this is it

Hello, all! Posts on "How to Be a Great Dane" have come to an end. If you're looking for more posts, check out my other blog. All the best to you!

intermission

Well, I'm back in the States if you didn't know it yet. And with that transition comes the realization that my life at this point is full of bouncing around to go to different places and do different things.

Take my 2012 for instance. The way it's broken up feels to me like a play in three acts with a couple of brief intermissions spent with my family. Act One - Denmark. [Intermission] Act Two - The Ranch. [Intermission] Act Three - Eastern. As I write this I'm at the end of Intermission #1, having spent a joyful and memorable week with my family. I was home just long enough to see everyone, do my laundry, re-coop, change out costumes, and gear up for a different role to play. Away with the sweaters and scarves, winter boots and European chic in exchange for plaid shirts and bandanas, cowboy boots and western wear galore.

But since this blog is dedicated to my time in Denmark, I suppose I should tell you how Act One ended. Last time I wrote was just before my final week in Denmark. Since I'd finished all my classes I got an entire week to go and do whatever I wanted. The "whatever I wanted" consisted of finishing out my Copenhagen bucket list and revisiting the places that had become "my spots" around the city. I honestly don't remember right now everything that I did but I have it written down somewhere. So sorry if you were actually interested in details. But a couple of highlights included spending lovely afternoons biking around the city and taking pictures of all the touristy things, visiting the grave where HC Andersen and Kierkegaard are buried (Niels Bohr is also buried there but I couldn't find his grave), seeing various friends for one last time, making a trek over to Malmo, Sweden (which is less than 30 minutes from Copenhagen) and finally climbing to the top of Our Savior's Church to touch the gold ball up on top. Here's proof:

By the time it was all said and done, I was honestly ready to get on the plane. Not because I'd gotten sick of Copenhagen but because, as I wrote in my last post, I knew it was just time to move on. 

Since this is my last post I thought about writing a long and thoughtful entry about the ways in which I grew to become more like a Dane during the semester (after all, my blog is called "How to Be a Great Dane" and I honestly didn't write much answering that question - sorry). But I decided against it for this reason: once you're different it's hard to put into words just what makes you so and once your perspective is changed it's hard to describe how you used to view the world; all I can say is that yes I changed and that yes I became at least a little bit more Danish - and the rest you'll just have to get out of me in conversations. Which I prefer anyway.

Instead, I thought I'd end this post with the tale of the final leg of my journey back home. I had an abrupt "welcome" back to the States in the Dulles airport in DC. It was there that I was reminded of the hurried pace of American life, of inefficient service and impatience with non-English speakers, of the prevalence of arbitrary rules and laws, and of the unspoken code to always answer "how are you" with a "good" or "fine." After I boarded my plane from DC to Jacksonville, I was busy ranting in my journal about all of this when I heard the following: "Welcome aboard to full service to Albany!" Albany. Definitely not Jacksonville. The completely wrong direction in fact. Somehow I had actually managed to board the wrong plane! I successfully traveled all around Europe for four months in countries that don't have English as the native language and on the very last day of traveling and in my native country, I somehow ended up on the wrong plane. Well, let me tell you, I booked it off that plane. But by the time I got off, the plane I wanted to be on had already left. Being the competent world traveler that I am... I had a bit of a nervous breakdown. Meaning I collapsed underneath the departure sign of the terminal and let loose tears of exhaustion, frustration, and culture shock. I still wonder what people were thinking of me because I was a real mess right then. Eventually I pulled it together and everything worked out, but not before shedding a few more tears and calling my parents several times to figure out a re-booked flight. The only person to speak a word to me during my disheveled state was a clearly-Southern mom who said, "Sweetie, it can't be so bad. Missin' your plane isn't the worst thing that coulda happened to ya." Even though I knew she was right, my response was: "Yeah but I've been traveling for four months and all I want to do is get home!" (I'm glad I refrained from adding "And I really dislike America right now!") Still, when I combine her advice with the fact that, for my mom, a phone call from her daughter in tears, at the time when her plane was supposed to be in the air, translates as "my daughter's about to be in a plane crash," that Southern lady is right: There are far worse things that can happen. So, as cliche as it sounds, better to look on the bright side. 

And on that note, God bless America! =)

[End of Act One.]

P.S. If you'd like to keep up with me from here on out, check out my other blog Trinkets and Travels. Vi ses!

Turtle Chronicles Pt 5 and final

My dear traveling turtle friend, Chester, has been very active during the past 6 weeks. In that time alone he was in 7 different countries. Adding that to the previously-traveled-to nation of Italy, and that makes 8 European countries in all. Not bad for the little guy! Here's evidence of his many final adventures. 

Hamburg, Germany

Cologne, Germany

Cesky Raj, Czech Republic

Paris, France

Paris, France

Paris, France

Zurich, Switzerland

Bergen, Norway

Bergen. Norway

Bergen, Norway

Malmo, Sweden

Malmo, Sweden

Malmo, Sweden

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Copenhagen, Denmark

Back in Denmark. Perfect way for Chester to end his European tale. Off to more adventures in the USofA!

the end and the beginning

The time was at 14:00 today (that's 2pm for all you Americans) and the place was Gråbrødretorv (an open square near my house where I love to sit underneath a giant ol' tree). I had just finished my last class - not just of the day but of the entire semester. I had walked to the square in a confused daze because I found it so strange to consider the fact that I won't be going to any more classes in Denmark and that I have barely over a week left of living here. So I returned to something familiar and pleasant - my spot on the bench at Gråbrødretorv. Here I sat contemplating life and bemoaning the fact that I'm leaving Copenhagen next week. I was in the middle of writing a sentimental entry in my journal when... 

A bird pooped on me. Large and fresh and right on my shoulder. I was in mid sentence and the bird went and pooped on me and broke my train of thought completely. But I'm glad he (or she) did. I laughed quite literally out loud. Not one of those fake out loud laughs that people say they do when they write LOL but an actual laugh. Which is strange to do on your own anywhere but especially so in Denmark. 

As I said, I'm glad that bird pooped on me. Not because I hated the scarf it ruined (I actually quite liked it) but because it sent me on a completely different train of thought. The rest of this is based off what I'd written.

It's over. I have 8 days left until I leave. I know it's time to leave, I've been preparing for it to be time to leave but [insert bird poop falling and subsequent laughter]... Ok I have to admit that the bird poop incident of 2012 just broke my thought process and what I was going to say doesn't seem important anymore. What does seem important is to remember that life happens and that I can choose to mope about the sad stuff or to be happy about the good stuff. Something tells me to choose the latter. 

I've become a student of life while being abroad. Though I learned a lot in the classroom the majority of what I learned this semester came from outside of it - from wandering new places and getting to know them, from hours in conversation with people from other cultures, and from observing and being open. Beyond all the Danishness I've learned so much about and have in many ways taken on as my own, my broader outlook on life has changed and I realize that the good experiences I'm having don't have to end when I go back to the States - and for anyone else, they don't have to start just when you're abroad. 

All it requires is an open mind and a willingness to step out wherever you're at and try new things. In the words of an all time favorite character, Miss Frizzle from Magic School Bus, "Take chances, make mistakes, get messy!" Though you probably won't end up traveling through a friend's digestive system or being baked into a cake, you just might make a new friend or, in my case, find that you have a secret obsession with rye bread.

Life is full of opportunities to say yes or to say no. I find that I've been saying yes way more frequently while abroad than I might've normally, and I've been loving my time here because of it. For example, my favorite trip this semester began with the simple thought, "Hey I'd really like to go hiking in Norway." I said "Why not?" and ran with it, booked a cheap flight, found a place to stay via CouchSurfing, and packed my backpack for a solo 5 day adventure in Bergen - the city of seven mountains and the gateway to the fjords. I came away from that trip with the confidence that, come rain or snow, I can hike mountains on my own; with the discovery that Norway (especially the fjords) is one of the most beautiful places I've seen; and with the experience of creating a unique CouchSurfing family (1 Latvian, 1 Slovakian, 2 Americans, and 1 Norwegian family). The days were simple, lots of nature and conversation and no technology, and the evenings were well spent over shared meals and stories and hours of game playing. An experience I wouldn't trade for anything... and wouldn't have had if I didn't take the chance of going. 

Life's like one of those "please touch" interactive museums, not a stale museum where you just stand politely and look at artifacts. It would be very possible to create artifact after artifact of past experiences and to spend all my time thinking of those memories (and in some cases regrets). Remembrance has its place but life shouldn't be lived there. Life should be enjoyed in the here and now, and it should be spent doing things you love alongside the people you love.

Yeah I'm saying goodbye to a place and to people I've grown attached to. But I'm not leaving empty handed; I'm carrying back with me the fruit of much growth, a new-found appreciation of candles and cycling, and a realization that "How are you" is a question only worth asking if you truly want the answer. And I'd like to think that through time spent volunteering and in making friends I'm leaving a piece of me behind here, too. 

So, you see, instead of focusing on what I'm leaving it's better to focus on where I'm going and to remember to live fully no matter what country I'm in. This isn't really an "end" that I've reached, then. It's just the beginning. 

A bit of natural beauty for you... #1: Norwegian mountains

#2: Danish flowers... Happy Spring!

P.S. I expect this to be my last post before coming back to the States. Something about wanting to live fully during my last week in Denmark - which does not include spending tons of time on a computer. 

O Nettle, Where is Thy Sting?

Ever since I was a kid (and especially when I was a kid) I haven't exactly had the fondest view of stinging nettle. I just saw it as this awful little green weed with the power to make my skin burn.

But now this sworn enemy of mine has been conquered. And eaten.

Yup, that's right. I ate stinging nettle today. More like I cooked and ate stinging nettle today.

As part of living in the Green House at DIS we have a weekly dinner that we take turns cooking, and tonight was my turn to be a co-chef. Since we're also part of a vegetable co-cop in Copenhagen, we get 2 bags of fresh veggies from local farmers for making the meal. Every week's an adventure because we end up getting things we never would've imagined having to cook with. Like Jerusalem artichoke. Or celery root. Or... nettle. But what's study abroad for but taking on challenges and growing from new experiences?

So for my next new experience, cooking nettle it was - and cook it we did... into a soup along with those Jerusalem artichokes and some good ol' fashioned potatoes and pureed to perfection. Result? Deliciousness.

I can say one thing for sure: living in the Green House has broadened my horizons and given me more confidence when it comes to cooking unusual vegetables. And conquering childhood enemies.

The Enemy

little things that mean the most

Since being back in Copenhagen from all my European travels, I've decided I really love this place. I mentioned that at the end of my last post, but it's worth repeating. Just why do I like it here so much?

Reason #1: Outdoor kindergartens... Where else could 'being in school' mean 'building forts, exploring the woods, and climbing trees?' I recently spent a day visiting an outdoor kindergarten and fell in love with the educational model. Young kids from the city are taken out into the country where they spend their 'school day' just playing outside - rain or shine. The Danes have it right: kids need to spend time outdoors (heck, people need to spend time outdoors) and there's so much to be learned via nature and play that can't be learned in a classroom.

Reason #2: National Research Day... 4/20 may mean something completely different to some, but here in Copenhagen it meant hosting an outdoor research symposium that was more or less like a giant science fair. On my way back from classes, I stumbled upon a large collection of tents in Frue Plads (a plaza nearby) which I later discovered was part of an annual festival to promote the sciences. When I got closer I noticed that there was everything from microscopes to a man dissecting an otter inside. So after I stopped to touch the otter guts (gloves of course) I tried my hand at designing my own windmill. I have a new respect for engineers because I stunk at it.

Reason #3: Organic Day... Similar to the above except with live animals instead of dead ones. Stumbled upon the festivities on my way home from church. It consisted of a lot of tents, a couple of cows, a big screen broadcast, and a whole ton of people. Free yogurt and milk galore and stickers saying 'jeg ♥ øko' (I love organic).  Judging by the number of people there (mainly families), it seemed like a big deal for the Danes. Big day for the cows in Denmark, too, because apparently it's the day they get let out into the fields - or something like that. But for Copenhagen in particular, which is a bit short on cows, it was an excuse to promote organic food, let kids milk fake cows, and have a whole lot of fun.

Ok so clearly those aren't the most important reasons I like Copenhagen... but they're all things that made me happy to be living here.

around the world (of Europe) in 14 days

Spring break in the world of DIS is a two week long European traveling extravaganza. They provide planned trips if you want an easy way of doing out-of-the-ordinary traveling or you can just opt to travel on your own (personally, I decided to go half and half). By the end of it you've had a whirlwind of experiences from the eye-opening to the breath-taking to the live-and-learn.

I started off with spending 3 days in the Czech countryside at Hruba Skala (an old castle turned hotel) that became home to 40 DIS students and our Czech guides as we did a range of outdoor adventuring - archery, hiking, ziplining, high ropes bridging, rock climbing, rappelling, and caving. You certainly get a different take on a country when you're army crawling through a dark cave tunnel or hanging on to the side of a rock-face. As I felt quite at home in spending the entire day romping around outdoors, I would've gladly spent the rest of my travel break perfecting my climbing skills... but there were more things to be seen.

Before leaving the Czech Republic, we spent a day in Prague. With the aim of finding my way to the Dvorak Museum, I ventured out and spent the day on my own. I never did make it to that museum, but I did find some great things. I tasted a local pastry called trdelnik which was shaped like a cylinder and tasted a whole lot like one of those cinnamon soft pretzels, went to the top of the Eiffel-look-alike Petrin Tower, spent a leisurely time at the Czech Museum of Music (which had an exhibit on Dvorak), and topped off the day with  the classic meal of goulash.

Next on the agenda was going to Paris. I hit up all the typical touristy hotspots, as did the thousands of other people who were in Paris for Easter weekend. It was exciting to see so many things I grew up hearing about and seeing in pictures, from monuments to artwork... like Van Gogh's painting of his bedroom (when I was a kid a played this board game called Masterpiece that highlights great works of art, and I always liked that particular Van Gogh painting). I can also add my name to the list of people who's climbed to the top of the Eiffel Tower (I should say climbed 2/3 of it... the last 1/3 is an elevator), and I became quite fond of Parisian parks as well. Paris is such a huge city, and - though I only scratched the surface of it in a couple of days - I liked what I saw.

After Paris, my last two stops were to visit friends in Switzerland and then Germany. It was wonderful to see familiar faces and to get a different perspective on those areas from people who live there, and I had a most memorable experience of going on a run around a lake in Switzerland with a gorgeous view of the Alps (but of all days to leave my camera at home!).

To be entirely honest, though, it was really good to get back home to Copenhagen. My eyes lit up when I heard, for the first time in two weeks, Danish being spoken in the airport, and it was refreshing to not have to consult a map for directions.

In three months of being in Copenhagen, I've left and returned to it three times. And every time I realize just how much I love it here.