The Fourth Continent

A test subject in a social experiment: an Aussie blogging from Greenland!

Parenthood and baby

On giving birth in Greenland

We made a little Greenlandic baby!

May 29, 2016 in Culture / Food in Greenland, Parenthood and baby.

Instagramming

We forgot that she turned six months on Saturday! These were two of the few photos taken that day. The bolster is probably the only reference to her Malaysian heritage - and I still have one too 😬 Status: Rolling rolling rolling. Eternally happy. Going backwards when aiming to go forwards. Loving banana and smoothies. Thank you for being the sweetest baby that parents only dream about.

I had reverse culture shock the first few days coming back North. I reminisced about the hot muggy weather, the tropical fruit, the Thai prices for everything. I thought about random things, like how much more make up the women use there compared to in Scandinavia. How Thai people looooooooove babies. How there was organised chaos everywhere, especially in traffic. Where you live really impacts how you grow up, and for a moment when in Asia I imagined what my life might have been if I hadn’t moved to Australia as a child. Or even what life would be like if I moved there now. I’d probably have a nanny for my kids. I might work a third more hours than I do in Denmark. My kid would sleep at 10pm each night instead of 730pm. 😅 it would automatically be assumed you could speak three languages! There are positives and negatives for every life, but I’m grateful for my many positives. And I’m happy for the fun memories created with my big widespread family.

Finally, a beach in Thailand! And an oversized swing which challenges your balance.

Precious moments taken with the oldest and youngest in our family. 96 years and 5 months old. My girls aren’t quite ready for the catwalk😺 📷 @benjeteh

No rest for the busy! I’m totally ready to relax after some wonderfully hectic days in Bangkok celebrating my cousin’s wedding to a sweet Thai lady. It was also a greater family reunion. The two girls have been treating me so well and I’m happy I decided to bring them both along alone to Asia for this trip. Not to say it hasn’t been work...no time to take photos or to write posts (it’s now 1am hahaha). My extended family is spread out across the world so whenever we gather it becomes a big reunion with 50+ people...there are mini reunions too. It was the first time in two years that my family minus Jonas all got together. Now we are in Krabi and the first (bad) photo is taken after a massage - a whole hour of “me time”. It’s also our first time trying something luxury as a family. I could get used to this... ♥️

The Autumn splendour brings out my inner karate kid, it makes me want to throw leaves up in the air and roll about in the mulch. 🍂 🍃 🍁 does it do that to you too?

When your supermama friend invites you to lunch and looks after your baby, there’s time to grow a foam beard. Thank you for the fun times and company! #jacuzzi

Girls day out to the teddy bear ballet - but the weird thing was, that I found out that I had to buy a seat for Charlie which she didn’t use! 5 months old and 66 Kroners #bamse

I can imagine so much from this still life scene. The owner of this fine Greenlandic national costume was in a hurry, throwing her kamiks (boots) oh-so-carefully over Finn Juhl’s Pelican chair. She hurriedly stepped out of her beautiful seeqqinit (shorts) to make it home before midnight. Just in time, before her carriage turned into a pumpkin. #almostlikecinderalla #notquite #pumpkinhour #myimagination #greenland #aajachemnitzlarsen

Turn the torso upside down.

I could stare at the roman statue of death without flinching. This statue of fertility, however, got the better of me - I had to run away. 😅 PS @glyptoteket has a #freemuseumday every Tuesday. It is, however, not very wheelchair friendly.

When you pick a porchino mushroom nearly as big as your head, you know you’re in a good forest. Thanks idyllic Sweden for the weekend, we didn’t know what we’d end up doing but that was part of the fun. #skåne #swedish #sweden #forest #allemansrätten #freedomtoroam #mushroomhunting

So many waterside choices! Which would you prefer to live in? 1. Houseboat 2. Container designed by BIG (it’s for high school students) 3. Former torpedo boat factory renovated into luxury apartments

A floating sauna clubhouse. Nordhavn is a charming new area in @visitcopenhagen, and it is developing its fine urban character by the minute ♥️ #nofilter #Nordhavn

Two weeks filled with family time ended with Charlie’s christening - interestingly enough it is a Danish tradition to receive a name in a Church, and even though most aren’t very religious many opt to do this anyway. Anything for a bit of cosy “hygge”. Thanks mum and dad for coming all this way to be with us, even though you hate flying. ♥️

I think of Lord of the Rings.

Grandparenthood. It’s an art that I hadn’t really given much thought to until recently. My parents are visiting, and suddenly it is not just two cute babies they meet anymore - it’s one adoooorable baby and one cheeky #threenager. Besides all the normal challenges of re-getting to know you, there are also the language barriers (even though P understands English she mostly speaks Danish). I had the “epiphany” that my folks don’t really have the joys and frustrations of being grandparents - they only get it in turbo doses. I had exactly the same challenges with my own grannies (being based in Malaysia while I grew up in Australia - and not speaking any common language fluently even though they spoke at least 3 different dialects/languages). Luckily, bribing a little lamb with lollipops buys short term love. She will also be able to communicate better with them shortly. I also intend on making sure that my child spends more time with their grandparents than I got to with my own. Skype helps, but nothing beats face to face. Unfortunately, we can’t just “swing by”...Any other suggestions are welcome 🍭🧸♥️ #thirdculturekids #itonlytakesalollipop #icecreamlove #instantgrandparents #itsnotalwayseasy

Bornholm. People rave on about the smoked seafood and modern Nordic cuisine, the art and design, and the nice people on the street. Complete with its stunning granite nature, it really is a special place and I can see why it has caught the hearts of so many! This is the ruins of Hammershus, which housed the oppressors of the island who reigned from there. It was also a jail. Stunning, stunning location. From a tourism professional point of view I took interest in the new visitor centre that opened up, making Hammershus a much more educational and accessible experience. Last time we just walked around, this time I learnt more. Look forward to trying the new visitor centres in Greenland! #latergram #visitbornholm

Second time around, now I get why everyone loves Bornholm.

Stunning Sardinia has surprised me a bit - I haven’t seen any other women breastfeeding while here! I guess the local babies are inside where it’s cooler, and maybe it is not so common to breastfeed in public - anyone know? Our vacation has been quite chilled already because we have a 12 week old baby and a 3 year old toddler who wants to decide everything herself. Every little outing to the beach or elsewhere is a logistical operation. So I am soooo grateful that I can “feed on the run”, and believe me, we’ve stopped in the most random of places to breastfeed when Miss Chubby Cheeks has been hungry. We’re making the most of what we can do, and most importantly enjoying quality time together. What do they say, lower your expectations and you’ll be content, right? 😬 📷 @jonaswedel

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