Sunday, October 28, 2007
More pictures of Sweden IV
Stockholm
1) minutes from our hostel
2) City Hall
3) inside the square at City Hall
4) Evidence of law of tourist physics/psychology? that says, "anytime there is an object that a tourist can climb on, the tourist will indeed climb on this object and proceed to have someone take a picture as proof he/she climbed on the object"
5) ho-hum, another amazing cathedral : )
1) minutes from our hostel
2) City Hall
3) inside the square at City Hall
4) Evidence of law of tourist physics/psychology? that says, "anytime there is an object that a tourist can climb on, the tourist will indeed climb on this object and proceed to have someone take a picture as proof he/she climbed on the object"
5) ho-hum, another amazing cathedral : )
More pictures of Sweden II
Still in Goteborg...the last is of dinner with part of the the group at our lovely hostel.
Ferry (and Sweden)
Here are some pictures of the ferry (nice view, deck, casino on board, part of the group and fortress near coast) I rode from Frederikshavn, Denmark to Goteborg, Sweden. Oh yes, that's right. I went to Sweden a few weeks ago. : )
A group of ten other students and myself made the journey from Aalborg to Frederikshavn, via train; from Frederikshavn to Goteborg, via ferry; from Goteborg to Stockholm, via bus; from Stockholm to Goteborg, via train; and back, the same.
Originally planning to spend five days split among three cities, we ended up spending six days in only two: Goteborg and Stockholm.
A few random facts about Sweden:
- Joined the European Union in Jan. 1995
- Still uses the Swedish krona for currency
- Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in 1986 - prior to this point, prominent politicians had little to no personal protection (he was shot returning home unguarded from the movie theatre with his wife)
A few facts about my trip to Sweden:
- I stayed in two youth hostels. One had a free sauna and free pasta. The other gave me nothing for free, but was still very cosy : ) I met travelers from Japan, Australia, Germany, Spain, England and Denmark.
- In Goteborg (Gothenburg in English) I saw: many parks, some sculptures, a breakdancing/hip-hip contest in the street (with American music), beautiful architecture (per usual for Europe I'm starting to think) including impressive cathedrals
- In Stockholm I saw: a debate in the Swedish parliment (Riksdag) (coming from someone who could watch c-span for hours, this was, not surprisingly, my favorite part of the trip), an impressive photo exhibit in a city square about the environment, shipyards, and countless picturesque views, especially in the alleyways of Gamla Stan (the old town square) - Gamla Stan is the perfect place for a lone tourist to get lost for a few hours - and is also the site of the original settlement of Stockholm.
The bus ride to Stockholm, and train ride back, were both in daylight, and in the combined 11 hours I had recurring thoughts about the north shore of Minnesota because some of the terrain passing by outside my window was so similar to that which I visited in August. Our train/bus took us through forested lands, with fall colors in full effect. Rocky outcrops walled either side of the tracks/road from time to time and lakes appeared and disappeared through the trees sporadically. Swatches of pasture and farmland then took me back to North Dakota, and I wondered whether I was indeed in a foreign country.
There were actually many times during the few days away from Denmark when I thought to myself, "Am I really in Sweden?" It's one thing to look at a country on the map and to try to imagine what it may be like there and completely another to actually experience it. It's not that Denmark and Sweden are so different - I found Stockholm and Goteborg to be very similar to Denmark in terms of culture - but I've now had some time to get used to the fact that I live in Denmark. Much the same as the first few days or even weeks in Denmark, I had a hard time fathoming the here and now - and the actual distance between my current location and my home in the states. Apparently humans adapt. : ) When I got off the train in Aalborg upon returning from our trip to Sweden I was surprised at feeling such comfort in seeing familiar buildings - an emotion usually reserved for the moment I see an old friend or walk into the house at the farm in ND or my room in my old residence at the Honors house or even onto the campus at BSU or the hallways of LHS. As I made my way back to my apartment (half hour walk from the bus stop with my pack and bag - no bus for Tessa at that time of night), with plenty of time for reflection (and sore feet), I thought about how quickly I had become so at ease with this city...
---
Well, that is about as deep as I'd like to delve on my blog. Only $9.99 + tax for the rest of the story. I accept PayPal. (Totally stole that from the comic you sent me mom).
In other news, I've now been in Denmark for two months. Woohoo! Happy 2-month-anniversary-in-Denmark to me.
: ) I hope everyone back in ND/MN is doing well! (And I'm thankful you're not in Cali...)
Take care,
Tessa
A group of ten other students and myself made the journey from Aalborg to Frederikshavn, via train; from Frederikshavn to Goteborg, via ferry; from Goteborg to Stockholm, via bus; from Stockholm to Goteborg, via train; and back, the same.
Originally planning to spend five days split among three cities, we ended up spending six days in only two: Goteborg and Stockholm.
A few random facts about Sweden:
- Joined the European Union in Jan. 1995
- Still uses the Swedish krona for currency
- Swedish Prime Minister Olof Palme was assassinated in 1986 - prior to this point, prominent politicians had little to no personal protection (he was shot returning home unguarded from the movie theatre with his wife)
A few facts about my trip to Sweden:
- I stayed in two youth hostels. One had a free sauna and free pasta. The other gave me nothing for free, but was still very cosy : ) I met travelers from Japan, Australia, Germany, Spain, England and Denmark.
- In Goteborg (Gothenburg in English) I saw: many parks, some sculptures, a breakdancing/hip-hip contest in the street (with American music), beautiful architecture (per usual for Europe I'm starting to think) including impressive cathedrals
- In Stockholm I saw: a debate in the Swedish parliment (Riksdag) (coming from someone who could watch c-span for hours, this was, not surprisingly, my favorite part of the trip), an impressive photo exhibit in a city square about the environment, shipyards, and countless picturesque views, especially in the alleyways of Gamla Stan (the old town square) - Gamla Stan is the perfect place for a lone tourist to get lost for a few hours - and is also the site of the original settlement of Stockholm.
The bus ride to Stockholm, and train ride back, were both in daylight, and in the combined 11 hours I had recurring thoughts about the north shore of Minnesota because some of the terrain passing by outside my window was so similar to that which I visited in August. Our train/bus took us through forested lands, with fall colors in full effect. Rocky outcrops walled either side of the tracks/road from time to time and lakes appeared and disappeared through the trees sporadically. Swatches of pasture and farmland then took me back to North Dakota, and I wondered whether I was indeed in a foreign country.
There were actually many times during the few days away from Denmark when I thought to myself, "Am I really in Sweden?" It's one thing to look at a country on the map and to try to imagine what it may be like there and completely another to actually experience it. It's not that Denmark and Sweden are so different - I found Stockholm and Goteborg to be very similar to Denmark in terms of culture - but I've now had some time to get used to the fact that I live in Denmark. Much the same as the first few days or even weeks in Denmark, I had a hard time fathoming the here and now - and the actual distance between my current location and my home in the states. Apparently humans adapt. : ) When I got off the train in Aalborg upon returning from our trip to Sweden I was surprised at feeling such comfort in seeing familiar buildings - an emotion usually reserved for the moment I see an old friend or walk into the house at the farm in ND or my room in my old residence at the Honors house or even onto the campus at BSU or the hallways of LHS. As I made my way back to my apartment (half hour walk from the bus stop with my pack and bag - no bus for Tessa at that time of night), with plenty of time for reflection (and sore feet), I thought about how quickly I had become so at ease with this city...
---
Well, that is about as deep as I'd like to delve on my blog. Only $9.99 + tax for the rest of the story. I accept PayPal. (Totally stole that from the comic you sent me mom).
In other news, I've now been in Denmark for two months. Woohoo! Happy 2-month-anniversary-in-Denmark to me.
: ) I hope everyone back in ND/MN is doing well! (And I'm thankful you're not in Cali...)
Take care,
Tessa
Just Harry
I decided to stop boycotting Blogger today. I mean, who does it really hurt? Blogger? Or my devoted readership (thanks mom!)? Instead, I thought to myself, "I will write posts that are so incredibly descriptive that there will be no need for photos." Luckily, in a flash of genius a few minutes ago, I rediscovered Blogger's secret code for posting photos. (Actually I logged on and, surprise, the old application for photos was back.) Hmm, suspicious that the folks at Blogger were playing a cruel trick and that I would not be able to post any more photos, ever, I realized I had to choose which 5 photos to post of among over 300 taken in the last few weeks. As you see, I decided to share with you the, no doubt, much anticipated pictures of Harry. That's right, below you'll see Harry at my apartment (a little camera shy), Harry at a youth hostel in Goteborg, Sweden, Harry on the train to Stockholm, clearly excited to see the big city, and my personal favorite, Harry on the ferry. (If you're any close relation to me you probably just thought, "Harry on a ferry. Hehee, that rhymes." Now you're laughing again. It's okay. We're Norweigan).
Friday, October 19, 2007
Arghh...
For some reason, I couldn't put pictures with that last post. I'm still searching for a solution to this problem. If any computer-savvy person out there can help, that'd be great! Blogger rearranged their pages, now there's no button to attach pictures...
Well, for now you'll just have to imagine an extremely popular, purple, fuzzy stuffed animal guy in Sweden...
Have a good day!
Well, for now you'll just have to imagine an extremely popular, purple, fuzzy stuffed animal guy in Sweden...
Have a good day!
Harry
Harry is the DSB (the Danish government's rail transportation authority, more or less. "More or less" because I'm too lazy to look it up, but I'm pretty sure that's what it is) male mascot. There's also a female version of Harry. At least there was a giant, stuffed female-like Harry in the Central Station in Aalborg, sitting with the legit Harry. I think they might have been holding hands. I'm not sure what the deal is with that, but maybe I could find out something by "reading" the Danish tabloids. (By reading I of course mean looking at the pictures with a furrowed brow and focusing my eyes on each page long enough to give the impression that I actually can read Danish.)
I'm a big fan of using other people's words, saves me time and often they say it better than I could, so here are some comments on Harry from a website about internet games:
"Every Dane knows Harry - a furry purple hand puppet who has been a frequently viewed guest in Danish media as the principal character of a series of very popular TV-adverts for DSB (The Danish National Railroads) for the last 5 years.
Go 3D motor racing, golfing and 4-acrossing with DSB (Danish State Railways) and their extremely popular furry, purple mascot Harry.
Titoonic developed three web games with Harry for the DSB corporate web site to promote and attract users to register on ‘Mit DSB’, a personal web space for travellers. Registration is required to play the games: “Harry Golf”; “Harry Race”; and “Dirty Harry.” “Harry Race” was developed in Shockwave, while the other two games were built in Flash and with “Dirty Harry” featuring a video captured 3D version of Harry.
The Harry character - and the TV-ads that defined his universe - was developed for DSB by Bates Copenhagen. Harry has won several TV advertising prizes in his 5 years as DSB’s mascot."
Apparently I didn't have to look that far for confirmation of the role of DSB. I especially like the two references to the "Dirty Harry" game in the third paragraph. While I can easily imagine what "Harry Golf" and "Harry Race" involve, I'm not sure about the details of "Dirty Harry"...
In conclusion, one of my friends bought me a Harry as a thank you for some hostel booking. One of my new Europe goals (which include seeing the fjords in Norway, visiting Stonehenge, and enjoying a Finnish sauna, among other things) is to show Harry the wonderful world of Europe and record his journey in pictures.
Here's Harry... (well, not right here, since I can't attach photos...)
I'm a big fan of using other people's words, saves me time and often they say it better than I could, so here are some comments on Harry from a website about internet games:
"Every Dane knows Harry - a furry purple hand puppet who has been a frequently viewed guest in Danish media as the principal character of a series of very popular TV-adverts for DSB (The Danish National Railroads) for the last 5 years.
Go 3D motor racing, golfing and 4-acrossing with DSB (Danish State Railways) and their extremely popular furry, purple mascot Harry.
Titoonic developed three web games with Harry for the DSB corporate web site to promote and attract users to register on ‘Mit DSB’, a personal web space for travellers. Registration is required to play the games: “Harry Golf”; “Harry Race”; and “Dirty Harry.” “Harry Race” was developed in Shockwave, while the other two games were built in Flash and with “Dirty Harry” featuring a video captured 3D version of Harry.
The Harry character - and the TV-ads that defined his universe - was developed for DSB by Bates Copenhagen. Harry has won several TV advertising prizes in his 5 years as DSB’s mascot."
Apparently I didn't have to look that far for confirmation of the role of DSB. I especially like the two references to the "Dirty Harry" game in the third paragraph. While I can easily imagine what "Harry Golf" and "Harry Race" involve, I'm not sure about the details of "Dirty Harry"...
In conclusion, one of my friends bought me a Harry as a thank you for some hostel booking. One of my new Europe goals (which include seeing the fjords in Norway, visiting Stonehenge, and enjoying a Finnish sauna, among other things) is to show Harry the wonderful world of Europe and record his journey in pictures.
Here's Harry... (well, not right here, since I can't attach photos...)
Monday, October 8, 2007
while it's still fresh...
Today was one of those days when everything seems right in the world...while it didn't start out the best - I missed my bus, then took the wrong bus to make up for it and ended up arriving a little late for class (really not a big deal in the grand scheme of things : ) and the silver lining in my mistake was seeing a whole new portion of Aalborg) - the rest was perfect: done with morning lecture early, then for afternoon lecture, a field trip. Our group of 12 visited a biogas plant, a windfarm and a cogeneration plant. Granted, probably not the ideal afternoon for everyone, but for an energy studies student...
The biogas plant stunk. Literally. They accept industrial waste and "natural" waste, kept in separate storage tanks. The operator was kind enough - really, very kind... - to open both storage tanks to give us a whiff...mmmm. The brown stew looked about the same in each. Guess which smelled sweeter. : ) So, what I gathered is that the liquid is fed into a processor and gas extracted, then compressed to be shipped in a pipeline to a nearby cogeneration plant, which we also visited. Here, the biogas, as well as natural gas, is used to produce electricity and heat for the surrounding countryside/cities. The best part: the cogeneration plant is actually owned by a large cooperative of families.
Ahh...and the wind farm. Twelve elegant beauties stood in the storybook countryside. Blue sky, whispy clouds, gently rolling green - a crisp 60 degrees farenheit with a light breeze - so perfect. Turning, stretching, reaching for ground, then sky, then ground, then sky...750 kW a piece, so 9 MW in all. Like the cogeneration plant, these turbines are also cooperatively owned. In the 80s when the wind industry took off in Denmark, it was very common for municipalities and groups of individuals to invest in wind development. However, over time as the turbines get larger and more expensive, and support from the Danish government dwindles, it has become more difficult for communities to be directly involved in harvesting the wind. As our professor explained, this has caused a backlash against more wind energy development, with citizens viewing turbines as money makers for large companies (which they often are now). While I have a hard time imagining ever harboring a not-in-my-backyard mentality towards wind turbines, I can understand why communities may be upset with a shift in ownership - out of their hands...
The last stop of our field trip was to the house of one of our professors. Turns out he lives in a planned community with 16 other families. The heating for their homes is supplied by biomass (3 wood pellet boilers), in combination with solar panels. They have a common room where they all gather on Monday's to eat dinner together. Each family has their own home and he gave us a short tour of his, including the backyard, home to two goats and five chickens. Of course my professor lives in a commune and of course he has chickens...haha, I love Denmark.
In other news, I'm losing the battle against my cold. Sniffle, cough. So, tonight, I tried to walk it off. Yes, I decided that the cool, fresh air would be so inviting to the germs in my system that they'd decide to leave. Clearly, this is logical, so it should work. I'll keep you updated.
Finally, a conversation from the other night:
"We should probably go to salsa to meet the others," friend
"Perhaps we could stop by the Oktoberfest tent for a few minutes first since it is on the way," me
"Oktoberfest?" friend
"Oktoberfest," me
"Okay," friend
"Okay," me
Germany in Denmark, does it get any better? Pints of beer in huge mugs (Yes, I've resorted to using sentence fragments. Seems to suit a description of Oktoberfest). A band. Wearing short short shorts. See picture below. I bet you've never heard A) The Macarena or B) any of the Spice Girls songs in German. Oktoberfest also happened to coincide with an Aalborg versus (some team from) Italy futbol (soccer) match. Half the city was wearing the red and white Aalborg scarf/jersey and walking in the same direction pre-game (to the stadium) and post-game (to the bars).
To recap: Germany in Denmark and a futbol match and salsa all in one night. (Well, I didn't actually go to the futbol match, but as I've mentioned before I live approximately two feet from the stadium.) Very nice.
Anyways, 1 hour later...
"I'm so glad we decided to stop at the Oktoberfest tent," friend
Thank you very much.
Description of photos:
1) Oktoberfest 2) sludge 3) wind turbine 4) goat 5) wind turbines (descriptions which are totally necessary and completely scientific)
The biogas plant stunk. Literally. They accept industrial waste and "natural" waste, kept in separate storage tanks. The operator was kind enough - really, very kind... - to open both storage tanks to give us a whiff...mmmm. The brown stew looked about the same in each. Guess which smelled sweeter. : ) So, what I gathered is that the liquid is fed into a processor and gas extracted, then compressed to be shipped in a pipeline to a nearby cogeneration plant, which we also visited. Here, the biogas, as well as natural gas, is used to produce electricity and heat for the surrounding countryside/cities. The best part: the cogeneration plant is actually owned by a large cooperative of families.
Ahh...and the wind farm. Twelve elegant beauties stood in the storybook countryside. Blue sky, whispy clouds, gently rolling green - a crisp 60 degrees farenheit with a light breeze - so perfect. Turning, stretching, reaching for ground, then sky, then ground, then sky...750 kW a piece, so 9 MW in all. Like the cogeneration plant, these turbines are also cooperatively owned. In the 80s when the wind industry took off in Denmark, it was very common for municipalities and groups of individuals to invest in wind development. However, over time as the turbines get larger and more expensive, and support from the Danish government dwindles, it has become more difficult for communities to be directly involved in harvesting the wind. As our professor explained, this has caused a backlash against more wind energy development, with citizens viewing turbines as money makers for large companies (which they often are now). While I have a hard time imagining ever harboring a not-in-my-backyard mentality towards wind turbines, I can understand why communities may be upset with a shift in ownership - out of their hands...
The last stop of our field trip was to the house of one of our professors. Turns out he lives in a planned community with 16 other families. The heating for their homes is supplied by biomass (3 wood pellet boilers), in combination with solar panels. They have a common room where they all gather on Monday's to eat dinner together. Each family has their own home and he gave us a short tour of his, including the backyard, home to two goats and five chickens. Of course my professor lives in a commune and of course he has chickens...haha, I love Denmark.
In other news, I'm losing the battle against my cold. Sniffle, cough. So, tonight, I tried to walk it off. Yes, I decided that the cool, fresh air would be so inviting to the germs in my system that they'd decide to leave. Clearly, this is logical, so it should work. I'll keep you updated.
Finally, a conversation from the other night:
"We should probably go to salsa to meet the others," friend
"Perhaps we could stop by the Oktoberfest tent for a few minutes first since it is on the way," me
"Oktoberfest?" friend
"Oktoberfest," me
"Okay," friend
"Okay," me
Germany in Denmark, does it get any better? Pints of beer in huge mugs (Yes, I've resorted to using sentence fragments. Seems to suit a description of Oktoberfest). A band. Wearing short short shorts. See picture below. I bet you've never heard A) The Macarena or B) any of the Spice Girls songs in German. Oktoberfest also happened to coincide with an Aalborg versus (some team from) Italy futbol (soccer) match. Half the city was wearing the red and white Aalborg scarf/jersey and walking in the same direction pre-game (to the stadium) and post-game (to the bars).
To recap: Germany in Denmark and a futbol match and salsa all in one night. (Well, I didn't actually go to the futbol match, but as I've mentioned before I live approximately two feet from the stadium.) Very nice.
Anyways, 1 hour later...
"I'm so glad we decided to stop at the Oktoberfest tent," friend
Thank you very much.
Description of photos:
1) Oktoberfest 2) sludge 3) wind turbine 4) goat 5) wind turbines (descriptions which are totally necessary and completely scientific)
Monday, October 1, 2007
Random thoughts - random observations - random pictures
Some of my random thoughts/observations are about politics, so if you've heard enough in the news today you may just want to wait until my next post : )
Prices in Denmark:
Tube of toothpaste in Denmark - 30 danish kroners (dkk) = approx. $5.85
Bottle of (decent) wine - 45 dkk = approx. $9
Bottle of Contact solution - 60 dkk = approx. $12
(hmmm...$9, $12...)
Jar of peanut butter - 25 dkk = approx. $5 (I've been told it's more of a novelty item here - I gathered that from the fact that there's been only one kind, if any, at each of the grocery stores I've shopped at - so, students, don't plan on coming to Denmark and living on a cheap pb&j cuisine)
Talking with Danes: have had several lengthy discussions with Danish friends and classmates - focused on, among other things, politics and religion and the differences between Denmark and the US - and because it was only a few people, I can't generalize to say that their views are representative of the whole country of Denmark (although they felt that their views were representative of the majority of the population). Nonetheless, a few things came up in every conversation...
- the legal system in America and the fact that people sue for such frivolous reasons - and sometimes win - this is amusing to Danish people
- the contrast between religion in Denmark (as a more personal matter and one which should be kept separate from politics) and in the US (they saw religion as being much more prominent and influential in politics in the US, and generally viewed it as a negative thing)
- the differences in the Danish government and the US government with respect to social welfare policies - that Denmark generally takes care of her people...but that the current PM leans more to the right (he's liberal - liberal is to the right here, instead of left, as in the US) and has apparently cut many social and environmental programs instated by past administrations
- the growing apathy in Denmark with respect to politics - due in part to increased wealth for all segments of the population over the past years
When the subject of the administration in power in the US, and specifically our President, comes up in conversation with people from other countries, and it most often does, especially with males, the only response I've received - the only one - is a negative one. Several students I've spoken to will say that if America was dumb enough to elect GW a second time, then we deserve him (my friend from Quebec has been fond of telling me this)... It was also interesting to see reactions (which I had translated) in the Danish media to the comments Bush made about Mandela...my friends here just laughed and said, "he's your President"...
Even so, my classmate from Canada (Quebec, same guy as mentioned above) has told me that while Canadians generally don't like Americans (again, I would have to speak to more Canadians before saying this was the view embraced by the whole country), he has liked each individual American he has met. : )
Since I've probably succeeded in offending and/or provoking some of my readers, I think this is a good time to stop talking about politics and post some nice pictures.
In order, they are 1) (part of) my program group on our city walk, 2) the classroom in which we have all of our lectures, 3) the canteen where I often eat lunch on campus, 4) Jomfru Ana Gade at night (the party street in Aalborg).
Finally, there are a few jokes about Danish people and pigs (that I've heard from Danish people, so I feel safe repeating them) -- such as, if pigs were included in the population, you could just take the current number times five...or there are five pigs for every one Dane...or that Danish people need to be careful when buying summer cottages, as there's a good chance that a pig farm is nearby...okay, so not really jokes, with a punchline, that you'd laugh at...yeah, but I'm sure someone has made a joke related to what I just typed.
Finally, you should really watch the video on youtube about the Danish language. It will make you laugh. I promise. If, however, you watch it, and you don't laugh, it's not my fault...(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk). : )
Vi ses,
Tessa
Prices in Denmark:
Tube of toothpaste in Denmark - 30 danish kroners (dkk) = approx. $5.85
Bottle of (decent) wine - 45 dkk = approx. $9
Bottle of Contact solution - 60 dkk = approx. $12
(hmmm...$9, $12...)
Jar of peanut butter - 25 dkk = approx. $5 (I've been told it's more of a novelty item here - I gathered that from the fact that there's been only one kind, if any, at each of the grocery stores I've shopped at - so, students, don't plan on coming to Denmark and living on a cheap pb&j cuisine)
Talking with Danes: have had several lengthy discussions with Danish friends and classmates - focused on, among other things, politics and religion and the differences between Denmark and the US - and because it was only a few people, I can't generalize to say that their views are representative of the whole country of Denmark (although they felt that their views were representative of the majority of the population). Nonetheless, a few things came up in every conversation...
- the legal system in America and the fact that people sue for such frivolous reasons - and sometimes win - this is amusing to Danish people
- the contrast between religion in Denmark (as a more personal matter and one which should be kept separate from politics) and in the US (they saw religion as being much more prominent and influential in politics in the US, and generally viewed it as a negative thing)
- the differences in the Danish government and the US government with respect to social welfare policies - that Denmark generally takes care of her people...but that the current PM leans more to the right (he's liberal - liberal is to the right here, instead of left, as in the US) and has apparently cut many social and environmental programs instated by past administrations
- the growing apathy in Denmark with respect to politics - due in part to increased wealth for all segments of the population over the past years
When the subject of the administration in power in the US, and specifically our President, comes up in conversation with people from other countries, and it most often does, especially with males, the only response I've received - the only one - is a negative one. Several students I've spoken to will say that if America was dumb enough to elect GW a second time, then we deserve him (my friend from Quebec has been fond of telling me this)... It was also interesting to see reactions (which I had translated) in the Danish media to the comments Bush made about Mandela...my friends here just laughed and said, "he's your President"...
Even so, my classmate from Canada (Quebec, same guy as mentioned above) has told me that while Canadians generally don't like Americans (again, I would have to speak to more Canadians before saying this was the view embraced by the whole country), he has liked each individual American he has met. : )
Since I've probably succeeded in offending and/or provoking some of my readers, I think this is a good time to stop talking about politics and post some nice pictures.
In order, they are 1) (part of) my program group on our city walk, 2) the classroom in which we have all of our lectures, 3) the canteen where I often eat lunch on campus, 4) Jomfru Ana Gade at night (the party street in Aalborg).
Finally, there are a few jokes about Danish people and pigs (that I've heard from Danish people, so I feel safe repeating them) -- such as, if pigs were included in the population, you could just take the current number times five...or there are five pigs for every one Dane...or that Danish people need to be careful when buying summer cottages, as there's a good chance that a pig farm is nearby...okay, so not really jokes, with a punchline, that you'd laugh at...yeah, but I'm sure someone has made a joke related to what I just typed.
Finally, you should really watch the video on youtube about the Danish language. It will make you laugh. I promise. If, however, you watch it, and you don't laugh, it's not my fault...(http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=s-mOy8VUEBk). : )
Vi ses,
Tessa
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