this makes up for my lack of posts for one month...right?
and we have...
"green! looking into tivoli from the outside (you can't see the fence in this one)"
"houses in color"
"houses in blue"
"7"
"the angels singing, the sun glistening on the water"
Saturday, December 29, 2007
why not one more set of photos from Copenhagen? you know you'd like to see one more set...
this makes up for my lack of posts for one month...right?
and we have...
"green! looking into tivoli from the outside (you can't see the fence in this one)"
"houses in color"
"houses in blue"
"7"
"the angels singing, the sun glistening on the water"
read the post several posts below before even thinking about looking at these photos
yep, still in Copenhagen folks...
a brew pub beer sampler
church sing-along
pedestrian street #3
ice skates and ice
opera house
Copenhagen: the blue city
and the winners are...in no particular order...
the entrance of tivoli
tom feeling a bit blue
a big bad blue building in the center
can't really remember what the others were, but I'll bet they're blue tinted
more of Copenhagen
Here are some captions. Might be in the right order. Otherwise, it can be a fun game...which caption goes with which photo?
Wow.
My excuse for that comment...it's now 3:27AM. The clock just won't stop for me...
train station floor
Tom looking at a model for a new city center in Copenhagen
Tivoli at night
view from a bridge
Slight improvement...
Yes, 2:29AM is a slight improvement over the time of the previous post. Things are looking up. Today I saw a flicker of light at the end of a long tunnel.
THE PROJECT (in a bass voice with a touch of evil)
is nearing completion. It is, in fact, close enough to being complete that I don't feel incredible guilt about taking time to blog.
Where to begin?
Let's start with Copenhagen. That is where Tom and I started. The train station to be exact. Then progressed to the tourist information center. It was closed. On to the hostel. A familiar sight - it served as my first inn in Copenhagen three months prior. This time it felt warmer...and in general in Copenhagen, dispositions were more amicable. The sun was surely brighter. Perhaps it had something to do with my wonderful traveling companion : ) I think I could also owe it to the time that had elapsed since my first visit and this growing sense of comfort in exploring alien territory.
In the hostel I ate peanut butter. Good ol' Jif. Tom brought a jar. Thanks Tom. I had been craving it. Apparently PB is not a big deal over here. No PB&J on the kids menu and surely no PB&J in school lunches. The only peanut butter I can find is the rare jar for $6 in select grocery stores. I think I've mentioned this before. Maybe you can imagine the sweetness of the reunion...
(Fully fuelled from the PB&carrots&bread&nutella) Then we roamed the streets of Copenhagen. I was amazed by (lights! big city! everything! so easy to please)...the amount of Shawarma restaurants (Kebabistan anyone? meat product...not appetizing). A testament, nonetheless, to the diversity in Copenhagen? Visited a brew pub...and the pedestrian streets decked in Christmas spirit. I'm not sure which city of those we visited would win the Christmas light contest, but they were they were all vying for it...
Then, zenith of my Copenhagen experience (for that evening), we stumbled upon a Christmas carol sing-along. We took our sheet music, then our seats in the pews, then listened to the Pastor speak in Danish. He told a joke. I assume, anyway, people laughed. Then he took out his guitar and started strumming away to popular Christmas tunes in English...Silent Night, Away in a Manger...great discovery.
Back to pedestrian streets, back to the hostel.
Day 2
Beautiful, captivating blue skies. So true blue that camera simply begged me to use the highlight function. I obliged and hence, the endless stream of blue photos you'll see shortly (or have already seen above this post). Again, we walked and met the city in the daytime. The train to catch was later in the day, so we wandered, eventually cornering a destination: Christiania.
Christiania, what a wonderful place...thanks wikipedia for this:
"Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, but most commonly known amongst its inhabitants and visitors as "fristaden" or simply "staden", is a partially self-governing neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Christiania has established semi-legal status as an independent community.
"Christiania was founded in 1971, when many people from different backgrounds began to take over an area of recently abandoned military barracks together as a protest against the Danish government. At the time many people in the larger Danish cities felt betrayed by the politicians, as they believed there was a lack of affordable housing. The inhabitants of the surrounding neighbourhood Christianshavn also wanted a green, open area for their children to use, away from the increasing traffic in Copenhagen. The spirit of Christiania quickly developed into one of communism, the hippie movement and the squatter movement, in sharp contrast to the site's previous military use."
And finally, a few links to browse about this place...
http://www.utopiskehorisonter.dk/engelsk/comcur.htm
http://www.christiania.org/ (mostly in Danish)
There were riots in Christiania in May of this year...related to pressure from the government to normalize the community (to treat citizens as individual tenants instead of a commune...and repeated efforts to clean up the drug trade in the area...it's known for the sale of hash and cannabis in addition to its green living)...but thankfully, it was a very peaceful place the day we visited. Unlike anything I've ever seen...when we entered, we were clearly leaving Copenhagen, city proper. It reminded me of a funhouse at a carnival because of the intense colors and widespread graffiti. The streets were filled with people and though they (the streets or the people, take your pick) seemed to lack the typical orderliness of the rest of Copenhagen, or of Aalborg and other Danish communities, overall, chaos didn't reign. Burning barrels on the streets served as handwarmers and dogs roamed without owners. Most yards had accumulations of "junk" and cars were greatly outnumbered by bicycles. The atmosphere was generally festive. It was a huge block party with neighbors meeting and greeting one another, with the odd tourist thrown into the mix...
We left Christiania and returned to normalcy and the city. Then to the train station. On with the backpack. Goodbye Christiania. Goodbye Copenhagen. For now.
Here are the pictures as promised - these are of Christiania. Those above are also from Copenhagen...of Tivoli, etc.
THE PROJECT (in a bass voice with a touch of evil)
is nearing completion. It is, in fact, close enough to being complete that I don't feel incredible guilt about taking time to blog.
Where to begin?
Let's start with Copenhagen. That is where Tom and I started. The train station to be exact. Then progressed to the tourist information center. It was closed. On to the hostel. A familiar sight - it served as my first inn in Copenhagen three months prior. This time it felt warmer...and in general in Copenhagen, dispositions were more amicable. The sun was surely brighter. Perhaps it had something to do with my wonderful traveling companion : ) I think I could also owe it to the time that had elapsed since my first visit and this growing sense of comfort in exploring alien territory.
In the hostel I ate peanut butter. Good ol' Jif. Tom brought a jar. Thanks Tom. I had been craving it. Apparently PB is not a big deal over here. No PB&J on the kids menu and surely no PB&J in school lunches. The only peanut butter I can find is the rare jar for $6 in select grocery stores. I think I've mentioned this before. Maybe you can imagine the sweetness of the reunion...
(Fully fuelled from the PB&carrots&bread&nutella) Then we roamed the streets of Copenhagen. I was amazed by (lights! big city! everything! so easy to please)...the amount of Shawarma restaurants (Kebabistan anyone? meat product...not appetizing). A testament, nonetheless, to the diversity in Copenhagen? Visited a brew pub...and the pedestrian streets decked in Christmas spirit. I'm not sure which city of those we visited would win the Christmas light contest, but they were they were all vying for it...
Then, zenith of my Copenhagen experience (for that evening), we stumbled upon a Christmas carol sing-along. We took our sheet music, then our seats in the pews, then listened to the Pastor speak in Danish. He told a joke. I assume, anyway, people laughed. Then he took out his guitar and started strumming away to popular Christmas tunes in English...Silent Night, Away in a Manger...great discovery.
Back to pedestrian streets, back to the hostel.
Day 2
Beautiful, captivating blue skies. So true blue that camera simply begged me to use the highlight function. I obliged and hence, the endless stream of blue photos you'll see shortly (or have already seen above this post). Again, we walked and met the city in the daytime. The train to catch was later in the day, so we wandered, eventually cornering a destination: Christiania.
Christiania, what a wonderful place...thanks wikipedia for this:
"Christiania, also known as Freetown Christiania, but most commonly known amongst its inhabitants and visitors as "fristaden" or simply "staden", is a partially self-governing neighbourhood of about 850 residents, covering 34 hectares (85 acres) in the borough of Christianshavn in the Danish capital Copenhagen. Christiania has established semi-legal status as an independent community.
"Christiania was founded in 1971, when many people from different backgrounds began to take over an area of recently abandoned military barracks together as a protest against the Danish government. At the time many people in the larger Danish cities felt betrayed by the politicians, as they believed there was a lack of affordable housing. The inhabitants of the surrounding neighbourhood Christianshavn also wanted a green, open area for their children to use, away from the increasing traffic in Copenhagen. The spirit of Christiania quickly developed into one of communism, the hippie movement and the squatter movement, in sharp contrast to the site's previous military use."
And finally, a few links to browse about this place...
http://www.utopiskehorisonter.dk/engelsk/comcur.htm
http://www.christiania.org/ (mostly in Danish)
There were riots in Christiania in May of this year...related to pressure from the government to normalize the community (to treat citizens as individual tenants instead of a commune...and repeated efforts to clean up the drug trade in the area...it's known for the sale of hash and cannabis in addition to its green living)...but thankfully, it was a very peaceful place the day we visited. Unlike anything I've ever seen...when we entered, we were clearly leaving Copenhagen, city proper. It reminded me of a funhouse at a carnival because of the intense colors and widespread graffiti. The streets were filled with people and though they (the streets or the people, take your pick) seemed to lack the typical orderliness of the rest of Copenhagen, or of Aalborg and other Danish communities, overall, chaos didn't reign. Burning barrels on the streets served as handwarmers and dogs roamed without owners. Most yards had accumulations of "junk" and cars were greatly outnumbered by bicycles. The atmosphere was generally festive. It was a huge block party with neighbors meeting and greeting one another, with the odd tourist thrown into the mix...
We left Christiania and returned to normalcy and the city. Then to the train station. On with the backpack. Goodbye Christiania. Goodbye Copenhagen. For now.
Here are the pictures as promised - these are of Christiania. Those above are also from Copenhagen...of Tivoli, etc.
Friday, December 28, 2007
4:44 AM
It is
4:44 AM
and I am locked in my group room. Don't fret. I locked the door from the inside. I have the option to get out. However, I will not release myself because the project is not done.
The Project
is a collaboration between four students. My colleagues include Jurgita from Lithuania, Jan from Poland and Honza from Czech. We are trying to solve a problem. The problem is stubborn. We are stubborn. Couldn't say who will concede first, but we're looking like the weaker party. We have...four days (?) left...I'm not exactly sure what day it is right now...
The last two weeks, give or take a few days, have been a blur. I was in four countries. Five counting Denmark. I don't count it because I live here. Five counting Germany. That was in the dark. The only part of Germany my eyes focused on was a train station in Hamburg. Again, doesn't count. Four countries then. Belgium. The Netherlands. Sweden (again). Finland. It would probably be more accurate to say four cities: Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Helsinki. One city in each country was enough to get the flavor of the culture - or at least a tantalizing taste. I am helpless but to wonder what was left unexplored and how I will return some day...
For now, however, my mind is occupied, mostly, by the project. (Can I, perhaps, if I try a bit harder, write a sentence with more commas?) It has consumed our (the group's) attention for the better part of the past month, if not the past two. I have previously mentioned the pedagogical methods at AAU to some extent but will elaborate here. In the Master's program we have a set course schedule. The courses consist of a series of lectures, often given by three or four different lecturers, over the course of the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the semester. As the lecture schedule winds down, the expected committment to the project increases. While the beginning of the semester demands somewhere from four to six hours of the student's time for lectures each day, the end requires full days, lots of caffeine, some luck, nights in the group room (tent optional but recommended), a good sense of humor, patience...
I exaggerate slightly. Luck is not compulsory.
Each project centers around a problem. The problem that haunts my project group (a.k.a. our research question) is the following:
What is the optimal energy storage system for wind energy in Frederikshavn, Denmark? I would be happy to provide details to anyone interested. I will spare the rest of you.
This process is termed PBL (problem-based learning). Each group is presented with/chooses a problem and then works to solve it using the tools provided through lectures. Ideally. Needless to say, 5 AM a few days before the new year is not quite ideal, but could have probably been prevented...
Could have, should have, would have...yeah, yeah, yeah...The type is beginning to blur. For now, here are a few pictures to replace words. Nope, not of the four countries I visited. Closer to home.
The group room decked with my attempts at coziness. Thanks for the Christmas tree mom. Yep, that's a tent in another group room...
The caffeine IV is running low. Got to go. Pics of travels to come...
4:44 AM
and I am locked in my group room. Don't fret. I locked the door from the inside. I have the option to get out. However, I will not release myself because the project is not done.
The Project
is a collaboration between four students. My colleagues include Jurgita from Lithuania, Jan from Poland and Honza from Czech. We are trying to solve a problem. The problem is stubborn. We are stubborn. Couldn't say who will concede first, but we're looking like the weaker party. We have...four days (?) left...I'm not exactly sure what day it is right now...
The last two weeks, give or take a few days, have been a blur. I was in four countries. Five counting Denmark. I don't count it because I live here. Five counting Germany. That was in the dark. The only part of Germany my eyes focused on was a train station in Hamburg. Again, doesn't count. Four countries then. Belgium. The Netherlands. Sweden (again). Finland. It would probably be more accurate to say four cities: Brussels, Amsterdam, Stockholm and Helsinki. One city in each country was enough to get the flavor of the culture - or at least a tantalizing taste. I am helpless but to wonder what was left unexplored and how I will return some day...
For now, however, my mind is occupied, mostly, by the project. (Can I, perhaps, if I try a bit harder, write a sentence with more commas?) It has consumed our (the group's) attention for the better part of the past month, if not the past two. I have previously mentioned the pedagogical methods at AAU to some extent but will elaborate here. In the Master's program we have a set course schedule. The courses consist of a series of lectures, often given by three or four different lecturers, over the course of the first 1/2 to 2/3 of the semester. As the lecture schedule winds down, the expected committment to the project increases. While the beginning of the semester demands somewhere from four to six hours of the student's time for lectures each day, the end requires full days, lots of caffeine, some luck, nights in the group room (tent optional but recommended), a good sense of humor, patience...
I exaggerate slightly. Luck is not compulsory.
Each project centers around a problem. The problem that haunts my project group (a.k.a. our research question) is the following:
What is the optimal energy storage system for wind energy in Frederikshavn, Denmark? I would be happy to provide details to anyone interested. I will spare the rest of you.
This process is termed PBL (problem-based learning). Each group is presented with/chooses a problem and then works to solve it using the tools provided through lectures. Ideally. Needless to say, 5 AM a few days before the new year is not quite ideal, but could have probably been prevented...
Could have, should have, would have...yeah, yeah, yeah...The type is beginning to blur. For now, here are a few pictures to replace words. Nope, not of the four countries I visited. Closer to home.
The group room decked with my attempts at coziness. Thanks for the Christmas tree mom. Yep, that's a tent in another group room...
The caffeine IV is running low. Got to go. Pics of travels to come...
Saturday, November 17, 2007
Because I know you want to know...
I just found a blog of a girl studying in Copenhagen titled: "I ordered a Danish and left in shame; accounts of a facetious student studying in Copenhagen."
Oh, predictable, unimaginative "Destination Denmark" you reflect my lack of wit...
What's a post without pictures? Here are some of the Almen Kirkegård, approximately ten minutes from my apartment.
Oh, predictable, unimaginative "Destination Denmark" you reflect my lack of wit...
What's a post without pictures? Here are some of the Almen Kirkegård, approximately ten minutes from my apartment.
It has now been almost three weeks since I last posted - not exactly the once-a-week schedule as originally planned. Why the delay? While I have been busy with school and friends, I can hardly use that as an excuse not to sit down for fifteen minutes to leave a quick note. I think it has more to do with this creeping change...
I find it easy to come back from travels, such as the time spent in Sweden, or even the day trips I've taken, pick out a few good pictures, recount the events of the day, several days, etc. But when every day now feels like life, simply - as opposed to life in Denmark - what do I write about? (Everyday life, right?) To decide what to write now means picking out details of days that seem quite ordinary to me. This "trip" or "adventure" as I've referred to it, as others have referred to it, is my life. With each passing day, and more so with each series of moments or events turned memory, I have a harder time remembering/imagining what it was like to live anywhere else. (Yes, I know it has not even been three months. Perhaps my sentiments would be different three months from now.) Certainly I miss people and things/traditions from home (family and friends most, of course!), but I can easily understand how a person can move abroad intending to stay for one year, and one year turns into three years, and three into five. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think we can adapt quite easily to new surroundings. Aalborg had to become my home for these five months or I would be unhappy every day...For this change to occur, I had to change. I am a different person now, beyond the "different" person that each and every one of us becomes after one more day. Adapting to new surroundings has changed me and even though I can't exactly describe how, I can feel the difference.
So, today I'll write about my "everyday" life...this afternoon I visited Birgitte, had tea and apple crisp, and we talked about the Danish elections and changes in Danish society, living abroad, adjusting after returning from living abroad, graduate school plans...of course there were candles (so Danish for small, cozy gatherings, as well as large dinners). We then went to a nearby church (beautiful) for her mother's choir concert. I learned today that Danish churches (I think Birgitte said "all", not
"most") have a model of a ship in them. As strange as it may sound, there was a one meter long Danish ship, decked in detail, suspended from the ceiling, positioned above the center aisle. I spoke to Ida (Birgitte's mom) briefly after the concert, which drew some looks because of the English. It was nice to see her again - such a sweet lady!
The other day, I gathered with a few international friends for dinner. We typically get together once a week - sometimes the same group, sometimes new faces. The last dinner was a Lithuanian potato dish - finely grated potatoes, mixed with onions, garlic and beef (replacing pork in the original recipe), milk and a little flour, then baked. My beef-free portion was interesting. The texture was surprisingly chewy and it oddly enough tasted a little fishy. Not something I would make for myself on a regular basis but definitely worth trying. The meal before that was Polish, with beef and rice in cabbage rolls, topped with tomatoes and cheese. I recall eating something similar at grandma's years ago. Before that, another Lithuanian dinner (both a project groupmate and a close girl friend here are Lithuanian) - one I would actually make again. It was a cold soup with buttermilk, cubed beets, and sliced cucumbers (refreshing in the summertime, I was told), topped with a dallop of sour cream, and served with boiled potatoes and a baked chicken dish (although I don't know if the chicken was specifically Lithuanian - the potatoes and soup were for certain though - apparently potatoes were/are a major staple of the Lithuanian diet).
Otherwise, daily life includes hours at the University, spent primarily with my groupmates working on our project. Our program only has three lectures left next week - the rest of the semester will be for finishing our project. Each group in our program has a group room in an academic building near the building with our main lecture hall (and the center of campus). Most of the groups bring a fridge, microwave, stereo, etc. - at least the Danish groups, so that should give you some idea of where I'll be/what I'll be doing for the next month. There is a real sense of community in the building as the group rooms for the students in the same program, having had the same lectures, are all next to each other. A break from project work for a few minutes means coffee with a neighboring group or a quick game of foosball, and to socialize one needs only to walk out into the hall and look for open doors : )
No good transitions or clever words to close with today...my mind continues to be too preoccupied, instead thinking about life here and trying to sort out what life will be after Denmark...
So,
Vi ses,
Tessa
I find it easy to come back from travels, such as the time spent in Sweden, or even the day trips I've taken, pick out a few good pictures, recount the events of the day, several days, etc. But when every day now feels like life, simply - as opposed to life in Denmark - what do I write about? (Everyday life, right?) To decide what to write now means picking out details of days that seem quite ordinary to me. This "trip" or "adventure" as I've referred to it, as others have referred to it, is my life. With each passing day, and more so with each series of moments or events turned memory, I have a harder time remembering/imagining what it was like to live anywhere else. (Yes, I know it has not even been three months. Perhaps my sentiments would be different three months from now.) Certainly I miss people and things/traditions from home (family and friends most, of course!), but I can easily understand how a person can move abroad intending to stay for one year, and one year turns into three years, and three into five. As I mentioned in a previous post, I think we can adapt quite easily to new surroundings. Aalborg had to become my home for these five months or I would be unhappy every day...For this change to occur, I had to change. I am a different person now, beyond the "different" person that each and every one of us becomes after one more day. Adapting to new surroundings has changed me and even though I can't exactly describe how, I can feel the difference.
So, today I'll write about my "everyday" life...this afternoon I visited Birgitte, had tea and apple crisp, and we talked about the Danish elections and changes in Danish society, living abroad, adjusting after returning from living abroad, graduate school plans...of course there were candles (so Danish for small, cozy gatherings, as well as large dinners). We then went to a nearby church (beautiful) for her mother's choir concert. I learned today that Danish churches (I think Birgitte said "all", not
"most") have a model of a ship in them. As strange as it may sound, there was a one meter long Danish ship, decked in detail, suspended from the ceiling, positioned above the center aisle. I spoke to Ida (Birgitte's mom) briefly after the concert, which drew some looks because of the English. It was nice to see her again - such a sweet lady!
The other day, I gathered with a few international friends for dinner. We typically get together once a week - sometimes the same group, sometimes new faces. The last dinner was a Lithuanian potato dish - finely grated potatoes, mixed with onions, garlic and beef (replacing pork in the original recipe), milk and a little flour, then baked. My beef-free portion was interesting. The texture was surprisingly chewy and it oddly enough tasted a little fishy. Not something I would make for myself on a regular basis but definitely worth trying. The meal before that was Polish, with beef and rice in cabbage rolls, topped with tomatoes and cheese. I recall eating something similar at grandma's years ago. Before that, another Lithuanian dinner (both a project groupmate and a close girl friend here are Lithuanian) - one I would actually make again. It was a cold soup with buttermilk, cubed beets, and sliced cucumbers (refreshing in the summertime, I was told), topped with a dallop of sour cream, and served with boiled potatoes and a baked chicken dish (although I don't know if the chicken was specifically Lithuanian - the potatoes and soup were for certain though - apparently potatoes were/are a major staple of the Lithuanian diet).
Otherwise, daily life includes hours at the University, spent primarily with my groupmates working on our project. Our program only has three lectures left next week - the rest of the semester will be for finishing our project. Each group in our program has a group room in an academic building near the building with our main lecture hall (and the center of campus). Most of the groups bring a fridge, microwave, stereo, etc. - at least the Danish groups, so that should give you some idea of where I'll be/what I'll be doing for the next month. There is a real sense of community in the building as the group rooms for the students in the same program, having had the same lectures, are all next to each other. A break from project work for a few minutes means coffee with a neighboring group or a quick game of foosball, and to socialize one needs only to walk out into the hall and look for open doors : )
No good transitions or clever words to close with today...my mind continues to be too preoccupied, instead thinking about life here and trying to sort out what life will be after Denmark...
So,
Vi ses,
Tessa
Sunday, October 28, 2007
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