JKE Christmas Letter 2021

 ”The bittersweet side of appreciating life’s most precious moments is the unbearable awareness that those moments are passing.” – Marc Parent

Feels like only a blink ago in 2016 we were moving to Barcelona, then in 2018 to Copenhagen. This letter marks an eventful fifth year abroad. 2021 made us especially aware of the preciousness encased within life, the rush of rich moments lived and let go through a season of big transitions.

On August 3rd Elizabeth Sapphire Schmit burst into the world at Hvidovre hospital in Copenhagen, Denmark. Her bright being and strong spirit have been an unexpected joy emerging from a difficult conception season which included a miscarriage, a difficult pregnancy and trying birth. Kelsie was swimming in the sea and riding her bike in the Danish summer sun a couple of days before heading to the hospital, so per usual was making the most out of life no matter the circumstance.

At two months old we whisked Elizabeth across the ocean unexpectedly on the advent of Kelsie’s cousin Michelle and Grandmother Dorothy dying in the fall in quick succession. The grief of both losses was bitter but laced with the sweetness of having an excuse to introduce Elizabeth to many we loved and spend extra time during our Danish parental leave in Minnesota with family. The juxtaposition of new life and life passing was not lost on us and tenderized our first months with Elizabeth even more.

Over the winter and fall we marinated in our new roles as parents, marveling at this ‘next trimester’ of living we have entered into. Kelsie and I are the same people yet find our outlook on the world has forever changed as we don our new roles as parents and witness our own parents in their new roles as grandparents and our siblings transition to ‘uncles and aunts’ (which they each embody marvelously).

Now at six months of age we will be bringing Elizabeth back to Denmark and reintroducing her to our world there. We can’t wait to bring her biking out in the ‘Fælled’ by our house, send her to a Danish ‘nature school’and include her in our international community. Kelsie will begin working again for Novo Holdings as a strategic project manager. Last year she focused primarily on ‘Responsible Investing’ but looks forward to a new portfolio of projects when returning. In May, I will return to my job as a shop manager and bike mechanic at Baisikeli, a circular-economy bike rental/workshop that also recycles bikes and sends them to Mozambique.

2022 is looking bright and full of new possibilities.

Sending each of you reading this a life blessing as you embark on your own 2022 journey. Thank you for being a part of our tribe near and far; you enhance our lives for the better. Wishing you the presence of mind to relish your life as it continues to evolve, soaking in the bitter and sweet elements of it. May you feel fulfilled, be empowered and know you will never walk alone.

Why I Come Back

I write this as my plane lifts off the runway, leaving familiar and solid ground below. I don’t feel ready to end my stay in Minnesota or leave the comfort of home. When you live abroad as we do, holidays at home are precious fountains of love and familiarity; a wellspring of life. I could have stayed another week or two easily-- drinking in this gift and investing in relationships I am physically removed from in Denmark.

I text John anxiously about Camp Ultimate Peace where we will meet in a few days. Though this is our fifth year I feel nervous. Camp Ultimate Peace provides many things: growth, connection, new possibilities, fun, a unique and safe haven for kids to be kids, and a place where people are their best selves. But it is not a comfortable place. Rather it’s a space of transformation where people must move outside their comfort zone. If I want to be a catalyst for new possibilities, new connections, new relationships while fostering empathy and genuine respect among the diverse participants at camp, then I must gather my courage. I’m called to lead by example.  I must be ready to be brave. 

“Is it worth it to go back?” I ask John in my text. This year John will be leading logistics and operations at the camp for all our supplies, and I will be coaching a young adult boys’ team. As a coach I will be responsible for more than ensuring the kids learn Ultimate Frisbee.  I must also help them engage with people who are very different from them— with people who have literally grown up on the opposite side of a formidable fence. I must guide these individuals to identify as a team and behave with respect and civility toward one another. Our team will be a mix of different regional, socioeconomic and cultural backgrounds from all over Israel.

“We always wonder that,” John replies. This year I feel the resource strain more than usual: the fundraising, the time, the logistics and the mindshare required.  They have taken a toll. I feel I am slingshotting with velocity from that which is most familiar to the leading edge of the vast unknown. Here we go, ready or not.

“…but it’s always worth it,” John finishes, and I know he is right. Many who have experienced summer camp remember the magic of it. Summer camp is an isolated universe with different rules where fun and play prevail. It promises enchanting and enriching experiences with opportunities to take risks and participate fully. Permission is granted to be goofy.  Best of all, there are abundant feelings of belonging, camaraderie and being a part of something bigger than oneself. We 100 odd volunteers come into Israel and create for two weeks a Narnia for all who enter, and it’s impossible to depart unchanged.

Last year I remember laying under the shade of an Acacia tree the morning after all the campers left. There was stillness following an intense time of 14-hour days in the heat, investing and investing in these kids. I rejoiced in the game-winning score between an Israeli and Arabic player on my team.  I recalled the boy who arrived as a bully but departed by apologizing, on the last day, to his teammates. I felt joy remembering the many grins on kids’ faces after each found the courage to participate fully in camp activities.

At that moment under the Acacia tree I had a torn ACL, was on crutches and was bone tired. I had poured out my cup in hopes that others would drink. But in that moment I was also breathless. Alive. Satisfied. It was a grand, grounding moment. I had awoken from a long sleep and knew again what was authentically important. My empty cup had been filled with the best of things: peace, purpose and deep fulfillment.

I keep coming back because it is a privilege to serve at Ultimate Peace and a privilege to pour into others and be filled once again by the beauty of life and a healthy community. Our sacrifice is an investment in others, in the region, in what’s possible for the future-- and in the end, it’s an investment also in ourselves. Here we reap the rich rewards of life lived fully. Here we sing of a future where people live well and do well by one another, distinct from the age-old conversations of struggle and strife in the region. Here we strengthen our muscle to love and discover ways we can bring this expanded capacity to our local communities back home.

We would be crazy not to come back. Thinking about it now, there is no place I’d rather be heading.

To support our fundraising goal of $6000, please go here!

To visit Ultimate Peace's website, click here!

Let's Do This Again! Graduation, Family and Beyond

Last Saturday I wrote this in my journal:

My right arm feels warm thanks to the sunlight streaming through the window of my Vueling flight. It’s a clear sunny day, the sky a baffling brilliant blue. Below it’s almost as if Barcelona has been laid out for me, I see her city blocks and a multitude of landmarks I have become so used to pushed up against the Mediterranean coast. She is glistening! The perfect goodbye shot, a birds-eye head-nod moment of acknowledgement for 19 rich months of life and growth. I read recently human maturity has something to do with having the capacity to hold and experience multiple emotions at once. In this moment I am practicing.

John and I under the Hakodate Cherry Blossoms in Japan.

My flight then carried me over the Pyrenees mountains and then upward to France, Germany until finally I landed in the country that is our new home: Denmark. Yes, we are moving to Denmark. An admittedly serendipitous series of conversations and encounters (initiated by our distant Danish cousin and now close friend Anders Holde) led me to land a dream opportunity at the heart of the healthcare industry. The company I will be working for is named Novo Holdings, and there I will start off as Assistant to the CFO and Program Manager for the Board of Directors. Talk about an unexpected and remarkable opportunity that has John and I both excited. I began work June 11 and just finished a very stimulating first two weeks. The best news is and a very recent development is John also has already found a job here and begun working! He will be going back into carpentry, working for NNHansen. He interviewed with them on Monday (just 24 hours into his stay in Denmark) and they hired him on the spot! He is already sore after his first week but so happy to be picking up tools again. He will be working in Metric and hoping to learn a bit about sustainable building practices and design - something the Danes and Scandinavia are a center of excellence in. 

Mid-April until now have been 2.5 of the most remarkable months I had the privilege to live on this earth so far. April included a 14 day trek to Japan curated by my Japanese classmates (an IESE school tradition), followed by a week-long tour with my sister Kristina, her boyfriend Gavin and of course the steadfast John Elliot. We were blown away by the intricate and refined culture of Japan down to the detail. Cherry Blossoms, Mochi, Giant Shrines, Fish Kites, Tokyo and Onsens were just some of the delights the trip encased.

After Japan was graduation – a full week of celebrating our MBA class and the accomplishment of finishing the program. During my MBA I was in a “section” with 73 other students every day, and one highlight of the festivities was enjoying one last lecture with this group in our original assigned seats from the first term. Thomas Klueter, the professor who essentially sold me on IESE during a New York orientation, gave our lecture and reminded us of our charge to be business leaders. At graduation it was a treat to have my parents in the audience as well as meet the families of so many beautiful friends from all over the world. I feel so lucky to have been a part of the MBA cohort of 2018 and am still in awe of so many of the people I have gotten to know. My classmates are the sorts of people that give you hope for the world – and I know we are all going to go out and do our earnest best to impact the world for the better.

Next, we were whisked off for a 5-day celebration bike trip across the Northern part of Catalonia with my parents. We celebrated my Dad’s 60^th birthday, Mother’s day and my Graduation. It was the pilot trip of Lifelong Adventures, a dream business our close friend Mitch Peters launched this year. Mitch is an impending PhD, Canadian, outdoors enthusiast, fellow ultimate player and amateur gourmet chef. It was obvious the trip he led us on was a labor of love, and he curated one of the best travel experiences I have had to date. From its verdant mountains to glistening coasts, we fell in love with Spain all over again thanks to this trip – nothing short of a magical climax to our 19 odd months here. The cover photo of this post is actually from one of the sunsets we witnessed on the trip.

Our family fun wasn’t over as then we were blessed with a visit from John’s parents and some 8 members from Nelson side of the family. They were embarking on a cruise out of Barcelona in May. It was an unspeakable treat to host them in our city we had come to love and show them our favorite nooks and crannies of BCN. A specific highlight was hosting all of them for appetizers in our tiny apartment and showing them the little space we called home for so long. Love and laughter is always present in a Nelson family gathering, no matter where in the world they might be!

Then was two weeks of solid transition. Moving is one of the most humbling things – we became tremendously reliant on our new friends and classmates to help us carry things, store things and host us as we rendered ourselves homeless and began our relocation project. I am happy to report all of our 16-odd boxes and suitcases made their way safe and sound to Denmark late this week (that is after we got rid of 3+ large boxes of things – its amazing what a couple can accumulate in a short period of 2 years!). After we moved out of our beloved Barcelona perch we went down to Malaga with some IESE friends (Polish, Russian, Brazilian & American mix!) for a final soak up of the Spanish sun before coming up here to Denmark (where everyone tells us the weather has been unseasonably wonderful – all sun!)

Final day in BCN included a sailboat ride!
Sure made this water-loving chica happy.
First time I went out in a boat our
whole time there!

Although work has started our summer adventures are not quite over as I was generously granted a Danish “summer holiday” of 5 weeks. During July, John and I will be going to Israel again to volunteer at Ultimate Peace. John, as his final hurrah in Spain, just hosted a hat tournament as a fundraiser. We still have about $3000 we are looking to raise, so donations arewelcome here if you are interested!). Post Israel we look forward to a couple weeks stateside, attending Joanna’s marriage to Jim and Erik’s marriage to Sarah Beth.

We know we have been in a bit of a bubble. Post graduation and pre-beginning work its been a delight to be in this magical season of mobility and travel. Truthfully, John and I are both very much relieved to be settling, getting back into a routine and living a bit more sustainably again (being a student is great, but makes for a totally different sort of lifestyle). I bought this mug recently, as its wisdom resonates tremendously. "One's destination is never a place, but a new way of seeing things." What a great reminder that even though new places are often inspirations for new ways of seeing things, that WE are the catalysts for being open to new perspectives and horizons, irrespective of place. 

And we feel we have so much to look forward to! We are a little wiser now about what it takes to move and integrate to a new place. But we are both optimistic for what is to come and building our new lives in Denmark. Its Scandinavian charm is already in so many ways reminiscent of our beloved Minnesota and echoes of home in a fresh way. 

Anders Holde - who has been pivotal in helping
John and I find jobs and begin to build our lives
here in Denmark!

What’s more, here we are already generously being welcomed in by our family – 3^rd and 4^th cousins of my grandmother Dorothy’s line, who have gone out of their way to include us. Already we feel we have been welcomed into the Holde family by Anders, Marianne, Nina, Thomas, Louise, Alex, as well as other cousins Hanne, Carston, Birthe and Lone. The gift of community is one we will never underestimate the importance of again, and we feel very fortunate about already being so embraced by our distant family here.

And so with that we send all our love to you – our community near and far! Thank you for being a part of our lives and cheering us on. We remain social creatures and happily acknowledge our reliance on you for wisdom, encouragement and love. Thank you to all of you who have talked to us on the phone or reached out spontaneously during these last two years to check in. Always feel free to shoot us a message or a text no matter what time zone you are in or how long since we last talked – as they say in Denmark often: “You are welcome!

Our first minutes together in our new home!
Ready or not Denmark here we come!

 This latest chapter of our lives has left us feeling tremendously loved and grateful. And for me, in a small way a bit proud - as this is the sort of life we set out to live and is in step with our shared dreams. Every day of late tastes a bit different. Some are sweet, some are salty and some are bitter. But every single day is flavorful, thank God! We can happily assure you John and I are still en route to "True North", journeying together a little humbler, a little more savvy, but still bright-eyed and hand-in-hand.

In closing, may we each continue to relish our own blessed saga wherever that might be physically unfolding. And may we each continue to boldly live out and lean into our dreams! And finally, may we each today be struck by the grandness and beauty of life, much less the sacred opportunity we each have to live it!

The Adventure Continues - JK One Year Later

(Posted a week after writing - while sitting in my parents kitchen watching the snow fall on Christmas Eve)

Whenever I am on a boat I think of the hymn “It Is Well With My Soul.” This is a song written on a ship by a father and husband who loved deeply and had recently lost his four daughters (they drowned during a shipwreck). Yet in his grief and in mourning he wrote this song – a declaration to the heavens that still his inner peace was unshaken and his trust in the divine firm.

In our beach frisbee uniforms...

I am currently sitting on a ferry in the Mediterranean and my situation is almost comically polar to the one of this author. For one I am still feeling like a giddy newlywed being married to John. We just spent a week soaking in delicious nature; traversing the island of Menorca by bike with new friends Mitch & Maria (Canadian & Spaniard – such are the friendships of expats we are discovering). We flew over the rolling hills and most nights arrived in our humble stone-laid Airbnbs under the stars engulfed in crisp breezy air. Often after a tough pedal we would find ourselves rushing down the paved hills surrounded by a blur of green. The wind in my ears reminiscent of downhill skiing and the bodied, buoyed taste of being alive. John whispering awe as we whizzed side by side like birds in tandem flight.

Now, this ferry is carrying us back home to Barcelona and then onwards to the United States for a full month of magical, love-soaked TIME (the most precious of all resources available to humans) with family and friends before my final school term. As I sit here and anticipate Minnesota the first word that comes to mind is magic. That word for me captures the delight of Minnesota winters, the glistening snow and crisp air and all the warm fires, drinks and hugs that complement the season.

It has been almost a year since I have written here. Self-expectations of posting on this blog regularly during our adventures abroad have been dashed like waves on a rock. Slowly over the last year our new reality of living in Spain has shifted from what seemed like an extended dream-world to our very real day to day. Yes, we are still on a wild adventure away from all we ever knew in Minnesota. Yes, the peaks and valleys are still breath-takingly steep. And yes we are still seeking our True North and doing our very best to relish the sojourn we are on along the way.

The second year of my MBA has been a much more 'enjoyable' experience than the grueling & formative nature of the first year (for which I know I am better & smarter for and, however, will be glad not to repeat). Classes this term at IESE have included Competitive Strategy, Management Control, Global Economics, Corporate Entrepreneurship and Executive Well-Being & Stress Management, among others. To the right is one of my favorite slides from my Stress class  reminding us that “peak performance” comes when we are operating in the orange zone (with healthy doses of self-mandated stress). Candidly, last year with the multitude of foreign, social and academic pressures I spent a decent amount of time to the right of the curve somewhere in the grey. I definitely got my money’s worth from this program – I have no complaints of it lacking quality or rigor. Also helps that I have had the privilege of being surrounded by some of the smartest peers I have ever encountered. Today, at this juncture I am also happy to report that I am firmly in the yellow/orange zone of the graph (my threshold has increased, I am sure, thanks to the last year of handling stress).

The lighter course load this term also gave me the chance to train for and complete my first Marathon this fall. My friend Megan Steil (without whom I would have never considered or completed this endeavor) came and ran it with me (her 22^nd marathon and a cool down after her Ironwoman in September) in Greece. We started the race in the city of Marathon and climbed a mostly uphill course to the ancient stadium in Athens. I enjoyed the training experience so much I am considering running another. John was tremendously supportive (as is his way) throughout the whole process. We now look forward to doing some training together as he prepares for the authentic Norway Nordic skiing Birkiebiener – on which he will be required to carry a 3kg backpack symbolizing the baby king of Norway (his rescuers were who the race was founded after).

In our formal uniforms...
indicative of the diversity of situations
and costumes we continue to find ourselves
in together.

John has continued managing our life in Barcelona and being a tremendous partner in crime. He just finished a full season as Ultimate Frisbee coach of our club team Bravas (the brave potatoes – and a famous tapa here in Spain). He has taken up regularly coaching youth Ultimate in Barcelona and  taking Spanish classes. John has taken the lead in hosting our many Barcelona visitors around the city. Our most recent visitors being my brother Erik and his now fiancé Sarahbeth (they got engaged while they were here in Spain!) as well as John’s brother and wife Ben and Maria. John still has a strong remodeling bug, and besides finding odd projects around our house also this fall spent a week remodeling our cousins’ Tommy & Brittany’s home in Washington D.C.

A Barcelona door I walked
by one evening - aglow from within. Who
knows what doors will open for us over
the next couple of months.

We know the question we are likely going to get over the holidays the most is “where are you two going next?” The truth is we don’t know. Currently I am in the process of active career planning in preparation for my graduation May 11^th. My aim and hope is to find a job inside global healthcare in an industry epicenter (Copenhagen, Switzerland, Sydney, California or Minnesota are the top location choices at the moment). I aspire to learn something about how healthcare is done well in other parts of the world and bring that back to my beloved Minnesota. John meanwhile hoping to find another carpentry job involved with sustainable energy housing. But the building tension of this chapter of our book has not found resolution yet. The world remains wide open to us.

Despite this looming uncertainty, As I sit here on this ferry and appreciate my cozy view over the rolling ocean (it is currently pouring rain outside), I acknowledge we are currently atop a magnificent peak. At a luxurious high-point in life. This past year has been filled with a tremendous amount of freedom to explore, grow and soak in the world – even with its healthy dose of challenge. And I pray that as we speed down this next pass towards the invisible horizon we can continue to keep our many blessings in perspective and reflect back to those around us the overwhelming generosity that has been shown to us along the way.

I can genuinely declare right now it is well with my soul. May I hold true to this no matter what circumstances swirl around us these upcoming days, weeks and months.

I hope to be in touch sooner than I was this last time - Kelsie

One Quarter Later

Dear Family and Friends - 

Happy New Year to you all! We hope your first several weeks of 2017 have been filled with the best of fresh starts and new beginnings for each of you. Thank you for taking the time to check-in with how we are doing in Europe. 

At this moment John and I are spending our Saturday afternoon sitting in our small Barcelona flat typing away - he on his application for coaching at Ultimate Peace this summer and me on this post. We are burning candles - a new habit we have gotten into after learning about the Danish concept of "Hygge" - the warming of the soul. We are happy. We are well. We are rested. All blessings we especially appreciate as we anticipate another season of activity with classes at IESE starting on Monday.

The turn of the year for us was filled with a mix of relaxation and adventure. We counted ourselves very lucky to enjoy time in multiple different countries with different special people. During the term we took a mini-excursions to Ireland for school (Here is an article I wrote about that trip) and Amsterdam for Thanksgiving with friends Judd and Bethany Lindvall. We also had a visit from close friends Mike Holm and his fiance Katie! We then celebrated the end of term by travelling to Portugal, where we spent 5 days hiking and 5 days reconnecting with a long-time family friend (and my childhood o'pare!) Anna. The hike was idyllic and exactly the breath of fresh air we needed after many months of high-intensity transition in a bustling city. 

John's sister Erika is traversing the world in search of her
vocation in light of being banned from her 3+ year home
in Turkey. We have loved having her swing through Spain
as she continues her quest.

Christmas for us was spent back in Barcelona - where we were delighted to have John's sister Erika join us. Our time together included audio books and puzzles and Pez lovingly sent to us from the Schmit family. We would be lying if we said we did not experience some strong bouts of homesickness during this time, but were also grateful for the time of less activity and sleeping in. We were also invited over by a Minnesota/Barcelona couple we have connected with here Amy and Abe (and their newborn Nil!) who generously on Christmas Night gave us a home away from home to celebrate the holiday with. 

We then rounded off the New Year with an adventure with good friends Lydia and Ray in Berlin and Prague. We enjoyed a mix of historical sites, cozy coffee shops and great conversations over games of Wizard. Lydia is also in a two years master program at Princeton so the four of us were able to commiserate about the many joys and struggles that come with our current way of life. There are few blessings richer than having good friends to laugh and go through life with. The four of us defiantly enjoyed our New Years eve in a Berlin Christmas Market, risking our lives to many stray fireworks being shot off at close range in the streets. We also loved the quaint atmosphere and rich history of Prague - the city was nothing short of enchanting. 

John and I are still not over the accessibility and affordability of Europe. John has also become quite the competent traveler, effectively doubling his country count to 14 over the last couple of months. We count ourselves lucky to have the resources to immerse ourselves in this part of the world while we have the chance. We also have found that as much as we enjoy seeing these new places, what really makes our travels special is the chance to connect with people. 

My MBA Team whom I meet with every morning to prepare
 for class. We are all from different countries. We got together
this specific evening to learn how to make Sushi from our
Japanese colleague. 

My time in Barcelona prior to our holiday break was filled with sun-up to sun-down studying and school responsibilities. I kind of stumbled my way across the finish line of finals - landing myself immobile and on antibiotics a couple days before finals. Luckily I was able to rally to complete the tests, however, I learned the hard lesson of just how hard I can push lack of sleep and too much stress. I am learning a tremendous amount in school and am appreciating the reading-intensive case-study method of learning (which plays to my strengths). I am still riding my blue bicycle Blubelita to school most days which doubles as my workout and includes a hill.

We are celebrating John this week obtaining his first paying gig as nothing less than a part-time youth Ultimate Frisbee coach. John is still searching for full-time carpentry work here. He has made some valuable connections with studios and shared work-spaces. We are confident in the next couple months he will be able to take up some projects. He also continues to rapidly improve his Spanish and has taken a couple of courses here on the side. 

Together we slowly but surely have managed to plug ourselves into community here. We have made a small handful of "couple" and other friends - connections we especially cherish after being separated from our abundant community of people we love back in Minnesota. We have found a church we love called the International Church of Barcelona that has a rich and thriving faith community. We are starting a two-week prayer-fast with the community there tomorrow. We also have started playing Ultimate together again seriously on the team "Bravas". The team includes a diverse mix of Spanish and International players who all love the game as much as we do. Practices are led in Spanish - with 50% of practices taking place on local beaches. 

Our goals for the new year (documented carefully as part of the Brust Family New Year's Resolution Tradition) include staying healthy, improving our Spanish and go sailing on the Mediterranean. We also look forward to connecting with more people here and from home. We have enjoyed and hope we will get some more Barcelona visitors (there are none on the calendar!) - so please consider reserving your room at La Casa Schmit sometime soon :). 

Cheers and love to all of you. May 2017 be your best year yet, and be filled with your own flavors of adventure and fulfillment. Thank you for staying in touch and if you happen to be thinking of us at random over the next weeks or months please reach out and say hello. We are still only a text away!

JK

Additional Photos!

The Netherlands 

Judd and Bethany (Judd worked at Camp Nathanael with John)
contemplating art in the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam.

THE dessert of the Netherlands fresh off the waffle press -
STROOPWAFELS !!

The River Rhine

Portugal

John and I spent a afternoon in Lisboa at the Aquarium. 

Me and Ana 20 years ago when she was in Minnesota!
She had 6 full photo albums to share with us that
included many fun pictures of my family!

Myself and John with Ana and her daughter Katerina! They showed us
ALL around Lisbon and surrounding areas - an amazing trip!

The path we hiked was a winding assembly of sandy fisherman's trails. Along the hike we regularly found fisherman casting their long poles over the cliff's edge. We hiked by day and slept in little coastal towns by night. This gem of a hike was one of the top hiking experiences I have ever completed; we would highly recommend it to international outdoor enthusiasts! 

Germany (Berlin)

The Lutheran Church in Berlin - the "Berlinerdom"

Mulled wine, Bratwurst and fireworks - what more could you
 want on a New Years Eve? It is tradition also to do a "Waltz"
after midnight hits - so Lydia/Ray and John/I found ourselves
dancing at 12:10 a.m. to welcome in 2017.

Czech Republic (Prague)

The Astronomical Clock of Prague

View of the city at dusk from the top of the Palace. We enjoyed a fresh dusting of snow, which was the first snow John and I got to enjoy this year (you might think we are crazy but we MISS our four seasons!)

Other Spain Photos

 

John and Mike Holm navigating our day-hike up to Montserrat -
a famous Barcelona hike up to a monastery.

Lydia, Ray and us enjoying a classic "Catalonian" meal before
attending a Flamenco dance performance.

John relaxing in our living room on Christmas.



John following Schmit tradition,
attempted and succeeded in making us
 delicious Egg's Benedict on Christmas morning.

inside the Sagrada Familia - which we saw the inside of
for the first time last week in January 

The street we live on in the Gothic quarter of Barcelona

Coming Up for Air

I (Kelsie) have honestly been so daunted to even start writing this post as there is such a volume of events and transition to concentrate from the last 2+ months! But the opportunity to be connected to all of you is too important to pass by. John and I have really been in "go mode" and are now finally starting to find some normality and rhythm once again (relatively).

I will start with our recent highlights and then move into unpacking more detailed segments of our journey for those interested in reading further.

I wrote this in my journal on Friday:

"I forgot the intensity of the peaks and valleys of being abroad. The anxieties and stressors are fierce, but the joys are rich! It feels good to be so Alive! God feels so much closer. Maybe because so many layers of comfort, security and regularity have been shed. In the midst of it all there is not a day that goes by in which I don't feel like I belong here. This is an amazing feeling - being where I feel I am meant to be AND loving it."

July through today have included stints in Israel, Minnesota and then Spain. Now both John and I have been in Spain over a month now! I left Minnesota with four suitcases and many sweet although rushed goodbyes. A kind Minnesotan/Spanish couple (Amy + Abe) based in Barcelona took me in for my first 10 days as I started Spanish classes and searched for apartments. I succeeded in finding a petite and perfect flat in the middle of the old city off of the famous walking street "Las Ramblas". 

Since then I have established where to get groceries, medicine and household supplies. My new method of transport is a French electric-blue racing bike I have named "Bluebelita" in honor of her predecessor. 

John and I were happily reunited after 3 weeks of long distance on September 8th. We celebrated our 2 year anniversary at a rooftop restaurant overlooking our new city. Classes now have started in earnest and I am currently studying leadership, accounting, marketing, decision analysis and business problems. Midterms are already next week. John has taken a two-year sabbatical from Terra Firma, maintaining his co-owner position, and hopes to return to work there once back in MN. For now he is still looking for work in BCN but in the meantime has joined an Ultimate team, which is a great relief amid the mire of bureaucratic challenges he has been navigating for us.

Phew! That is the abridged version. Read on, my friends, for those interested in more detail! If you are ending here - thank you for reading this and staying in touch! We welcome texts, emails and post-cards (we are still operating off of our US phone numbers and emails) so we would love updates from you and how you are doing. It's always a gift to hear from someone we love. And, of course, we have a spare bedroom and/or a nice hotel across the street so visitors always are welcome. We have been lucky over the last couple weeks to have John's sister, Erika, staying with us as she reapplies for her Turkish work visa after being denied entry upon attempting to return home. We also enjoyed a very special visit from my sister, Kristina, and my mom at the end of September.

MIDDLE EAST

John and I once again returned to the Middle East in July to be a part of Ultimate Peace, an organization that brings together youth from differing backgrounds through the beautiful sport of Ultimate and it's emphasis on sportsmanship, or Spirit of the Game. It was incredibly tiring as we were faced with a very divided, very reserved group of girls, but as the week went on, walls fell and we witnessed unbelievable bonds of friendship begin to form between the Arab and Jewish Israelis on our team, and it became incredibly inspiring and rewarding. Ultimate Peace naturally breaks down all forms of segregation, not just racial or cultural; I was able to facilitate an incredible on-the-field moment of friendship and camaraderie between one of our Jewish girls and several Arab boys during a co-ed scrimmage, following a blatant act of sexism (due to ignorance, not to malice), which was addressed and reconciled! John's favorite moment was seeing one of our girls waving our team flag, which the girls created, from the stage in the front of the dining hall, while the whole camp danced! Previously, this same girl stubbornly refused to participate in anything expressive, vulnerable or fun. She would become the first to share at every session from then on and the most willing to cross cultural lines.

KISSING MN GOODBYE

We enjoyed a very sweet last 3 weeks in Minnesota this summer before departing for Spain. We shared some especially fond memories with immediate family and closed off the summer with a North Shore camping trip with the Schmits. It was a very sweet and beautiful last taste of Lake Superior for awhile. 

John and I completed most all of our bucket list which included climbing the Witch's Hat Water Tower, paddling on Minneapolis lakes, BWCA camping with friends Nate & Jane and eating some of the World's Best Donuts from Grand Marais. We also were totally honored by and loved the goodbye party my mom and dad hosted for us - so special to see so many loved ones from our community there. Made us feel very grateful and also a bit sad to be leaving of course! But also very, very loved.

IESE

The school is even better than I expected. The staff does a tremendous job of catering to our every logistical and practical need we have and I can't help but feel like an honored guest.

I have tremendous respect for my colleagues. Hailing from 65 countries - their backgrounds are rich and varied. I am clear I have a lot to learn from each of them. As different as we are, we do have some similar qualities that tend to compound each other for better or for worse. For better - most here are wildly driven, adventurous, value-oriented and accepting. For worse - we mostly seem to be the sorts that over-commit, suffer from FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) and worry too much about the future.

The campus is small and a perfect mix between classic and modern. Sleek wood paneling, expansive windows and tall ceilings seem to be the main features of campus. Big screens decorate the hallways, bringing us CNN and BBC. There are many overgrown terraces for socializing and overlooking the expanse of Barcelona.

The schedule and course load is demanding. My current professors are from Holland, Germany, the United States and Spain. They do a remarkable job keeping our classes lively and stimulating. I have been very impressed by the curation of content thus far as well. There is a heavy emphasis on highlighting cultural nuances amidst all of the coursework. Every class is presented through the case study method - in which we analyze a real-world business problem and collectively solve for the best approach if we were at the helm.

BARCELONA - OUR NEW HOME

Everyone said Barcelona was a tremendous city, and we had no idea how right they were! I would describe this city as Romantic, Relaxed, Clean, Welcoming and Festive. Our new apartment is in the heart of the old city on a square. We seem to be in the "arab quarter" - and have a lot of shawarma shops surrounding us. Every Sunday we watch from our balcony as hundreds of people file in and out of the Catholic church across the way. Right now as I type this it is raining and we have the terrace doors open letting in the cool, fresh air. 

We have also learned to enjoy the Barcelona beaches which are lined with beautiful boardwalks and restaurants. The food overall has been quite affordable and delicious. John has been cooking more and more for us, and we both feel quite lucky to be only a couple blocks away from Barcelona's largest outdoor market - La Boqueria. Huge variety of fresh fruit and veggies available for probably 1/3 of the price at grocery stores at home. Definitely encourages healthier eating. We both have been also pleasantly surprised by the lack of highly processed foods here - and have both lost weight here without really trying thanks to the plethora of healthier options. 

Barcelona has come with plenty of challenges too. John and I are both learning to navigate the language barriers and strange mix of Catalan and Spanish and other languages (Barcelona is a very international city so its not unusual to hear french, arabic, turkish, english among others). The relaxed nature of this city has made navigating some of the bureaucracy here a little interesting - businesses only tend to be open 5 hours a day and everything takes 2-3 times longer than expected. Everything here is done "boca a boca" basically meaning by word of mouth - so it is important to "know" people here if you want to get something done. John is still in the process of looking for a job. Good news is, however, that he has found an ultimate community to plug into and the "Bravas" team has already invited him to come and play at Beach Ultimate Spanish Championships with them this weekend.

DENMARK

We spent the last weekend in September visiting distant relatives in Denmark. What an amazing weekend it was! We were reconnected with our Danish "cousins" who all are descended from the same great, great grandparents as we are. They treated us to 5 star hospitality--taking us all over the country and serving us the most delicious home-cooked meals (each often with 4+ courses). The food in Denmark was amazing and I filled myself with as much pickled herring, salmon and fresh fruit as I could!

Highlights included: visiting the church 3 of my ancestors were pastors in and where most all of my Danish relatives were baptized; visiting the original home my great grandmother grew up in, driving through the Danish countryside, walking along the Danish coast and visiting the museum and house of the famous children's author Hans Christian Anderson. Photos are all below.

The air was so fresh here and the sky such a brilliant blue! There were wind turbines everywhere and John and I were so happy to be surrounded by crisp - cool air like the falls we love in MN. I felt eerily at home in this new land and feel like I know myself much better after having visited the sacred places of our ancestors. I feel like I understand my grandmother so much better now. Some of her mannerisms, her grateful, strong and kind spirit, her art for presentation, her commitment to quality and work ethic: all these things and more were reflected by the Danish relatives we met.

We are still learning more about our new city, community, and culture everyday, and we are loving all of it! We look forward to the next time we can share your company, wherever and whenever that may be.

-FIN-