get to laugh a lot this Christmas and that the new year ahead will be filled with many wonderful happenings.
Lots of love from us to you! Thank you for wonderful letters and cards. It is always great to hear how you are doing and to get the latest news from all over the world!
Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!!
Monday, December 20, 2010
The people of Ulricehamn
We had a world premier of the film Angelfarm – third time around in Ulricehamn last week. About 20 years ago the British filmmaker Colin Nutely came to Ulricehamn and the small village of Liared. He fell in love with the place, made a documentary film and wrote the script of Angelfarm. A few years later the film hit the screen and was an enormous hit depicting the Swedish countryside, the pros and cons of small town life and what happens when something odd and unexpected arrives in a little village. This summer, 16 years later, the film team arrived in Ulricehamn to make the third sequel of the film and last Thursday Jochem and I went to the world premier. Most Swedish films have their film premiers in Stockholm and Ulricehamn has never (to my knowledge at least) had a world premier before so this was a real treat. I had no hopes of getting invited to the premier but Jochem run in to Colin Nutley when he was here and they got talking about Ulricehamn and about how it is to live here. The love Nutley feels for this place is deeply felt in his films and somehow Jochem told him about our move from big town to small town and from the Netherlands to Sweden and suddenly we were invited to the premier. We had such a nice time and it really felt like a huge thing for Ulricehamn and I think many people enjoyed it just as much as we did. Lots of famous actors arrived and I sat next to Jochem explaining who is who in Swedish film.
Since November we have had a steady flow of more and more snow. It is almost amazing what kind of heavy winters we have had here in the last two years and it is not typical for the region. Naturally we enjoy it and the good skiing brings more and more tourists which is good for the town but one cant help wondering about a changing climate and if this is something we should get used to? Currently we have about 70 cm of snow and another 40 cm expecting to come within the coming days. Today the kids had a outdoor sports day with school and spent the day on the hill and as Jochems flight was cancelled due to the stormy weathers around Europe he joined them skiing and snowboarding. This evening he got a flight to the NL and I hope he will make it back before Christmas.
As we are getting closer to Christmas we have enjoyed several Christmas parties, Lucia celebrations and Nils 7th birthday. We celebrated Nils birthday in Lund last weekend which was great except for the fact that I forgot my handbag, sent Jochem to get it while my quick mum brought it by taxi which resulted in me and the kids getting on the train. Jochem missed it. The kids cried, Jochems phone was not charge and I had his money and credit card in my bag. It was an exciting day but in the end we met up in Borås with a special banner saying “Pappa”! The last 4 days we have gone from festivity to festivity ending it yesterday with a treasure hunt party for 9 seven year olds. Needless to say we were wasted last night but also happy with the fantastic friends we have made here in Ulricehamn – friends from many different countries, of different backgrounds but with one thing in common – we are all people of Ulricehamn!
Since November we have had a steady flow of more and more snow. It is almost amazing what kind of heavy winters we have had here in the last two years and it is not typical for the region. Naturally we enjoy it and the good skiing brings more and more tourists which is good for the town but one cant help wondering about a changing climate and if this is something we should get used to? Currently we have about 70 cm of snow and another 40 cm expecting to come within the coming days. Today the kids had a outdoor sports day with school and spent the day on the hill and as Jochems flight was cancelled due to the stormy weathers around Europe he joined them skiing and snowboarding. This evening he got a flight to the NL and I hope he will make it back before Christmas.
As we are getting closer to Christmas we have enjoyed several Christmas parties, Lucia celebrations and Nils 7th birthday. We celebrated Nils birthday in Lund last weekend which was great except for the fact that I forgot my handbag, sent Jochem to get it while my quick mum brought it by taxi which resulted in me and the kids getting on the train. Jochem missed it. The kids cried, Jochems phone was not charge and I had his money and credit card in my bag. It was an exciting day but in the end we met up in Borås with a special banner saying “Pappa”! The last 4 days we have gone from festivity to festivity ending it yesterday with a treasure hunt party for 9 seven year olds. Needless to say we were wasted last night but also happy with the fantastic friends we have made here in Ulricehamn – friends from many different countries, of different backgrounds but with one thing in common – we are all people of Ulricehamn!
Thursday, December 2, 2010
Who moved the cheese?
Jochem is back working in the Netherlands and I visited Stockholm for two days so my parents came to help out with the kids. They arrived from Malaga (Spain) on Sunday and left Lund (south Sweden) early Monday morning to help out in Ulricehamn. On Wednesday they had to go back home as they had a release party to attend with an author in the evening. I sometimes joke with my sister about where our busy globetrotting parents are off to next but I really think they deserve the health and life spirit they show. They have taken charge of their lives since they retired early this year and are making every day count. I see too many people not taking charge to their own lives and letting life pass by without getting on the train. We are all different and not everyone is interested in social activities or travelling but I think it is important to realize that life is what we make of it. I am responsible for my choices and also for not choosing and sometimes we forget that a path not travelled is also a choice.
At work we are in the middle of a large reorganisation and from the beginning of next year I will move to the strategic staff department and work directly under the two CEOs of the municipality. I think we need a reorganisation and I think there is room for improvement in all parts of our organisation. Still, this reorganisation creates a lot of tension among the staff and many are worried about how it will be in the end (if you think there can be an end in an every evolving organisation!). For anyone in the middle of a change I have a book advice. The book is called “Who moved the cheese” by Spencer Johnson and it’s a bathtub book. It is long enough for a nice bath and I would like to suggest it to anyone who is in a change of some kind. In a simple and fun way we get a look into the human mind and how we can choose to look at a change and how we can choose to react upon it.
It took my hardworking parents some time to get used to the idea of retirement. My mum worked 6 months extra after turning 65 and my dad worked part time for 4 years ending his doctors’ career at the age of 69. But, when they finally retired they had a plan on what they want to do and what makes their days special. See the changes and see the possibilities as they are always there! And get the cheese book!
At work we are in the middle of a large reorganisation and from the beginning of next year I will move to the strategic staff department and work directly under the two CEOs of the municipality. I think we need a reorganisation and I think there is room for improvement in all parts of our organisation. Still, this reorganisation creates a lot of tension among the staff and many are worried about how it will be in the end (if you think there can be an end in an every evolving organisation!). For anyone in the middle of a change I have a book advice. The book is called “Who moved the cheese” by Spencer Johnson and it’s a bathtub book. It is long enough for a nice bath and I would like to suggest it to anyone who is in a change of some kind. In a simple and fun way we get a look into the human mind and how we can choose to look at a change and how we can choose to react upon it.
It took my hardworking parents some time to get used to the idea of retirement. My mum worked 6 months extra after turning 65 and my dad worked part time for 4 years ending his doctors’ career at the age of 69. But, when they finally retired they had a plan on what they want to do and what makes their days special. See the changes and see the possibilities as they are always there! And get the cheese book!
Sunday, November 28, 2010
December in Ulricehamn
We are a few days away from December but Christmas is already here. With half a metre of snow that keeps on coming and a temperature that will make it stay we definitely hit winter. Yesterday we filled the house with Christmas decorations, baked (as we actually do every weekend but now it was gingerbread cookies) and lit all the candles. I even got Jochem to go with me to a furniture store to order some new chairs and a new warm carpet. In Sweden you take your shoes off at the doorstep (to avoid snow and mud to get in I guess) but our old wooden floors get cold as the temperature gets down to minus 10 C. With some warm carpets and slippers we make sure we stay warm.
My Dutch car is not made for this weather. It has no heating in the mirrors, no heating in the chairs (I love a warm butt!) and no four-wheel drive. I hate to admit it but Jochems old Audi gets us up the hills a lot easier than my Toyota. I have learned what steep roads to avoid here in Ulricehamn and to drive backwards uphill if needed. No wonder you need to pass an ice, snow and water test when getting your Swedish driving licence. So, anyone planning a trip here this winter – get the right tires on and bring a suitable car! The cross country skiing opened its trails this weekend and in a few weeks the down hill ski sloop will be ready for visitors and we as well. Our house in Vegby is ready to take on visitors so make a booking soon if you want to try the winter in Ulricehamn!
In two weeks we celebrate Nils 7th birthday by going to my parents in Skåne (south of Sweden). Nils spent a month at their house this summer and when we asked what he wanted to do for his birthday he was very clear on what to do. We will visit grandma and granpa and next summer he wants to go back on “camp” there. As Ingrid and Elsa talk about the different camps they are attending or will attend Nils told us that he was also going to camp.
- You are? I asked. Where are you off to then?
- To grandma and grandpa of course, Nils responded!
Looks like Jochem and I have to find a camp of our own next year! But first we will all enjoy a few December weeks filled with dinners, parties, film viewings in great company.
My Dutch car is not made for this weather. It has no heating in the mirrors, no heating in the chairs (I love a warm butt!) and no four-wheel drive. I hate to admit it but Jochems old Audi gets us up the hills a lot easier than my Toyota. I have learned what steep roads to avoid here in Ulricehamn and to drive backwards uphill if needed. No wonder you need to pass an ice, snow and water test when getting your Swedish driving licence. So, anyone planning a trip here this winter – get the right tires on and bring a suitable car! The cross country skiing opened its trails this weekend and in a few weeks the down hill ski sloop will be ready for visitors and we as well. Our house in Vegby is ready to take on visitors so make a booking soon if you want to try the winter in Ulricehamn!
In two weeks we celebrate Nils 7th birthday by going to my parents in Skåne (south of Sweden). Nils spent a month at their house this summer and when we asked what he wanted to do for his birthday he was very clear on what to do. We will visit grandma and granpa and next summer he wants to go back on “camp” there. As Ingrid and Elsa talk about the different camps they are attending or will attend Nils told us that he was also going to camp.
- You are? I asked. Where are you off to then?
- To grandma and grandpa of course, Nils responded!
Looks like Jochem and I have to find a camp of our own next year! But first we will all enjoy a few December weeks filled with dinners, parties, film viewings in great company.
Sunday, November 14, 2010
We need to stay open to immigration if we want to have a chance on a global market!
A few weeks ago Fabio in Brazil contacted me as he had stumble over this blog while looking at working possibilities in Sweden. He liked the kind of life possibilities in Ulricehamn I portray in this blog and had read about our project of getting Dutch people to emigrate to this region. Fabio is a dentist with a family who already has working permits for both the US and Ireland but who is still looking at what kind of life you can get in different countries. Today I read an article in our local paper warning us all of the great costs of immigration. According to the writer we are in for a great surprise if we do not stop immigration quickly. I would state the opposite!
We live in a global world where most of our companies would not be able to exist if they did not have the chance to export and import goods from all over the world. We need each other! All great innovations and achievements of mankind has occurred when people from different backgrounds, from different cultures and with different knowledge fields have met and looked at challenges from different points of view. Many people in Sweden still live in the notion that Europe is the centre of great achievements and that Sweden is a knowledge country. Obviously Sweden is great country, father of many inventions, with little poverty and a well functioning social structure. However, we are also a country with fairly low wages for high skilled workers and high wages for low skilled workers, with a negative spiral of the number of new started companies, with very low school results compared to the rest of the world (and yes, you can obviously ask the question what do we measure when we talk about school results) where we now see innovation companies leaving Sweden to set up their businesses in India or China instead. In the 60s we saw how the manufacturing industry left Sweden for lower wages in Asia. Now we see Swedish high skilled workers and researchers leaving Sweden for greater opportunities abroad. India and China are the greatest investors in Africa today. In Europe we do not see the same potential in Africa but maybe we are wrong? Why do we assume that people who come to Sweden, weather they are refugees from a country at war or economic immigrants, do not have any skills or anything of interest to us? Who are the once starting new businesses – the immigrants!
We need to improve and extend our service sector in order to survive on the global market and in order to do so we need the expertise from abroad. There are always costs of immigration just as there are costs for a society when people drop out of school, go on parental leave or get sick. However, there are also possibilities in these situations. Immigration brings new ideas and innovation to a country. It helps us fill the gaps when there is a shortage of personal such as in the medical sector or get staff for tasks few people are willing to do, such as cleaning. By taking in high skilled workers, maybe on temporary contracts, we get a more flexible labour market and I think we need to look at flexibility as a factor of success if Sweden is not going to fall further behind. Sweden is a fantastic country with lots of possibilities but if we want to continue to develop and increase our market shares we should not close our doors. We should open them, encourage a European blue-card for high skilled workers and stay a humane country that helps people in need!
Another interesting aspect of immigration is the current situation in Norway where most of the staff in hotels, in shops and in the tourism sector is Swedish. In the shops in the Danish capital of Copenhagen it is getting more and more rare that you see Danish staff. Most of the staff is Swedish. If we see many opportunities abroad maybe we should be open to others seeing opportunities in Sweden?
And, if Fabio learns Swedish and gets his dentist accreditation to work in Sweden I hope he will consider living in Ulricehamn!
We live in a global world where most of our companies would not be able to exist if they did not have the chance to export and import goods from all over the world. We need each other! All great innovations and achievements of mankind has occurred when people from different backgrounds, from different cultures and with different knowledge fields have met and looked at challenges from different points of view. Many people in Sweden still live in the notion that Europe is the centre of great achievements and that Sweden is a knowledge country. Obviously Sweden is great country, father of many inventions, with little poverty and a well functioning social structure. However, we are also a country with fairly low wages for high skilled workers and high wages for low skilled workers, with a negative spiral of the number of new started companies, with very low school results compared to the rest of the world (and yes, you can obviously ask the question what do we measure when we talk about school results) where we now see innovation companies leaving Sweden to set up their businesses in India or China instead. In the 60s we saw how the manufacturing industry left Sweden for lower wages in Asia. Now we see Swedish high skilled workers and researchers leaving Sweden for greater opportunities abroad. India and China are the greatest investors in Africa today. In Europe we do not see the same potential in Africa but maybe we are wrong? Why do we assume that people who come to Sweden, weather they are refugees from a country at war or economic immigrants, do not have any skills or anything of interest to us? Who are the once starting new businesses – the immigrants!
We need to improve and extend our service sector in order to survive on the global market and in order to do so we need the expertise from abroad. There are always costs of immigration just as there are costs for a society when people drop out of school, go on parental leave or get sick. However, there are also possibilities in these situations. Immigration brings new ideas and innovation to a country. It helps us fill the gaps when there is a shortage of personal such as in the medical sector or get staff for tasks few people are willing to do, such as cleaning. By taking in high skilled workers, maybe on temporary contracts, we get a more flexible labour market and I think we need to look at flexibility as a factor of success if Sweden is not going to fall further behind. Sweden is a fantastic country with lots of possibilities but if we want to continue to develop and increase our market shares we should not close our doors. We should open them, encourage a European blue-card for high skilled workers and stay a humane country that helps people in need!
Another interesting aspect of immigration is the current situation in Norway where most of the staff in hotels, in shops and in the tourism sector is Swedish. In the shops in the Danish capital of Copenhagen it is getting more and more rare that you see Danish staff. Most of the staff is Swedish. If we see many opportunities abroad maybe we should be open to others seeing opportunities in Sweden?
And, if Fabio learns Swedish and gets his dentist accreditation to work in Sweden I hope he will consider living in Ulricehamn!
Tuesday, November 2, 2010
The Norwegian invasion!
We had a Norwegian invasion this weekend and it was really ”greit”! Ingrid spent a month on a CISV peace camp in the US this summer and met kids from all over the world. When she came home she was determined that we should all go to Australia as soon as possible to see some of her newfound friends. I would love to go to Australia but it is quite a trip from Sweden and it has to fit in with our timetable which is not a very easy task. However, Norway is not so far away from Sweden and this weekend the Norwegian delegation (4 kids) made a visit together with one set of parents. The Swedish delegation (also 4) joined in and we filled the house with 8 11-year olds who could not stop chatting with each other.
Jochem and I also enjoyed the visit of Merete and Are (parents to Matilde) and it was a weekend with a mix of Swedish, Norwegian, English and even some Dutch. Now we know that the word for candy in Dutch is the same in Norwegian Bergen dialect.
I don’t think one should generalize but this weekend made me realize that every time I meet Norwegians I really enjoy their company. I shared a house in Wales with Henriette from Norway in 1997 and we had a really fun and intensive year together. While living in the Netherlands I got to know Anine from Norway who also became a good friend and Merete and Are were just as friendly and relaxed as my previous Norwegian encounters. I think it is time for a vacation in Norway!
And for Ingrids and our friends who live far away we have to stay in touch via Facebook and blogs. The doors stay open in Ulricehamn and hopefully we get the chance to see some of you in the near future.
Take care, wherever you are!
Jochem and I also enjoyed the visit of Merete and Are (parents to Matilde) and it was a weekend with a mix of Swedish, Norwegian, English and even some Dutch. Now we know that the word for candy in Dutch is the same in Norwegian Bergen dialect.
I don’t think one should generalize but this weekend made me realize that every time I meet Norwegians I really enjoy their company. I shared a house in Wales with Henriette from Norway in 1997 and we had a really fun and intensive year together. While living in the Netherlands I got to know Anine from Norway who also became a good friend and Merete and Are were just as friendly and relaxed as my previous Norwegian encounters. I think it is time for a vacation in Norway!
And for Ingrids and our friends who live far away we have to stay in touch via Facebook and blogs. The doors stay open in Ulricehamn and hopefully we get the chance to see some of you in the near future.
Take care, wherever you are!
Saturday, October 23, 2010
Hoping for a long and happy life!
6-year olds are so literal and Nils is no exception. I used the Swedish saying “a good laugh lengthens your life” and he asked me what that meant. I explained that I think it is vital to your mental health and inner happiness to laugh and have a great laugh ever so often. If you feel happy and joyful I think you might live longer. A little later Nils fell and hurt himself and when I was comforting him he said to me “ will I die earlier now”? I looked at him with surprise and said, of course not! It is only a scratch! But Nils was not referring to his injuries but to the fact that he was crying and that is the opposite of laughing. Luckily I could convince him that crying when falling will not influence once life expectancy.
The other day we were talking about the climate changes on Earth. Nils is interested in the planets and of some reason we talked about the fact that the Earth turns around its own axis. Axis in Swedish is the same word as shoulder and suddenly Nils said:
- No wonder the Earth is feeling so bad. It has to sleep on the same shoulder all the time!
Yes, a good laugh and great kids probably lengthens your life!
For a while everything was white here and the “chocolate and fireplace urge” increased but today most of the snow is melting away. Today we are preparing Elsa’s tenth birthday party with activities such as card making, photo-frame-designing, pizza baking, watching a romantic comedy and then they will all sleep over. Next weekend we also have 4 kids staying over here and 6 people staying in our summerhouse in Vegby as the Norwegian delegation from the CISV camp (Tennessee 2010) is coming for a visit. Will be a fun and active weekend for sure.
But, first we will all enjoy a big brunch!
Wishing you a great weekend!
The other day we were talking about the climate changes on Earth. Nils is interested in the planets and of some reason we talked about the fact that the Earth turns around its own axis. Axis in Swedish is the same word as shoulder and suddenly Nils said:
- No wonder the Earth is feeling so bad. It has to sleep on the same shoulder all the time!
Yes, a good laugh and great kids probably lengthens your life!
For a while everything was white here and the “chocolate and fireplace urge” increased but today most of the snow is melting away. Today we are preparing Elsa’s tenth birthday party with activities such as card making, photo-frame-designing, pizza baking, watching a romantic comedy and then they will all sleep over. Next weekend we also have 4 kids staying over here and 6 people staying in our summerhouse in Vegby as the Norwegian delegation from the CISV camp (Tennessee 2010) is coming for a visit. Will be a fun and active weekend for sure.
But, first we will all enjoy a big brunch!
Wishing you a great weekend!
Friday, October 15, 2010
Getting fit and climatesmart at the same time!
The weekend is starting and we will have a busy weekend with Jochem taking part as a table tennis referee both days in a local tournament. I will help out at the car boot sale of the football club. On Saturday afternoon I am off to a meeting and on Sunday we have invited some of our foreign friends here in Ulricehamn. The kids have decided that we will serve Mexican food to our Danish and German friends but with a Swedish dessert. I got a book from Karin in the Netherlands showing Tapas according to Dutch food traditions so maybe I can even get some Dutch snacks on the menu. Actually the idea of looking at your own cooking culture and changing it to fit in a tapas style is really nice. Last year Jochem and I went to a wine tasting which also included a Swedish Christmas menu but in very small tasty portions with a twist and we loved it. Jochem even enjoyed the Swedish haring!
We are taking part in a pilot study in becoming a climate smart family and Jochem is currently measuring all our appliances on how much power they use. We have realised that we can save some money here and at the same time improve our climate. In a few weeks time a light designer will come to our home and I am really looking forward to this. We only have low energy light bulbs but they do not give a very cosy light so I hope we can make some improvements. We will also have a course in eco-driving and take part in a climate smart cooking course. Quite fun actually and the local press is following our progress (assuming we are making some!). I write a blog about our adventures and the kids are all very much involved. When Jochem and I at times thinks about taking the car they tell us not to and to use our bikes instead. In other words, we are not only helping to save the climate and reducing costs. We are on a path to a fit lifestyle (well, at least a little bit fitter!)
Hoping the sun shining here is also reaching you guys!
We are taking part in a pilot study in becoming a climate smart family and Jochem is currently measuring all our appliances on how much power they use. We have realised that we can save some money here and at the same time improve our climate. In a few weeks time a light designer will come to our home and I am really looking forward to this. We only have low energy light bulbs but they do not give a very cosy light so I hope we can make some improvements. We will also have a course in eco-driving and take part in a climate smart cooking course. Quite fun actually and the local press is following our progress (assuming we are making some!). I write a blog about our adventures and the kids are all very much involved. When Jochem and I at times thinks about taking the car they tell us not to and to use our bikes instead. In other words, we are not only helping to save the climate and reducing costs. We are on a path to a fit lifestyle (well, at least a little bit fitter!)
Hoping the sun shining here is also reaching you guys!
Wednesday, October 6, 2010
Being British again - even if only for a moment!
The man sitting next to me at my flight to the UK the other day was dressed in beige chinos, a checked shirt and had his long silver gray hair tied in a ponytail. I could not help thinking that he looked like an aged Indiana Jones only missing his hat. He was busy reading but when the stewardess arrived with the drinks and snacks I leaned over and asked him.
- Is it as good as they say?
- Oh, yes! Two years ago I sat in an airplane looking at a man using one and I did exactly what you just did. I asked him if it was any good and the man answered that it was great. I went home and ordered one on the Internet and since then I can´t go anywhere without my e-book. Within a year it had paid itself as I read a lot.
I got really interested in e-books, chatting away to my neighbour as I recently read about the enormous increase in e-book sales. Downloading books cost about 6 or 7 dollars, you can easily adjust the size of the letters and you do not need to carry heavy books along while travelling. The fact that you can download the different titles from most places in the world makes the book market truly global. Another interesting observation was that here I was sitting with a 65 + person telling me why we all should get into e-books. Travelling has a pleasant effect of opening one’s mind!
Right now I sit in a B&B suitable for Jane Marple in a small village on the English countryside. With thick oak doors, a fireplace from 1825, flowered wallpaper and eating breakfast in a large room with different travellers I could be back in the 19th century. But, instead I am on a EU study visit with 9 other foreigners learning about how European mobility can enhance possibilities for people and communities in rural areas. The host organisation is called Grampus Heritage and Training and has since it started 15 years ago made it possible for over 400 young Europeans to do vocational training in other countries. Many students from other countries have come to Britain and many of the Cumbrian students have gotten a chance to practise different skills in other countries, they have worked on many different community based projects and they have increased their language skills and tolerance for others. Yesterday I met Jamie who is a very talented furniture maker who has been away on Leonardo exchanges in Finland and on Cyprus. Not only did he learn new skills himself but he was also able to pass on some of his skills to young people in Finland and on Cyprus. He runs his own furniture making company in Cumbria today!
I hope we can get our secondary school in Ulricehamn involved in some Leonardo projects. Tonight I have been learning about Iceland, Croatia and Rumania and how they work with vocational mobility for young people and my hope is that I will be able to set up a network during this study visit that will lead to a long term Leonardo project focusing on rural areas.
And now I will enjoy my English tea, dressed in an extra cardigan (as single glass is still used in many British homes) and sleep tight in my Victorian bed! Cumbria reminds me of my year in Cardiff and makes me once again realize that the UK have so much more ot offer than just the London area!
- Is it as good as they say?
- Oh, yes! Two years ago I sat in an airplane looking at a man using one and I did exactly what you just did. I asked him if it was any good and the man answered that it was great. I went home and ordered one on the Internet and since then I can´t go anywhere without my e-book. Within a year it had paid itself as I read a lot.
I got really interested in e-books, chatting away to my neighbour as I recently read about the enormous increase in e-book sales. Downloading books cost about 6 or 7 dollars, you can easily adjust the size of the letters and you do not need to carry heavy books along while travelling. The fact that you can download the different titles from most places in the world makes the book market truly global. Another interesting observation was that here I was sitting with a 65 + person telling me why we all should get into e-books. Travelling has a pleasant effect of opening one’s mind!
Right now I sit in a B&B suitable for Jane Marple in a small village on the English countryside. With thick oak doors, a fireplace from 1825, flowered wallpaper and eating breakfast in a large room with different travellers I could be back in the 19th century. But, instead I am on a EU study visit with 9 other foreigners learning about how European mobility can enhance possibilities for people and communities in rural areas. The host organisation is called Grampus Heritage and Training and has since it started 15 years ago made it possible for over 400 young Europeans to do vocational training in other countries. Many students from other countries have come to Britain and many of the Cumbrian students have gotten a chance to practise different skills in other countries, they have worked on many different community based projects and they have increased their language skills and tolerance for others. Yesterday I met Jamie who is a very talented furniture maker who has been away on Leonardo exchanges in Finland and on Cyprus. Not only did he learn new skills himself but he was also able to pass on some of his skills to young people in Finland and on Cyprus. He runs his own furniture making company in Cumbria today!
I hope we can get our secondary school in Ulricehamn involved in some Leonardo projects. Tonight I have been learning about Iceland, Croatia and Rumania and how they work with vocational mobility for young people and my hope is that I will be able to set up a network during this study visit that will lead to a long term Leonardo project focusing on rural areas.
And now I will enjoy my English tea, dressed in an extra cardigan (as single glass is still used in many British homes) and sleep tight in my Victorian bed! Cumbria reminds me of my year in Cardiff and makes me once again realize that the UK have so much more ot offer than just the London area!
Saturday, October 2, 2010
Empowered and grateful!
Just got back from a one-week group and leadership development course. It has been really interesting to be part of a psychological group test and I got back feeling really tired but very empowered. I use that term at work once in a while but now it has a true meaning to me and I feel very thankful that I got the chance to be part of this course.
Tomorrow I am off to Great Britain for 8 days to learn about how the town of Carlisle use international work experience among excluded youth to get them included in society again. I am sure it will be very interesting even though I right now would like to stay home with my family instead. Jochem is turning out to become a fantastic stay at home dad and I got home to a house that has never been cleaner, with flowers on the table and the dinner ready. I could really get used to this! And tonight he has fixed a babysitter and we are off for an evening of our own. I feel grateful and very fortunate!
Last weekend Jochem and Nils spent in the Netherlands and we girls had a really girly weekend with shopping at IKEA, eating out, going to the movies and talking, talking, talking. It was great and I made me realize how aware our girls are about many different things. Was I that clever and open-minded at their age (probably not!).
My dad turned 70 last Friday but unfortunately we could not attend his big day. From what I heard from my dad I understood that it was a special day and I know that my parents filled the house with friends and family. I still see my parents as fairly young and very much “in the middle of life”. The number 70 does not fit with that image. My parents travel the world, are very active and very social. If I can come close to live my life like they do at the age of 70 I will be very happy. And soon I hope we can meet up and celebrate the birthday all of us together. Wish I can go to Skåne (region in south Sweden where I grew up) soon to see both family and friends I haven’t seen in a while!
Tomorrow I am off to Great Britain for 8 days to learn about how the town of Carlisle use international work experience among excluded youth to get them included in society again. I am sure it will be very interesting even though I right now would like to stay home with my family instead. Jochem is turning out to become a fantastic stay at home dad and I got home to a house that has never been cleaner, with flowers on the table and the dinner ready. I could really get used to this! And tonight he has fixed a babysitter and we are off for an evening of our own. I feel grateful and very fortunate!
Last weekend Jochem and Nils spent in the Netherlands and we girls had a really girly weekend with shopping at IKEA, eating out, going to the movies and talking, talking, talking. It was great and I made me realize how aware our girls are about many different things. Was I that clever and open-minded at their age (probably not!).
My dad turned 70 last Friday but unfortunately we could not attend his big day. From what I heard from my dad I understood that it was a special day and I know that my parents filled the house with friends and family. I still see my parents as fairly young and very much “in the middle of life”. The number 70 does not fit with that image. My parents travel the world, are very active and very social. If I can come close to live my life like they do at the age of 70 I will be very happy. And soon I hope we can meet up and celebrate the birthday all of us together. Wish I can go to Skåne (region in south Sweden where I grew up) soon to see both family and friends I haven’t seen in a while!
Sunday, September 12, 2010
One world and lots of oppertunities!
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!
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!
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!
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Making memories last a lifetime
I could write a novel about house renovations! It is a great achievement for mankind that we are no longer living in caves as the process of making a house liveable (and lovable) can take years! I should know after all my renovation projects over the years in different countries, discussion with builders in foreign languages and misunderstandings about what is included and what’s not. Two years ago I bought a summerhouse a few kilometres south of Ulricehamn at a fantastic location. Jochem was not home so I made the call and got us a house with a lot of potential and in need of some TLC! Sometimes it is good not to know what you are getting yourself into!
Since then we have been renovating a house with a strong water history. Flooding due to broken pipes (twice!), a drainage all around the house that got the water away from the walls but not from the floors (it is coming up from underneath the house!), new bathrooms, new ceilings, renovated floors, new electricity, new isolation, new roof, a new façade, a new balcony, a new entrance etc. etc. With an almost finished house we now have a new roof in the bedroom but no contact for the lamp in the ceiling and a tap in the bathroom so close to the wall that you can hardly get any water out (just to mention a few things…). Despite the struggle we feel that we might cross the finishing line after two years of constant renovation and from now on actually enjoy the house! It is a special house and in a few years we will all be able to laugh about all the mishaps and funny things we’ve been through (at least I keep telling Jochem this). It is a charming house on a great location overlooking the lake Sämsjön and every time I’m there I feel that this is a unique place, which will give us memories to last a lifetime!
The summer holidays are coming to an end and the first soccer practice for Ingrid just took place. She has arrived back from a month in the US with the statement “this was the best summer of my life” and with many new friends spread around the world. The first few days were difficult as it is obvious, even for an 11year old, that some friends she will never meet again. The world is getting smaller and larger at the same time. You can travel everywhere, meet new friends and learn a lot from each other. At the same time it is impossible to stay physically close to people living on the other side of the globe. So, we have spent a lot of time talking about the meaning of friendship, of the memories and insight new experiences give us and that a unique experience is never lost even if you might lose contact with friends on the way. It is what we do with the knowledge we take in and how we use it that make us grow as individuals. And for now we have the Internet giving us possibilities one could only dream of 30 years ago.
Hope you all had a summer full of memories to last a lifetime!
Since then we have been renovating a house with a strong water history. Flooding due to broken pipes (twice!), a drainage all around the house that got the water away from the walls but not from the floors (it is coming up from underneath the house!), new bathrooms, new ceilings, renovated floors, new electricity, new isolation, new roof, a new façade, a new balcony, a new entrance etc. etc. With an almost finished house we now have a new roof in the bedroom but no contact for the lamp in the ceiling and a tap in the bathroom so close to the wall that you can hardly get any water out (just to mention a few things…). Despite the struggle we feel that we might cross the finishing line after two years of constant renovation and from now on actually enjoy the house! It is a special house and in a few years we will all be able to laugh about all the mishaps and funny things we’ve been through (at least I keep telling Jochem this). It is a charming house on a great location overlooking the lake Sämsjön and every time I’m there I feel that this is a unique place, which will give us memories to last a lifetime!
The summer holidays are coming to an end and the first soccer practice for Ingrid just took place. She has arrived back from a month in the US with the statement “this was the best summer of my life” and with many new friends spread around the world. The first few days were difficult as it is obvious, even for an 11year old, that some friends she will never meet again. The world is getting smaller and larger at the same time. You can travel everywhere, meet new friends and learn a lot from each other. At the same time it is impossible to stay physically close to people living on the other side of the globe. So, we have spent a lot of time talking about the meaning of friendship, of the memories and insight new experiences give us and that a unique experience is never lost even if you might lose contact with friends on the way. It is what we do with the knowledge we take in and how we use it that make us grow as individuals. And for now we have the Internet giving us possibilities one could only dream of 30 years ago.
Hope you all had a summer full of memories to last a lifetime!
Tuesday, July 6, 2010
Peace - picture it!
Ingrid (11) is off to the US on a peace camp for a month with CISV. She celebrated 4th of July with her American host family and has now arrived at the camp. For one month she will live together with 50 other 11 year olds from 12 countries around the world in Smokey Mountains, TN. I envy her. Every time you go somewhere for the first time, when everything is new and unknown there is an excitement of a special kind. As one grows older the experience of being in a new unknown context becomes more and more rare and I guess that is why I envy her a bit.
For some people this is frightening (being in an unknown environment and not knowing fully what to expect) but I really like it and Ingrid is exactly the same. She has been longing to go for several months and I think her dad found it a lot more difficult to say farewell than she did. It is difficult to be at a new place, in a new country, with a different language and different cultural codes but it is also exciting, it stimulates new ideas and new insights and it shows one very simple thing – we are all humans and we are all the same despite looking at things from different perspectives.
The idea of "CISV – building global friendship" came from Dr Doris Allen who after World war II started the organisation saying; “ We must start with the children”! I was part of CISV when I was young and it had a real impact on me and on how I look at life and the possibilities we have in this world if we work together.
This is CISV according to thier website and if anyone of you would like to know more about it all I can say is JOIN!
Following the devastation of World War II, many people were focusing on initiatives to build and maintain peace. One particular idea caught the attention of child psychologist, Dr. Doris Allen. It was a proposal for a UNESCO peace education institute for postgraduates from many disciplines. The idea for Children's International Summer Villages (today known as CISV International) was conceived by Dr. Allen in 1946. As a specialist in growth and development, Dr. Allen, could not agree that the focus for peace education should be in the field of adult learning. She firmly believed that “the ultimate source for peace, long range, lay with the children.”
From this conviction came her vision of bringing together children from all over the globe to learn to respect different and common values. In 1951, she realised her dream when delegates from eight countries gathered in Cincinnati, USA for the first Children’s International Summer Village (CISV). Over the decades, the organization grew in numbers, countries and activities. In 1979, Doris Allen was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize -the recipient that year was Mother Teresa.
Over 50 years after the first Village, this programme remains the cornerstone of our international educational activities. CISV's range of programmes has increased from one to six different types of international activities and from one village to around 180 international programmes a year.
Today CISV operates in over 60 countries and since 1951, more than 190,000 people have participated in more than 5000 international activities.
The theme of Ingrids camp is Peace – picture it! What is your picture of peace?
For some people this is frightening (being in an unknown environment and not knowing fully what to expect) but I really like it and Ingrid is exactly the same. She has been longing to go for several months and I think her dad found it a lot more difficult to say farewell than she did. It is difficult to be at a new place, in a new country, with a different language and different cultural codes but it is also exciting, it stimulates new ideas and new insights and it shows one very simple thing – we are all humans and we are all the same despite looking at things from different perspectives.
The idea of "CISV – building global friendship" came from Dr Doris Allen who after World war II started the organisation saying; “ We must start with the children”! I was part of CISV when I was young and it had a real impact on me and on how I look at life and the possibilities we have in this world if we work together.
This is CISV according to thier website and if anyone of you would like to know more about it all I can say is JOIN!
Following the devastation of World War II, many people were focusing on initiatives to build and maintain peace. One particular idea caught the attention of child psychologist, Dr. Doris Allen. It was a proposal for a UNESCO peace education institute for postgraduates from many disciplines. The idea for Children's International Summer Villages (today known as CISV International) was conceived by Dr. Allen in 1946. As a specialist in growth and development, Dr. Allen, could not agree that the focus for peace education should be in the field of adult learning. She firmly believed that “the ultimate source for peace, long range, lay with the children.”
From this conviction came her vision of bringing together children from all over the globe to learn to respect different and common values. In 1951, she realised her dream when delegates from eight countries gathered in Cincinnati, USA for the first Children’s International Summer Village (CISV). Over the decades, the organization grew in numbers, countries and activities. In 1979, Doris Allen was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize -the recipient that year was Mother Teresa.
Over 50 years after the first Village, this programme remains the cornerstone of our international educational activities. CISV's range of programmes has increased from one to six different types of international activities and from one village to around 180 international programmes a year.
Today CISV operates in over 60 countries and since 1951, more than 190,000 people have participated in more than 5000 international activities.
The theme of Ingrids camp is Peace – picture it! What is your picture of peace?
Wednesday, June 23, 2010
Unplanned summer days...
The kids are off on their bikes getting some milk and bread for tomorrows breakfast and ending this evening with an ice cream. Bribing them with an ice cream might not be the most pedagogical way of involving your children in chores but after all, it is summer!
Summer (meaning a blue sky, warm weather and sun) is finally here and Ingrid and Elsa are enjoying a one week daycamp outside Ulricehamn. Every morning they get picked up by a school bus which takes them to a camp with 43 other children interested in outdoor activities (such as fishing, swimming in the lake, cooking on the open fire etc) and learning about friendship and working together. The municipality and the Swedish church arrange the camp and it is really great! The kids love it and spend every day outside in wonderful summer weather coming home happy but really tired. With ten weeks of summer holidays for the kids we have to do our best to keep them active and happy. Nils has been to daycare at school (BSO in Dutch) where they also spend most of their time outside doing different small excursions every day.
Looking at the lives our kids live here and the way they can enjoy the nature we have around us I feel very privileged. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is not big, we do not have any world wonders around or any ancient treasures but what we have is simple, beautiful and accessible for anyone. The kids can go fishing or swimming and one of the many lakes around here whenever they want, the town of Ulricehamn is small but authentic with a history dating back 700 years and hikers, skiers, golf players, bicyclists etc. can use all of nature as much as they want to. For Swedish people this is not strange but for foreigners it is still a real treat to have free access to all nature. You are even allowed to camp on someone else’s ground for free for one night and if you don’t want to buy a snack in the skiing restaurant or at the lake-cafe you just bring your own hotdogs and grill them over the public fireplaces spread out around the town.
Ulricehamn has a lot to offer tourists but I think that we, who live here, are the biggest winners. Today a colleague of mine said that we would all be happier if we did more “fun summer things” (such as picnics, walking barefooted, playing soccer until late in the evening, making a spontaneous barbeque etc.) spread out during the year instead of pushing it all in during our few weeks of vacation. I think it is true that we sometimes forget to do enough fun things during normal working weeks and that we sometimes force to many activities into our holidays. However, if you live in Ulricehamn you actually have the chance to do many “fun summer things” from May to the end of September and we have tried to make us of this (eating out on the porch as soon as it was warm enough, playing games outside and making spontaneous parties with friends.).
This summer Nils (6) will go to swimming school in Nybrostrand (at my parents summerhouse in south Sweden) and Ingrid (11) will be on a CISVcamp in the US for a month. From the first of July Jochem will become a stay at home dad for some time (first he said a year, then he said 6 months and last I heard him say 2 months so I just wait and see…). Elsa (9) and I will just do whatever comes to mind. I value non planed holidays more and more!
On Friday it is midsummer in Sweden (the biggest holiday of the year next to Christmas) and we will participate in a casual, non-traditional gathering with friends who like us have no midsummer tradition. We make our own traditions with a mix of cultures, food and great company!
Have a great midsummer everyone!
Summer (meaning a blue sky, warm weather and sun) is finally here and Ingrid and Elsa are enjoying a one week daycamp outside Ulricehamn. Every morning they get picked up by a school bus which takes them to a camp with 43 other children interested in outdoor activities (such as fishing, swimming in the lake, cooking on the open fire etc) and learning about friendship and working together. The municipality and the Swedish church arrange the camp and it is really great! The kids love it and spend every day outside in wonderful summer weather coming home happy but really tired. With ten weeks of summer holidays for the kids we have to do our best to keep them active and happy. Nils has been to daycare at school (BSO in Dutch) where they also spend most of their time outside doing different small excursions every day.
Looking at the lives our kids live here and the way they can enjoy the nature we have around us I feel very privileged. We live in one of the most beautiful places in the world. It is not big, we do not have any world wonders around or any ancient treasures but what we have is simple, beautiful and accessible for anyone. The kids can go fishing or swimming and one of the many lakes around here whenever they want, the town of Ulricehamn is small but authentic with a history dating back 700 years and hikers, skiers, golf players, bicyclists etc. can use all of nature as much as they want to. For Swedish people this is not strange but for foreigners it is still a real treat to have free access to all nature. You are even allowed to camp on someone else’s ground for free for one night and if you don’t want to buy a snack in the skiing restaurant or at the lake-cafe you just bring your own hotdogs and grill them over the public fireplaces spread out around the town.
Ulricehamn has a lot to offer tourists but I think that we, who live here, are the biggest winners. Today a colleague of mine said that we would all be happier if we did more “fun summer things” (such as picnics, walking barefooted, playing soccer until late in the evening, making a spontaneous barbeque etc.) spread out during the year instead of pushing it all in during our few weeks of vacation. I think it is true that we sometimes forget to do enough fun things during normal working weeks and that we sometimes force to many activities into our holidays. However, if you live in Ulricehamn you actually have the chance to do many “fun summer things” from May to the end of September and we have tried to make us of this (eating out on the porch as soon as it was warm enough, playing games outside and making spontaneous parties with friends.).
This summer Nils (6) will go to swimming school in Nybrostrand (at my parents summerhouse in south Sweden) and Ingrid (11) will be on a CISVcamp in the US for a month. From the first of July Jochem will become a stay at home dad for some time (first he said a year, then he said 6 months and last I heard him say 2 months so I just wait and see…). Elsa (9) and I will just do whatever comes to mind. I value non planed holidays more and more!
On Friday it is midsummer in Sweden (the biggest holiday of the year next to Christmas) and we will participate in a casual, non-traditional gathering with friends who like us have no midsummer tradition. We make our own traditions with a mix of cultures, food and great company!
Have a great midsummer everyone!
Tuesday, June 15, 2010
Daysland High Reunion - 20 years of Canadian spirit!
My graduation class from Daysland Highschool is arranging a reunion this summer in Alberta, Canada. 20 years have passed and it would be great top join the reunion and meet up with everyone again but I guess it is a bit far to go for an evening out. 20 years is an almost unbelievable time and the fact that I also feel that it went by in a flash makes it even scarier. I have no problem growing older or accepting the change of time but if 20 years goes this fast how will it be with the coming 20 years? How will I possibly have time to do everything that I am planning to do when I grow up? Well, I guess the answer is living long. I will make my best film ever at the age of 90 and my novel debut at the age of 72. Or, just live life, doing only the fun things and make myself change the path ever so often.
A reunion makes you think. What has happened in the last 20 years and did life turn out as I had expected? In 1989/90 I spent one year in the town of Heisler, Canada with 114 inhabitants. I went to Daysland Highschool with 200 kids from grade 1 – 12 going on a school bus for 30 minutes every morning to the little town of Daysland. I now live in what is called a rural area but it is nothing compared to the enormous fields of Alberta, Canada. I was a city girl who ended up learning how to milk a cow, to drink bear at a bonfire and that a life without a truck was a life not lived. I met many great people, experienced a divorce in my host family, saw people close to me struggle real hard and realized a lot of things about myself, and the way I wanted to live my life. I have lived in 8 or 9 countries, worked and studied in many different cultures but I think many of my life defining insights happened in Canada. I don’t think I got it right there and then but in hindsight I think it was one of the most defining years of my life. Then again, since then lots have happened and maybe we all get shaped on the path we travel.
When I lived in Canada the Berlin wall was taken down and for a moment I felt as if I was on the wrong spot when something really big happened in Europe. The again, I lived my life in Canada for a year and for me it had a huge impact just as the changes in east and west Germany changed the lives of millions of people. There are no “right” places to be – only the possibilities we make ourselves.
We were around 18 when we graduated from Daysland Highschool in June 1990. At the age of 38 we are statistically not halfway. Actually this is a really nice thought. Imagine what lies ahead and what possibilities we still have - the Daysland High, Class of 1990!
I like to think that we are all in an everlasting learning process where the secrets of life are still to be discovered and hopefully some of them will always stay unknown to us!
Classmates – have a great reunion and enjoy what lies ahead. A sea of possibilities!
Maria – Ulrika
(I now go by my second name Ulrika but you can obviously still call me Maria!)
A reunion makes you think. What has happened in the last 20 years and did life turn out as I had expected? In 1989/90 I spent one year in the town of Heisler, Canada with 114 inhabitants. I went to Daysland Highschool with 200 kids from grade 1 – 12 going on a school bus for 30 minutes every morning to the little town of Daysland. I now live in what is called a rural area but it is nothing compared to the enormous fields of Alberta, Canada. I was a city girl who ended up learning how to milk a cow, to drink bear at a bonfire and that a life without a truck was a life not lived. I met many great people, experienced a divorce in my host family, saw people close to me struggle real hard and realized a lot of things about myself, and the way I wanted to live my life. I have lived in 8 or 9 countries, worked and studied in many different cultures but I think many of my life defining insights happened in Canada. I don’t think I got it right there and then but in hindsight I think it was one of the most defining years of my life. Then again, since then lots have happened and maybe we all get shaped on the path we travel.
When I lived in Canada the Berlin wall was taken down and for a moment I felt as if I was on the wrong spot when something really big happened in Europe. The again, I lived my life in Canada for a year and for me it had a huge impact just as the changes in east and west Germany changed the lives of millions of people. There are no “right” places to be – only the possibilities we make ourselves.
We were around 18 when we graduated from Daysland Highschool in June 1990. At the age of 38 we are statistically not halfway. Actually this is a really nice thought. Imagine what lies ahead and what possibilities we still have - the Daysland High, Class of 1990!
I like to think that we are all in an everlasting learning process where the secrets of life are still to be discovered and hopefully some of them will always stay unknown to us!
Classmates – have a great reunion and enjoy what lies ahead. A sea of possibilities!
Maria – Ulrika
(I now go by my second name Ulrika but you can obviously still call me Maria!)
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
What I just forgot...
Maybe I am suffering from some kind of memory disease. Maybe I have filled my head with too much information making something go away every time I try to add new information. Or maybe I am only focusing on what I think is fun or interesting excluding the possibility to remember boring things (or less important things). I like to believe that the last statement is the most true.
I just got back from an EU conference in Nyköping about the Europe 2020 strategy. Nyköping is a beautiful town on the east side of Sweden about an hour south of Stockholm well worth a visit for any tourist interested in history and old architecture. However, the transportation possibilities between Ulricehamn and Nyköping are not great. I wanted to travel by bus or train as that would give me the possibility to work while travelling. It turned out, after extensive research, that I would be best off going there by bus and leaving it by train. Unfortuneately I was a bit distracted while ordering my bus ticket online (talking on the phone, looking at some papers and getting the ticket at the same time) so when the confirmation arrived I had bought a ticket to Linköping instead of Nyköping. If I would have paid more attention to the ticket I would have realized that Linköping is on the way to Nyköping and I could have gotten a ticket from Linköping to Nyköping. Instead I panicked, just bought a new ticket (changing it was not possible) and called the reception at the municipality to order my train ticket. They always get it right and so they did even this time.
I arrived in Nyköping with my speech, my hotel reservation, got a map to find my way around and felt fairly well organized for a while. Then, in the middle of the night I woke up. I saw a vision of my office and my white board and on that white board I saw… Yes, I saw my train ticket. I had left my train ticket hanging on the whiteboard in the office in Ulricehamn. So, I got up and tried to buy a new one on the net but as the safety system has improved I could not get a ticket. I phoned the train company and was greeted by a recorded voice informing me of their opening hours. The next morning I spent half an hour on the phone to get a new ticket (with a price increase of 100 crowns from the night before), which they could not send as an sms but that I had to pick up at the train station. So, during lunch hour I run up and down Nyköping getting my fourth ticket for this trip!
Well, was it worth it? Did the conference live up to my expectations? Luckily I like to think so even though I missed some of my colleagues at the conference. The conference aimed to look at how we implement the Europe 2020 strategy in a better way but I was one of very few people who actually work with the implementation of these strategies. But then again, looking at my past days of chaotic behaviour we should maybe let someone else do the implementation. I am thinking of taking up a carrier in ticketordering and study a bit more of Swedish geography!
Goodnight everyone!
PS: To forget is the great secret of strong creative natures; to forget is the way nature herself who knows no past and who at every hour begins the mysteries of her untiring labors afresh.
- Honore de Balzac
I just got back from an EU conference in Nyköping about the Europe 2020 strategy. Nyköping is a beautiful town on the east side of Sweden about an hour south of Stockholm well worth a visit for any tourist interested in history and old architecture. However, the transportation possibilities between Ulricehamn and Nyköping are not great. I wanted to travel by bus or train as that would give me the possibility to work while travelling. It turned out, after extensive research, that I would be best off going there by bus and leaving it by train. Unfortuneately I was a bit distracted while ordering my bus ticket online (talking on the phone, looking at some papers and getting the ticket at the same time) so when the confirmation arrived I had bought a ticket to Linköping instead of Nyköping. If I would have paid more attention to the ticket I would have realized that Linköping is on the way to Nyköping and I could have gotten a ticket from Linköping to Nyköping. Instead I panicked, just bought a new ticket (changing it was not possible) and called the reception at the municipality to order my train ticket. They always get it right and so they did even this time.
I arrived in Nyköping with my speech, my hotel reservation, got a map to find my way around and felt fairly well organized for a while. Then, in the middle of the night I woke up. I saw a vision of my office and my white board and on that white board I saw… Yes, I saw my train ticket. I had left my train ticket hanging on the whiteboard in the office in Ulricehamn. So, I got up and tried to buy a new one on the net but as the safety system has improved I could not get a ticket. I phoned the train company and was greeted by a recorded voice informing me of their opening hours. The next morning I spent half an hour on the phone to get a new ticket (with a price increase of 100 crowns from the night before), which they could not send as an sms but that I had to pick up at the train station. So, during lunch hour I run up and down Nyköping getting my fourth ticket for this trip!
Well, was it worth it? Did the conference live up to my expectations? Luckily I like to think so even though I missed some of my colleagues at the conference. The conference aimed to look at how we implement the Europe 2020 strategy in a better way but I was one of very few people who actually work with the implementation of these strategies. But then again, looking at my past days of chaotic behaviour we should maybe let someone else do the implementation. I am thinking of taking up a carrier in ticketordering and study a bit more of Swedish geography!
Goodnight everyone!
PS: To forget is the great secret of strong creative natures; to forget is the way nature herself who knows no past and who at every hour begins the mysteries of her untiring labors afresh.
- Honore de Balzac
Saturday, May 8, 2010
Europe day on May 9th
Each year on May 4th Remembrance day (Dodenherdenking) is held in the Netherlands. It commemorates all civilians and members of the armed forces in the Netherlands who have died in wars or peacekeeping missions since the outbreak of World War II. The next day, on May 5, Dutch people celebrate the liberation of the nation from the German occupation of 1940 to 1945. When we lived in the Netherlands our neighbour always had the flag out half way on the 4th and obviously proudly raised on May 5th. Each nation always has special days worth commemorating and they serve as reminders of the history we share.
Tomorrow it is Europe day – May 9th. For many people it does not mean much and maybe for Swedish people, who do not even feel connected to the national day of June 6th, Europeday is not seen as a special day at all. We talk about Sweden and we talk about Europe as if they are two different things or as we are not part of Europe. We are part of Europe and for every day we get closer and more integrated with each other. You can make laws and you can take away obstacles but the European culture will evolve as people get connected ant this might take some time.
I had written a column in our local paper today about Europe day. Here it follows in Swedish.
To me Europe is about avoiding war and getting people together. It is not an easy assignment and it is not always progressing as I would like it too but I hope that we all one day can feel the value of each other’s differences!
Enjoy Europe day!
Varför jag firar Europadagen den 9 maj!
Min svärmor Nell växte upp mitt under brinnande krig i ett land ockuperat av Tyska soldater. Föräldrarna lät engelska soldater och delar av motståndsrörelsen bo i deras källare som i vanliga fall användes som möbelsnickeriets lagerlokal. Kriget var under många år ständigt närvarande och i huvudstaden Amsterdam svalt befolkningen och alla tulpanlökar tog slut. Man åt det man kunde få tag i. I staden Nijmegen, där jag under många år bodde, gick vi med skolbarnen till gungmonumentet. Mitt inne i stan hänger en gunga på en gräsplätt. Den påminner oss om de 40tal barn och fröknar som dog under krigets sista månader då de allierade av misstag släppte en bomb på fel sida gränsen och träffade en skola. Den lilla gungar berör. Krig drabbar alltid oskyldiga och leder sällan oss framåt.
Söndagen den 9 maj är det Europadagen. Under många år såg jag denna dag som ett marknadsföringsbidrag till den Europeiska Unionen. Vi skulle alla bli omvända att tro på ett gemensamt samarbete. Idag, efter att ha bott i Storbritannien, Belgien och Nederländerna ser jag värdet av denna dag. Ur askan av ett smutsigt krig som krävde över 80 miljoner liv växte en tanke på att ökad handel mellan länder borde skapa ekonomisk stabilitet och större förståelse för varandra. Genom att ta bort handelshinder och skapa möjlighet för människor, tjänster och varor att fritt röra sig över gränserna skulle man skapa en hållbar utveckling och social sammanhållning.
Ett halvt sekel av europeiskt samarbete har visat att helheten är större än summan av delarna. Gemensamma miljömål, utbyten av teknologisk kunskap, spridandet av mänskliga rättigheter och jämställdhet, solidariskt stöd till fattigare delar av Europa och samarbete mot organiserad brottslighet är något som jag tror vi alla gynnas av. De stora utmaningarna som vi står inför såsom global konkurrens, klimatförändringar, en åldrande befolkning (Europas befolkning krymper!) etc. löser vi bäst tillsammans.
EU är ingen lättsam, flexibel organisation och man kan ha många förbättringssynpunkter. Men, kärnan i samarbetet är viktig och vi får aldrig glömma vad det egentligen handlar om. För hur värdesätter vi fred och stabilitet?
Jag uppmärksammar Europadagen på mitt sätt tillsammans med min internationella familj som jag troligen aldrig blivit del av om jag inte utsatts för EUs universitetsutbytesprogram ERASMUS. I min familj samlas olika religioner, olika kulturer vilket inte alltid är lätt men som skapar förståelse och nya synsätt. Europadagen handlar inom om att vi alla skall bli lika utan om att se varandras olikheter och se värdet av detta. Tillsammans skapar vi en framtid där barn kan gunga tryggt! Därför uppmärksammar jag Europadagen!
Ulrika Geeraedts
Tomorrow it is Europe day – May 9th. For many people it does not mean much and maybe for Swedish people, who do not even feel connected to the national day of June 6th, Europeday is not seen as a special day at all. We talk about Sweden and we talk about Europe as if they are two different things or as we are not part of Europe. We are part of Europe and for every day we get closer and more integrated with each other. You can make laws and you can take away obstacles but the European culture will evolve as people get connected ant this might take some time.
I had written a column in our local paper today about Europe day. Here it follows in Swedish.
To me Europe is about avoiding war and getting people together. It is not an easy assignment and it is not always progressing as I would like it too but I hope that we all one day can feel the value of each other’s differences!
Enjoy Europe day!
Varför jag firar Europadagen den 9 maj!
Min svärmor Nell växte upp mitt under brinnande krig i ett land ockuperat av Tyska soldater. Föräldrarna lät engelska soldater och delar av motståndsrörelsen bo i deras källare som i vanliga fall användes som möbelsnickeriets lagerlokal. Kriget var under många år ständigt närvarande och i huvudstaden Amsterdam svalt befolkningen och alla tulpanlökar tog slut. Man åt det man kunde få tag i. I staden Nijmegen, där jag under många år bodde, gick vi med skolbarnen till gungmonumentet. Mitt inne i stan hänger en gunga på en gräsplätt. Den påminner oss om de 40tal barn och fröknar som dog under krigets sista månader då de allierade av misstag släppte en bomb på fel sida gränsen och träffade en skola. Den lilla gungar berör. Krig drabbar alltid oskyldiga och leder sällan oss framåt.
Söndagen den 9 maj är det Europadagen. Under många år såg jag denna dag som ett marknadsföringsbidrag till den Europeiska Unionen. Vi skulle alla bli omvända att tro på ett gemensamt samarbete. Idag, efter att ha bott i Storbritannien, Belgien och Nederländerna ser jag värdet av denna dag. Ur askan av ett smutsigt krig som krävde över 80 miljoner liv växte en tanke på att ökad handel mellan länder borde skapa ekonomisk stabilitet och större förståelse för varandra. Genom att ta bort handelshinder och skapa möjlighet för människor, tjänster och varor att fritt röra sig över gränserna skulle man skapa en hållbar utveckling och social sammanhållning.
Ett halvt sekel av europeiskt samarbete har visat att helheten är större än summan av delarna. Gemensamma miljömål, utbyten av teknologisk kunskap, spridandet av mänskliga rättigheter och jämställdhet, solidariskt stöd till fattigare delar av Europa och samarbete mot organiserad brottslighet är något som jag tror vi alla gynnas av. De stora utmaningarna som vi står inför såsom global konkurrens, klimatförändringar, en åldrande befolkning (Europas befolkning krymper!) etc. löser vi bäst tillsammans.
EU är ingen lättsam, flexibel organisation och man kan ha många förbättringssynpunkter. Men, kärnan i samarbetet är viktig och vi får aldrig glömma vad det egentligen handlar om. För hur värdesätter vi fred och stabilitet?
Jag uppmärksammar Europadagen på mitt sätt tillsammans med min internationella familj som jag troligen aldrig blivit del av om jag inte utsatts för EUs universitetsutbytesprogram ERASMUS. I min familj samlas olika religioner, olika kulturer vilket inte alltid är lätt men som skapar förståelse och nya synsätt. Europadagen handlar inom om att vi alla skall bli lika utan om att se varandras olikheter och se värdet av detta. Tillsammans skapar vi en framtid där barn kan gunga tryggt! Därför uppmärksammar jag Europadagen!
Ulrika Geeraedts
Thursday, May 6, 2010
With diversity we build a place to call home!
Finally the trees are getting leaves and the grass the right colour. Last year we took our first dip in the lake at the first of May (when Karin Greber was here and took the great front picture of this blog) but this year it was much to cold for a dip. I think people were still able to fish on the ice in the beginning of April. Anyway, with the sun, the start of the soccer season and nights that get shorter each week people move out of their houses and into the outdoor lifestyle. This is typical for the Nordic countries and typical for Ulricehamn.
Many foreigners find the winter a difficult season in Sweden with the short days, little outdoor activities and many activities happening at peoples homes. If you don’t know a lot of people, winter is a period of silence and little activity. Expat-firms often suggest that if you are able to choose the time of moving up north you should do so during spring or summer. Refugees obviously do not have that luxury. Sometimes I think we should keep this in mind a bit more. How easy is it to find friends and get to know new people in a new country or in a small town? It is also typically Swedish to join a sport club instead of going down to the local pub on the corner to watch the weekend Rugbygame. It is probably a healthier alternative to join a sport club but if you don’t have kids in the right age I am not sure what you should do.
In a small town like Ulricehamn the local paper is a way in to find out what happens locally. Sometimes we joke about how local it is (last summer a cat was stuck in a tree which was recorded by the paper) but I think it really has an important function in bringing people together and creating a feeling of pride and local spirit. Whether it is a story about a good sport result, a new entrepreneur, a price winning gardener, a local political debate or the weekend’s auction it all show us that even in small towns creativity and ideas are spread. And, for the nationalistic Swedish Democrats who use the paper to spread their ignorant views about people from other countries I wonder if they ever opened a door during the winter months and tried to get to know any of the foreigners in this town.
With a foreign husband I seem to meet some of them as they find each other and often help each other and if I would use a term, which comes to mind for this group, it would be obstacle-movers! The risk all they have to come here, they learn a new language, try to understand a system and culture often very different from what they are used to, they experience recruiters with little intercultural skills and often find that the only way in is to start your own business. I think most people in Ulricehamn see all this and understand and support the newcomers here. Together we create this town and together we enhance each other and make this to what it is. A place we all call home!
Spring – here I come!
PS: A special welcome to Sandra, Joost, Roos, Lars, Niels, Hein, Susanne, Mick, Merel en Emma who are all on their way to spend their May holiday in Sweden and with us!!
Many foreigners find the winter a difficult season in Sweden with the short days, little outdoor activities and many activities happening at peoples homes. If you don’t know a lot of people, winter is a period of silence and little activity. Expat-firms often suggest that if you are able to choose the time of moving up north you should do so during spring or summer. Refugees obviously do not have that luxury. Sometimes I think we should keep this in mind a bit more. How easy is it to find friends and get to know new people in a new country or in a small town? It is also typically Swedish to join a sport club instead of going down to the local pub on the corner to watch the weekend Rugbygame. It is probably a healthier alternative to join a sport club but if you don’t have kids in the right age I am not sure what you should do.
In a small town like Ulricehamn the local paper is a way in to find out what happens locally. Sometimes we joke about how local it is (last summer a cat was stuck in a tree which was recorded by the paper) but I think it really has an important function in bringing people together and creating a feeling of pride and local spirit. Whether it is a story about a good sport result, a new entrepreneur, a price winning gardener, a local political debate or the weekend’s auction it all show us that even in small towns creativity and ideas are spread. And, for the nationalistic Swedish Democrats who use the paper to spread their ignorant views about people from other countries I wonder if they ever opened a door during the winter months and tried to get to know any of the foreigners in this town.
With a foreign husband I seem to meet some of them as they find each other and often help each other and if I would use a term, which comes to mind for this group, it would be obstacle-movers! The risk all they have to come here, they learn a new language, try to understand a system and culture often very different from what they are used to, they experience recruiters with little intercultural skills and often find that the only way in is to start your own business. I think most people in Ulricehamn see all this and understand and support the newcomers here. Together we create this town and together we enhance each other and make this to what it is. A place we all call home!
Spring – here I come!
PS: A special welcome to Sandra, Joost, Roos, Lars, Niels, Hein, Susanne, Mick, Merel en Emma who are all on their way to spend their May holiday in Sweden and with us!!
Saturday, April 17, 2010
With 27 hotshots stranded in Amsterdam
After 16 hour on a bus from Amsterdam we reached Ulricehamn again yesterday. The volcano outburst on Iceland has caused chaos all over northern Europe and a group of 27 people from Ulrichamn got stranded in Amsterdam. Luckily Jochem used his positive persuasive manners and found us a bus in a city with ten thousands of stranded people (something our travelling agency could not do!)
I have spent the last 3 days in the Netherlands with 15 companies from Ulricehamn and a few members from the municipality (including the chief executive) and the association of local businesses showing them different development projects in Amsterdam and Almere. We have also looked at how the city of Almere is working to grow with 60 000 new inhabitants and 100 000 new jobs to 2030. It was a very interesting trip where we were very well taken care of by the World Trade Centre in Amsterdam and Almere, by the City of Almere, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and all the other 9 organisations who participated. All in all I think many of us felt inspired and impressed with what we heard, experienced and the saw. We also had some time to get to know each other better (not only during our bus trip home). I am impressed with the many hard working, inspiring and creative company leaders that we have here in Ulricehamn. A trip like this is about learning more about other places, getting new ideas and contacts but also about connecting our local businesses to learn more about each other. It is vital that the municipality work closely together with the local businesses in order to develop the municipality further and during this trip we talked a lot about different possibilities.
Today Jochem and Nils headed off by car to the Netherlands. The airports are still closed and the last time the volcano on Iceland had an outburst it lasted for 2 years. As long as it is active no airplane can fly. Imagine what effects this can have on the economy of northern Europe? Jochem, who commutes between Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy will not be able to go to work (but can obviously work from home) and transportation of people and goods will have to go by boat, train, bus or car instead. Well, it is no use to worry about this yet but to take one day at a time. In the last few days we have seen many innovative ideas and visions and maybe the impossibility of using our airspace will lead to new innovative means of transportation?
I will spend the weekend with my two girls and enjoy Ulricehamn and the surrounding area. Amsterdam and Almere are fantastic places to visit but being here I feel just like the folder I handed out to our colleagues in the Netherlands – small and proud!
PS: The title is stolen from our local newspaper Ulricehamns Tidning!
I have spent the last 3 days in the Netherlands with 15 companies from Ulricehamn and a few members from the municipality (including the chief executive) and the association of local businesses showing them different development projects in Amsterdam and Almere. We have also looked at how the city of Almere is working to grow with 60 000 new inhabitants and 100 000 new jobs to 2030. It was a very interesting trip where we were very well taken care of by the World Trade Centre in Amsterdam and Almere, by the City of Almere, the Swedish Chamber of Commerce and all the other 9 organisations who participated. All in all I think many of us felt inspired and impressed with what we heard, experienced and the saw. We also had some time to get to know each other better (not only during our bus trip home). I am impressed with the many hard working, inspiring and creative company leaders that we have here in Ulricehamn. A trip like this is about learning more about other places, getting new ideas and contacts but also about connecting our local businesses to learn more about each other. It is vital that the municipality work closely together with the local businesses in order to develop the municipality further and during this trip we talked a lot about different possibilities.
Today Jochem and Nils headed off by car to the Netherlands. The airports are still closed and the last time the volcano on Iceland had an outburst it lasted for 2 years. As long as it is active no airplane can fly. Imagine what effects this can have on the economy of northern Europe? Jochem, who commutes between Sweden, the Netherlands and Italy will not be able to go to work (but can obviously work from home) and transportation of people and goods will have to go by boat, train, bus or car instead. Well, it is no use to worry about this yet but to take one day at a time. In the last few days we have seen many innovative ideas and visions and maybe the impossibility of using our airspace will lead to new innovative means of transportation?
I will spend the weekend with my two girls and enjoy Ulricehamn and the surrounding area. Amsterdam and Almere are fantastic places to visit but being here I feel just like the folder I handed out to our colleagues in the Netherlands – small and proud!
PS: The title is stolen from our local newspaper Ulricehamns Tidning!
Sunday, April 11, 2010
A map on the wall or a digital tool showing layers of information?
Nils is playing panfu on the Internet and there he can hook up with his friend Daniel. They can become a team and play together and chat with each other on what strategies to use. However, none of them know how to write or read very well yet so instead they call each other and talk while playing. Bet they soon will install the camera on Skype to be totally connected. Yesterday I got the phone from Nils and spoke to Daniel who had forgotten how the H look like (he needed it to log on again) and I tried to explain where on the keyboard the H would be found over the phone. Not an easy task!
I envy the digital generation who never stops by an obstacle but just find a new solution. In Nils world a computer is a central tool and he never worries about doing anything wrong or that he will accidentally delete something. From an early stage he has learned to use much and sometimes complex information (in different languages) in a flat, global system, open 24/7 where you find friends with similar interests – friends from all parts of the world. We watch over his shoulder, do not allow our children to chat yet and keep the family laptop in the kitchen to maintain some control. We talk about the dangers of the net and what they should watch out for but we also see them develop as they use the tools, the games, the films, the information etc.
The kitchen is probably the most use room in our house. On the walls we have two maps. One is an old school map of Sweden from a Dutch school and the other map is a world map with all the world flags. When Jochem leaves every Sunday we have come to talk about where he is going and what country he will be visiting this time. A map can be explored infinitively and it’s a fun way of teaching the kids how the world looks like. Because we know how the world looks like, don’t we? Maybe we as part of the old generation see the world divided into continents and countries while the digital generation look at it in a completely different way? Yes, it is good to know the map as we know it today and to understand how our current world was established and evolved but will boarders have the same effect in the future? Will people feel connected by a nationality or will new cultures evolve that are boundless or will new cultures appear that will change world order, as we now know it?
If one look at how fast things have changed in only the last 10 years with new technologies, new superpowers emerging, developing countries growing quicker than many European countries, improvement of health and at the same time climate changes that are threatening the world – who knows what more is to come! I don’t think anyone can foresee the future right now but despite many serious challenges I think we live in exciting times. The digital generation will live in a new order and influence where we are going. The geography of the world will most likely look the same in 50 years but I bet the maps will look completely different with many layers and much more information and Nils will be able to tell his kids that in the old days they used paper maps that they put on the wall!
I envy the digital generation who never stops by an obstacle but just find a new solution. In Nils world a computer is a central tool and he never worries about doing anything wrong or that he will accidentally delete something. From an early stage he has learned to use much and sometimes complex information (in different languages) in a flat, global system, open 24/7 where you find friends with similar interests – friends from all parts of the world. We watch over his shoulder, do not allow our children to chat yet and keep the family laptop in the kitchen to maintain some control. We talk about the dangers of the net and what they should watch out for but we also see them develop as they use the tools, the games, the films, the information etc.
The kitchen is probably the most use room in our house. On the walls we have two maps. One is an old school map of Sweden from a Dutch school and the other map is a world map with all the world flags. When Jochem leaves every Sunday we have come to talk about where he is going and what country he will be visiting this time. A map can be explored infinitively and it’s a fun way of teaching the kids how the world looks like. Because we know how the world looks like, don’t we? Maybe we as part of the old generation see the world divided into continents and countries while the digital generation look at it in a completely different way? Yes, it is good to know the map as we know it today and to understand how our current world was established and evolved but will boarders have the same effect in the future? Will people feel connected by a nationality or will new cultures evolve that are boundless or will new cultures appear that will change world order, as we now know it?
If one look at how fast things have changed in only the last 10 years with new technologies, new superpowers emerging, developing countries growing quicker than many European countries, improvement of health and at the same time climate changes that are threatening the world – who knows what more is to come! I don’t think anyone can foresee the future right now but despite many serious challenges I think we live in exciting times. The digital generation will live in a new order and influence where we are going. The geography of the world will most likely look the same in 50 years but I bet the maps will look completely different with many layers and much more information and Nils will be able to tell his kids that in the old days they used paper maps that they put on the wall!
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