Saturday, January 22, 2011

Capers. And No Photos

The littlest things make the world of a difference when I finally begin adjusting to the culture shock. The time telling difficulties i've experienced since being here contribute to the several instances of sleeping through my alarm clock and ultimately placing myself in a frazzled state even beyond my usual discombobulation. Military time is taking a toll on me. However, just as I climbed into my bed a minute ago and planned to take a cat nap, I remembered to set my alarm in military time, so 19:45, not 7:45. This way, if all goes well, I won't stroll into the discotek for the DIS arrival party at 10:55 just in time for last call on the free drinks they had been providing since 8 pm. lovely.

So today we finished the first week of classes. Two days of classes, I guess. But all of the courses seem really ineresting and i'm feeling very good about this semester academically and otherwise. Today after returning from class, I collected myself from the hilarious evening I enjoyed last night. It was complete with introducing my RA to the game Thumper and playing with him, meeting and becoming facebook friends with group of 17 year old Danish guys, and a successful experience with my new flashy black lace designed tights. A fantastic round of photos will explain the young danes and entertain with some other great captured moments of the evening, and the city itself. Around 3, I headed out to explore Christiania with a great crew, Zoe, Tom, and Vinny - three fellow shared housing pals. It closely resembles my idea of a fairy tale, a world that couldn't possibly exist and especially in a small borough of the trendy, busy city of Copenhagen. Well it does exist, but you'll have to go see for yourself - NO PHOTOS ALLOWED. But its kind of nice knowing that underground little world is happening, with the law that does not allow dogs to be on leashes, delicious Danish pancakes, and a variety of other tasty "treats" scattered along the cobblestone streets. The best part, the beautiful wooden welcoming sign that says "Christiania" as you enter, and "You are now entering the EU" as you leave.

Upon my re-enterance to the EU, I began observing little details of the Danes and Copenhagen. The abundance of the womens' ponytail hair-dos caught my eye first. Long healthy looking, usually blonde, hair tied up high on their heads, letting the rest hang down over their shoulders. Beautiful. Adorable, trendy, diva-licious pre-teens sporting fabulous outfits - little hot pink practically patent leather boots with dark pink leg warmers showing out of the top, unique little knit beanies, and hip attitudes. Glamorous! Other particular distinctions: .dk; black things; fabulous fur and leather boots; repetitive exchanges of tak - mangtak, or thank you - many thanks; hyggle- the word for the danish "cozy" craze, and a tendency to swallow your letters when you speak. It's really wild how another side of the world can seem like a completely different world.

So the small but noteworthy big jump #2 kind of just presented itself today, and from this, I decided each big jump I make will just be noted as an observation of the phases I go through as I go through daily life. As I jump into each new place, or experience, or ineterest, i'll note it as a big jump, and document it through the blog. I've been cooking for myself for about a week now and because of a very unexpected ingredient, my dishes have been delicious. I've been using capers in each one of the concoctions i've prepared. Pasta salad, chicken and mushrooms, sauteed brocoli with pesto, the omlet I made this morning. Capers are the next big thing. Jumping into an obsession with capers, my tastebuds can thank me later.

The diskotek evening wassssssss excellent. Free beer all night, lots of mingling, lots of new faces. Catherine, my friend who's also from St. Mike's, brought her "Danish Buddy," Nadia, along. Nadia was not too pleased with the American behavior - "Why do Americans rub up against each other when they dance? You'll never see a Danish person doing that,'' she said. I wasn't quite sure how to answer...as I later threw myself into the pulsing mass of DIS students on the dance floor, I didn't see how you could avoid the rubbing, maybe Danes just give each other a little bit more space. Very funny.

I went on a run today, after waking up at 1:30 pm, probably the latest i've ever slept in my life. It felt good and it was cool to just explore the neighborhood I live in that is set on the outskirts of the busy city. Lovelyyyy little place. CPH just keeps pleasantly surprising me, every time I turn the corner there's something new to check out. Last night it seemed that every time I turned a corner I was at a hot dog stand, and because of that I bought two hot dogs, complete with the works, and a hamburger. (GROSS RACHEL). But I didnt eat the hamburger, handed it off to someone else. Good decision. The hot dogs were fantastic though. A bit of an upgrade from the Quad Food I usually indulge in on Friday nights at St. Mike's - although still love that dearly.

Okay, off to get ready for tonight - pub crawl with our RAs and the other students living in our building. Starting the night off at the "Great Dane Cafe" - aka the common room of our building where we all hang out before we head out. Oh yes one more thing, I told one of the 17 year old Danes I met the other night that "we should hang out tonight." He asked "What do Americans mean when they say 'hang out'?" Quite funny.

cheers.

2 comments:

  1. Jealous of your fabulous time girfriend. You are becoming a chef I see. Can't wait to live with you next semester :) I love reading your blog, keep updating or vid messaging me! love the excitement.


    xoxox!

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  2. Hi Rachel

    I've been following your blog and WOW,your trip sounds so exciting. In one week, you've learned the history of what seems like a beautiful country, experienced a boat bus to see the Queens place, found a new love for cooking and capers, been brave to eat new foods and all at the same time found the usual college experience of fun socializing with a new group of friends. I'd say we need to dub this as "Rachel in Wonderland"! Keep up the great blogs! xoxo

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