2008 Christmas Letter

Dear Family and Friends,

Welcome to my New Year Letter.

In January, I returned back to Denmark to a busy month at work completing the year end closure. January is actually a good month to have to work long hours in Denmark because it is mostly dark anyways.

In February, I took a week’s vacation in Jordan to celebrate my birthday. It was quite a packed week, floating in the Dead Sea, snorkeling in the Red Sea, walking and jeeping in the desert, and of course the ancient city Petra. I spent two full days at Petra, the first, visiting the main areas, and the second hiking above Petra (which few tourists do), looking down at the sites below, which was not only the highlight of the trip, but also happened to be my actual birthday.

In March, I continued yoga and Danish lessons, neither of which I am particularly good at. I am getting better at reading Danish (I can watch American sitcoms with mute and understand the Danish subtitles), but I still find the pronunciation very difficult.

In April, I had special visitors. Michelle, Mark and Henry spent a week with me here. We did quite a few day trips from my apartment, and they also came to visit me at work. Henry’s vocabulary had expanded a lot since Christmas, and I enjoyed being able to interact with him.

May was probably the best month weather wise in Denmark, and was a good time to go on some more longer cycling trips. I went on a three day trip cycling and camping around a little Island called Bornholm.

In June, my parents returned for another visit. First they went on a tour of Ireland, and then came back to Copenhagen and all three of us went to Iceland for five days. It was very interesting, with a lot of unique geothermal activity and Viking history. We swam in the blue lagoon, rented a car to see geysers and waterfalls and did some hiking. We did quite a lot in a short time, and were lucky to be there during the longest days of the year, when it was pretty much daylight for 24 hours.

In July, I did quite a bit of flying. First I went to New York for work for a week, and then returned and less than a week later was backing home to Winnipeg for two weeks. I was able to see many people and spend some time with my family, and even get out to Delta.

In August, I joined a mountain biking club in Denmark. For those familiar with Denmark, that may sounds funny, as it is quite flat here, but there are some parks with nice trails and having the mountain bike makes it a little easier on the non paved trails, especially if it is wet (i.e. which is most of the time)

In September. I decided to extend my stay at UNICEF in Copenhagen for at least one more year, to work primarily on a special project to implement IPSAS (International Public Sector Accounting Standards). I think this will be quite interesting and hope to have some travel opportunities result from it.

In October, I had another week’s vacation, this time a cycling trip through Tuscany, Italy. Cycling is a really good way to see this region, as there are many small villages and towns worth going through in addition, to the major centres . However, unlike Winnipeg and Copenhagen it is quite hilly and there were some long uphill climbs, but that also meant some nice long sweeping downhill stints where you could sit back and glide and just enjoy the scenery. Another bonus is that after a good day’s cycling, one could enjoy the fine dining and wines the region has to offer, guilt free.

In November, I had to move apartments because my lease was finished. It was quite a lot of effort , but now I am settling in. I do not have the view of the old apartment, but the new one is even closer to work and very nice inside.

In December, I returned to Winnipeg for Christmas. Michelle Mark and Henry were there at the same time which was great, and all of us stayed at my parent’s house, and had the traditional fondue, thankfully with no incidents. We spent Christmas Eve with the extended Johnson family and all five Johnson cousins were together for the first time since 2005.

I hope you all had good holidays with your friends and family and wish year all the best in the New Year

Love Colleen