Like a Dream

After five years in Scandinavia and living abroad, I am officially homesick. Not necessarily for Vancouver, although I do miss being around my family and friends over there, but just being homesick for North America and aspects of living on that side of the world. Being back at work, colleagues have been like "Oh I get you, I wish I was still on vacation" and I'm like "No, you don't get it. It's not that I miss being on vacation, I miss being in that culture".

So, being in New York (and a little stop to D.C.) this August was seriously, everything. I've always said that I would love to live in New York at some point and well, I'm ready to pack my bags. I'm ready to go! The city is crowded and busy, all the time. I know that making a good living and having a nice place to live isn't easy to come by over there, but at the same time, there's this air of opportunity and hope. There is this feeling that you can make things happen.

Then there is the familiarity. I have relatives in New York, so in a way, the city is quite familiar to me already as I have been there many times. But it's not just the actual city. It's things the tiny things that you think don't mean a lot to you when you first move abroad, but then you crave while you're gone. The husband and I spent like hours wandering through Whole Foods, we bought kombucha whenever we could, we had the best classic chocolate cupcake topped with vanilla frosting, and after not having it for years, the taste of a passion iced tea lemonade from Starbucks was amazing. Shopping was easier because they actually have petite lines for shorter people like me and there was so much choice. Choices are things I miss. That and diversity. Different people, different ethnicities and cultures, different foods, differences that somehow mesh in a big city.

I have a lot of thoughts on life in Copenhagen and Denmark. Let's just say, I can't live here forever. New York was like a dream. I mean, this whole year with traveling to Vancouver, London and New York has been super dangerous for the husband and I. It's harder to leave family, it's harder to leave cities that aren't even home for me behind, and now all I want to do is look for apartments/jobs and book holidays to these places.

Miss You

My all-time top post here is this one on losing friends while living abroad. So sad right!  There was a positive side to that post though! Maybe this is part two? Who knows but these are my thoughts on friendships lately.

I wanted to say how awesome and truly wonderful it was to see some of my favorite and closest friends from home while we were in Vancouver this Christmas. And honestly, leaving Vancouver this time was way harder than any other time.

Being able to spend time people who have known me for years, having relationships that have not changed, where you can just pick up where you last left off, that was just the best. Truly the best. Friendships where things are so familiar, so comfortable, so at ease and laid back. When there's no need to impress anyone or having to stay on guard a bit. I miss those friendships, big time. And it's not only like this with friends from Vancouver, I feel the same way with my friends in other cities and countries and parts of the world. 

Having lived in Copenhagen for 2+ years now, I have a good little group of girl friends and some friends I met through the husband. It has been so easy to click and connect with my girl friends because we're basically in the same situation (eh-hem married to Danes) but I still find that the relationships I have with some of the husbands friends is not the same as the ones I've had with my friends at home. We all laugh and joke and have a good time but that sense of truly knowing someone isn't always there. It is much harder to get real with people. Maybe it's because I haven't known people for as long, but perhaps people here are more guarded as well. More careful about how much they reveal about themselves. I guess that's the same with me in the same way. There's a lot our friends don't see or realize about my life in Denmark and all of its challenges. I don't know. What have your observations in Denmark or abroad been? 

I have been so lucky to get to see so many of my friends from different parts of my life this year with the wedding and going to Vancouver last month. And writing this post makes me miss people more so I'm just going to wrap it up here! Seriously though, love you guys! 

We Got Married!

I've been away from here for the last two weeks or so but for a very good reason. The fiance and I, now husband, got married on Saturday, July 19th. It truly was the most amazing day and it was everything we had hoped for and more! We then took off early Monday morning for Sitges in Spain and spent 6 days there (with 2 day trips to Barcelona in between). We are back in Copenhagen now for a few days to spend some more time with my family before enjoying the last of our summer vacation at the summerhouse. I'll be back with more regular posts soon!

Photo from my friend C!

The Start of Something New

Although I have enjoyed living in Copenhagen the last two years, it has also been difficult. Finding a job has been really hard for me. I could have sent more applications to work in retail or in cafes and make some money, but that just wasn't what I wanted to do. I really wanted to start my career.

I have sent so many applications. I've applied for everything from administrative positions at large international companies to internships at smaller Danish firms. I've done the cover letter and CV writing course provided by the government and I've attended some of their workshops. The fiance has also sent my CV to different people he knows to see if they had some connections or knew of anything. I have had a few coffee's and interviews with very different firms. They were signs of hope. My education in cultural analysis can be applied to different contexts so I've interviewed for internships at a UN agency and a really hip and current advertising agency for example. But those didn't work out as I had hoped.

But there is one firm that I have tried to get in for like over a year now. They consult primarily on regional development projects, an area that I've had the most experience in through my Master's and previous work experience. I had applied for an internship there originally and because I had worked with a client of theirs and had done a project related to another project they had done, they were always interested in my profile. I didn't get that internship but I thought I would try again and send an unsolicited application. They weren't hiring at the moment but I was able to meet with the analyst that I had previously been in touch with for coffee. Two months ago, I saw that they were taking applications for interns again and I thought I would give them one last try. And I am really excited to share that I got the internship and will be starting to work there full time in the middle of August for six months!

I have been waiting two years for an opportunity like this, and although it has taken some time to get here, I am really excited to start working and to start my career here in Copenhagen. It is an internship so I will still be looking for a full time position but I really think this is a great place to start in terms of networking, getting experience, and having some references behind me here. I'm excited for the next few months! And a huge t h a n k y o u to all of you who have been so encouraging and supportive of me while I've been job hunting over the past two years! You guys are the best!

C'est La Vie

Living in a different country, culture, and society, there are some aspects of the people and how things are here that I will just never understand. It is so hard not to compare people I know and culture here in Copenhagen with my friends, what I do and what I am used to at home. I thought it would get easier and I thought that I would eventually get used to some things I have encountered here, but sometimes you just never will. Some days it is easier for me to say "okay that is how they do things here" and just suck it up and other days I'm just like "what is wrong with them!!!". Anyways, that was my little thought for today. Expat problems. But really, I just wanted to show off those dreamy petals from my peonies last week!

Oh and I pretty much love this song. My life in Denmark in a song?!

Watching Hockey in Danish

With moving to Copenhagen, learning Danish and being surrounded by Danish people and culture, sometimes I feel like I am losing a part of my Canadian identity or my old self at least. With the Winter Olympics on the last two weeks, I've felt a real sense of pride for my home country while watching Canadian athletes compete and win medals in different events. Even though I am thousands of kilometers away from Canada, I got a little teary eyed seeing the athletes in their Team Canada outfits and watching them accept their medals and see the flag raised and all. 

It has also been fun watching the fiance get into hockey. I watched a lot of Vancouver Canucks games while I lived at home but having been abroad for almost 4 years now, I haven't watched or kept up to date with the Canucks. But with the Olympics, we've tried to catch all the Canadian hockey games that aired on Danish television. The fiance had been to a Vancouver Giants game while he did his exchange there but besides that he hasn't had much exposure to hockey. For someone who has not grown up watching hockey, the fiance gets really into it. This weekend he watched parts of the game standing up literally right in front of the TV. It was really funny watching him get frustrated at the Canadian men's team in their game against Latvia. Every once in awhile he will also YouTube clips of Canucks games because he says he needs to learn about hockey so that he will know what is going on when we move home one day. Although we're not sure where we will spend Christmas yet this year, he says that if we go to Vancouver, we'll have to go to a Canucks game.

It means a lot to me that the fiance is also getting into a part of my culture and what I've been brought up with. Even if it is something as small as hockey. 

How is it for those of you who are dating, engaged to, or married to someone from a different country and culture? Do you find ways to blend both cultures and backgrounds and how? 

True Colors

There are two sides to my life right now. On one hand, I am super happy and excited about getting married to the fiance this summer. He really is my best friend and we have the best time together. But on the other hand, I am pretty sad and mad. I have been living in Copenhagen for a year and a half now and well, I am still unemployed. I really do like Copenhagen. It's a great place to live. However, I don't like Copenhagen when I'm not an actual part of society. I don't feel like a tourist but I also don't feel like I am a part of society here. I would say that I'm "integrating" pretty well. I've finished four out of five modules of Danish classes, I'm getting married to a Dane, and I come from a country and a culture that is quite similar to here. I've been applying to jobs every week and I often get the same reply. It is really discouraging when you so badly want to be a part of the society that you are living in and you are doing what you can to get there but nothing has worked out so far. Most days I am happy and I stay positive but some days are harder than others. I feel like I write a post like this every few months, and I guess I do this because every few months it really hits me again.

Besides this huge debbie downer of a post, there are some photos from my weekend! I did a little twist on my usual risotto recipe on Friday night. I added some lemon juice and lemons zest to the risotto and we finally tried eating romanesco! Um, you need to try romanesco, it's so pretty and is like a broccoli and cauliflower hybrid! The fiance and I went to do a little wedding ring shopping on Saturday. It's fun to see what is out there and see what I can stack my engagement ring with. I think we know which rings we want to order! There was a little visit to good ol' Joe and the Juice, my friend invited some of us girls over for a lovely brunch - they are some of the most supportive ladies I know here in Copenhagen, and well it started snowing Sunday afternoon and it hasn't stopped!



It's Monday, it's a new week, and life is still good.

Dreams Do Come True

Sorry for the lack of posts this last week. But I do have some exciting things to share with you! The boyfriend planned a trip to Cinque Terre, Italy for us this past weekend. I had been wanting to go there after hearing about it a few years ago from a friend and the boyfriend made it happen! He gave me little hints for two weeks and towards the end I just knew we were going to Cinque Terre. Oh and the boyfriend is no longer. He's the fiance now! Not only did I get to go visit the most beautiful place in the world, I'm also engaged to the most wonderful guy I've ever met. It has been the most amazing weekend ever.

I'll be writing a few more posts on where we stayed, where we ate, and what we did while we were in Cinque Terre over the next few days. If you ever get the opportunity, you have to go there! That part of the Italian riviera is absolutely stunning.

Happy Things

I haven't been feeling super happy or positive this week but there is always something that puts a smile on my face. I went to Malmö on Friday with the boyfriend's mom and we went shopping for some things we needed for our apartments. She went to buy some fabric and I went to buy some little knick knacks and lighting for our apartment.  (I love the store Granit over there!) And of course, while I am in Sweden I just have to have some Swedish pastries! 

What puts a smile on your face when you feel down? How do you stay encouraged during those times? 

Thoughts on Living Abroad: Losing Friends & Making Friends

I don't know if it is the same with you, but living abroad has led to me losing friends, or at least being so out of touch with people that you don't really know them anymore. Maybe it is the distance, the fact that you can't physically see someone and spend time with them in person, or maybe it's just that you've started a new chapter in your life and some people don't come along with you. Although things like skype, facebook, and emails are available to us, it really takes effort on both friends' part for a long distance friendship to work. And it can be hard losing friends at home while you are in a foreign country. As exciting and fun as exploring a new place and culture can be, you can still feel lonely when you are eating dinner every night on your own and you just want someone to talk to. So people with friends living abroad - stay in touch with your friends, ask them about their lives now and their experiences living away from home! Be a part of their lives, I know they want to be a part of yours, even though you may be separated by hundreds of kilometers.

Although you might lose one or two friends, you'll make new ones. I promise! It might take some time, but you'll meet some great people and form new friendships. Making friends in Lund was not that hard. I was studying there for two years and I was in a program with some really great people. From day one, I started hanging out with two girls from Toronto and California and they were the most fun-loving and my most closest friends in Sweden. I also met a really awesome Australian in my first semester in Lund and we've gone from having coffee every week for a few months to him moving to London and then home and seeing each other a few times a year. He and his girlfriend are getting married in Sweden in a few weeks and the boyfriend and I are so excited to see two of our friends tie the knot! One of the downsides of making friends while you are studying abroad is of course that most people do eventually leave again. But when you're studying together or you're both coming from abroad, you really understand what the other person is going through and can support each other through it all.

Making friends in Denmark has been a different experience. Although I am friends with the boyfriend's friends, they are his friends and I don't want to tag along all the time. For awhile, it sucked when the boyfriend had plans with his friends on the weekend and I didn't so I would be home on my own, just like the rest of the week. But over the last year I've developed some new friendships. A friend of ours from Vancouver was living and studying in Copenhagen last year and I met two really great girls through him. Meeting people through your friends is a great way to widen your network. If your friend likes them, chances are you probably will as well!  I've also made some friends through the danish course I am taking. People come from all over the world in danish classes and you will probably not be friends with all of them, but there will be a few who you'll want to hang out with. Most of the time, they're in a similar situation as yours and you can really bond through these shared experiences. 

Most of my friends in Copenhagen now are international students, expats, and people who are married to Danes for example. Perhaps it's easier to connect with people who understand where you are from and understand what you're going through now abroad in this new place because they're going through similar things. I don't know! I still have a few really great friends in/from Vancouver and I can't wait to see them in a month. I love how we have kept in touch and how when we do see each other, it's like we were never apart because we know what is going on in each others lives. Friendships mean the world to me!

Have you lived abroad or are you living abroad? How has your experience with friendships at home and in your new city been? 

Perspective

I graduated with my Master's in June and have been living in Copenhagen since July. And 95% of the time, life is good and I am happy and I'm generally a very positive person. But 8 months post-graduation, I am (still) unemployed, I am tired of going to Danish classes, and although I love living here, building up a new network of friends has been a long and slow process. 

It can get overwhelming thinking and dwelling on all the things that aren't happening in my life, despite all my efforts. But, things are put back into perspective again when I focus my attention on all the things that I do have going on for me. I have a loving boyfriend and amazing parents who have been so supportive of me in all the decisions I've made, I am healthy, I have wonderful friends all around the world, I have a great and extremely useful education in cultural analysis and ethnography, and I am living in a sweet apartment in a really gorgeous city.

These quotes tend to pick me up whenever I am like "What am I doing?"/have a mini freak out/life crisis moment and help me refocus my perspective on things. I hope they'll be helpful to you too on those rare days when you feel like things aren't going the way you imagined, hoped, or planned. 

Images: 1//2//3

Happy Two

So the story goes like this, we met in Vancouver. He was on exchange, we were in the same macroeconomics class. We became friends we sort of liked each other but he had to go home. After graduating with my bachelor's and about half a year later, I moved to Lund, just a 40 minute train ride away from Copenhagen for my master's. We met up again, we were still friends. We were still just friends and Karen got a bit annoyed, but then in January 2010 we started dating and now we've been dating for two years!

To celebrate, we went out to eat at Geist last night (there will be a post about that coming real soon) and we thoroughly enjoyed it. Really interesting combinations in their dishes - some you'd never imagine pairing, and a really great atmosphere in the restaurant. We would definitely recommend it! We traded cards after dinner last night, and now we are spending the weekend up at the summer house. 

I know everyone says this about their boyfriend/girlfriend, but Adam truly is the best. I am incredibly thankful for him and love him more than words can say. 

Happy two years to us!

Keep Your Head Up

Why hello there! I didn't mean to take a break from blogging here this past week, but then I did. But I am back! 

It has been nice recharging at the start of the new year. I have never been big on new year's resolutions or choosing a theme or word for the year but I have felt the urge to start the new year fresh. I started yoga again on the 3rd after stopping for a little over two months. I find that I get closer to God in a hour and a half on the mat than I do elsewhere. Plus gentle hatha classes with D at Hamsa are amazing and so relaxing! The boyfriend and I also took down all the Christmas decorations this week minus the star which we will leave for a few more weeks. We have cleaned out some of the drawers in our apartment, rearranged and redecorated the living room, and we have bought new plants. I like visually seeing the change in our living spaces, also marking the beginning of a new season. 

There are a few challenges that we will have to take on in 2013. Deciding where we will live, applying for the right visas, find me or both of us a job depending on where we will be. These are things we've already started looking into this week and sometimes it gets hard and sometimes I joke that I should just take the easy route and go home, but we'll get through it and we'll be together no matter where we end up. If you know of any job openings in Copenhagen which require experience in communication/qualitative research, you know who to contact!

There are also some exciting things happening this year. Some of our good friends, N and P are getting married in Sweden in July! It's been amazing being a part of everything from when P told me he met a girl over coffee in Lund to yesterday when they told us the wonderful news of their engagement over skype from Melbourne. So excited for them and another reason to figure out visa things as I can only stay until the end of June right now! I have to be at their wedding! The boyfriend and I will also at least be visiting Vancouver this summer so it'll be nice for him to hang out with my family more and for the friends who haven't already, to finally meet him after hearing about him for more than three years.

It is going to be an interesting year and despite the uncertainties and challenges, I'm sure we will make it a great one! I hope your year has been off to a fantastic start! Do you make resolutions? What are you looking forward to in 2013?



As Ben Howard sings, "Keep your head up, keep your heart strong"! Happy Sunday to you!

Things I Worry About

Getting a little bit real today...

I wasn't necessarily scared when I moved to Scandinavia a little over two years ago. I wasn't really scared getting my wisdom tooth removed a few months ago. I wasn't scared or worried moving to Copenhagen. I'm not particularly worried that I don't have a job after graduating in June.

The things that really do worry me and get me into a wreck are mostly health related. And most of the time I'm scared and worried because I don't actually know what signs or symptoms mean, if they mean anything at all. I think about what I could be diagnosed with and how that would affect my life. And as hard as I try not to worry myself and let myself be scared, sometimes I just can't help it, I'm only human. (Just to let you know and not to worry you, I don't have any life-threatening illnesses, or sicknesses, or anything at the moment.)

I don't talk about what I believe in very often, not because it is not important to me, but because I'd rather live out my values and beliefs than talk about them. Lately, I've been listening to "Take Heart" from Hillsong United a lot. The song reminds me why I don't need to worry about things. Plus I have a boyfriend who stays strong for the both of us and an amazingly supportive family.

Also, I bought the book "Bloom: Finding Beauty in the Unexpected" by Kelle Hampton and started reading it last night. I have been reading Kelle's blog for over a year now and her life and her family are so incredibly inspiring to me. The way in which she and her family deal with the unexpected and the journey that they are on is just so beautiful. It is not what we are given in life that determines our happiness, our futures and our outlook on things, it is how we choose to respond to them. 

A bit of a random post today. These are just some of the things that I have been thinking about lately. Will be back with a new vanilla cupcake recipe next!