First week impressions

Wow, so I've been here for over a week now, although it feels like much longer because of all the new sights, sounds, and experiences. Some highlights of the weekend include the DIS welcome party at a club called LUX. It was crowded, loud, and full of drunkeness. The wall paper was especially interesting and comfortable (see picture). After the party we headed out to another bar that was equally crowded, but instead of blaring house techno they were playing crappy classic rock. After our group went their separate ways, I mistakenly took the bus going the wrong way. After quickly realizing this I got off and started walking. I don't know how long I walked but I was extremely confused, but it was alright -100% of the people on the streets were drunk. Eventually I made it back to city square, just in time to make the last bus at 3:40 AM. The only problem was it was about 3:10 AM. As I was waiting I was approached by a 31 year-old shoeless Danish woman, who, needless to say, was quite inebriated. She basically spilled her entire life story out to me while we waited, which helped pass the time. She also provided a unique form of entertainment when a scantily clad woman dressed in an extremely short mini-skirt was boarding a bus. As the woman was waiting to get on the bus, the shoeless Dane proceeded to lift the woman's skirt up exposing her buttocks ::bwahhhh (Hank Hill)::: They exchanged a few words in Danish and when I asked what she had said to justify her actions she replied, "I told her, 'if you're going to dress like a ho, you've got to expect these kind of things.'" Eventually the bus came, and after a sobering walk from Hvidvore Hospital back to my house I passed out -4:30 AM.

The next day was spent sleeping and recovering, and I finally got to meet my host mother and father's son Michael. He brought his cockerspaniel named Cooper over and it was a fun day filled with dogs and food (Nemo and Cooper in a play-fight).

Sunday was filled with sunshine and windlessness -a much needed break from the cold, wet, and downright shitty weather of the past week. I figured it would be a good day to start my biking adventures, so I biked into town with no specific plan. Once I got to City Square I decided to finally check out Christiania (Christianshavn). If you've never heard of it, it is a community founded in the 60's by a bunch of squatters. They refused to pay taxes, and practically abolished all money, instead focusing on the real human experience. If you want more info I'd suggest wikipedia-ing it. It is also notorious for the trafficking of drugs and it's abundance of public artwork in the form of graffiti. Unfortunately photos are banned so I only have my memory, a few photos that I snuck, and a sketch of a Jamaican spiritual healer who I met. It was definitely an experience to remember, and I feel like it won't be the last time I see Christiania while I'm here...

Once again, the week has started out with some pretty wild dreams. Last night I was flying in a giant snow-globe type vessel of some sort of jelly type substance. For a little while I was afraid to go to sleep because of the extreme emotional ups and downs of the types of dreams I've been having, but it seems like I'm becoming able to tame or cope with what's going on. Maybe it reflects the mix of emotions I felt at the beginning of this trip when I was thrown completely out of my comfort-zone, but now have finally started to get into a routine.

And for everyone back in the States, don't fuck up the election.

Kevin

so uhh....

I found out that I'll be working with 3-6 year old children every thursday, and most wednesdays at the Danish equivalent of a pre-school 40 minutes away from my house today. The Danish education system is radically different than the American and (to my speculation) may account for some of the differences that are observed in the Danish way of life.

Basically children are placed in a class of around 20 kids at the age of 6 and kept in the same group for the next ten years of their lives. Instead of moving from class to class, a team of teachers moves to the "home classroom". They have the same main teacher for all ten years and the focus is on social development rather than academic acheivement. Needless to say, it will be very interesting learning and observing this style of education, and I hope to integrate some of it's advantages into the educational system in the US -but that is far away in the future.

For now, due to popular demand (Zac), I will post some pictures of the place where i'm staying...ENJOY!!! (bottom 6 pictures are my room, top 2 are the kitchen, and the other 2 are the dining room and living room)

The week nears a close

It feels like this week has been extremely long. There is a lot of downtime in which I have no idea what to do. Usually I just find some random person/people from the orientation group and go to a cafe, bar, or just walk around.

Today felt like Seattle in that it was gloomy and rainy all day. I felt really anti-social today -as opposed to my extreme socialness during out DIS sponsored dinner last night with my orientation group (around 15 people). Dinner was amazing, and I got sufficiently drunk -of course, just enough so that I could make it home alright. My mood was most likely a reflection of the weather, but none the less I enjoyed Copenhagen as much as I could (even though I was carrying about 30 lbs of books on my back).

The past two days have been fairly long, with "survival Danish language class" starting at 9:00 am. It was useful I guess, but this language is ridiculously hard to pronounce and remember -maybe my Danish language class will clear some of that up, but probably not. I did however manage to snap a memorable picture of the royal guards marching on their daily parade through the city while our DIS leader gave us a mini-tour of the area...I was later informed by my host family that those hats are made of bear skin...wtf?

I've started to compose a new song titled, "Dream inside a dream" inspired by that dream I had earlier -I will post the link as soon as I have it recorded, but don't expect it anytime soon. Speaking of guitar, after dinner tonight, which usually lasts around an hour and a half, but this time about 4 hours, I showed my host family, and one of my host father's childhood friends pretty much all of my songs. They truly received the Kevin Donley Experience. I feel like there will be much more songwriting going on in the future, and I'm very excited that the words are coming so quickly to me now.

I wanted to go to a jazz club called Copenhagen Jazzhouse tonight and hear this guy named David Torn (http://www.davidtorn.net/), but I couldn't find anyone to go with me -the drawbacks of living with a host family. Oh well, I have lots of time to spend money elsewhere.

Well, I'm sufficiently fed up with spewing the day's activities out on the web for all eyes to see, so farewell!

Kevin

So...last night I had some of the weirdest dreams I think I've ever had. Everybody from work was in them, and in the dream I fell asleep and realized I was dreaming. I would awake each time confused as all hell, and then eventually I realized I was asleep not only in my dreamworld, but in reality. Quite lucid if I may say so myself.

Anyways, I saw Copenhagen the city for the first time today. It was beautiful and vibrant despite the overcast rainy Sunday. There were lots of bikers, and to my surprise most of the bikes were unlocked (I'm still locking that shit up though). After the brief driving tour provided by Søren, I set off for my arrival orientation. The location of the building proved harder than I expected to find, and now lives in infamy within the confines of my memory. It was not a complete loss, however, as I managed to discover some sweet looking street art- there seems to be a lot of this around the city and I am excited to document more of it.

After being bombarded with packets upon packets of information the day ended and I returned home, ate dinner, and am currently watching the Packers romp the Giants (hopefully).

More to come...

I like the way these people think...

arrival

For all of you out there with a little Kevin on your mind, I hope this will calm your worries and answer your questions.

Yesterday I crossed the Atlantic for the first time in my life and arrived in Copenhagen, Denmark at about 1pm local time -7 time zones and a couple of thousands of miles away from home.

Gitte, my host mom, was waiting for me outside of the baggage claim and after a brief introduction, we drove to her house about 10 minutes away. The house is amazing, and my room is better than I could have imagined. It feels like I'm living in a log cabin decked out in Scandinavian furniture and lighting.

Once at the house, I promptly introduced myself to the dog, Nemo, an enormous Yellow Lab, and my host father, Søren who works in security at the airport. The day was a combination of unpacking and conversation amidst pastries and beer. Søren showed me the bike he built for me (!!!!!!!) and his newest hobby -building up a Mustang he bought from California.

Dinner was amazing -a pork roast smothered in thick gravy, potatoes and carrots in some mushroom cream sauce, and steamed broccoli. After dinner I really started to feel how tired I was, seeing that I'd been awake and traveling for 24 hours or so. I took a shower, climbed the ladder up to my bed, and fell asleep around 8pm. Now it's 6 in the morning, and I can't seem to sleep any longer, so i thought, "what better time than now to start the inevitable blog."

Today will be my first contact with the DIS staff and students. I'll figure out my class schedule, get a transportation pass, and for the first time of many to come, see the city of Copenhagen.

Toodles.