IT'S MARCH!!!

Well, I figure I'd better post something about the last few days, but I don't really know how to go about it. This whole week was pretty exhausting, and I'm sure the next one will be just as bad if not worsel. I've got a big presentation about the Christiania kindergarten tomorrow, a Danish oral exam on Tuesday, a paper outline due Tuesday, and two papers due on Friday....eugh.

Anyways, I ended up going to the Christianian kindergarten and meeting with the main pedagogue to talk about the differences and similarities. I recorded 47 minutes of an interview with him and if you feel so inclined as to listen to the whole thing go here and then enter the three-letter code in the upper right. You'll have to wait 25 seconds for the "Free Download" button to become activated. Click that and it should start downloading. It is a pretty big file, so be prepared for some waiting...
























I could talk for a long time about this place, but I'll save that for the actual presentation, and instead focus on one of the coolest parts about the kindergarten -the adventure room. This is a room that is completely covered -walls and ceiling- with an elaborate fairytale-esque mural (see reconstruction). Wanda, the guy I was talking to, was an amazing story-teller, and during lunch he told a great story (in Danish of course, so I don't know exactly what it was about) that all the kids were on the edge of their seat for. This is really one of the most unique kindergartens I've ever seen...

I've also started to become able to understand bits and pieces of Danish, and the structure of the sentences -as opposed to hearing complete nonsense when a Dane is talking. I watched a Danish flim called "The Bench" on Wednesday for my Danish class. This movie is really quite depressing, but depicts the supposedly non-existent social classes in Denmark. It is one movie out of a trilogy of movies by the same director all trying to capture different social classes in Denmark. The Bench is about the lowest class, and involves a drunk named Kaj who rediscovers his long lost daughter haphazardly at the social benefits office. It's been so long since she's seen Kaj that she doesn't even recognize him. When Kaj realizes that he has a grandson, and his daughter is a victim in a domestic abuse case, he tries to turn his life around -but it doesn't quite work out the way he planned...If you're looking for some very good acting, good filmmaking, but a serious downer, check out The Bench.

Last night I hung out with the pedagogue from my kindergarten. He had been at a demonstration for the one-year anniversairy of the destruction of a now infamous youth house called Ungdomhuset all day. There is an incredibly interesting story behind the reasons why it was demolished, and the struggle thereafter between the government, a nasty old lady, and a violent youth culture. For example, when it was cleared and demolished, the entire area of Nørrebro was set ablaze in a chaotic riot.

Anyways, I met up with Uffe in Nørrebro and went to one of his friends' house. On a side note, when I left the house, the bus drove through what looked to be a riot in Nørrebro...

Immediately when I walked in it felt like a good ol' college house. We took off our shoes and coats and headed to his friend's room in the basement. We had to climb through a circular hole in the cement wall to get to his room -something I can say I'd never done until that point. His friend was an artist and had lots of paintings hung all over his room, along with, much to my delight, a guitar. We hung out there for a while and eventually went upstairs where a group of Danes were painting and writing on circular porcelain tiles -an awesome party activity. All the while, this amazing Danish music was playing through one of the sweetest sound systems I've ever seen hooked up in a house. The music was very reminscent of the band Beirut, but had a distinctively nordic feel and sound to it. We went back down to his friends' room and played guitar and just hung out -some definite hygge. At one point the guy sitting next to me picked up the guitar and started playing while a girl across the room accompanied him vocally -turns out they were a songwriting duo who called themselves Den Fjerde Væg. There really aren't words for the disbelief I had while I was sitting in this room full of amazing art, interesting people, and beautiful music...in Copenhagen.

If you're interested in hearing the band, check out their myspace.

So there's about one week until the European extravaganza begins, and the excitement is killing me. The academic ferocity of this week should make this travel break even more delightful. I'll be updating later this week on my tentative schedule of events, and possible map of where I'll be going, but for now I've got some work to do...(on left, Jackie and I in the kitchen of the kindergarten in Christiania)