So here come my promised recaps of my glorious 3 week travel break. The first week was my DIS "study tour", a trip with my psychology class to Stockholm and Tallinn. I found that these study trips are actually a lot of fun and have a good balance between the academic visits, cultural visits and free time.
Stockholm is a stunning city. The city is made up for four islands. It is full of character. For example, the metro stations are all unique, and look like beautifully painted caves! I wished we'd had more time in Stockholm than the 2 and a half days we spent here. I felt like it was a city that I could spend days just wandering through. There are so many nice squares, grand buildings, little alleys, cute cafes in the basements, and art. The city was especially beautiful because fall was at its peak and everywhere you looked, it was yellow, orange and red trees, piles of leaves on the ground, and crisp, fresh air. The last day during our down time I went to a huge park that was breathtakingly beautiful, it was on the water and perfect for tree climbing. With the group we went on a guided tour which was actually great and informative and showed us the main sights of the city, as well as a canal tour, a visit to the Vasa viking ship museum - a magnificent Viking ship that was about 6 stories high and covered in intricate wooden carvings, sadly this ship that was built for over 2 years only made it about 20 minutes into its journey before sinking! Our academic visits were also interesting - the Swedish education system is similar to the Danish. However, one school we visited was a Reggio Emilia school - an Italian educational movement that is becoming increasingly more popular around world - wikipedia it if you're interested. The school's facilities were amazing, though after some group discussions we were dubious of how sincere the teachers really were...
Anyway after 3 days in Stockholm, it was time to go to Tallinn, and what better way of getting there than an overnight ferry, a.k.a. cruise ship Tallink? That's right, I am getting school credit for taking a cruise! As it turns out, the ship was not what we expected - it was full of old men with tattoos and jail stories going to the Estonia vs. Turkey football match - and needless to say, they were a little too excited about the group of 20 American girls on the ship. Thankfully the 5 boys in our group made sure to stick with us and rescue us when needed. We all made it out alive, and arrived in Tallinn the next morning safe and sound!
I had been to Tallinn before with my family - my mom lived there when she was younger, and we have some family friends there. So it was great to go back to this city, I had very fond memories of it. Tallinn is an old medieval city with a big wall surrounding the old town and towers everywhere. One of the nights we even had dinner at a Medieval restaurant! The whole group seemed to fall in love with Tallinn. It was great for me too - all three days I met up with my mom's friends who showed me around and made my time there so much more special. We had a lot more free time here, but the last night did go to a jazz concert as a group - their new album is titled: Love Song to a Migratory Bird. Despite the cheesy title, the concert was very relaxing and enjoyable.
The academic visits in Tallinn were very interesting to me. The first school was an Estonian Waldorf school. I went into a classroom where they were teaching first graders how to speak Russian. Picture us in dancing in a circle with these children singing in Russian and grabbing each other's noses and ears as they learned body parts! The Estonian children were very shy but curious about us, but overall I had a great impression of the educational approach there. The next visit....not so much. It was a Russian preschool, and sadly, it seemed like more of a Soviet preschool than a Russian one. Watching the children learn English as the teacher yelled at them to speak 'LOUDER' and made them sing the same song over and over again about a "butterfly in the sky" shocked the whole group. It was very interesting to see the relationships between the Russians and Estonians in Tallinn. About 45% of the population is Russian, yet it doesn't seem like there is any integration at all. Each group sticks to their own. Samantha, a woman that showed us around and who is African but speaks Russian fluently, told us when she asks for directions she asks in English rather than Russian because if the other person is Estonian they might give her the wrong directions.
Anyway overall, this first week to my trip was fantastic. I hope to return to Stockholm someday since we were there for such a short time!
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Christmas already???
I have been back in Denmark for a week now and it has been dark and cold. The sun sets at about 4:30 PM these days and it will only get darker earlier until December. It is weird to adjust to. Sometimes I wake up and it is still dark outside, and when I come home from school it is already dark. The one day that I slept in (until 10:30) I only had 6 hours of daylight! No worries though, the Danes compensate for the bleakness of the weather with their hygge-ness. I think I have had at least one hot chocolate (varme chocolade) every day since I have been back.
Although this week has been filled with actual school work (that's right I do go to school here...kind of), I have also had lots of fun! Thursday I worked at the preschool - it was so good to be back, I missed those kiddies. I learned a Danish song about a cockroach which I will have to sing for you when I am back!
Friday was J-Dag - the day Carlsberg released their Jule Bryge (Christmas brew). According to a touristy brochure called Copenhagen this week, there was supposed to be a huge event at the brewery with pixies, free beer, and lots of christmas cheer. This turned out to be a mistake though - and instead there was a staff party for the Carlsberg employees and....about 30 american students. So instead we ended up splitting off into smaller groups and going into the city. At every bar they would release the beer at a different time. So, in the end, we got our free beer and lots of christmas cheer (picture Danes dressed as pixies singing Jingle Bells on the streets which are covered in foam to look like snow). Quote from my host dad: "J Dag is more exciting to the Danes than the election is to Americans". I guess they have to find some joy in the dark winter months! Speaking of elections - it was amazing to see how much everyone in Denmark cared about this election, I was congratulated by many Danes for the outcome! Some even said they thought they should have been able to vote :)
I have also been spending a lot of time with my host family as always. Yesterday was my host farmor's birthday (grandmother - father's mother), and we had a very nice lunch and walk around the forest around their home. When they asked me what Danish I have learned in my preschool, I announced at the table "Jeg skal tysser" or - I need to pee, which got a lot of laughs. Although I am taking Danish class, I feel like I am learning a lot more Danish in the preschool - however it is 3 year old vocabulary.
I will try to write about my travels in the next week - but for now you can take a peak through my pictures!
Stockholm:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/Stockholm?authkey=piK24KUq9mU#
Tallinn:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/Tallinn?authkey=R9i6Y6C5MwE#
UK:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/BestOfTheUK?authkey=g6MRBNp1aaQ#
Czech Republic:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/CzechTrekAndPrague?authkey=i4Cjtd5CRzs#
Before I go to write my 9 page paper on Viking Art (ughh what is this "schoolwork" business all about!) I'll leave you with some pictures of my life..
Min dansk hjem - My Danish home
My preschool - Solstrålen, so beautiful, these kids are so lucky
Pretty sunset at 4:30 PM in front of my house
Although this week has been filled with actual school work (that's right I do go to school here...kind of), I have also had lots of fun! Thursday I worked at the preschool - it was so good to be back, I missed those kiddies. I learned a Danish song about a cockroach which I will have to sing for you when I am back!
Friday was J-Dag - the day Carlsberg released their Jule Bryge (Christmas brew). According to a touristy brochure called Copenhagen this week, there was supposed to be a huge event at the brewery with pixies, free beer, and lots of christmas cheer. This turned out to be a mistake though - and instead there was a staff party for the Carlsberg employees and....about 30 american students. So instead we ended up splitting off into smaller groups and going into the city. At every bar they would release the beer at a different time. So, in the end, we got our free beer and lots of christmas cheer (picture Danes dressed as pixies singing Jingle Bells on the streets which are covered in foam to look like snow). Quote from my host dad: "J Dag is more exciting to the Danes than the election is to Americans". I guess they have to find some joy in the dark winter months! Speaking of elections - it was amazing to see how much everyone in Denmark cared about this election, I was congratulated by many Danes for the outcome! Some even said they thought they should have been able to vote :)
I have also been spending a lot of time with my host family as always. Yesterday was my host farmor's birthday (grandmother - father's mother), and we had a very nice lunch and walk around the forest around their home. When they asked me what Danish I have learned in my preschool, I announced at the table "Jeg skal tysser" or - I need to pee, which got a lot of laughs. Although I am taking Danish class, I feel like I am learning a lot more Danish in the preschool - however it is 3 year old vocabulary.
I will try to write about my travels in the next week - but for now you can take a peak through my pictures!
Stockholm:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/Stockholm?authkey=piK24KUq9mU#
Tallinn:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/Tallinn?authkey=R9i6Y6C5MwE#
UK:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/BestOfTheUK?authkey=g6MRBNp1aaQ#
Czech Republic:
http://picasaweb.google.com/lizadadiomov/CzechTrekAndPrague?authkey=i4Cjtd5CRzs#
Before I go to write my 9 page paper on Viking Art (ughh what is this "schoolwork" business all about!) I'll leave you with some pictures of my life..
Min dansk hjem - My Danish home
My preschool - Solstrålen, so beautiful, these kids are so lucky
Pretty sunset at 4:30 PM in front of my house
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Lovely Copenhagen
I don't know exactly when it happened, but sometime in the 7 weeks that I've been here I've stopped being a tourist and have started seeing everything with a new set of eyes. Even in the way that I walk down the street - I don't stop to look at everything anymore the way that I used to. My commute to school is so routine - I hurry to the train station in the morning through a shortcut to make my train. I get on the train about 2 minutes before it leaves, and first take my coat off, put my headphones on and pull out my book. The next 45 minutes are mine to enjoy. As soon as I hear "naeste station - osterport" I know it is time to put my things away because I will get off at the next station: Norreport. From this station I cross the street and walk down one of the walking streets (meaning cars are not allowed on these streets). I walk past the book store and the little cafe that always looks so inviting. I walk by the library that looks more like a cathedral, and once I am past it I take a right and walk by Frue Plads - a big beautiful square. I walk quickly and know to walk on the larger stones rather than the cobblestones so my feet don't get as tired. Once I get to Gammel Torv - I walk down Vestergade to DIS and about one hour after leaving my house I am finally at school! I know my way around the city now and walk with a purpose rather than as a tourist. I have even been asked for directions several times!
Last night though, I experienced a different Copenhagen in Kulturnatten - Culture Night. Everything in the whole city was open until midnight - museums, cafes, towers, cathedrals, everything. There were countless events going on such as concerts, free food, laser shows and more. After making some dinner at Gabi's Kollegium (which is like a dorm), we headed out to Kulturnatten. We decided to go to Christiansborg - which used to be the royal palace. Underneath it though, there are ruins of the old palace which burned down. We wandered through these underground ruins with a little bike flashlight Madeleine luckily brought along. Afterwards we walked around the city, and I have never seen it so alive! There were thousands of people on the streets very early into the morning, people of all ages. It was wonderful. There were street performers, music, and art everywhere! People watching at its prime. Walking around Amagertorv I felt something familiar that I couldn't figure out. One of my friends correctly identified it - it was like being at a frat party - the entire sidewalk on Stroget was sticky from spilled beer! The city was a giant Danish frat party - but much less sketchy and infinitely more cultured.
In the morning we woke up, made some pancakes (American style, not the thin, crepe-like Danish pancakes) and headed off to a canal boat tour. Walking around, I thought about how Copenhagen has become a part of me and how much I will miss this city.
Good thing I still have 2 months left! And tomorrow I am off on my 3 week travel break. The plan is Stockholm, Tallinn, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Durham, Nottingham, London, Prague! I am very excited, and will try to post during the break. Vi ses!
Last night though, I experienced a different Copenhagen in Kulturnatten - Culture Night. Everything in the whole city was open until midnight - museums, cafes, towers, cathedrals, everything. There were countless events going on such as concerts, free food, laser shows and more. After making some dinner at Gabi's Kollegium (which is like a dorm), we headed out to Kulturnatten. We decided to go to Christiansborg - which used to be the royal palace. Underneath it though, there are ruins of the old palace which burned down. We wandered through these underground ruins with a little bike flashlight Madeleine luckily brought along. Afterwards we walked around the city, and I have never seen it so alive! There were thousands of people on the streets very early into the morning, people of all ages. It was wonderful. There were street performers, music, and art everywhere! People watching at its prime. Walking around Amagertorv I felt something familiar that I couldn't figure out. One of my friends correctly identified it - it was like being at a frat party - the entire sidewalk on Stroget was sticky from spilled beer! The city was a giant Danish frat party - but much less sketchy and infinitely more cultured.
In the morning we woke up, made some pancakes (American style, not the thin, crepe-like Danish pancakes) and headed off to a canal boat tour. Walking around, I thought about how Copenhagen has become a part of me and how much I will miss this city.
Good thing I still have 2 months left! And tomorrow I am off on my 3 week travel break. The plan is Stockholm, Tallinn, Edinburgh, Newcastle, Durham, Nottingham, London, Prague! I am very excited, and will try to post during the break. Vi ses!
Thursday, October 2, 2008
A little bit of culture shock
"Oh look they're singing the birthday song!" My host family pointed out to me as we're watching the evening news while eating dinner. I looked at the screen - and sure enough, there is a crowd of about 100 people all waving Danish flags and singing the birthday song (which has so many different verses and is infinitely more complex than the simple Happy Birthday to You that we sing). It turns out it was the TV station's 20th birthday, so the other news station, TV2 was singing to TV1! "How nice", I thought, that one station is spending so much of its time to congratulate the other station! When I mentioned that it was great how they were nice to each other, my host dad said "oh no no, they are actually very competitive with each other". Duh, how could I not see the intense competition through the singing? The Danes have come a long long way from their reputation as fierce warriors as Vikings.
One more observation: Danish people don't seem to sweat. It's an interesting phenomenon. I have gone on many runs here where I've encountered other runners: none of them seemed to sweat. Also from talking to people that go to gyms - it seems to be the case there as well. Danes just look impeccable no matter what they are doing. This past weekend I was somehow convinced to run 14 kilometers with my host dad and his friend, and definitely got my butt kicked. It was a great run and very beautiful, but I definitely have a long way to go if I want to be in good shape like these two 50 year old men. At the end of our run, I was the only one who seemed to be sweating or breathing the way normal people do after a tough workout.
After the run, they always reward themselves with a beer. This seemed fine to me and I didn't think much of it - until we were drinking the beer in the car as we were driving home! Have they not heard of "don't drink and drive"? As I awkwardly asked my host dad "so....should you really be drinking that beer while driving and are you aware that my life is in your hands?", he just seemed surprised that this was even a concern. We started to talk about the laws here versus in the U.S. and in Denmark, you can drive if you have one drink. This seems okay, .08 whatever, but it was pretty crazy to me that you can drink your one drink while you are driving. Don't worry mom and dad - it was fine and safe, it is amazing though how different their attitudes are here. They were so amazed that you cannot have an open bottle of alcohol in the car with you even if you are not even touching it. There are not open container laws here at all. As for driving, I think it's a great idea that in Denmark you are allowed to drink before you get your driver's license. Learn your limits, then learn to drive! Very smart.
Oh Denmark, you continue to amaze me in oh so many ways!
One more observation: Danish people don't seem to sweat. It's an interesting phenomenon. I have gone on many runs here where I've encountered other runners: none of them seemed to sweat. Also from talking to people that go to gyms - it seems to be the case there as well. Danes just look impeccable no matter what they are doing. This past weekend I was somehow convinced to run 14 kilometers with my host dad and his friend, and definitely got my butt kicked. It was a great run and very beautiful, but I definitely have a long way to go if I want to be in good shape like these two 50 year old men. At the end of our run, I was the only one who seemed to be sweating or breathing the way normal people do after a tough workout.
After the run, they always reward themselves with a beer. This seemed fine to me and I didn't think much of it - until we were drinking the beer in the car as we were driving home! Have they not heard of "don't drink and drive"? As I awkwardly asked my host dad "so....should you really be drinking that beer while driving and are you aware that my life is in your hands?", he just seemed surprised that this was even a concern. We started to talk about the laws here versus in the U.S. and in Denmark, you can drive if you have one drink. This seems okay, .08 whatever, but it was pretty crazy to me that you can drink your one drink while you are driving. Don't worry mom and dad - it was fine and safe, it is amazing though how different their attitudes are here. They were so amazed that you cannot have an open bottle of alcohol in the car with you even if you are not even touching it. There are not open container laws here at all. As for driving, I think it's a great idea that in Denmark you are allowed to drink before you get your driver's license. Learn your limits, then learn to drive! Very smart.
Oh Denmark, you continue to amaze me in oh so many ways!
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Biking around Bornholm
You're probably wondering where the hell Bornholm is..I know I was. It is a small island south of Sweden - it is actually closer to Poland and Germany than it is to Denmark, and yet it is one of Denmark's 406 islands! Crazy. It is absolutely beautiful though.
Friday night, i said goodbye to my parents, and got on a big bus that took us to Køge, the ferry landing. Seeing as my ferry experiences are pretty much just to Orcas Island and back, I was expecting something similar to a Washington State ferry. This was nothing like it. It was more like a cruise ship. You can pay for a cabin, or just sleep on the floor or reclining chairs. We chose the floor, and had some sleep on the 6 hour ferry ride to Bornholm. As soon as we got there, we saw a beautiful sunrise!
Then we proceeded to eat some breakfast at our hostel, took a quick power nap, and got on our bikes. We decided to be ambitious and bike the "Killer Tour" - 65 kilometers! It turned out to be tough but definitely worth it. Although we had some bike trouble on the way (word of advice : next time your bike breaks - just kick it around a bit, swear at it, and even spit on it, it worked for us!) There were 5 of us biking together which turned out to be a great group. We tried some of the famous smoked herring on the way - everyone liked it except for me.
Notice the intensely gold color! After biking along beautiful coast through cute Danish towns, we ended up on a beach that is famous for having the finest sand in the world! They export it for hourglass clocks. I have never seen a sea like this before - it was pretty incredible.
We even built a sandcastle, complete with a moat, medieval ramparts and a mini stonehenge!
At the end of this day we were pretty exhausted, and went to bed pretty early after eating some Digestives (no they are not for senior citizens, they are actually delicious biscuits that I have become slightly obsessed with despite their humorous name).
On Day 2 we decided to explore the northern half of the island, and biked about 45 kilometers. We biked through very peaceful farm land, and even some sheep pastures! We visited some very adorable towns that you can see pictures of in my photo album, as well as the Hammerhus ruins - the largest fortress in Northern Europe. There were amazing views from there of the sea and the forests.
Overall, the sore legs and lack of sleep was well worth the trip, Bornholm was one of the most beautiful places I have been to!
Friday night, i said goodbye to my parents, and got on a big bus that took us to Køge, the ferry landing. Seeing as my ferry experiences are pretty much just to Orcas Island and back, I was expecting something similar to a Washington State ferry. This was nothing like it. It was more like a cruise ship. You can pay for a cabin, or just sleep on the floor or reclining chairs. We chose the floor, and had some sleep on the 6 hour ferry ride to Bornholm. As soon as we got there, we saw a beautiful sunrise!
Then we proceeded to eat some breakfast at our hostel, took a quick power nap, and got on our bikes. We decided to be ambitious and bike the "Killer Tour" - 65 kilometers! It turned out to be tough but definitely worth it. Although we had some bike trouble on the way (word of advice : next time your bike breaks - just kick it around a bit, swear at it, and even spit on it, it worked for us!) There were 5 of us biking together which turned out to be a great group. We tried some of the famous smoked herring on the way - everyone liked it except for me.
Notice the intensely gold color! After biking along beautiful coast through cute Danish towns, we ended up on a beach that is famous for having the finest sand in the world! They export it for hourglass clocks. I have never seen a sea like this before - it was pretty incredible.
At the end of this day we were pretty exhausted, and went to bed pretty early after eating some Digestives (no they are not for senior citizens, they are actually delicious biscuits that I have become slightly obsessed with despite their humorous name).
On Day 2 we decided to explore the northern half of the island, and biked about 45 kilometers. We biked through very peaceful farm land, and even some sheep pastures! We visited some very adorable towns that you can see pictures of in my photo album, as well as the Hammerhus ruins - the largest fortress in Northern Europe. There were amazing views from there of the sea and the forests.
Overall, the sore legs and lack of sleep was well worth the trip, Bornholm was one of the most beautiful places I have been to!
http://picasaweb.google.dk/lizadadiomov/Bornholm?authkey=KNdsycLmpNk#
There's a link to see the rest of the pictures!Tuesday, September 16, 2008
pictures!
Here are lots and lots of pictures from the weekend!
http://picasaweb.google.dk/lizadadiomov/ShortStudyTour02?authkey=xC1wNnR0vtE#
http://picasaweb.google.dk/lizadadiomov/ShortStudyTour02?authkey=xC1wNnR0vtE#
Short Study Tour and Parents!
Well, it has been an extremely busy few days, and I have some busy days ahead, but right now it is time to update, get some sleep, and breathe!
Last weekend I went on my first study tour for my psych program. We went to Odense (third biggest city in Denmark), Skandenborg and Legoland! This is supposed to be a somewhat "academic" trip, but during the 3 days, we spent a total of 4 hours on anything academic. Not that I'm complaining, the trip was a blast! We visited two schools - one was a preschool made up of mostly immigrant children, and then a school that tries to incorporate different learning styles. I won't go into the details that probably only I find exciting, so you can ask me about that later. In Odense we visited the Hans Christian Andersen museum, walked around, had amazing cappuccinos, and made some new friends in my program! I bonded especially with one girl who also works at a summer camp - I think we shared camp stories pretty much nonstop the entire weekend! Sorry to everyone else who had to listen to our camp talk! Anyway, after Odense we went to Skandenborg which was a beautiful lake. We had a huge bonfire, and roasted bread on the fire! That's right, we twisted dough around a stick and then roasted it on the fire, then roasted hot dogs, combined the two, and voila! The danes know how to have bonfires. In the midst of this eating, we also decided to jump into the lake in the freezing cold! The next day we went to a few more sights like the Jelling Stones which are stones with Runes written on them, we finally went to the main attraction - LEGOLAND! This was amazing, it brought out the 5 year old in all of us. Legos will always hold a special place in my heart - as a child I remember playing with my brother's legos and being fascinated by the castles he would build. I think I liked his legos way more than my own toys! Anyway, I was in lego-heaven, as you will see from the amount of pictures that I took there! I was so excited that it took me a while to realize that I had stubbed my toe and was bleeding all over Legoland! Overall, great trip. It was nice to see other parts of Denmark and get to know my psych group better!
As soon as I got back, I met up with my parents who are visiting for a week before they go to Russia! It has been very busy this week with school, essays, etc. but I've had some time to show them around, and introduce them to my host family and such. It has been great to see them, and I've got 3 more days with them in Copenhagen :) This weekend I'm going on a biking trip in Bornholm - an island off Denmark that is supposed to be very beautiful! Right now, time to get some sleep and relax.
Hej hej!
Last weekend I went on my first study tour for my psych program. We went to Odense (third biggest city in Denmark), Skandenborg and Legoland! This is supposed to be a somewhat "academic" trip, but during the 3 days, we spent a total of 4 hours on anything academic. Not that I'm complaining, the trip was a blast! We visited two schools - one was a preschool made up of mostly immigrant children, and then a school that tries to incorporate different learning styles. I won't go into the details that probably only I find exciting, so you can ask me about that later. In Odense we visited the Hans Christian Andersen museum, walked around, had amazing cappuccinos, and made some new friends in my program! I bonded especially with one girl who also works at a summer camp - I think we shared camp stories pretty much nonstop the entire weekend! Sorry to everyone else who had to listen to our camp talk! Anyway, after Odense we went to Skandenborg which was a beautiful lake. We had a huge bonfire, and roasted bread on the fire! That's right, we twisted dough around a stick and then roasted it on the fire, then roasted hot dogs, combined the two, and voila! The danes know how to have bonfires. In the midst of this eating, we also decided to jump into the lake in the freezing cold! The next day we went to a few more sights like the Jelling Stones which are stones with Runes written on them, we finally went to the main attraction - LEGOLAND! This was amazing, it brought out the 5 year old in all of us. Legos will always hold a special place in my heart - as a child I remember playing with my brother's legos and being fascinated by the castles he would build. I think I liked his legos way more than my own toys! Anyway, I was in lego-heaven, as you will see from the amount of pictures that I took there! I was so excited that it took me a while to realize that I had stubbed my toe and was bleeding all over Legoland! Overall, great trip. It was nice to see other parts of Denmark and get to know my psych group better!
As soon as I got back, I met up with my parents who are visiting for a week before they go to Russia! It has been very busy this week with school, essays, etc. but I've had some time to show them around, and introduce them to my host family and such. It has been great to see them, and I've got 3 more days with them in Copenhagen :) This weekend I'm going on a biking trip in Bornholm - an island off Denmark that is supposed to be very beautiful! Right now, time to get some sleep and relax.
Hej hej!
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