live life and travel

Gallery: Wir farhen nach Berlin!

arollingstone — Sat, 12 Apr 2008 21:15:00 GMT

Easter in Berlin, Germany with Kostas.

Wir Farhen nach Berlin!

arollingstone — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 21:30:00 GMT

As many readers have noted, I am having a hard time keeping up to date with my travels. Over Easter, Kostas and I took the train down to Berlin for a fantastic (albeit less than amazing weather) holiday weekend.

Check back soon for the story!

Athens and Istanbul to beat the winter blahs

arollingstone — Wed, 6 Feb 2008 21:34:00 GMT

You may notice that this travel story is a bit behind. I try to really sit down and write well when I post, but of course, it only gets harder and harder for me to post great entries the longer I wait! This entry will not be anywhere near as long, detailed, or interesting as I would have hoped... but I think many of you have heard the stories already and if not, check out the picture set on Flickr for more information.

After I returned from Sweden and took my last semester exam, Kostas and I headed South. One full day of travelling and airport lounging later, we arrived in Athens sans baggage but at least Kostas' brother was waiting in the flat for us. Of course, we went out for some food with some friends (all in Athens but from Kostas' home town) and of course it was super scrumptious! Saturday morning we got our bags and started by cruising around the street market. I've never seen so many mandarin oranges in my life and naturally the market was thriving (and since we weren't in Denmark this also meant jostling, shouting, and excitement)! It was a pretty simple day of walking around and seeing some sights. We paid a few euros for a necklace with my name in Greek, mostly just to watch the guy make it! I saw the meat market, which is exactly what a modern day, real meat market should be like! Huge chunks of meat, whole animals hanging from hooks, heads and all other parts lying around on tables, and of course big big knives and exuberant butchers! We had lunch at a fantastic little place, but which has expectedly made it into all the tourist books (and usually places #1). As the sun started going down we headed up hill, walking up to Aeropagus which gave us a lovely view of downtown Athens and the Acropolis in the picture pefect late afternoon light. That night we went to a concert with Kostas' brother, his girlfriend, and another friend (also named Kostas). It wasn't my normal type of music or venue, but I recognized a number of songs from hanging out with Kostas and it was a really nice night.

I woke up the next morning and spent the next hour sitting on the balcony in short sleeves studying my Greek. The weather was stunning and so we hiked it up to the Acropolis and did the whole touristy thing. More walking around, sightseeing, and ticket buying, before we spent the evening having some drinks with friends. We got up Monday morning and went downtown to catch a train North. A lovely journey, although the train was not one of Greece's finest. We arrived in Thessaloniki, bought tickets for Istanbul and spent the afternoon wandering around downtown. It was nice to be out and about in the sun before spending the whole night in a tiny train compartment.

That being said, the night train between Thessaloniki and Istanbul is a great way to go! We boarded the train, found our bed compartment all ready and then killed a couple of hours before calling it an early night. The only issue with this train is the mid-trip border stop! First we stopped around 3am at the Greek border and control came by to collect passports. Not a big problem, except it's not a good feeling when somebody walks away with your passport. The guy gave me some trouble because I didn't have a stamp from Greece and he didn't seem to realize that since I was travelling within the EU, there was no one in Athens to stamp my passport even if I had wanted them to. Reluctantly he moved on. Then we crossed the border and the Turkish control boarded. Since I needed a visa to enter, I had to get off the train and go to a little shack to pay my money (I paid in $ instead of euro since the exchange rate worked to my advantage) and get my sticker. A pretty simple affair, minus the fact that the control guys seemed to assume that I knew what to do and where to go, but it was 4am, pitch black outside, and I'd never been in a similar situation! Fortunately there was a Canadian woman who had just finished and there was also a Spanish guy in the same position. Money paid and sticker granted, it was back on the train to find control going through my bag while Kostas sat on the bed. This is all fine and dandy, but of course there are feminine things in my bag, such as heeled boots and makeup and because I wasn't there, Kostas had to claim them as his own! The control guy looked amused but didn't probe further and then I arrived, making it much clearer. Once satisifed that we were not carrying anything prohibited or strange, the guy moved on and before long we were moving again and it was back to sleep.

We woke up in the morning to find that it was snowing in Turkey. We got dressed and spent the next couple hours watching the landscape speed by and eating pastries from Thessaloniki. Once in Istanbul we caught a taxi out to the hotel and after an hour or two of napping, headed out into the city! We were staying on the Northern side of the European part, in Beyoglu. Technically the business district, it's a bit less touristic that the main downtown and we found it to be much nicer (especially after dark). We spent most of our time in Istanbul walking around... although we did visit some tourist hot spots including: the Basilica Cistern (Cathedral-sized underground chamber with 336 marble columns), the Blue Mosque (officially the Sultan Ahmed Mosque, one of the most famous Istanbul tourist desinations), Topkapi Palace (the official residence of the Ottoman Sultans between the 15th and 19th centuries), Ayasofya (Hagia Sophia, sometimes expressed as having the most beautiful interior in Istanbul), the Grand Bazaar (one of the largest covered markets in the world with 4000+ shops), the Spice/Egyptian Bazaar (one of the oldest in the city), Galata bridge, Dolmabahce Palace (the main administrative center of the Ottoman Empire from the mid 19th century until 1922 and also a garish example of 19th century European extravagence),the Walls of Constantinople (series of stone walls around the city), and of course the Asian side. There isn't a whole lot to do for tourists on the Asian side so we enjoyed the calmer, more authentic environment by just walking up and down neighborhood streets and then down along the water, making sure to see the markets, the Maiden's Tower (Kiz Kulesi), and Haydarpasa station.

The sights were something different. Having lived in both Europe and Asia, I could definitely see some major mixing. Istanbul markets itself as a mix of both, but it is primarily European seeming and feeling. There are some amazing things to see, both touristy and otherwise. However, I was a bit let down with the overall impression. The city is much too tourist-oriented. I got absolutely no sense of people living there other than to serve the tourists (domestic and international). That was a bit depressing and definitely not my type of destination. I imagine it's a bit like how I would feel in Hawaii (which is why I have not been yet). We also had a hard time finding great food... which was a big bummer for me. And no matter what anyone tells you, (in my experience) Istanbul is just as expensive as most other European cities.

It's a worthwhile place to see, but I won't be going back on holiday unless I have a local with me.

It was full of fond memories though, as any good trip is. Kostas and I were scammed by some shoeshiners. I will forever remember the calm of being on top of a hill in the center at dusk listening to the call to prayer and drinking tea. I drank Turkish coffee. I bargained like never before. I saw amazing architecture. I experience wild weather (literally sunny one second, snow storm the next, hail for a flash, sun again, and so on).

On the way back, we got to spend the day in Riga, capital city of Latvia! That was a nice little trip to a part of Europe new to me. We spent a number of hours walking around downtown, eating sushi, and shopping for a children's book. Back in Copenhagen we lucked out an caught a train just a few minutes later that brought us home to Aalborg just after midnight.

Gallery: Istanbul Jan/Feb '08

arollingstone — Tue, 5 Feb 2008 06:24:00 GMT

Istanbul, Turkey (after Greece) - with Kostas [see http://flickr.com/photos/jessicahitch for photo descriptions]

Gallery: Greece Jan '08

arollingstone — Mon, 4 Feb 2008 05:37:00 GMT

Athens and Thessaloniki with Kostas - on the way to Istanbul

Tillbacka til Sverige (Back to Sweden)

arollingstone — Tue, 22 Jan 2008 20:34:00 GMT

After seven years away, I returned to my first overseas home away from home: Stockholm, Sweden.

I still remember the first time I went to Sweden, in January 2000. I took a week off from school to go with my parents to house hunt and check out the schooling options. Then, just a couple of months later I was back - this time with the whole family and not for a holiday. My brother and I were incredibly jet-lagged and spent the first morning walking around the empty streets of downtown. I lived, studied, and played in Stockholm for fourteen months. My family was lucky enough to be able to travel, both domestically and internationally. I went to an international high school that was small and not too terribly formal. All of these factors resulted in an amazing time. I didn't want to leave and for a very, very long time I longed to go back. Finally, 2008 gave me an opportunity.

In between semester exams, I made a quick trip by ferry to Sweden. It was an early start to catch the bus north to Frederikshavn where I caught a ferry to Goteborg, Sweden. It was a rush in the city as I tried to make it from the ferry terminal to the train station in 20 minutes. From there I caught a slow train across the country, putting me into the "Capital of Scandinavia" (well Denmark and Norway contest this claim, but it's definitely the capital of Sweden) around 21:00. With a bit of help from some very accommodating Swedes, I managed to get in touch with my friend and caught the t-bana out her way (conveniently just a few stops after my old stop).

It was a quick trip and pretty relaxed. My friend Nilo has been busy working, studying, and raising a family since I last saw her. She graciously opened her home to me and I really enjoyed staying with her, Jonathan (her sambo... equivalent to "partner" in English I suppose), and their two little kids, Darian (four) and Livia (almost one). We went downtown and did a quick tour of the Kulturhuset the first day. Second day we went downtown again and walked around doing a bit of casual sight-seeing. That night we went to her mother's place for a home cooked dinner including Nilo's sister and her sambo.

Because of the kids, Nilo didn't have a lot of time to go out and about. That was ok because the weather was pretty gray and I was content with just seeing a bit and taking a break between my exams. I took the bus back to Goteborg on Saturday and spent the night there. While I didn't have a lot of time there, I took a nice long walk at night before going back to my hostel to pack for the early morning departure back to Denmark.

My time was short and I didn't do a lot. I got some dancing and singing (in Swedish) in since Nilo's kids love Lazy Town, I got to re-experience a city I have fond memories in, and best of all I had the chance to see a dear friend from my past. Not exactly an exciting or momentuous sort of story, but another trip in for my memories.

--Note: Do check out the photos, but for more and some description check out the set on Flickr.

Gallery: Back to Sweden

arollingstone — Mon, 21 Jan 2008 20:40:00 GMT

A quick trip to Stockholm via Goteborg to see a high school friend.

Gallery: Holidays in Poland

arollingstone — Tue, 15 Jan 2008 03:42:00 GMT

Christmas and New Year's Eve in Poland with Jagoda and her family

Winter Holidays in Poland

arollingstone — Fri, 4 Jan 2008 04:52:00 GMT

The long overdue Poland story is delivered at last. Although my darling friend Jagoda had prepared a powerpoint presentation about Poland for me, I didn’t really manage to learn any Polish phrases before I left. It was only as we were waiting for the Eurolines bus to arrive at the Aalborg bus station that I began to hear and digest Polish. As this happened, it started to sink in exactly what I was doing. Of course, nothing I imagined really measured up to the experiences I was about to have.

I must admit that riding on a bus for almost 24 hours is not the best way to kick start a holiday. That being said, getting to Jagoda’s home in Inowrocław from Aalborg would have been long and difficult by any means. That’s what happens when you live out in the countryside. We left Aalborg shortly before 8pm on a Friday night, after a week of no obligations and saying bon voyage to people leaving on Christmas holidays or leaving Aalborg for good. We boarded the bus with Poul (a Danish acquaintance who’s dating a Polish girl in Aalborg), another Polish girl whom Jagoda knows, and a handful of others, mostly Polish, almost all of which were headed to Poland for Christmas. The trip was fairly uneventful with a couple of exceptions… there was a Danish man who got drunk and called his Polish girlfriend, the bus was delayed in southern Denmark due to a fool who gave some folks money to see a trick and insisted on involving the whole bus after they ran off with his money (people then spent a while translating and debating the issue which resulted in us taking him to the police station and waiting until he was able to file a report), and the fact that when we arrived in Berlin at 5am, nobody knew what bus we were to board or where it was. Standing around a cold bus station in Germany in the wee hours of the morning did make me eager to get back on a bus – no small feat! When a bus finally arrived bound for Poland, the three drivers couldn’t seem to agree on whether or not it would be stopping at our destination: Poznań. We decided that two out of three were good enough odds and claimed our seats. The rest of the trip was pretty straightforward – we saved time at the border because just two days before Poland became a Schengen state, which means you can move freely between it and Germany (and any other place that has signed the Schengen Agreement). However, we then proceeded to sit in horrendous traffic on legendary Polish roads all the way to Poznań. Oh, and we also left a passenger at the gas station we stopped at. The trip from Berlin to Poznań is only about 300km and in theory should take less than four hours. Our fantastic journey took double that! Nevertheless, we arrived to see the smiling faces of Marta and Maciek waiting for us. It was high time I met Jagoda’s older sister – not only had I heard all about her from Jagoda, but she studied in Aalborg before and so nearly all the PhD students I hang out with know and love her. As expected, Marta is fantastic, and her fiancé Maciek is equally awesome.

We went to their flat for some lunch and then it was time to load up the car and drive another 120km to Inowrocław. I was welcomed with open arms into Jagoda’s family, and meeting her parents Zofia and Wojciech was such a lovely moment. Iwona, Jagoda’s twin sister was also already at home. While we got settled in a took a rest, Iwona invited me to go downtown (being a town of less than 80,000 you can imagine how exciting a prospect this was). Not wanting to sit around a house after cooped up for a day, I went out and met some childhood friends. The next morning we walked downtown so that we could do some last minute shopping and that night the twins and I went back downtown to go out with more friends. It ended up quite an amusing night – we joined some fellows in the basement of the town’s theater where they were drinking, playing instruments, and smoking. In all honesty, it was the sort of thing that fit right into a stereotypical image of “Eastern-European” boys. They were a fun crowd although there was little to no English – one guitar player was excited that I was from Seattle and played some Nirvana for us, followed by a couple rounds of “100 lat” (100 years, the Polish birthday song) for me.

On Christmas eve, Jagoda and I worked away at home to prepare a couple of dishes for the next few days. We made a cold vegetable salad, makowiec (poppyseed-swirl cake), and pierogi with applesauce and poppyseeds. The night we went out to Jaksice (about 9km NW of Inowrocław) to Jagoda’s father’s childhood home for a big dinner and gifts. Tradition stipulates that there is to be no meat eaten on Christmas eve, but instead the dinner’s special dish is carp (in Poland carp is only eaten on this one day). We started with barszcz (beetroot soup with little tortellinis called “ears”) and then dug into the rest of the dishes. Everything was delicious and since there was no meat, there was a heavy emphasis on mushrooms and fish. Jagoda’s grandmother knows a number of secret recipes involving mushrooms and she made a couple of dishes with mushrooms she collected herself. For dessert we had makoweic, sernik (cheesecake), pierniki (soft gingerbread), and a layer cake with cherry. Everything was homemade of course. After dinner we opened gifts that had been laid out under the miniature artificial tree that has been used every year since Jagoda’s father was a child. My mother had knit scarves for all the Dworek women and I had taken some Danish alcohol for the men. I was surprised with a couple of gifts myself – the family gave me a book on Polish cooking, Iwona made me slippers, and Marta had compiled a box full of typical Polish sweets and alcohol. They also gave me a gift for my parents (which I shall not disclose here since I haven’t sent it to them yet and they’re bound to read this before I do). We headed back home in time for midnight mass. Now, I’m not a religious person and although I was baptized Catholic I am not very familiar with common practices, let alone hardcore Polish traditions! In order to make the mass more worthwhile, Iwona hauled Jagoda and I up to the front so that we would be able to see. This was just fine, until due to the huge crowd we were pushed further forward and to the side… so that we ended up standing in front of the first pew (and as a relatively tall person, made me feel very self-conscious). Thankfully I had one girl on either side of me so that at least I could do all the right things at the right time and look slightly less foolish. There were two material yet fantastic highlights to the mass. The first was that there were three large, real trees decorated behind the main pulpit and on the top of each there was an electric star that changed colors. From outside, the changing colors bursting out of the windows made the church look a bit like a disco. The second highlight was the angel collection box – when you insert a coin (which the girls encouraged me to do), the angel bobs uncontrollably.

Christmas day was more family and more food. We started the day with a chilly walk through Solanki park where I got to see Inowrocław’s famous salt baths. Then it was out to Jaksice for lunch at the grandparent’s again, followed by dinner with Jagoda’s mother’s side of the family in her childhood home (a five minute walk from her husband’s). There were over 20 people at this dinner and this time there was meat. I met most of Jagoda’s cousins and enjoyed seeing such the family dynamics at a once-per-year gathering. Actually, Jagoda and Iwona explained to me that while their grandparents were alive, the family didn’t get together. It was only after they passed away that the whole family came together and started visiting for Christmas. Regardless, it was a lovely time.

On the 26th, we drove out to Włocławek (about 66km SE from Inowrocław) to see some family/friends of Jagoda’s father. The family whose house we were at lived in the states for a while and it showed in how they decorated their home (which was very attractive). There was eating, more eating, and even when you think it’s done, more. I also watched the movie “About a Boy” that day. More fantastic homemade food and even some homemade Polish alcohol. Not to mention the fine company. On the way to Włocławek, Jagoda’s parents took me by the Mouse Tower of Kruszwica. Legend has it that due to poor ruling of the Polanie tribe by Prince Popiel, the poor fellow was removed from the throne and left in this tower to be eaten alive by mice. There’s another legend that says the prince and princess took refuge in the tower from angry tribes people and then mice attacked the tower, chewed through the walls and ate the couple. In reality, there’s no proof of a Prince Popiel and the actual tower is not old enough to be the one in the legend. It was an interesting building anyway.

Official Christmas holidays came to an end and Jagoda’s parents went back to work on the 27th. I went for a haircut, shopping, and ice skating downtown. Wanting to see more of Poland, Jagoda and I headed to Warsawa early Friday morning. We spent the better part of the day walking around town and Łazienki Park. In the late afternoon we went and dropped our stuff off at Jagoda’s old flat and then out for some beers with university friends, followed by a movie with her old flatmate (that we were staying with). Day two in Warsawa we were woken up by the sun shining and so we hopped out of bed and into old town for some sightseeing. Although chilly, the bright sun and clear blue sky were just perfect for lifting the spirits and for pictures of course! We caught an afternoon train to Toruń to meet her mother and Marta. Toruń is also known as “Little Krakow” and was the birthplace of Copernicus. It is located about 215km NW from Warsaw and less than 40km NE of Inowrocław and is listed as one of UNESCO’s World Heritage Sites. Although occupied by Nazi troops during WWII, the city was spared destruction and is one of the few places in Poland to remain virtually the same as it was before the war. From there we drove back home for a quiet night with the family.

On Sunday, we had a typical Sunday lunch as a family and then later Jagoda, her father, and I went swimming at the local pool. It felt fantastic to be in water and to swim laps… not to mention using the two and a half story water slide! I’ve only been to one water park before so this seemingly never-ending corkscrew of a slide was quite a thrill.

New Year’s eve arrived much quicker than I expected and the twins and I caught a train back to Poznań to spend the holiday with Marta and Maciek. To ring in 2008 we went to their friend’s new bachelor pad in the suburbs of the city. Stanislaw was a great guy and he went to great lengths to prepare for the party – including a disco ball, disco lights, strobe lights, a fog machine, tons of good food and made-to-order cocktails all night long. Although outside the city, his balcony had a picture perfect view of Poznań and we could see all the little independent firework shows going on. He also loved to go around with his tray for shot glasses that had an old-fashioned bike bell on the handle so he could get your attention easily. There were not very many people there, maybe a dozen (and I came with half!) but the atmosphere was great. We danced, sang, danced some more, and finally went home… only to return the next day after walking around Poznań for a couple of hours.

I did some shopping with Jagoda and Iwona on Wednesday before it was time to catch the bus back to Aalborg. I’m not used to being in such close proximity to so many people for such an extended period of time so on the one hand I was ready to go home… but on the other I didn’t want my Polish experience to end. The bus ride home was short and sleepless, dropping us off in terribly cold, windy, and snowy weather at 6:30 in the morning. We trudged home with our heavy bags and promptly went to sleep.

All in all – my trip to Poland was fantastic. It wasn’t so terribly life-changing and exciting. But more importantly, I spent time with a loving family and two of my dear friends, saw new things, learned some Polish words, and experienced Polish culture through immersion. I had a very nice time and would definitely go back… although I get the impression that traveling through Poland without a Pole wouldn’t be as cool. That being said – if you’re in the area, go! Since pictures are already posted, that makes this process much easier. Good news considering the fact that I have two other trips I need to write about! Until then, Do zobaczenia!

Gallery: Pre-Holidays in Aalborg

arollingstone — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 01:49:00 GMT

November and December in Denmark

Glædelig Jul fra Danmark!

arollingstone — Sat, 22 Dec 2007 00:53:00 GMT

It's starting to feel like the holidays. Although festive lights have been up on the streets of Aalborg for a few weeks already, I guess I haven't really taken the time to enjoy them. I went shopping with one of my flatmates last night and I truly realized that the holidays are here.

The time has flown since my last update, over a month! As it turned out, project work really takes over your life. Nevertheless, it was an interesting experience and ending well (so far). I worked with three European ladies: Jagoda (Polish), Cristina, and Mihaela (both Romanian). We spent countless hours over the last nine weeks discussing, reading and writing about globalization together as a group, not to mention the hours on our own and the times when we weren't so productive. The result was an 89 page paper titled "The Complextities of Fair Trade in the Mainstream" that we managed to turn in almost a week early (we were oh-so-proud of ourselves). There was a lot of stress but I lucked out with my group... no serious problems and everybody's still friends. As it turns out, we not only study hard together but party hard as well! Friday night we partied more than hard enough. We still have to finish the semester by taking an "exam" at the end of January, but I think we're golden. The exam is a 20 minute oral debacle consisting of a 2-3 minute presentation by the student, followed by 15 or so minutes of questions about the project and your work. It used to be done as a group, but this semester is the first time since the government changed the rules and we'll each do the exam alone. Honestly, the way you're expected to write the group project feels like a waste of effort if they exam isn't done as a group, but they're trying to figure out the kinks.

November and December so far were nice months. We finished up the last of the lectures and started getting serious about the project (which meant we saw less and less of our fellow students, a shame really) and took our lives back. There were plenty of get-togethers and such for a while, until the project took over. An internet friend (who's Brazilian-American, living in Copenhagen) came up to Aalborg and we met, the Christmas beers were released, I successfully completed the Danish course, I managed to meet and snag a fantastic guy who's studying his PhD here, had gløgg and æbleskiver at Nerius' a few times, threw a couple parties and went to many more, celebrated Thanksgiving, watched Santa (Julemand) arrive by boat from Greenland, enjoyed Aalborg's Christmas market, saw an indie flick (man I miss them!), went on a tour of Aalborg Akvavit (the snaps distillery), hung out with the PhD kids, celebrated New Year's Eve early in the Spanish way (think Chubby Bunny but with grapes at midnight), went to a Julefrokost (Christmas dinner) with the CCG kids, had a Julefrokost with my flatmates, and started to say goodbye to some of the exchange students.

I've been having an excellent time. I have to give a lot of the credit to the lovely people I know here, for they've really made it a time to enjoy. Just last night I had a quiet, homecooked dinner with Jagoda, Francesco, and Olivier. We all recognized how lucky we are to have met the right people here in Aalborg, for it truly would be a dismal experience otherwise. Speaking of fantastic people... this is my first Christmas with a significant other and I won't be with him. However, I do have the pleasure of spending my holidays with a Polish family! In just four hours I will board a bus for a 1000+ kilometer ride to Poland with dear Jagoda. Sometime tomorrow we will arrive in Poznan (about 300km from Berlin) where we will be met by her older sister Marta and her fiance. From there we will drive out to Inowroclaw to be with the rest of her family. It should be a highly-enjoyable time... on Christmas eve we eat a lot of fish, and then on Christmas we eat real meat, and then the 26th we eat anything and everything. I am really excited for this trip. We'll also go to Warzawa (Warsaw) and perhaps to the mountains. Speaking of which, I need to pack!

Wherever you are and whomever you are with as 2007 draws to an end, I wish you a festive holiday season and bright new year.

Cheers,

Jessica

Gallery: October and Halloween

arollingstone — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 07:51:00 GMT

A hockey game, halloween fun, and more October goodies!

The End of Lectures

arollingstone — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 21:16:00 GMT

Studying in Denmark provides me with many firsts. Aside from the obvious, one example is that it is my first time studying on the semester schedule. I have attended three rather different schools within the last five years but they have always operated under the quarter system. One major difference between Aalborg University and many other semester -abiding institutions is that while you might be registered for 22 weeks, the actual lessons only take place within the first eight or nine weeks.

So here I am, entering the ninth week of the Fall 2007 semester at AAU and by Thursday I will have finished eight out of the eleven courses I started. The last three classes are something of stragglers and I'm not even technically following one. Once you finish the lectures, the rest of the term is spent devoted to project work.

I have decided to follow the Market and Consumption stream under the general Globalization and Managing Multiculturalism umbrella in the CCG program. I am part of international all-girl group comprising of myself (an American), a Pole, and two Romanians. We are still in the early stages of the problem-formulation but we are eager to look at fair trade, particularly the impacts of mainstreaming it and how that affects the original concept. I am pleased with the group dynamics as of yet and hope to end up with a result to be proud of. We have seven weeks from now to complete the written project and we will be orally supporting and defending our work in front of our supervisor and a censor at the end of January.

October's been a nice month here in Aalborg. There was an autumn holiday the week after my last post - something I hadn't taken into consideration when I went shopping on my free Monday. I like Mondays because it's quiet and not very crowded. On this particular Monday I found myself overwhelmed by the crowds and the noise. Normal shoppers are tolerable but there was an awesome number of children out. While a large number of international students had the week free, the CCG program continued on uninterrupted. I enjoyed a nice Oktoberfest party with some friends on Thursday - taking full advantage of my first Friday without classes! There was another Sangria party on Friday. There is a complex near my place that has a large number of PhD students living there and they seem to have sangria parties at least once a month. This was in fact my third in their common room. They tend to be pretty fun and not overly crowded. Jagoda's twin sister and Hungarian friend were in town for the weekend so we went out for a bit. I enjoyed a fabulous home-cooked lunch of carrot soup and baked salmon cooked by my friend Nerius on Saturday. I stayed in Saturday night but went out for drinks on Sunday with Jagoda and the girls. I really prefer the small gatherings of friends over the loud parties and going out to the street.

There were a couple more firsts last week alone (although some Aalborg specific). On Tuesday I went to my first Danish hockey game! I bought tickets downtown and met up with two international friends and a Dane and walked over to the hockey arena near campus. It was Aalborg (AAB) vs. Fredrikshavn. As the two teams from North Jutland, they have a long standing rivalry and it was easy to tell just how much they dislike each other from the chants of the crowd. Most were harmless enough, telling them to "Go home and fish" or that "All is quiet in the harbor" while others were more along the lines of "We go to Fredrikshavn because the girls are cheaper" (but in even less polite language). Our Danish friend was reluctant to translate such jeers for us. Regardless, AAB won 6:3 and there were 3,500 people in attendance. You could see the pressure growing as the game went on and the players grew increasingly short-tempered and violent. I had a blast and hope to see a play-off game later in the season. It was interesting to note the differences between the American/Canadian game I saw a few years ago and this one. For one, European ice arenas are bigger. Another is that the refs seemed to be much more involved in keeping the players apart. The sportsmanship of the crowd was also a bit different, but that could be because Seattle isn't a big hockey town. It was a fun game regardless.

Another first involved my roommates. I live with two Spanish girls and a large number of their Spanish friends live on the other side of downtown at Luna Kollegium and they're always having parties. I finally discovered where Luna is and what a party there entails. I was lucky enough to try a typical Basque drink as well. The university had it's own Oktoberfest on Friday and I was invited to a Bavarian-style breakfast beforehand at Julia's. That night I went to my first real halloween party! I dressed up as a Sailor Moon-esque character. It was quite a challenge to come up with an idea without spending money or ruining any clothes! I managed to do just that though... the only thing harmed in the process was a pillowcase I didn't need. I also got to hang out with my roommates, but apparently we arrived late because a number of people were already drunk and gone! What a shame. On Saturday I went to another halloween party downtown, thrown by the Erasmus Student Network on campus. It started off really slow (we were told to hurry and bring people because after two hours there were only five people) but ended up being quite crowded and I had a fantastic time. It wasn't really such a halloween party, apart from the decorations. I donned some flaming eyelashes and a bobble headband though, both of which where very popular. I also took my camera and actually took quite a few pictures for once.

This week seemed as if it would be quiet, regarding the fact that I only had two lectures scheduled. As it turns out though, I've managed to fill up Monday through Thursday with guest lectures, career center workshops, and meetings. Today I attended the lecture of newly appointed adjunct professor James Lull from San Jose State University. It was kind of a nice change to listen to a liberal West coaster. He was talking about global communication in the modern world and it was interesting. I was also on campus to help one of my roommates - I volunteered to be a subject for her thesis experiments. Fortunately all I had to do was wear some tights, let her tape sensors all over my foot and then walk up and down the hall half a dozen times. Not too much to offer in the name of science!

This Saturday is the second Danish language bath, preparing us for our final next week. One of my Spanish roommates will also have six guests staying with her this weekend. And in theory, my online friend who lives in Copenhagen will be visiting Aalborg this weekend as well. Could be an awful lot of fun...

Gallery: a month in Aalborg

arollingstone — Sun, 14 Oct 2007 06:19:00 GMT

Autumn has arrived in this northern Denmark city

enter autumn

arollingstone — Sat, 13 Oct 2007 22:05:00 GMT

Autumn has surely arrived here in Aalborg. This week I was quite happy to go to school in the crisp mornings with the sunrise greeting me as I rode up the final hill towards university. I was fortunate enough to be the winning bidder on a great bike at the last police auction. So for about a month now I've been riding to and from school. It's a healthy 6.3km trip each way and just hilly enough to really wake you up before class in the morning! Usually Jagoda and I ride together and sometimes coming home after Danish class I also have the company of my roommate Regina.

Learning Danish has gone well so far. The course is over half done now and this next week we have no class due to a holiday (and the fact that a large percentage of the international students are gone on trips). I think I've found my partners for the final exam - which involves the creation and performance of a sketch. Should be quite amusing.

I've been meeting so many fantastic people, which is party of the reason I wanted to be an international student. I finally met up with Mads, a Danish friend of a friend from the USA. It was with him that I got to see an Aalborg (AAB) soccer game! There was also a big welcome party on "the street", a police auction that most students missed because of the big party, and the university's annual "boat race" that I took part in. Other than the odd event like those, life here tends to be pretty simple.

There are the classes - going well and some have even finished already - the parties - there tends to be at least one thing every weekend, especially sangria parties and even my roommates and I even threw a party - and the dinners - there's a small group of us that has taken to the idea of home cooked dinners every week.

I'm definitely keeping busy. I'm working on a presentation on the social meaning and consumption context of small outdoor markets in Aalborg and I've formed my group for the big project. I don't have traditional American-style exams. Instead I will write a large paper, present it, and answer questions about it. I'll be working with three other international girls looking at the consumption of fair trade handicrafts. It should be quite interesting. It's strange sometimes how you can spend so much time with people and still not know them at all. With our classes it often feels like we show up, listen for hours and go home. Fortunately we tried to break that pattern with the CCG's annual "Happy Meal" where we got a number of students together on a Friday night, cooked food, and kicked back together.

I know what it's like to read stories that are out of context, so I'm not going to go on and on about my life here. I just wanted to pop in and give a quick update about what it's like to be an international student in Aalborg. Happy Autumn!

Gallery: Late Summer in Aalborg

arollingstone — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 06:42:00 GMT

A few shots from around the city, taking advantage of the nice weather.

Getting to know you, getting to feel free and easy

arollingstone — Mon, 10 Sep 2007 05:48:00 GMT

Now that I have successfully completed my first week of classes I feel I can say with validity that I feel that I've made the right choice in coming to Aalborg University.

The first week was a bit hectic - there was the challenge of navigating around a new campus and dealing with room changes, learning the ins and outs of the local bus system (including the not-so-uncommon issue of bus drivers striking), avoiding getting run over by cyclists, deciding which courses to commit to taking, and of course having some fun! I was late on a couple of occasions but I've made some great friends (or what I hope will become friends) and I am really interested in the topics we're talking about.

After classes I also had a fair bit - I went on the city tour with some people from my program followed by a big dinner for the Humanities students. It was paid for by the school so it was a nice way to have some food, meet more people (international and Danish), and relax. Afterwards Julia, Luca, and I went for a walk along the fjord (a bay or harbor) and ended up talking to two Danes in the program, Lise and Astrid. The university operates a "student house" out of a building in the city center, just a seven minute walk from my place. Every Wednesday night is "International night" and so I had to check it out. Beforehand I went to Julia's for some dinner with her and her roommate Sarah from Italy. We couldn't stay long since we have an 8:00 class on Thursdays but it was nice to go out and see so many people... and boy were there a lot there!

Friday because errand day since I had no classes this week. It was a good thing, too because the bus drivers went on strike and it's a good 90 minute walk to school. Since I am going to be in Denmark for more than a few months I had to apply for the equilvalent of a social-security number, called a CPR. Fortunately the office is right around the corner from me and wasn't crowded. Having this number makes me official - it's my government issued id that confirms my age and residency, allows me to recieve free health care, get a bank card from my local bank, and sign up for a cell phone plan. I met with another student, Lauren to go cell phone shopping. I'm not sure why the US doesn't like selling phones with unlocked SIMS, but I wish they did. Since I don't have a phone already to use, it's quite expensive without buying a plan (the cheapest phone is still about $100). I haven't decided if I want a plan or not, but I can't get one without my CPR number anyway. I found a couple of Danes who have offered to give/sell me their old phones, which would mean I just have to buy a SIM card - a considerably cheaper option! I also had my first cafe experience in Aalborg. Lauren and I went to Cafe Chic and had lunch. We also had what I've come to understand (with my limited experience) as a rare encounter; the waitress expressed that she was happy that we were here in Aalborg and encouraged us to come back and practice our Danish on her!

The Danes are often stereotyped as being distant and cold. I've heard people explain this as "a lack of outward emotion" and "desire to build a relationship" but it's definitely something you encounter. Of course, I've run into a similar cultural difference while in Sweden so I'm not really phased by it. It's easier to feel comfortable for most Americans if people are nice, so when this waitress expressed her feelings Lauren and I were both inspired. Now we have another goal for when we're learning Danish.

There was the first big party of the semester on Friday night. There is an "official Aalborg party mailing list" that's been promoted to the students and this was their big shebang. I went with a classmate and her two Australian roommates. It was pretty fun and I think we arrived about the right time, 22:30. Although it had been going on for about two hours already, the Danes go out late and mixed with the variety of international students (which is whom the target audience was), nobody shows up on time! Jagoda and I danced a bit, although the live band wasn't the best for it, and we had some fun. I didn't stay too late - until about 2. I knew I had made the right choice when at 10 the next morning I saw the tired, hungover faces of so many students at the "Danish Language Bath."

The unviersity offers a free seven-week (30+ hour) Danish language course for students. Included are two "language baths" or immersion days that last for six hours each. The first session was a lot better than students who've been before described it as! We were broken into six groups of about 40 students and went to six 30-minute workshops. Each one covered a different topic: pronounciation, grammar, introductions, and more. For the most part I really liked the teachers - especially the non-Dane who made us get up and act out a poem that we learned without ever seeing it. Danish, although classified as a "Type I" language for difficulty, is rather difficult as far as pronounciation goes. The sounds you hear don't look like what you see written and there are some difficult sounds for English speakers (and others of course). For example, the "dd" sound is like an English "l" except you have to keep your tongue pressed down. If you're interested in Danish or languages in general, I encourage you to check out http://www.speakdanish.dk/ and take the free first course! It will give you a good idea about the challenge we're all about to take on. As the Germans have said before, speak as if there's a hot potato in your mouth.

The weather today was lovely - something I don't take for granted, especially after all the reports that Denmark didn't get a lot of nice summer weather this year. I cleaned the common areas of the apartment this morning (while my flatmates slept off their late night) and met up with some other students for a little excursion. We went to a museum right in the city center. If you've ever been to Denmark (or Germany, Sweden, Norway, etc...) you might be surprised about this. It was a Sunday afterall! 97% of things are closed on Sundays here, but this museum doesn't have any people working in it, so it's open every day of the week. For just 20DKK you can take an elevator one story below ground and visit the museum of the Aalborg Franciscan friary. It was built in 1300 but closed about 1530. The city of Aalborg excavated a large part of the friary starting in 1994. There isn't a whole lot down there, but you get a peek at some of Aalborg's history and it's a nice little trip for a Sunday. The price is also for the elevator ride and not per person, so since we were in a group of four people it was less than $1 each.

I have been attending some functions through a local group called "Aalborg International Friends" which is connected with the International Christian group here in the city. I went to the welcome BBQ before and tonight I went to another event (with considerably less attendees). It was the "Scoop of Denmark" which entailed a short game containing trivia about Denmark. My team, which was named after a small Danish town, didn't win but managed to answer one question. It was fun because your team had to be the first one to stand up and yell your name correctly to get to answer. Of course the Danes didn't pick easy to pronounce names. Afterwards there was ice cream and "hygge." Hygge is a very Danish thing - often translated as coziness. It involves being together with people, often eating, enjoying each other and being happy. I've been told that if you picture family and friends together inside with candles and laughter on a cold winter night, that's a good idea of hygge. So my team played a variation of the board game known in the States as Sorry and relaxed. It was fun because I wasn't aware of how widespread the game is, but the Polish and Romanian students knew it. Appropriately it's called "Brother, don't be angry" in Romanian!

Tomorrow's another day for errands since I have no classes. This week should be rather busy as well, especially since I start Danish lessons on Tuesday. I am looking forward to everything though and can't wait!

Gallery: Day-trip to Skagen

arollingstone — Tue, 4 Sep 2007 07:32:00 GMT

A lovely trip by train to Skagen, the northernmost tip of Denmark where the Baltic and North Seas meet.

Happy Labor Day!

arollingstone — Tue, 4 Sep 2007 07:08:00 GMT

In honor of labor day, I spent my day hearing about all the labor I will be doing in the next six months. I'll summarize; I will be officially taking nine classes this semester, while attending up to four more plus extra guest lectures. I will be in the classroom about 18 hours each week (for the official classes only), including an eight-hour day on Wednesdays.

Aalborg University is a bit different than other universities, and drastically different from a lot of universities. As students, we take part in "problem-based learning" because you don't learn a whole lot from lectures and theory. I strongly feel that my time at Portland State University, specifically the completion of a senior capstone, was the best preparation for this experience. The advantage of being a degree student is that I am essentially allowed to pick and choose what I want to do. The program has made only two classes a requirement; this semester they are "Globalisation" and "Managing Multiculturalism," which is the central theme for the term. From there I control my education. Of course, as a new student, both to Aalborg and globalisation, I am going to be taking quite a few classes that are for my success and not a grade. This includes Aalborg essentials such as the project writing workshop and academic communication course.

To help increase my knowledge base for the classes offered in this program I am also taking "Intercultural Communication" and "Society, Politics, and Internationalism." To avoid an unnecessary test, I will be attending the "Philosophy of Science and Methodology" course as well. From there I was free to choose two elective-like classes from a list of six. I have chosen to follow the Marketing and Consumption stream, although I am not binding myself to that choice. I plan on attending quite a few other classes that are being offered out of curiousity and interest. I won't have to purchase the books, there is no obligation to come (this is college after all), and I won't take an exam in these subjects. At least one class has guest lecturers coming that I would like to observe, but I won't be going to the class otherwise.

This schedule sounds absolutely off the wall. I spent quite a lot of time today trying to get my head around everything. It doesn't help that there are exceptions, mid-semester room changes, and special dates to remember for at least half of the classes! The important thing to realize is 99% of the courses are only once a week, for just under two hours. Most will last about eight weeks, some are only four. The rest of the term will be devoted (by my own accord) to working on my "projects" and preparing for exams.

Before all this craziness began I managed to sneak out of Aalborg for a day trip on Sunday. I went with Masoud to Skagen (pronounced Skane), which is the northernmost city in Denmark. Three kilometers from the city center you can visit the beach (called Grenen) that makes up the northernmost point of Denmark! This means that it is the start of both the east and west coastlines, but more importantly it is where the seas meet. A fantastic sight - the North Sea from the left and the Baltic Sea from the right - waves come rolling towards each other crashing head-first in front of you as far as the eye can see. Skagen has long-been a community of artists, but also to fisherman. The weather cleared up for the trip and it's only a two hour, two train ride from Aalborg. It was a lovely day with a healthy dose of walking and fresh air. The right way to start a new semester.

Velkommen!

arollingstone — Sat, 1 Sep 2007 00:52:00 GMT

I'm pleased to announce my safe and sound arrival in Denmark. And on top of that, I had an extraordinarily almost-perfect trip! It seemed as if there could only be catastrophe at the end of the road, but there wasn't. I seem to always be the one security picks to go through my bags or my luggage is the last off the plane, etc. Instead I was greeted by no lines, no problems, and lots of space. The only set backs were the longest walk ever between gates and the long security lines in Copenhagen. The flight from Seattle was quite nice though - I had a window to my right and an empty seat to my left.

The accommodation in town is rather nice. Especially now that I have a new bed (I went to lay down the first night, exhausted, and found that my bed was broken) I think I will grow to love the apartment. My own private room has hardwood floors, big windows, and it decent-sized. I share a toilet, shower, two sinks, and a kitchen with four other girls, although I've only met one as of yet. She's from Bulgaria and in her second year of the same program I am just entering. She's not sure where two of the other girls are, and the third may be someone new. It's a bit surprising to both of us that they're not here yet. Of course, she just showed up late last night. I like her already because she got me set up on the internet!

Today started off with a real Seattle-like bang; standing around in the rain waiting for an event. Well, actually that was the event. We started with coffee and rolls in the rain for an hour before boarding buses to the university. It was a big to-do, as it was for all new students so there were about 3000 young folks around. At the uni, the international students spent the next few hours learning about the school and various organizations. Not too bad of a time and it ended by meeting up with your buddy. Ulrik was very helpful and nice, as were Gabor (from Hungary) and Olivier (from France) who are share the same buddy. Actually the three of us are all the same age, but in different programs and they are only transfer students. I am here for a two-year degree, but 90% of the international students here are only here as exchange students. That means there will be lots of new people to meet every semester! I rode the bus home and am delighted to say that is is very easy and only about a 15-20 minute ride from my place downtown. This weekend, starting tonight, there are a variety of events and as long as it doesn't rain - they should be a blast. Of course, the biggest issue is choosing which to attend. There's nothing required of me before Monday morning, so life is good.