Mama mia, here I go again...

It was looking like it might be a pretty under-the-weather weekend.  My good friends were out of town in –gasp- Berlin, I was (am) still sick, and the family had planned some sort of sporting day with the neighbors on Saturday.  If you know me at all, you know that sports are NOT my thing.  At all.  Like I said, things seemed a little downcast.

But as it turns out, quiet and “normal” was exactly what I needed.  Friday night I came home, grabbed a glass of red wine as usual, and settled in with the family to watch X-Factor, the “American Idol” of Denmark.  I am pretty much obsessed with this show, and Friday didn’t disappoint: it was ABBA night.  I’ve had “Does Your Mother Know” and “Knowing Me Knowing You” stuck in my head since.  Whoops.

Saturday commenced the weekend as I’ve come to love: waking up around 8:30 (on a weekend?!  Who knew I had it in me?) to Gitte’s delicious homemade breakfast: fresh, hot bread with jams, cheese, and chocolate—yes, for breakfast, and it’s dark and wafer thin, so no, it’s not very unhealthy.  After breakfast and tea it was homework time for several hours, then a quick lunch of breakfast leftovers and off to the “sport day.”

Like I said, I am pretty much the antithesis of whatever “jock” girl you knew in high school.  Anything involving coordination is really not my strong suit…and…well…most sports require at least some.  One of our neighbors, Jan, works at an elementary school and was able to use the gym for a few hours.  We (the family and Caroline’s friend, Katrina), Jan, and another set of neighbors (Paul, Rounhil, and their baby Noah) met at the school and just…played!  At first I have to say I was pretty weary of the whole sports thing, but we wound up playing just fun made up games—the kind you play in PE class as a kid.  Handball, soccer, badminton, dodgeball, volleyball. Everyone made mistakes, everyone was good at some things and bad at others, but mainly everyone laughed.  At themselves, at one another, it didn’t matter.  Sports aside, I had a really great time just being energetic and having fun with friends and family.  We even packed hot tea and cake, and at risk of using the word incorrectly, I found the afternoon to be pretty hyggelit.

Sunday began with the same weekend breakfast routine—again, delicious—and more homework.  It was very rainy all day, but cozy because of it.  Gitte went on her run, I took Mikro on a walk by the pond, and we all made our weekend lunch tradition: smorrebrod.  This week I tried the fried slice of cod roe, and unfortunately…nej tak.  But hey, at least I tried it!  After lunch I read more of my book (Pillars of the Earth…SO good and somewhat relevant to my time in Europe!) and sent a few e-mails.  Mom called :) and we had a nice chat, and around 4 it was tea time.  Tea/coffee and some sort of small snack are usually served, and Sunday it was American pancakes!  I’ve tried my hand at Danish pancakes (crepes), but we thought we’d switch it up and try the American version.  And so, with the help of foodnetwork.com, I whipped up some American goodies and melted sordbaer jam for syrup…and OMG they were so good.  And the family liked them too! 

And then…time to clean.  In addition to typical Sunday cleaning (my room, laundry, etc.), we decided to clean out the kitchen cabinets.  And by clean out I mean SCRUB.  With ABBA singing away in the background (really, I can’t get enough), we scoured a few cabinets and called it a day.  Dinner and a Danish movie later it was time for bed, where I now sit typing this blog.

In lit classes we were always taught to analyze, not summarize.  And though the above is really just a summary of my very low-key weekend, it says a lot.  I—finally—feel at home.  Knowing a routine and holding my own without fear of doing the wrong thing or saying something strange.  Feeling free to add my own input or not say anything at all.  Finally understanding this place is home now.  I’m not just a visitor or a guest, but a part of a family.  While we were cleaning Gitte said as a joke, “Oh my.  Come to Denmark to clean!”  I’ve offered to help clean in the past and she always tells me that nothing is really expected because of my busy days and long commute.  But I have to say, the simple act of rocking out to 70’s Scandinavia music and scrubbing a cabinet has the stunning ability to make me feel normal again.  Weird to describe normal that way, yes, but it’s true.   It’s my Carlin family dancing to the Rolling Stones while cleaning up dinner.  It’s my Elon family singing Katy Perry while getting ready in the apartment.  It’s ABBA.  And mama mia, I am home. 

So was it relaxed?  Yes.  Was it exciting?  No.  But was it needed?  Definitely.  I count this weekend as one of the best yet.

Jeg hedder Kaitlin og jeg komma fra USA og Danmark. :)