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

Flødebolle Adventure~!

Today my host sister and I made delicious flødebolle (or negerbolle ie negro bun or negerkys ie negro kiss-- neither of which are very politically correct so the first name it is) together. It's like a chocolate covered marshmellow with a crisp or marzipan at the bottom except the inside isn't really marshmellow. The English like to call them chocolate teacake sometimes. Here's a recipe I found, but I really don't think it's as complicated as she makes it sound and you don't need fruit or nuts at all. It can be very simple: http://www.velbekomme.com/danish-delights-fl%C3%B8deboller/

Getting the marzipan ready:

Putting on the delicious filling made out of suger and egg whites mixed into a sweet fluff:

We then bake it in the oven for several minutes and then coat it with delicious, melted, semi-sweet chocolate.

After that we just wait for it to cool and the choclate to harden. We got a little impatient so Dorte whipped out the hairdryer and turned it onto cool, haha. It still wasn't working fast enough though, so we set them outside. It's been below freezing for a couple weeks now so the chocolate hardened up instantly which meant chow-down time! :)

Am I the only immature/weird one that thinks they look like adorably delicious little poops? Dammit Japan.

- Jenn <3

Sweet Coincidences.

"You. Yes, you. I am writing this for you.
I know you are reading this. And I want you to know I am writing this for you. No one else will understand. No one else knows. They think that this is for them. But it’s not. I am writing this for you.
I want you to know, life…it’s hard. Every day can be a challenge. It can be a challenge to get up in the morning. To get yourself out of bed. To put on that smile. But I want you to know, that smile is what keeps me going some days. You need to remember, even through the tough times, you are amazing. You really are.
You should be happy. You are gorgeous.
I know that the weather might not be perfect. You might have to turn your back to the wind or feel the cold nipping at your nose. But you know what, at least you are there to feel it. At least you can enjoy the sun’s warm rays on your face. Or that cold February wind biting at your cheeks. You know what that means?
You are alive.
Everything will be okay. "

:)

Den lille havfrue.

A little while back I got nominated as one of the two class representatives for my human trafficking class. This pretty much means I just keep in touch with the professor about things going on with students, if they have problems with the professor etc so issues can be resolved and she can continue to improve her teaching methods. This also means I get to go out to coffee with her twice this semester which I've been really excited about. The more I learn about this subject and social work, the more I feel like I'm starting to figure out what I want to do. You know, there are just so many problems in the world that it's hard to know where to start, but I think we all just have to pick the one to work on that would suit us best in effectiveness and life satisfaction. I've always been wary of social work (tough job, low pay), but I'm starting to feel like this is how I could get involved with other cultures, do therapy and make some sort of difference in people's lives. I don't expect to be some sort of hero... but I could do something.

So today was the first day I got to go have coffee with my professor. I was a little nervous because her knowledge-- or rather-- my lack of knowlege makes me feel intimidated and I didn't want to say something insensitive or stupid. But I really wanted to know how she's doing the work she's doing (I forgot to ask her how she handles it, though. Next time!). After our discussion, I found out that she's simply a lawyer that got a job offer in dealing with human trafficking (which she really knew hardly anything about when she started) and over the years gained the knowledge she has now. Well that's reassuring! I've been planning on volunteering at a women's crisis center when I get back to the states just to dip my toes in and see how I handle such mentally demanding work. Perhaps with the knowledge I'm gaining in this class, I'll already a step ahead-- at least in the signs/symptoms, government protocal areas-- for a future in some kind of social work? Who knows! Either way, it's exciting to finally see how all of the things I've been learning thus far could be possibly be put to use. :)

On Sunday my host mom took me to see the Little Mermaid. It was a lovely sunny day, although it was in the low 20's F. It's been like that for over a week. It seems like everyone wants to talk to me after I've been outside for a while and I end up sounding like I have a speech impediment because I've been breathing through my mouth to keep my nose from running (and it gives me a cold headache--wth??), but then my lips go totally numb and I can't move them to very well to articulate... It's kind of sad... >.> Anyway, it was a nice day and the water around the mermaid was completely frozen so Dorte and I could walk right down to her and get a good picture. I guess that a while back someone cut her head off and it has yet to be found, so her head is much newer than the rest of her.

For anyone who wants to read the original versions of The Little Mermaid by H.C. Anderson, go here: http://hca.gilead.org.il/li_merma.html It's much sadder than the Disney version, but very good.

A while back I also took a trip to Frederiksborg Castle which is probably the most impressive castle in Denmark. It was built for Christian IV and includes a church (Protestant, although it definitely resembles Catholic), fountains (which don't have the original statues because the Swedish invaded back in the day and took them), the usual stuff and a gorgeous ballroom. Fun fact!: Apparently, hundreds of years ago, they would have these huge banquets where people would just eat and eat and eat. These things would last for up to 8 hours, which included the eating for the entire duration. They actually placed buckets and feathers where people were sitting in case you got too full so you could tickle your throat, proceed to puke in the bucket and then continue eating again. Yuck! D:

This is the ballroom (not the dining hall where people puked):

This is my favorite room because of the amazing paintings. My pictures couldn't do them justice. It's the king's private prayer room that overlooks into the church:

And the super cool castle itself:

And on that note, I'm going to bed. Life is good. :)

- Jenn

The wind would blow me away if I hadn't been eating so much nutella lately.

Just when I think it can't get any colder, the wind wind kicks in. Ladies and gentleman, the wind chill is -17 degrees celcius with gusts of up to 45km/hr. No wonder the skin on my face and hands feels like it's going to burn right off. It hurts... but I am really figuring out how to layer now. Two socks, two pants, three shirts, two jackets etc. And I'm learning how to do it in hip euro-style too! Yay! :)


A couple days ago my host mom and I went on a walk so I could see that beach I have yet to explore even though it's a five minute walk behind the house. (Too cold man, toooo cold.) It's going to be a great place to run once it warms up a bit. I can't wait for spring!

In the first picture you can see Copenhagen in the distance:

I really enjoy the relationship I'm building with my host mom. I feel so comfortable around her and like I'm truly being listened to. Her happiness is absolutely infectious and we can talk about all sorts of things. The way she sticks to her beliefs yet keeps an open mind is really admirable, too. Most nights after dinner we just hang out on the couch drinking tea with the fire going and the tealights all aglow while I do my homework and she watches the news. It's absolute "hygge". This term is a huge part of the Danish culture and pretty much means "coziness" or "tranquility". It encompasses those good feelings you get while you sit around a bonfire on a midsummer night having a couple drinks with the people you care about dearly. Good times. :)

Valentine's Day came and went very nicely. I actually kind of forgot about it because there isn't red, heart-shaped junk for sale all over the place. The Danish don't really celebrate Valentine's Day although some couples do like to do little things for each other sometimes. The only thing I noticed once that was Valentine's-like was a flower shop with red balloons that said "I love you" on them. I recieved a huge lovely package full of candy hearts, see's chocolate, hot chocolate, heart shaped marshmellows... I could go on... all from my mom. I couldn't believe how much was in that box, lol. She put a lot of thought into it, too. My host mom and sister also got me chocolates and tea which was also very sweet. I am very loved. :)

- Jenn <3

"You see I'm just trying 2 live."

Wow, things just get busier and busier. I got back from my first study tour to Jutland about a week ago and prompty became sick most likely because I was in a bus filled with a dozen other sick DIS students. It's just a cold, but it's almost been a week now and I'd much rather run around Copenhagen and do my homework than sleep constantly and have no desire to leave the house. Ugh. I've been really wanting to write a blog but I haven't even been able to concentrate because I've just been so exhausted and I usually just fall asleep.

Anyways, I think I hit my first unsurprising rough patch after everything going so well for so long. My grandpa died about five days or so after I arrived and although I wasn't close to him it was more difficult to deal with my mom. I'm not very close to her either and she loves me dearly, but we have a very... tumultuous relationship that's remained civil since I moved out. She really needed someone to talk to (like me) and because I'm here trying to start up my new life again and I really don't know how to talk to her or what to say because it usually leads to fighting, I just kind of... remained unresponsive to all of her attempts to contact me. And all the while it made me feel terribly guilty because I want to her to feel better but... I just didn't know what to say? I'm not going to get into how complicated this entire issue is because that would probably take me at least 50 blog entries, but I was basically getting stressed out.

Also, I've just started meeting all of these new people but I'm not really close to them yet so it started to make me feel a little homesick for my friends. This was especially true on the study tour. I don't if it's the age difference (everyone here is 20 and I usually spend time with people my age or older) or that people are tired of meeting each other, but I just couldn't seem to click with anyone and I was getting the impression that being myself isn't a welcomed thing. From what I've noticed most people are on a completely different page than I am. For me college has just been more classes that I need to get over with and I mostly focus on working, hobbies, and my friends. But now that I'm here I'm like SCHOOL! YES! I can finally focus on it because my classes are amazing! Everyone else is like ALCOHOLLLL!!! YESS!!! Either way, so far I've been too exhausted to do much real partying so I'm kind of missing out. For now.

Backing up a bit, I need to talk about the study tour to get to my point. That trip was jam-packed with stuff to do. We visited the happiest workplace in the world, Middelfart Sparekasse Bank to learn about the company policies, a univeristy for a psychology debate, the largest tropical zoo in northern Europe, on brewery tour that included three free beers (I wish I liked beer...), did sumo wrestling and bull riding (which I've been wanting to do for forever!), ate tons of delicious Danish food, and many other things. I was totally excited about going to Middelfart, mostly because I'm 90% immature when it comes to bodily functions. What? They're hilarious!

I would have to say that my part of the trip was on our final day (possibly because I finally got some sleep plus a good nap on the bus so I was actually mentally ready to take on the day). We went to an alternative university called KaosPilots which focuses on entrepreneurship. I feel like the entire experience at Kaospilots was half a bonding exercise and half a personal-mental-refreshment exercise. At the beginning, we all took a moment to go around the room and each personally say what our best experience in Denmark had been so far and I loved hearing what everyone had to say. We also did personal exercises, writing down seven things each for things we are passionate about, are talented at, and despise. I was finally starting to feel connected with my classmates.

Another part of our time at KaosPilots was spent in a quiet meditation contemplating what we want out of our time at DIS. We did an exercise where we imagined ourselves at the end of the semester, about to leave Denmark and considered what we might feel about our experience and where we would go from there. Personally, I have no idea what I expect to be like or accomplish after these four months. I could see myself standing there, but my future just fades into a blank. I mean, right now I’m living in a place I never imagined I’d be and this year I’ve accomplished things I had only slightly dreamed of accomplishing a couple years ago. Plus, as I’ve only just arrived here, I’m still getting into a routine, recovering from the constantly exhausted state I always put myself in, and getting to know the people around me. In the past week I’ve only just begun to feel like I might know what I want to do with my life. In the past week. All I know is that I’m really grateful to be here and I’m doing my best to make the most of this experience in ways I’m still figuring out.

Anyway, before the whole meditation thing, I was starting to feel pretty mixed up about what I want to do with myself and my experiences with travel, my personal life, academics at DIS and what I truly want from my time in Denmark. The overstimulation of constantly meeting new people, navigating through a new environment, my family issues, missing my friends and exhaustion without any time to take a break was starting to be a little much. I felt my self-assurance wavering. However, that time to sit and quietly contemplate was very calming. Overall I felt this urge to trust—to not worry so much--and just let myself sink into my new life here. Remembering that I am exactly where I want to be is very reassuring. I may not know where I'm going in life, but it in no way feels like the wrong direction.

In other news, I met some girls that are in a pole club back in the states and we decided to start taking pole dancing here. Today I did my first inversion (going upside-down)! Hurray! Jenyne Butterfly has also become my new hero. She is so buff and classy! Check it out!:

I know a lot of people may not agree with this type of exercise, but uh... you can suck it? 'Cause I like it. :) I was actually really nervous to tell my host mom about it because I've only told a couple people about my lessons in the states, but I wanted to be honest with her because she's just... awesome. Even though she doesn't care for it very much she was very supportive of me and said that if that's what I enjoy, I should absolutely do it. Happy day! :)

That's all for now~