A simple little ID badge

Hello to anyone out there who is still following my blog.  I really hope this will not be like one of those TV shows that was great while it lasted but really should've just stopped after 2 seasons instead of continuing on for 5 more painful seasons of unnecessary drama and bad jokes.  I'll do my best to maintain a "Friends-like" epicness rather than a "Gilmore Girls" tediousness (no offense to anyone who actually still enjoys that show).  

Anyway I desperately need to do a little reflecting on the recent activity in my life and lucky you, since you are reading this, you will herein be privy to the secret little thoughts floating around and bobbing up and down in the messy liquid in my head. 

Well, I moved in to the dormitory here at the University of Iowa on Sunday, just four days after I returned from Denmark.  Those four days at home with my family were wonderful and relaxing and sentimental with over way too quickly.  You would think that after moving 6 times within the last year I would be a really awesome packer.  But I'm not. Or at least I am not when all I really have to do is transport enough clothes and blankets to last until I make a trip back to Newton for visiting and laundry purposes.  I basically threw the things that I figured I would need into a few boxes, bags and piles and off I went, across I-80, to where my summer adventures awaited.  It didn't take long to move my stuff into the oddly shaped dorm room (I'll have to take some photos so I can post them.  Trust me, it's weird) and then Monday was my first day "on the job".  I am thrilled to be doing research this summer and, as my mentor says, "trying on Iowa as a grad school".  Who knows, maybe after graduating Knox next year I will end up back here to pursue even greater academic goals.   So far this week has been a lot of me sitting in front of a computer, finding articles on our specific research topic and then reading, re-reading, highlighting and scribbling all over them.  I had a meeting with my mentor and another researcher to discuss the experiment I will be helping with and I kind of expected to sit quietly, listening in awe to them intelligently discuss the project.  Those expectations were exactly why my "fight-or-flight" response kicked in to high gear when we sat down and they said to me "Ok, you have been reading these articles.  Tell us what you know."   And thus panic ensued, coursing through my veins, causing me to sweat a little and making me feel my rapid heartbeat all the way in my toes.  Turns out I survived and even did well enough that we were able to come up with a decent plan to get started on the project.  I lived through a moment that I found even scarier than all those times I traveled by myself in foreign countries where I couldn't speak the language and didn't understand the customs.  Phew.

I made a short trip home to Newton today for my mom's retirement party.  I am so proud of her and although Newton High School will miss her a lot...our family is pumped to have more of her for ourselves.  Job well done, Karen Clark...job very well done.  While I was home, I was struck by how much I miss it already.  4 months and I did a pretty good job of not getting homesick.  Then I am gone for four days and suddenly all I want to do is sit at the kitchen table with my mom and pet my kitty and swing in my hammock on a slightly breezy night as the sun goes down.  I was so excited to come to Iowa City this summer that I kind of forgot about all the wonderfulness of summer that I will be missing.  The times they are a-changing.  And although I will continue to go with the flow, that doesn't mean I can't take a minute to just miss the good times of years past.  Newton never looked so beautiful as it did tonight as I stood in my driveway and stared at the sunlight that streamed on to all the front lawns on our street.  No matter how far away I go and how many places I go to (10 countries in the span of 5 months, for example), Newton will always be home and home always as that special feel that you simply can't get from anywhere else.  

Onto the next topic, now that I am an official "student researcher" at U of I, I have an adorable little badge with my photo and my name and my id number.  It has a handy clip so every morning I clip it onto one of my pockets and walk around like I am really hot stuff.  It's funny how a simple little ID badge can make me feel way more grown up.  I was walking into the hospital the other day to go to the Neurology department and one of the very nice ladies asked if I needed help finding anything.  She suddenly saw my badge and said "Oh! You work here."

I was pretty pleased with myself with that, feeling like a fancy big-shot hospital employee...until I realized I had to admit "Well, yes I do but it's only my second day so can you help me find the Neurology clinic?"  (big smile from her) "Yes, of course.  It's right through these doors."

Me, the suddenly blushing, not so big-shot little undergrad student said "Thank you" and walked to Neurology.  I may have had a slightly shaken confidence but at least I still had my ID badge : )

I have officially surpassed my normal bedtime.  My extended jet lag has been wiping me out by 10:30 each night and it is currently 11:56 pm.  It has been over a week since I have been back in the states so I really should be normalized to the time here but for some reason my internal clock has insisted on staying just a little off, as if it knows I am back in America but it doesn't want to actually admit it.  

Ok ok internal clock, you win.  I'm off to bed.  Godnat!

"You're all set. Welcome back Miss Clark..."

...said the customs officer who checked me in at the Chicago O’Hare Airport.   I am officially on American soil, well, sort of.  I am sitting on a chair that is on some blue carpet that is on the floor of the airport and this airport building is undoubtedly placed on a concrete foundation that is firmly situated upon American soil.  So, yes, I think I am on American soil.  

I am happy to be home but leaving Denmark was maybe the hardest thing I have ever had to do.  I know that I will return to Denmark to visit my family, explore the city more and enjoy endless pastries, but the whole “living and studying” there is over.  And that is terribly sad.  I don’t tend to get very stressed when I travel but I suppose today I was especially vulnerable and I cried the whole way through security and then I even cried while watching the end of Finding Nemo.  Yeah, that’s how bad it was.  But I am here now and with just one more short flight I will be in the arms of my family.  And for that I am incredibly excited.   

I'll give you just a few reflections before I have to pack up my computer once again, stuff it in its case, reload my multiple bags on my little body and make my way onto the plane. 

My first thoughts upon reentering the states?  There are just so many Americans here.  And there is so much English.  It is weird not to say “Sorry, I speak English” before talking to someone. It is nice, I guess, but my ears already miss the Danish sounds. 

Now, this next reflection might sound offensive but I promise that I love all of you Americans who are reading this so it is not directed toward you.  In the past 10 hours I have been struck over and over by just how nice Americans are…and also how incredibly annoying they are!  Perhaps I am especially biased but it always seemed like the Americans who were complaining about little things or talking about themselves (loudly) or acting like they were the most important person in the room.  And of course, when one American acts like he/she is so great, then the other Americans grumble and snootily say, “Gosh what makes you so special? Why do you get to get out of the plane first?”  

Good god, Americans, just slappe af!  (a common Danish phrase meaning ‘relax!’)

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I wrote the above post from the airport but I didn't have internet there so I couldn't post it.  Now I am at home, in my comfy bed.  I have been with my family for the past 10 hours and for those 10 hours I have not had to deal with any annoying Americans, just the absolutely wonderful Americans who I was so happy to see I couldn't even shed a tear, who chatted with me and listened to me chat the entire way back to Newton, and who stayed up super late with me to open souvenirs and laugh at the massive amount of candy that I brought home.  Let's just say, it was been one hell of a good homecoming.  

I was wide awake all through the last part of my trip and up until midnight last night (which would have been nighttime up until 7:00 am back in Copenhagen) so I thought "Well, geeze I am pretty great at this not getting jetlag thing."  Well it is now 5:30 am and I am awake enough to have turned my computer on and started writing this instead of just going back to sleep.  That is certainly not normal! Unfortunately, I guess that means I am not as perfectly exempt from the crazy amount of messed-up that everyone warned me I would feel.  Nonetheless I will try to go back to sleep now and wake up again in two hours or so.  If that doesn't work I guess I might be back on here to ramble some more : ) 

Vi ses!

And the sky is still light

I was just walking back home from the train station (for the last time) and I was struck with just how light is still was.  It was just after 11 and it looked more like 9:30.  The sky was mostly grey from clouds but on each side there were large areas of vibrant blue...not sky blue, but a cerulean-type blue.  It was amazing.  This made me realize just how far north I actually am right now and have been for the past four months.  Light in the sky at 11 is definitely not something I will see in Iowa this summer.  Don't worry, I savored it as much as possible.

So now I am laying in bed, not wanting to go to sleep because sleep makes time go faster and I only have a few hours left to live in Denmark.  Do I really want to waste those hours by sleeping?  Well...maybe some of them. But first I will do the obligatory get-you-up-to-speed on all the things I have not yet.

I left off in the middle of the deer park.  Did my pictures show you enough of how awesome it was??  At least 25, maybe more, deer in the middle of a field.  We got so close to them before they got a little spooked and ran.  What made it even more surreal was that the park was so quiet that the only noise was coming from our footsteps on the crunchy twigs and leaves.

Here is a close up of a few of the deer

After enjoying the presence of the herd of deer, we continued our bike ride.  

And then we went to Bakken (the old amusement park) for a bit.  We rode one roller coaster and then we parted ways. Delayna hopped on the train to take her home and I rode the 10ish km back to my house.  It was a tough ride (lots of wind, lots of tired legs) but I was very satisfied by the time I finally made it.

Friday night I went out salsa dancing and then to a funky little club in what is known as the "meat packing district".  Gotta be honest, I don't really know the story of the meat packing district.  It's just a very industrial part of town that really gets hopping on the weekends.  We met up with my friend's friends at the train station and then to get to the club we...are you prepared for this?-- rode on the back of their bikes (and yes, they were slightly intoxicated!)  Sorry Mom!  So there I am, in a skirt and tights, riding on the back of a bike through the city.  You might be picturing a sweet motorbike but remember, this is Copenhagen.  It was just a legit, 6-gear city bike.  On the bright side, I did hold his beer for him so it's not like he was actually drinking and riding.

But we survived!  And it was actually a little fun.  Go figure.

Saturday was the long-awaited caramel-making day.  My Grandma Audrey (my mom's mom) has forever been the queen of caramels.  They are just these amazing homemade caramels that she made every Christmas.  I swear she made at least 25 pans some years.  In the last few years my mom has taken over the caramel tradition (though she thankfully sticks to less than 20 pans) so this is a tried and true Seyb/Clark recipe.  I brought some of these famous caramels to the Larsens when I first arrived in Denmark and this spurred them to ask for the recipe a few times.  Just last week I finally asked my mom for the recipe and once she sent it we went about finding a substitute for the American corn-syrup and converting measurements to the metric system.  I was a little nervous to be in charge of the making of these because I have never actually made a batch.  I have always only watched my mom do it.  Everything went splendidly but I was so nervous to burn them that I finished the cooking a little early and we ended up with very soft, very delicious, caramels. Definitely not at all a failure. I would even dare to call it a great success...at least it appears that way because all of the caramels have been eaten by now : )  I think the Larsens are excited to make the caramels themselves so they can get the consistency just right.  I am so pleased to have brought the recipe over here and now it will live on!

Rebecca being my stirring assistant 

Finished product!

On Saturday we also had a special dinner and exchanged "going-away" gifts.  The Larsens gave me the most beautiful book with photos of Copenhagen taken from above.  It is so cool to flip through it and now that I have been to so many of the places and now I can tell my family all about them.

Saturday night was also full of excitement because it was the Eurovision song contest!! (which is a pretty big deal over here, not surprisingly)  We got to watch the final 25 countries perform their songs and then each country called in with their votes.  I actually fell asleep during the voting process but I thoroughly enjoyed seeing all the countries' performances.  I even bought a few of the songs on itunes afterwards because I liked them so much : )

Sunday was full of packing and playing soccer and having my final lesson in making Danish pancakes.  I think (I hope!) that I am now skilled enough to try making them back in Iowa.  If anything goes wrong I can always try and skype with the Larsens to get a refresher on how to flip them or how much flour to use.

That brings us to Monday.  Hmm..what was Monday?  Oh wait, that was just yesterday.  I guess I stayed home and packed for a while and then I went to the city to take my books back.  I found some friends and ate lunch with them and then we did a little shopping.  I know, I didn't really need more stuff for my suitcase but there was one shirt I couldn't stop thinking about so I went and bought it.  I guess a few European items of clothing will help me remember my time even more :)

And then last night I just got to spend some very hyggeligt time with the family, playing soccer, making pizza, easting the delicious pizza we made, and playing at least 6 games of Sequence with Jesper.  I couldn't have asked for a better 2nd to last evening.

Today.  Today was my final day in the city.  Lauren and I went out for lunch at the super cute coffee shop I keep talking about and then we did a tiny bit of shopping before heading to the Closing Ceremony, which was full of great music, good speeches, and nostalgic memories about the place we are leaving behind.  Afterwards I bought my last pastry, took my 2nd to last train ride home, had my last dinner with my family and finished packing.  Then I went in to the city for the final DIS party, where I danced a tiny bit but mostly just ate peanuts and said good-byes.  I can't lie and say that wasn't hard.  It certainly was.  And the train ride home was quite difficult too.  I listened to my "Denmark faves" playlist on my ipod and stared out the window at the darkness passing by.  It's hard to explain all the emotions that ran through my head during those 20 minutes.  The sad thing is that this part of my life will be over soon.  I will never again live in this house in Denmark (probably never live in Denmark again) and I will never get to experience the city in quite the same way.  But there is always a silver lining and that is that I will be back someday.  I will be back to visit, with my family, and I will see the city again and I will take great pleasure in feeling as though a part of me is coming home.

I feel as though I should have had a "What do I miss most about America? post" or a "What will I miss the most about Denmark?" post.   I didn't even really think of that until today when Andreas asked me what I miss from America besides my family and it took me quite a while to come up with any sort of answer.  I did say Emma, my roommate, of course...but she kind of counts as family to me.  Jesper helped me out and said "the candy". Well, that is kind of true.  I would really love to sink my teeth into some swedish fish right about now.  But Karina also helped by saying something like "You have what you need in Denmark."  That is so very true.  Not only do I have the basics like delicious food, clean water and the other luxuries of America, but I also have a great family to hang out with, a cat to snuggle with (when he is in the mood) and two awesome kids to play with. Oh and I even had peanut butter for most of the semester! I certainly do have what I need and the family aspect, in particular, is mostly what has made this semester so great.

I guess I should sign off for now.  Since this will probably be my last official post while I am in Denmark, I shall make it as official as possible.

I thank you so much for joining me on this journey.  I hope you have been entertained by and engrossed in my various stories. I hope I have helped to provide cultural-knowledge and the basic Whats and Hows of studying in another country.  I hope I have portrayed accurately not only how much fun I had this semester, but also how much I have learned and grown as a person.  I have had to do a lot of thinks on my own while I have been here, but that has given my a great chance to get to know myself better and to be confident in my abilities (still haven't gotten lost in an airport...knock on wood!!)  Thus I hope you have enjoyed the journey as much as I have and please let me know if you are ever headed to Denmark...I will have lots of tips and tricks to give you!

Again, the blog won't stop! It maybe will for a few hours tomorrow when I am flying over the ocean, but after that I will post whenever I think I have something interesting to say (which seems to be a lot. Whether it is true that it is interesting is not as much my concern : )  So check back when you get the chance!


Vi ses!.  

I just came to say Hello!

First of all, this song has been one of my staples while in Denmark.  I didn't know it before I came here so I am pretty sure whenever I hear it (which better be a lot this summer) my thoughts will be magically transported back to Copenhagen and all the places I heard the song: birthday parties, friday night bars, dance clubs, jumping on the trampoline and playing garden soccer.  Yes, future roommates better be ready...you might hear this song a lot :)
 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PYQBptoNvp0&feature=related

Anyway, today was the last official day of DIS.  I am heading into the city soon for our last party.  I don't think I will stay long since I have to be up at 5 for my day of travel but I definitely have some teary goodbyes to share with friends.  I still have more Denmark-related stuff to write about (hopefully that will happen tonight!) and then I am thinking that a lot of reflecting will happen once I am back in the states so if you are interested, stay tuned for some insightful, humorous, sappy or otherwise emotional posts.  It is fantastic to have an audience, but even if I don't, I love writing this blog because it is a time where I can spill my thoughts in a somewhat organized manner and not be graded (at least not to my knowledge) on it.  I love entertaining people (which I hope I have succeeded at!) and I also love recording stories because often times my mind doesn't do such a good job of the latter.  The point of that was: my blog will not stop! Hip hip hooray! :P

Also, I wanted to thank everyone who has tuned into this blog from the DIS Study Abroad Student Blogs website.  Because I check my stats (which I realize is kind of a weird thing to do, but it is fun and gives me a bit of a self-esteem boost sometimes ) I know that quite a few people each day do log on to read my thoughts because of the link of the DIS website.  I am not sure when that website will stop showing updates of my blog so all of you out there are more than welcome to continue following even when the DIS page stops showing you that I have posted more.  Also, if any of you are interested in DIS and have questions, post them here or email me at raclark@knox.edu  I have lots of stories and advice I can dole out!  After all, I have been here for 4 whole months : )  So hit me up!

And of course, I must send an official thank you to DIS before they all stop reading my blog (which they may have already) but it has been a truly wonderful experience and thank you for having this whole blog dealio because it helped me a lot before I came over here to Denmark!

Ok, off to drink some wine, dance to some music and shed some tears.

Just thought I'd leave you with a cute photo :)

The whirlwind that has been my last week in Copenhagen

My last full week in Copenhagen started off with a day in Tivoli, which I wrote about in the last blog.  I cannot get over what a beautiful place the whole area is.  Not only is Tivoli an amusement park, but it also is many, many gardens and also a stage for entertainment and a lovely lawn to relax on.  While we were there, after we had enjoyed some ice cream, we sat and watched a bunch of bands perform.  The really cool thing is that they were all under 18 years old...and most of them were really good!! Here is just one example :)

 Sorry for the extraneous singing and laughing, I was really enjoying the song :)

We stayed in Tivoli until all the beautiful lights were lit up.  That is probably the most beautiful night scene I have ever seen.  Sorry I couldn't capture it with my camera.

The next day was when I left for Oslo.  Before the trip I sat in the cutest coffee shop ever and wrote some of the previous posts, which I may have mentioned as I wrote them.  And I already posted about the cruise so that brings us to Thursday, when I returned from Oslo.  I did not mention how much dancing we did on the cruise ship on our last night....A LOT!  Therefore, I was very tired when I returned to CPH.  BUT I also had more adventures in store so I took a short nap and then headed into the city.  I met a friend of mine and we embarked on a big bike trip, down to Arken, a museum of modern art.  It is about 20 km from the city and it took us a little while to navigate all the turns but we made it, sweaty and happy, in a little over an hour.

The museum was awesome!! Of all the museums I have been to during my whole trip, this was probably my favorite.  

The actual museum building is an example of deconstructivist design.  It is supposed to resemble a shipwreck.  with a long skinny main hallway and then lots of oddly shaped rooms jumbled onto both sides of the building. It is very open and light, but also a little mysterious and confusing.  Super cool.  

This piece of art has dead butterflies plastered onto different colored paintings.  It is a rather touching work about life and death and the beauty of both of them.  

Also butterflies. 

It was hard to capture how awesome this was but it was a pool of water with a light in the middle.  When the water moves and makes waves, the waves are reflected on the white walls surrounding the pool.  Chau (my friend) and I had a blast messing with the water and watching the cool designs it made on the wall. 

Abstract art by the Danish artist Asger Jorn.  He painted a huge mural all across multiple walls of a summer house and later they took it apart and moved it to the museum.

Pastel drawing by a famous artist...ME
hehe.  At the end of an exhibition about a woman who worked mainly with pastels, there was a room where you could try making your own.  Chau did a lovely sketch of me and I attempted to portray a sunset over the ocean, inspired by the previous day's cruise.

I ended up riding my bike with Chau part of the way back to the city and then I hopped on a train and took it all the way home so I could get there in time for dinner.  Despite the fact that I was exhausted after this, it was a really awesome trip.  Arken, I think, is a must see if you are ever in Copenhagen and enjoy modern art at least a little.

The following day, Friday, I met up in the city with my friend Delayna.  We did some shopping and I found the perfect souvenir for myself (I may have also found some good ones for some other people but those are a surprise!)  My sister would be so proud-- I found a jacket I absolutely loved.  It is a great spring or fall jacket and it looks at least a little grown-up, rather than most of my clothes that look like they come right out of American Eagle (because they do).  It was a little expensive but I know I will wear it all the time AND it is from a brand that we do not have in America.  So I bought it!!  And I am so happy I did.
Anyways, Delayna and I both were very pleased with our finds so we went to lunch and then we took the train out to Klampenborg...which is the same place I road my bike to the day I went up to Louisiana, remember?  It is the place with the deer park and the very old amusement park, Bakken.  We wanted to make the most out of our bikes while we have them so we went on a long bike ride around the beautiful park.  It was a little difficult to navigate because it had just rained and most of the paths we went on were not paved, but it was worth it because we saw at least 50 deer.  I have never seen such a sight.  I tried to capture it on my capture but I am afraid these don't do it justice.

Oops, off to lunch now, back later!

Whelming all over the place

Sorry to overwhelm you with all these posts, but if I don't write them now I fear I never will, and while the memories will always stay somewhere in the tresses and crevices of my mind I would prefer they are also on the worldwide web so I can access them any time I want (which is not always the case when it comes to my mind).

For the most part I will let the photos speak for themselves because especially at this late hour of the night I am not sure my words can do the experiences justice.

1.  Last Sunday Jesper, Karina, Rebecca and I went into the city and climbed to the top of the Christianshavn's Tower

Not at the top yet, but pretty high up!

Ahh Copenahgen from a bird's eye view

Host sister Rebecca and I with very wind-blown hair!

Golden dome.  Story goes each man had to make the difficult climb up to touch the golden dome to prove his manhood.  Pretty sure I proved my manhood on Sunday.

Very interesting roof of the church

Heading back down!

Just too cute of a find not to photograph

Then we had the most delightful picnic on the canal

2. On Monday I went to Tivoli, the amusement park in Copenhagen, with a few friends from class.  Man, I love amusement parks!  I got to ride roller coasters and the thing that shoots you up into the sky and then drops you really fast.  I even got to drive the most jarring bumpercars ever.  Plus, I got cotton candy!! Super fun day all in all :)

Beautiful flowers and fountains all over the place!

DIS friends from my psych class

Woohoo for a super fun day at Tivoli!

 More adventures to come later!

What 12-year old Danes think of Americans

This is the story I have been waiting to blog about for almost 3 weeks but I kept forgetting to do it because I have been doing so many other things also. Finally, it is time.  Be prepared, it's pretty amusing.

A few weeks ago Andreas asked me if I'd like to visit his school for one of their English classes.  Heck yes I wanted to! I was excited to meet his teacher and see all of his classmates again, whom I had met and danced with at Andreas's fødselsdagsfest (birthday party).  So Monday morning a few weeks ago, before I had to go to the city for my Danish presentation, I followed Rebecca to school on our bikes and I met Andreas there.  He took me to his classroom and they took attendance and then the teacher (who apparently was a sub since Andreas's actual teacher was sick) asked Andreas something and he asked me if it'd be all right for them to just ask me some questions about being an American in Denmark.  Of course! (I kind of love to talk about myself).  I hopped up to the front of the room, sat down on a stool, introduced myself since just a few of them didn't already know me from the party and then I waited for their questions.  Once the questions started they did not stop until the whole English classtime was over.  I think I will just try to recreate the best of the the hour-long session of "question and answer with Rachel". 


Also, I will finally make use of the awesome color and font effects that I have here but never think to use.  
Girl Dane
Boy Dane (I don't remember exactly who asked each and every one of the questions, but some of them I do remember specifically...and you might see why) 
Me


Where are you from in America?
I'm from the middle. From Iowa.  It looks a little like Denmark because it is flat and brown in the winter and green in the summer.  


What is your favorite thing in Denmark?
Well I think my host family is my favorite thing:  Rebecca, Andreas, Karina and Jesper (and Tiger).  I also really love the pastries and being able to bike to the city because it only takes 45 minutes. 

What is your favorite type of wienerbrød? (danish pastry)
Um....snegel (mostly because that is the easiest to pronounce)

What is your favorite food? 
Cabbage (but they didn't believe that answer so I had to say:) ok I really love chicken with pasta and pesto. And of course I love pizza. (that answer got approval from all of them)

What is different between living in America and living in Denmark?
Oh, a lot of things.  Here it is nice that I can go to the city every day and I can either ride my bike there or take public transportation.  The public transportation here is amazing!  We don't have that in Iowa.  I always have to drive if I want to go to a city.  It is nice that I can go shopping whenever I go into the city.


Do you like to shop?
Yes.  Maybe a little too much, haha.  


What is your favorite store in Denmark?
Oh, I don't know.  Maybe H & M.  I also like Vera Moda and the department store Illum. 


Do you miss your home?
Yes, I definitely do miss my family, and my cat.  But I really like living with Andreas and his family so I am very happy to be here. 


Do you play World of Warcraft?
No.
Why not?!?!
Um...I just don't really like to play them and I am too busy doing other things, I don't have time to play.  One of my friends plays and he tried to teach me one time and I didn't really like it. 


A little while later in the questions...
What is your friend's name on World of Warcraft?
I'm not sure what his WOW name is but his real name is David.
(the Danish boy then looked very pleased with himself) Oh! I think I know him!!
haha

What do you think of the rules in Denmark? In America you can drive when you are 16 and drink when you are 21. In Denmark you can't drive until you are 18 but you can drink when you are 16.
Well, it was good that I could drive when I was 16 because I had to get to school by myself.  I guess I didn't mind waiting until I was 21 to drink but I think it would be okay to have the legal age be a little younger.


Are you glad you can drink now?  (this was asked by Andreas)
Well yes I do like drinking wine with your mom and dad sometimes at dinner. 


But, Rachel, have you ever drank so much that you got sick? (also asked by Andreas)
UHHHH (picture me turning bright red here) well....um.....uhhh...(i am a terrible liar) yes, one time I did. I drank too much of this very sugary drink and then I danced a lot and it just made me sick.  It's a bad idea...don't do it! (I tried to save it, not sure how good of a job I did)

Thanks for that one, Andreas ;)

Can you speak Danish?
Not very well, I am afraid. I know a little but I wish I could speak it better. It is a hard language.


What can you say in Danish?
(Again, picture me getting red...but I tried my best) Jeg kommer fra USA.  Jeg hedder Rachel. Jeg bor i Bagsvaerd med Andreas, Rebecca, Karina og Jesper.  Jeg er enogtuve.  (and that was about all I could think of on the spot, but the kids seemed pleased with my feeble attempts)

Can you say rød grød med flode? (and all the kids giggled and anxiously awaited my response because that is one of the most difficult things to pronounce)
rud grud meh fleewde (thats about what it sounded like as I tried to push the words out of my mouth, haha)
(Just so you know, that is a typical Danish desert of red berries with whipped cream)

Do you have a boyfriend?
Nope.
Have you never had a boyfriend?  (the following questions are from Andreas)
I have had a few boyfriends. I just don't have one right now.
Do you wish you had a boyfriend?
Not really.  There are too many fun things to do in Copenhagen to worry about having a boyfriend. 
But Rachel, do you ever get lonely? 
Um...(red again) well, Andreas, I guess so. Just a little sometimes. 
And will you have a boyfriend when you get back to the states?
Well, I don't know.  I guess that will depend on if I meet a boy I like or not. 


So now the 5th grade class at Andreas's school knows more about my personal life than my own parents (except now they know too since I'm sure they are reading this ;)  hehe

And now for the even more interesting questions:


How many people have you shot?
(insert super shocked and confused Rachel face)...wait, what?!?
How many people have you shot?
None!
Yes, you have. I can see if on your face. 
Nope, I really haven't. I do know how to shoot a gun but I have only shot clay pigeons (then one boy had to explain in danish what clay pigeons are).  I promise, I've never shot a person.  Is that what you think of Americans?
Well, yeah. In America it is so easy to get a gun, not like in Denmark, so we think you go around shooting each other all the time.
Ok, that is not exactly true. We don't even have a gun in our house. I only know how to shoot because we have a hunting farm.  
I think you guys watch too much American tv and play too many videos games. 


Did you know that America shot Osama?
Yes, I did. I woke up this morning to some facebook statuses about Osama bin Laden being killed.  I am surprised you know. 
It was on the Danish news this morning.  Are you glad he is dead?
Well, I think some people are relieved because they think nothing else will happen to America now, but I still think it sad that we had to kill a person.
Are you scared to fly back to America now?
No. 
But some terrorists have said that if America kills Osama, they will take revenge?
Oh....well, um, I wasn't scared.  But now I might be. 
They have said they will set off the A-bomb.  What do you think of the A-bomb?
Ummm...that is a rather political question.  I think any kind of bomb that could harm innocent people is a bad thing.  (how do you even begin to answer a question like that??)

Do you like Obama?
Yes, I do. I think he is doing about as good of a job as he can.  I think a lot of Americans expected too much of him and now they are upset.  


These kids sure know a lot about the world.
Apparently I do not because the next question was...

Do you like Lars Lokke Rasmussen?
ummmm....who?
Lars Lokke Rasmussen?
uhhhh....well...hmmm... (finally the teacher came to my rescue: He is the president (prime minister) of Denmark.)
Ooooooh! (who looks like a big idiot now? Definitely me)
Well, I don't actually know Danish politics very well (surprise surprise, ignorant American) but from what I can tell it would be good if Denmark gets a new prime minister soon.  

Thankfully they weren't too offended that I was clueless and the girl agreed
I don't like him. We should get a new one soon.


How does it feel to go to a country and everyone just speaks your language? You don't really have to do anything because they all know how to talk to you.
Well, it makes me feel really bad.  I wish that I could speak your language, I really do.  I feel lazy and kind of ignorant (then the teacher explained in Danish what ignorant means) because you guys are so good at english and english is the only language I can speak.  
Then we had a small discussion about how Danish children watch a lot of American tv and listen to a TON of American pop music.  One of the girls has been listening to American music since she was born and that is how she learned most of her english.  Fascinating.  I guess I better start watching Danish tv comedies.

They also asked me a lot of other simple What is your favorite....color? place? thing to do? sport? candy? ect ect, but I think I covered the most interesting ones already.  Those 12-year olds really know a lot more than I expected and they were not afraid to ask anything (especially my own host brother! hehe)  But I figured I better be honest with them because they are growing up quickly and will soon find things out for themselves.

So it was pretty awesome to get to see those kids again and hear what they think of America. Until I came here, I really had no idea how huge America is.  Not only physically (it's gigantic!) but also culturally.  America has a huge influence in many European countries.  However, what I think is even cooler than that is how distinct each European country is even though some of them are smaller than Iowa (Denmark, for example).  Denmark is culturally completely separate from Sweden, Germany, the UK, so on and so froth, even though they are all so close together.  Each country has grown with different events, leaders and political movements.  All of these things have created very unique national identities for each country.

Gosh I love these things that I never would have known if I stayed in the little Knox bubble back in Galesburg, Il : )

That's all for now!

What a lovely day for a picnic!

Well DIS is just so great.  They organized a beautiful picnic by a beautiful beach for all students and families and they even managed to get beautiful weather too! Saturday, May 7th was the annual DIS picnic so Karina made a delicious salad for the common table and we drove to Klampenborg (where I was just the day before!) and enjoyed the time in the sun with food, friends and games.  Karina, Rebecca, Andreas, myself and two of my friends from psych (Leslie and Assiyah) even won the human pyramid contest!!

Jesper and I (with a danish hot dog in my hand!)

Photo credit goes to Rebecca :)

3-legged race. We did not dominate at this :( but at least we tried!

That is not us.  This was after we had beat the other teams. 

Photo credit to Karina.  Love it!

Rachel goes on a Louisiana adventure : )

Ok, so I know it was a little dorky but sometimes I just like the words that I think up more than the words I decide to write into this blog so I thought I'd give it a try.  Anyway, here is the rest of the story of that day:

I rode my bike from my house in Bagsvaerd to the Klampenborg train station about 13ish km away.  I stopped briefly at the Dyrehaven (deer park) and Bakken (old amusement park) just to walk through a bit.  There is no entrance fee into the park, you only have to pay if you want to ride rides or eat delicious food, so that meant I got to walk around in the park and I was the only person in there because it wasn't open yet.  That is quite the experience, walking around rides, games, food stands and it all seems frozen in time because there is absolutely no activity.  It was also way more peaceful than an amusement park ever should be.  

Anyway, I went to the train station and bought my ticket to take the Regional train up to Humblebaek, where Lousiana is.  I had my bike with me and since I take my bike on the S-tog all the time for free, I figured this train would be free for my bike also.  I found out the hard way that it is not.  The ticket lady asked for my ticket so I showed it to her and then she said "And your bike?"  I probably looked like a total tourist then because I said "You mean it's not free the way it is on the s-tog?"  Nope. Definitely not.  So she says "You can just hop off at the next stop, but a bike ticket and get on the next train."  Okay, that doesn't sound too tough. Too bad the next station was a small one in the middle of nowhere (although it did have a beautiful view of the beach) and it took me ten minutes to even find the ticket machine to buy a bike ticket and then the next train didn't come for half an hour.  Ah well. It was a beautiful day and I enjoyed some time taking artsy fartsy photos of my (borrowed) bike.  And taking goofy pictures of me to document the adventure:

The very sought after bike ticket

I finally made my way to the museum and enjoyed the wonderful weather as I wandered around the sculptures.

Secret little bridge in the lake garden area that I explored 

I was just pretty darn happy

The inside section of the Lousiana had a special exhibit on Picasso. I was unable to take any photos inside since it was so special but it was all about peace and freedom and how he was involved in fighting for these.  There was also a super awesome exhibit called "Me draw on I-pad" by the artist David Hockney.  He literally drew hundreds (if not thousands) of pictures on the ipad drawing app and the exhibit had a bunch of ipads, ipods and large projected screens displaying the pictures.  There apparently is also a way to watch the drawing as it happened in fast-forward. So for a few of the drawings you could watch in high speed how he drew it.  I think that was my favorite section of the museum.

After I spent enough time in there I went down to the beach, where I got the brilliant idea to record a video blog. And lucky you, thanks to my brilliant (and dorky) idea, you have gotten to experience the area just as I did...or at least almost as I did :P   Then I hopped on my bike again and rode down Strandenvej (beach road).  I decided to ride as far as I could so I wouldn't have to pay for the extra transportation.  I probably rode about 15 km before I decided to hop on the train, not because I was exhausted but because I wanted to make it home for dinner.  I rode the train for two stops and then I went back to Bakken for some cotton candy, as a reward for adventuring on my own.  For those of you who don't know I am a little bit addicted to cotton candy.  I don't know exactly why I love it so much but I do...probably because I have a gigantic sweet tooth and cotton candy is just sugar and air.  Anyway, I got the biggest thing of cotton candy I have ever seen! And that is saying something because I have seen a lot of cotton candy! Check it out

And of course it took me only about ten minutes to devour that massive amount of candy floss (the danish term for cotton candy), which I did while I sat and watched the log ride splash down and soak each and every one of its passengers.  

And then it was time to bike back to good ol' Bagsvaerd.  It was a beautiful ride on paved roads the whole way but with forests and fields on both sides of the roads most of the way, which is a much different feel than city biking.  

So that was my Louisiana adventure! Back with more in a bit : )