Too much to think about

If there was any picture to convey the combination of academic intensity of the past week with the fact that I'm going to be traveling across Europe for the next three weeks, it is the stencil on the left (can be found near the entrance of Vestergade 7-A).

1 presentation + 3 papers + midterm + 8.5 hour day at a farm with little kids followed by political rally = FUN!?

Well, as I predicted earlier, it really will make these next 3 weeks feel much more like a vacation than if I had been sitting on my ass the entire time. It feels like so much has happened in the last few days that I don't really know where to start -I can't imagine how I will be able to describe the next 3 weeks...

But I'll give it a shot...


On Monday our group gave our presentation on the Christianian kindergarten, and I'm happy to say that we thoroughly dominated. A couple of the group members decided to create a diorama of the adventure room using the pictures and schematics I had created. The diorama was based on the style of dioramas that I had seen in the kindergarten. They were interesting because you would look through a porthole cut into the side of a closed shoebox and see a miniature world with whatever you decided to put in it. We also incorporated clips of the audio very nicely -it was a presentation I felt proud of when I got out of class...

On Tuesday I had a music swap with one of my friends and I've subsequently gained a massive amount of new, un-listened to by me, music. A good portion of the day has been spent transferring most of it onto my iPod -which hopefully will accompany me for the entirety of my trip.

The midweek was spent writing a paper on...wait for it..."The social and political consequences of the industrial revolution." I hope someone who's reading this understands the urge I had to write the entire story of "The puppy who lost his way." -the story Billy Madison (Adam Sandler) answers with when asked about the industrial revolution. Anyways, I ended up writing a pretty kickass paper that had some good flow to it, and I'm pretty sure I sounded like I was smart -the other three-quarters of writing a good paper.

Thursday, March 6th, was one of those days...I'm not really sure what I mean when I say that, but hopefully you'll have a better understanding after you read the following:

Woke up at the crack of 6AM and arrived at the kindergarten at 730. We took off for the farm, despite the rainy, bleak, and downright dismal conditions of the morning -WOW, DIDN'T SEE THAT ONE COMING DENMARK! This trip was very unique, and for a couple of reasons. For one, the group of kids we took this time were younger than the usual group, and had never ventured into the actual farm part of the town; rather, they would stay at the kindergarten facility a few miles away. Luckily, as we left the city and were on our way to the farm, the clouds parted and a the sun embraced the green fields of the danish countryside.


One of the more interesting things that happened throughout the day was a good ol' fashion sheep shearin'. I immediately noticed the leashed-up sheep upon our entrance into the farm and my intuition was correct -later that day the kids gathered round while two of the workers gave an angry sheep a haircut. This was a first-time experience for me, and just another added first time experience to all the kids who came that day. The things these kids must learn here...constantly absorbing the sights, sounds, and smells of their playground away from home.


What did we do with all that wool? Well, we folded it up into a ball, covered the ball with warm soapy water, and softly condensed it of course. Afterward, the wool-balls were to be soaked in ice cold water for some period of time, followed by a drying period. When they were dry, the balls were supposed to have shrunken into bouncing balls of wool. I've never done this before, or even heard of it being done, so it was quite the disappointment to know that I wouldn't be able to see the finished product.

My mind was elsewhere as we played and explored the farm with the kids. I couldn't choose what to think about -how exhausted I already was, my upcoming 830AM midterm the following day, or the prospects of the next 3 weeks. Eventually we returned to the city around 4PM and it was back to the grind...or so I thought.

On my way home I decided to make an attempt at starting the mental transition toward my health care in Scandinavia midterm. I got in contact with a friend in the class and we met up in Gammel Torv (Old Square) to discuss the next day. I really didn't have studying on my agenda because I was too exhausted and needed some form of a break, so it was a good thing when I learned that Gammel Torv is the gathering point of the weekly rally of supporters for Ungdomhuset. The scene was like something out of a movie -everyone had some kind of black, torn, punk-looking garment on. Hair came in all colors of the rainbow, and a truck carrying two DJ's with equipment and four giant speakers blasted aggressive hip-hop, punk, and electronica. After a little while of hanging out in the square the truck started to move, and so did the crowd. We casually walked down the streets of Copenhagen -specifically from Gammel Torv to the National Museum, and then to Tivoli. Every so often, the music would stop and various speakers would fill the air with heart-felt monologues that I have no idea were about, but seemed to motivate the crowd. It was amazing to see how the city reacted to this kind of a protest...

The police blocked traffic for us, there were people in yellow vests looking after the crowd, and although mildly disruptive, we were contained. I broke away from the crowd at Tivoli where I waited not more than 3 minutes for the bus to take me home. On the bus I listened to Leftover Crack and energetically reflected on the quick sequence of events that had just occurred.

I got home 5 minutes after my host mother left, and my host father was at work -so I was alone. I heated up some leftovers and sat down to eat. I thought to myself, "what better time to get a little tv watchin' in than when you're all alone eating food?" I flipped on the tv, and without having to change the channel, the very beginning of an episode of The Simpsons started. It reminded me of eating dinner at home, back when there was a solid hour of Simpsons from 5-6. This episode was about how Bart destroys Lisa's steroid-enhanced giant tomato -if you are/were a Simpsons fan and haven't watched many episodes recently, I would highly suggest rewatching them -freakin' hilarious.

The night was followed by some 'hard-to-concentrate' and 'sleep-deprived' studying that, in retrospect, probably didn't really even do me much good. I took my test at 830 the following morning, turned in the industrial revolution paper along with another paper for my Danish class, and came home to write another paper for one of my psychology classes. IT WAS FINALLY OVER!!!

I went out last night, as did probably every other student who had finished, and had a great time. My most memorable moment last night was when I had just gotten into town, grabbed a couple beers at your local 7-11 (literally on every street corner in the city), and the clock in city square struck midnight. I cracked the beer, turned to a guy standing next to me and said the only word I could think of that adequately summed up how great it felt -skål.

Turning now into the future...

Here's the plan:

Tomorrow - Board bus to Groningen, Netherlands. Spend the two days in Groningen before heading out to Amsterdam. This part of the trip will be spent with a group of psychology students from DIS -the same people who went on the western Denmark study tour. I should mention at least something about the content of this part, because there is one thing that sets it apart from other study tours with DIS. Not only are we going to the Van Gogh museum, but later that night we'll be seeing none other than a performance by Cirque du Soleil. This particular performance is called Varekai -a visual feast set in the depths of a fantastical, mysterious forest.

I'll be spending a few nights in Amsterdam with the DIS group, but then they're leaving to go back to Copenhagen. I'll be staying in Amsterdam with three of my friends, all of whom study at the University of Minnesota, and all of whom are currently studying in different places across Europe. It's amazing that we'll all be in the same, extraordinary place for a brief moment in time.

March 15th - Leave via train for Amsterdam to Paris. Two hours layover while I attempt to get from one train station to another. Leave overnight for Madrid to meet up with my girlfriend, Jenna. It's been so long since I've seen anyone that knows me beyond the relational level of a DIS student, and I'm really looking forward to it.

March 16th - Arrive in Madrid sometime in the morning.

March 17th - Madrid.

March 18th - Leave Madrid for Valencia, Spain. The festival of Las Fallas completely changes the coastal town of Valencia during a week in March. We're going to be here for the very last part of it -and consequently the most exciting part. This is supposed to be one of the craziest festivals in Spain, and since Spain as a country is known for having wild, elaborate festivals what can I even expect?

March 19th - Hopefully have found a place to stay -just banking on the couchsurfing community at this point.

March 20th - Take morning train from Valencia to Barcelona. Spend day in Barcelona seeing the sights, and possibly trying to rendez-vous with a friend. Take overnight train from Barcelona to Paris.

March 21st - Arrive in Paris and check into hotel - Central La Defense.

March 22nd - Paris (itinerary not decided yet)

March 23rd - Paris (last night Jenna will be with me) - itinerary not yet decided.

March 24th - Paris - Rendez-vous with Vicki from DIS and stay with her friend somewhere else in Paris.

March 25th - Leave Paris for overnight journey to Florence, Italy. Rendez-vous with a friend studying in Florence.

March 26th - Florence.

March 27th - Leave Florence for Rome, spend day sightseeing.

March 28th - Fly out of Rome back to Copenhagen.

Here's what I got...

Well I guess this is it, time to say goodbye for a little while. I have no idea what to expect on this journey, and I'm sure there will be a bump in the road at some point -but sometimes not-knowing what lies ahead of you can be more exhilirating than knowing.

I don't know how limited my access to a computer will be so I'm definitely not going to be posting nearly as much as I had been -plus, who wants to spend time talking about what's happened when there's so much more to do! Maybe I'll get a chance to check in once or twice...

And for anyone still wondering if Charlotte the spider is still chillin' above my head every night, here's a little update...

Spring is right around the corner and I hope for everyone reading this that your March is a reflection of the natural rebirth and rejuvination that it is.

Farewell everyone!