Ok. Here we go and it's Peter at the keyboard. There has been some travelling that came in between my story so a little back kick is not wrong. We had travelled to both New Zealand and the Transmongolian Railway.
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ShareMy youngest son Billie had for the first time completed a year at school with no problems and it was grade 6, in a small class of six children. We had just inherited money and bought our first campervan and my eldest son Robin was 20 years old and in love for the first time. Now we're off to school and Kenya. Ok, follow me!
Table of contents
Wrong decision
The municipality said that the children who attend the small group in the middle school are sent together in a small group to the secondary school. Excellent, we thought, BUT Billie had done so well in the 6th grade that he can manage the upper secondary school in a large class, the municipality thought. NO, hell no. My ex and I fought bloody hard to prevent this from happening, but the municipality did not give in because there were other children who were in greater need. How wrong they were!
On the first day of secondary school, Billie went to the front door, grabbed the front door and turned around. Security was gone and she was back to square one. It's called social phobia, or an insecure teenager who only had her five friends from her last class, and felt left out. Home from work and looking for Billie. There was no way I was going to get him back into regular class at school. Thanks for that!
Second chance
The school couldn't fix this right away and there was a lot of work at home and I asked for homework. It went like that because he turned the clock and we didn't have any
fixed times anymore. After two months we got a place in a new small class in Kallhäll in Järfälla outside Stockholm. When you're a teenager, "småklass" usually means messy children.
It was a learning experience for a teenager. Billie made a new friend who was a nice guy but had trouble controlling himself when anger came up. There were two more guys who were friends and one of them also had trouble controlling himself, so there was always a volcano ready to explode.
One afternoon on the way home, Billie's mate jumped on the other boy and punched him, breaking his nose bone. An ambulance and a mad scramble ensued and the school called a meeting the next day. Billie has always been afraid to fight and had never hit anyone else before. He was also not a person to steal even a tenner and he always told the truth. He suffers from other problems but not these. He said that his friend had suddenly just lost it and hit the guy. Ok, let's solve it at school, I thought.
Sometimes being honest doesn't help
Billie and I came to the school the next day for a meeting with the teacher and principal. He told his story but the guy who had been beaten had his mate, and he said that both Billie and his mate had done it. Suspension from school came like a letter in the post, and back to square one again.
Back home again and it was impossible to work full time with meetings at school, and now how do we solve everything? We talked to the parents to try to get the guy to admit that Billie wasn't in on it, but he refused to take back what he said. Even the guy who did the hitting said Billie wasn't in on anything, but it was no use.
Kenya
After a very difficult autumn, Helena and I decided to go abroad on our own and we chose Kenya. We booked the tickets but not even a hotel and we only travelled with one backpack each. We arrived in Nairobi and took in a first hotel but we were not allowed to go out on the streets. Hmm not fun at all.
We bought train tickets to Mombasa in south-eastern Kenya and left the next day. We met a couple from Holland sitting opposite us in the train restaurant who were incredibly nice. She worked in Kenya as a kind of reporter and reported to Holland about what was happening there.
Marlon and Linda from Holland were going to a guesthouse in Mombasa for a holiday. They were going to ask the owner if there was room for us but we had to stay in a hotel in Mombasa for the first night. The election had just ended in Kenya and the votes were being counted, and it was close.
Mr Odinga, who had the most votes, was challenging incumbent President Kibaki and was predicted to win. All of a sudden all the TVs went out, and for us it was something normal in Kenya we thought. We felt a little lonely as whites in the hotel and there were a lot of cool Rastafarians there, and a little tougher atmosphere.
You never know
We ate our food and when we had finished, a big black guy asked in pure Swedish, "Hi, I'm from Stockholm, what are you doing here?". Completely shocked, we asked the same thing. His father had died and he had gotten married a few months earlier, so they agreed to go to Kenya and bury his father. He was also going to meet his brother at the hotel for the first time, and he was really nervous.
He said that first they went to Uganda where they had relatives, and the tradition of the old people was to chew chewing tobacco and spit on the bride and groom. They had dressed up and ruined their nice clothes and stopped the old people from the village. They said that this is not possible and there is no other way. Then they calmly said that we can massage your feet instead, so it worked out for the better, haha.
Swedish foreigner
For his father's funeral, the Swedish-Kenyan boy was told that he should buy a goat and cut its throat and spread the blood over the coffin. He thought uhhhh! He didn't want to do that and asked if there was any other way. They said he could buy sweets and give them to the children on the street, yippee, that's what I'll do, he said like a grown-up Swede.
While we were talking, a slippery guy with rasta braids and two chicks also with rasta braids, sunglasses and the whole gang looked like they came from a YouTube video. He said that this must be his brother and that he had to run to the toilet, haha. What a fate.
Unexpected turnaround
Our new friends called us and said there was a room at the guesthouse, so we took a taxi there. By the time the televisions came on, the incumbent Kibaki from
Kikuyu tribe won over the leading challenger Odinga who would have won from the Luo tribe, the same tribe that Obama's father came from. "If someone wins and becomes president, you give the jobs to your own tribe first, and this was high-level electoral fraud.
Roads, railways and ferries were closed and eventually charter travellers were flown home. We backpacked and were stuck in a guesthouse with two more couples and the charming French owner and her staff. We felt quite safe because there were high walls and barbed wire at the top. Before it really broke out we tried to go to the shop, but everywhere there were military with machine guns so we just had to turn back.
Scared
Now the tribal wars began and they burned cars, shops, houses and started to kill people with machetes. Children and adults were burned inside a church that was locked from the outside during services. A reporter from England was stabbed to death and 300,000 people were displaced in a very short time, and now I was scared for the first time in my life.
I spoke to the Swedish embassy and they said it was fine because they had spoken to the police. ARE YOU ASHAMED? Who owns the police? Well, the president! And they certainly don't want to spread unrest to the outside world. WHAT DO WE DO NOW?
We all discussed how to get out of there, and one suggestion was to hire a boat and go to Tanzania, but we didn't know if they had surveillance on the lake, so we dropped the idea. It was New Year's Eve and the owner offered a fantastic 6-course menu in French cuisine because it was so hard. We discussed around the table that if we get out of here alive, what should we do? That's crazy!
Escapes
The days and thoughts passed and after six days the ferry opened in Mombasa and that was the one we needed to get to Tanzania. We talked to one of the taxi drivers who drove a lot to this guesthouse and it was possible to drive to the border. He asked for two months' salary but his wife didn't want him to go anyway, but it was all said and done and we went with the couple from the Netherlands.
We couldn't leave the car and all the dark windows had to be up. Whites were a hot commodity because we have money. When we got off the ferry, we had to go through the ghetto and there were burning cars in the middle of the road. All the shops, petrol stations, everything was burnt down. There were dark men all over the roads trying to find something to do next.
Our taxi driver drove like a maniac between the cars so as not to be stopped by a mob, because then we would be screwed, he said. We got to the border and he told us to pray for him to come back home. We got his mobile phone number because we wanted to know and he texted a few hours later that he had come home, phew.
Safe soil
It would cost $50 each to cross the border and we filled out our papers on an old wooden bench outside the office. As we filled out our paperwork, a woman in a black burka with only a line to open her eyes and five small children running around her legs. She leaned forward and asked in Swedish how to fill in the boxes. Haha, what a shock!
She had also fled from Kenya and was also going to Tanzania. We went to pay and I told Helena that if the woman doesn't have enough money, we have to help. What made me think that she would be poor? Idiot! She pulled her blanket up to her thighs, and there was as much money as she wanted attached to it in bands around her thighs, so there was no need for her.
Tanga
We went on a local bus that went to Dar es Salaam and the four of us were the only whites and the others had a lot of fun with that. A laugh went through the bus and we heard "mzungu" (white) all the time, haha. We travelled for an hour, then we said we were getting off in a place called Tanga in the middle of nowhere.
A small village that actually had a taxi and we asked if there was any accommodation somewhere. He drove us in difficult terrain straight into the jungle for 45 minutes and we ended up in a place that was for overlanders, you know people who drive across Africa in off-road vehicles. Here we also met researchers and aid workers who wanted a few days' rest.
An Englishman came to meet us in a jungle hat, khaki trousers, long socks and sandals. They had one bungalow left out of six and a tent, so we took the tent. We had to close it properly all the time because you don't know in the jungle what can come in, gulp. We had said that when we get somewhere we will celebrate life, but everyone was so mentally exhausted that we didn't even need to be rocked to sleep.
Peace and quiet
The tent was ten metres from the turquoise sea. The nature was completely untouched and we walked for an hour along the white beach and not a house, not a soul but just pure nature. Absolutely amazing that it still exists! We hired a boat trip with some local fishermen and sailed in a hand carved sailboat and handmade sails. We were back 2000 years and they took us to sand dunes and we snorkelled and not a boat was seen.
At the place where we stayed they had a communal dinner under a canopy and we could eat the day's catch from the lake and drink beer and spirits. There were about 20 people there and we started talking to a frog scientist who was looking for new species and crawling around in the jungle and his girlfriend who was there visiting for a week and she was a brain doctor from Ireland. After a few beers, she started singing Irish pub songs. I was sitting in the middle of nowhere in Africa and thought "is this real or am I dreaming"?
Dar es Salaam
Two days later, Helena and I decided that we should see more before going home and we had two weeks left. We also had to go to Dar es Salaam to rebook the flight, because we didn't want to go back to Kenya. Here we parted ways with our friends from Holland and went off on our own. Our idea was to continue on that local bus and then head out to Zanzibar that everyone was talking so much about.
We bought tickets and travelled on the bus for five hours just with local Africans. After half the time the bus stopped and everyone ran out into the jungle and peed. From what we saw, the women can't wear panties because they just sat straight down and did what they needed to do, haha. You learn as long as you live.
I have been cheated again!
We rebooked the flight and took a taxi to the harbour where the boat would leave to take us to Zanzibar. Africans are very inventive and come up with all sorts of things to make money. I had paid too much several times, so I thought we should do better. When we arrived at the harbour, four Africans rushed forward to sell tickets for the boat and I just said NO.
We went to the harbour office that we saw from the taxi and bought our tickets and they also asked if we wanted first class. We wondered what kind of boat it could be so we took the safe route and bought first class. When we went to the boat we passed the real harbour office. BLOW! Yep, and when we got on the boat there was no first class, BLAST AGAIN, haha. I can laugh now but I was damn annoyed then.
Zanzibar
We came out to Zanzibar and this was really a paradise island. We went around and met even more crazy people, like a French woman who had a two-week holiday working in Sudan. She was volunteering in Sudan and living with 20 people in a villa that was switched off at eight o'clock every night and everyone was constantly worried about their lives.
This French woman had also lived on a small island north of Australia with 100 inhabitants and a boat went there once every six months, which was crazy. After six months in Sudan and war, she partied hard and started playing ping pong with the Christmas baubles in the restaurant where we were. I think she needed to blow off some steam.
The end of the journey
We went around the island and found a new place and there were also private boats to go out to a small island, where there were lots of turtles, special bats living in trees and crabs in abundance. We asked the owner of the place if it was possible to go there. He just looked at us and said quite calmly, "it's my island", haha. A wild and beautiful little island out in the middle of nowhere we also got to see on the trip.
Freddie Mercury from Queen comes from Zanzibar and of course they have a bar with lots of photos and music. We came home after a real adventure. Marlon and Linda came to visit us the following year for Christmas for a week, so we got to show how little Stockholm looked like and it was very nice to meet again.
Establishment
In the spring came the trial of the guys who had been fighting. The guy who was going to testify for his mate broke down and said that Billie wasn't there, but he was too scared to disagree with his friend earlier, but that was it. What do you say about such a thing?
He was taken from a place in a small class to secondary school. We found a gap and against all odds he found safety in a new small class, which he was then wrongly judged by the school and suspended from. Now his confidence in school was at rock bottom. The school tried to have private lessons with him four hours a day in Year 7. There were millions of meetings, he left school several times and I had to leave work all the time. I wonder what the goddess of fate has in store for him?
The motorhome FREEDOM is born, we'll get to that next time and more about my life again. How has your week been?
Did you miss the last Happy Friday? Read the Here is my life part 8
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Ditte says:
Wow, what a journey! And on so many levels! The fact that the school and your child do not work together is devastating and unfortunately I don't think much has happened there yet. But much, most of it, depends on which municipality it is and which principal is at a school.
I have experience of working at schools in Upplands Väsby where they have been good at getting all pupils to function both socially and educationally and also in smaller classes for those who needed it.
But I can understand what difficult years it was for all of you.
What an involuntary adventure your trip to Kenya was and not at all the calm and pleasant holiday you had imagined but a completely different type of trip and with memories and meetings that are of course etched in your minds.
Really interesting and exciting reading and with great pictures.
I am in Thailand and having a great time and everything has been enjoyable.
And the journey here in business class was a holiday in itself. Very comfortable.
16 December 2016 - 6:19
Henny says:
What's a broken down campervan on the motorway compared to what you've experienced in the past? You must have had a guardian angel with you over there in Kenya. Very nice to read about all your adventures and in the case of Billy, it is good to know that everything worked out in the end.
16 December 2016 - 6:27
Eva - People in the Street says:
Oh my goodness, I say! What experiences that period gave you in every way. I'm glad you made it out of there in one piece.
I was working my second week in a new job (again) with the same employer as before.
Yesterday we arrived in Riga and will soon be exploring the city.
Have a nice weekend
16 December 2016 - 6:42
Lennart says:
What an adventure!
16 December 2016 - 7:16
Mr Steve says:
Wow, what a thrill you provide. I felt like I was reading the worst adventure novel. Considering what you have experienced on your travels, there is nothing to fear.
I recognise your son from my work with young people who have gone wrong. I can't believe that schools are still struggling with the same problems and have not made any progress in finding solutions for pupils with special needs, often requiring teaching in smaller groups/classes. Just a few weeks ago I was talking to an acquaintance whose 10-year-old son was struggling at school. He started in a smaller class and everything changed for the better. After only 3 months, the school thought he was doing so well that he could return to the "normal class". His mum's protests didn't help. What happened to the boy? He immediately fell back into the problems he'd had before and had to start all over again. Poor kids. Why don't we adults ever learn?
16 December 2016 - 7:34
Peter Bergström says:
Hi Ditte! No matter how many times I travel, I always get jealous of those who are in the heat when I am in the cold. I've never flown luxuriously on a long flight, so I'm looking forward to that. There are so many problems with school today and unfortunately the school is stuck in old thinking. We have entered a completely new era and so must the school, and until then the problems will grow. Have a good time in Asia and take care of yourself.
Henny. Our motorhome is crumbs if we look back at Kenya. Today we are happy that we came home, but it was very tense for a whole week. I also had contact with my family and friends and everyone tried to help in some way, but it was impossible from Sweden. Have a good week and don't stress yourself out about Christmas.
Lennart: I don't know how we do it, but we have a way of ending up where the cold wind blows. Have a good weekend Lennart.
Steve: Actually, it was very nice to read about a similar experience from you and that makes it easier. We adults think that it's so easy for all children to understand, but there is so much uncertainty among many and it doesn't sink in, even though the teachers have training for it. Now you got a very long section this time and it is gratifying that you appreciate it. you should of course have a nice weekend and greet the wife.
16 December 2016 - 8:03
Lena - good for the soul says:
Oh, my goodness. I am sitting here holding my breath as I read. You have certainly lived a challenging life on various levels! Rich in content, to say the least. So glad you could finally find some relaxation in a beautiful place!
Hug Lena
16 December 2016 - 8:27
Maria's Memoirs says:
So damn what I would have been afraid if I had been on that trip ...! It will also be interesting to hear how it goes for Billie in the future, keep your fingers crossed that it works out! 🙂
16 December 2016 - 9:14
Åsa says:
I recognise those stories! I've heard them live in front of the fire here in our house! I remember them very well!
16 December 2016 - 9:18
Marina says:
What a trip - or maybe it should be a trip! Both the adventure trip and the trip with your son. I understand that it must have been unnecessarily scary to not know how it would go or what would happen when you sat there in the hotel and just waited. but with hindsight and now that it went well, I guess it's not something you want to be without. As for the son, it's terrible that the school has not become better at handling this. But it is probably very different in different places in Sweden. For my part, I have worked a lot with teenagers who have gone a little wrong at school and think it is a fantastically exciting work and it gives so much back. (by the way, my week has been good and is currently wrestling with my jet lag, but it's a pretty small problem if you think about it...;)
16 December 2016 - 9:22
snort says:
What a journey and what an adventure. In retrospect, you can see it as an experience and remember but when you are in the middle of... I thought it was worrisome enough when our daughter worked in Egypt during the unrest...
My week has been like a duck pond compared to your trip.
Very sad that the school did not listen to you that time. It should not have to be as it was.
16 December 2016 - 9:25
Peter Bergström says:
Lena - Good for the soul: Hi Lena! A crazy journey with so many special people at the same time, haha. It was not fun to be so nervous about your life and completely powerless. And we thought we were going to one of the safer places in Africa. I write and I live. Have a nice weekend.
Maria's Memoirs: Billie's problems didn't stop there so it's coming and thanks for following along. I wish you a nice weekend and not too much stress.
Haha Åsa. We had a lot of time with you and we got to hear a lot of nonsense from you too. Have a nice weekend Åsa.
16 December 2016 - 9:29
Peter Bergström says:
Marina: Absolutely right! We don't want that again because it really scared me. Whatever I would do, I don't stand a chance. If a mob wanted to get into the guesthouse where we were staying, they would do it, because they actually burned several houses just a few hundred metres from where we were staying, so it was a bad feeling. We are such a small country and we need to rethink. Ordinary teachers are no longer needed in the same way, but in with programmers, coders and everything related to the digital world. Children must be educated to be social and understand other people and take responsibility. I think they should learn this first. Nice and good weekend.
Hi Znogge! Their decision turned into a tsunami. It was lucky that I was self-employed because in a normal job I would have been fired. It can't have been easy for you to have a daughter in Egypt and during the unrest, phew. We are glad we were there 13 years ago, but even then there was something under the surface. Today there is no way I would set foot there. Have a nice weekend and enjoy.
16 December 2016 - 9:44
Anette says:
What stories you have, you've done so much and you're still young!
16 December 2016 - 10:32
Anette Åhnbrink says:
What a trip ... understand that you grow as a person if you have managed something like that, would not have been as calm as you / him, but at the same time I think the survival instinct takes over, luckily it went well! Your second trip with the son I could comment for as long as possible, because we had the same trip, so we have to take it IRL, the week has passed and nothing strange about it! Now we plan where the biscuit will roll after Christmas, Spain would be fun, but it will probably be the Swedish mountains, have a good Friday cosy and nice weekend / Annette
16 December 2016 - 10:43
Monet says:
Oh my goodness! Good thing you can read about it because never in my life would I embark on such a journey!!! Of course you would do it, but voluntarily - no hu. We have friends who are at the age that they promptly make their "last journeys" and they choose Cairo where there is shooting in the streets and Machu Pichu in the South American jungles and then go on Montezuma's Revenge (terrible stomach flu) and climb strange mountains and walk miles of desert. Or cycling through half a country and other oddities. We just shake our heads and think that our campervan life has been just about as hard as it can be, and it's a high standard! I prefer to fly first class actually?. Which I've done several times on the job to California. It's a cool experience so I wish you that. A little luxury sometimes is also good for the soul. My week: very quiet, still recovering from my difficult abdominal surgery so it's everyday routines, Christmas preparations with the purchase of Swedish food at Ikea and the occasional moment of sunshine in the garden. 300 days of sunshine a year is what we have here and it's noticeable! Looking forward to the next life story and wishing you and Helena a wonderful Christmas and that it will not be too expensive with Freedom!
16 December 2016 - 11:02
nils-åke says:
What a journey, what an adventure. School was not my favourite either but life is good anyway.
16 December 2016 - 11:26
Peter Bergström says:
Eva - People in the street. Riga is fantastic and please check out "allt om resor i Expressen" today for our reports on Christmas markets.
Anette: I am young haha, but I still feel quite old. After your words, I became younger. Thank you and have a cosy weekend.
What a great life you have Anette Åhnbrink, enjoy every hour. I'm not complaining because we can travel as much as we want, but Helena doesn't have holidays for that. You become stronger as a person the more knowledge you have and I have that with me of course. Take care of both of you.
Thank you Monet: What a warm and lovely letter:-). My dream was to get 300 sunny days in one year and we got it in 2015. Now my dream is to get 300 more. I can't get enough of the sun because it gives me lots of energy. We have a lot of adventure left in us and a lot is already booked for 2017. Take care of yourself and make sure to take it easy and thank you again. Merry Christmas will come later:-)
Nils-Åke: Hello there. I don't know sometimes if we overestimate the school and if it is current when we leave it. Everything goes so fast today and the new stuff that comes out is old in three months. It goes well for most of us in the end. Have a nice weekend Nisse!
16 December 2016 - 13:06
Across the board says:
It's safe to say that life offers many dimensions. The pencil drawing is fantastic!
16 December 2016 - 13:39
Peter Bergström says:
Crisscross: Sure, life can turn upside down sometimes but the goddess of fate smiles on us. I love that picture myself so I'm glad you liked it. Have a really nice weekend you two.
16 December 2016 - 14:11
Goatfish says:
At last! Have been waiting so much for the continuation 😀.
This is like a real life adventure film 😀 I am more and more impressed. Experiences filled with just about every ingredient, and if you've passed these tests, you can do anything. Oh my gosh 😉
Billie looks like a nice boy and the pencil drawing caught my eye, wonderful! 😀
A week backwards for me includes Christmas party, Nobel dinner, Elvis concert, so I'm not complaining. Catching up now. Happy friday hugs ♥
16 December 2016 - 14:17
Role o Carina says:
Not a bad trip at all, well done!
The drawing was great!
Happy Holidays....
16 December 2016 - 15:27
BP says:
So that trip is really something to remember. It's strange that we remember "negative" and adventurous trips more than "lying on the beach" trips - or maybe it's natural! Today I wouldn't want to subject myself to such hardships, but when I think back to our visit to Gambia (1980s) which is very similar to your trip, I remember every single detail.
Billie is such a great guy. The pencil drawing is amazing. Did he do it? Reading about Billie, I am actually glad that I/we chose not to have children. You and your ex were also affected to the highest degree and to fight against the school that knows best - NOT, is not something I miss directly! There you did a great job!
PS. Think how calm and nice you and Helena have it now;-) DS.
16 December 2016 - 15:58
Solan says:
What a terrifying journey! Our little problem with a flat tyre is like nada after reading about you in life-threatening situations.
Most things work out, and I hope your son does too.
16 December 2016 - 17:13
Husis blog says:
Finally it was Friday and you took my owners on a lovely trip, very personal but also some other things from wonderful destinations.
It is clear that you enjoy writing because you really captivate my owners with your empathy in writing in a very skilful way.
Looking forward to the next time the owners get to enjoy your wonderful intensity and storytelling skills.
16 December 2016 - 18:08
Peter Bergström says:
Geddfish: Hi Gerd! You make me happy when you write like that. Billie is a very nice guy and always means well. Good behaviour and otherwise damn, haha. He has and has had a tough journey. You are really on the move Gerd! Were you at the Nobel dinner? How cool with nice clothes and all and Elvis, haha, you are on the G. Thanks for sharing. Many hugs and a cosy weekend.
Rolle & Carina: Thank you for writing and giving your opinion and it makes me happy.
Hi BP: It's a bit unfair because Robin has been running like clockwork and is a mother-in-law's dream. Billie can charm anyone but what an upbringing. I have fought so hard with him, and what Helena and I have given him is positivity, knowledge from NE, our own thoughts and lots of travelling and of course lots of love. I made the drawing online. Hugs
Solan: And most of the time it does, and let's hope it stays that way forever. I wonder how you got a flat tyre? Maybe it will work out for Billie but we will know later. Have a cosy weekend.
Husisblog: Thank you so much, really! I'll do my best to catch your owners in the next Happy Friday. Take care of them this week.
16 December 2016 - 18:28
Matts Torebring says:
As I wrote earlier, "You must be very old to have done so much".
16 December 2016 - 20:15
Peter Bergström says:
Matts Torebring: Thank you Matts and I know it was long and maybe I am older than I say. There are pills and maybe I am a test pilot and maybe I will live for 200 years. Have a good weekend Matts and you never know.
16 December 2016 - 20:19
Deciree says:
How nice that everything went well there in Kenya. Terrible thought if something happened to you. Guardian angels exist and you must have had several who saved you. It is really not easy to be young and in your teens either ... luckily it worked out for him. You have 2 beautiful boys...but I've said that before:) Then you have a fantastic wife too;-) Always fun to read about your life. Hugs to you
16 December 2016 - 20:48
4000mil says:
Being in the middle of a riot in Africa is child's play compared to the fact that things are going to hell for your children. I know from experience after struggling for a long time with my son who decided not to go to school (or anywhere else) anymore this spring.
16 December 2016 - 21:11
Ruth in Virginia says:
That was a lot to digest in ONE post. Tried to keep track of
travel and school problems and, how the two fit together - or not.
Scary experiences in Africa.
He wonders what happened to his son in the meantime,
that you were absent father?
Beautiful photo by Helena!
16 December 2016 - 22:00
Peter Bergström says:
Desiree: Hi there! I'm glad you appreciate the series about my life and it got so long that the camper van didn't fit, haha. Say hi to Kjell and have a cosy weekend.
4000mil: When you have a child, you don't think about the fact that everything goes wrong. It's just nice to become a family, but it can break up relationships, get you fired, lots of fights and you can fall apart yourself. We're living a kind of 60s mindset in 2016. Today, everyone is so busy and we've got everything we want in debt, so there's no room for error. A child has to be perfect for the idyll to last. It's quite tricky to get everything together, so I know what you mean. I wish you a nice weekend.
Ruth in Virginia: Hi! I know it was very long this time and we were in Africa for 4 weeks and then my ex had to step in and help. Have a nice weekend Ruth.
17 December 2016 - 11:52
Maggan and Ingemar says:
Says like everyone else .... WHAT A JOURNEY!!! You are a good writer and it is very interesting to read your stories. Good thing they are on the internet so your children and descendants can read about your adventures. We have followed you during all the years you have been blogging and sometimes been on your heels, but unfortunately never had time to meet you Have a good time and a Merry Christmas we wish you!
17 December 2016 - 12:29
Anna, New York - My Bite of the Big Apple says:
Wow, wow, so much you have gone through. I really feel sorry for you and Bille for all the injustices and tough times that have been. But hope and believe that it worked out in the end. Your journey was scary to say the least. So nice that you fixed it and got some peace and quiet there at the end.
Have a great Advent Sunday!
18 December 2016 - 11:56
Elisabeth says:
Unprecedented adventure on many levels. I haven't been anywhere near that, even though I've gone against the grain from time to time. Fighting for what you believe in is important!
18 December 2016 - 15:40
Ama de casa says:
What a horrible journey! Well, not all of it of course, but partly the one during the unrest in Kenya and also Billie's somewhat shaky journey in her teens.
Strong of you (you!) to figure it all out anyway!
(Shitty weather has its advantages. Among other things, you have time to read things that you have missed. My week just then had been great 🙂 )
21 January 2017 - 11:50