Winter sunsets

The one benefit of the sun setting at 3pm is that I get to enjoy some really gorgeous sunsets on the walk to pick up the girls from school.  The photos from the iphone don't do the sunsets justice and one of these days I will remember to take the real camera with me.

Happy Thanksgiving!

Although we live in a country that does not celebrate Thanksgiving we received a lot of Happy Thanksgiving wishes today from American and non-American friends.  It took moving to a land far, far away for the girls to appreciate what they had in Atlanta, they really miss everyone.  We appreciate what we have in Atlanta even more! 

Due to work and school schedules it just makes sense for us to celebrate Thanksgiving two days later on Saturday, November 30th with a large group of Americans at a restaurant serving a traditional Thanksgiving meal followed by an outing to a bowling alley.  

We had started planning a traditional dinner at one of our homes but could not imagine how to manage the logistics of a Thanksgiving dinner with an oven about half the size of what we're used to in the U.S.  If we were to prepare our own turkey there is a shop the girls and I pass every day on the way to school that sells turkey.  In the past week their front window has been displaying boxes of Stove-top-stuffing and cans of cranberry sauce.  I did see one turkey in the meat department at the grocery today.

Even though our official celebration with friends is on Saturday we celebrated in other ways today. 

• On the way home from school Audra told me that the 4th grade Americans and friends sat together at lunch and took turns saying what they were thankful for.  I am so happy and proud of them!  
• For lunch, I got together with friends for a Hungarian wine tasting at the Polish restaurant, Cafe Piastowska (Tegnergatan 5).  The wines and the food were wonderful!  Hungary is trying to increase their profile in the world of wine, which is not very well known because their borders were closed for so long.  In addition to really good wine, Hungary is a beautiful country!

My favorite white

My favorite red

Yes, I did eat the pancakes with the little fish eggs on top!

• Dinner tonight was a mini-turkey (roasted chicken), mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green beans and cranberry sauce.  In my rush to fix dinner on a school night I forgot to make gravy and didn't have time for any traditional desserts.  

'Garaget' - coffee house

Official name:  Snickarbacken 7
Officially one of my favorite cafes

It's cool looking and, despite the high ceilings and minimalist decor, a cozy atmosphere with great coffee and food!

From www.snickarbacken7.se -

In the heart of Stockholm, in a building from the late 1800′s that used to be stables, Snickarbacken 7 is a café, exhibition space and a concept store all in one. The store offers a careful and personal selection of new and vintage fashion, music, magazines, books, antiques, children’s wear and home wear. The café is integrated with the exhibition space and serves both breakfast and lunch.

 

Royal Swedish Opera House

Friday, November 15 - A friend took me to the Royal Swedish Opera House to see the Swan Lake ballet.  Stunning!

Historical Cliff Notes:  The original opera house was commissioned by King Gustav III and inaugurated in 1782.  Unfortunately, ten years later the king was shot in the foyer of the opera house and died 7 days later.  The opera house was then closed for many years, re-opened, then demolished in 1882 to build the current opera house which was inaugurated in 1898. 

Two ton chandelier

Royal Swedish Family Box

the lobby

Fantastic light

We may not have much in the way of daylight these days... and it's getting shorter every day but the sunlight we do have has been beautiful....

8am - Sunrise on Hedvig Eleonora Church - we walk through the church yard on the way to school every day

3pm - Sun setting on St. Johannes Church last week - church across from SIS

International Food Court

On Friday, November 15, the two 4th grade classes at SIS held an International Food Court to celebrate the end of the IPC (International Primary Curriculum) Unit called 'What's on the Menu'?  For the past 10 weeks (or so) the students have been learning all about food by: 

• taking field trips to a 'regular' farm and a dairy farm
• creating Pintrest accounts about food
• writing reviews about Stockholm restaurants
• planning their own restaurants with business plans, layouts, menus, etc.  
• making vegetable dip, butter and 'wacky' cake in science

Each student brought a food from their country for the food court along with a copy of the recipe and a prepared presentation. There were several pigs-in-blankets... which Gabby said had led to a big debate among the 7th graders the previous day because some students call them sausage rolls (sausage rolls won).  Quite a few pancakes and meatballs (separate dishes!).  The most popular was a Mongolian stew with steamed rice. 

The students took turns touring the 'food court' along with many parents, other SIS teachers and staff.  I was standing next to the SIS counselor who had never had corn bread before.  I explained that it would be served instead of biscuits and is usually served with fried chicken or chili... after that I ran out of explanations. I've never given much thought to the fact that corn bread seems to be a uniquely American food. 

USA store

We had heard all about the USA Godis store selling American items, so one day after school last week Gabby and I decided to see it for ourselves.  I was underwhelmed.  The store was small and reminded me of the convenience stores you go into in the middle of nowhere with one of each item on a shelf.  Audra had been missing Goldfish crackers so we bought one bag for $6 and a small bag of peanut butter M&Ms for $3.  The girls savored their goldfish crackers two days and we're still working on the M&Ms!  Even Gabby agreed that it was a disappointment and doesn't feel the need to return to the store.  Check that one off the list.

regular size bag of candy cane kisses = $13.42

PTA Book Club

On Tuesday, November 12, I hosted the November SIS PTA Book Club monthly get together.  Renata, who organizes the book club, does a great job of selecting books written by authors from different countries.  So far we've read:  The Makioka Sisters by Tanizaki Jun'ichirō, The Hypnotist by Lars Kepler and Unbroken by Laura Hillenbrand. 

People usually read the books in English (thank goodness!) because the words/descriptions do not always translate the same into other languages.  The discussion about The Hypnotist was very lively about society, etc. since the book is a Swedish murder/thriller. 

It was very interesting to discuss Unbroken (about a WWII POW) with a group of women from Italy, Hungary, Denmark, Poland, Columbia and the U.S.  We talked about the versions of World War II history we each had learned and what our view is/was from our country.... some had been in school under a communist government.  Because we are all smart, educated women we could talk politics AND religion and still be friends after three hours!

What else I learned...  I do not have enough coffee mugs/tea cups, I need to buy a teapot and I should never again admit that if making a cup of tea for myself that I heat the water in the microwave. Yes, Evelyn, thankfully I did heat the water for tea in a pot on the stove. 

hazelnut/dark chocolate biscotti

In the mood

It is so much easier to get into the Christmas spirit when it is cold outside!  On Tuesday a large Christmas tree was set up in Ostermalmstorg.  Decorations and lights are being hung all over the city but won't be lit until 3pm next Saturday, November 23. 

Now if I only had some of Gigi Haskell's eggnog!  

Aquarium-Water Museum with 36 first graders...

Luckily the trip was a short one...  and the museum is small.  I never would have signed up for this if it were the Georgia Aquarium!

we left the school at 1:20pm
wrangled 36 first graders onto the #2 bus
and transferred to the #7 tram

Most people on the bus and tram were amused when inundated by the short, yellow-vested kids.  One guy did get off a stop after we got on. 

2 Sofias...

Taking the #2 bus to Sofia!  Sofia loves having her own bus!

We had an aquarium guide with an irreverent sense of humor... when one kid asked what something was in a tank, he answered 'I think someone took a poop'!  It was a sea cucumber. 

We started out in the 'rainforest' exhibit which has a simulated thunderstorm... predictably many kids screamed.  Another highlight was 36 kids bouncing up and down on the rope bridge in the rainforest!

LARGE tank, BIG crack! The sign says "the broken glass is reinforced and poses no safety risk"

At 3pm we herded the kids back to the entrance
put on 36 coats
and 36 yellow vests
counted heads and headed back to the tram

Because we were running a little late we took the tram to the end of the line then walked/ran the rest of the way back to school, getting back just 10 minutes after dismissal. 

Romanesco Broccoli

I wish I'd bought it to try...  it's a very cool example of the Fibonacci Sequence (Gabby started off with that in math at the beginning of the school year otherwise I would never have known or noticed!!). 

Reindeer wrap?!

It was a little shocking to find this guy advertising lavash type wraps in the grocery store! 

UN Day - October 24, 2013

The United Nations is an international organization founded in 1945 after the Second World War by 51 countries (now 193 members) committed to maintaining international peace and security, developing friendly relations among nations and promoting social progress, better living standards and human rights.  www.un.org

Stockholm International School has students from 61 countries (out of approx. 200 countries total). 
It was exciting and touching to watch hundreds of students at the Stockholm International School participate and take pride in their countries.  It was also interesting to see what country some kids chose to represent if their parents were from different countries.  Yes, it was challenging to identify all the flags... we have some studying to do! 

Ireland

U.K.

Spain

One family from Romania

Holland has spirit!

We have to up our game next year!!

Red and white check is Croatia