Ciao Milano! (Part 3 ;9)

There were lots of things I really enjoyed on the study tour in Milan. One evening, Delayna and I went on a search for some local, real-deal-brick-oven pizza and it wasn't hard to find. We picked a quaint little place only a couple blocks from our hotel. Delayna ordered a tasty pineapple and ham pizza and I decided to get the one with artichoke and anchovies. I was really excited because I've never had anchovies before, but I've always heard so much about them. They definitely aren't as salty as people say. The pizzas were really good-- it was far too easy to down them in one sitting. Dangerously easy. I also didn't think they were too different from American pizza except that they were simpler and we ate them with a knife and fork like proper Europeans. After we finished we decided to splurge and order desert. When I asked the waiter about it, I thought she was going to bring us a desert menu but instead, after a few moments, I heard this thing moving behind me. When I turned around I discovered she had wheeled up a huge cart full of beautiful chocolate and fruit cakes, and sorbets. I literally did a double take and let out a loud, restaurant-inappropriate "holy crap!" in surprise. I sure had a lot of tasty deserts (and meals) in Italy.

One random memory I have of my time in Milan was on my first day there. We had just arrived and were sent off to explore the fortress in the center of the city for a little while. I had wandered around with Delayna to take some pictures. I noticed that there were quite a few African men standing around selling "prada" bags and carrying little bracelets around. As we made our way back to meet our class (that actually had left us behind so we had to find our own way to meet them at Il Duomo. It was kind of startling at first, but we did really well because I have travelled alone before and she had a very handy map.) one of the African men handed Delayna and I bracelets. I didn't think anything of at first, just taking it because I was kind of spacing out, but then I suddenly I snapped back into travel mode as he said "it's free for you!". I hurridly grabbed the bracelets out of Delayna's hand and started trying to give them back to the man saying "No no no no no!" as he kept insisting they were free (which they were mostly definitely not) and we should keep them. I literally started cornering him so I could drape the braclets on top of his hand because he absolutely refused to take them back. The whole time Delayna looked really confused because she had never been in this situation before but I ended up just hurrying us away after I managed to quickly drape my bracelet on his hand. What a rush, haha.

I think that by far my favorite memory was on our last evening there. After dinner the class went to a jazz show by a fairly famous artist. I was pretty excited at first, imagining myself getting another cool class of amaretto and relaxing with my buddies to some sexy saxaphone crescendos, smooth piano and a velvety voice. Well... I wasn't completely off.

When we got there I went ahead to the bar to order and noticed this lady sitting at the bar with the neatest looking drink in her hands. She was holding onto a fancy silver mug with leaves coming out of it and everything. I asked her what it was and she actually offered me a drink of it. I was really surprised by her generousity but ended up getting my amaretto because it was cheaper (even though her drink was super tasty. 10 euro is a little much...). Everything was going pretty good until the jazz concert started. I think it was literally the worst music I have ever heard. Basically, it sounded like post-modern-experimental-no saxaphone-no-singer-babies-dying-could-you-even-call-it-music??-jazz. Everyone at my table was looking at each other in pained disbelief wondering how long we could stand it. It was just... shockingly bad. After a while, (maybe a half hour?) we all literally started getting irritated (The situation kind of reminded me of how some public buildings play loud classical music around their entrances to keep loiters at bay.) and I felt a headache coming on so we decided to quietly slip out. Best choice ever. My oncoming headache disappeared as soon as I stepped outside.

As we made our way back we came across this lovely band playing some really fun folk music outside. They reminded me of Chervona, a popular local band where I'm from, except the band in Italy had a slightly different sound and a couple different instruments as well. I have no idea what the name of the band in Milan was called except what they were doing was a part of this big clown festival that had signs posted all over the city. This is kind of what they sounded like though:

There was a fairly large crowed gathered too. They were all holding hands and doing cute little jigs and dancing in circles together. Everyone looked like they were having so much fun. Some of the other students noticed too and slowly we all began to get the courage to join. I couldn't resist and so I walked up to the circle and took a couple people's hands in my own and away we went. It was a blast! The songs were so fun, everyone was smiling and laughing at themselves as they fumbled into the steps and it turned out that everyone was learning new little jigs for each song. A lady would come down from the stage, show us another little dance and then hop back up on stage for the next song.

Eventually we switched into couples dancing. A guy around my age came up and asked me to dance so I smiled, took his hand, and joined right in. The next song was more advanced and I had no idea what I was doing so all I could do was laugh as we hopped, clapped, and swung around each other. He and I had the funniest exchange. He hardly spoke any English and together we went through this back and fourth of:

"I can't speak English... Do you speak Italian?"

"No... sorry."

"How about Spanish?"

"Not really... Do you know Danish?"

"Haha, no."

"Japanese?"

"No... What about any Portugese?"

"Not at all..."

In unison: "Oh well..."

But somehow, in a mixture of Italian, Spanish and English, he explained that he was from Egypt and he moved to Italy several years ago and that his Dad was Egyptian and his mother Italian. I'm not even quite sure how we understood each other but it seems like language just blends after a while in this strange way I can't explain. When it was time to leave he told me I was beautiful and kissed my cheek. I remember thinking that the huge smile on his face was simply adorable. It was a good time. :)

The next day, the whole class had some sweet gelato one last time and then we flew back to our new home in Copenhagen.

- Jenn

Ciao Milano! (Part 2 :D)

Overall I think the entire study tour to Italy was a pretty interesting. My positive psychology class has a very strange... vibe. I feel like we may be just too big of a class (around 30 people) to take the time to get to know each other and when we're constantly being rushed around to see this or do that, it makes it even harder to connect. So we all have formed these groups with people we've met first or made a good impression with etc. Thus, we ended up kind of clichy which is sad. I think there's a couple people in the class that everyone generally feels annoyed with and this this includes the professor too, unfortunately. Pretty much everyone has gotten over the initial "damn, he's fine!" reaction to realize that positive psychology is so new that there's not enough information for a mediocre teacher to convey properly. I haven't noticed it so much (Although I didn't appreciate being led into oncoming traffic. Seriously. People we screaming. Wthell Anders.) because I've had so many crappy classes back in the states that I've learned to basically teach myself (Example: I taught myself and ENTIRE term of statistics. Wthell PSU.). I've also been putting this class on the shelf a little bit because my other classes have been demanding so much from me but meh... I'm still learning and experiencing and enjoying the world. :)

I did manage to get to know other people in the class besides that group I was stuck with most of the time in Jutland. I just love it when I meet a person that just kind of wants the same things I do. I made buddies with this sweet girl named Delayna. We did a lot of shopping, eating gelato, and walking exploring the towns together while other people just went back to the hotel to nap. (I know we're all exhausted but c'mon! Who knows when we'll be in Italy again! This is incredible!!) This is when we were exploring Milan and Como (a side trip our class took to see the more quaint side of Italy).

These first few picture are mostly exploring Milan:



Delayna in her new real leather Jacket we searched all over for and me in my new shiney jacket that I love! It has one of those secret-inside-the-jacket-pockets that I thought were SO cool when I was a kid:

The Triumphan Arch in Milan:

Beautiful Como where George Clooney owns three villas. OoOoO!:

The whole time I was in Italy I felt like was in this weird "dream within a dream" phase. I mean, I go on this long thing to learn in Denmark and then I go on this shorter thing to learn in Italy and then when I finished I was just going to go back to home-- Copenhagen? It was like my life was on a double pause. It's hard to explain, I guess. I love Denmark and my host family, but it really does feel strange that this place has become my home now. I'm scared of how I might feel when I leave it for good. This thing is already halfway finished! Holy cow!

Anyway, one of the nights whoever arranged the itinerary decided that it would be a great idea send all of us to wine tasting before dinner when we were all starving. First we had a sparkling wine, then a white wine, and then a red wine. They were all delicious and we got lots of refills. Considering the the stumbling, the sudden lack of the comprehension of personal space, and excess shouting and laughing, I'm pretty sure the whole class was a little drunk when we left to go get dinner. It was a good time. :)



Okay, gotta do some more homework now. More soon! :)

- Jenn

Ciao Milano! (Part 1 O:)

Well, I've just got three papers, two group presentations, some field studies, and a couple big tests out of the way, so it's about time for me to write a blog. Sheesh. I don't think my grades are going to be too amazing this term. :/ It's really hard to keep up with everything-- especially when they pile it all on you at once. >.> I don't feel too upset about it though, because I really feel like I'm learning a lot either way. Anywho, Milan! A few things I noticed:

- Italy is not as homogenous as Denmark. Yes, fashion is a big thing, but there are punks, skaters, leather-lovers, hip-slouchy-pant-wearers and quite the variety of fashion in Milan. Denmark also has quite the style & I love it (Minus some of those weird neutrals. Pale pink rose with dusty peach? Yuck.), but the culture is very homogenous and so everyone's style is a kind of combination of big, fluffy (yet well-fitted) sweaters, leggings and leather jackets.

- The food is not what you'd think it would be. I guess Italy is where cold-cuts come from?? (Too lazy to research this right now) I've never been served a plate of straight up lunch meat before. 'Twas good, but very unexpected.

- They have yogurt gelato! Just was my lactose intolerant tummy needs. :) I also had pear sorbet for the first time and it was DELICIOUS. I hope I can find that again someday.

- They are at a loss of what to do about parking in Milan. Sometimes people just stop their car in the road, turn their hazard lights on and then run inside to get whatever they need to get done because there's just simply not enough space for all those euro-cars.

- Italians are noisy like us Americans and also very kind. (Really, they are so approachable and polite! I never felt embarressed to be a tourist at all.) Makes it much easier to ramble off to your friends on the train without constantly worrying if your voice is too loud. (Danes just have a lower volume I guess, haha.)

- So maaany caaarrrbs!!! Exhausted little me with mah meat:

I think I'll start off with the first thing that comes to mind: the flight. This picture doesn't do the view I had of this justice, but it's literally one of the most beautiful things I have EVER seen. We all had to wake up at like 5am for the flight so for most of it we all just passed out. However, towards the end I started to wake up and when I happened to look out the window my breath was literally taken away. There were snow-capped mountains as far as the eye could see. God, I want to climb them all! It was so so incomprehensibly beautiful. Tears filled my eyes at the overwhelming awe I felt. Nature is magnificent! I love it!:

During our time in Milan we had a lot of academic visits planned. However when you're getting hardly any sleep because there's so much to do and you're overstimulated by an entirely new environment, new language, trying to find where you need to eat, sleep, go, learn etc., no matter how interested you are, after sitting down to listen for about five minutes, you are out with the rest of the class. (I felt so ashamed about it, like I was being incredibly rude to this top researchers who were trying to share their valuable knowledge with us, but when I looked around I just felt like laughing at the how much everyone's expressions mirrored my own exhaustion.) I think the only thing I really learned from my academic sessions was that happiness is viewed differently in different cultures. Well that's nice.

We did go to this one place that dealt with alternative healing methods involving positive psychology which used more Eastern views. The school was called Ayurveda...something. You can learn about the theory more here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ayurveda which I will also do when I have the time... One of their treatments involved this giant wooden table where the client would lie down and have warm, scented oils poured onto their forhead in a rhythmic motion. It's supposed to be a very spiritual experience. I'd sure give it a try. The place also had lots of yoga and meditation type therapies.

During one of our days there we went to see the Last Supper by Leonardo Da Vinci. I had no idea it was in Milan and I was very excited to see it as I've read the Da Vinci Code twice and have heard about all of the "secret" messages it carries endlessly. There were no pictures allowed and the ones online really don't do it justice. The painting is HUGE. 15x30ft about and it was so well-done that it looked almost 3D. Just beautiful. I love the silence that such historically unique things overcome you with. I think the weight of the history and the life behind the hands that created such a large masterpiece just kind of shut you up if you have any comprehension of reality. Yet again, breathtaking.

The final thing that took my breath away was Duomo Di Milano. It's the second largest Catholic cathedral and the largest gothic cathedral in the world and boy is it large. We went to this place a lot because most of the food and shopping was situated around the cathedral area. Everytime I emerged from the subway to see it towering ahead of me in all of its detailed, gigantic glory, I'd be overcome with excitment and awe. Every single time, haha. After much persistance and um... reminding by me, I managed to find time climb to the roof with my buddies and get a wonderful view of the city. It was a wonderful experience.

More soon!

- Jenn

日本頑張れ!

So I've been meaning to update about my lovely trip to Milan sooner but when I returned back to Copenhagen I learned about the earthquake/tsunami/meltdown business in Japan and so it's been a stressful weekend. Everyone I know over there, including a family friend living in Iwate (a Northern prefecture where over 1000 people have been killed by the tsunami) are safe for now. The way the media-- especially the American media-- has been sensationalizing what's supposedly going on in Japan has not only been upsetting, but it's disgusting. It does sound like the nuclear plants are kind of under control for now, but it's hard to hear how scared all of my friends over there are and know that this situation is just up in the air. Pretty much everyone has no idea what's going to happen and it's just... hard. I hope everything starts to get better real soon.

I don't know whether I should feel silly or not for how deeply stressed I've begun to realize this is making me. (Not to mention these next two weeks are when all our major group projects and essays are due. Aaah!!) It's just, Japan was my home and over the past month or so, I've really been noticing how much Japanese culture became a part of me in that short year and still is a part of who I am. I love the simplicity of the little things in Denmark that remind me of the familiarity of Japan. For example, we turn the shower on and off just like Japan to conserve water. It's such a simple little thing, but it's... nice. The other night my host mom brought home sushi and I was SO excited. (And the sushi cost like 200 US dollars!! Wtf!? My God, Denmark is really expensive... My host mom got it again a couple nights later too, I couldn't believe it. Granted we were celebrating my host brother's high grades and my host sister's birthday. But still.) I started rambling about the rice, the miso soup, the amazing meals, helping everyone with their chopsticks and even teaching my host mom some Japanese. Man, I was excited, haha.



As I've been learning Danish I've also found myself thinking in Japanese a lot more. And it's the strangest thing because I haven't been there in two years! All of this linguistic stimulation is confusing my brain, especially now that I have a little Italian rolling around in there too, but I find it facsinating how it all mashes together and I can go from saying "ciao" to "onegaishimasu" to "tak" to "okay". I think I actually had a dream in Japanese the other night...

It seems as though every country I go to becomes a little part of me, making me a more complete human being and more connected with the world. Whether it's the little joys of gift giving, peaceful acceptance and support of all people despite the variation of beliefs, or the sweetness of sipping amaretto after dinner.

Anyways, despite all of the challenges I faced while living in Japan, the ease of living in Copenhagen and being abroad (minus the little bout of homesickenss) gives me a lot of appreciation for the experience I gained. I miss you Japan and you're always in my heart! <3

Stories of Milano soon!

- Jenn

Clubbin' et.

Denmark loves alcohol. In fact they are the country that consumes the most alcohol per a year in all of Europe. I definitely haven't drank this much wine and champagne so... regularly... before. You can purchase alcohol at 16 (any alcohol) and go into bars/clubs at 18. You also can tell that Copenhagen had a pretty wild Friday or Saturday night by the amount of vomit on the streets and in the train stations. I really feel sorry for the person who has to clean that up...

Anywho, I've been so focused on school and getting over my exhaustion/cold that I haven't gone out too much (which will be changing the second I step off of the plane in Milan), but I've definitely had a couple good nights. A while back a bunch of my buddies and I went to the ice bar in Copenhagen. Yes, it's made out of ice. The walls, the bar itself, the glasses and the tables/chairs too. They gave you these big cool looking capes with gloves to keep warm and the place had AMAZING cocktails. Pomegranate, strawberry, peaches-- it was seriously a girly-drink-girl's dream.

Ice Bar - Copenhagen:

This is the coolest bathroom I've EVER seen! I loved it! Talk about dancin' while putting on your make-up! XD I'm also diggin' the unisex bathrooms that are pretty common in Denmark. They amuse me to no end:

This bathroom was complete with none other than a sex toy vending machine (it has anal beads!) Beat that Japan! I couldn't believe it! Hahaha!:

This is a pretty popular gay club in Copenhagen will several different rooms and floors called Pan Disco. We came here looking for karaoke but ended up being too distracted by amount of alcohol we'd consumed, the awesome dancing music and this guy. He's got skillz!:

It was definitely a fun night and I even got to learn the art of negging, an apparently universal pick-up style used by many-a-douche. And it's really an art form! See here: http://negging.com/ I was waiting for the train and a guy came up and told me that I have the "fourth most beatiful smile" he's ever seen. What? Yes. Fourth. I tried not to laugh too hard as I gave him a fake name, lied about where I'm from, and somehow forgot my new number. >:)

Recently, I've been thinking about running the Columbia Gorge Marathon in October. I've been really itching to run again and I think having a goal like that will be good for me when I go back to Oregon. My knees still have been hurting me though, so I'm going to try and go to the doctor because I plan on running again after I get back from Milan. Just want to make sure there isn't any... terrible damage... >.> I need to run! (More mind orgasms plz!) Seriously, sometimes when I'm walking to/from the train station I just get this urge to start running. Like my whole body is just pushing me forward to do it.

I think the cold has been getting to me lately because over the past week I've felt this heavy weight of homesickness building little by little when I'm stuck inside. I also get frustrated sometimes because I know the life I had before I came here is now over even though I savored every bit of it (and it was so good--not that my life now is bad at all btw). I'm going to have to start everything back up again when I get back which can be... hard... mostly because I know it'll be a lot different. I'm thinking about simply quitting my job and doing another big restart and seeing where life takes me this time, but my job has been pretty good to me thus far so I'm not sure... On wednesday the homesickness was pretty overwhelming for me (and my study abroad textbook has NOTHING on how to handle homesickness! Can you believe that! Sheesh! Good thing I have google, haha.) but I just gave myself some time to breath, practiced piano and did yoga and then I felt a lot better (Okay, okay... and I numbed my brain out with some Glee. Yes, I am ashamed.). I know the people that are meant to be in my life will still be there when I get back and I know a lot of people miss me as much as I miss them. And of course, when I get back I'm going to desperately miss the people I've met here. Poop. Either way, I really do want things to slow down a bit because I can feel this trip being over before I know it. Aah!!

In other news, I'm in love with my pole class. I look forward to it all week. Last week the owner of the studio taught the class and she is the funnest lady. I love the hip hop style she puts into her moves and well, she's just fricken cool! Haha. She also helped me learn the butterfly and one of the girls in the class brought her friend to take pictures so I got one of me doing it too! Yaaay! Maybe I'll be able to do the extended butterfly by the end of this semester!:

Lastly, I'll leave you with some of that euro-bumpin' music that the U.S. is starting to love so much. This is Medina and you can hear her blaring in all the clubs in Copenhagen right now:

- Jenn

Pornography and Narwhals.

A couple things: So many people smoke here that the other day I was actually craving a cigarette all day. Good to know that I should probably not be a social smoker because I'd might not be able to quit as I'm getting cravings without ever buying a cigarette.

Also, the other night Magnus (host dog) wanted to go outside and it was about 9 degrees F with the wind chill so kidding around I say "Nooo Magnus! You'll freeze to death!" And my host brother just replies "It's okay, he's a viking." I laughed so hard. It's really interesting how the Viking history is still so integrated into Danish society. They love it and they are still so proud.

It seems like right now all of my classes are piling on the work. I've had two speeches, two midterms, and two papers in the past week and a half. At least I can get it over with before the study tour. MILAN FOR A WEEK BABY!! I'm really excited! Italy just seems so... unique and so full of history (and Italian men ;D). After this trip I think the rest of my program is just going to take off insanely fast. I mean, three weeks after this trip I'm going to Portugal and Czech for a couple weeks and then after a few more weeks the whole thing is over. GOOD LORD! I need to blog more! Aah!! Slooow down life. Slooow down!!


Side note, so this week is the first time I've ever used pornography in an assignment before. As I was printing the picture of a woman smiling down at a large penis at school I felt so awkward, thinking to myself: "...Is this okay??". It's really interesting to see how the gender roles are similar and different from the united states though. For example, pornography (we all had to go find porn magazines around Copenhagen, purchase them and then bring them to class to analyze, compare and contrast): I’m going to be honest and say that I’ve probably seen a fair amount of porn for a female. Most of the American pornography I’ve seen is just… not attractive to me. The women never seem to really be enjoying themselves. They look vacant, angry, vapid, or just completely inhuman. What I immediately noticed in the pornography in class was that in a lot of the pictures, the women were smiling. Smiling! Imagine that! They actually looked like they enjoyed what they were doing. Although I’m not sure how mainstream the magazine I bought was, or if it was actually aimed towards men, I really liked that most of the women inside looked like normal women (even though plenty of women are commonly still "enhanced" in some way). There was quite the variety and they definitely didn’t airbrush as much as they do in American porn (In other words: so they do get razor burn! Hurray!). Either way, as I looked through the other magazine my group brought and caught glimpses of open pages across the room, I did notice a lot of smiling naked ladies. It was kind of hilarious too. Someone holding one of the magazines would raise their hand to contribute to the class discussion and then continue casually flipping the pages filled with pictures of giant, throbbing cocks thrust in to a young womens' joyful faces.

See, she's so happy!:

I really do love how casual, open, and involved my classes are. Last Wednesday, I went to an open prison! (No pictures, sorry. They weren't allowed.) Denmark is pretty famous for this. Basically the idea is that there's no walls/fences (Although there are fences now because of people trying to get in to harm the inmates. Gang stuff.) and the inmates can visit their families/friends a certain amount of time a month, go to college, etc. They could just simply walk out and go on their merry way, but that really doesn't happen unless they are being threatened by other inmates-- and before something dangerous happens they'll usually talk to a guard about it so they can be moved to another building. Besides, if you try to escape you'll get sent to the closed prison with the really dangerous criminals and then... it just sucks for you. So the prefered place is the open prison and the inmates typically behave themselves. My professor made it a point to show us how the knives in the inmate's communal kitchen were just sitting around-- no chains attaching them to the wall.

The goal in Denmark is rehabilitaion of criminals and a typical "life sentence" is about 16 years and they seem to be doing pretty well. I felt pretty bad on the tour though because I was absolutely freezing and exhausted. I was literally falling asleep standing up. I almost fell over a couple times. It was pathetic. >.> At the end I made a real douche of myself too, haha. I was walking back to the bus and I ran into the inmate that helped give my class the tour. I told him thank you and he says "You're welcome, have a good drive home." But I was so tired that I just registered him saying "Have a good day", so I just said "Thanks, you too." Then after a second I thought-- wait! He can't go home! Aaah!! I felt like a total jerk. It was a fun time though, haha.

I had another field trip scheduled right after the prison tour to go see Rosenborg Castle in Copenhagen made by Christian IV. (It's literally about five blocks from my school and I had no idea! What??) This is actually the treasury where the King and Queen keep their regalia, which explains the guard with the M16 walking around outside. I was really draggin' ass, but our tour guide was just AMAZING and so I really perked up. I wish he could follow me everywhere and explain the whole world and its history because he makes even the most minute detail facsinating. For example: "You see, the king and queen just loved pearls. It was a brilliant way to show their fortune and power-- that you could discover this beast, tear him open and find this beautiful little jewel inside". He sure knew how to enunciate-- awesome guy. :)

Here's me freezing to death in front of Rosenborg Castle:



These are the more modern king and queen's crowns. The larger one is the king's of course because the queen's had to perch way up on top of her wig. The king's crown has over 2,000 diamonds on it and that giant saphire on the front is the real deal:


This was the old crown the kings used to use before it went out of style and they decided to make that newer style in the picture above. I personally like this one better, it's so intricate. There's lots of little jewels and statues of birds and goddesses etc on it. Very beautiful:

And here is the king's throne. It's actually made out of narwhal horns and the funny thing is that he told everyone that he had it made out of unicorn horns-- and they all believed him! People were highly interested in this and it was proven many years later that unicorns did not, in fact, exisit. Hilarious! But still, I think narwhal horns are pretty impressive. You can especially see them by looking on either side of the part of the thone you would lean your back against:

It was definitely an educational day. My host mom picked me up after work and I completely passed in the car on the way home and was a zombie for the rest of the evening until I went to bed.

And now, I think I'll do just that. Nighty night!

- Jenn