scavenger hunt and inauguration

here are some photos from today (you can see more on my flickr account):







today was really hectic and long but a lot of fun too. i had my survival danish class, which was pretty hard but i was for sure the most enthusiastic and well-rehearsed danish speaker there. i learned the very basics and we went to irma grocery store... then we had the "DIScover it" scavenger hunt, which of course i loved. i'm such a nerd. i somehow became the navigator (i was the only one with a map) and managed to successfully lead my group from DIS all around...we went down stroget to kogens nytorv, then to the parliament island, took the harbor bus to amalienborg and nyhavn, and then walked back. it was great! the city was surprisingly easy to navigate and with the exception of the cobblestones, easy to walk in. we made it all around in less than 3 hours. the colorful rows of old buildings in the medieval city reminded me a bit of baltimore's rowhouses, which i suppose is silly. clearly these are much older and more...european, but overall it has a similar lively flavor. i thoroughly enjoyed the walk around, taking in this quirky ancient city and getting to know some more of my classmates. i also really appreciated the free tomato soup that they provided as a snack!

the day concluded with a get-together at the "bethesda" church down the road from DIS, where we were invited to watch the inauguration on a big screen. it was packed with exhausted american students, but we all managed to give a shout when barack came on. that was a pretty odd and surreal experience but i certainly felt more patriotic than i usually do!

something i’ve found difficult so far is the darkness. it is dark when i wake up, leave the house, and when i return home in the evening. today we were fortunate to get out and enjoy the sunshine while it lasted but i know we won’t be able to do that every day. i’m going to need to leave the house at 7.15 to make it to my 8.30 classes, which will be really hard when it’s so dark out. we’ll see…i am just looking forward to the spring when the light is more abundant than that in the states!

first days in copenhagen

so i’ve been in copenhagen for about 36 hours now and it’s is treating me well so far!

the flight was fine—relatively short, at just under seven hours (it takes me almost as long to get home to seattle!). the other passengers were mostly DIS (my program) students. the flight attendants were fluent in both danish and english and wore black leather high-heel boots and black tights as part of their uniform. clearly european. there was a danish girl sitting in front of me who looked like she was about 10. for most of the flight she read a book in english, which few americans were doing. the flight was pretty empty, so i tried unsuccessfully to sleep on the empty seat next to me.

we arrived at 7.15 am— which felt like 1.15 am— and hung out at the airport for quite some time, waiting for a bus to pick us up. i bought a coffee for 35 dkk, which is about usd $6.24!!!! i know airport food is usually expensive but that shocked me. i guess people weren’t lying about denmark being expensive! eek. it was grey and rainy but not too frigid, which reminded me a lot of flying to seattle as well. after a short and chaotic run through the orientation line, where i picked up all my materials, i was shuffled to an auditorium in which the host parents came and got us. my host mom pernille (pronounced pa-nilla) came to get me and we drove the ½ hour to their house in tåstrup, a suburb west of the city. the house is kind of rambler-style but clearly more modern and danish-looking. it’s all one level with lots of windows, hard wood floors, skylights, and ikea lamps. i have my own room which is somewhat sparse but looks clean, in the danish style of design. my host dad henrik has worked hard to set up the wireless on my computer. both of them are really kind and speak english well. i would describe them both as “health nuts” in that they exercise many times a week, go to sports centers for vacation, and eat plenty of health foods like flax and organic peanut butter. their kids are 6-year-old elise (pronounced a-lisa) and 18-month-old johannes, who is a big troublemaker. johannes likes to toddle around the house and throw stuff. i’m impressed with his motor skills and he seems like a smart kid, but he just cries a lot because he is cranky and tired… i like kids a lot but i must say, i’m not used to living with one (or two!). elise is really sweet and pretty similar to her 6-year-old american counterparts. she likes pink, dresses and hannah montana. i wish i could talk to her more but she doesn’t speak english (yet) and my danish is pretty much non-existent at this point.

this morning i got up and made it to the train station on my own (which i was pretty proud of), took it 25 minutes to the city center, and met ½ my 600 classmates at the ny carlsberg glyptotek, a museum of classical sculpture donated by the founder of the carlsberg brewery. we were welcomed by a wind quintet and the director of DIS. the ionic columns and classical forms surrounding us really made me realize that we were in europe. who else begins an orientation in a fancy museum created by a brewer? the number of students in the program is pretty overwhelming. i haven’t really met too many yet, but i did talk to one guy from bellevue, washington today. most of the students seem to be much more cookie-cutter university types than anyone at goucher. we had some intro sessions today and we have more tomorrow. we begin classes on thursday, which i am definitely looking forward to.

i am going to go to bed now—this jet lag is still killing me!

hej danmark!

hej from danmark!! i made it safely and am incredibly tired so i'll post more later... all is well!

seattle-nyc-philly-bmore-cph!

i hope 2009 is treating everyone well! first of all, some recent snapshots of my life:

meeting up with friends in new york


enjoying the season in baltimore


a little collage i made yesterday, with the wonder that is photoshop


yesterday i made the realization that i have been doing a lot of traveling lately, and hopefully will be doing even more in the near future! on the last sunday in december i was in seattle; on the first sunday of january, i was in new york city; last weekend, philadelphia; next sunday will be copenhagen! of course this travel mixture contains plenty of baltimore too.

i'm really feeling more and more like baltimore is my home. i'm living in a rowhouse in the neighborhood of hampden and wow, it feels just so baltimore. the more and more i become familiar with the city, the more it seems like there is so much to explore. (luckily the day-to-day adult things like grocery shopping, cooking dinner, and commuting still seem novel and fun to me...i'm sure this will wear off with time, but these make me feel exhilarated and content right now.) last week i volunteered at my favorite nonprofit, the creative alliance, and had a handful of awesome conversations with people there. i then took a leisurely walk about three miles across the neighborhoods of highlandtown, patterson park, fells point, harbor east, and into the inner harbor-- a wide swath of baltimore's intoxicatingly uniqueness. i'm really enjoying the vibe of life here and see myself here for a while....but for now, i have four months of exploring copenhagen to do!

i leave for denmark on saturday, get there sunday, and start classes on thursday. until then, it is working, finishing packing, and soaking up my wonderful friends here.

2009

happy new year! my resolutions are to drink less coffee and eat less sugar-- my constant resolutions.

i am happy to report that i am back in baltimore! the trip was long but fine and now i am enjoying the cold but not snowy east coast for a few weeks...

holidays

the fall semester wrapped up nicely with a holiday sweater, crackers and cheese, and crafts party thrown by my apartment-mates (see above). the party turned out very well with a good, calm crowd, cute decorations, an abundance of snacks and all kinds of farewell wishes as we all packed up to go abroad. my roommates were a steady, comforting presence this semester and i'll miss them as they depart to turkey, costa rica and italy respectively. i am very glad to be done with my classes this term. they were all good but just a lot of work. i am most proud of the website i created for my performance studies project, which can be found here. i'm also proud of the goucher post secret project, which was a surprisingly huge success this fall. students sent in their anonymous secrets, whether silly or serious, to the suicide awareness and prevention group (which i started and serve as pres.). we had an exhibit of them in a community room on campus, and also started to post them on our blog. it was really cool to see the great variety of responses that came from students.

at this point, i have been in shoreline for 9 of my 12 days here and the seemingly never-ending snow has prevented all seattlites from doing much of anything this holiday season. i've ran a few errands with my dad as he tried to drive through the slushy mess of snow, but in general i have stayed in the house for over a week. even with all this free time, though, i haven't accomplished as much as i would have liked. i'm not sure what it is about coming home, but i always just end up watching movies and sitting around instead of being productive and busy like i am at school. hmm. other than the weather and its implications, it's been a lovely break and i'm very thankful to be able to come home and celebrate the holidays with my family. i have really enjoyed spending time with my extended family, especially my adorable little second cousins, and feel lucky to do this.

i've been doing lots of reading and research-- both online and in the little guidebooks i've accumulated from family, friends and the program-- about copenhagen and it's made me antsy to leave. i know what to pack, a few basic phrases (pronounced poorly, however), etc.-- now i want to just go! i leave january 16 and until then, will be working, packing, running errands, etc. in baltimore. of course communication may be difficult and i'll miss everybody here in the states, but i know this is going to be one of the most memorable and eye-opening experiences of my life. i am so excited!

crunch time

i hope everyone had a very nice thanksgiving. i had a relaxing time, pretty much doing homework by a woodstove the whole time. central massachusetts is more beautiful than people give it credit for...or at least the old houses are.

as always happens this time of year, i feel like i'm just swimming in final projects. social science students get slammed not with final exams but huge papers every semester. i gave two twenty-minute presentations today (one of which you can see online at http://students.goucher.edu/auhus001) and have to write a paper on a 1000-page novel. i also have a major qualitative analysis paper lurking over my head. what i dislike more than the work itself, however, is how everyone gets so wrapped up in our own little world of homework and finals. our perception of what is important in life gets totally out of whack as everyone obsesses about the number of hours they'll be stuck in the library. i find myself doing this too.

an alarming reminder of this phenomena: the recent attacks in mumbai. what an atrocity. the situation was terrifying, deadly, symbolic. i really cannot fathom how haunting the scene would be for the people of mumbai. this could have serious global consquences. yet as i returned to school on sunday, awareness of this event seemed to have vanished from everyone's mind. we were all running around stressed out about getting the newspaper published and finishing up assignments. i'm not quite sure how to break out of this pattern, how to be reminded of the real world around us, but i look forward to the end of the semester so that i can more actively participate in life outside of school.

and speaking of life after this semester, i am thrilled and a bit worried that my excursion to denmark is coming right up. by and large i really can not wait, because i know it will be one of the most eye-opening, fun and unique experiences of my life. the program i'm going on seems very well-coordinated to maximize students' time in copenhagen. this week they sent me a map of the city, a luggage tag, cell phone info, and arranged bus transportation from the airport. i'm impressed! i have concerns about traveling so far from my comfort zone for so long, but i know this will just end up boosting my independence and familiarity with the world. i'm also worried about running out of money-- i've heard copenhagen is wildly expensive-- but i hope to avoid that problem.

i'm really looking forward to being in seattle and seeing my family at christmas. i'm also excited to have some free time-- any at all!-- to catch up on reading, seeing friends, doing some art projects, watching movies, etc. i'll be in seattle december 18-30, baltimore december 30-jan 16 and copenhagen jan 17-may 17....