North Caroline rocks!

Efter vores brag af en 4’th of July weekend satte vi næsen sydpå. Gennem Indiana, Kentucky og Tennessee indtil vi nåede frem til Charlotte I North Carolina. Vi tog turen I eet hug, og selvom det var en lang dag (vi kørte kl 8:15 og nåede først frem lidt I midnat) så gik det ganske fint. Vi havde lånt en kæmpe bunke DVDer på biblioteket, så der var rimeligt ro på bagsædet. Eneste minus på turen var vores første pitstop på en trist MacDonalds I Indiana, hvor en hurtig kop kaffe, endte med at blive til 20 minutters ufrivillig venten på at de absurd sløveste medarbejdere, jeg I mit liv har mødt, fik taget sig sammen til at hælde kaffe op og havde travlt med ignorere den muffin, Kristian bestilte. Vi havde ikke tid til lange stop, når der skal køres 850miles på en enkelt dag, så det var en ret dårlig start på en tur der ellers gik godt derfra.

After our blast of a 4'th of July weekend, we went south. More precisely through Indiana, Kentucky, and Tennessee until we hit Charlotte in North Carolina. We took the trip in one stretch, and although it was a long day (we drove at 8:15 and did not arrive until slightly before midnight), it went quite well. We had borrowed a huge pile of DVDs at the library, so the back seats were relatively quiet. The only drawback to the trip was our first pitstop on a pathetic McDonalds In Indiana, where a quick coffee, ended up being 20 minutes of involuntary waiting for the absurdly lazy staff to get their act together to pour a cup of coffee while doing their best to ignore the muffin, Kristian ordered. We did not have time for long stops, when driving 850miles on a single day, so it was an akward way to start to a trip that otherwise went well from there.

Ligesom til jul var målet at besøge Kate og Birgitte, Kristians 2 grand-tanter, der begge bor I udkanten af Charlotte. Denne gang boede vi hos Kate og John, der deler hus med deres datters familie, og med både swimmingpool, hund, kat og andre børn, var der ikke rigtig tid til at kede sig - selv ikke for Teresa.
Luca har siden han blev væltet af en hund, da han var omkring eet år og stavrede usikkert rundt, været noget skeptisk overfor hunde af alle slags, men er gradvist tøet op. Og se nu her! Ja, det er Luca, der krammer en Doberman (en usædvanligt rar og gammel een af slagsen – sjovt nok kunne vi ikke få ham til stille op til kramme billeder med en hyper Rottweiler teenage hvalp et par dage senere ;-

As during the past Christmas, the goal was to visit Kate and Birgitte, Kristian's 2 great aunts, who both live in the outskirts of Charlotte. This time we stayed at Kate and John’s, who share the house with their daughter's family, and with a swimming pool, dog, cat and other children, there wasn’t really any time to feel bored - not even for Teresa. 
Luca is somewhat skeptical around dogs since he was knocked over by one when he was only about 1 year old and had just learned to walk, but he is gradually getting better. And watch this! Yes, it is Luca, hugging a Doberman (an exceptionally nice and old kind of Doberman that is – not so surprisingly we could not get him to pose for hugging pictures with a hyper Rottweiler teenage puppy a few days later ;-)

Tirsdag blev vi inviteret med I Carowinds – en forlystelses park lige på midten af North og South Carolina. Da der er ret stort spænd I præferencerne for forlystelser var vi nødt til at splitte os op. Kristian og Ulrik tog på “tour de alle de vilde forlystelser” med navne som “the intimidator” og “fury”. Yikes. Ulrik er teenager med stort T og at forsøge at hive nogen form for begejstrede udbrud eller store smil ud af ham, hører så absolut til sjældenhederne. Og selv om han havde været rundt I noget af det vildeste sådan en amerikansk forlystelses park kan præstere, så virkede han ikke synderligt imponeret og holdt stædigt fast I, at Vertigo (den der flyvemaskine I Tivoli) er det vildeste han har prøvet . Indtil vi kom til “rip cords”……… En forlystelse der vel bedst kan beskrives som en gigantisk gyngetur bungeejump style. Den kostede ekstra og han skulle spændes godt til I sikkerheds udstyr. Her er han på vej op (Ulrik er den lille prik I øverste venstre hjørne):

Tuesday we were invited to Carowinds - an amusement park right in the middle of North and South Carolina. Since there was considerable different preferences towards the rides we had to split up. Kristian and Ulrik took the "tour de all the wild rides" with names like "the Intimidator" and "fury". Yikes. Ulrik is a teenager with a capital T and trying to pull any kind of enthusiastic outbreak or big smile out of him, is an almost impossible task. Even when going on the wildest rides an American amusement park can come up with, he still insisted that Vertigo in Tivoli in Copenhagen was the craziest one he ever tried (and it IS crazy!). But then we found "rip cord" ......... A ride that is probably best described as a giant swing bungee jump style. It costed extra and he was all bundled up in safety equipment before he was allowed on it. Here he is on the way up (Ulrik is the small dot in the upper left corner):

Kristian var nødt til at gå, han skulle ikke nyde noget af at se ældstearvingen så højt oppe I luften, og jeg fik godt nok også sug I maven. Men ENDELIGT var der noget, der kunne imponere ungen. Ulrik gik rundt med at fjoget smil I I hvert fald 10 minutter og Vertigo har mistet sin førsteplads placering.

Kristian had to leave, as he did not feel like watching his oldest son doing something THAT wild and high in the air, and I honestly also got a good adrenaline rush just from watching. But FINALLY there was something that could impress that kid. Ulrik went around with a goofy smile for at least 10 minutes and Vertigo has lost its first place ranking.

Turens absolutte højdepunkt havde dog ikke noget med forlystelser at gøre. Jeg var med Luca inde I en butik og bag kassen stod en ranglet men ikke så høj fyr, med guld orange hår, briller og kæmpe fortænder. Det lyder bekendt, ikke? Selv de andre kunder I butikken lagde mærke til ligheden og det endte med at vi spurgte om han ville ha noget imod at stille op til et billede. Her er de så – Luca og hans voksne lookalike:

The absolute highlight of the trip, however, had nothing to do with wild rides. I went with Luca inside a shop and behind the counter stood a skinny but not very tall guy with golden orange hair, glasses and huge front teeth. Sounds familiar, right? Even the other customers in the store noticed the similarity and we ended up asking if he would mind posing for a picture. Here they are - Luca and his adult lookalike:

Her er lidt flere billeder fra dagen, hvor især Luca fik fjollet rigeligt rundt med sine gran gran fætre, der bestemt ikke var af den stille siddende slags (vi havde ikke lige noget billede fra Carowinds, så I får dem på en klippetop i stedet)

A few more pictures from that day. Luca had a blast goofing around with the other boys, who were certainly not of the sedentary type(we do not have any good pictures of them from Carowinds, but here they are from the top of a rock).

 
Torsdag tog vi ud til noget af det andet, som USA gør sig fremragende I – national parks med naturoplevelser, vi slet ikke kommer I nærheden af på de danske breddegrader. North Carolina er faktisk ikke helt ulig Californien I den forstand at der både er bjerge og hav og alt det midt I mellem på relativt få timers kørsel (som det måske skinner igennem så har vi fået den helt store omgang gruppepres på om vi da ikke skulle flytte derned, når vi var færdige med iskolde og mygge befængte Michigan…..;-) Chimney Rock National park var destinationen. Det tog en solid omgang hårnåle sving at nå derop og der var stegende varmt (ifølge det vejrkort vi så I elevatoren på hotellet samme aften, var North Carolina det varmeste sted at befinde sig I USA I denne uge, og det siger altså ikke så lidt). Her er vi så på Chimney Rock. Arj men tjeck lige den udsigt! Trappen derop var lang og Teresa fik ekstra motion, da hun forbarmede sig over på Jillian på 5 år og bar hende på ryggen ca halvdelen af vejen op. 

Thursday we explored another aspect of what the US does so well - national parks with nature that is far beyond what get to experience in Denmark. North Carolina is not unlike California in the sense that there are both mountain and ocean and everything in the middle in between within relatively few hours of driving (as it might shine through there was some slight group pressure to convince us that we should move down there once we were finished with icecold and mosquito infested Michigan ... .. ;-)

Chimney Rock National Park was the destination. It took a solid amount of hairpin turns to get up there and it was hot! (according to the weather map we saw in the elevator at the hotel that evening, North Carolina has been the warmest place in the United States this past week).

Here we are at Chimney Rock. Wow – check that view! The stairs up there were endless and Teresa got extra exercise when she took pity on 5 year old Jillian 5 and gave her a piggy back ride about half of the way.

Teresa ligner mig på mange måder og een af dem er, at hvis der er en sti eller trapper, der går højere op, så kan vi ikke lade være med at knokle videre til vi absolut ikke kan komme længere. Lidt længere oppe var “the opera box”, og MEGET højere oppe var “the exclamation point”, så der knoklede jeg op og op og op med Ulrik og Teresa. Her er vi så (godt svedige):

Teresa is like me in many ways and one of them is, that should we see a path or a set of stairs going higher, then we cannot help it but HAVE to keep going till we can get no further. A little higher was "the opera box", and MUCH higher was "the exclamation point", so of course we went there (together with Ulrik). Here we are (all sweaty):

 
Vi fik også rundet “Devils Head:
 
We also got to see "Devils Head:

Energi niveauet hos den lokale familie fejler ikke noget og selv med alderspænd fra 5 til 60+ år gik turen mod “Hickory Nuts Fall” uden brok over trætte ben (faktisk var det lige før at vi ikke kunne holde trit med Kate). Og det var turen værd. Især fordi man kunne stille sig ind under vandfaldet – og som I alt andet under kategorien “vand”, er der ingen, der når Teresa til sokkeholderne! Hun spurtede ind under vandfaldet som den første og der blev hun stort set stående, til vi skulle gå igen. 

The energy levels of the local family were not used up on the stairs and even with an age span from 5 to 60+ years we went towards "Hickory Nuts Fall" with no-one complaining about tired legs (actually we had a hard time keeping up with Kate LOL). The hike was worth the trip. Especially because one could stand under the waterfall - and as everything else belonging to the category of "water", we still have not met anyone getting close to matching Teresas enthusiasm! She sprinted under the waterfall and did hardly budge until it was time to leave.

Kære alle jer I North Carolina: vi har sådan hygget os og vi nyder at være sammen med jer. At have jer så relativt tæt på, gør at USA føles mere som hjemme for os. På gensyn inden alt for længe:

 
Dear all of you in North Carolina, we have had SUCH a good time with you. To have you so relatively close, make the United States feel more like home to us. See you before too long:

4'th of July weekend

I år falder Independence Day på en lørdag, og det har betydet noget så luksuriøst som en ekstra fridag dagen inden. Den slags hænger jo ikke på træerne herovre, så det føles altid meget ekstravagant. Vi lagde hårdt ud fredag morgen. Første stop var universitetet – mus holder jo ikke op med at spise selvom resten af nationen har fri, desværre. Heldigvis er jeg godt dækket ind de næste par ugers ferie, da jeg har en summer intern på slæb fra Iowa. Hun er supersej både sådan helt generelt og især også til at holde styr på mus og rotter, så jeg kan slappe af med god samvittighed.

This year Independence Day falls on a Saturday, and that means something as luxurious as a day off the day before. This is rare and it feels almost extravagant. We started early. First stop was the university – mice don’t stop eating just because the rest of the nation has a day off. Luckily I have a good backup while I am gone on vacation as I have a summer intern from Iowa with me right now. She is way above average in general and also she gets along well with mice and rats, so I can relax for good the next two weeks.

Efter et starbucks pit stop blev kursen sat nordpå, hvor vi skulle hente Luca efter en uges summer camp på Spring Hill (samme sted Ulrik og Teresa var I vinters). Det ere n KÆMPE camp. Her er et billede fra een af de indkØrsler, hvor man henter sit barns baggage. Derefter skal man parkere og registere sig I en kæmpe hal, hvor man får en slip papir, man kan bruge til at få udleveret sit barn. Det er organization paa et helt andet plan end at hente unger på en dansk sommerlejr, hvor de selv bestemmer om de gider gå I bad og I øvrigt skal skrælle kartofler og gøre rent den sidste dag selv. Luca havde selvklart haft en fest – intet mindre. Direkte adspurgt om at bedømme lejren på en skala fra eet til ti, var svaret 3000!

After a Starbucks visit the GPS was set north, where we had to pick up Luca after a week of summer camp at Spring Hill (same place where Ulrik and Teresa went in the winter). It is GIANT. Here is a picture from one of the entrances, where parents could pick up their kids stuff. After that you has to park and enter a big hall, where you get to register and get slip, that you use for getting your kid handed over. It is quite different from the Danish way where things are much less organized and kids even decide for themselves whether they bother to shower, and on top of this has to help peeling the potatoes and even have to clean the camp themselves before leaving.  Needless to say Luca had a blast. When asked how high he would rate the camp on a scale from 1-10, the answer was 3000.

Efter at have været nordpå blev kursen sat sydvest, hvor vi var inviteret I sommerhus I South Haven. Og – oh fryd – på vejen mødte vi et telt, hvor man kunne købe fyrværkeri. Det er nemlig lovligt at fyre lige så meget af som man lyster her I Michigan, og Luca var HELT oppe at ringe. 

After going North the GPS was adjusted for going southwest, where we had been invited to spend the weekend in a Beach House in South Haven. On the way there we passed a firework sale. Yay! In Michigan you are allowed to fire off fireworks as much as you want to for 4’th of July, and Luca did not need to hear that twice.

Vi kom frem til huset lige til aftensmadstid. Det var STORT. Et sommerhus I South Haven er at sammenligne med en patricier villa I Hellerup sådan rent størrelsesmæssigt og selvom vi blev mødt af 3 hunde, 4 andre 12-13 årige tøser, en anden familie (udover ejerne) plus det lØse, så fØltes det  på ingen måde klemt. Ydermere var der så tykke gulvtæpper, at det ikke gjorde så meget, at der ikke var senge nok, da flere af teenagerne bare rullede en sovepose ud paa gulvet.

 Noget af det allerførste jeg gjorde, var at gå ned til stranden. Nogle gange savner jeg havet helt forfærdeligt, og selvom Lake Michigan jo ikke er et hav, er det svært at se forskel:

We made it there just about dinner time. The house was BIG. It was as big as some of the biggest houses I have seen in Denmark, and even though we were greeted by 3 dogs, 4 girls Teresa’s age, another family (apart from the owners) plus a few extras, it never felt crowded. Also the carpets were so thick that it didn’t matter, that there weren’t enough beds, as the teenagers just rolled out their sleeping bags on the floor.

 One of the first things I did, was to go down to the beach. Sometimes I miss the ocean so bad, and even though Lake Michigan is not an ocean, it can be hard to tell the difference.

Vi så stort set ikke Teresa igen resten af weekenden, da hun havde travlt med at hænge ud med de andre tØser. De var vist I hot tub, tog ind til byen med barnepigen, så film, satte hår og alt hvad den slags tøser ellers laver.

We hardly saw Teresa at all, as she hung out with all the girls. They were busy being in the hot tub, going to town with the nanny, watching movies, doing hair and whatever else girls that age come up with.

 

LØrdag blev brugt med både mandehygge (fx var der en Ferrari, der var løbet tør for batteri strØm hen over vinteren, der lige skulle ha noget start hjælp), jeg gik en tur med Ulle og vi så slangespor I sandet. Ydrk. Luca og Alessio havde travlt I projekt “hent ler på stranden og lav hjemmelavede pile af grillspyd og spred dem ud over hele huset”, og der var jo også hunde, der skulle nusses, espresso ad libitum osv. Perfekt afslapning. Nå ja, vi fik også “green card kage” og fik sunget “happy green card to you” komplet med stjernekastere – LOL.

Saturday was spent with quality time for guys (there was a Ferrari that ran out of battery over the winterm and needed some help to get started), I went for a walk with Ulrik where we saw snake tracks in the sand. Yikes. Luca and Alessio were extremely busy with a  “go to the beach, get clay, make homemade arrows and spread the all over the house” project., there were dogs that needed attention and espresso machine ad libitum. Nothing short of perfect and just what we needed. And also, we had “green card cake” and “happy green card to you” singing with sparklers – LOL.

Kan aftenen på nogen måde hamle op med sådan en dag? Oh yeah! Det kan den når man tager til Saugatuck, hvor der var reserveret bord på en restaurant med terrasse lige ned til havnen, så vi sad I første parket til fyrværkeri show efter at have spist en hel del sweet potato fries. Jeg er endnu en gang fyldt af taknemmelighed over at møde så meget gæstfrihed og samtidig også en undren over hvor absurd vores liv ind I mellem er blevet, efter vi har bevæget os ud af de trygge rammer, vi kendte hjemme I Danmark.

Did the evening in any way match up to the rest of the day? Oh yeah! It sure does when you go to Saugatuck, with a table reservation at a restaurant where there is an outside deck right by the harbor to see the firework show after stuffed yourself with sweet potato fries. Once more I am more than grateful to meet so much hospitality and also I am struck by how absurd life can become when moving out of the comfort zone in Denmark.

Be careful what you wish for......

‘cause you just might get it!

Vores venten på Green Card er overstået. I går aftes fik jeg endeligt den sms, jeg har ventet på I 4 mdr, og det var noget nervepirrende at skulle logge på computeren med rystende hænder, da immigrationsmyndighederne bare sendte en sms om at min status var opdateret – ikke om ansøgningen var afvist eller godkendt. Men den er god nok. Approved!

Jeg har haft afspillet scenariet inde I mit hovede en milliard gange. Og selvfølgeligt skulle der skåles I champagne, jeg ville grine og græde på samme tid, og så ville vi gå ud at spise med vores glade børn....
Realiteten blev at jeg sad helt mutters alene derhjemme I en stor bunke rod, med en indbundet fod oppe på sofabordet. Kristian var ude at campe med de 2 store, Luca var på lejr, og jeg havde hilst lidt for hårdhændet på en bil, på vej ud fra en sidevej på vej på arbejde om morgenen (note to self: det der med lige at få øjenkontakt med chaufføren inden man cykler ud foran ham, er ikke spor overvurderet – heller ikke selv man cykler langsomt og faktisk har retten til at være I fodgængerovergangen). Og lige der midt I det hele blev jeg ikke spor ekstatisk glad, men snarere træt helt ind I knoglerne og lettet på den der måde, hvor det nærmest giver kvalme og hovedpine. Ikke helt som jeg havde forestillet mig det.

Men vi ER lettede. Vi har det faktisk rigtig godt her og vil gerne blive. Tanken om at stå I Kastrup uden bolig, job og møbler og med en noget slatten bank konto, har mildest talt ikke været tiltalende. Lige nu er det imidlertid noget overvældende at skulle tage stilling til alle de ting, vi har skubbet foran os I en stor grim rodet “det forholder vi os til, når vi har fået svar” bunke. Som at Kristian skal til at søge arbejde så’n rigtigt, og jeg skal få taget det der kørekort, og hov, kom vi ikke også til at love ungerne en hund? Og skal vi så være sådan nogle med 2 biler, og Ulrik er da for øvrigt også gammel nok til et kørekort og Teresa skal konfirmeres herovre til næste forår og… og… og…. aaaargh!

Så efter at have mental-klatret op af et meget stejlt bjerg, kan vi nu kigge bagud og nedad og gyse veltilfredse over, at vi ikke skal rutche baglæns hele vejen ned og ligge forslåede og gispende I bunden af en kløft. Men når vi kigger opad er der altså stadigt et stykke bjerg, der skal bestiges. Vi krydser finger for at udsigten kun bliver flottere :-)

Our waiting for the Green Card is over. Last night I finally got the text, I have been waiting impatiently for during the last 4 months, and it was somewhat nerve-racking having to log on to the computer with shaking hands, as the immigration authorities just sent a text message saying that my status was updated - not whether the application was rejected or approved. But it IS true. Approved!

I had played the scenario inside my head a billion times. And, of course, we should be toasting in champagne, I would laugh and cry at the same time, and then we would go out for dinner with our happy children.  
The reality was that I was completely by myself in a big pile of mess, with a hurt foot elevated on the coffee table. Kristian was out camping with the 2 big kids, Luca was at an overnight summer camp, and in the morning when going to work I had a closed encounter with a  a car as it emerged from a side road (note to self: do not underestimate taking the precaution to make eye contact with the driver before you bike out in front of him – even when you ride slowly and actually have the right to be in the pedestrian crossing). And right there in the middle of it all, I was not at all ecstatic happy but rather tired deep into the bones and relieved in that way where it almost causes nausea and headaches. Not quite as I had pictured it.
But we ARE relieved. We actually really like it here and would love to stay. The thought of arriving in Kastrup airport without housing, jobs, and furniture and with a somewhat sloppy bank account, has not exactly been appealing. Right now it is however quite overwhelming to have to suddenly consider all the things that we have pushed ahead of us in a big ugly "this we do not deal with until we have a decision" pile. Such as Kristian needing to find a job, and me getting a drivers license, and hey, we also happened to promise the kids a dog! And should we be the family with two cars, and Ulrik is old enough for a driver's license as well, and Teresa will have her confirmation here in Michigan next spring and ... and ... and .... AAAARGH!
So after mental-climbing a very steep mountain, we can now look backward and downward with a tingle of relief that we don’t have to slide backwards all the way down and lie bruised and gasping at the bottom of a canyon.  But when we look up there is still a some mountain top to climb. We cross our fingers that the view only gets better.

Second week of summer starring severe storms, amazing scenary, and more fireflies

Kl er 8:30, Kristian og Teresa er oppe og løbe 5km løb I Livonia I øs pøs regnvejr (her er et billede fra for 2 uger siden, hvor jeg godt gad med  - det gad jeg nemlig ikke I dag!)

It is 8:30AM, Kristian and Teresa has gone to Livonia for a 5K run in pouring rain (here is a picture from 2 weeks ago, where I did want to go – today in the rain? Not so much).

Ulrik sover stadig efter en hel uges computer camp på universitetet hvor han har lært at kode spil, besøgt et computerlab med robotter samt en virksomhed, og har sluttet ugen af med både diplom og en håndskrevet poster om sit spil. Vi har stået tidigt op hver ENESTE morgen og har cyklet 10km ud til North Campus for at fragte ham frem til Bob and Betty Beyster Building, og vi har mødt en hel del hjorte samt en enkelt kalkun grib. Mandag måtte vi dog kapitulere, da der var lovet det vildeste torden og tornado risiko. Jeg kørte tidligt af sted fra arbejde for at komme ned til hans bygning, hvor vi lod cyklerne stå og ventede på bussen I stedet. Himlen blev mørkeblå og det begyndte at buldre og regne og vi var vældig stolte af vores gode beslutning om at stille cyklerne. Et kvarter senere var vi nået ind til byen, hvor solen nu skinnede fra en skyfri himmel, og der var en let brise. Suk. Og lige der blev jeg så uendeligt træt af overreagerende meterologer og advarsels systemer. Vi tog på Starbucks og hang lidt ud I Ann Arbors svar på Faraos Cigarer, nemlig “Vault of Midnight” og daffede hjem for at spise aftensmad og see Sharknado (fantastisk underholdende med det mest usammenhængende plot, jeg nogensinde har set!). Så alt I alt en hyggelig og fredelig aften…….. Lige indtil kl 1 om natten hvor sirenerne hylede, telefonen bimlede af tornado warnings og det tordnede så meget at bygningen rystede. Føj! Det var det værste uvejr jeg I mit liv har prøvet og Ulrik og jeg endte ude på toilettet, der er vores bagerste rum uden vinduer, da vi ikke turde risikere at få smadret glas på os, hvis stormen blev rigtig slem. Der endte med at være flere små tornadoer her I Michigan, men udover 40 døde køer på et smadret landbrug og et par ødelagte huse, fik de ikke udrettet mere skade og ingen kom noget til. Som dansker er det super overvældende når naturen går amok og jeg tør slet ikke tænke på hvordan det må være at bo I Texas hvor den slags er mange gange mere almindeligt end her.

Ulrik sleeps after a full week of computer camp at the university where he learned to code games, visited a computerlab with robots as well as a local company and concluded the week with both a diploma and a hand-written poster about his game. We have been up early EVERY single morning biking 10km out to North Campus to get him to Bob and Betty Beyster Building, and we have met quite a few deer and a single turkey vulture. Monday there were warnings of severe storms and tornados. I took off early from work to get down to his building where we let the bikes sit and waited for the bus instead. The sky was dark and it started to rumble and rain and we were very proud of our decision to not bike. Fifteen minutes later we had reached the city where the sun now shone from a cloudless sky, and there was a slight breeze. Sigh. And right there I was so infinitely tired of overreacting meteorologists and warning systems. We went to Starbucks and hung out a little in the local comic book store, the "Vault of Midnight" and strolled home to eat dinner and see Sharknado (very entertaining and with the most ridiculous plot I have ever seen!). So all in all, a pleasant and peaceful night ...... .. Until at 1 AM when the sirens wailed, the phone went off with tornado warnings and a thunder storm shook the building. Yikes! It was the worst storm I have ever tried and Ulrik and I ended up out in toilet in the back of the apartment, where there are no windows, since we did not dare risking getting shattered glass on us if the storm was really bad. There turned out to be several small tornadoes here in Michigan, but in addition to 40 dead cows on a smashed farm and a few destroyed houses, they did not do more damage and no one was hurt. As a Dane, it is super overwhelming when nature goes berserk and I dare not imagine what it must be like to live in Texas where such storms are many times more common than here.
  

Kristian, Teresa og Luca, har været oppe og campe ved Sleeping Bear Dunes, der meget berettiget blev kåret som den smukkeste  nationalpark I USA for et par år siden. Selv Teresa havde haft en fest med hike og Luca levede efter sigende af ristede pølser og s’mores. Og der blev også klatret op ad klitterne for at løbe ned MANGE gange (se bare her). Sommerferie I Michigan med en far med al tid I hele verden er faktisk ikke helt dårligt.

Kristian, Teresa and Luca, has been gone camping at Sleeping Bear Dunes, which has been (rightly so) named the most beautiful national park in the United States a few years ago. Even Teresa had fun hiking and Luca apparently lived off fire roasted hot dogs and s'mores. Also they got to climb the dunes and run down MANY times (watch here)  on top of bathing in lake Michigan. Summer vacation in Michigan with a father with all the time in the world is actually not too bad.
 

Her i ugen har vi også nået at sige både goddag og farvel til nye venner på bare 2 dage. Ad lidt knudrede bagveje fandt vi frem til en dansk læge fra Hjørring, der har vareret 2 mdr på universitetet for at forske. I sidste uge blev hun genforenet med mand og børn og Luca har været vild af forventning om at få lov til at møde en anden dansk dreng, der spiller “world of tanks” så de kom alle 4 til middag hos os I torsdags hvor både børn samt forældre fik hygget sig mega meget OG Luca fik fanget sin første ildflue. Det var stort.

During this week, we also experienced saying both hello and goodbye to new friends in just 2 days. By slightly odd circumstances, we got in touch with a Danish MD from Hjoerring, who joined the university for 2 months to get some research done. Last week, she was reunited with her husband and children and Luca has been overly excited about getting to meet another Danish boy who also plays  "World of tanks" .The 4 of the came over for dinner with us Thursday, where both children and parents had a good time AND Luca caught his first firefly ever. It was awesome.

I går besøgte vi så dem i det lækre hus, de har fået lov at låne, og så gik den vilde idlflue jagt igen. Det lykkedes dem at få proppet 10 ilddluer ned I et glas, før vi stoppede dem, da det efterhånden nåede dertil, 2 fluer var ved at blive mast hver gang de forsøgte et stoppe endnu een ned I glasset. Her ses de stolte travle jægere :-)

Yesterday we visited them in the gorgeous house they have been lucky to rent, and fire fly hunting started all over again. The boys managed to stuff 10 fire flies into a jar before we stopped them, as it got to the point where two flies were almost crushed for each new one, that they tried to put in there. Here are the proud hunters in action :-)

Der er også lidt godt nyt på Green Card fronten. Ikke som I at vi har fået svar, men vores stress over at risikere at skulle rejse hjem I slutningen af juli, hvor vores flybilletter gælder til, uden at have fået en afklaring, har været næsten ubærlig. Min professor har heldigvis indvilliget I at fyre mig, såfremt vi skulle få et afslag. Det lyder måske en kende sært, men pointen er, at min visum status indebærer at såfremt min arbejdsgiver fyrer mig, er det vedkommendes ansvar at jeg forlader landet, og han forpligter sig derfor til at hoste op med flybilletter. Han saa lidt forvirret ud,da jeg paent spurgte om ikke han nok ville fyre mig, hvis vi ikke fik Green Card, men vi er heldigvis begge enige om, at jeg helst skulle blive.

 Vi har ventet på svar I 110 dage nu og det er et reelt scenarie at vi først får svar til august eller måske senere, selvom immigrations myndighedernes gennemsnitlige svar tid er sat til 4 mdr. Bottom line er at vi mere end rigtig gerne vil blive herovre og alt der kan hjælpe os I den retning hjælper på humøret.

There are also some good news on the Green Card front. Not as in hearing back from the USCIS with the final decision, but our almost unbearable stress of potentially having to return home at the end of July, without knowing the fate of our application, has lifted some. My professor has agreed to fire me if we end up getting a Green Card rejection. It may sound strange, but the rationale is that my visa status implies that should my employer choose to get rid of me, then it is his responsibility that I leave the country, and he therefore has to pay for flight tickets. He did certainly look puzzled when I asked him if he could please fire me, if I did not get a Green Card, but both us really would want me to stay, and I am grateful that he has agreed on this arrangement (that hopefully will never happen).

We have been waiting for a response in 110 days now and it is a realistic scenario that we do not hear back until August or perhaps even later, even though the immigration authorities average response time is set to 4 months. Bottom line is that we really like it here and anything that can help us to keep moving in that direction relieves the mood.