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.
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
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