my coffee cup goes everywhere with me

wow

a whole week since my last post?

is it because i have been so crazy busy doing crazy amazing things, and have thus not had time?

or is it because i haven't really done much worthy of blogging lately?

.... i'll just leave you to wonder....

so

yesterday we went to sweden

just cause we can

it's about a 40 minute train ride to Malmö

there is a very cool bridge involved, too

in sweden it was about a billion degrees below zero. but very sunny and otherwise lovely.

we wandered around for a while and saw lots of very practical furniture and very blond people.

also there were some pretty quaint little streets, and a castle, and a farmer's market, and i went to a reptile zoo thing that had like five different species of monkeys. it was pretty neat. i really have a thing for monkeys. also there were some huge turtles and iguanas and snakes, so that was pretty cool. animals that look like dinosaurs are always awesome. after dinner we sortof got stranded in sweden. all trains to Kobenhavn were cancelled and the sign said "take bus instead" (according to my Norwegian friend. as if I could make any sense of Swedish. it might be even more ridiculous than Danish. maybe.) but do you think that we could find a bus? or even a person who could point us in the right direction? Sweden is a very strange place. but after two hours the trains started again. so that was nice.

you'll be interested to know, i'm sure, that people in Malmo also leave their children outside in buggies on the street. we were eating lunch upstairs in a cafe, and the couple beside us had a little baby monitor thing. and as we were leaving, the mom went outside and pulled the tiniest little human that i've ever seen out of a buggy that was parked by the cafe window. this kids-in-the-street thing still gets me every time. once, on oprah, i saw that it's common in iceland too. but my norwegian friend thinks it's very strange so apparently it doesn't happen in Norway. I am curious about finland... i will have to go there.  (But then, of course, we got to thinking - who would steal a baby? Honestly, what are the chances of somebody who just happens to be THAT crazy wandering by whilst you're enjoying your lunch and your two-month-old is siesta-ing outside?  Do people who are THAT kind of crazy even exist? Who wants to steal a newborn? I don't even think I've ever seen that happen on CSI...)

ok well. i was discussing with my friend the other day how so far this doesn't feel like an academic exchange. i just feel as if i'm on holiday. i have a five day weekend (wtf!?). one of my classes is a super slacker "Course in Danish Culture"... it's a lecture for international students, so do you really think that i will do those readings? My other class, however, will be much more intense, it's just that the ball hasn't gotten rolling yet. we had one class two weeks ago, and then last week it was cancelled. however, it's a pretty intense seminar course with lots of master's students and i have about 200 pages to read for it this week. THEREFORE, today, tomorrow, and tuesday, I am actually going to attempt to do my first installment of KU homeworking/studying. i'm pretty excited about it. i hope it doesn't harm my health. i'll let you know how it goes. 

(ps TARYN - i have NO idea how to pronounce the title of my blog... i found it in my danish phrase book... it means "Keep Refrigerated".... i start Danish language classes tomorrow, so i'll get back to you on that one...)

us in front of the best house in Sweden.

the castle

the best house in Sweden and the tallest building in Sweden (actually)

baby common marmoset! if i was gonna steal a baby, it would be this one.

pygmy marmoset... it wasn't in an enclosure at all, just in a big room with bats where people could wander around. it was strange. also very cool.

dinosaurs on the left, tamarin on the right. at this zooish type place, they housed a lot of animals of different species in the same enclosures (there were also big turtle things in this particular enclosure). it was really cool.

malmo! i like this picture... quaint houses, a cool mural, and the best street sign i've ever seen (i don't know what exactly it's supposed to mean though).

searching for a place to eat food

me and malmo city hall. note the sunglasses. it was nice to need to wear sunglasses for a change.

windmills in the channel, as seen from inside the train whilst crossing the bridge. windmills are almost as cool as graffiti and cranes (have i mentioned that i love graffiti and cranes? i might start a blog dedicated entirely to pictures of those two things...)

this is back in copenhagen, walking home from downtown (on friday, when it was also sunny!) ((Mom and Dad and Jen - the hotel where you are staying is in the background of this picture on the left... if you click on it to blow it up, you can see the hotel's sign clearly))

i count murals in the same category as "graffiti".... although i suppose they are somewhat different. perhaps i should go with "Street Art". either way, it's awesome.

this is my house after it snowed last week. the window in the top left hand corner of this picture is my room... and my balcony is right there where the wall ends.

this is my street. the name of which i cannot pronounce.

i did laundry last week. it was quite an adventure. there were three slots for different potions in the washing machine. i just guessed and dumped in a bunch of each thing that was on top of the machine. my clothes came out lovely and clean (although everything was tinted green from my towel cause apparently there is no "cold water" option in denmark) and smells very fresh. too fresh. my room still reeks of Danish Tide. sometimes it makes me choke a lot. anyways. these are my socks drying. the black socks have the days of the week in danish written on them. i love those socks. (... i have no idea why i decided to include this picture)

until next time!

sunshine and snowflakes,

-ahsbury

soon i will buy a bike

ok i would just like to start off by saying that i am fully aware that "they changed the constitutional amendment" is in no way a correct phrase in the sense that i was using... i don't know much at all about constitutions and amending them, but i do believe that i was trying to either say "they changed the constitution" or "they passed a constitutional amendment"... somehow those two got smashed together and i ended up sounding pretty knobbish.

anyways

on to more important things.

(i am really liking the list theme, so i think i'll stick to that. organized blogs are the best blogs.)

LIST #1: more important things

1. my cleverness: did i tell you about my sneaky class attendance trick? for one of my classes, you have to go to 80% of the classes in order to get the credit. which is no problem, it's very interesting. but it occurred to me, what if i have kidney problems and/or i go travelling and/or i sleep through it. it's only once per week for 13 weeks. so missing even 3 classes is bad. but, to take attendance, they send around a sheet and you have to sign it. and there is a spot on the sheet for every week (ie. it'll be the exact same sign in sheet at each class). and so they were like "even though there are 100 of you, we can see the signatures, so we'll know if they don't match" (ie if you get your friend to sign you in). this worries me. so. i was very clever and sneaky. and instead of signing my special fancy loopy illegible signature, i made up a signature. it's just a big letter M with a horizontal ling through it (like AA or even AMA). SO EASY TO FORGE.

i. am. already a great slacker.  ((Note that this amazing plan is entirely contingent on my ability to make a friend in this class.))

2. this weekend: this weekend has been pretty cool. my housemate and i, on friday and saturday, wandered for hours and hours and hours. we went back to all the neat places that we saw on the bus tour so that we could check them out on foot. this meant, however, walking non stop for about 6 hours a day (the alternative would be trying to figure out the bus system... which is totally crazy and not in english. also very expensive) my feet are now covered in blisters and my calve and shin muscles might never full recover. but it was totally worth it. i am totally rocking the Being A Tourist thing. it's also very possible that i am falling head-over-heels in love with copenhagen.

3. today: a bunch of us went to the Glyptotek... basically a really strange museum. with millions of statues and busts. it also just happened to contain the creepiest and the second creepiest things in denmark. please see the pictures.

4. speaking of statues: denmark LOVES statues. there are green statues all over this city. most of them are of previous kings. who were all named Frederick Christian or Christian Frederick (not even kidding. apparently it just alternated for about 700 years) (ok that may have been a gross exaggeration. but a long time). some of them are of other things though. such as The Thinker, and The Little Mermaid, and there is an angel one that i really like.

LIST #2: the next things on the interesting things in cph list:

10. at the grocery store, most vegetables come in scannable packaging. which is a) a huge waste and b) much faster for the cashiers. HOWEVER, there is some sort of strange process that occurs for the few vegetables that are not in a package/bag/wrapper with a bar code. i tried to buy an onion the other day and the cashier held it up and said something in danish with a major "duh" attitude and i said "sorry sorry english!" in my apologetic tone and she said "how much is this?" and i was like... ummm... it's an onion? so i just didn't get it. then i noticed at the grocery store today, there are scales with special buttons that have (i think) the danish words for the produce on them. and i think you put the thing on the scale then push the right button then it spits out a ticket with the price or a bar code or something on it. unfortunately, not speaking any danish is therefore interfering with my ability to purchase vegetables. i hope that my first danish class is a produce vocab lesson. fingers crossed.

11. the thing about the abundance of statues should probably be on this list too

12. danish people like fire. a lot. there are candles everywhere. standard canadian fire safety rules DO NOT apply over here. in peoples rooms, in kitchens, in cafes and restaurants. even in the streets, outside of restaurants, there are torches and candles and stuff. it makes everywhere very very cozy and i love it. unfortunately, however, it's only a matter of time before i get lit on fire. 

ok

that's it for now, i think

not much interesting to say

i am loving having all of this time. at first it was somewhat daunting and lonely. but now, i am settling in and meeting people and loving having a five day weekend every week. time. so much time. 

time to wander and explore and discover and get lost in this strange and beautiful city.

ok, speaking of time, it's picture time. the best time!

cupcakes and puppies and big fluffy clouds,

AA

i will do my best to bring back this fashion. that is A Hot Hat.

the second creepiest thing in Denmark.

the absolutely number one most creepy thing in Denmark. (and i'm sure that it could make top five in the world)

my favourite green statue so far.

this is a church near a weird castle island that my housemate and i happened upon yesterday. note the beautiful rainy weather. it's ok though. it takes a lot more than bad weather to dampen my spirits. (i think that might have sortof been a pun.) 

bikes! (does this picture give the illusion that i am very fast?)

i like this street. colourful houses are all kinds of great.

a stump that has been carved. there are three people in this stump. can you spot them all?

i live in Frederiksberg and at all of the bus stops there is this add/sign/WTF (and also an add for a danish grey's anatomy show.... picture soon). i have no idea what the deal is with this sign/add/poster. but i like it.

in some random garden that we found - i just really like that duck house. although, probably there is an abundance of smelly duck poo in there.

parliament? maybe? 

the ceiling of a very cool dome church thinger

a statue of one of the Frederick Christians or Christian Fredericks. also, that is the queen's house behind it.

me at Nyhavn (i am thinking of doing a "Spot The Mug" series... like Where's Waldo but sponsored by Starbucks)

city hall in the fog and rain

CITY HALL IN THE SUN

TODAY IT WAS SUNNY

i seem to have neglected to mention this above... today it was sunny. i saw the sun briefly last sunday, but it was only for a couple of minutes and the rest of my time here it has been grey and rainy. which is really not a problem. but, today the sky was blue with big billowy white and grey clouds. and the sun shone for extended periods of time. and it was pretty amazing. it was strange to see the streets that i have become so accustomed to in the fog and grey, all lit up. the colours of the buildings were even more vivid and copenhagen had a spring in its step. i am very excited for more sun. shining it's spotlight on this small corner of the world. (too corny? yes. m'bad)

clåsses! big håts! lists!

so i wrote a whole long post that was basically a blow-by-blow of my life since the last post. then i realized that was pretty boring. so i'm just gonna post lists and pictures instead.

LIST #1: things that i learned on the international student bus tour of copenhagen

1. in denmark, there is one bike for every foot. ie. 5 million danish people, 10 million bikes.

2. the military marching band thing that i saw before class on wednesday happens every day, just before noon. they march from somewhere (i can't remember where) to the huge house place where the queen lives.

3. the soldiers' comically huge, totally ridiculous fur hats are made of "canadian bear skin"... i kid you not. when i accidentally gasped loudly, i was told that they only use bears that have "died of natural causes" (.... ummmm... ok?)

4. when the previous king of denmark had three daughters and no sons, they changed the constitutional amendment so that they could have a queen (i like how it was so casual (at least that is how danes talk about it, casually but with pride)... i feel like anywhere else it would be such a huge big deal to amend a constitution (especially in such a way that puts a powerful and traditionally man-dominated position into the hands of a woman)... but here it was like, well whatever, let's have a queen then) (interestingly, it is totally normal to hear danish people say "our king is a queen")

5. on the first and third monday of every month, at 9:45 am, danish people can go to the queen's house and meet her. she receives about 50 visitors each time. the only prerequisite is that you wear "your best clothes outfit"... but no appointment is  necessary. apparently it is usually scholars and diplomats and people with important things to say that go to see her. however. enter alie, from the land of the bear-skin hats.... i'd better just pencil that in my agenda right away ("monday, feb 16, 2009: go say hi to the queen, remember to scrape old food off sweater first, wear fanciest running shoes and least hobo-esque pants").

6. by 5 pm it is too dark to really appreciate a bus tour

LIST #2: to be added to the master list of interesting things here:

5. people leave their babies (in the stroller/buggy things) out in the streets a lot when they go in to shops and cafes. ... like, if the place is too small for a buggy to get around, or has stairs at the entrance, and the baby is asleep, they just park it outside then go in. it makes me nervous. i feel like i should stand nearby and discretely guard the baby. but also, i think that's pretty cool.

6. at the supermarket, people always ALWAYS always put the divider stick down at the end of their order on the conveyor belt. always. i've never seen anybody forget. i get so nervous that i'm going to forget. i'm pretty sure that all of copenhagen would stop, turn towards me, point, and make that 'hoh hoh' noise that they make at people who don't obey the pedestrian traffic lights. 

7. at the Netto supermarket nearest to my house, they don't sell peanut butter. i'm not sure how a store can claim to be a store, let alone a supermarket, and not sell peanut butter. i'm also not sure what i'm going to eat tomorrow, since i ran out of PB today. what if i starve?

8. i've had two classes so far (i only have three courses this semester and one of them doesn't start until april, when one of the ones that i have now ends... it's confusing but i only have five hours of class each week, and i have a five day weekend, so whatever) and the first one, that was supposed to be three hours, started 45 minutes late, ended 1 hour early, and had two 15-minute breaks. the second class was supposed to be two hours but it started 30 minutes late and had a 20 minute break. i feel like i am missing some vital piece of information ("psst alie, your watch is set to the wrong time zone..."). but actually i like it. it's very relaxed.

9. my extended interactions with danish people (and by extended, i mean over 5 minutes, so more than just ordering food or paying for something or asking directions - but never really very long at all.... mostly i only talk to myself and other international students) have all followed a certain pattern - the dane at first comes across as unfriendly and mildly annoyed with my existence, and then i try to say something in danish (such as my street name, or "hello"), or i respond with "no! i am canadian!" when asked where in the US i am from, and they laugh and become the friendliest person i've ever met. it's very strange. they are all (or at least the four or five that i've spoken with) very very friendly and full of questions, but first their i-think-you're-an-annoying-tourist shell needs to be cracked.

ok sorry, picture time.

lost in copenhagen. i like the huge danish flag that is hanging right out over the road.

this is called "the palace" and it's a movie theatre... also, it's a very offensive shade of bubblegum

"the thinker"... very famous sculpture that i stumbled upon on my way home from class today

whoa! see that little rail thing on the left side of the stairs!?!? that is for bikes! cool! so that when you are walking your bike down the stairs it doesn't smash into each step, instead you just put the tires in the rail and it rolls down smoothly. holy moly clever.

the class that i had today was on this really weird far away campus, south of the city, on the other side of downtown from where i live. it was this strange barren wasteland (not even fields, WASTELAND) everywhere, and then out of nowhere there is this huge, brand new, university complex with all kinds of fancy space-age buildings... so i took pictures of course. that one is the black one.

this one is the one with the crazy bridge... also note the human-made river/canal thing that is running through the middle of this campus... so random...

not sure what these are... maybe construction headquarters.... but i just thought they were super cute and colourful

the hats! they are huge! enormous! ... why aren't these men toppling over!? (ps. moment of silence for all of those black bears that "died of natural causes")

i climbed up "the round tower" a few days ago, and this is taken from the top, looking down at a portion of the main pedestrian street.

these are the stairs right near the top of the tower. mostly i was impressed with the lovely shade of dark blue on the walls.

competition for who can come up with the best caption/meaning for this strange warning sign (it was at the top lookout level of the round tower). i think it means "be impressed with the view"... what do you think?

another shot of the pedestrian street (these pictures are not exactly in the right order)

before the cool blue stairs, there is 200 meters of windey going-up ramp (instead of stairs)... it's pretty cool, i've never seen anything like it.

haw haw.

more cute and colourful buildings... the novelty still hasn't worn off for me yet, so i continue to take many pictures of places like this... sorry.

ok, this sign i understand.

the best 400kr I ever spent

ok so

just a quick post, whist i wait for a phone call. then it's bed time. i'm beat and tomorrow i need to have my game face on, cause it's international student orientation, so I gotta go make me some new friends.

but first:
i need to add to my strange/interesting things in copenhagen list:

(how could i have forgotten this one?)
4. Fur. everywhere. women wearing fur. men wearing fur. fur coats. fur hats. and today i saw what probably falls into the category of "fur scarf" but that is a stretch. it was clearly just a dead animal wrapped around a woman's neck. feet and everything. .... i am trying not to judge. but it's difficult.


---
ok
sommore picture perhaps? why not!

so on saturday, i went with some of my housemates down to city hall for a chinese new year celebration. there was free food and some funny things going on on stage. everything was in danish so we had no clue what was happening but it was fun anyways. i wandered around the city hall building with my new nepalese friend, and we chatted with some security guards and learned cool things about the building. so i'll put up some pics of that...

oh - important to note: i have decided to become a freegetarian. everything here is so freakin expensive, that i have to capitalize on opportunities for free things. including food. so. for the duration of my time in denmark, i am a vegetarian, UNLESS it is free. free dead cow? deepfried, please.

after the chinese new year celebrations, i walked home from downtown for the first time (instead of taking the metro) and saw some cool buildings and different parts of my neighbourhood, and i checked out some hotels where my parents might stay when they come to visit.

today (sunday), i went to the zoo with my housemate. the zoo! yes! the zoo! i love the zoo! i bought an annual pass, cause it was pretty cheep, actually. same price as my kettle. if i go to the zoo three times, then it will be worth it. and probably i will go three times a day, so it'll definitely be worth it. the gorillas was a false rumour. BUT they did have CHIMPS! YES! CHIMPS! i've never seen real live chimps not on tv! so that was pretty neat. there were two juveniles who were very playful and it was fun to watch. also they had hamadryous baboons, which i've never seen before... they were a lot smaller than i expected. and then they had a whole lot of other monkeys and totally awesome animals too. i'll post pics of that for sure too...

then tonight we had a house meeting with my hilarious landlord. it was nice to finally meet everybody living here, and sit down and just chat and talk and sample danish liquor. i think this house is gonna be a very comfortable place to live. i'm stoked.

ok
pictures
now




inside the main city hall in copehagen... it has a name... i can't remember... it's a really cool building




looking out the window from the free chinese food room, out over the main square of the city




one small section of ceiling over the magistrate stairwell inside city hall... it was fancy




looking at city hall from the square




walking home from downtown - the graffiti here is awesome




polar bear at the zoo! check out the teeth on the piece of carcass that it's eating.... only a lil bit creepy. they looked like horse teeth




...pretty self explanatory




emperor tamarin! so cool!




despite yesterday being absolutely freezing with flurries, i saw my first bit of copenhagen blue sky and sunshine! woot!





so chill




my very favourite thing in all of copenhagen




my new best friends




giraffes are way huger than i expected. i was somewhat overwhelmed by the awesomeness.




walking home from the zoo.... this picture is lovely because you can't tell that we were dying of freezingness.




is it just me.... or....???