Of fireflies, Shakespeare and burned witches

Det er sommerferie og vi er ved at vænne os til Michigan sommer, der er markant anderledes end både Danmark sommer og Californien sommer. Vi er alle 5 smurt ind I myggestik fra top til tå, men har også relativt brune ben, og vi kan kun nikke samtykkende til at Michigan sommer lugter lidt af regnorm. Vejret er uforudsigeligt, pånær at det næsten er 100% sikkert at tordenskyerne kommer rullende ind, hvis temperaturen bliver meget høj. Vi bliver alligevel snydt igen og igen, når vi kigger ud af vinduet og ser overskyet himmel med let blæst, der I vores danske erfaring rimer på kulde, men som her kan være alt mellem let køligt og lummervarmt, og vi har ofte alt for meget tøj med.

School is out for the summer and we are slowly getting used to summer Michigan style. It is markedly different from both California and Denmark, and all 5 of us have mosquito bites all over, but we also have relatively tanned legs, and we can certainly agree that Michigan summer smells a bit like dirt worm. The weather is unpredictable, except that thunder clouds come rolling in as soon as the temperature gets high enough. We are not down with this type of weather yet and we often misinterpret grey skies and wind, and assume it is cold to step outside, but it rarely is. So often we are overdressed.

Den første uges sommerferie er gået med camps. Teresa har været på Water Camp ved floden og har sejlet I kajak, kano og stået på paddleboard (hvilket gav anledning til et befriende eksempel på  michigansk anarkisme, da man jo selvfølgeligt ikke må falde I vandet fra et paddleboard med vilje! Det så lejr lederne stort på, og sørgede bare for at alle ungerne var uden for synsvidde af paddleboard udlejningen og så fik de ellers lov til at give den gas med at “falde” I vandet :-0  ). Luca har været på “kids versus wild camp” og lært om poison ivy, frøer og andet kryb. Kristian og Ulrik har holdt styr på en ordentlig flok unger henne I kirken, og undertegnede har selvfølgeligt arbejdet….. meget…..

The first week of summer has been busy with camps. Teresa has been at a water camp by the river, where they have been out in canoes, kayaks, and paddleboards (where the paddleboard trip was a wonderful example of Michigan style anarchistic mentality, as kids renting the paddleboards are obviously NOT allowed to fall in the water on purpose. The camp instructors bend those rules by making sure that all the kids were out of sight from the rental staff, and then they could of course “accidentally” fall in the water however much they wanted :-0   ). Luca has been attending a Kids versus Wild camp and has learned of frogs and poison ivy among other things. Kristian and Ulrik have been busy keeping a large bunch of kids entertained at our church, and yours truly has been working…. a lot…..

Nu til noget med billeder! Fredag aften var vi inviteret med til “Shakespeare in the Arb”, der I år var en udendørs opsætning af “en skærsommernats drøm”. Det var decideret magisk. Alle scener udspillede sig udenfor og publikum fulgte med rundt I parken, mens skuespillerne gemte sig I trærne med fløjter, feerne dansede I lysningerne, og Helena jagtede Demetrius hen over engene. Mit telefon kamera er desværre ikke super godt, men her ses feerne danse.

And now for some pictures. Friday night we were invited to “Shakespeare in the Arb”, that is an outdoor annual event, this year featuring “A midsummer night’s dream”. It was magical. All the scenes were set outside and the audience walked from place to place, while the actors hid in the trees with flutes, the fairies were dancing in the distance, and Helena chased Demetrius through the meadows. My phone camera is not very good, but here the fairies are dancing:

Lørdag aften blev også tilbragt udendørs med en tidlig sct hans aften arrangeret af min danske kollega Pernille. Vores ikke-danske kolleger var noget skeptiske over “brænd en heks” konceptet (det blev omdøbt til “lets burn some witches bitches”) men turde alligevel godt møde op. Teresa var bål mester, da det er meget få voksne, der når hende til sokkeholderne I bål tænding og hun fik lavet et ordentligt bål, der blev holdt professionelt ved lige hele aftenen. 

Og da det var tid til hekseafbrændingen ville jubelen fra familens yngste medlem ingen ende tage:

Saturday night was also spent outside with an early Sct Hans bonfire (non-Danish readers can learn more here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Midsummer#Denmark) arranged by my Danish colleague Pernille. Our non-danish colleagues were somewhat skeptical of the “burn a witch on a bonfire” concept (it got renamed to “lets burn some witches, bitches”) but they did dare to come anyways. Teresa was the fire builder, as it is very few adults that are as skilled as her, in getting a bonfire going and she kept it going all night in a very professional manner. 

Below is a great picture example of how excited the youngest Frikke-Schmidt was with the witch burning:

Det var SÅ hyggelig en aften Vi lavede snobrød og ristede skumfiduser, og da det blev mørkt kom ildfluerne ud og blinkede mellem træerne. Men det var også lidt U-hyggeligt, da der pludseligt var et dyr der hylede op inde I skoven bag os. 

It was SUCH a great evening. We baked breads on sticks over the fire, and roasted hot dogs and marshmallows, and when darkness fell the fireflies starting flashing in the trees. It was also a little scary when some animal starting whining in the forest right behind us.

Nu er det søndag eftermiddag og her er MEGET stille. Kristian, Teresa og Luca er netop kørt nordpå for at campe oppe ved Traverse City, hvor der skulle være ubeskriveligt smukt, og hvor man kan høre mor bjørn, der kalder på sine unger I “sleeping bear dunes” (man kan læse mere om legenden her: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Bear_Dunes_National_Lakeshore). Ulle og jeg bliver hjemme, da han skal på camp med universitetet I hele næste uge, hvor han skal lære at designe apps. Det skulle efter sigende være nogle helt vildt gode camps – hvilket det også burde være til den hampre overpris de forlanger for 5 dages aktiviteter uden overnatning!

Now it is Sunday afternoon, and it is VERY quiet. Kristian, Teresa and Luca has just left to go camping up north by Traverse City, where it should be incredibly beautiful and where you can hear mother bear call our for her lost cubs at “sleeping bear dunes (the indian legend is described here: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sleeping_Bear_Dunes_National_Lakeshore). Ulle and I stay home, as he is going on a Umich camp all of next week, where he will learn to design apps. These camps should be very good for high schoolers – which I really do hope, after being the steep fee required for 5 days of activities without any overnight staying!