Abroad

So I only have a few moments at an internet cafe but I just wanted to give a brief update. I'm now in the middle of the DIS long study tour and am at Berlin. We went to Poznan, Poland from Sunday to Wednesday, and we will be in Berlin until Saturday. So far it has been amazing. I feel so priviledged to be able to be abroad and travel during school, and we've been able to see a lot of very interesting things. Apart from just being in Poland and Germany and experiencing the two cities, DIS taken us on some medical related trips like autopsies and pediatrician shadowing. Both experiences were really interesting and eye-opening, but I was really moved by the autopsies. I think the only way to describe it was surreal. Seeing the knowledge that the pathologists had and how masterfully they can move through the body was really fascinating.

And the cities are, of course, a lot of fun. We've been on tours, seen museums, all the good stuff! I will give more details later, but just wanted to say....Europe's amazing!

Party Weekend

This past weekend was packed.

Friday: Pancake party in the city

Tons of homemade pancakes with delicious house blend syrup. I got to meet some new people. Shared housing here is pretty much a hotel!

Saturday: Orchestra practice in Buddinge and Brett’s 20^th birthday party in Gentofte

I got completely lost in Buddinge, a suburb outside Copenhagen, and my wonderful chair stand partner found me. (I learned that stand in Danish is “poot!” What a cute word!) My first traditional Danish birthday party was a lot of fun and filled with delicious food. Brett’s host family were really nice and interesting people. His host sister is planning on traveling to Tanzania to volunteer at an orphanage there. Afterwards, I was invited to sleep over at Merianne’s so we could have some extra time to plan our 2 week travel break. Yay for slumber parties!

Sunday: Flea market at Holte and Asian cooking party at Birkerød

I’ve actually never been to a flea market before, and I thought this one was SO much fun! Finagling prices with the locals was interesting and I think it turned out pretty well. I got a beautiful ceramic coffee pot for free and a few neat Danish gifts! It was funny because I noticed that there were a LOT of Asians shopping there, but then I noticed that my entire group of friends that were there were also Asian- haha. Asian thriftiness is universal! After shopping the four of us went for a nice stroll around the local lake and forest to Ben’s house to make dinner, which was a complete success- I made a Thai coconut soup, Merianne made Adobo, Ben made spring rolls and desert plantains, and Paul made Kimbop (Yes, Paul has joined the cooking trio)- Yummy! Ben’s host family was very sweet and enjoyed the meal. It was nice to talk to them about their travel experience because they seem like they’ve been everywhere. The 16 year old host son probably has traveled more places then the four of us combined!

Now that it’s Monday, it’s time to start finishing everything due before the travel break. Fortunately for me, I don’t have that much- just a Danish oral and written exam and an outline in Healthcare in Scandinavia. I don’t know if I’ve mentioned it yet, but I’m taking:

Complexities of Cancer

Danish I – the program we use is “Danish Ducklings,” hence the name of this blog

Human Health and Disease

Healthcare in Scandinavia

Youth and HIV/AIDS in Africa

I really like all of my classes and the professors, so going to class is really not that bad- but we’ll see how it turns out at the end of the semester. For now, though, only one more week till travel break!!!

Danish field trip

This past week was so eventful! After coming back from the Sweden trip I had a chance to go on a cultural study tour with my Danish class to Christiana and Roskilde! It was really interesting, and I feel like I learned so much more about the Danes.

Christiana is a small part of Copenhagen that has created something like an anarchy/ co-op society. The mentality is you can do whatever you want as long as it doesn’t impede your neighbors from doing what they want. (That includes marijuana, hash, and alcohol). But it is a great place for personal freedom. For example, the citizens are allowed to make their houses in any way. So on one side of the side walk (no cars allowed here) you might have a German house that’s shaped like a banana, and on the other side you might have a lean-to, and right next store you might have a “mansion.” All the citizens have to do is pay a small fee per month and their plot of land is theirs for whatever they like. This area was such a stark contrast from just outside its walls that it was hard to tell that I was still in the same country. There is so much controversy and political disputes about this community, and I would really like to explore it a little more.

Roskilde was a very sharp contrast. Roskilde is a small village outside of Copenhagen where the Danish royalty and nobility is buried. Most are all buried within the large cathedral there and their tombs are humongous. I think the most interesting part of the area was to see how the King’s sarcophaguses changed throughout time. Some were extraordinary and some were very simple and small, but all were very beautiful. This was definitely a trip that I don’t think I would have gone to see by myself, so I was glad that I had the opportunity to go with my class.

Weekend Sweden Bike and Canoe Trip

Written last week: I’m so glad I have a late class on Monday! It gives me so much more time after a busy weekend of exploring! I really needed the sleep today cause I came back from biking and canoeing from Kullaberg, Sweden, this weekend, and I’m definitely tired.

On Saturday, I rode the ferry from Helsingor to Helsingborg with a group of DIS students and stepped on Swedish grounds for the first time. It’s pretty much just like Denmark because it’s so close, and we never had to show our passports or IDs. But it was still beautiful to see the quite country-side, big windmills, and ponies.

From the ferry it was about another hour drive to our hostel, and we were pleasantly surprised to find that the hostel was more like a bed and breakfast hotel! It was very cute and clean and decorated with original furniture from the early 1900s. Soon after arriving, we were off on our (self-guided) biking tour.

It rained a little, but it hardly took away from the beautiful country side and small rolling hills. We first rode to Nimis (pretty much everyone’s destination) which is a giant driftwood sculpture that you can walk and climb on (at your own risk- everything was really wobbly). The artist is this guy who claims this and another structure, Arx, a part of his micronation called Ladonia. Nimis is amazing and crazy. It looks literally like a chaotic pile of drift wood that cascades down the coast into climbable towers, and there were a lot of other tourists there. Unfortunately, we didn’t get to meet the maker, but we had a really good time climbing and taking pics.

After words, my group (5 of us) decided it would be great to go to the lighthouse at the end of town…little did we know, that the light house was on top of a giant hill. For 45 minutes we peddled on our little one speeds and got a really good work out. But it was worth it for several reasons 1) there was this Swedish guard/toll man that we talked to for a while, and he let us pass for free. 2) Getting to the top felt like an achievement-haha 3) The light house was cute and had a great view! Even though it was hard work, I was really glad we chose to go up!

But by the time we got back to the hostel, we were frozen, drenched by the rain, tired, and HUNGRY. Fortunately, an amazing dinner was waiting for us, and we had a chance to meet some of the other DIS students from other programs that we don’t really get to see often. After some good conversations, I fell asleep as soon as I hit the pillow.

The next morning, we had a huge breakfast, and I felt refreshed and ready for some quality outdoor bonding. Everyone was really optimistic because the sun had actually come out. My group was canoeing today, and I was so excited because I don’t get to canoe very often. We canoed through Angelholm, a small town, and it was very peaceful, because the current did most of the work.

Ben, my canoe partner, and I made three stops. Once to try climbing a bridge-which turned out slightly disastrous because it was so muddy, once to stop with a larger group for a picnic lunch, and once to sight see the town. The river we canoed kind of reminded me of the swampy south, but the town was definitely like a small Demark town with Swedish writing and currency.

After words, we stopped at a small harbor to look around while we waited for the other group that was cycling to get back. The Mölle harbor is so peaceful and quaint, and reminds me of the towns you see in postcards.

Soon after, we left back for the ferry, and this time, I bought some Swedish chocolate. (The ferry is between the borders of two countries, so there’s no tax and everything is much cheaper!) And I split a delicious cinnamon Danish with my friend, Alice, as we enjoyed the view of a Danish castle. Haha…a castle! A perfect way to finish a great weekend!