Christmas Day//Boxing Day

The last two days at Piper's house were fairly low key. Both Christmas Day and "Boxing Day" (Dec 26) were spent with all of us playing with our new gifts and relaxing, just enjoying our last few days together. Christmas Day, Piper and Ana spent most of the day cooking, tonight we were having a typical American dinner (ham, green bean casserole, mashed potatoes, corn bread) and a delicious Hispanic meal of pork, Spanish rice, and black beans. Did I forget to mention the homemade apple pies?
Kamryn, Felix, and I were outside for a few hours, relishing the warmth and sunshine (I don't quite get enough of either of these things living in Sweden). We played baseball, tossed the hackie sack, and then went for a walk. I loved being out in the bright air, despite my eyes constantly watering any time I tried to steal a glance at the sun.

Hackie Sackin' in the backyard

Once back at home, Rob offered to take Kam and I on base so we could visit the commissary. On base, they have a lot of American food options and grocery stores, so I was eager to get a Gatorade and a few other American luxuries that we don't have in Sweden. He drove us around the base, showing us where he works, the barracks, and other offices. He was able to explain a lot about his division to me, since I am completely ignorant of anything besides the main branches of the US Military. Apparently within the US Army, there are "subdivisions" such as infantry, calvary, armored, mountain, airborne, airborne brigade combat, and armored calvary. There are also special operations units: special forces, rangers, special operations, special operations aviation, military information, etc. Also, I had no idea that the numbering system had been in place, for some units, since WW1. After our relatively quick trip around the base, it was time to head home and get ready for dinner.

Everyone gathered in front of the TV for A Christmas Story

That night, we watched A Christmas Story as one big happy family, plus two of Rob's army friends (Chester and Steve) and two of Steve's Italian friends (I have no clue what their names are).

Me and Kam playing with Photo Booth on the iPad

The next morning, Piper, Rob, Ana, and Felix headed out on a 6-hour drive south to Rome, while mom, Kam and I stayed at their place. We had to be in Venice the next morning to meet up with three of our friends that would be staying in Europe to go on tour with the New Years Bash.

So relaxing

We lounged around, doing laundry, and packing our bags so we could be prepared for our early morning. Luckily, dad and I were able to figure out FaceTime and we were able to talk to him, Grandma, Grandpa Bill, Aunt Debbie, and Uncle Wayde a little bit.

Grandpa Bill and Grandma rubbing in our faces the delicious Cuban breakfast at Tulipan

We watched a few movies before finally settling in for the night. Tomorrow we would be leaving Vicenza behind and heading over to Venice.

Christmas Eve in Verona

Christmas Eve took us to Verona, the home of William Shakespeare's famous love story Romeo and Juliet. Again, we loaded up two cars around 10am and headed over towards this historical town; this time, the cousins were in one car: Piper, Kam, Felix, and myself, while mom joined Rob and Ana in the 2nd car. Verona is known by Italians as piccola Roma - Little Rome.

Kam, mom, and I in front of the Verona Arena

We parked, and headed out into the main center Piazza Bra, literally running right into the Verona Arena. The arena was built in 30 AD and is the 3rd largest in Italy. From here, we wandered down Piazza della Erba, one of the main shopping streets, towards Casa de Giulietta (Juliet's house). Juliet Capulet is a fictional character created for Shakespeare's play Romeo and Juliet, however, the balcony in Verona has turned into a tourist attraction complete with a bronze statue of Juliet. Naturally we visited Juliet's balcony and took many pictures rubbing her right boob, as they claim this will help give you good luck in your future love endeavors.

Kam and I feeling up Juliet

Along the walls entering her house, there are names etched into the stone, as some believe that this will allow their love to be everlasting. It is also traditional to write a letter to Juliet and leave them in her basket with hopes that the Club di Giulietta will write you back, like in that stupid Amanda Seyfried movie Letters to Juliet.

We continued our journey through the city, making our way past a few large churches as we headed towards Romeo's house. Despite the plaque on the side of the building that states this as Casa de Montague, this house is still occupied and thus never open for visitors. Disappointed, Mom, Kam and I decided to stop for some coffee while the rest of our group went in to view one of the churches.

Sign at Romeo's house

Yummy coffee

We continued down the street behind the church to check out the view of the Adige River from the San Giorgio Stone Bridge. Our day was coming to a close, and we were all eager to get home to begin our Christmas festivities that evening.  

Mom, Kam, and I on San Giorgio Stone Bridge

Kam and I taking a rest on the "art" placed around town

Back at home, we were getting into the Christmas spirit. We all ate some eggnog and snacks before we were heading out to Villagio della Pace (Village of Peace), where many of the families that are posted at Caserma Ederle (the army base) live, for a few hours of Christmas caroling. Rob, Ana, Felix, Piper, mom, Kam, and I met up with three of Rob's army friends: Chester, Steve, and Lacy. We printed out about 8 different carols and headed on to the base-housing.

O' Christmas Tree! Kam, Felix and I

Finally, returning home, we showered, ate a little, and then were ready to begin our countdown to midnight when we would be allowed to open presents, as it is officially Christmas Day (December 25th). After opening our la Befana stockings -- la Befana is an old woman, looking similar to a witch, who delivers presents to children around Italy on January 5. Piper had made us each our own stockings and filled them with candy and other small goodies. 

My sister had opened all her presents from mom and dad at home before she flew to Italy, so she was limited to the few gifts from Piper and myself. Aunt Susan, Piper's mom, mailed over a surprise package that the three cousins (Piper, Kam, and I) were to share. It was a photo album containing old family pictures of our grandparents, aunts, uncles, and of course our parents. It was unbelievable to see how much everyone had begun to look like themselves at such a young age; not to mention how eerily similar my sister and some of our other cousins look to the pictures of our younger, now aged, relatives. All in all, this was an awesome Christmas.

Me, Kam, and Piper looking through the family album

Day trip to Marostica and Nove

The second day, we were up by 8:30 and ready to head to the nearby towns of Marostica and Nove. Piper, mom, Kam, and I loaded up one car, while Rob, Felix, and Ana were in the other. After one sneaky roundabout, we managed to get separated, and instead of reconvening, Rob opted to show his mom around the army base and other local sights, while us girls continued on with the day's plans. 

Kam and I in Marostica

In Marostica, there is a huge walled castle area that hosts a biannual medieval festival in September. In every September of each even year, there is a live chess game where people are used as the chess pieces played in the main square. The story tells of two men who were fighting for the king's eldest daughter. Rather than having them duel, resulting in a potential death, the king held a giant chess match between the two suitors. The winner was awarded his oldest daughter's hand, while the loser was given the youngest daughter. This story was written by an Italian comedy writer after the second world war, and thus the town adopted it into part of their culture.

Kam, Piper, and I at the upper castle in Marostica

We walked up to the upper part of the castle to take in a view of the city below. It was absolutely gorgeous, despite the smog and dust in the air. We hiked around and visited a few churches in Marostica before heading down to the city for lunch. I love Italian food!! Mom and I split chicken and rice with veggies and a huge Greek salad. Most Italian shops and stores close between noon and 3:00pm, so we spent a long time in the restaurant eating before finally a few of the stores were reopening.

View looking down to Marostica

We drove over to Nove, a small town that is famous for its ceramic industry. One of the largest store is La Ceramica VBC; apparently this local ceramic shop, along with its partner store Ancora, are the same designers that are used for Tiffany, Lenox, Williams Sonoma and Pottery Barn. Luckily we were at the original manufacturing store, so it's ridiculously cheaper than if we had bought these items in the States.

Some of the ceramics 

After a great afternoon, we headed back home to rest before a delicious family dinner of homemade Hispanic food made by Ana.

Hej Då, Sverige; Benvenuto, Italia!

Jo, Joel, and I left Ljungby around 8:30am to begin our drive to the Copenhagen Airport. The car was ready and waiting for us at Holmgrens, so we had no problems getting on the road. After the almost 2-hour drive to Malmö, we hopped on the train to take us to the airport (it's about 200 kr cheaper than driving across the bridge or taking the ferry). My flight was leaving at 12:25, so I was able to check in, but Jo wouldn't be leaving until around 3, so she wasn't able to. We had a few minutes to spare before I needed to head through security, so we took our first Starbucks fika; thank God for the holiday blends! We bid each other farewell, and I went to security. My first flight was to Amsterdam, and only took about an hour and a half. I had an hour layover, but thankfully the airport had free wifi so I was able to talk to my parents and boyfriend a little bit to help pass the time. Before I knew it, I was finally boarding my next plane and on my way to Venice!

Piper and family (her husband Rob, their son Felix, and mother in law Ana) were sightseeing around Venice for the day, and wound up being a bit behind schedule in picking me up. An hour after I landed, Rob came into the airport, grabbed my stuff and we drove back to their home in Torri Di Quartesolo. Back at her apartment, I was able to relax and unpack before enjoying my first (!) margarita :) The salt here had "margherita" on the label, which naturally meant that tequila is the only thing that this particular salt should be used for. I had been in Italy for less than 2.5 hours and already amazed! Felix (my cousin's son) informed me to not be too excited, because this amazement would last much longer than two hours.

Yummy Margarita!!

Later, I had an interesting conversation with Felix about his current love triangle. You see, he loves Bridget, but unfortunately Bridget is "dating" (whatever that can possibly mean for a 4th grader) Felix's best friend Alex. Felix told me he had protected Alex from bullies a few times, and thus he "had his back". I made a comment about him following guy-code of bros before hoes, but Felix preferred it to be called bros before does, as in female deer. Throughout the conversation, I noticed his eyes wandering which naturally distracted me, as I was wondering what he was looking at. Had I spilled something? Was I sweating? No no, my friends. My ten year old cousin was staring at my boobs. This has NEVER happened to me before and thus, because this is how all things in my life happen, my second cousin was the first to notice. I'm not sure that he truly realized what was happening, or that he was doing it, but either way, I was shocked.

The next morning we headed back into Venice to pick up my mom and my sister. We were running a little behind schedule, again, but this time it was due to a car accident on the autostrada. The Garmin was a bit confused about our arrival time.

Arrival time: 10:33, Actual time on the clock: 10:34

I was sooo excited to see them, even as my mom walked out of the terminal like a diva-complete with brand new shades and oversized purse. I jumped into my sister's arms and latched on like a leech. She loved it. We drove out to Piper's and spent the afternoon around her town, going on walks and relaxing. Our first day together was relatively low key and didn't have us doing too many crazy activities. We walked around the town and enjoyed our first evening together. It was a great start to our family holiday in Italy!

Kam, Piper, mom, and me

Sankta Lucia, aka "Saint Lucy"

December 13^th marks the celebration of Sankta Lucia in Sweden and other Scandinavian countries. This is an annual celebration that has taken place for many years throughout this country, and Jo and I were fortunate enough to be invited such a performance at Astradskolan. When I asked Julle and Daniel where this tradition stemmed from and who this “Lucia” was, they both said she was a young Italian girl who had been burned as a martyr. I didn’t quite understand the Italian-Swedish connection, so naturally I did a little research.

Sankta Lucia girls and Starboys at Astradskolan

According to Wikipedia (where I get all of my information) Saint Lucy, Sankta Lucia, is believed to be a young Sicilian saint who suffered as a martyr. Her legend goes back into the Middle Ages where she had been seeking help for her mother’s long-term illness. After becoming a devout Christian, she vowed to remain a virgin despite marriage and thus was denounced by her betrothed. The date of December 13^th traces back to Sicilian Catholics in which large feasts of traditional homemade Italian dishes are eaten in memory of Saint Lucy’s averting of a famine. In Italy, it is also common for children to receive gifts on the night between December 12^th and 13^th.

Saint Lucy is on of few saints celebrated by the Lutheran-Scandinavian people. This celebration is an adaptation of Christian and pagan beliefs and is based strongly on the yearly struggle between light and darkness in which the winter solstice brings. The tradition of Sankta Lucia has become imbedded in the Swedish culture and is often practiced within individual homes. Typically, the eldest daughter is crowned “Lucia”, wearing a long white robe tied with a red ribbon at the waist and a wreath-like crown topped with candles. Younger girls will accompany her with white dresses tied with tinsel at the waist, while the “star boys” wear white robes, cone hats, and carry stars. It is traditional for the Sankta Lucia procession to sing holiday songs and serve Lussekatter (Lucia buns) with coffee.

Lussekatter and coffee :)

At the school’s celebration, Tomten, better known in America as “Santa”, made his debut. The celebration of Sankta Lucia begins on December 13^th (12 days before Christmas) and this holiday season will end on January 6^th (12 days after Christmas).

Christmas Around the World

Jo and I with Tomten in Ljungby

Christmas, also called Christ’s Mass, Nativity, Noel, and Feast of the Nativity, is an annual holiday celebrated by Christians and non-Christians worldwide. Originally this time of year held a pagan festival in which a winter feast would accompany the Roman New Year - Christians adopted this pre-existing date to commemorate Christ coming into the world. Although there are still many pagan traditions that influence Christmas, such as gift-giving, greenery, and lights, this time of year has become Christianized with the nativity scenes and the honoring Jesus’ birth. This will be my first Christmas that I am not celebrating in America, and thus, I decided to learn more about my new home’s Christmas traditions. I had to do a little research for both countries' "typical" Christmas, and although each family has their own traditions, these are the most commonly practiced. Enjoy!

AMERICAN CHRISTMAS

Date celebrated: December 25; holiday season begins after Thanksgiving (4^th Thursday of November) with the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade ending around January 6 (when the wise men visited Christ)

Santa bringing up the rear of the Macy's Thanksgiving Day parade

Typical foods: turkey, goose, duck or ham served with cranberry sauce, plum pudding or pumpkin pie, nuts and fruit, candy canes, gingerbread, eggnog, apple cider, baked breads, cookies

Typical Christmas dinner in America

Decorations: holly, mistletoe, garland, wreaths, snowmen, angels, snowflakes, nutcrackers, Christmas trees, Santa, reindeer, nativity scene, often the roof of the home is outlined with lights

American house decorated for Christmas

Christmas Tree: decorated with lights, popcorn strings, candy canes, ornaments, tinsel, topped with a star of Bethlehem or an angel; typically placed near a window

American Christmas tree

Religion services: Christmas Eve midnight mass, some churches will have Christmas morning mass

Jesus: Born to a virgin mother in a manger in Bethlehem, visited by 3 wise men, surrounded by shepherds and sheep

Nativity team

Santa: travels around the world on a sled pulled by reindeer (led by Rudolph); Santa comes down the chimney of homes to leave presents under the tree while children are sleeping; “bad” children get coal in their stockings; eats milk and cookies; lives in the North Pole with elves and Mrs. Claus; wears red, has a rotund belly and a white beard

Santa flying through the night sky

Traditions: pictures with Santa, writing letters to Santa, Christmas movies shown on various TV-channels throughout the month of December, Nativity plays, Christmas carolers, cookie exchange where families bake holiday cookies/treats and share them with neighbors, “secret Santa” where groups of individuals are secretly assigned to give a gift to another member of their group, mistletoe – if two people are standing underneath it, they are supposed to kiss

SVENSK JUL, aka Swedish Christmas

Date celebrated: December 24; holiday season begins with the 1^st Sunday of Advent and Saint Lucia, celebrated on December 13 where boys dress up as “star boys” in long white shirts while one of the daughters in each family wears a white robe, red sash, and evergreen crown with illuminated candles; holiday ends January 13

Sankta Lucia procession at Astradskolan

Typical foods: rice porridge, meatballs, pickled herring, spareribs, small hot dogs, lutfisk, pork sausage, salmon, Janssons frestelse (potatoe casserole with anchovies), julmust (Christmas soft drink), Christmas beer, glogg (red wine with spices, usually served warm), gingerbread, ginger snaps 

Prinskorv (mini hot dogs), meatballs, Janssens frestelse (potatoes and anchovies casserole), the back pot has non-alcoholic glögg in it 

The cold foods: Ham, rödbetssallad (beet salad), mustard, 3 types of herring (tomato, mustard, and vinegar),
deviled eggs, sausage, liver pate, salmon

Decorations: advent candles and large stars in windows, red tulips, nativity scene, advent calendar. outside light decorations, Santa Claus

Advent Candle and Star of Bethlehem in a window

Christmas tree: straw ornaments, star always on the top, candy canes, tinsel, ornaments (red and white), gifts under the tree

Svensk Julgran

Religion Services: Midnight Mass on December 24^th

Santa (“Tomten”): A family member dresses up wearing a white beard and red robe, knocks on the door or window to bring a sack full of gifts to the family; he walks around Sweden on a one-man sled to deliver gifts to the Swedish families; eats rice pudding. This is the reason that Americans celebrate Christmas on the 25^th. He can come before or after Kalle Anka Jul, depending on the family

Family member dressed as Tomten over the years

Traditions: at 3pm on December 24, everyone in Sweden will watch “Kalle Anka Jul” (Donald Duck Christmas); typically there will be a party on the 25^th and 26^th for Swedes 18+ where they will oftentimes drink mass quantities of alcohol and celebrate with their friends; many families will eat breakfast on Christmas morning (the 25^th) before going out to celebrate. There is a TV show that the children watch where they open their advent calendar candy in the morning. 

Donald Duck's Merry Christmas!

You know you're homeless when...

We’ve all seen the homeless in our area sifting through the trash for buried treasure: old clothes and furniture, sometimes electronics, or even uneaten food. In Sweden, these treasures lie in people’s recycling bins. Jo and I have quite the collection of recyclable items, however it’s mostly the plastic bottles we’re after. Depending on the size, a plastic bottle can be worth up to 2 kroner! Yes, dear readers, I've resorted to scavenging for something that is worth a mere 30 cents. Nevertheless, this has proved to be quite a moneymaking deal, as Jo and I have been doing this since our arrival in September. We have a jar that hides in an undisclosed location in the apartment full of our earnings. This money will not be counted until the last week of our time in Sweden at which point we will be taking our money over to Systembolaget (the liquor store), spending it all, and throwing the biggest and best going away party that Ljungby has ever seen.

Initially, the gathering started fairly low key, as we would just take bottles that were easily accessible. This mainly consisted of people’s trash from the two, and only, get-togethers we had at our apartment. We then decided to move on to practice, asking our teammates to, instead of throwing away their Celsius drink cans, let us take the garbage home. This gradually grew into a part of our everyday lives.

Case 1: At the pre-match meals, some of the team moms provide us with multiple beverage options, usually some flavored seltzer water—its very Euro. The first home match, Jo and I really wanted to take these 2-liter bottles, but weren’t sure how the team and parents (who bought them) would feel about us more or less “stealing” their money. So, I hid the empty bottles in my pants. All four of them.

Bottles in my pants.

Case 2: Any time Jo and I leave the gym, or any place that we see people drinking from cans and plastic bottles, we request that they give them to us instead of throwing them away. Sometimes they forget, forcing us to rummage through the trashcans. Thanks to Sweden, and my low self-consciousness, I can now cross “dumpster diving” off my bucket list.

Case 3: We’ve managed to suck Selma into our twisted ways: when leaving a men’s Elite Series match, she noticed two unattended Coke bottles. We waited for two bystanders to leave the area before swooping in for the snatch. I realize that I just described a hawk stalking its mouse prey, but this is swiftly becoming our livelihood—don’t judge.

Jo caught Selma and I in the act!! 

SUCCESS!

Case 4: Jo and I went over to Joel’s apartment to watch our match against Falköping. Upon entering his kitchen, Jo noticed 3 FULL bags of 2-liter Coke bottles! We instantly asked his permission to have them. Despite his hesitant “yes”, we nabbed the bags as we left. It’s fair to say that both Jo and I are becoming a lot bolder with our methods of collecting.

Our overflowing recycle bin