Monday, 19 September 2011
My host mum is a bike mechanic!
That's probably a common skill to have in Denmark b/c a bike is too commonly part of the household, but where I come from, that's beast!
So Monday night was the first proper venture into "hanging out" with Danes. I joined this Buddy Network program that DIS organizes, where a bunch of American students and Danish students are organized into groups that hang out, do whatever each network leader plans, and is paid for by DIS. So our first event (technically 2nd, but very few people had signed up when they had the real 1st event) was going out to eat at Cafe Dyrehaven på Vesterbro (meaning it's in the west end of town). Cafe Dyrehaven is famous enough to be included in my tourbook: it's an old pub turned cafe, with vintage French decorations and cozy seating. The menu is small, but worthy of a student-budget and each selection is rumored to be tasty. I myself had the Kalvefrikassé, or veal. It was a very tasty stew, with "new" potatoes and peas. I don't know the difference between new and old potatoes, but apparently everytime the potato season comes around and grocery stores stock "new" potatoes, they sell faster than Lance Armstrong biking at the Tour de France.
Food aside, the young Danes are extremely friendly. William, the network leader, is a student at the University (his last year), studying Danish (like how we might have an English major). He was there early because you can't make reservations at the small cafe, so I joined him to help chase away other customers XD. We made good intro conversation, and the interesting thing is that everytime there's a lull in conversation, he kept staring at me. From my experience, that usually means he's more than interested in you, BUT I was told that maintaining eye contact is key in Danish conversation, so I think that's what he was trying to do.
The other girl I became good friends with was Imam, a Malay who was born in Denmark and is studying Asian studies at CBI (Copenhagen Business Institute, not Californian Bureau of Investigation as in The Mentalist). And she is learning Chinese and has a separate Buddy program with Chinese exchange students at CBI.
The event after dinner was movie at the local Grand Theatre. They sell tickets with ASSIGNED seating!!! As such, people chill at the cafe until the movie start time, rather than rush in half an hour early trying to get the best seats. The movie was the British film Submarine, about an outcast boy attempting to figure himself out, figure love out, and keep his equally quirky parents from separating. It's not something I would have normally gone out specifically to watch, but it was a very good movie nonetheless. Actually, this theatre has a LOT of foreign films---the posters and previews are all German, French, English, and whatever other language that I can't understand. Probably because Denmark itself doesn't produce a whole ton of movies, AND sharing movies within Europe as a whole must be really easy.
Last week Wednesday I also wanted to go sightseeing in the city before it got super cold. Funny how the days I decide to go bike in the city it decides to rain on me. It was sprinkling when I made it to the Black Diamond Library (actually just the Royal Library, but the structure itself really does look like a black diamond, and it sounds cooler). The inside is just as architecturally striking as the outside---it's a modern attache to an older building. There is so much study space! (I think Hopkins pre-meds would love that...) Also, this library offers music manuscripts in addition to books, ancient texts, dvd/cd, etc, etc. When I get my CPR card, I can get a library card! Because of the rain, I didn't want to go look at the "secret" garden behind the library, so I biked on.
There's another beautiful garden near the Royal Palace in Amalienborg called Amaliehavn. You should go check it out. I was not able to stay for longer than a glimpse because then it really started to pour.
But my REAL goal of that adventure was to see The Little Mermaid. Earlier this year, this sculpture of a mermaid on a rock had traveled to Shanghai for an expo, but returned in time for me to see her! She looks nothing like Ariel, by the way. From the shore side and from the sea side, you can never see her face properly. She looks to the side, a sad and pensive expression from where I was standing.
And then I hightailed it back home.
Did I mention I am under the weather? After coming home Monday night, I developed a sore throat, which morphed into stuffed sinuses for 2 days, which has now become intermittent coughing (thankfully I can breathe now). It's cold/flu season! In all of my classes, you can hear other students hacking or blowing their brains out. Several classes were also cancelled because teachers were feeling the same (mine included). I have not seen any flu vaccines advertisements, but I have also not heard anyone getting the flu yet, only the coughing and sneezing.
Thursday was the election! My European Storytelling professor decided to comment on the state of true democracy. She said we should do away with this running for candidacy stuff, and just do a lottery of random people from the populace. Because of the way statistics work, this would get a real equal representation of the people (some rich some poor, equal men and women, some young some old, some native some immigrant). Either way, we would still get a mix of the incompetent as well as competent, which is essentially what we get with the voting system anyway. She also said this was the way Athenians did it (the founders of democracy)--except that they limited it to adult well-to-do men. But until that day we switched to the lottery system, she added, we should all actively use our right to vote. Food for thought :D
One more thing to add before I close off: the touchscreens in the cars cannot be touched when driving!! All the options fade until you stop driving, and then you can poke them. Safety first!
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