A 5 year old’s perspective on home exchanging…

Sam wanted to write a guest blog for me, so I sat down and asked him a few questions about home exchanging. Ever try to get a 5 year old to write an essay?

What’s the best part about home exchanging? The house and the car.

What place was your favorite? Holland, because of the chicken pen, because I could walk in it and get the chicken out.

Did you ever get the chicken out? Oh, it just walks out.

Did you ever touch the chicken? Yes!

Was it yucky? No, it wasn’t yucky, it was friendly. The chicken just ran out of its cage whenever I came up to it.

Do you remember some of the famous places we’ve visited?  Um, the car and plane museum.

How about in France? Well, the Eiffel Tower. Oh and that restaurant in the Eiffel Tower, it was in the leg.

Which place had the best weather? Holland and Sweden because they were warm.

Tell me about Norway. Norway was the best place because I could go into the igloo.

The igloo? The one in the circle, the roundabout. I know it doesn’t have a sign. I could fall down in the snow.

Was it always snowing in Norway? Yes, but not always.

What did you do in Norway when it wasn’t snowing? I just hanged around. You know about the net? It was the coolest because I could slide down.

Did you ever take a train? Yes!

Where did you go on the train? To the Olympics.

Do you mean Lillehammer? Uh huh. We went down the hill. In a snow mobile.

You mean a sled? Yes, I had brakes and I fell out a few times but it didn’t hurt me.

Were you scared? Yes.

Do you remember any of the pets you took care of? Jet, the cat, he was fun and playful.

Any others? Mira, the cat. I’m going to sing a song. Cat Scratch, catty cat, cat scratch, cat scratch. Boom!

So you can’t remember too much about Norway anymore? Well we builded a dam, I needed to get some huge rocks. I had an idea but we couldn’t use mine idea. We had to have a bungee cord to hook up on the logs, and then we’d hook it and we would sail out. We would put it on the other side of the dam and we would sail out to that area.

Wow! Where would we go? To the sea. We would have food.

Did anyone visit you during your home exchange? Yes, Roland. And Kerstin. Max the dog. Martin and Tina. Auntie and Allie and Uncle John, and Lisa.

Did anyone visit Sara? Grace.

Did anyone visit us in Holland? Grandma.

Do you like doing home exchanges? Yes.

What’s the best part? The Legos.

The Griswolds we’re not

I haven’t had a lot of time to post lately, as we’ve been on our European vacation since leaving our exchange house in Gapinge, Holland. First we took a short cruise on Norwegian Cruise Lines from Rotterdam, and stopped in the ports of Le Havre, France and Guernsey, Channel Islands, UK. We were surprised to realize that we had no interest whatsoever in Le Havre, which is French for Shit Hole, and we promptly returned to the ship for one of their delicious pina coladas with spiced rum and a poolside massage. Guernsey was a nice port, the largest of the Channel Islands, and I was thinking about my mother and how she used to tell me about the Guernsey and Jersey (another Channel island) cows when I was little. We had to tender to the port, and Sam loved that NCL used its actual lifeboats for the tender boats and the seas were rough, even better. The kids decided that Guernsey reminded them of Ålesund, and I knew at that very moment that this trip was so worth it.

I also had a few observations about taking an American cruise in Europe. It was worth the $18 for an unlimited soda card, even when I bought it on the 2nd day of the cruise. The bartenders tried to talk me out of it, not realizing that I’ve been jonesing for a Big Gulp with extra ice since February and I would have no trouble getting my money’s worth. There were very few North Americans on this particular cruise, and the staff seemed very happy to see us. Hence, we inferred that the other demographics were not as popular, and I could sort of see why. There’s a general feeling in the US that the people who take the short (and much less expensive) Bahamas cruises are not the most sophisticated of crowds, and we’ve found this to be true in Europe as well. These people pushed and shoved, careened into us multiple times at the buffet, and drank beer after beer while their children splashed loudly in the Adults Only hot tub. They were, in a word, uncouth. I had plenty of time to reflect on how well behaved our kids are, even when they are driving us crazy, and how easily they adapt to any situation. So far on this trip we’ve been on transatlantic flights, European flights, international trains, local trains, a cruise ship, local busses, taxis, charter busses, metros, tour busses, and bikes. I am proud to say that our kids take it all in stride, and Sam is still waiting for his chance to ride on a tuk tuk.

Thing 1 and Thing 2..

What we do when we’re bored…

Here's to a new interest...

click the pix for the full effect!

Today I packed a picnic and Jon and I took the kids to the "secret hiding place" for lunch. The weather wasn't really cooperating with us, but we were determined to make the most of Jon's time off so off we went. The kids had a blast, and although it wasn't sunny, the light rain stopped as soon as we arrived and didn't start up again until I was finishing my last bite of sandwich.  We did a bit of rock climbing in the area before we headed for home, as Sara annouced every few minutes that she adores hiking and could do this all day.  Um, what?  Sara, the girl who refuses to wear a warm coat because it doesn't look good, the girl who hates trying new things, has discoved a new interest. Outdoors. This is most encouraging, and I'm excited for next weekend when we take the kids for a surprise getaway.  As we leave the beach, Sara gives me another gift, something she says makes her think of me. It's a small red rock that she found on the shore, shaped like a heart. I put in my jacket pocket, next to my own heart, where Sara always is...adventurer or not.

The Lego Fairy

Sam loves to play with all the new toys in the little girl's room here, especially with her collection of Legos. We have Legos at home for him, but these are different and he can build all kinds of cool new stuff. His favorite theme is the car wash - we've washed hundreds of cars in his car wash and have even washed a few horses and cows (when we're not milking them with the gas pump). Once, when Sara went to the mall, she picked up the 2009 Lego Catalog which she presented to Sam as a gift from the mall. He likes to climb into bed with me at night and "read his Magazine," showing me what he wants to get at the Lego store. He even has gifts picked out for all of us. He favors large sets that have to do with the police or the coast guard, and the other night he found something very special.  Look, Momma! he tells me, it's the Lego Fairy! They have a Lego Fairy in Norway! With this, he grabs me and gives me a big squeeze.  Hmm, yeah, I tell him, but I am working online and don't really pay too much attention to what he's saying. It takes a second to register. Lego Fairy? I picture a princess holding a wand, her body square and pink, and long yellow hair complete with "hair head."  Remember the Lego hair? Actually, it's nothing like that. He found something he learned about here in Ålesund, one of his new favorite means of transport: a Lego ferry. I have to admit that I was a bit disappointed - I was looking forward to playing with her.

image: Lego.com

In a good way!

Aside from Nestle instant Latte (embarassingly I am hooked!), there are other Norwegian influences that I wish we could bring back to the States with us. I'm not talking about the candy by the kilogram that's available in every grocery store and, delightfully, every gas station, but that's pretty good too. When I was at the community playground with Sam one morning, I had a chance to sit and look around the neighborhood a bit while he was playing. The majority of the houses here have porches or decks, and they all have little swings hanging down, or a set of rings. There are DIY ladders nailed to trees, huge nets to climb on, and even a ropes course behind one house.  At first this didn't seem so unusual, but after spending some time here I noticed a difference.  The kids were actually playing outside on this stuff.  For a long time.  Every day. Gradually it dawned on me what was so different: at home the houses have swing sets and playgrounds and all that good stuff too, but the kids aren't there very often.  They are too busy with school, gymnastics class, 30 channels of cartoons, piano lessons, Little League, video games, piano practice, homework, and babysitting.  They don't have copious amounts of free time; instead they have "free time."  They are shuttled around and managed by harried parents who rely on McDonald's for a quick dinner (no time!). Here it's different.  The school encourages play and exploration, and the kids have 3 recess periods a day, regardless of weather.  There aren't options for drive-by dinners, so families slow down and eat together at home, and an occasional dinner at a restaurant is considered a treat. The TV offerings are very limited, maybe 10 channels, so kids don't have much interest in sticking around in front of the tube.  Due to the fun income taxes the Norwegians pay, many mothers are able to stay home until their kids are 5 or 6 (with some help from the government), and even the Dads get home from work early by American standards.  It took us a while to figure it out, but now we know exactly what it feels like: America, circa 1975.