Dear all,
It is time to review our year again and when I think of this year it’s been a year with connecting to friends and also reconnecting again!
It’s been a very hectic and stressful year for Jack with a very good result. He passed his IB very well. But not only did he manage to do 7 subjects instead of the regular 6, he also won two international economics competitions in Spain and in Frankfurt. His team (4) had to beat other schools first, so to get there is already a big thing and then winning! It was just amazing! A big thank you to Naheed and Faiz and family who took so good care of Jack. He goes back to them whenever he can, which shows us that he really loves being there! And I cannot imagine how tough it must have been for Naheed to deal with two boys doing IB exams. We are very grateful that she opened her house for Jack. Jack is studying in Stirling/Scotland. He choose economics, philosophy and Computer science. The first two subjects go very well indeed, no troubles, maximum scores but computer science is not clear yet, since it is very new to him. It’s good to have some challenges in life!
Robin chose to quit her study in Maastricht, it wasn’t what she hoped for and so in March she started applying for other universities in Europe. Her first choice from the beginning was Denmark, “don’t ask me why” she said,” but I really would like to go there!”
She got accepted in Scotland and as a mum I thought that was great because she was not that far from Jack, but end of July she got positive news from Denmark she was accepted in Aalborg, in the very north of Jutland in Denmark. She is studying economics and business administrations. She is very happy there and glad she made that decision. In October Hugo and I visited her because she just turned 20 and we wanted to celebrate it a little with her. And I could see she is at the right place there, really at her ease and very happy!
Rob had a hard but interesting year due to the fact that Hartwall is being sold to a small Danish company. This has been a long process that started in September 2012, just after Noa, Hugo and I arrived. The most stressful time was waiting for the final YES and that took so much longer then expected. This all happened when we were boating in Friesland and Rob was non-stop on the phone day and night. At least he was in a nice environment. Noa, Hugo and I were dealing with managing the boat! But you can imagine that this wasn’t the holiday he was waiting for! So at the end of our holidays we also did a last minute booking to the sun in Turkey for a week.
Because the company is sold, we know we will move again soon. But when and where, that’s the question we’ve asked us already many times.
This has a huge impact on Noa who is now in 11th grade, her second last year. In the IB program these two last year stick together, it’s not impossible to change schools, but often it doesn’t work out with the subjects. We have had this experience before with Jack and to avoid that again, plus the fact that Noa wasn’t thrilled about Helsinki she asked us if she could go to boarding school.
On the 31st of May we drove to Turku to get on the evening boat to Stockholm, the next morning we arrived in Sweden and we drove in one go to the Netherlands to Zoeterwoude where we have our (summer) house. The next morning we left at noon to drive to Calais to get on the train to Folkstone/UK.
So we drove through 8 countries in 48 hours! There aren’t that many Finnish cars in the UK, nor in Holland!
We planned to visit 4 schools for Noa in the UK. She is now living in Reading close to London. It is an IB school but they also do A levels. She likes being there.
But we also tried to look for a place in the States. With help from Laurie Austin who called many schools, we Skyped with a few and Noa was really enthusiastic but then every time it did not work with the subjects! Really a bummer for her, because I think in her heart she would have loved living in the States! But life is all about being flexible and Noa has shown she can do that! For a long time during the summer we didn’t know what was happening with the company.
Do we stay here, do we all move some place else or will it be too late to know and therefore Noa would go to boarding school. And that last scenario happened.
I am proud of all our kids that they show so much flexibility and that they also have the guts to change their lives if they want or need. And then I think of Robin. Of course it’s scary, you never know if it will be the right decision, but if you don’t try you will never know!
So instead of moving ourselves this time we moved three children to three countries all in a period of 2 weeks! Robin was the first at the end of August and she did not have any accommodation yet. So she ended up in a youth hostel. When you think of that you think of a big building with huge rooms, lots of bunk beds and basic stuff, well not in Aalborg. I brought Robin to Dan hostel, (Rob had to work), so we went there and we found out that she was living in a little shed, I can’t phrase it differently.
A little yellow shed, with two bunk beds and above the bunk beds was a little wooden floor where two other mattresses where placed. So in total 5 girls and a boy slept in there. No space, one plug!!! And no internet of course, but a beautiful view at a harbour and river! I quickly bought her a bike, at least she was able to get around everywhere! Now she is living in a nice international student house in the centre of Aalborg.
Noa was the second who left. September 2nd we went to Rachel and Ian Bray, we hadn’t seen them for a few years but kept in contact, long live Facebook!! Rachel is Noa’s guardian. Rachel helped us tremendously with sorting out a bank account and a new phone subscription. Rob came only for one day, but it was good he could see the Bray’s and Noa’s new school in her 6th country!
And then I flew back on a Wednesday and left on Thursday the day after again to go to Holland to see Jack there and on Friday Jack and I left to go to Stirling! Busy busy days!! And then last but not least we have Hugo! Thank God he is still here! And he is not aloud to go anywhere before he has his IB!
Hugo loves it here in Helsinki! He has a few really good friends and is doing just great at school. In May we were at the sports awards evening at school and we normally expect something of Noa, then I am thinking of her Thom O’Donnel award from St John’s, something as the athlete of the year award. But this year it was Hugo that made us so proud! He was rewarded as the most value player of the football team and on top of that he was the Athlete of the Upper School of 2012-2013! Every Saturday he playes football with the lower school children. We never had to wake him up on Saturday morning, he is so well organised, unbelievable for a 14 now 15 year old boy! He loves to do this and the feedback I get from some parents who have children playing then is so positive. Really nice to see how a young boy gets so responsible and mature in matters that are important to him. This year Hugo and his friend Karl are coach assistants of the middle school football boys team. It takes a lot of time but he likes to do this.
Hugo likes to play guitar, just like Jack.
In May we had the 55th wedding anniversary of Piet and Willy, Rob’s parents. With the whole family we stayed in a beautiful house in the Ardennes in Belgium.
The weather wasn’t that great, but the time spent together was super nice!
In September Piet and Willy visited us in Helsinki for the second time. This year Hugo had some company while we were away to the Oktoberfest in Munich.
And to be sure he wouldn’t give a party again in our apartment like he and Noa did last year!
Cisca came in January and we were walking over the frozen Baltic sea!
In February we went skiing with the Zuill family and of course with the vanderMeisjes in Selva Italy. We had a wonderful time together although we missed our Jack and Robin. We celebrated our 25th anniversary there with a “great” singer in a Fawlty Tower atmosphere! A night never to forget!
Herman came with his girlfriend and her daughter to Helsinki, we had a great time. We visited a reindeer farm close to Iittala. And Meghan Ducey travelled from the US to the Netherlands to see Noa!
This summer we saw the Brays again, which was so nice! Also Jack went to stay with the Hays Elliot in London when he went to a course at Lanterna over Easter.
When you receive this Christmas letter we might know where we are heading to next, we might be even packing…………or not (yet).
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Rob & Viv, Robin, Jack, Noa, Hugo and Sammy