Amager Lillebane

On Saturday I spent the afternoon volunteering at a playground in the Amager district of Copenhagen. I found out about the project through the volunteer coordinator who set me up with my weekly volunteer job at Plan Denmark. It turned out to be a really beautiful day and I was so glad to spend it outside working on "beautifying" the playground.

a little schoolroom for the children. all by volunteering artists.













the beginning, power tools and all ...
































Well, I'm not sure if the final product made the playground any more beautiful but it was something that they needed. A classmate of mine, Yan, was also there and we spent the first 20 minutes taking a tour of the house that Nelson, playground operator, lives in on the grounds. I think it is a government funded/volunteer basis project of sorts. The people we met were all activists and one gentleman we spoke with was homeless and spending most of his time with other activists, working with furniture and metalwork and selling the Homeless Newspaper.
















Nelson was really excited to have us and gave us a whole slew of options for projects. Most things that two girls with no artistic ability were probably not most capable of undertaking ... but we decided to create a welcome sign with information for guests.


the final product! in Danish!
















All we really needed was tape to make the letters, scissors, paint and two paint brushes and what we got was a few saws, an air compressor, wrenches etc. In the end it worked out just fine and they even had us sit down to lunch with some of the guys and served us grilled chicken and salad.

It was really great later in the afternoon when more and more families came by and started playing. The previous owner of the playground built a train the runs on a little track around the yard and it is the main attraction for the kids. It was really cute! I didn't get a chance to have a ride but it was even better to see the big smiles on the kids' faces.

: )


and of course, what is a post without a family picture??
Saturday evening my friend Sara came over to join the whole family for a HUGE italian feast.













Yummmm, it's my favorite dish that Agneta makes!! Please notice how gigantic the pan in the middle is ... it's literally from the oven!! It came with the new oven they bought after the old one broke when they left me home alone for a week. Apparently I didn't actually break the oven, or that's what they told me to make me feel better. Either way the food was delicious!

I have been so spoiled with my family that I don't know how I'm going to adjust to taking care of myself again!

While the Iron is Hot

More news from Copenhagen!

This time the demonstrations are for strikes happening among nurses in Denmark as well as child care workers. Agneta, my host Mom, has been enjoying the sunshine this week out in our garden as her institution, as the Danes call their child care centers, is on strike. The employees are asking for higher wages but in the case of the child care centers they are focused on getting more employees working. The slogan means "more hands". Throughout Denmark there is a very low level of unemployment, to the point of being an issue the government is trying to deal with. I have even heard that the government is trying to get students to go directly to University or to a career instead of taking the gap year most Danes have after high school.


















Representatives from Local Government Denmark (KL) have indicated that the possibility of a long-term strike would be catastrophic for health care institutions and nursing homes, and they are now considering sending non-striking employees home without pay to pressure the unions into ending the conflict.

The situation with the child care centers may be remedied this coming week but the nurses are into their second week and the government is coming out and saying that, "'At some point it no longer becomes reasonable that certain municipalities and workplaces whose employees are not with the strikers must shoulder the burden,' said Fabrin. 'It might therefore be necessary to take drastic measures and broaden the conflict through a lockout.'

If a lockout does occur, it would not be before next month because the law requires a four-week advance notice. Which sounds very Danish ... they are going to let the strikers know a month in advance about taking these actions. Hopefully it doesn't come to that!


Speaking of which .... at my University in Chile the students were on strike last week! How unfortunate it would be if we had a strike with the University system and I wasn't able to take my finance exam ... unfortunate indeed ...


Right!


















Thursday evening I took Antonio and Agneta to see a ballet at the Royal Theater! The show was Don Quijote and although we had pretty bad (horrible) seats were able to move in for a better view after the first intermission. The show was very lovely and the orchestra was absolutely amazing. I had almost forgotten seeing Don Quijote in Chile as well ... and of course it was a musical so they are not necessarily comparable but ... it was definitely an entirely different experience to say the least. The having an orchestra part was probably the most significant, whereas in Chile it was just a recorded piece. I did have much better seats last time but the theater was not nearly as regal and majestic. It was just really great to get out of the house and enjoy an evening with my host parents.



















The show lasted until nearly 11pm and I know it was much later then Antonio is used to, but he was a really good sport and seemed to have enjoyed the show. I'm not sure if it was because it was a ballet or if there was something about our view but it was definitely difficult to follow the story. I knew what the story was and could associate the characters but without dialogue it is a bit harder to follow. At least that's how I think Agneta and Antonio felt. Before we left for the show Agneta was saying that she was sure there would be some sort of singing or acting ... and I thought, well maybe ... but then when I really started to think about it ... ballerinas are not actors or singers, and usually for good reasons : )















Most of all I was happy to see a dance performance (an amazing one at that!) and hope that once I'm back in Washington and settled I can find a weekly dance class to get back into.

City Escape

Denmark, land of the swan ... by now I'm sure you're thinking ... how does anyone get anything done with all of those swans fluttering about. Discipline, and probably a few swan incidents involving the hissing types.












Yeah, I'm not sure but I thought it was pretty great to just have this swan hanging out on the bike path as if to say ...

"It's Denmark, I'm a swan, I own this place"


















Well it turns out that all I need to do to escape the buzz of Copenhagen and the looming group projects is to take a quick bike ride around my little suburb. The last two days I've been enjoying time at my house while my host parents are away at the summer house. I didn't want to let myself stay inside all day working (or watching gilmore girls) so I took the bicycle out for a spin. There are bike paths that lead everywhere through Denmark, really I think I could take a bike path all the way to Germany if I was so inclined. Ok, well I'm saving Germany for another adventure ... but I did stumble upon some pretty beautiful landscapes, farmland, and some of the bigger hills I've seen in Denmark (there are no hills, it's entirely flat).


































It was such a peaceful way to spend my morning and a great bit of exercise as well. Considering my only exercise of late is running to make sure I don't miss the train nearly every morning ... I was really glad to get back on a bicycle and enjoy a bit of nature. This summer I'll hopefully get a bike right away and get back into the routine of cycling around town and to various jobs : )
















I also feel particularly Danish when I'm riding around. I read somewhere that something like 80% of Danes ride a bike every day. Ok, well that may be a smidgen too high ... but they really like their bikes! They are also particularly good at multi-tasking while on the bikes. In the city you see people on their cell phones, sending text messages, smoking cigarettes and even holding hands! I nearly managed to crash just trying to put my gloves on! Well, a bit more practice and I'll be doing all sorts of tricks in no time. I'm really just hoping for no repeat of the hitting a tree on my way downtown incident from last summer... If I haven't shared this story with you, well it involved bad DC sidewalks, things flying out of my bicycle's basket and laughs had by many pedestrians.

















I also wanted to post about one of the most exciting things to have just happened in Denmark, THE QUEEN'S BIRTHDAY! Well, it was quite exciting and the Royal family came out to wave and everything. Of course when I asked my host brother and sister if they knew it was her birthday they said no .... Regardless, it was quite the holiday there were even flags on the busses!













What is really exciting though is that Tivoli has just opened as well! Tivoli is an amusement park in the center of the city full of rides, theaters, cafes and all things wonderfully Danish. Every year it opens to the public the day after the Queen's birthday. I think perhaps that the Queen gets her own special party on her birthday but it is pure speculation : )


















Walking down the pedestrian street, Stroget, I walked right into a marching band leading the way to Tivoli! How ceremonious! I definitely plan on spending a day there, hopefully take a break from exam prep and get a bit of sun one of these weekends.































Here is a link to read more about Tivoli Gardens... http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tivoli_Gardens

Klippe!

Today I got a haircut in my little suburb of Tåstrup!

I was hesitant to get a haircut while in Denmark because the prices in Copenhagen are absolutely crazy but Agneta suggested the place she goes to and it worked out great!

Here is a picture of the new do

: )

EXCESS China Pictures

I stole all of these from my fabulous study tour leader Brad's albums.
Thanks Brad!!

P.S.

The majority of these should be for my Mom and Grandmother as I apparently hadn't posted enough with myself in them ...
My apologies.


Our night out! My wonderful classmate Cara!















At the Peking Opera - Front row seats!
(Perfect for reading hilarious translations)














"I read climbing mountain on the itinerary" I said as Chinese tourists in three-pieced suits strolled by on their way for the gondola.


















CTR Market Research - Beijing














What was the beginning of many group pictures ...













After lunch at the Hu-Tongs, this woman was so happy to have us to her home for lunch although she looks less than thrilled to be in the picture ... (I was also coerced)

Bits and Pieces

Over the last week and a half or so I've been busy!

And I don't just mean looking up new episodes of things recently released thanks to the writer's strike (you can't watch most of it outside the US) ...


Really though, having spent the first week after the spring break getting back into the routine it was nice to be back to work and focused. Last weekend I enjoyed two evening dinner parties with my host parents and extended family. Saturday evening we had over friends of Antonio's and it was a bit formal but the other couple were very kind to speak in English/translate occasionally for me. They were really interested in my thoughts on what is happening in the US in relation to the economy and especially the presidential election. This is something I've come to find with most Danes, that they are sincerely interested in what is happening not only in the US but all around the world. The guests stayed until nearly midnight which is definitely not uncommon for Danish dinner parties.

On Sunday it was Martin, Anne, Maria & Thomas who came over as well as Antonio and Agneta's "Danish Mother". Their Danish mother, Downey, was a very sweet older woman who they met years ago and who helped them to get started in Denmark 35 years ago! She had very little English and tried both Danish and Italian on me ... well, a few of the Italian words worked ... or maybe my attempt to translate Italian into Spanish into Italian was close enough for her to give up : )


After dinner Maria and Martin went out riding around the neighborhood on Martin's Ducati! Maria just recently got her motorcycle license and wants to buy a bike for herself as well! It made me nervous just watching them, but I know they've got lots of gear and are incredibly safe drivers.


















So after I had posted about how spring had finally come to Copenhagen ... the weather took a full 180 and it was winter all over again. In the next picture you can even see that we had an afternoon of freezing rain! Back to near freezing temperatures and gray days. Luckily, the reason why I haven't had the time to post in the last few days has been because the sun has come back out and this time we might have spring for real! (Crossing my fingers!)

During the week I have been busy writing papers and group projects as the final few weeks turn into final exams! Yikes, can there really only be a month before exams?? Wow, I'm definitely looking forward to returning to the States but I am not ready to say goodbye to Denmark quite yet.

I also took part in an event for DIS which was a part of their International Educator's week. From colleges across the country staff and faculty come to DIS to help further their understanding of the program and what it offers. I was on a student panel discussing how our time has been at DIS, what our living situations are like, how we feel about classes, and any other sorts of questions the Intl. Educators wanted to ask us. It was great to have found out that I was chosen by my program director to be a representative of the IBE program and really enjoyed sharing my experience. All good things of course!! (Except maybe for the train ticket part ... : ))



















This was one of those perfectly beautiful early spring days in Copenhagen. I was able to spend my Saturday afternoon with a friend and did a bit of walking around the city. We decided to take our time enjoying this great park, one nearby our school that neither of us had spent any time in. It really made me want to play with our dogs back home! There is no way I'll be ready for pet responsibilities on my own any time soon, but I'm looking forward to going to the park and playing with one of my own.

These kinds of parks, which you will find many of around the city, are great little escapes from the hustle and bustle of city life and are perfect places to spend a lunch break or afternoon stroll. I'm thinking that as the days get warmer it will be so nice to see these outdoor spaces fill up with people enjoying the great outdoors.



























It has gotten pretty difficult to see the sunrises these days as they are happening much earlier and I am sleeping just as long : ) It is though nice to get to catch all of the late evening sunsets instead of leaving class after dusk. One thing I really hope to see on one of my future trips to Scandinavia, as there will be many of course ... is the Aurora Borealis! Of course the sunsets don't compare to anything like the northern lights but I am relatively close (closer than Arizona for sure) and if I had the time and resources I would totally have gone this time around. The tricky part is that there are rather particular times of the year you can see them and making plans ahead of time is key. Who knows, maybe (in my dreams) I'll be working in Scandinavia some day and can pop up to Northern Norway and check them out!

Totally plausible.



















The flower markets have been out through rain, snow, sleet and ... well, everything! I just thought they seem so much more appropriate when there is a blue sky and sunshine to go along with the beautiful flowers (and cute dog)!



















The same day that my friend Sara and I were out walking around Copenhagen we decided to come back to my house to cook dinner together! I am home alone this week as Antonio and Agneta are at the summer house so it was really great to have someone over to have dinner with and share the evening watching movies.

This is just a little shot of our dinner, a Mexican fiesta : ) mmm I really miss Mexican food. Yummmm.
















This last picture actually makes me a bit sad. I just took it from one of the train stations as a bit of an example of the graffiti problem in Copenhagen. The bulk of the graffiti corresponds to the urban neighborhoods within Copenhagen and the train lines. It is really interesting to hear from my host parents how they have perceived Copenhagen's transition over the last 15 years. One of the things that they talk about is how the level of crime has really increased and that they used to feel safe leaving their door unlocked at times, which now they do not. Part of this is due to the struggle many immigrant families have in assimilating to the Danish language and culture. Not to say that the immigrant population is creating this rise in crime but Denmark does have a significant number of young people who struggle in school and who do not speak the language at home which furthers the problem. In some areas of Copenhagen the immigrant population accounts for 65% of the demographic make-up.


Anyways! Just something that got me thinking ...

Copenhagen in Bloom

I was really shocked to hear that Western Europe was hit with some pretty nasty storms while I was away in China. It made me especially happy to have been enjoying 70 degree days in Xi'an after learning that it had snowed in Copenhagen!

Luckily it seems as if daylight savings time flipped a switch and Voila! It's spring!

Maybe spring is stretching it, but you wouldn't think that seeing how the Danes have perked up, started eating and drinking outdoors and the lack of winter coats! It has been quite lovely and what is even better is the ever increasing amount of daylight that we have each day.

There truly has been a change around the streets of Copenhagen and it just makes me disappointed that the "I'll just hang around in Denmark" this summer plan didn't pan out. I'm really excited to get back to the District but I know how beautiful it must be here in Copenhagen (and I know how gross the humidity is in DC).

China 3 -- Shanghai

Shanghai ... what an absolutely crazy place!

Part of what we focused on as a study tour objective was to understand the idea of "China in contrast" and you cannot find a place with more contrasting elements than Shanghai.

Shanghai is the largest city in the People's Republic (although depending on where you are you may be told differently) and the 8th largest city in the world. The sky-rises are out of this world and they are currently constructing what will be the world's tallest building (this year). Shanghai is also one of the world's busiest ports.

This more or less sums up my feelings on Shanghai:

"Some challenges remain for Shanghai at the beginning of the 21st century, as the city struggles to cope with increased worker migration, a huge wealth gap, and environmental degradation. Despite these challenges, Shanghai's skyscrapers and modern lifestyle are often seen as representing China's recent economic development."

So Shanghai represents China's recent economic development, which to me makes perfect sense. Before arriving in Shanghai I had some sort of mental image which was centered around the financial business and foreign trade. The fact that it also has these issues such as wealth gap and environmental degradation also very perfectly sum up China as a whole. I suppose having the two extremes juxtaposed within the distance of two city blocks, at times, was what made the city seem especially bizarre.

In some of my pictures you can see skyscrapers looming behind a street in which the clothes are hanging from strings. That to me is China in contrast.

A view across the Bund




























On our first day we went to the Jade Buddha temple which was located nearly in the city center. Another strange encounter with tourism, historical relics and places of worship. We happened to show up on the birthday of one of the gods (one which also happened to change genders, the transvestite Buddha) and we were lucky enough to see special blessings and rituals taking place. You can see in the next picture people burning assorted things. It is customary to offer up things like paper money to those in the afterlife. We saw lots of paper dollars floating around (I suggested that maybe they should be sending Euros).





































They were moving money around the temple and these guards were keeping busy.



















Beautiful ceremonial candles














Free time around the streets of Shanghai was quite an endeavor. Our tour leader sent us in the right direction of the pedestrian street and having walked a block or two I decided to detour off to some of the side streets and get away from the tourist haven. It was a really great decision and it was very neat to see what a difference just walking two blocks in any direction really means. I went from being hounded to look at fake bags, to walking along the streets with the locals coming home from work or heading to get groceries. I was suddenly the only tourist I saw around. My mission was to find a pair of shoes that my Grandfather had asked me to try and buy for him. The problem being that instructions like, "Get off the main road a few blocks but if you get to the bank it's too far" turned out to not be specific enough ... I did have the type of shoe to look for and became very familiar with the shoe shops of Shanghai.

A busy commute! Every city was full of bicycles. They have an amazing way of balancing two people on the bicycles as well. There were lots of motorized bicycles as well.














Walking around alone I decided to grab something quick to eat. Dumplings! This was the little kitchen open to the street that I found and they were so sweet to even wave and smile when I asked if it would be OK to take a picture (by ask I mean use of hand signals were involved).


















This picture I took on our way out of the city. I thought it was really amazing to see these gigantic electric towers and consider how much energy is necessary for a city of 17 MILLION!













On our way to the textile factory which was appx. two hours outside of Shanghai and we decide to stop to get lunch. More dumplings! We definitely caused a scene as you can maybe make out from this picture ... the crowd is mostly locals trying to figure out these crazy Westerners buying 60 dumplings. The unbelievable part was that we had 18 people to feed for lunch and it came to a grand total of 34 yuan (less than 5USD) and the woman wouldn't take anything more.




























































Busy at work. We noticed along the trip how the population affects daily work. Typically where you would expect one or two people to be working you would find 4 or 5. The labor is cheap and lots of people need work. This example of the men on the side of the highway as we buzz by on our bus just made me think of the way in which modernity has still not changed the real lives of more than half of China's population, those who live in rural areas.














Eeeh, more power lines.














Building, building, building ... the entire drive to and from the textile factory was flanked with new development and construction. I cannot think of another place in the world in which you could be two hours away from a city and the development continues to spread.














Street near our hotel at night. A pretty poor picture but maybe you get the idea, lots of flashiness and you can just barely make out the row of bicycles at the bottom.



















Taxis and traffic



















Cocktail hour at the world's tallest hotel!
This is a shot from inside the atrium at the Grand Hyatt in Shanghai.

Pretty cool!! Not cheap!!














The end of this night was definitely one for storytelling ... we ended up all together back at the hotel in a private room for karaoke, funded by the North American director of DIS (Brad! The greatest!) singing to music which refused to be English and with whatever words we cared to sing (Mandarin vocab coming in handy).



















Some of the group -- Alex, Paris, Selby & Brad
















This was the closest the mic got to me -



















The pearl TV tower, where we had a great lunch which we spent trying to determine in which direcetion was the restaurant was revolving in.






















































From the view at the TV tower ... the Grand Hyatt hotel right next to the world's tallest building


































Did you know The Chinese flag was first flown in Tiananmen Square on October 1, 1949 - the day of the founding of the People's Republic of China. The red color of the flag symbolizes revolution. The large star symbolizes the Communist Party and the smaller stars represent the people of China (the workers, the peasants, the petty bourgeois, and capitalists sympathetic to the Party (or "patriotic capitalists").

Which of the four stars dreamt up the world's tallest building?

















The magnet train! Fastest train in the world! This was a really cool experience, which lasted a whole 8 minutes : ) OK, so it seems as if this 1.2 billion dollar investment might need to be expanded past the 30km that it currently traverses between the subway station and the airport, but China is pretty preoccupied right now. Still, very cool 301km per hour.