Month: May 2017

I Scream, You Scream…

…We all scream because I am slightly lactose intolerant and I am not sure how my stomach handled so much ice cream at once. I never puked. That is truly a miracle.

I pride myself in my ability to eat large quantities of food, especially compared to my size. There are times when I will consume so much food I will genuinely look as if I am multiple months pregnant. Compared to my body size, my “food baby” can get pretty large.

I am never one who will say no to a challenge. I am incredibly competitive by nature, and if I believe I can do something, you bet I am going to give it my all.

However, I could never have guessed what I had signed up for when I decided to do the ice cream challenge.

When I saw pictures of previous students holding up their tremendous cones participating in the ice cream challenge, I was all in. I mea, I love ice cream! What more could I ask for? One of my friends who went on the trip last year completed the challenge, and she is about my size, and she got a great picture. I thought, why not? I can do it for the photo if nothing else.

As soon as that cone was filled and handed to me, I knew I was in trouble.

I could not eat the ice cream fast enough. My flowy shirt was flying into my face and my ice cream (terrible clothing decision for a windy day with a tremendous ice cream cone). I could not whale it down quickly enough to finish it before the rumblings in my tummy began. I was most of the way done with the top piece of soft ice when they began.

Oh no, I thought, this is not good.

I already had my photos so I *technically* had done everything I promised myself (and my mother). I could give up. I could say, oh well, I tried, and I failed.

But who wants to try and fail? I was in it to win it!

After about 10 trips to and from the store to collect napkins for my ever dripping ice cream and to warm my constantly frigid body, I did it. I finished the ice cream.

No one would get anywhere near me for the rest of the night, for fear that every burp may not just be a burp.

But hey, I still finished it!

Finishing the single largest ice cream cone I have every seen is something I will brag about for at least the rest of my college career, but most likely for the rest of my life.

Being Resourceful

Working on the stairs for 2 hours – no, this isn’t a posed picture. Emily was nice enough to take one for me when I asked.

I’m typing this blog post on my phone as I’m sitting on a staircase in one or the DIS buildings. My computer has just crashed (for the third time this morning) and I’m waiting for it to reboot. As strange as this sounds, one of my favorite things about being abroad is looking at the results that being resourceful can bring. Since we are in an unfamiliar environment and without many things we take for granted, even the easiest things can be more challenging than usual.

In an earlier blog post, Ellee had already described how we had to be creative when cooking with limited resources in the kitchen. Today, it was the Danish work-life balance that threw a loop into our plans.

Given that our presentation is tomorrow, it is really crunch time. We had decided to meet at our usual DIS location. However, all but one of the buildings were locked. In the building that was unlocked, none of the rooms were open until 11am. And this was how I ended up working on our project on a staircase in DIS. Furthermore, we could not go anywhere else. The wifi in the hostel has poor connectivity. And practicing our presentation in a coffee shop is just not a feasible option. In fact, most places around Copenhagen are not open very early on Sunday mornings, with many opening at 10am, if not later. As someone who has been up since 6:30am this morning, I find the situation a little frustrating. At the same time, it is a little humorous.

On the bright side, there is good wifi on this staircase and I have somewhere to sit. The working environment is quiet – who else would be here on a Sunday morning? We are quite spoiled at W&L, where the library is open at all hours of the day.

We talk about the Danish work-life balance frequently and the lack of places open on Sunday is one sign of that balance. Most shops, with a few exceptions, around town don’t open until 10 am at the earliest. Ellee was also telling me that there was not a church service earlier than the one she attends at 10 in the morning. Having grown up in a place where the work mentality was to always be on the go, it is strange to be in a city that is somewhat like Lexington on Sundays! But we all have to adapt to our surroundings and environment. Being somewhere unfamiliar simply means that you will just have to be creative and work with what you know and/or have. Often, it is these moments of resourcefulness that are the most memorable after a trip has concluded.

The Prevalance of the New York Yankees Hat

One odd thing that I have noticed around Copenhagen is the sheer amount of people who wear a New York Yankees Cap. This is something I have noticed in Vienna and Munich on this trip as well. Although the New York Yankees are a great team, I rarely see this hat worn in the U.S. other than in New York. The reason, I believe, is that there are thirty MLB teams and it is frowned upon by baseball fans to sport a team other than the one in your state. Also being a New York Yankees fan, unless you are from New York, is viewed as being a bandwagon fan. Since they are the most winning team in the League, in terms of World Series wins, it is hard to support them without looking like you just jumped on the bandwagon.

When I first saw someone wearing this hat I just believed that it was an American or some European that has been to New York and wanted to show it off. But then I began to notice the huge age range and sheer frequency of people wearing the hat. I couldn’t go a day without spotting at least ten people, including babies, wearing a New York Yankees hat. The more I began to spot the more I questioned why are so many people wearing them? Are they genuine fans? Did they just pick up the hat when they were in New York as a souvenir? Or is this some weird fashion trend?

These questions began to eat away at me so I decided to approach a random Dane to quiz him on the subject. While waiting in line with some other Washington and Lee students I decided to ask the Dane right behind me, who was wearing the hat, what he thought of the New York Yankees and if he even knew any players on the team. The eighteen-year-old Dane jokingly named off a Celtics player and saying he didn’t know anything about the Yankees. Then I asked:

“Why are you wearing the hat then?”

“I don’t know it’s just stylish here” he responded.

This was the answer I expected but I still remain confused why this is the case. The reason this confuses me is because I would never wear a team’s gear unless I was a big fan. Also, why do they choose to wear only New York Yankees hats specifically and not any of the other thirty teams? I know there are fashion trends that Americans embrace and that Europeans probably find odd but this trend has remained confusing to me this entire trip. Although I will most likely never find out the answer, I will continue to laugh when I see people wearing a NY hat and remember the entertaining conversation I had with the eighteen-year-old Dane that day.

 

Throwing slight shade at urban planners

I have never been on a canal tour before today. Naturally, I imagined this majestic scene with gondolas and swans everywhere; however, I then snapped back to reality that this was Copenhagen and not Venice. Nevertheless, I was extremely excited to experience the city from its iconic waterways. As soon as I stepped on the boat and saw the driver eating a burrito, I knew this was going to be an epic tour. Also, having Anders as our tour guide was another indicator that this tour was going to be one for the ages.

Similar to his tour in Malmo, Anders pointed out the urban planning of Copenhagen. We began our tour in the heart of old town Copenhagen. The classic European architecture with beautiful sculptures ingrained around the buildings edges. Every intricate detail represented the elegant and extravagant period in which the buildings were constructed. If one were to Google search “Copenhagen, Denmark”, the majority of the images on the first page would consist of these classic buildings. In fact, I did Google search Copenhagen and the page was filled with images of Nyhavn, along with many other areas within the old city.

As we continued through our tour, the scenery began to change. Anders was first to note the shift in the building architecture and design. Our boat cruised past the old city and into a more modern terrain. Instead of seeing centuries-old structures, we were now faced with modern and cutting-edge apartment complexes. In a way, it almost seemed like a completely different city. Cranes towered over us as we sailed by, signaling the rapid expansion of the city.

During this section of the tour, Anders explained the city’s reasoning behind this expansion. Naturally, he had some strong feelings towards it. To be fair, if I was a native Copenhagen resident, I would most likely share those same feelings.

For example, after this year, Paper Island will no long be the delicious indoor food truck establishment. This incredibly successful and insanely popular spot, both for locals and for tourists, is going to be removed simply because the city wants to transform the building into an apartment complex. While I can see the city’s business reasoning behind the decisions, I cannot imagine being a local and knowing that one of my city’s attractions was being erased and replaced with apartments.

I understand it is important for a city to expand and adapt to its people’s needs, but who decides what is best for the locals? When we passed one of the newer apartment complexes, Anders mentioned that it used to be an abandoned building. Artists would use it as their studios and there would be parties in the building; Anders himself took a moment to reflect on the memories he made in the building when it was the popular late-night spot. I could not help but wonder, how many other locally popular areas have currently been confiscated and transformed in order to accommodate Copenhagen’s growing population?

Even though it is important for the city to “keep up” with the influx of people, I wonder when (or if) the city planners will begin to keep the best interests of the locals in mind when deciding upon further city expansion projects.

Disconnecting and Slowing Down

In the United States, I have a pay as you go phone plan, because I do not use my phone very frequently. When I do, it is usually to check my email, the news, look for something on Google or for social media. With social media, I am far behind my peers, using only Facebook and Snapchat. A few months ago, I deleted the Facebook app from my phone, because I felt I was spending too much time on it. Due of my somewhat limited social media and phone usage, disconnecting is usually very easy for me. My only concern is getting in touch with people when important issues or emergencies arise.

Being in Copenhagen has been a great disconnecting experience. Due to the different time zones, I do not receive a constant stream of emails or messages. Instead, I only need to check twice a day – once in the morning and once in the afternoon. I used to dread checking my phone after four hour labs to discover 10+ emails in addition messages that demand responses. Now, only about half of the emails are no longer relevant to me when abroad. Of course, I still respond to emails that require my attention, but there is no longer the pressure to respond immediately. Once I return to the United States, I am considering forcing myself to get into the habit of checking my email only two to three times a day. It will probably be incredibly difficult, but studies have actually shown that too many emails decrease productivity. (Disclaimer: I would like to say that I am generally a reliable individual and that I do not shrink responsibilities.)

Furthermore, since people know that I am abroad, they only reach out to me when absolutely necessary. Therefore, I have fewer things to coordinate each day and fewer people to respond to. When in Copenhagen, it is all about working on our project and enjoying what the city has to offer. The ability to focus on the present is incredibly gratifying. As a Type A person who always needs to be doing something, I surprise myself in Copenhagen. I have adapted to a slower pace of life and often find myself wandering through parks. Something else that I have taken to doing recently, which has increased in frequency since coming to Copenhagen, is sitting outside to people or scenery watch.

I know that I will miss Copenhagen as soon as I leave in a week’s time, but what I dread more than leaving is going back to the ‘connected’ world. Granted, I will only be back in the ‘connected’ world for over a week before going on a 12-day hiking trip. Perhaps this will be a good opportunity to reset my habits. After all, if I was able to force myself to start going on morning runs in Copenhagen, surely I can change my impulse to check emails and messages?

City Planning 101

At first glance, Malmo did not look that much different from Copenhagen. Both possessed the classic European architecture and quaint cafés lining the pedestrian zones. The only glaring difference I immediately spotted was the biking trend. Malmo did not have as many bikers as Copenhagen; however, their infrastructure was still one that designed for frequent bike transportation. In all honesty, I thought Malmo just looked like a stereotypical, picture-perfect European city. By the end of the day, my perspective of the city had completely changed.

All throughout the day, our insanely insightful and intelligent tour guide, Anders, continually pointed out the architecture and layout of the city. He started by asking us to observe any similarities and differences between Malmo and Copenhagen. Naturally, I could not help but think there really was not any. I know what you are probably thinking, “silly Emily”, which is an accurate thought: silly me.

While Anders did admit there were many similarities between the two cities, Malmo’s city infrastructure and layout was more than what meets the eye. At each stop on the tour, he discussed the reasoning behind the area’s urban design. He spoke of how the urban city planners took numerous factors into consideration when building different sections of the city. Obviously, the “common sense” factors were obvious: is this area pedestrian friendly? Is it designed for cars, bikes, or simply walking? Does the design increase traffic in and out of the local shops?

Yet, there were multiple factors Anders mentioned that I had never even considered. He touched on the topic of “human-scale” and how it influences people’s feelings and perspectives of the area. If the buildings are closer together in a city square, it creates a more intimate atmosphere for people. This makes sense, but I guess I had never really taken the time to understand that these easily noticeable observations were meticulously planned to make me feel a certain way. In fact, included in the description of “human-scale” included the aspect of building height. If people can see the building’s roof (i.e. if the building is not towering over them), that adds to the intimate aura.

Thinking back to large cities in the States, like New York City or Chicago, it now dawns one me why it is easy to “feel lost” in the sea of the city. It is tough to find tight, intimate atmospheres in the downtown of major metropolitan cities. Sure, there can be little nook-and-cranny spots that locals can consider their intimate spots, but they are not as frequent or grand as the areas of Malmo (or even other European cities). I think that is why I have heard so many people talk about the relaxing and chill atmosphere of Copenhagen. The urban planning of these cities is tailored to make visitors feel a certain way ,whereas it seems that in US cities it is more tailored to jam as many people into a tight space as possible.

Whether it be in Sweden, Denmark, or back home in the States, I will view public areas in a different light. Instead of thinking about how quaint and beautiful the buildings are, I will start thinking about what the various factors that create a specific atmosphere.

Nokken

Copenhagen is, in some ways, a city like any other. It is full of pedestrian traffic, buses, bikes, and taxis. There are shops lining the streets, cafés on every corner, and apartment buildings in the city center and on the outskirts. However, it differs from most cities in its inclusiveness of both lower and upperclass living situations.

Early this week Hermione invited me to join her in exploring a village called Nokken, which is comprised of rows upon rows on tiny homes. Nokken is located on the outskirts of the city, across long bridge and past when the strand turns off to the right.

Tiny homes and their offerings have flooded social media of late. The ones I’ve seen in the US often come equipped to be hauled by any vehicle with a hitch. Thus they offer an opportunity to quite literally buy a home away from home wherever you choose to travel (at least on land).

The tiny homes in Denmark are much more sedentary than those I’m accustomed to seeing. The particular neighborhood that we viewed consisted of homes that I assumed, before viewing them, are meant to be lived in year round. However, when we walked around, we both noted how quiet the neighborhood seemed. We saw many padlocked homes with far overgrown lawns and poorly organized lots. We also heard very few noises from conversation or children. In fact, we only saw three people even through we walked the length of the village and back on two different paths. This made us come to the likely conclusion that many Danes may use these homes as weekend getaways or summer homes. We also recognized that having children in these tiny homes may not be optimal and would partially explain the lack of noise.

It was also interesting the note the stark difference between the town homes and the nearby apartment buildings whose shadows loomed over the smaller houses.

The photo below demonstrates both the neglect shown to some of the lots as well as the contrast between the large structures of the city to the tiny homes:

Hostel Cooking

Hermione, Emily, and I have been trying to cook our dinners Monday through Friday every week and only go out to eat on the weekends. That way, because our breakfast is also already paid for, we only end up spending money on lunch during the weekdays. This allows us to put our money towards other uses. For Emily, that means buying multiple fun souvenirs for friends and family back stateside. For Hermione, it means adventuring to different museums and participating in various activities all over Denmark. For me, it allows me to save some extra money for the coming two weeks that I will spend gallivanting across Europe with my older sister, Tori.

Cooking in a hostel is pretty different from cooking at home. For one thing, you don’t have access to a well-stocked spice cabinet or a variety of oils to choose from. For another, there are almost always other groups of people in the kitchen cooking their meals at the same time that you are trying to cook yours. To remedy the first difficulty, Hermione and I decided to get the bare necessities from a grocery store called Netto when we first arrived. This purchase included things like salt, pepper, vegetable oil, olive oil, a spice mix, butter, and milk. In an attempt to avoid the second difficulty, we try to cook at somewhat unusual meal times. Our attempts usually fail, however, because of the workdays we spend with our teams.

We started off by splitting the cost of each meal between those who ate, but that quickly became too much hassle and we decided to just take turns buying the groceries. Some of my favorite meals from this trip have been eaten in the hostel basement. This is a fact I never thought would be true before coming on this trip. I think more than the food, it’s just nice to spend some quality time talking and laughing with Emily and Hermione. We all take turns cooking, washing dishes, drying them, and then putting them away. It’s also fun to smell the different spices being used by other hostel patrons. At any given moment, especially around 6:30 pm, the hostel’s kitchen will be bustling with movement and at least three languages can be heard. Some families may be cooking Italian pasta, while another fries vegetables in a pan, and yet another bakes cookies on a sheet in the oven. Below is a photo of two meals we’ve cooked this week!

ParkRun 5K

Last week, Hermione convinced me to go run a 5K with her at a local park. The 5K is part of an organization called ParkRun, which works to establish weekly runs in neighborhoods all over the world. The group has started races paths in Australia, Canada, Denmark, France, and many other countries.

We woke up on Saturday morning, avoided eating breakfast, and biked the few miles over to the park at about 9:30 AM. We rode our bikes straight past the starting point because only two people were gathered and we assumed the group must meet further down the gravel path. When we started seeing cattle we decided to turn back and ask the two men we had passed earlier where we should go. When we got back to the clearing it looked completely different. There were maybe thirty people standing around. They ranged in age from approximately five years old to maybe sixty-five.

When the race began, a couple of the youngest kids rode their bikes, but everyone else took off on foot. I was decently confident going into the race. I never thought I would be one of the fastest runners by far, but I thought I could finish pretty easily at least. I run a mile at least every other day and I work out everyday at the gym. There were two flaws in my confidence: first, I actually thought a five kilometer run was approximately two miles not three, second, I stayed on the treadmill too long the day before and started the race with already sore muscles.

Fortunately, Hermione is a wonderful running partner and she kept me motivated enough to finish the run within a reasonable amount of time, even if we did cross the line after some of the senior citizens. In our defense, they were incredibly fit! One of them even received a t-shirt for completing her 250th 5K, which was given to her prior to the start of the run. There was some fanfare and photos were taken of the accomplished runner.

The Danes were all very kind and supportive of everyone participating, so Hermione was not the only person cheering us on. Many onlookers stood on the sidelines near the starting point and clapped and called out encouragement as we jogged by them. One man passed us at one point, waved for us to join him, and said, “let’s finish strong.” At least, that’s what we decided he probably said to us. Overall, the run was a fun experience and I’m glad Hermione was able to convince me to accompany her. The photo below shows both my happiness from doing something different and my relief that I wouldn’t have to run any more that day.

A Night at the Opera

On Tuesday May 10, I went to the Copenhagen Opera house with three of my friends and classmates for what can only be described as the strangest opera I have ever seen.

A little back story before I get to my night- I have been to operas before with my dad back in San Fransisco. When we went, we would make a whole nigh out of it- dressing up, going to a nice restaurant, buying nice seats. Basically what you would think of as a classic night at an opera house. One of my favorite nights with my dad was when we went with my best friend and her father. We splurged on box seats and as soon as we sat down, my dad pointed to a group of seats about 20 feet from us and told us that that was where the opera scene in Pretty Women took place.

I knew going to the opera here would be different, I just didn’t think it would be that different.

My story starts 12 hours before the opera began when we bought our tickets. I had a friend visiting from W&L and he brought up the possibility of going to the opera that night after he saw that The Tale of Hoffman* was showing. I loved my past experience at the opera, so I of course said yes and invited Maggie to join us.

Fast forward to 6 p.m. when we are getting ready. The opera started at 7:30 and our plan was to grab food at Paper Island and head over. Unfortunately, we completely underestimated how long the walk would take us, so we had to sprint to the Opera House with food in hand just as it started raining. Thankfully we made it to our seats with one minute to spare- then the real fun began.

From my past experiences, I knew to read the synopsis before the show began because even with subtitles, operas can be hard to follow, especially since this one was in French. What I didn’t realize was that the subtitles would be in Danish, not English; as soon as the show began I instantly regretted my decision to take 7 years of Spanish instead of French.

So there I was, about to sit through an opera in languages  I wouldn’t be able to understand…and then a man appeared on stage in a glittering dress, only to have it ripped off to reveal a corset underneath.

Over the next three hours I witnessed the strangest show I had ever, and probably will ever, see. About every few minutes Maggie and I would just look over at each others with looks of shock, confusion, and embarrassment depending on the scene.

While I won’t go into specific details, throughout the show we witnessed a lot of crossdressers, pornographic images displayed on the large screen and some very graphic scenes that left nothing up to the imagination. During intermission the four of us honestly stood outside the theater for a solid 5 minutes not saying anything- still in shock from the first half of the show.

The opera ended in the same unique fashion in which it started and even though I knew the plot, I still couldn’t tell you what happened. Although my night at the opera turned out to be a different experience than what I thought it would be, I still had fun. If anything, this is going to be a fantastic story to tell my friends and family when I’m older. I mean how many other people can say they accidentally went to a opera/drag show while studying abroad in Copenhagen?

* This actually was a great opera- the music and songs were amazing. I would highly recommend it to anyone. Just go in with the expectation that it is different than more classical operas.