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 ...
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