Raising Children in the World's Northernmost Town | Meet the Locals of Svalbard

[@CeciliaBlomdahl]

Meet the locals is back! 😃🥳 Thank you so so much for being here and supporting my channel ♡ Don't forget to check out Wondrium, signup for your FREE trial to Wondrium here: ow.ly/Jx2150N4SSW Love y'all!

[@HughMadBro]

Can you make some Svalbard shirts that we can purchase to contribute to something cool? I need a Svalbard shirt, since I won't be visiting anytime soon since prices are up since you made it so famous. Heck we can even try to pay for the kids schooling for awhile & he can do your next project for the cabin on him 😝🤷🏼‍♀️😆💯

[@inspectorvoid]

Hey Cecilia, I thought about your dark day issue. kzbin.info/www/bejne/bJPUc6Z-iNyDndk This would be interesting for you guys to build

[@shayni99]

What kind of doggo do they have? Given the cold temps, shouldn't she have a coat and booties when she's out? She doesn't look like she has the kind of fur that Grim has that keeps her safe in such cold weather.

[@simonadobre7100]

You kids don't get sick often? My son doesn't like wear scarf and in Alberta is very windy and frozen whether..-40 usually in winter..winter more that 6 month

[@simonadobre7100]

And very dry air...😢

[@jmiranda5466]

Cecilia, please let Arvydas and Agne know how grateful we are for showing us their daily life and opening their home to us. A very beautiful family!

[@BeautyByHan]

what a lovely comment & I very much agree

[@suzannegagne8692]

The whole family including the dog is absolutely adorable.

[@athorpe1937]

Absolutely agree. What sweet little girls.

[@joribeiro6999]

Yeah! So lovely ❤️

[@lynnwalton814]

100% agree

[@pamalawashington9371]

​@@athorpe1937 so sweet and so smart!

[@michellesmith702]

The random husky howling totally stole my heart. 🤭❤️

[@ItsyourgirlRoswell]

Can we take a moment ☺️ and appreciate that Cecilia kept the makeup on ☺️ that was so sweet ❤️❤️

[@seanjones2456]

I thought that was her normal makeup? 😉

[@felicitaschofield252]

It was so cool hearing about the family life with kiddos. Thanks for sharing

[@ItsyourgirlRoswell]

❤️❤️😊

[@barbaramoitoso8567]

Gabby did a really good job😃

[@loopylou]

It was an impressive unicorn in fairness

[@minime7375]

That little girl is like a miniCecilia, so full of energy and talkative. I was so impressed not only by the girl but also her parents, so they speak Lithuanian, Norwegian, Russian and English😮 Many thanks to this family for agreeing to share their daily life with us❤

[@johnk6657]

I love that the parents had to go to a fourth language to communicate in secret, wow, that is amazing!! Great video, so interesting and the kids are adorable.

[@MsStina84]

I think the kids will learn russian sooner or later though.

[@cliffontheroad]

@@MsStina84 True. My folks would spell words since we were uni-lingual.

[@davemk9]

@@MsStina84 I'm Lithuanian but I can't agree with this. My parents or friends' parents would do the same just because they're older, grew up in a different time and because of it they know that language. Now that I'm an adult neither me or my friends understand that language so it will be very unlikely for them to learn Russian as well.

[@0000asdfasdf0000]

That is actually quite normal as for South Asian people we usually end up being tri-lingual when we are born and brought up in the West. In my case it's English (my first language), Tamil (my mother tongue, I can only speak this, I cannot read or write it sadly), French (my second language), Hindi (enough to scrape by but if I tried I could pick it up), Spanish (its similar to French and English so if I really wanted to learn it, it is super easy.) Hope this helps :)

[@pamalawashington9371]

​@@davemk9 IDK. She is such a bright little girl. I have a feeling she may go our of her way to learn it lol.

[@PeaceLoveRats]

This is great!!!! Those kids are so adorable and living an awesome life. I would love to hear what a teenager thinks of living on Svalbard and what they do for fun as well!!

[@Lilly-hh9es]

Freezin 😅😅

[@spiritofanu3112]

Me too. My sense is the children of long term residents are introduced to a lot of outdoor activities there while very young so they may be mostly engaged in their own interests by then as well. As a retired teacher, I would like to hear some teachers talk too. Especially high school. Thank you.

[@davidwyman6412]

Stumbled across this channel while watching videos of Svalvard. The channel is "UNISinfo" ran by students at the school in Svalvard.

[@pamalawashington9371]

I'm curious as well. I do think that there are some teens who would love it, if they're outdoorsy and adventurous. I would have loved to have been on a snowmobile as a teen, as well as the cabin trips. It would be difficult if their aren't many teens, but I can imagine that the ones who are there are close.

[@wannabekingpin]

if you could, pass best wishes from Lithuanian viewers! :) I showed it to all my friends, we love your content, and this triggered our "small country syndrome" where we get very excited to hear about Lithuanians doing well in remote places!

[@arctic_desert]

haha! never heard this phrase, that is so sweet

[@laurenepema3552]

This is so sweet! They have a cheering section back home that they've never met ❤

[@jbre7233]

My aesthetician is Lithuanian (former ER doctor who didn’t get recertified in canada, bought a Laser clinic instead) and her daughter works at Harvard in USA. So add them to your list because they’re both super successful (and LOVELY people).

[@wannabekingpin]

@@jbre7233 I'm so happy to hear that, thank you so much for sharing such a positive story!

[@tamar4716]

I'd love to see you do the same thing with older kids. As a teacher, I'm super interested in how the primary/secondary schools work.

[@Diana-jr5rl]

Wow what a loving relaxed family. Their apartment has everything they need to function and is so cozy. I love how they have the small bedroom and their daughters have the big room. Please thank them for sharing a bit of their lives with us.

[@manfredfails7485]

I thought it was a house. That’s a nice apartment.

[@GermanicDottir]

Arvydas has a beautiful family. Seeing Aila pull Gabija on her little snowmobile was just adorable. What a wonderful memory for a child. Oh, and that unicorn makeover is so you, Cecilia 😜.

[@waterfallsandrain]

I pray it will stay so safe. A child that grows up feeling secure and safe is a healthy child.

[@waterfallsandrain]

The dog is precious, talking and howling away! ❤

[@moondaisy4886]

As a Lithuanian, I'm so excited to see fellow Lithuanians in your vlog, Cecilia!💙Greetings to Arvydas and Agnė and their beautiful kids.☺️Keep up the amazing work that you do dear Cecilia!🌼

[@rixas20]

me too. 😄🟡🟢🔴

[@mindajuk]

Cecillia fan klubas! :)

[@Audrey.17]

So cozy wasn’t it!!! Did you hear the little one say ( while her sister was feeding the dog) “done yet” lietuvuškai? Lol 🇱🇹

[@daliak1057]

To be honest, I was really caught off guard when I heard their lithuanian names :)

[@junonyte]

Arvydas and Agnė ;)

[@tiffinyharrington9307]

What absolutely beautiful children and such lovely parents. I think Scandinavian people in general seem as though they live such active, healthy lives that seem very tied to nature. And I envy the long maternity leaves and support the government provides to families pre and post birth of babies. Svalbard seems a wonderful place to raise children.

[@pacemarshall9358]

I *LOVE* this video! The Meet the Locals videos are such a joy. I absolutely loved hearing "it doesn't feel that dark." Kids are so adaptable, and adults often forget that. We assume because something seems intimidating to us, it must be for children. But they're so happy, loved, well taken care of. This is their home and that's what they know!

[@Karools_Scribs]

Exactly! Their lives are still stable, which is the important part.

[@jessicaroessel8303]

Wow.. thanks to the family for giving us a peek into their lives. The kids are completely adorable and this video just confirms that kids adapt to whatever is around them.

[@cliffontheroad]

Siberian nomads living in tents had contented children. I echo your sentence Jessica

[@eustacia03]

I love that no matter where they're from, kids do the same thing when a guest comes over. You walk in, they take you around and show you all their stuff.

[@coopert.9290]

I agreed with dad that the bundling up in all the clothes is a lot of work. My kids were Michigan babies and it was a chore. I remember bundling up my toddler son in all his gear to have him say, "I peed." 😱

[@rachealwood7840]

I'm also Lithuanian and love to watch your friends when they are on!!

[@annamurphy4993]

What a great family! It’s so kind of them to share their daily adventures with us! When the parents say that they speak in Russian to communicate without their trilingual daughter understanding I laughed & thought- that clever girl is going to be speaking Russian soon!! 😜

[@troppenhopper]

Loved this one! It's really fun to see what lifestyles are like on Svalbard. Would love for you to do more of these.

[@mercedesminaya6755]

Loved this episode! So sweet with the girls! Hopefully in the future you could find a student who is in high school/university so we could hear their perspective about living there! Thanks to the Arvydas and his family for sharing ♥️

[@kasession]

There is so much to love about this video. 😍 How multilingual Gabija is. Gabija giving the home tour. Gabija applying 'makeup' to Cecilia Medeina feeding Aila, and of course treating herself (I knew it was going to happened, and laughed hysterically) Aila towing Gabija on her 'snowmobile' (They both enjoyed it) How multilingual Arvydas and Agne are. (As an American who only speaks one language, I'm super jealous of the ability, and regret my education didn't include another language until I was in high school) Kristoffer 'reading' to Medeina. Most of all, I loved how you can see the love this family has for each other. Thank You Arvydas and Agne for giving us a glimpse into your beautiful family. God Bless You. 🙏🏿

[@samdog23]

As a mum from Australia, I love your content and I’ve always wondered the kids routine situation. Such cute kids!!!!! It blows my mind how many other people from other countries speak more than one language. ❤❤❤

[@RafaelW8]

It's pretty common in the EU to speak 3 languages from a very young age. In high-school we usually have mandatory extra language, apart from English and our own

[@FionaEm]

​@RafaelWhite88 A lot of ppl here in Australia speak two languages bc they come from overseas or have overseas-born parents. Speaking 3 or 4 languages is pretty unusual though.

[@RafaelW8]

@@FionaEm interesting! Thanks for sharing

[@ismaela.6973]

Them speaking the secret language (Russian) around the child would be a bad idea ... Soon she'll become a linguist. She'll be too powerful to hide secrets from 😂😂😂😂

[@mhmoore007]

She’s very sharp

[@carochan86]

At such a young age too. I'm so jealous

[@ghosterytza]

@@KatrinVB89 she said in the video that they speak russian when they don't want kids to understand

[@ismaela.6973]

@@KatrinVB89 hmm...did you watched the whole video? Lol

[@Nallisn]

@@KatrinVB89 she said she speaks Russian around her kids lol

[@michellesmith702]

This family is precious. How fun is the tiny one bobbling around in her super puffy suit? 🥹 Seems to me that they're giving their children an amazing life and that is such a beautiful thing. Also, how beautiful is Agne? A timeless natural beauty with an incredible attitude (and those blue eyes, my gosh 😍). ❤ Their Svalbard anni. is my bday 😄

[@MaybellineQueen]

I love their polar bear head and the other one on your friends wall!! It's hilarious and great to see Cecilia go on and interview the family w such serious tone and the 3 year old baby has done her makeup for a unicorn lol.

[@sarahwhiting325]

What a stark contrast to bringing up children in a busy town or city! Very few safety worries and so much more laid back schooling allowing them to just be kids. No worries about the polar night or polar bears even. What an insightful video! Thanks Cecilia

[@lb3659]

That snow machine pulled by the dog is so cool. I would have loved that when I was a kid!

[@carochan86]

Same. I asked my mom why didn't we have one.

[@lucysworld9798]

Too much cuteness it melts the snow💕

[@marinawolf]

What a lovely family, those wee girls are the cutest!

[@jasonroberts8525]

what a safe and beautiful place to raise a family

[@TravelsWithKy]

Yay! I’ve been so excited for an episode like this 😄 curious what it is like for the kids as they get older too. I grew up in the middle of Maine and was so ready to get out by college but am so grateful for where I grew up now that I’ve left. ❤

[@Livinlife33]

Cecilia, you would be an amazing mother!

[@dawndecesare2177]

What a great family. It seems everyone who lives on Svalbard is happy and content with life. TFS

[@zx1906]

Cecilia, please let Arvydas and Agne know how precious this was and how much us viewers appreciated them inviting us all in for a day! My husband and I are planning to try for our first kid soon and we are also planning on moving from Arizona to South Dakota, so cold-weather tips for babies are super helpful!! ❤

[@Jae..9..]

This was so cool, seeing another perspective of life with children there. The family is adorable. And there house is so cute and cozy. It would be interesting to next see how teenagers fare there on Svalbard.

[@laurasharp9455]

Christoffer (aka Father Svalbard) reading to Medina was so sweet! He looks like such a gentle giant beside such a tiny human 🥰 and of course Cecillia was awesome with the kids!

[@BridieCate]

What a unique and amazing place to spend your childhood! Similar routines to what I had with my kids, just in a stunning location!

[@dragonmac1234]

Very interesting, it must be hard to know if small children are cold in those temperatures. Aila pulling Gabija's snowmoible was so cute.

[@deniseunterman9652]

I doubt it. Small children have their ways of letting us know when they're uncomfortable. Plus you can see and feel their little bodies.

[@CallieMasters5000]

Christoffer looks like he's had enough babysitting for a lifetime. 😂 Even the family dog is like "does Grim have a quiet corner I can share?". The kids are so sweet!

[@lisa_and_christian]

Love that they opened up their lives to us all. And their children are absolutely precious---and SO SMART!!!

[@annakatherine2891]

I've always been curious about what life with children would be like there, so excited for this series! They are such a sweet family

[@elisabethe8055]

What a wonderful family! The dog.. Wooooouh! She has a say in things for sure! So cute! I really like this, when you go out and meet people living on Svalbard. I also find myself really tempted to try living at such secluded area. One thing i really love, that i have seen in your recent videos is the twilight. It is so gorgeous! That ambient light on the mountain sides.. I just find it mesmerising.. Looking forward to part two of this series! Tack Cecilia för att du delar med dig så generöst, och tack till familjen som ställer upp! ;)

[@heavenlyvilla8681]

I live in New Zealand, so very far away. I started watching your videos as one of my very best friends online is Norwegian. He had told me a little bit about your island and now I enjoy learning more each time I watch. I hope to see a polar bear one day (froma distance of course!) in one of your videos. Thanks so much for showing us your home.

[@mayhamilton6652]

As a parent this was an especially lovely video. That's a pretty awesome family. How cute was the baby feeding the dog! Looking forward to next week's video. Thank you ❤️

[@rhonies9229]

Thank you for introducing us to Arvydas and his family. This was wonderful. So life is the same there as around the world (minus the cold weather gear) when you have children. Having a child that has abilities to speak 3 language is a blessing for her adult life. Thank you for the series.

[@rebeccamandelos3164]

Beautiful family ! Thanks ,for inviting us to your home. 💙🥶🤍🧊💙🐻‍❄️

[@ladydelphini]

The seven sisters is my favorite constellation too.❤

[@vcp93]

Great idea for a video series. I am certain a lot of your viewers were wondering about what it's like to raise a family in magical Svalbard. Cheers! 👽✌️

[@shelleyhender8537]

Oh my Cecilia ~ this video is wonderful! Spending time with a beautiful family, who speak multiple languages…many of us would dream of such a childhood. I’m blessed to be bilingual, but I think the world is a better place when we share our language, culture, cuisine, etc. This is one of the many things I appreciate about Canada…we are multicultural and proud to be so! Makes for some wonderful opportunities to learn about history, culture, politics, religion, family life, etc., over some delicious food. THANKS for sharing this delightful video! Cheers🇨🇦☺🇳🇴 P.S. I grew up in the Canadian Arctic. It’s a fantastic place for families to do so outside, as well as it’s very safe compared to metropolitan cities. I only wish more children/families were adventurous and not think of the Arctic as some frozen wasteland, full of igloos! It’s beautiful place to live!!

[@lisanz5358]

Hi from New Zealand. Thanks to you and your lovely friends for a great upload. Sweet kids living a very interesting life.

[@jacquelinemichele]

The good morning in the circle hole will never get old

[@dogsnskiing656]

Kids in Scandanavia are so much more appreciative of the outdoors and aren't glued to their phones and babied like they are elsewhere.

[@kellyc2425]

Their kids are so adorable! I think it would be awesome to be raised on Svalbard.

[@edunbar3244]

Oh my heart 💜 😘🥹🥹💕 Thank you for posting this video.

[@donjohnson6036]

What a wonderful little family at the top of the world. God bless them.

[@RafaelW8]

I love Arvydas. Such a good person, you can tell instantly.

[@virginiagirl6628]

What adorable children! Christoffer looks pretty natural with the baby😊 Thanks for sharing!

[@lynnjohnston8048]

I think this is really enlightening for any parent that would like to move there. It educated myself quite a bit and I’m looking forward to part 2.

[@carlacarpenter7341]

Gabija's Makeup job is on point. 😂

[@CeciliaBlomdahl]

🤣🤣🤣 Great decision to do it so early in the evening as well, I had to be a unicorn for half the video 🤣🤣

[@carlacarpenter7341]

But a very beautiful unicorn 😂😂

[@dorothyburton6852]

Thank you for introducing us to the family. Kids will act up with company LOL. Great unicorn makeup. Arvydas and family Thank you for letting us into your life for the day.

[@andrewpike1993]

What a lovely family. Wasn’t sure if I’d like this video as much as your usual ones as I don’t have children and am not really a kids person, but I found it really interesting, and the family were so nice. Great to see another part of Svalbard life 👍👏

[@badgerpa9]

Adorable family. Even on days school would close my kids would be outside, all day on school closed days. On little ones you can check their toes against your neck or lips to feel if their toes are cold if you have been out and your hands are used to the cold. If you have good warm clothes kids will be warm in extremely cold temps and have fun. If it is really cold and you are ice skating or something like that you can use stuff like vaseline on your toes a plastic bag like a bread bag and 2 layers of socks and you will be warm. If your kids feet sweat a lot get liners or inserts (like shoe inserts) for their boots to absorb the moisture and replace them to dry whenever they go in side. Layers are great and space to dry all the kids wet sweaty clothes. Metal book racks are great for drying gloves.

[@kschickle916]

That was just intriguing. I hadn’t thought there were very many children there but I love that family so much.

[@LindaY26]

Loved seeing how a family with little ones handles polar nights. In Canada, we get similar winter temps and wearing layers is definitely key. I loved your makeup that Gabija did! She definitely has a future in cosmetics. You had said there is a high school and a folk high school, I believe. What is the difference between the two? Loving all of your videos. ❤️

[@juliachildress2943]

Great video. Many thanks to the family for sharing their life with us. All of those languages. What a gift to their children. Cecelia the spokesunicorn. Just adorable. Gabia looks so serious and professional doing your makeup.

[@mmgcx]

this one ended so quickly! looking forward to the next one!🥰

[@wesleyhunter2834]

I am 25% Lithuanian. I also lived in Iceland for three years. I really am enjoying this video.

[@cynthiacarreiro3701]

That was so nice of them to share their daily lives with their beautiful children! It’s so cool to see how locals and their families go about their daily lives in such an interesting environment.

[@glennk.7348]

2:16 so cute how her sister is so happy to see her!! (Edited) 😊

[@RikkeGade]

I know right 🥹

[@dianebondhus9355]

What a lovely family! Thanks to them for sharing a bit of their life with us. 🥰 Have a great week everyone!

[@vanessasantana4010]

Would love to see the different age groups and each of their perspectives of living on the mainland. Very interesting content!

[@123456BobJackson]

Very nice of them to share their private lives with the Tube

[@carlthor91]

Cecilia, your comment that it was cold, it warmed up to -15°C a few days ago. It is now going to be warm, -8°C - 0°C, through to spring. 55.75°N in Canada, we had close to normal temperatures this last month, -25°C to -39°C for daily highs.

[@christybirling3299]

What adorable, fresh-faced, healthy children. The dog was a hoot with his little howl. I'd say this lovely family is definitely thriving in Svalbard. It was so cute how the little one brought a book to Christoffer. I'd also like to hear from teenagers and what they do and do they date, etc.

[@КсенияОсипова-ю2в]

What a beautiful family! So cosy and warm energy) Thank you for making this vlog)

[@profilaktor]

Oh thank you so much for this video. I was expecting for this kind of videos. And it was worth it 100 % Very interesting and informative I'm waiting for the second part now as well. Thank you again 🙌 You are doing a great job!

[@shunulu123]

This is the warmest video i've ever seen in this channel. They are so cute children and family. Thumbs up

[@trishhobbsphillips3478]

This might be my number one favorite of all your videos (and I have seen all of them). Those children are too precious; my heart is bursting with love. Thank you for sharing this with us. ❤️❤️❤️

[@nancyneyedly4587]

Little Gabby did an impressive job on that makeup! Both cheeks are the same size circles and balanced and the horn was in the middle of her head, the lips weren't messy, it was all so symmetrical. Talented little artist already!

[@zoeblueyes]

I really loved their pup’s little rawr

[@heathermunoz6282]

This place is one step before heaven. The fact that they can feel such peace about their children's safety is something that is unheard of.

[@lifelikeatob]

Oh my God, the coolest thing to have your dog pulling your little mobile !! 🤩

[@manuela9342]

Thank you so much for showing how a little family is living there. The kids are so cute with such great and lovely parents. It seems like a normal life with kids anywhere ;-) It is so kind of Arvydas and Agne to get us a little insight their private life. Thank you for that too. Lovely greetings from Berlin

[@BVArmstrong]

That girl actually did a great job on the makeup! This was a great video.

[@fluentdogtraining5047]

I love to see the healthy and happy dogs on your channel! Grim is so good for his grooming and your friend’s dog clearly loves pulling the sled.

[@Jeff-jg7jh]

This is so interesting and heart warming.

[@penguinswithwifi]

14:35 Of course their dog takes a liking to Cecilia! 😁💕🐾

[@debbie962]

Great, interesting video. Very sweet family and adorable kids. Not to mention, a very patient family dog. Thanks for showing us this side of living in Svalbard.

[@itsjustsam7405]

AAAAAAA, this is so cool to watch! I am also from Lithuania and it is so cool to see other Lithuanians living in international communities like this, thank you for this video Cecillia!

[@amyh1045]

I would love to hear, and see, more about the schools. I teach first grade and I love hearing about other schools.

[@michelelynn6914]

Really enjoyed the video and loved their dog pulling Gabija on her sled!

[@ianbarnes1274]

Omg!!! I totally saw Gabija on her tiny skis going back and forth in front of the Coop back when I was there in December!

[@Neophema]

The little girl has such a cute accent when she speaks Norwegian.

[@tessajetta8146]

I loved to watch the little ones dancing

[@borntoroam2468]

Cecilia rockin the Unicorn look! LOL! Adorable family, thanks for sharing. Looking forward to part 2!

[@jamesmoore9511]

That dog sled looks awesome for a kid. Tusen takk for your beautiful site and may your shadow always fall in happy places.

[@SteveAllenCreative]

18:36 You Cecilia must be a minor celebrity in the village due to the longevity of your channel. It’s great that you’re trusted enough by this lovely family to let us in on their daily lives. I had a big grin on my face through every second of it. More like this please 😀

[@marywilson1948]

Cecelia!! You hit a Home Run with this video!! What a splendid idea…. To let us see what it’s like to have children in Svalbard!! The family you spent time with was so welcoming and the children so sweet! Thank you!!