So it's 2012, and I've spend the last few weeks with my family: We had gigantic christmas dinners, lunches and breakfasts, and then another gigantic New Year's Eve dinner, and in between, we ate cookies, drank hot chocolate and decorated/re-decorated the living room at my sister's house. 

A few days ago, one of my nephews found a paperclip in the house, and asked what they're used for. That reminds me, I still have to show him. My sister was puzzling where it came from, because she remembered not having any. 


The paperclip sneaked its way down here from Denmark. Not that I'm nerdy and take clips on journeys. 
It was our last day in Aarhus before the holidays, and we were all getting sentimental and joyful (it was the end of the term, too) at the same time and had so decided to have another house dinner. Kieran and Søren were leaving for good, and thus there were bottles and wine boxes to empty. I took care of dinner and made one of my favorite dishes: Spaghetti Bolognese. While cooking, the remaining housemates swirled in and out of the kitchen, bringing left over foods, setting the table, going to the store, bringing music, talking, laughing, and so on. Sanna walked in and attached a paperclip to my sweater "for you"!
Thus we ate and we drank and we danced and we watched Kieran clean the bathroom one last time and then all went out. The next day I was packing and decided it was smart to take all my dirty laundry.

When I unpacked my bag again, I noticed that I had never taken off the paperclip from the sweater. So there I was, being torn between the people who became something like your family over the past months and those who are your family but it takes time to get used to.

By now, I've arrived. I'm home. We even eat like home. We had those Spaghetti I spoke of, and my sister made a whole array of the dishes our mother used to make for us and those that she introduced to her own family. Drumsticks in tomato sauce, lasagna, a sweet grit casserole, pasta casseroles and chicken soup. 

So tomorrow, I'll show my nephew how to use a paperclip. 

All of a sudden, it became December. The weather finally tuned into our November mood and it is becoming rainier, windier and colder. In the course of the last month, I finally settled in. Partly that was also due to the fact that I had ranted in public; but either way I realized that after that rant, I was done complaining (obviously more in a metaphorical than actual way). Long story short: It's December now and who would've guessed, the holidays are approaching. 

Tomorrow in exactly two weeks, I'll sit in a train home to my sister's house. I get the feeling that these two weeks will pass in a blink. Thanks to generous donations of friends and family (thanks for the calendar, Claudia! At least for one month now I'll know which day it is) my room is filling up and feeling much more like the holidays. And believe it or not, this is actually a post about paperclips. 

Because although it's not Sinterclaas-day yet, I opened a suspicious package my sister sent me. It already smelled so good when I ripped open the envelop! Pepernoten, a chocolate letter, drawings and collages from my nephews and nieces AND a bag of funky shaped paperclips came out of it! I had to laugh, because just that morning, I was puzzling what I could possibly write about. Thank you Tanja! You absolutely know how to get a smile on my face every time!

So in two weeks, the first semester of my MA program will be over. In two weeks, I'll go down south (where, oddly enough, it seems to be colder than here). In two weeks, the real deal Christmas is going to set in (almost). I hope I won't get a pack of paperclips as a present...

Speaking of the basement before, here’s one to clarify. Our house in Retirementhomestreet is hyggelig (cozy. well, call it that, but it's more). We spoke today of cultural conceptions that differ in specific countries, and Germany was mentioned in the context of homeliness. But the Danes certainly take this to the top. When I lived with my mentor for the first few days of being in Aarhus, fresh buns or bread or cakes were always in the oven, and Luane was just busy making jam from some fruits she collected on her way home. On TV and Game nights, there were candles lit all over, at 4pm, even in the bathroom.  So when Sergio from Italy spoke of the Germans as a heimelige (see hyggelig) society, I had to smile.

In our house, 13 people share their lives to a greater or lesser extent. Add numerous bugs and spiders in our basement apartment. A few days ago, right after I revivified this blog, my housemate Sanna sent me a text message: “I just found a paperclip!”

Without implying any hierarchical relations here, this was funny. How many emails has my mum sent me about finding paperclips? So house equals home sooner or later. House becomes home because that’s all we have, because we throw our stuff around and store our food and our memories at this place, even though it’s in a limited time frame. House becomes home because you share stories with people you didn’t choose but chose to spend time with anyways. House becomes home because with 13 people, there will be people you instantly connect with, and others you get along with, and so on. 

There are candles lit in my room, my room is a mess (it’s home, after all) and I’m recovering from a hyggelig Pölser-Dinner with the basement roomies.

Next to hyggelig and candles, pölser is the thing to do in Denmark, or so it seems. Wikipedia says the Danish Hot Dog is the most known hot dog in Europe: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hot_dog_variations#Denmark_.26_Iceland

House became home. Hot dogs in the basement turned into a boys vs girls evening: when Kieran and Stephan began playing fifa on Stephan’s playstation just one wall away, Liselott (who almost lives in the basement) and I drank cheap sparkling wine and watched Sex and the City. Kieran is off to a trip round Europe. Sanna’s back in Norway for the weekend to recover from Aarhus and visit her real family. And the replacement will be waiting for them here.