Oh the Food

Croissants are wonderful.  Salmon is great, but there comes a point where a little spice would be nice, and then, we landed in Singapore and Malaysia.  The long history of ship traffic though this areas has brought together spices and culinary influences from around the world.   This combined with an almost exclusive eat out culture has resulted in staggering food choices. If you walk if any direction you can buy food within a few feet.   Spiced curries, rice bowls, fruit stands, grilled fish, soups, chicken feet, you name it. The newest find was a stand up hot pot stand. The stand had a pot of boiling seasoning and sticks of meat and vegetables all on the stick to cook yourself and eat as you stand.   The indulgence over the last few days has been a fun change and about as different as I could imagine to the food culture of Norway and Croatia.

Loving both the food and presentation of this Thai dish.

The theme of our last few days for sure.

This fun collection of veggies, tofu, eggs, rice and peanut sauce was a great cool dish to balance the heat of the day.

Coffee, Water and Orange Juice have been our drinks for months now, so landing in Singapore and getting to choose from this sort of collection was overwhelming and wonderful.

Little one loving dinner at a Singapore Hawker stand. This famous one near downtown was a blast. It is like a food court on steroids and all independent little local shops.

One of the hundreds of cooks in a Singapore Hawker stand. Each specializing in their own food, selling 3-4 items each.

Any one need a banana. You always can tell when you are getting close to one of these stands because of the strong durian fruit smell.

Little India’s version of “to go” food. Motorbikes would pull up, stay on the bike and ride away, Samosas in hand, freshly fried.

An instant favorite - fresh fruit on top of a bowel of fresh smoothie.

Checking out the daily options.

The Hot pot stand where you get to choose your food, cook it there and be on your way.

The propane stove, the fry pan, the one dish: Granny’s oyster omelette: this is Penang food - at every conner (these were super good by the way).

Huge vats of spices ready to go. If you have not watched Trevor Noah’s Son of Patricia show (https://www.netflix.com/title/80239932) you should. I keep thinking about it with all the spices. There is a line where he talks about how much we gain form the diversity. He says “don’t ever forget, a life without spice was so hard, so hard that it made white people sail around the world to find it. This wasn’t regular sailing. It wasn’t a Disney cruise. These people lived at a time when they believed that if you went that way you would fall off the edge of the earth and die. And still, some man was eating some white lady’s cooking and was like, “I can’t do this %!# anymore!”. Here in the land of where these spices came from and passed through, I keep thinking about that human need for spice, both literally and figuratively.

Finding Balance - Museums in Penang

One thing we had heard about in Penang is the museums.  They are small, locally done and crazy fun. We toured 2, the Upside Down Museum and the Dark Museum.  Other ones exist including the Ghost museum, Tunnel Museum and so forth. They all have the same idea, crazy fun art done in a creative way to make the selfie of the museum look amazing.  It is actually genius. The Upside Down Museum was packed, we had to wait 45 min to get in, but sat in a cool room with travelers from around the world watching a “caught on candid camera” type show with no words.  The whole waiting room laughing together even if we could not speak the same language.

Once the museum started (as our number was called) they efficiently move you from room to room.  In each room there are one or two aids who would help get you in position, which turned out to be key because it was hard to make sense of the room with so many things on the ceiling and how you might interact with props once the picture was turned 180 degrees.   After a quick photo shoot, they would hand the camera and the laughter would begin.

For a world full of selfies and distorted reality these creative museums hit the nail on the head and were a fun way to spent the afternoon.

Creating a garden

With all of the vegetation in Malaysia we saw a cool “experience” we thought the girls might like: making your own indoor garden. Two hours later they had created their own lovely plant world, learned all about how to care for it and learned we can take them to Bhutan.  We will see if these little guys make it that far, but we are going to try to get them to our new home.

Loving the green

Taking a new fun way to the gardens

High Ropes and different Robes - Escape Malaysia

The girls had been longing for a water park since Croatia and it was there that they found out what a high ropes course was. Somehow that escaped their education to this point in their lives and they were intrigued.  When we saw Penang had a huge water park and high ropes course they had one thing they wanted to do.

An hour Grab (like Uber) ride later we were at entrance with half the island as December is their break time and a popular time for the park.  We paid, entered and got our bearings. The whole forest was a maze of multiple levels of a high ropes course. We jumped in line and stood we found ourselves hooked into the most extensive ropes course I have ever seen.  It was well done, 9 different “lanes” can be chosen with difficulty levels of 1-3. They estimated that to complete 1 lane on one level it would take between 30 min to an hour. We chose level 3 and climbed up to the top. The plan had been do to all the course if possible.   You are harnessed and you can not take yourself off the cable until the end of the lane. The obstacles involved zip lining, hanging ladders nets, jumping between swinging poles, rolling barrels and so on. Think Ninja Warrior in the jungle and once you start you can not stop. Two hours later, drenched in sweat, bruised, sore, and smiling we had completed 2 out of 3 lanes of level 3.  

I wish I had a picture of the fun, but the camera had to be left at the front and I was fully involved in just getting from point A to point B.  After a high dive show and a quick bite of Indian curry and roti - you know the cheap food in Malaysian water parks unlike the expensive hot dogs, we spent the rest of the day in the water park.

One of the most interesting things for me was the dress.  In Croatia everyone was basically naked at all time. You just took off your wet top and put a new one one.  Traverse was the only person we saw without a speedo on. People would look at me odd if I swam in a sports bra top.  In Islamic Malaysia however, I learned they make full swimming berkas complete with hijabs. The website said two piece swimsuits were OK, we only saw one other Chinese women in one besides the high dive act.   We were clearly the only caucasians people there and were referred to as “Alaska” by the friendly staff. The cultural differences were highlighted when Isabelle was asked if she had a husband. More than anything I was struck by beauty of seeing people of all ages, gender and religions play in the water, help each other through the ropes course and revel in the things that make us similar while still holding onto the ways we are different.  

After playing from the moment the doors open until they closed, we were all tired and sore but grateful for a fun day in the Malaysian jungle all getting to be kids.

Never ending fun running in the water.

Making her way down the lazy river surrounding by the Malaysian jungle.

The place was full of these interesting contradictions and commentary.

I am always game for an adventure with these two!

Coffee

There are themes that continue to rise though this year, and coffee is one of them. 

Coffee in Norway it is dark, bitter and never ending at home on rainy mornings.  There are no coffee cafes, it is something you enjoy from a thermos picking berries or around the fire with friends at home. 

Coffee in Croatia, not really a beverage, it is an event, a way of being.  “Getting a coffee” more means a minimum two hour event.  It is never “to go.”  “Getting coffee” is a daily ritual of life and a medium by which all of life events take place.  You go to “have coffee” if you date, break up, have a work meeting, talk to your family. It is done in the public squares, never alone and never with a computer.  It is always an impossibly small cup, that Croatians have the amazing ability to make last hours.  When the tourists leave, the only places that stay open are the coffee shops, which then serve wine and beer at night. 

Singapore.  There is a beautiful efficiency of Singapore, and with the highly sugared iced coffee that is everywhere, Kopi-O, seemed to fit the city perfectly.  Kopi-o is coffee made through a fancy sock filter and with as much sugar as you can get to dissolve. If you want it cold and to go, it is poured over ice, tied together with a rubber run and straw was a perfect companion to, well anything: a hot walk, spicy Indian curry, chicken rice or beef satay and the perfect answer to jet lag.    It was also the land of selfies - while we never did,  you can get your selfie printed on the foam of your latte at the famous “Selfie Coffee” shop.

Malaysia: Penang white coffee.  Now in Malaysia, the coffee grows in the surrounding hills and every corner has another “white coffee” stand often with  street vendor or two.  A drink for any time of the day this more milk than coffee version of coffee has me yawning in the afternoon but longing to find out more about the history.  It is also a place where labor is cheap so people send time on things, like 3D foam creations in your coffee. 

More adventures are sure to come, but grateful for the warm cup of joe in mornings. 

I asked for a “coffee with cream” and learned the magic of Croatia: cream = whipped cream!

This fun sign in Penang summarized about how I feel after finding a good cup of joe!

Someone had a hard time getting used to coffee size in Croatia.

Checking out the #Selfie Coffee stand in Singapore

Making the wonderful sock coffee to go.   

Getting breakfast for the girls with our coffee to go.  

Green Spaces and Green Living in Singapore

Singapore caught us all off guard.  One would probably not describe us “city people” but somehow we found our time in Singapore both interesting and comforting.  Singapore was never a place I had on my list of places I wanted to visit, but after 10 days in the city, I left amazed and wanting more.  What I loved about Singapore was this interplay between nature, art and technology as well as government and the individual. Every place we went, plants and nature were a part of the buildings.  The parking lots had vines growing up them, the hospitals had open terraces and garden walkways. The downtown corridor had solar run cooling fans on the street that provided shade during the day and lighting at night.  The entire Gardens by the Bay includes a massive cloud forest in a greenhouse, a stunning flower garden, museums, restaurants, outdoor gardens and huge tree sculptures that are run off of solar and biofuels created on site.

It was inspiring to see a city work towards a greener tomorrow.

The worlds largest indoor waterfall was a sight to behold. Inside a massive greenhouse the different ecosystems in a cloud forest were maintained and you could explore the different levels going in and out of the waterfall itself.

From inside the greenhouse, the afternoon storms came with their full force. The dome of glass what a spectacular place to watch the sheets of water cleanse the city.

Cruising along the bay on a scooter. To the left in this picture you can see the edge of the solar street fans / shades / rain protection / night light instillation they had along the path.

As a chemistry major and fine arts minor, this museum was my happy place. The lotus flower shaped building that appeared to defy gravity was filled with inspiring exhibits and beautiful quotes about the integration of science and art. The whole museum is surrounded by this lily pad pong, again blending nature, art and science.

Again these lines, I am no architect - but I love how the building, the usable space and nature dance together in this city, each complementing eachother.

The pond was the top of the waterfall in the Cloud Forest, a collection of art, history and science.

Just look at this life. This was in the flower dome where they had plants from around the world including an amazing collection of Olive Trees (which is saying something after spending 3 months with Olive tress) It must be a botanist dream job to work here. The textures and shades of green were mesmerizing.

We have hundreds of pictures of these

Here again you can see the architecture of this mall dance with the palm trees, beautifully lit from below. This mall even contained a rain collecting system that drained into a waterfall in the mall, that created a river through the center creating a river like those in Italy with boats that took shoppers along the length of the mall.

This is art. This piece profoundly spoke to me. This is a sculpture in the flower dome, and a part of a collection with a husband and a child. If I could artistically represent how I feel this year, it this sculpture. She is fluid and soft, yet made of bronze. It appears to defy gravity as the pieces appear disconnected yet are all one. She is open to the world around her, yet strong and stable in who she is. You can fill the sculpture with so many meanings depending on what you bring to the conversation. It inspires thought, questions, examination and emotion. I can’t think of another piece that has been of art I have ever been so inspired by.

Solar powered street fans make walking in the heat more enjoyable.

The whole city is set up for the rain. The bus and subway systems were clean, efficient and ran on time and also made the commute dry and comfortable.

Homeschool Writing Assignment: The Heart of Croatia

The Heart of Croatia

by IZ

I strained my ears for the sound of waves gently washing over the rocky beach, but I heard none.  The sea was silent. The salty body of water simply slept in an undisturbed silence. It was as helpless as an infant, relying on the rocks deep down below to hold its up its limp body.  The only suggestion of movement was the small grey fish skimming the surface for nutrients and seaweed brought from the latest storm. The sun danced with the ripples as they continuously marched forward, getting smaller with each circular pattern outward, never quite making it to to the abandoned rock castles that dotted the crescent-shaped beach.  

The beach was different than others I had visited.  It was rocky, with no sand to bury your toes. Instead of palm trees, giant olive trees provided shade as they swayed in the gentle breeze that blew through their strong branches.  The lovely scenery was laid back on the stunning Adriatic Sea in a small town in Croatia. Its red tiled stone houses brought me a scene of home.

I slowly pulled myself up, dusting off all the little pebbles that had made a home on my legs, leaving little red marks.  My calves looked like they had a bad case of the chicken pox, only the dots went inward. I felt as if I was hobbling over the stretch of rocks as they moved below my feet, acting only half solid.  When I finally reached a large rock, I lay down and let my feet dangle into the glimmering Adriatic. The moment they made contact with the water they recoiled with the touch of its cool surface. Ignoring my senses I dove into the water, making a  splash followed by a much bigger ripple effect.

The sea may have seemed calm on the surface but down in the deep blue water under the glassy top it was filled with lively action.  The sun sliced through the surface like a kaleidoscope of turquoise and emerald green. I was in the world’s greatest theater, watching a stunning performance of acrobatic sea creatures.  Bright orange and ruby red crabs battled over a stip of slimy algae covered seaweed. Graceful turtles glided through the act with a stunningly rhythmic cadence. The great strong and powerful sea anemone caught baby fish in its trap of swaying velcro-like arms and legs.  Not only was it a breathtaking experience (literally, I had to swim to the surface multiple times to get more air) but it was the everyday lives of these little creatures.

I returned to the rocky beach once more and listened to the sound of crabs scuttling along the rocks and birds chirping off in the distance.  My mouth tasted of salt, but it was not unpleasant. It was more refreshing and cleansing than I remembered. I welcomed the warm sun to chase away my chills, filling me with warmth.  

I.Z.

What Home Schooling Looks Like.......

We are not teachers and knowing how figure out the school aspect of this year was a major challenge.   We are blessed that Alaska does a great job supporting homeschooling and after talking to friends we enrolled the kids in Mat-Su Central (a school designed to support home schooling) and were linked with an amazing councilor.   We met a few times talking though our goals of the year, looking at where the kids were at and where we hoped they would be at the end of the year. We decided that we would do an online Math program - Think Well and an online writing program - Write at Home that would support the girls though the year.  The other parts: culture, language, science, reading, physical education we would help organize and coordinate.

I could go on forever about how much more rewarding and fun this has been than I expected, but instead, here are some picture from the past week of what homeschooling has looked like for us.  The video is Lily taking her final test for European geography before moving on to Asia.

“Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood. Now is the time to understand more, so that we may fear less.
”

— Marie Curie

This was a beautiful and highly interactive exhibit on Richard Feynman and his incredible work in Singapore.

The art in Penang is everywhere and adds to the already overwhelming beautiful visual stimulation.

We spent hours at this beautiful interactive exhibit at the Science and Art Museum. The girls created their own cities and played and danced with a highly engaging displays. If we were not so busy at the museums, I might have actually written more about them.

Art is meant to be played with, lived with and interacted with.

Much of what we hope to learn on this year is just seeing an other ways that people live and learn and help them find their own personal inner callings. Like the old and the new in this picture we have tried to blend traditional and non-traditional learning to give them wings to fly.

More fun at the Art and Science Museum. Particle physics, building atoms and computer boards.

We took so many pictures in this “meditation” room in the Art and Science museum. It was beautiful interaction between light and texture.

i love the way light and angles can change everything.

more fun

The street art in Penang has also been a fun addition to art part of our year.

And you get to interact with the art.

This teacher is grateful to have had this year to really dive into the girls education and to have so many helping hands that made this year possible!

Book Reports: Chasing A Croatian Girl.....

Singapore (updated Pics & Video)

Going to Singapore is like going into the future.  Even though it a very large city, they still try to protect the Earth. There are tree’s and plants everywhere.  Singapore is also one of the most cleanest city’s in the world.  I very much noticed those details when we visited. There Zoo was also probably one of the best Zoo’s I have ever gone too.  They have a huge building just full of plants, they call it the cloud forest.  We enjoyed a light show made out of tree structures with real plants on them.  I am not a city fan, but WOW.  

Lily Zink

These giant trees, perform a light show two times a day.

Biggest ferries wear in the world!!!

They call it the Singapore Flyer.

Looking down at the modern Singapore, on our ferries weel carts.

At the Zoo.

Practicing our meditation at a loud Zoo at night.

Watch out!!!

Don’t want to go swimming here.

In the Zoo, the monkeys get to run free.

They have these everywhere!!

Fresh orange juice to go.

CREEPY!!!

It’s definitely a boy.

You had to wear a bunch of shawls to enter here.

One hundred Buddha’s.

Singapore Zoo

River Safari

Eating local foods.

Still reading at 1:00 am

Shop until you drop, just don’t stop!!!

Plitvice Lakes

Long before we came to Croatia, the Plitvice Lakes were high on my list of “must do” but tucked in the hills between the coast and Zagreb, they were not a part of our original plan. When we booked our tickets to Singapore it was much cheeper to fly out of Zagreb and it meant we would rent a car and could drive to the lakes on our way our. We had also heard the lakes were packed (they weren’t). Even into October and November when the rest of the tourism in Croatia has died off, these have been one of the last hold outs despite their altitude. In fact in the winter, most of the waterfalls freeze.

I had forgotten about the weather. Everywhere else we have been we have had enough time we just pick the best day to go on the adventure, but this time we had one day to see the lakes, a day with 100% heavy rain and 40 degrees. We dressed in all of our layers and headed out for the day.

The trail and park were impressive. Well marked trails, busses and boats connecting different points of interests and beautiful lakes and water falls. They really have set up this park to make it a beautiful place to enjoy regardless of the weather. Also with the time of year and the weather we had the place almost to ourselves.

Snow ball fights, wet cold rain, fun in the hills on our own, it felt almost like we were home before we take off for our next big adventure - Singapore tomorrow!

The water was temptingly blue green. Not from glacier silt and not from hot springs, but from moss and algae and the clear limestone rocks. Fish packed the rivers and every turn was a new surprise.

I loved the details that came through. The moss, leaves, stone stairs, it was like a painting made of a million dots. Here the girls make their way down the trail, through a cave to the edge of one of the lakes.

The park itself was impressive in the way they build boardwalks and bridges to let you drift between sections, both close to the water, yet perfectly dry.

I loved the drops of water on the trees, hanging like little pearls reflecting the light in this white white wet world.

A few last leaves were holding on, snow could be found in the shade of the trees. Very different than the blue waters where people bathe in the summer, but great to have the park almost to ourselves and time to explore.

Playing around under the “big waterfall.”

The development of the park was impressive with caves and walk ways connecting the lakes, rivers and caves.

The limestone hills give way to cascading waterfalls and deep blue pools as the water walks its way though its timeless journey to the ocean.

After stones and beach for so long, I was completely in love with the trees as far as they eye could see. A fun end to our time in Croatia.

Little one’s Thanksgiving

Thanksgiving was not the same without friends and family.  Usually every year our family throws thanksgiving for everybody.  Everyone we know goes to our house and brings food for our feast.  Once everybody had arrived we would all start eating.  It was like a ocean of food!  Everywhere you looked there was always something that  you reminded yourself to go get next.  Our two dogs Luna and Nalu would be locked out on thanksgiving but every once in awhile I would sneak out and give them some scraps.

Once all the kids were stuffed we would all lay on the couch for like an hour.  We would be so fat all we could do was crawl around on our stomach all over everybody else on the coach, If you needed to get your drink or something.  After we could walk again we would all run upstairs and rough house. we would all have one giant wrestling match.  And then after almost everybody left, me and Izzy would beg our closest friends parents to let them have a sleepover.

This thanksgiving was different though.  This thanksgiving I woke up early and headed to the kitchen. (Did I forget to mention, we are still in Croatia.)  In the kitchen I started coffee for my parents, And I made some braided bread and scones.  I woke the rest of my family up with tea and coffee.  My mom made baked eggs for breakfast, yummmmm.  After that we went to a fortress on the mountain and enjoyed the unexpected beautiful weather.  After that we went up the hill to the top where a fancy restaurant awaited us.  when we were through the day and I was in bed I thought of what this thanksgiving had been like compared to all the others that had past in Alaska.  This was a great thanksgiving.  It was different yes, but different is not bad

Dubrovnik

The sense of place in Dubrovnik is something that has caught me off guard.  Nations come and go, wars fought, alliances changed, but these city walls still stand.  The home is still the home, the church still the church.  Restaurants move their chairs around to fit the changing weather, tenets come and go, but the cobbled streets of limestone get a little smoother every year under the pressure and friction of millions of steps.

Dec 6, 1991, this town was bombed.  It started with the cross on top of the mountain behind the city in the early morning, and quickly much of the city was on fire.  Everywhere you walk it is this interesting balance between Game of Thrones scenes, war memorabilia, tourist shops and the functions of everyday living, all boxed together by huge stone walls.  

I feel like I am in a board game.  There are well-defined edges, and the players of modern society,  the history of the past, the needs of the tourist and the local are all playing out, one on top of another, each bending to find the space they need creating this interesting collage of experiences.

The summers here sound intense; our Airbnb host described it as 'rivers of people you must swim through to get anywhere.'  She laughs when people say they are at the gate and they will be there in 10 minutes because she knows they will have to go "upstream," a walk the girls run in less than a minute in now.

These days thunderstorms come and go, the wind blows cold through the city, and the Christmas decorations are going up.  A cruise ship or two a day bring a flock of glazed-eyed tourist making the rounds to the usual destinations, but in the evenings, the hum of the old town takes over.  School groups gather at the church; a wedding procession makes their way through town, and little one curls up in the corner a the local bookstore enthralled in another book.

These are our last days in Croatia, probably our last days in Europe for some time.   Croissants, hidden walkways, and cappuccinos - I am going to miss this place.  But what I am taking away is a sense of transcendence, of inevitability to life: these walls, these mountains they stand and lay witness to our struggles and joys as individuals, as families, and as nations; they hardly change, but we change because of them. I have learned more about world history in these past few months than years in school.  I read the paper every morning with a new light.    With all of the history and struggles of Europe's past and present what I have noticed the most is the importance of time, art, and beauty so many people seem to capture in a decidedly non-American way.  Much like the very first days in Bergen and all the potted plants, the little touches is what I have noticed the most.  It is as if these old walls whisper, “you have yet one life to live, we will still be here; you don't always have to be practical."  "Enjoy the cup of coffee, put a flower out to share and marvel at  the sunset." 

So off to coffee, to new adventures and to enjoy this little nugget of peace we found among to stones of war.  

It is no wonder Game if Throns was filled here. This beach is Kings Landing.

Living in old town.

These walls are amazingly intact.

Exploring the walls around the city.

Headed to the old fort

When you only have a few cloths, you make new combinations. She said she wanted to try lots if different styles this year to figure out which one is really hers. Makes sense.

Layers of history. 

Every night these lights make the walls around the city make the whole place glow.

If only this picture captured a fraction of the light and colors of this amazing sunset.

I have loved the little details of pride in this city.

Found this little one singing to herself.  I love how the weapons of a war are now a place for a child to rest. 

Only things you can do in the off season

These two!   How did they get so big?

Every evening was another painting. 

Soooo big!  So fun to spend this year with these two.

Off to new adventures.  

Little one stole the phone again.

One more year before she heads to high school!

The layers upon layers of history.  Each piece with its own story.  

Eating lunch in their own.  

This sleepy city along the Adriatic bearing witness to the ever changing moods of humanity.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Happy Thanksgiving.   It is always my favorite holiday of the year.  Big gatherings, yummy warm food, the chance to give thanks, to have a second chance and to start the holiday season with family and friends.

This year was mellow and small as our family celebrated on its own.  Lily woke us up with coffee, homemade scones, and our traditional braided bread.  After breakfast, we went and hiked up the mountain behind Dubrovnik, took in the view and came down in time for video chats with family near and far, cookies and a movie.  

Along the hike, the kids were funny and playful, and I asked them what they were grateful for.  I thought I would share:

- Hedgehogs because they just are great

- Dad not having any hair, so he does not shed hair, and it is easier to keep the house clean

- "My ears to tuck away horn hair" - i.e., the baby hair around her face

- Coffee, because then I have something to serve you in the mornings

- Pigs because, well bacon and bacon is great

- Athleta making great clothes and so I don’t have to

- Mom's clothes, so she can carry them in her bag, yet I can wear them when I want to.

- Dogs because they make me happy to look at, that one, ok that one, or and that one.  I think they stopped counting at 13

- Bread products - no reason needed

- Mom's limbs - they are fun to pull on, hold on to, wrap around me

- Dog outfits, because they make an already great thing better

- Digital phones, because now I always have a camera, music and I don't have to carry anything else.

- Portrait mode on the phone, because it makes everything look better

- The decorations around Dubrovnik, because I love Christmas decorations, and they are even better on castle walls

- Ice cream shops, everywhere, especially this one because they are kind, call us "Alaska" and give huge scopes of "half and half" ice cream

- Stylish clothing, because Europeans are so stylish and it is fun to look at their clothing

- "Mandarinas" or small oranges that have been consumed by the kilo over the past month.  

- Granny's soup, because we love her soup

- An oven because you can use it for so many things

- Sunshine, because it is beautiful and makes you feel warm

- Warm swimming water and the Adriatic swim challenge

- Escalators (as we were climbing up hundreds of stairs)

- Shade (as we got hotter climbing up the stairs.)

So be it warm or cold wherever you are this Thanksgiving, we hope the dogs were cute, the oranges were plentiful, the phone pictures were in portrait mode, and you all enjoyed some Granny soup.  

Our little crew for the year.

Braided bread - accidentally baked on broil mode

Face-timing family

Orange juice to go with the oranges!

Two of the three: Dogs on portrait mode - she reminded us of our sweet Luna who we miss a ton.

Cheers friends!

Croatia National News

Why do we travel?  What have we learned?  How do you summarize feelings you don't yet have words for?  How do you share this journey to a larger audience? You trust the magic of a professional.  Franka and her team from the National Croatian TV station finished editing and aired their 11-minute segment on us this past week and it was fun to see their magic at work.

The TV segment was part of a larger series on tourism in Croatia.  They had kindly set up fun events like wine tasting and chocolate tastings, but more than even the event, spending the two days with them was a real treat.   I received a text the other day that the segment was done and aired. You can see it by looking at their website:

The day after it aired - our Airbnb host was all excited he saw us on TV.    Kind of like this blog, it is funny to put your world out there, not sure whom all sees it how it is interpreted.  But like life, this year is an adventure that we have chosen to share - as my aunt recently said "Don't just count your blessings, share them"  We have been blessed.

Watch the short story about our trip here:

https://magazin.hrt.hr/472665/price-iz-hrvatske/zivot-na-putu

Bursting Bubbles - back in the States.

We have been on the road for almost four months now.  Norway and Croatia have felt like second homes, and we have had more time as a family than I could have ever dreamed of.   I think we are all feeling a little ready for a new adventure, a further step. As the girls said, “mom, I am ready to have my bubble burst,” to see more that surprises them and challenges their worldview.   We intentionally did it this way, starting in a northern, rural western country and traveling to places increasingly different from our own as we went. However, what I realized when I came back to the United States for the week was how much we had acclimatized to our new environments, and coming home was a bit of a shock.

My bubble was burst by the customs agent when I landed in Denver who gave me a fist bump and said “glad to have you home girl.”  Mind you I have never met this man in my life. He acted like a long lost friend and greeted me with a smile the size of Texas. I wasn’t sure anyone I didn’t know had smiled at me in four months and a warm welcome caught me off guard.   I was reminded of a waiter in Croatia who when he asked what I would like I said “a cappuccino please” and he said “American, so easy to spot.” I was a little taken aback, I didn’t think the cappuccino was that American of me, I pressed back, how was I that easy to spot, what did he mean by that?  After pressing he conceded, “I can understand you, and you think everyone is your friend and everyone is going to do you a favor.” It was clear in the first second of the conversation that he was a quick-witted Serbian man on this Croatian island interested in geopolitics with a fresh memory of the Balkan wars.   I love how he challenged me saying “you may have had 200 years of peace, but it is only the illusion of peace as you cause war for others.” and we had fascinating and respectful conversation about the role of the US, the EU and the palpable tensions in this still healing, yet divided nation only covered by the superficial glitz of the robust Croatian tourist industry.    Let say, he didn’t give me a fist bump but helped me recognize the American smile in this customs agent.

I had traveled for a year after college and I still clearly remember the pattern of organized, clean, massively expansive carpet of the LA airport when I first came home.   I remember feeling overwhelmed by how organized and large the climate controlled the US was, (but I was coming from South Africa at that time.) I remember it almost taking my breath away, almost like being squeezed.   This time however it was a palpable feeling of joy as I floated through the crowds, lost in the delight of being one of many in this busy, multicultural hustle that surrounded me and all those Western smiles.

The hallway from the international terminal to customs at DIA airport is lined with beautiful larger than life portraits of Native Americans as a stark reminder of who’s land this was.   A black woman with two small children was helped with her bags by a white man in a Stetson cowboy hat and cowboy boots. Instead of large groups of Asian tourist listening to their tour guide in bluetooth headphones, an elderly Japanese woman and her grandson grabbed their bags next to a woman with a hijab traveling on her own next to a sizeable bubbly family speaking in Spanish.  America felt like this beautiful, casual, and messy world of extraordinary diversity.

The ease of the moment was also striking.  Granted I was in Utah, but the roads were huge and straight and logical.  The customer service focused business world made my first day back feel like a dream.    I bounced through an extensive list of errands loving my to go coffee, NPR on the radio, huge smiles and increased efficiency of every stop.  The “money back guarantees” on a few clothing items that have not done so well in our time traveling were transformed into new additions to our minimal word and felt very different than bantering in Croatia for a dress.   It may have helped that was a perfect Utah fall day, 50 degrees, perfectly blue skies, white-capped mountains, and beautiful yellow leaves but man, it felt good to be home.

The beauty of the American West was also striking.  As I traveled to Southern Utah and I reaffirmed my belief that the most beautiful place in the world is the desert southwest.   While some girls dreamed of their wedding day, I dreamed of having an art studio, red pickup truck tucked in the red mesas of the desert southwest.   Being back among the hills I felt like I was right back in that dream.

However, despite the beauty and joy, there was intense sadness and sense of loss as well during my trip back to the states.   There was an uneasiness as I returned the day before the midterm elections, an uneasiness as we have increasingly divided ourselves by politics rather than uniting as people.  This feeling crystallized for me as I looked over the Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas before flying home and the memory of the mass shooting there was enough to keep me from venturing out.   On TV a mother pleaded for gun control after losing her son to a shooting in California, even though he had survived the shooting at Mandalay Bay.

And while the customs officer may have burst my bubble, as I boarded the plane to head back to my family that was waiting on a small island in the middle for the Adriatic ocean in a 400-year-old home, I had the sense a subtle yet profound shift has been taking place that I had not quite noticed.  Like milk in coffee - once two separate things, the milk and coffee mix to become one. This year and my life are swirling into one in ways I had not noticed, never to be undone, yet leaving me entirely transformed.

Humac

Humac is a small town off the grid on the island of Hvar and our home for the past two weeks. To keep with the simplicity of this place, we have just posted some pictures instead of words. Enjoy.

Many of our meals were cooked over the open fire. Stuffed red peppers were the girls favorite.

Part of the old town center where most of the wine was made

We spent a day picking olives in Svirče with Jakov and his family.

Our afternoon napping spot at our off-gird house in Human.

Fields of Lavander near the house after they have been harvested for the season.

Off grid, but the house has a mobile router so we were able to keep up with the online homeschool program.

The only neighbors.

We picked olives off the 5 trees near the house so Jakov could pick them up. We were treated to a nice delivery of tangerines and olive oil in exchange.

One of the cats had three kitties while we were staying here and the girls loved it.

giving the kitty milk

kitty kisses

kitty

More school work inside the house

Mint steamer to keep motivated for homework

The primary form of entertainment when not doing school work

Jakov gave us a tour of the ancient caves and the village church. The girls were excited to finally be able to ring church bells.

Jakov taking us down to the caves.

Ancient caves

sleeping bat in the cave

walking back to the house during rush hour

Happy Halloween

Our first major holiday away from home, Halloween has come.  While we did see one little girl dressed up in a princess dress, it is pretty much a day like any other in Croatia.   We thought about making masks or costumes, and it is a reminder of this balance we are trying to find between celebrating where we come from and being open to new experiences.   So we took the day off school, had a long lunch together and visited the nearby gravesite where the Croatians are decorating the graves in preparation of All Saints Day, next Thursday.

I have to say I was amazed that the cemetery, covered in flowers and candles in the setting sun high above the ocean was breathtaking.  Families cleaning the graves stones, leaving candles and flowers. I loved the tradition of everyone coming once a year to remember those who came before us.    It was beautiful how alive the cemetery felt on Halloween night.

The fort in the background of this beautiful cemetery.

Flowers, candles, the setting sun; the cemetery was stunning.

The sweetest corner in Jesla

Since I was a child I always imagined how great it would feel bottling up a sensation, a thought, a feeling, or a dream so I could reopen and experience it later. I am clearly not the only person who has thought this. I love how in Roald Dahl’s, The B.F.G. dreams were kept in bottles to be blown into children's rooms, or in Erin Morgenstern’s The Night Circus where whole rooms were filled with jars of experiences to be opened and re-explored.  So many times this year I have stopped, inhaled deeply and tried to capture that moment forever, just to hold it and not to let it go.

When we walked into Fedra Gamulin's chocolate shop “Gamulin Chocolates” in Jesla I had the overwhelming sensation that this was not a chocolate shop, as much as it was a place where the sensation of the Dalmatian islands was being packaged so you could take a part of the island home.  The smells of lavender, the sweet seedy dried figs and the sticky homemade almond taffy mixed with the warm comfort of melted chocolates. She lives and breathes this island, creates her works of art, and then slides her perfect hardened creations into a bag, ties them with a sweet lavender ribbon and you are left with a bit of Dalmatia to take home.  

Fedra seems to be born to make chocolates.  She based many of her creations on grandmother’s recipes.  When she talks about the process of making chocolates, I heard her speak more of childhood memories, smells and feelings than I did of actual ingredients.  She only makes chocolates she enjoys and her creations feel like the ultimate expression of who she is and the island of Hvar. Her bobbed chocolate brown hair, easy warm smile and playful gestures made me feel like I stepped into Charlie and the Chocolate Factory and anything was possible.  She danced and laughed around her golden brown shop lit by the sparkling globe lights that mirror the sparkling handmade chocolate pralines on the counter, warmly showing us how to make chocolates.

This is the first year Gamulin's shop is open and the girls had a blast, making their own bars to capture their own island memories.   Next year she plans to put out a few tables and offer coffee with chocolate spoons. I can’t think of a better way to enjoy the Croatian tradition of sitting for hours and enjoying a coffee than to do it with the sweet local chocolate.  And after coffee, take a piece of Hvar home in the form of a Gamulin chocolate. Too bad for our friends and family that our adventures continue, otherwise my bag would be full of delicious chocolates and you could experience the Havr Island as well!

yum!

Fun making and eating chocolates!

Little one happy as a kid in a candy store.

These were super fun, local liquors that everyone in Croatia makes on their decks with the added sweetness of drinking them out of chocolate cups, eaten in one big bite after the shot.

Can’t you just feel how much she loves this place she created?

Sugar, chocolate, a break in the rain. I just want to bottle up all these memories!

Lights, camera, action - our days with Croatian national TV crew

When we entered the olive picking competition, we were looking to learn a little more about olives and have fun; we had no idea what would transpire.  One of the organizers used to work at the National Croatian TV station and told the station of our family travel and the next thing we knew we had a film crew following us for a TV special.

Franka and her film crew went above and beyond every expectation.   They worked with Mia, a radio host from Hvar, and set up a day of adventure followed by a day of "filming our everyday life."   The crew helped to coordinate wine and chocolate tasting as a way for us to experience more of the islands history and culture. (see the separate blogs on these two amazing experiences).

Franka was the mastermind of the project, she was relaxed, funny, warm, welcoming and allowed us to be ourselves.   She set up the events, interviewed us as well as our hosts and helped choreograph the filming of our daily life in the windmill.   The cameraman and sound guy were the brawns behind the project, scrambling to get the right angle, or capture our voices through the wind and church bells.

In helping to create this TV story, we were given the opportunity to reflect on what it was that we wanted to share.  Why were we doing this year? What is our morning routine? What had we learned so far? What was it like having parents as teachers?  

It was fun to see the girls rise to the occasion, speaking comfortably for the camera, willing to go with the flow and wait patiently when it was not their turn.   More than anything it was a real treat to spend a few days reflecting on our year through the process of helping create this story. We will post the final piece when it is done. Thank you so much, Dan, Franka and HRT, we can't wait to see the final product.

Getting the mics ready.

Isabelle being interviewed at the chocolate shop.

Franka and her magic.

Getting on film what many of our days really look like.

Getting ready to tell our story.

They told us they would like to get some footage of us making breakfast for the girls, but the deal is we rotate on who makes food, and they often make is, so we had little one make breakfast for the camera crew.

Getting the story behind Gamulin’s chocolates.

Getting behind the behind scene.

Sharing the difference between “Norwegian space bubbles” and “Croatian expressions” as we jumped between these very different cultures.

Making funny faces at dad while he is on camera.

Funny to see your life from this angle.

Cheers to a great few days! You all are the best!