Our Family Adventure

Happy New Year 2021

2025-12-28T22:12:00.000-06:00

What to say about 2020? The pandemic raged, with an ineffectual government response, George Floyd was killed and our beloved Minneapolis saw great upheaval. We saw demands for change, anger, destruction, and incredible efforts by neighbors coming together to rebuild. Despite it all, we feel fortunate. Dan’s job, with a team distributed all over the world, had transitioned to mostly virtual long before this year, and Target was one of the businesses to do well in the difficult conditions of 2020. Laura’s consulting practice took a hit in the spring as the economy froze up, but with a lot of hard work she was able to transition all of her in-person work into the virtual world. Not only have her clients returned, but she can now access new clients all over the country and the world, and business is booming.

Grace’s senior spring was anything but ordinary, but she graduated high school, got into college, and designed a great gap year that has allowed her to have some fun experiences and avoid a sub-par first year of college. She spent the fall working with the Americorps Conservation Experience in the Southwest, and she leaves in February for a conservation gap program in Hawaii. When she starts Carleton College in the fall we hope it will be a true in-person first year of college.

Theo was looking forward to captaining both the Ultimate and Nordic ski teams during his senior year at Washburn High. The Ultimate season didn’t really happen this fall, and the Nordic season has been delayed, though he’s hopeful there will be some sort of season starting in January. He has stayed busy taking classes at the University of Minnesota as well as at Washburn, and applying to colleges for next year.

Our love and wishes for a Happy 2021 to all of you.

Here's some of our year in highlights from 2020 (the parts we are trying not to forget...)

January:

Trip up north to ski:

Graduation Party Is On!!

2020-07-16T18:35:00.000-05:00

Come Celebrate!

Hi friends and family,
We have decided to hold the long-postponed, long-awaited celebration for Grace's graduation! We'll gather out in front of our house next Thursday, July 23rd, from 6:30pm until 8:30 pm. We would love to see everyone. We welcome people to walk, bike or drive by for a quick hello!

Please wear a mask and we totally understand if you do not feel comfortable coming. If it rains, since we do not have options to meet indoors, please bring a rain jacket or umbrella.

Hope to see you out in front of our house (let us know if you need the address)!
- Dan, Laura, Grace and Theo

Graduation Party Postponed - date TBD

2020-05-17T22:23:00.002-05:00

Hi everyone! As much as I would love to celebrate with you

all this Saturday, due to the current work for justice and out of respect for

George Floyd, we have decided to postpone my graduation party.

Because of what is going on in Minneapolis and across the country,

I feel that I cannot celebrate fully at this time.

In the meantime, I would just like to say thank

you for all of the support and encouragement over the years.

Like my neighbor Lynne said, "it takes a community."

I am so appreciative of my community.

P.s. We are not sure when the party will take place,

but stay tuned and we will let you know, hopefully in the next couple of weeks.

We are sorry not to see everyone but hope everyone is staying safe.

Attached below is a copy of my graduation announcement

(in case your copy burned down with our local post office!).

2020-01-01T22:19:00.001-06:00

Christmas 2019

Wishing all our friends and family a very happy 2020!

What a lovely year it has been, especially with opportunities to visit many of you! (see photos below)

Ultimate Players

Our lives are much as they were last year. Dan and Laura continue to love their work - Dan writing software for data scientists at Target Corp and Laura doing organization development consulting with lots of clients.

Grace is a senior at Washburn High School and seems to be enjoying her final year. She was captain of the ultimate frisbee team this fall, is on the Nordic ski team, plays flute, and does lots of volunteering and getting together with friends. Theo is a junior at Washburn HS and is splitting his time - taking some classes at the University of MN as well. He also played for the Ultimate team spring and fall, did club soccer, plays trumpet, and is on the Nordic
varsity team this winter.

Gracie's senior picture

Cassis, France

In addition to our everyday routines,

2019 marked a big year for us. We celebrated Dan and Laura turning 50, Grace 18 and Theo 16. We also celebrated Dan and Laura's 20th wedding anniversary.

One of our big highlights of the year was that we went to Netherlands, Belgium and France to visit dear friends and see the exciting Women's World Cup.

For their 20th wedding anniversary - Dan and Laura did a week-long bike trip in Provence, France (in 100+ temps).

And Grace and Theo had their own adventures in Brittany and Paris.

It was an amazing trip for all of us! (See more photos below)

Other highlights included:

We hosted Grace and Theo's Nicaraguan siblings for two weeks in January

We celebrated the high school graduations of our niece Olivia in DC and our nephew Connor in MN
Dan traveled to India with his job this fall. There he worked with his Target teammates in Bengaluru (Bangalore).
Laura traveled twice to the Democratic Republic of Congo with her work this spring

Connor's graduation

Dan's teammates take him go-carting in India

Looking out the hotel window in Kinshasha, DRC

Our team in Congo

More highlights:

We also celebrated our 50th birthdays with our friends from Carleton - the Larry's - and all their kids in Montana - which allowed us to visit Glacier National Park, and Yellowstone NP and Grand Tetons NP, and the Badlands NP on our way home

visiting cousin Liam at Princeton

We visited colleges and friends out east for spring break. Grace has been applying to several small liberal arts colleges out West, out East and in the Midwest for next year. All applications are due by January 15th and she'll will be making the decision by May 1st.

We loved times with family and friends- including best friends Sara and Annie's visit (the Chicas) this spring and the Johansson's visit this summer for Ottertail and the State Fair. And Christmas celebrations with the Hales, Rogers, Johanssons, and Princes.

Sara and Annie visit for Mother's Day

Johanssons visit the cabin

Golfing with grandpa

Xmas with Hales and Princes

Johansson siblings (missing Rob)

Xmas with the Rogers

Thanks Everyone. Happy New Year again. And we look forward to seeing you in 2020!

love, Laura, Dan, Grace and Theo

Our 2019 year in review by photos (for our family records):

Winter 2019:

More from our visit from our Nicaraguan exchange students. The rural community of San Carlos, Nicaragua (close the Leon) hosted Grace, Theo, and Laura (as a chaperone) along with 10 other youth in the summer of 2017. Because of political unrest and safety concerns, the Nicaraguan youth had to cancel their visit in the summer of 2018, but thankfully rescheduled for winter of 2019 - when they got to see a very different and very cold MN! It was everyone's first time to experience snow, skating, sledding, and MN hospitality.

Spring 2019:

Grace, Theo and Laura took a spring break trip out East to visit colleges and friends.

The Walzer Goldfeld crew in NYC

Andrea, Rose, and Xyla when we visited Philadelphia


Shannon and Amelia in Vermont

Grad school buddies Laurie and Jackie outside of Philadelphia

Prom 2019:

Summer 2019:

More photos from Netherlands, Belgium and France trip:

Netherlands with Kirsten, Alexander, and Mijla


we also toured Amsterdam for a day and night - including a the Van Gogh museum and late night canal tour

Belgium with Trui and Martine and good friends in Ingelmuster:

our receiving party!

France: biking in Provence, France

It was 114 degrees F when we arrived in Avignon, France! It continued to be hot, but it cooled a bit and okay to bike in the early hours of each day.

Provencial Rose was not to be missed

Such good food everywhere in France

Convent where we stayed one night

magical Cassis on the Sea

Kids Adventure

Kids did their own side trip to Rennes to visit Grace's host family, San Malo, and Paris.

Nice

We met up again in Nice to see the World Cup game and to meet up with Laura's nephew Liam (who was doing a summer internship in Germany with friends) and with Emma (Theo's girlfriend) and her family. Everyone went to the French Riviera and attended the 3rd place game between England and Sweden.

We ended our trip in beautiful Lyon:

Visiting Andreas, my old friend from Peace Corps days

More from Summer Visit from Johanssons

Ottertail fishing

MN State Fair - Barb Carlozzi joined us

Pork Sunglasses

And here's some additional moments with family, friends and colleagues:

1st College acceptance letter

Our Kenyan family Kurias

Twins Game!

Our cat - Tom (tired form visiting all our neighbors)

Emma and Theo at the State Fair

She's eligible to vote!

We love to take advantage of the great theater in the Twin Cities

Cousins:

Johansson Cousins

Hale cousins

Johansson-Engrav Cousins

Caitlin, Conrad and Vivi

We love frequent visits from Laura's niece Vivienne

Western-themed Homecoming

Ottertail Lake kids

Dear friends and mentor Judy and David Glaser

Colleagues Eva and Sam

Friends and neighbors Lynne and Linda

Colleagues Seva and Diana at a training in Idaho

Friends Nasra and Karla

Meet up with Peace Corps buddy Carlota

Muster the Courage to Speak UP!

Sailing on Ottertail

Happy New Year- December 2018

2018-12-26T17:24:00.003-06:00

Happy Holidays Everyone!

¡Felices Fiestas a Todos!

Hoping the end of 2018 finds you well. We are sending all of our friends and family warm greetings at this time of year. We had a wonderful year, much of it spending special times with many of you. In our daily lives, Dan continues to love his work at Target, writing software for big data scientists. Laura continues to do organization development and facilitation work and loves working with such an interesting and talented pool of clients. Grace is a junior and Theo is a sophmore at Washburn High School in Minneapolis. Both are doing great at school and balancing it with music, languages, sports, and friends.

We thought we would share some of our 2018 highlights in photos.

Big hugs from our family to yours!

Laura, Dan, Grace, and Theo

p.s. Please note Laura's e-mail change: laura.ann.johansson@gmail.com or info@laurajohansson.com

We had a magical Christmas and New Years in Mérida, Mexico

(the capital of the Yucatan State) with the Grandmas!!!

We came back to cold January winter in Minnesota. But we did lots of winter skiing for fun and for Washburn High School. These kids are in the second year of the Nordic ski team. They ski both classic and skate ski and do circles around their folks. Still they humored us with the annual Luminary Loppet ski around Lake of the Isles

We also got to join Larry for Larry Fest Yurt that included some skiing (and snow-shoeing) too in Northern Wisconsin. In fact the yurt was only accessible by ski or snowshoe. Thanks Larry!

We skied and snow-shoed out of the yurt one night to grab some warm food

In addition to Skiing - Grace and Theo were on the frisbee team this spring and both played soccer in the fall for Washburn High School. Go Millers!

We are lucky to be part of a great school community. Laura joined the Site Council this fall to help advocate for school funding at the state level.

First day of school this fall

Washburn's co-ed club frisbee team- Washburn Wolfpack

Frisbee buddies

Our Soccer players

Grace and her friend Margaret

Theo got a hat trick for his sister on her 17th birthday this fall!

Here are the kids at Homecoming this fall - out with friends..the dance had a space theme for seniors

La Croix cans out trick or treating!

Theo plays the trumpet in Wind Ensemble and the Jazz Band.

Grace plays the flute in Wind Ensemble and piano at home.

Gracie was a junior election judge this November!

Spring Break took us in different directions. Dan, Theo and Laura visited Laura's dad, Chuck, and his wife Barb, in Ft. Myers Florida. They had a great visit - played pickle ball, golfed, etc.

and saw Laura's mentor and good friend, Judy, and her husband David, in Ft. Lauderdale.

I was so surprised when my ball landed right by the hole after one shot..not my usual experience despite great coaching from my dad.

With Judy Vogel and David Glaser

Dan and Theo got a little body surfing in on the Atlantic side

Meanwhile Grace headed to France with a group from her high school for a two week trip that included a family stay in Rennes. GH is becoming trilingual!

This spring, Grace, Laura and Grandma Mary were able to go to Washington DC to visit the Johansson family - Rob, Laura's brother and his wife, Siobhan, and their kids Liam and Olivia. They also got to see Liam and Olivia in a production of Mary Poppins. Later, Laura went back to see Liam graduate in June. Liam headed to Princeton in the fall.

Summer for us brings some of our favorite things: time at Ottertail Lake, reunions with friends and family, and the MN State Fair. When we are lucky - we get to combine all three of these!!

Sunrise on the lake

Opening weekend for the Princes, Hales, and Johansson over Memorial Weekend and Charlie's birthday - thanks for getting us to Zorbaz, Charlie.

a little frisbee golf with the Hale cousins

Vivienne Tiger got in on some Ottertail Lake action too!

Dan and his sister Debbie

Captain!

Tubing or waterskiing..that's always the dilemma

Mary and Norm joined us for some of the Marik reunion

Our favorite, long-time Ottertail neighbors, Ann and Bill King

Marik Reunion 2018-

Every three years we gather with Jackie's extended family at Ottertail Lake.

Since the tradition started back in 2003, we've had a remarkable 100% attendance!

The Marik Siblings - Jackie (Dan's Mom), Bob, and Lil

Our generation of cousins and spouses

The kids then

the kids now!

We got some more Larry Reunion time (Dan's buddies from Carleton and their families) at Ottertail Lake, in Phoenix for LarryFest West over President's Day weekend, and at Carleton College in the fall for physics professor Joel's retirement weekend.

Phoenix gathering

some sailing at Ottertail

Joel Fest

We also got to see the "Chicas", Laura's buddies from Oberlin.

Their families also joined us for an Ottertail Reunion and then on to the famous MN State Fair.

Annie and Sara had been hearing about this Fair for almost 30 years now!!!

Glad they finally made it.

Then we headed to the State Fair -

(yes, hopping in the car at 6:30am to get to the Fair back in the Twin Cities).

There we joined up with the rest of Laura's family, including Rob and Olivia from DC, for the favorite annual tradition.

The Belfast Cowboys

Dan's favorite band..

He's become an official "groupie" and you can find him most Tuesday nights cheering on the band.

College Visits-

Gracie started this summer -

Including a two-week environmental studies program at Smith College.

The best visits are when we got to visit cousins.

Grace at Smith College

Larry visits colleges - Amherst

Gracie and Grandma Mary tour the west coast...from Puget Sound to Harvey Mudd, whew!

University of Chicago

Northwestern University with the best tour guide ever - Thanks JJ

More Northwestern action - the marching band at TCF Stadium in the Twin Cities with the cousins

Thanks Serena for showing us Loyola!

The visit to Chicago gave us a chance to see Sara and family again and go see Hamilton!!!

Our New Kitchen!

After 20 years in this house, it was finally time to redo the kitchen.

We flipped all the cabinets to the other side, moved the doors and windows, got rid of the radiator and put in-floor heat in, and took out the wall between the kitchen and dining room.

It took about 3 months but it was worth it.

It makes the kitchen feel like the center of our home. We hope you'll come visit!

Before


During Construction

our dining room and kitchen for three months

After!

New kitchen breakfast nook

Recovered empty space next to chimney and gained access to the laundry chute

Looking out at the dining room and living room

Christmas 2018

Johansson Engrav cousins

Erik and Candace with our newest addition to the Johansson family -Asher

Mary, Norm, Caitlin (Laura's sister), Conrad, Vivi and our family

With Deb, Jupe, JJ, Connor, and Charlie Hale (Dan's sister's family) and Grandma Jackie

Xmas cousins

Nicas- We are anxiously awaiting our Nicaraguan exchange students.

They arrive on December 27 and will be with us for two weeks!

Miscellaneous Moments with Friends and Family:

Grandmas

Lake Superior June camping.. around 40 degrees

Cousin Haley becomes Miss Aquatennial! Then headed off to St. Olaf College this fall. Way to go!

Auntie is enjoying cuddles with the Tiger girl

Our Kenyan family; Emmanuel, Carol and kids

Caitlin, Conrad & Vivi

Hiking in Phoenix

Sushi pants tickle

With Friends from Nicaragua

First Universalist Women's Group -meeting monthly for many years

With Friends Gaby and Rodolfo at the Latino Film Festival

Front garden

Walking with sister Britt

Joyce reunion

Theo with friends at First Universalist Coming of Age ceremony

Date at Lake Superior

Tom

2017-01-02T20:59:00.003-06:00

Happy New Year!!! Greetings from Laura, Dan, Theo and Grace

We had a great 2016 full of new adventures! Dan started independent contracting with Best Buy at the beginning of the winter after working for the first half of the year at Quantum Retail. Laura has continued her organization development, training, and facilitation consulting, with a nice mix of long-term contracts with Xperitas and MNToP, as well as independent contracting with businesses and with a sustainable fisheries project through U.S. AID in Ghana. Gracie started 9th grade in the fall at Washburn High School, and was on the 9th grade soccer team and is doing band. Theo is in his last year at Barton and he plays the trumpet, and does debate and soccer.

Skiing weekend at Itasca State Park, MN.

Spring Break 2016: We hiked at Bryce Canyon and Capitol Reef National Parks in Utah, and then backpacked for three days in Zion National Park, also in Utah

Mom visited Belgian friends Trui and Martin after a trip to Ghana.

We went on a week-long Boundary Waters canoe trip with our friends from New York that we met in Chile: Becky, Keith, Stefan and Jules. This is in Grand Marais, MN, after our voyage. Below, Dan's unfortunate staph infection following our trip, which fortunately resulted in a full recovery after a couple days in the hospital.

"Chicas reunion" at Ottertail. (Laura and two of her college friends, Annie and Sara)

Laura with colleagues in Ghana.

Dan's Carleton friends and their families came to Ottertail and then went to their 25th reunion in Northfield.

This yearly gathering is known as "Larryfest".

Gracie graduated from 8th grade at Barton Open School in June. She was honored by her fellow students and teachers with the Samantha Hastings Humanitarian Award. (her parents couldn't be prouder!)

State Fair in August with Grandma Jackie and Grandma Mary. (The best state fair ever!!!)

Gracie, Laura, Mary, and Jackie went to South Pacific at the Guthrie. (It was AWESOME!)

MLK weekend in AZ with our friends EB, Tanner, and Zach. Laura met up with us after attending a work conference and visiting a Hopi community in Northern Arizona.

Our Annual Valentine Greeting!

2013-02-14T17:11:00.001-06:00

Larryfest 2012 at Ottertail

Happy Valentine’s Everyone!

We wanted to send out a very quick message of love and gratitude and look back at 2012 from the Prince-Johansson household. 2012 was our year to return home after our incredible adventure in Chile. There were lots of big and small adjustments coming back to the States. Some were very welcome; like moving back into our house, spending lots of time at the cabin, returning to our annual Boundary Waters trip and of course being with family and friends. Some were more difficult; like all of us getting so busy again, having to use a car again, and much less time for just the four of us. We of course miss our dear friends and all our travel adventures from 2011, but hope to stay in touch with folks and anticipate many more travel adventures to come.

With that we’ll leave you with our Valentine’s greetings and some quick highlights and photos from 2012. Our love, Theo, Grace, Dan and Laura

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Highlights from 2012:

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· Spring break trip to DC and NYC, including catching up with family and friends, bowling at the White House, visiting Ground Zero.

· Laura gets into American University’s Master’s of Science in Organization Development program, which she loves!!! She is excited to be doing facilitation and OD consulting on the side.

· We adopt an elderly orphan, Dixie (our cat)

· Grace and Grandma Mary go on their Elderhostal trip to Maine

· 4^th of July Marik reunion at Ottertail – all 36!

· Hosting Dan’s college buddies (Larryfest) at Ottertail and later Laura’s chicas in Minneapolis

· The kids stay busy with lots of sports; soccer, snowboarding, skiing, swim team, basketball (TW), volleyball (GH’s team gets 1^st place), and piano, trumpet and flute.

· Dan ran his first 10-mile race in under 15 min! Just kidding.

· Theo's enormous potato harvest

NYC with Walzer-Goldfeld family

Marik crew in DC

The Marik siblings at Ottertail

Cousins!

Surfing - Ottertail style

BWCA quiet moments

GH in the BWCA

Mary's 70th birthday celebration

"Las chicas" Annie and Sara

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A fraction of Theo's famed potato crop!

Back to school and readjustment

2012-01-12T09:03:00.005-06:00

Well, some of you have asked about re-entry and I have been missed writing our reflections down...so I thought I would give a quick update.

The kids went back to school on Monday. There were some anxiousness, a 7am predawn departure (ouch) and then happy reunions and big hugs. Our Minneapolis School, Clara Barton is a great school and the kids fell right back in its rhythm (even the early mornings). This is their comfort zone and not so much because of the language. I think Barton is very intentional about creating a positive environment for all kids. Theo said, "there are no "cool" and "uncool" kids at Barton. I think its also a great fit for Grace and Theo because learning and paying attention to the teacher is cool!

Along with school, we also have slid right back into programmed extra-curricular activities, namely sports so far. Both kids started cross-country ski league, and Gracie is back on the swim team and Theo is checking out a traveling soccer team. From our relatively simple, unprogrammed life, it comes as a shock that at least one of the kids has a sports activity 6 days of the week! Ahhh, back to the infinite juggle (and I'm not even working yet)!

Our challenge now is to retain some of the very precious family time we came to so appreciate during our travels. Perhaps it will be less about the quantity and more about being fully present for the time we can carve out. A friend asked if the time in Chile had gone fast and I responded "no". Everything was so new to us that we spent the year like four children, experiencing the world with wonder and open eyes. We were very present - no rote routines, no same old same old to which we devoted very little of our brain energy. We were fully present and paying attention to everything. So now we have the chance to rediscover our life in the Twin Cities with our eyes fully open as well! :-)

Hope to see many of you soon. Our home number is the same as ever.
Laura

Goodbye to Valparaíso. Hello Minnesota.

2012-01-01T12:00:00.017-06:00

¡Feliz Año Nuevo! Happy New Year everyone. We can't quite believe 2011 is over... Sorry, we haven’t properly wrapped up the “Our Family Adventure” Blog. The last two weeks are a bit of a blur as we moved between hemispheres, seasons, and communities. A different life.

Our last week in Valparaíso was a week full errands, packing, but mostly goodbyes; lunch goodbyes, late night dinners, and folks just dropping by to wish us well. We felt the abundance of the relationships we had developed over the year. It was sad but also made us realize how rich our lives had become in Valparaíso, filled with a community that had been willing to cross cultural and language barriers and befriend a family of foreigners. These friends will always be special to us and hopefully we can keep in touch. Hasta pronto.

I also finished my last mosaic project. I couldn’t leave Valpo without leaving a bit of public art and a gift to our property owners and good friends, Bart and Marcela - so I installed a mural of a garden scene on the wall in our front patio. It made for some late nights the last week, but all was a labor of love.

We also were able to see some friends that had just arrived to Chile for the holidays. Artie and Margie had welcomed us to Chile last January and helped us connect with some great folks in Chile, so it was fun to visit with them and play in their pool before we left.

Also, we met up Carolyn Bain and family - my old friend from Peace Corps Dominican Republic days. Carolyn's husband Victor is Chilean and they lived for many years in Santiago. Now they are back in Seattle, but visit Victor's folks. Carolyn's kids, Sofí and Nicolás, are the same age as Grace and Theo and it was fun to hear the bilingual banter as we all went out for some pizza.

Somehow in the midst of all that we got all packed up and headed to the airport on December 24^th. Twenty-seven hours later we were back in Minneapolis, in the warm embrace of our welcome party, Jackie and Mary (Dan’s and my mom).

Our first week back has been a mix. Our days have been filled with family and we have just luxuriated in the company of grandparents, cousins, aunts and uncles. We have mostly stayed at Jackie’s home and have just started the job of unpacking our house. Our house was broken into one morning while we had yet to move most things back. Kind of a rude awakening to life back in the States, but not much was taken and no one was hurt. It's nice to see our house again, but also it doesn't quite feel like our home yet. We have all been surprised by space – everything feels big; houses, cars, lawns, grocery stores. Our house feels cavernous – four floors of house and storage and we lived in the equivalent of one of those floors while abroad. The snow has finally come and it's thrilling to see, but we miss the balmy winds of Chilean summer. We’ve walked around the lake, driven the streets around our house, passed well-known landmarks, but it still feels as if we are re-familiarizing ourselves with everything.

We've traded our walking everywhere to driving everywhere; which is kind of a bummer but just how it is in Minnesota, especially in winter. We still don't have a home phone or internet or a radio set up, so there is a lot of quiet. Valparaíso was always noisy; stray dogs, the ocean, fog horns, microbuses honking their horns, late night gatherings, the apartment above and below us. It's winter quiet here. Houses are far apart and noise is muffled by the snow.

We spent our first night at our house and we all loved being back in our beds! Gracie lost herself in playing and replaying all her old piano music. Every time she passes by the piano, she sits to play again. Theo recovered a couple items from the attic, including his zoom mobiles building set; in which he proceeded to completely lose himself, building new design after new design. It's also wonderful to hear the kids giggling away while playing with cousins or the grandmas. Such pleasures of being home.

We have yet to connect with friends, but look forward to doing that little by little as we continue to settle in.

We have some post scripts we need to do to finish up documenting our year in Chile, in particular we have some posts from our trip in Peru that I would like to put up before we close up the blog. We haven't decided whether we'll close up the blog permanently now, start a new blog for occasional family updates, or what. Feel free to send suggestions. But for now, happy new year to all of you. Thanks for accompanying us this past year. Let's hope 2012 holds lots of adventure for all of us as well.

-Laura and family

Glaciar Grey- Patagonia Part III

2011-12-22T13:13:00.005-06:00

"We went up to see a glacier one day,
And it was called, Glaciar Grey".

That was our song that we sung through the whole hike. We added lots of verses along the way and even got Dad to sing one or two verses, such as...

"Mommy got up and wanted to go,
but Daddy got up and first wanted his jo".

Anyways, on day #2, after a catamarán ride across a lake, we hiked about 5 hours up to the "Refugio Grey". This was a lot easier than our first day's hike, but I was still sore. A refugio is like a hostel. We all had hot showers and a very tasty dinner. We splurged and got orange fanta and wine for my parents.

That night we met a U.S. person who had been going to Patagonia for the last 8 years to do trail maintenance.

In the morning, we got up and went to a "mirador" (a scenic lookout), where there was a huge iceberg and you could see "Glaciar Grey" (glacier in Spanish). It's 100 sq. miles in area and 28 km long (17 mi.). In other words, GIGANTIC!

There was a lot of chunks that had fallen off of the iceberg, so we threw rocks at them and picked them up. It was really fun. Then we started the hike back...still singing our song. We got back to the Refugio Grand Paine and had a yummy buffet dinner and kept reading Harry Potter #6.

It was spectacular to see a glacier up close (especially before they all melt).

-Theo

Torres del Paine

2011-12-19T06:49:00.009-06:00

Taking a break from packing to continue sharing the story of our trip to Patagonia...

On our third day in Patagonia (last Monday), we made it to the Torres del Paine National Park.

We proceeded to hike for the next three days. Our first day was the toughest hike. We hiked 18 kilometers or 11 miles round trip to the Torres. See up above.

We didn't get to the trail head until 12:30pm and it took us around 9.5 hours (good thing the sun didn't go down until 10pm). The last part of the ascent was pretty tough (see Gracie in the video), but what an amazing view when you come around the last boulder and see the Torres (or towers) and the lagoon below! Spectacular.

Everyone was pretty sore and tired upon arrival, but we were pretty impressed the kids were able to do it. We also lucked out with the weather - warm and sunny and not too much wind.

We saw some foxes walking the riverbed as we came into our campsite that night! It was magical. We had also seen a condor soaring over head and the guanaco herds (see the llama-like animal) woke us at daybreak the next with their mooing sounds.

Other than that we heard....silence! It was beautiful. After being in a very urban environment all year, it was such a treat to find ourselves in the wilderness.

I better catch some sleep now. Theo would like to write about our hike to the glacier tomorrow.
Buenas noches,
Laura

Penguins of Patagonia!

2011-12-18T21:26:00.003-06:00

Last week we had a very nice trip to Patagonia Chile. This was our first stop, Monumento de los Pinguinos, just outside of Punta Arenas. We took a two hour boat ride to the Isla Magdalena, where there were tons of penguins everywhere and some would even come up to you and stare at you with curiosity!

If you ever go down to Patagonia I definitely recommend it!

-Grace

The Southest

2011-12-11T21:03:00.001-06:00

Greetings from Puerto Natales, gateway to Torres de Paine National park in Chilean Patagonia. We had a wonderful visit to a small island in the windy Strait of Magellan that is home to thousands of nesting Magellanic Penguins. Then a long bus ride here, followed by tasty pizza and Natales microbrew. The sun was just setting at 10:15 when we finished packing for our hike tomorrow and crawled into bed. And no, we did not check out the Southest Mall in the World.

One last trip...to the end of the continent

2011-12-09T20:31:00.005-06:00

Well, it looks like we somehow are all packed and ready to go for tomorrow. Since the end of school on Wednesday, we've spent the last two days on all-day outings with Gracie's and then Theo's class. It is such a wonderful tradition to go out to a recreational park or campground with some kind of pool; swim, play soccer, and have a huge bbq. It was a nice way to end the year for both kids and a great chance to say goodbye to all their friends.

Now, somewhat short on sleep and in Theo's case a bit sunburned - we're off to just about the end of the continent - southern Patagonia. We fly from Santiago to Punta Arenas tomorrow (a 3 hour flight south!). Then we take another day to travel to Puerto Natales, and finally we'll go into the Torres del Paine National Park on Monday and come out on Thursday. As you can see from these internet photos it looks like a rugged landscape with snow covered peaks and glacier lakes. Lots of folks have said its the most beautiful spot in Chile and one of the best trekking spots in the world.

We look forward to updating you all upon our return. Then its 6 short days to pack up and finish with goodbyes. :-)

Cross your fingers for fair weather,
Laura

End of school!

2011-12-07T15:39:00.008-06:00

Today, being the last day of school, was a sad day and a happy day. First when I got to school, almost everyone came dressed up, some as boxers, soccer players, pirates etc. After that, we did what is called a "desayuno compartido'' (shared breakfast) where we walk around and serve ourselves what we want from a buffet-like setting. For example, yogurt, honey, fruit and more.

Then, we started the end-of-school year/costume program. Different groups got up and performed for the rest of the school. For example, first, "prekinder" went on the stage and played instruments and sang. Then, the "taller de clown" came up and acted like bumper cars. After that came the costume parade by grade, in which students went up on the stage and showed their costumes. I'm dressed as a tourist in sunglasses.

Then one of the teachers made a speech about how some students and families will leaving, not only from the school but from this country too. And then he invited Gracie and me up to the stage! He asked us if we had anything to say. Grace said "gracias" and then he asked my mom to come up and say a few more words. I was really nervous.

After that we exchanged some gifts with mom that we had worked really hard to make. I made a basket out of painted woven paper. Mom made chocolate chip cookies and she helped finish my mosaic box and then gave them to me.

Mom took us out to lunch after that to celebrate.

Here's a list of some stuff I learned this year:

1. I learned how to speak, read and write in Spanish.

2. I learned a lot of different ways of how to do multiplication and division.

3. I learned how to dance the "Costillar" folkloric dance.

4. I learned how to deal with all kinds of people and lots of different situations.

5. I learned how to play ping pong and I got a lot better at soccer.

6. I learned how to write in cursive.

7. I learned to sing some Chilean songs.

- Teo or as I'm known in Minnesota - Theo.

p.s. Here's some photos of some of my favorite memories of tercero básico (3rd grade) at Monte Alegre.

Marathon and more...

2011-12-05T09:54:00.004-06:00

Our good friends Jenny, Jon, Solana and Frances, who are from Minneapolis and living in Mendoza, Argentina this year, were back for a visit and so Jenny could run her first marathon this weekend. She was inspiring. She finished 3rd place in her age category and in under 4 hours!

It's a beautiful run along the ocean. I joined Jenny for a quick 5 km at km 32 in case she was hitting a wall. Far from it, she was cruising and ran ahead for the last 5km (42 km in all). Check out her exciting finish here in the video!!!

Other weekend highlights included "onces" at David and Cecilia's home where we saw Nury and Mario and kids as well, time at Reñaca beach, where the marathon finished up, and then later at the hotel pool. Jon took the kids to some puppet shows, we caught our friend's live outdoor music concert on the pier, and some of our party visited nearby Pablo Neruda's house, now museum, la Sebastiana.

We won't see the Dicus Breen family again until July 2012, when they return from their year abroad. We're so fortunate that we all ended up "neighbors" (Mendoza is an 8 hour bus ride away). Our families are sharing many similar experiences and its been wonderful to mark our progress and support each other. This was true with our friends from NYC, Keith, Becky, Stefan and Jules, who lived for a year in Valparaiso as well. Its so helpful to find other families that are wanting an immersion experience, not a very common breed of travelers. We've helped each other navigate packing lists, visa requirements, choosing a school for the kids, how to find corn tortillas, etc. And of coures, it's always good to know that you aren't the only one with this crazy idea of living abroad with the kids.

Hope you all had a great weekend too.
Sincerely,
Laura

Three weeks left!

2011-12-01T20:51:00.005-06:00

Yikes. Time is flying. Here's some quick updates on the Prince Johansson household.

Theo and Grace finished up with year-end exams with "lenguaje" (grammar and language arts) this Monday and "matemática" this Wednesday. There were 6 or 7 pages of written work for the lenguaje - Gracie's hand hurt afterward and Theo showed me his writing blister. As far as math, they both claim they are part of a small minority that enjoys it. Yay! Really, Dan and I couldn't be prouder of these two - they both worked so hard this year. They've come so far from their first week of school when they could hardly understand anything, to now, when they are doing great in all their classes. Theo even corrects my Spanish from time to time now and they both speak with a Chilean accent.

Theo's soccer team also finished up the year with a great "Championship" game, in which they won. Theo was on fire and had a great game. Grace and Theo have also been caught up the table tennis fever that has swept their school. Sometimes, when the other has an after school class, I'll stay and play ping pong with them for an hour and a half. Theo finally beat me too! Next week, they will finish up school on Wednesday. And Thursday and Friday are all day outings that parents have organized for their respective classrooms.

Dan's work days continue along, although he is bracing himself to give up his 5 step commute to the desk with the ocean view. He also is really enjoying his time with his running group twice a week and the fact that they run along the beach at sunset. I'm not sure it gets more beautiful than that. There's a family fun run Saturday here in town, for which he's hoping to convince the kids and our friends Jenny, Jon, and their girls, to participate.

Jenny, Jon, Solana and Franny, our good friends from Minneapolis, who are living in Mendoza this year, are on their way back for one more visit this weekend. Jenny is running her first marathon, "la maraton costa pacifica 2012". We're all excited to cheer her on and I might even jump in for a very short distance of support running.

I'm wrapping things up with my various projects. I've been at the print shop, spiral-bounding my 60 page organizational analysis to turn in. I've also been making arrangements for our last Chilean trip. We're heading down to Patagonia next Saturday - as far south as we can go, short of Antarctica. We'll be hiking for four days in the Torres del Paine Park. We're thrilled although our hiking plans may include rain, snow, gail force winds and very strong sun (as the hole in the ozone is quite large there). Given that some of us will be in jeans and tennis shoes, we're feeling somewhat ill-equipped, but optimistic nevertheless. We're hoping for more penguin sightings.

Finally, I'm starting to gear up for what's next for me once I arrive back to Minnesota. I am considering going back to graduate school for a mid-career organizational development degree. So, I am spending a lot of time on the internet and on skype, doing research and talking to folks about program options (feel free to send suggestions).

A busy time for us, all with the backdrop that the end of our year is drawing near. We haven't really started to fully process our upcoming transition, but I think we all have a sense of what a wonderful year we've had.

With great appreciation,
Laura

photos: Gracie with her teacher Dorys and friends, the Champion soccer team!, what I think must be a clematis (wow!), some photos Gracie took on a recent walk around our neighborhood.

A Chilean Thanksgiving

2011-11-28T16:34:00.010-06:00

On last Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, we had a party to celebrate. We invited all our Chilean friends as kind of a goodbye party/Thanksgiving gathering.

My mom made tons of traditional food and people brought other Chilean food to share. Unfortunately, we didn't have a full turkey- but instead deli slices of turkey. We also didn't have cranberries or pumpkins, but my Mom made squash pie. You couldn't tell the difference from pumpkin pie (I thought it was the real thing).

People also shared their talents, like singing and playing instruments. Some people had to sit outside because so many people showed up and we didn't have enough room for everyone.

It was kind of disappointing not to have some of the traditional foods or be with our family, but it was still fun to celebrate Thanksgiving with our friends here.

Sincerely,
Grace

p.s. Mom says that the reenactment of the first Thanksgiving by us kids was the best part of the evening. See picture of Theo as dead turkey on the floor.

Another "seasonal disorientation"

2011-11-23T18:59:00.006-06:00

Just look at these '"damascos" - apricots! (I just have to share that this is about a kilo of apricots, which cost about $1.50!). For goodness sakes - it's strawberry and cherry season here. Surely it can't be Thanksgiving tomorrow. Another seasonal disorientation experience.

No family in sight, no cranberries, no whole turkey, and no pumpkins to be had. No holiday lights to get up or last storm windows to put on. No trip to the North Shore to hike along Cascade Falls. No cold weather or chance of snow. It's in the 70's and gorgeous almost every day now. Really there is no Thanksgiving in Chile - or as its known in Spanish - Día de Acción de Gracias. I guess no marketing money to be made, so Thanksgiving hasn't made the export list.

So we are reconciling our seasonal disorientation and making the best of things. Although Dan has the next two days off, the kids have end of year exams all week. I have a parents' meeting at school tomorrow night (yep, on Thanksgiving). So the kids and I are business as usual tomorrow.

But Friday night, we've invited our Chilean "family" to join us for a night of feasting, giving thanks, music and poetry. I'm currently baking a zapallo (it looks like its in the squash/pumpkin family) with hopes of turning it into something akin to a pumpkin pie and the kids are considering a reenactment of the first Thanksgiving. Should be...fun, hilarious, interesting. We'll keep you posted.

And we really have so much to be thankful for this year. Enjoy your special day tomorrow. We are sending our warm greetings to all.

Love,
Laura

p.s. we'll try to turn skype on in the evening

pps. Yes, those are zucchinis or "zapallo italianos".

You want me to do what?

2011-11-22T19:14:00.012-06:00

Surely there was a misunderstanding when I suggested helping with a facilitation workshop (aka; getting signatures, setting up the papers, coordinating the admin, etc.) and Isabel wrote back that I would be co-facilitating a 4 day workshop in Spanish!

I thought I would clear up the misunderstanding and instead I had a great time facilitating.

More than 10 years ago, I trained with folks from the Institute of Cultural Affairs, now they form the Minnesota Technology of Participation or MnTop. I've used the participatory methods over the years in my work and it was a great opportunity to share them as part of a project here with ICA Chile to train disabled folks all over the country.

Isabel de la Maza was my co-facilitator and my mentor for the week. I am so appreciative of the opportunity she gave me and for the wonderful chats each day as we drove about an hour up and then down the coast to the small town of Quintero for the training.

The folks at TAC Cordillera, for whom I recently did the organizational analysis, also had Isabel and me help them with some strategic planning one evening.

It was a long week and probably the most extended time I've been immersed in Spanish this year. It was a pleasure and wonderful for my Spanish skills. The experience also made me realize how much I'm looking forward to working out in the community again.

Cheers,
Laura

StarTechConf in Santiago

2011-11-20T19:58:00.000-06:00

Fellow geeks on a coffee break in Santiago (image from here)

One of the advantages of living here this year is that we're only a two-hour bus ride from Santiago, one of the biggest cities in South America. Big tech conferences don't often come to Minneapolis, but two weeks ago Santiago played host to famous software geeks from all over the world. I was one of the lucky 1000 people to get a ticket.

There were the usual talks about new techniques and new technologies, and a few interesting forums on Chile-specific projects. The coolest thing from my perspective was the international flavor of it. There were 3 series of talks going on simultaneously, with one track mostly in English with simultaneous translation to Spanish. It was like the United Nations, everyone with an electronic gadget hanging around their neck and an earpiece in their ear. Other than the delayed reaction of the audience when the speaker told a joke or asked a question, it all went remarkably smoothly. I met some cool people and learned a lot, including a bunch of new Spanish vocabulary having to do with computers and technology.

Thanks to all the hard-working volunteers who organized the conference!

A weekend of foreign visits - some unexpected!

2011-11-14T17:09:00.003-06:00

We had a weekend of foreign visits.

Friday night we invited Eric MacDonald over for dinner. Eric is an electrical engineer on Fulbright from the University in El Paso, Texas. He is teaching at the University of Santa Maria, aka Hogwarts (its a beautiful castle-like university that overlooks the ocean here).

We ran into each other on the long climb up one night and as his family had just returned to the States, we invited him for a family dinner. Here's their family blog: The Year of Three Winters. We had a great time with Eric, although he was feeling perhaps more homesick by the end of the dinner...leaving us to go skype with his six kids.

Then, on Saturday night we stopped to talk to some bikers who were clearly on a long trip - an unusual site in Chile. Turns out they are from Ecuador, doing a tour of South America over the next two years. Mario is a bike enthusiast and somewhat of a photojournalist. They are fundraising by selling stickers and bracelets $2-$3 at a time. Mostly, they are relying on the help of strangers and having all sorts of amazing adventures.

So, Mario and César stayed with us the rest of the weekend and regaled us with their stories. Here's their blog site, check it out ::..:: BICIECUADOR ::..:: .

Opening our doors to strangers was a leap of faith for us, but we are very familiar with getting lots of help in our travels from strangers and so it felt like the right thing to do.

Our best to everyone,
Laura

Start clowning around!

2011-11-11T05:59:00.005-06:00

We keep hearing loud cheering crowds far off and late into evenings this week. We're not sure if its related to continuing protests or perhaps the 3rd International Meetings of Clowns! :-)

Yesterday, Theo and I ran over to a public show of Tuga, the mime vs. Chumbeque, the clown. It was fantastic! We sat with the rest of the crowd on the really hot cobblestones in the heat of the late afternoon in the Plaza Anibél Pinto and laughed our heads off. Tuga and Chumbeque are locals and definitely household names in this town. In fact, Chumbeque's son is in Grace's class this year. It's a common site to see a crowd suddenly gathering around a plaza and at the center is Tuga, the mime, doing an "intervention". Chileans love these guys and with reason. Can you imagine a mime being a household name in the States? Perhaps that was possible in another less busy, less cynical era.

¡Upa Chalupa! (I just love how that sounds). :-)
Laura

Cooking from scratch

2011-11-07T09:02:00.008-06:00

We certainly don't eat much fast food or processed food back in the States, but we're happy to break open a bottle of Ragu, or use the pancake mix or buy some hummus from the co-op.

Well, this year has stretched our cooking-from-scratch repertoire. Because a lot of our favorite foods aren't available, we've been enjoyed searching the web for our favorite recipes. Homemade bolognese sauce, homemade salad dressings, from scratch buttermilk for our from scratch pancakes, hummus that starts with soaking the chick peas, fresh squeezed OJ, etc.

Yesterday, we were treated to Sunday dinner at our friends' Marcelo and Fabiola's home. Marcelo made fresh pasta, and prepared delicious red, white and green (pesto) sauces. I couldn't choose - I had a little of each.

I had brought along some of Auntie Siobhan's Irish Soda bread - yum - which was a totally new food for our Chilean friends. It was a feast. While the adults sat around with a bottle of Chilean wine afterwards, the kids explored the cool trapdoor and played with the kittens.

There's usually additional time when cooking from scratch, but it's great to skip the additional preservatives and the results are usually well worth it - especially
when in good company.

Additionally, the kids have jumped right in and learned how to prepare a lot of different foods and have been willing to eat more kinds of food too.

Buen provecho a todos,
Laura

Nice visit to the countryside today!

2011-11-05T21:02:00.010-05:00

Dan was off to Santiago attending a conference yesterday and today. So the kids and I decided to ride Valpo's train to the end of the line (about a 1 hour-long ride through the countryside) to Limache and then we took a bus to the cute, little touristy town of Olmué.

Here's some fun things about our day:

1) We found a great recreational park that was walking distance from the plaza (thanks to the bus driver for the tip!)

2) The high temp today was 31 degrees celsius (88 degrees fahrenheit) - which meant the unheated pool felt pretty good! The synchronized pencil dives were the best.

3) 120 meters zip line -woohoo!

4) Gorgeous flowers all around - even the graffiti looks nice next to the bougainvillea and wall of geraniums!

5) Gorgeous garbage containers - John B., what do you think of getting Lyndale Neighborhood started on wrought iron baskets for garbage collections outside the houses. Love it.

6) We're back in strawberry season - which means yummy "jugos naturales" (fresh juice).

7) We got to visit our friend Victor's folks. Victor is married to my good friend Carolyn Bain from my Peace Corps training days in the Dominican Republic. Last we all met was in Seattle for their wedding - over 12 years ago I think. We stopped by Victor senior (Tito) and Angelica's house for "onces" or tea time and had a lovely visit.

8) Along the lines of toilet paper countdown, we contemplated another race today ...will our stay in Chile or Theo's shoes end first? Feel free to weigh in (yes, those are holes on both shoes & we won't mention what the bottom soles look like).

We had a great day. Hope you did too!
Laura