Well I got my first taste of it this past Monday morning.
After a very productive editorial meeting where I was assigned three articles (pause for celebration!! WOO:), I decided to go to every international students favorite study/coffee spot, Paludan. Just as I sipped my last drops of coffee, fortunately, my phone started buzzing like mad. My editor was calling me frantically asking if I "was home" and if I "knew anything about Radiohead," I responded that I was home (lie, not sure why I said that haha) and that I had heard of them but was not particularly a big follower. "Okay then can you be on the KUA campus in 10 minutes because rumors are circling that Radiohead is going to be there promoting their new album."
In my head I sighed "fuuuuuuuuuck" then I hung up the phone, quickly packed up my bag, threw it in my basket and hopped on my bike. It was quite the bike ride. Heart pumping. Swift pedaling. Crafty weaving. It felt like I was driving my car again! All in all I made it to KUA from the central university campus in 7 minutes. As my bike came to a screeching halt in front of the bike racks my phone started buzzing again. I thought it was going to be more information on where I could find the band, but it was just a text from my editor. "No Radiohead. Just some gossip bullshit." Then I proceeded to laugh. Vi ses!
30 March 2011
24 March 2011
The weather it is a changin'
 |
| Sunrise over Amager |
On Tuesday when I was biking to Danish I noticed people to be more friendly and smiling. Down side was that all the old people who refrain from bike usage during the cold winter months have come back out on the roads and are certainly in no hurry to get anywhere or tell you when they are stopping. But besides that it is a welcome change. Now when I go out the door I no longer have layer myself up like I am going on an Everest expedition... maybe just a base camp expedition;)
I am looking forward to what the Copenhagen spring brings with it, namely Tivoli opening, the cherry trees blossoming, and biking through the various parks and gardens! One of the things I am most excited about it going out to Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. I was supposed to have gone there on a trip with my Danish Culture class, but I was most likely nursing a severe hangover that morning... oops! They are having an exhibition on Picasso called "Peace and Freedom" that looks particularly enticing. Plus I heard that the views from the museum are supposed to be pretty amazing themselves.
The spring will also bring a few other exciting things with it, like my parents! They purchased their tickets and are going to be flying out late April for a visit. Since they have both been to Copenhagen before, we plan on spending a couple of days here (to meet people mostly) and then renting a car and seeing the rest of Denmark including Jylland and Fyn. My mom is particularly interested in going to Odense and Aalborg, the cities where our ancestors came from.
Another trip which lies in my imminent future is one to Lisbon, Portugal with my friend Vanessa. It is going to be a very relaxed long weekend which we decided will solely revolve around beaches, sangria, and yummy food. I have been there once before with my family when we went on our European cruise, so it will be nice not feeling the pressure to see all the touristy sights. And Paris with Martin is in the making, we have yet to book our flight but it is looking to be in mid May for four nights... so very excited:)
And lastly, the trip that I am probably looking most forward to, Martin and myself will be going north to the island of Læsø to spend a couple of weeks in late June at his family's summer house. Why am I looking forward to this vacation on an island of 2000 people in the North Sea? Well I will tell you
- For the longest time Martin had a picture of Læsø on his computer and it just looks absolutely gorgeous.
- I have been promised there will be lots and lots of fresh fish.
- There has been rumor about a legitimate pizza oven that makes some pretty mean pies.
- Biking to and from the little village in the sunshine.
- Going hunting for amber just as the sun rises.
- Having no homework and being able to relax 100%
And probably the most important reason would have to be spending some quality time with Martin before I leave for the states.
Hmm the sunshine is looking very very attractive right now and my vacant balcony is calling my name, so I think that will be all for now. Vi ses!
18 March 2011
Quick Catch-up!
I feel like an abusive mother who has left her child abandoned in a car, without even cracking a window! Haha yeah the past couple of days and weeks have been very busy, but the funny thing is I cannot think of what I have been doing. Oh well the important thing is that I am back again.
So in order to pick-up again on my blogging I think I shall just give a few highlights of what has happened in the past couple of days, deal? deal!
6. March
The smell of sweat, grass and dirt are in the air finally and it was time to kick-off the second half of the Danish Football season in the Superliga! Martin, Vanessa and myself took the free train (it was the first Sunday of the month) to Brøndby to watch the Brøndby IF boys take on Lyngby. Thankfully the football gods blessed us that day with blue skies and tolerably cold weather. We made the 3-beer and one Haribo candy bag walk to the stadium, which was made all the more tolerable with a big fluffy beer jacket!
Once we took our places in the Faxe Stand (where the real dedicated fans stand, sing, jump and cheer) it was kick-off time! One of my many favorite things about Brøndby IF is at the beginning of every home game they play "Jump" by Van Halen when the home team comes walking out and at half time they play "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" by Elvis and everyone sways back and forth with their scarves held high. This is a football club with good music taste. There was also little bit of extra American flare at the match too, because I brought a flag to the game to support the newly acquired American player Clarence Goodson, I felt oddly patriotic. The game was rather enjoyable even though it ended in a 1-1 draw, partly because I was a wee bit tipsy but mostly because I was so happy to be watching football once again.
I also went to another match last weekend, the 13th, with Martin, Nickolaj and his girlfriend Erika. It was kind of like a double-date football match, very fun and very hyggeligt. The match was made even better by the fact that they beat SønderjyskE 2-0... second place here we come! See the end of the post for a video of the Van Halen introduction at the games.
11. March
Very early this Friday morning with coffee and bananas in his backpack, Martin and myself biked on over to a movie theater in the center of the city to watch Inside Job. Martin had free tickets to the 9.30 showing because his bank went bankrupt and practically said "Hey we fucked up, sorry. But go see this movie about how screwed up the economy is for free!" Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
The film was really good, it definitely deserved the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film this year. I have never really understood this economic crisis that we are in, it was just this giant enigma wrapped up in economic jargon, pie charts and red/blue arrows going all sorts of directions... so confusing. However, this film did a very good job at explaining how this all happened. Perhaps it was Matt Damon's sultry voice that helped me make better sense of it, nonetheless I would definitely recommend it to everyone!
Side note it was really funny eating bananas in a movie theater! They should really catch on, quite food and if the movie is bad throw the peel at the screen.
14. March
The reason I bring up this date is simply because I was really proud of the compliments that my professor gave me in my History of the European Union class. We had to write up a synopsis of what we were going to write our final paper on and then discuss all the proposals in class. I was a bit intimidated having a prof critique my paper in front of my classmates, but my worry was proved needless. Morten (in the Danish universities it is preferred that you call the prof by their first name, very informal) thought it was well focused, thought out and a really great jumping off point to my exam paper.
For all those curious academics, I chose to write my paper on the legal framework of Protected Geographic Status in the EU. I am going to be asking the questions: What were the driving forces behind the creation of the Protected Geographical Status? Perhaps discuss which countries and industries were elemental in its creation and who, if anyone, opposed the labels. Secondly, I will analyze to what extent these regulations have actually succeeded in preserving local expertise and tradition, whilst preventing the over standardization of food, wine and spirits within the European Union. To give an example of what these labels are, if you buy Champagne you are guaranteed that the grapes for that wine were grown in the Champagne region of France because it is against the law to call something Champagne if it does not come from there. Additionally there was a recent court case between Denmark and Greece, because Denmark was producing Feta cheese and selling it under the name "Feta," however Greece protested because that name is a protected name so Denmark had to change the name to "salad cheese." Interesting, eh?
17. March
"I dag er din fødselsdag, hoorah hoorah hoorah" Yes yesterday was Martin's birthday, the big 24 woo hoo!! It was a wonderful day. In order to have a real Danish birthday breakfast we biked over to a bakery on Islands Brygge to get some freshly baked pastries. Once back home we ate our Danish delights and drank Starbucks Mocha Lattés (the kind you buy in 7Eleven), it was a very decadent start to the day. Then it was time for a little Band of Brothers watching, courtesy of the gift that my parents gave.
Later on we biked over to his place and had a sampling of brie cheese, blue cheese, salami, chorizo and crackers with a lovely French wine. It was kind of my interlude to telling him that his birthday present from me was a wine tasting class in Paris, when we go for my birthday... I honestly cannot stop daydreaming about our trip together, can't wait!
After relaxing at his place and watching the weather quickly turn from decent to dårligt. As it began to rain more and more and then quickly turn to slushy snow we decided to forgo the energy and money saving bikes and seek the warm interior of the city buses instead. So the 5A it was to the sushi restaurant at which I made reservations. We indulged in a platter of sushi for two, edamame, seaweed salad, Asahi beer and a small bottle of the warm house Sake. It was a lovely day with the birthday boy! And on Sunday I have been invited to a family get together to celebrate not only Martin but his aunt and cousin who coincidently have the same birthday, I am looking very much forward to meeting more of the Ast/Grand family:)
Well that did not take too long. It gets rather overwhelming when I do not update my blog for a long time because I feel like I have to catch up on EVERYTHING that I have done, but it is pretty easy just to hit the highlights... no more slacking on the blog, promise! Vi ses.
So in order to pick-up again on my blogging I think I shall just give a few highlights of what has happened in the past couple of days, deal? deal!
6. March
 |
| Faxe Stand - Brøndby Stadium |
Once we took our places in the Faxe Stand (where the real dedicated fans stand, sing, jump and cheer) it was kick-off time! One of my many favorite things about Brøndby IF is at the beginning of every home game they play "Jump" by Van Halen when the home team comes walking out and at half time they play "Can't Help Falling in Love with You" by Elvis and everyone sways back and forth with their scarves held high. This is a football club with good music taste. There was also little bit of extra American flare at the match too, because I brought a flag to the game to support the newly acquired American player Clarence Goodson, I felt oddly patriotic. The game was rather enjoyable even though it ended in a 1-1 draw, partly because I was a wee bit tipsy but mostly because I was so happy to be watching football once again.
I also went to another match last weekend, the 13th, with Martin, Nickolaj and his girlfriend Erika. It was kind of like a double-date football match, very fun and very hyggeligt. The match was made even better by the fact that they beat SønderjyskE 2-0... second place here we come! See the end of the post for a video of the Van Halen introduction at the games.
11. March
Very early this Friday morning with coffee and bananas in his backpack, Martin and myself biked on over to a movie theater in the center of the city to watch Inside Job. Martin had free tickets to the 9.30 showing because his bank went bankrupt and practically said "Hey we fucked up, sorry. But go see this movie about how screwed up the economy is for free!" Pretty sweet deal if you ask me.
The film was really good, it definitely deserved the Academy Award for Best Documentary Film this year. I have never really understood this economic crisis that we are in, it was just this giant enigma wrapped up in economic jargon, pie charts and red/blue arrows going all sorts of directions... so confusing. However, this film did a very good job at explaining how this all happened. Perhaps it was Matt Damon's sultry voice that helped me make better sense of it, nonetheless I would definitely recommend it to everyone!
Side note it was really funny eating bananas in a movie theater! They should really catch on, quite food and if the movie is bad throw the peel at the screen.
14. March
The reason I bring up this date is simply because I was really proud of the compliments that my professor gave me in my History of the European Union class. We had to write up a synopsis of what we were going to write our final paper on and then discuss all the proposals in class. I was a bit intimidated having a prof critique my paper in front of my classmates, but my worry was proved needless. Morten (in the Danish universities it is preferred that you call the prof by their first name, very informal) thought it was well focused, thought out and a really great jumping off point to my exam paper.
For all those curious academics, I chose to write my paper on the legal framework of Protected Geographic Status in the EU. I am going to be asking the questions: What were the driving forces behind the creation of the Protected Geographical Status? Perhaps discuss which countries and industries were elemental in its creation and who, if anyone, opposed the labels. Secondly, I will analyze to what extent these regulations have actually succeeded in preserving local expertise and tradition, whilst preventing the over standardization of food, wine and spirits within the European Union. To give an example of what these labels are, if you buy Champagne you are guaranteed that the grapes for that wine were grown in the Champagne region of France because it is against the law to call something Champagne if it does not come from there. Additionally there was a recent court case between Denmark and Greece, because Denmark was producing Feta cheese and selling it under the name "Feta," however Greece protested because that name is a protected name so Denmark had to change the name to "salad cheese." Interesting, eh?
17. March
"I dag er din fødselsdag, hoorah hoorah hoorah" Yes yesterday was Martin's birthday, the big 24 woo hoo!! It was a wonderful day. In order to have a real Danish birthday breakfast we biked over to a bakery on Islands Brygge to get some freshly baked pastries. Once back home we ate our Danish delights and drank Starbucks Mocha Lattés (the kind you buy in 7Eleven), it was a very decadent start to the day. Then it was time for a little Band of Brothers watching, courtesy of the gift that my parents gave.
Later on we biked over to his place and had a sampling of brie cheese, blue cheese, salami, chorizo and crackers with a lovely French wine. It was kind of my interlude to telling him that his birthday present from me was a wine tasting class in Paris, when we go for my birthday... I honestly cannot stop daydreaming about our trip together, can't wait!
After relaxing at his place and watching the weather quickly turn from decent to dårligt. As it began to rain more and more and then quickly turn to slushy snow we decided to forgo the energy and money saving bikes and seek the warm interior of the city buses instead. So the 5A it was to the sushi restaurant at which I made reservations. We indulged in a platter of sushi for two, edamame, seaweed salad, Asahi beer and a small bottle of the warm house Sake. It was a lovely day with the birthday boy! And on Sunday I have been invited to a family get together to celebrate not only Martin but his aunt and cousin who coincidently have the same birthday, I am looking very much forward to meeting more of the Ast/Grand family:)
Well that did not take too long. It gets rather overwhelming when I do not update my blog for a long time because I feel like I have to catch up on EVERYTHING that I have done, but it is pretty easy just to hit the highlights... no more slacking on the blog, promise! Vi ses.
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