Dear Family and Friends,
Welcome to my annual Christmas (now New Year's) letter.
In January, I moved into my new apartment. At first it was quite empty while I was waiting for my shipment from Canada, which took over 11 weeks. I also became a two bike household after I purchased a second bike for riding around the city. The dedicated bike path infrastructure here is excellent and you can easily manage without a car.
In February, I found a Canadian expat group which has a social activity approximately once a month, such as the Christmas dinner party where they served Nanaimo bars as dessert.
UNICEF also has many parties and functions. . In keeping with the international culture of the office, my centre organized an Egyptian themed costume party, and then in March; there was a Latin Salsa party and an Indian Diwali celebration.
In Europe, Easter is a major holiday and we had five days off. So in April I took this opportunity to visit one of my previous cities of residence, Prague. It was my first time back there and I was pleasantly surprised to see that it had not changed as much as I thought it might, especially once you got away from the main tourist areas.
In May, the days got longer and the temperature got warmer in Copenhagen. I welcomed my first visitor when my mom, Virginia came for a visit. By the end of the week, she was like a local, even taking the train to the airport on her own.
At the end of June, I retuned home to Canada and had the pleasure of meeting my six month old nephew Henry for the first time. I stayed with my sister and brother in law in their new house in Vancouver, and then we all spent more time together with my parents in Winnipeg.
At the end of July, I enjoyed spending time with my cousin Paul and his family when they came to visit. For anyone interested in a trip to Copenhagen, I offer a convenient location close to major sights as well as a selection of complimentary fine wines.
In August, I enjoyed an excellent vacation through the Baltic States: Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania. All three countries were very diverse, interesting, well worth visiting yet still relatively untouched by mainstream tourism.
Both my parents came to visit me in September. First they went on a tour of Russia, and then I met them in Stockholm from which we drove north to visit our relatives from my Grandpa Johnson's side. Even though we had not met before, they welcomed us and took us around to see the homes where my great grand parents Olivia and Gustav had lived, and the church where they were married. It was a great experience for all. After returning from Sweden, we set off on a four day 250 km cycling trip around Denmark, staying in hostels, carrying all our gear with us, and navigating our way through the bike routes.
I started Danish classes after work in October. Although I can recognize quite a few written words, the pronunciation is very difficult and it is easy to avoid practicing because the Danes speak English so well.
In November, I had the opportunity to take a business trip with UNICEF to meet with my colleagues in the New York headquarters. I also took a few extra vacation days for shopping and sightseeing and saw the lighting of the Rockefeller Centre Christmas tree, Fantasia in The Color Purple on Broadway, and was even on TV myself for a few seconds while watching The Today Show.
A few weeks later I was back in North America again in December. Although short, it was great that I could spend a white Christmas at home in Winnipeg with my family.
Take Care and Godt Nytar.
Colleen
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