So. Where to start??? Thursday. We had to catch the bus at 8 AM sharp, so I got there at 7:30, went to 7-11 (the only place open...) and bought myself some snails (a type of danish... like a cinnamon roll :) ) They were two for 10 kr... So a really good deal :) I ate them and listened to my news podcast while waiting for everyone to show up. (Note on news podcast: I was feeling really disconnected from news since the news here is (obviously) all in danish... so now I have BBC, the Economist and NPR news programs all on my iPod... I listen to them instead of music most of the time.) Eventually, everyone got there, and we were off! One girl was still a little drunk from the night before and telling some pretty embarrasing stories from the night before about how she didn't know how she got home and such really loudly... which kept everyone awake until the movie started. We decided to start our lovely day with a bright and uplifting movie called "the downfall." Well... its title was in German but thats what it translated to. It told the story of Hitler's last days. It was pretty good, but it was dark so I couldn't see it really well and the subtitles were TEENY and it was really early... But I got the main idea. We watched it because our lecture on Monday night talked about the problem of how Germany went from zero pride about their country, to trying to rectify what they did through education and monuments and apologies, to now some people are trying to victimize the Germans. This movie was really controvercial because it shows the 'human' side of Hitler, only mentions concentration camps or anything once or twice and basically shows Germans as the victims of the war. It was interesting. Not a good movie for 8 in the morning though...
Our destination for the first day was supposted to be a ferry, a palace then the A. P. Moller Skolen ( a school for the Danish Minority in Germany.) However... our bus driver got lost repeadedly and we missed our ferry and never got to the palace because we were running so late... And then we were late to the school too. It was all very bad. Anyway: the school was AMAZING. I think they said it cost a WHOLE LOT OF MONEY? It was all a private donation... But it had art by that guy who put waterfalls on the Brooklyn Bridge (hes a famous danish artist...) and it had state of the art sound in the gym AND auditorium... It had BEAUTIFUL wood floors and smart boards in EVERY class room. I forgot my camera when we went there... but I took some pictures from others on facebook...
That's my professor in that picture! She's super awesome and SO nice!
Yeah. That's the school. And two of my classmates. Isn't it BEAUTIFUL? And see the orbs on the top? Yeah... thats the art. It was really nice. It was the 8 planets and the sun but it was all mirrored and amazing. The boxes on the top left are classrooms and student lounges and things and at the top of the stairs is the library which just chills in the middle of the school, its not in a room or anything. I loved how open it all was.
Anyway. We listened to a lecture there by Jorgen Kuhl which was really good. He wrote a book we read for class, is a leading scholar on border regions... and is the headmaster of the school. He helped plan it and you could tell. He looked like a kid in a candy store! The lecture was a bit repetitive... but thats okay.
After this, the bus got lost again. We estimate we spent an extra 2-3 hours on that bus at the very least because he was so clueless. But, eventually we made it back to DK, where we stayed the night in Aabrenaa. It was a cute little coastal town on a fjord (i've seen like 3 or 4 fjords now. They're really not that amazing.) We were supposed to do a scavenger hunt there... but we got there late (of course) and didn't get to it. Instead, we just went to dinner at this really nice restuarant with a name that translates to "Under the Sail." because the whole restaurant was under a sail! It was really good... Especially the brownie and pastacio ice cream we got for dessert...
After the meal we all went seprate ways... Some went back to the hostel... some went to the beach... me and a couple others wandered around the (little & deserted) town in the dark. Eventually, we found a bar, which was empty ( it was 9. Danes do go out until 11) but they played funny music (Limp Biscuit, Bob Marley and Aqua... back to back???) We got drinks and were off. My little group split up, with half going back to the hostel and me and my new friend Kara heading to the beach... we ended up walking along this creepy peir into the middle of fjord that was pitch black. And taking crazy pictures there (with Kara's camera... But I stole them from facebook, so you're in luck!)
Me, by a random statue by the Aabrenaa Town Hall...
The pier... Fun story about the pier. Kara and I were taking pictures and talking about how creepy the pier was when I look up and see a shadowy figure walking down the pier towards us. Super creepy. Just a classmate though. We could only walk half way down before we got a little freaked out.
Me and Kara! Her flash was super bright, I had to look away.
After that we went back to the hostel and sat with a big group of our classmates. I don't have much of anything in common with them, but most of them are really nice and it was good to get to know them and their names. I eventually moved and talked to the other group (the one I'm a little closer to) and found out two of the girls I was rooming with went and jumped off the end of the pier... into basically the Baltic... with their clothes on so the walk back was freezing.
The next day we got up and headed back to Germany. (We didn't get lost this time because our bus driver was fired and we got a new one. Yes, he was that bad.) We went to Flensburg and the Duborg Skolen! Probably my favorite day of study tour, by the way. Flensburg is a really cute German town... that used to be Danish. But then Denmark lost a giant battle to Germany and lost all of their industrialized land and their second biggest port (after Copenhagen, of course.) This included Flensburg. Which, during WWII, happened to be the Nazi naval base and was bombed incessantly by the English... So the whole town has basically been rebuilt. There are pictures of Flensburg around... but I don't remember which they are... so you're out of luck... Sorry! At the Duborg Skolen (the other Danish secondary school in Germany) We met with a bunch of students and got tours of their school. Their school was really nice... but old. We asked them about how they identified: with the German majority or the Danish minority or somewhere inbetween. The answer I got? "Almost German." I had to write a reflection paper on their response... that was fun...
The school! Its pretty. And made to look like a castle!
A nifty piece of art... I think donated by the Queen???
After that we had lunch break... Buying food in a small German town where few people speak english is QUITE the adventure. But we got it. Yum yum, cheap fast-food... At a German fastfood place though! None of this McDonalds or whatever. After that... more bus...
We took the bus to Sonderborg, DK. Its a nice old town with a castle! But first, we had to sit through a boring lecture by this guy. He had interesting things to say, but SO unemotional and dry... So I don't remember anything of it. It was in an awesome building though! More about it later. On the way we stopped at an old palace! It was pretty. had a beautiful church...
So... Its was the palace of a Danish Duke... then people found out he supported Germany, so they kicked him out... And then Germany took over anyway and they had royalty there (I think...) but then in 1920 people voted and the land became Danish again and the Palace became state property... So now its an insane asylum/mental institution.
The BEAUTIFUL Baroque church attached to the insane asylum!
Following the boring lecture, we went to our new hostel. yay. The hostel served us a tasty dinner... and we were off to our ghost tour at the Castle! We didn't see any ghosts (duh...) but it was interesting. Basically this creepy lady:
(this room WAS pitch black... camera just had a BRIGHT flash...)
We took the bus to Sonderborg, DK. Its a nice old town with a castle! But first, we had to sit through a boring lecture by this guy. He had interesting things to say, but SO unemotional and dry... So I don't remember anything of it. It was in an awesome building though! More about it later. On the way we stopped at an old palace! It was pretty. had a beautiful church...
So... Its was the palace of a Danish Duke... then people found out he supported Germany, so they kicked him out... And then Germany took over anyway and they had royalty there (I think...) but then in 1920 people voted and the land became Danish again and the Palace became state property... So now its an insane asylum/mental institution.The BEAUTIFUL Baroque church attached to the insane asylum!
Following the boring lecture, we went to our new hostel. yay. The hostel served us a tasty dinner... and we were off to our ghost tour at the Castle! We didn't see any ghosts (duh...) but it was interesting. Basically this creepy lady:
(this room WAS pitch black... camera just had a BRIGHT flash...)
she took us around the castle and told us scary stories and historical stories and such. But... the castle was a museum. So it was basically walking through the museum at night...
The castle...
The crypt where like 17 kids are buried...
The thing where kids were baptized? But they only put new (holy) water in it once a year... so it was basically a germ pool and it killed a bunch of kids...
The castle...
The crypt where like 17 kids are buried...
The thing where kids were baptized? But they only put new (holy) water in it once a year... so it was basically a germ pool and it killed a bunch of kids...
The only entrance to the dungeon. People had to hang in the dungeon so they didn't escape... But they weren't HUNG as in killed... They died, but that wasn't the intent.
After this, we did like the Danish... and went to the bar. Its name was "maybe not bob" I had a tequila sunrise. It was tasty. We hung out for an hour or so... then tried to find a dance club... We found one, but it was closed until 11... So we went to a Mexican bar (in Denmark...) and I had a Mudslide... Fun story about this mudslide. I go up the the bartender and say, "A mudslide." he says okay, I look away for a minute to talk to someone, turn back around and he's given me a pack of cigarettes... I look at him and say " I DON'T want these!" Show him the menu and point to the mudslide... Which he them gives me 5 kr discount on. Anyway. We hung out there for a while (with our professor :) ) and then headed over to Buddy Holly: Bar and Dancing. The bouncers ask us where we're from and they let us in free... And then we find out its a gay bar. But our whole class is there. So we stay. And it was fun. We left at 1... And went back to hostel and slept a lot.
The last day of study tour was tough. I had started to come down with my cold so I wasn't feeling so hot and we had 2 lectures. The first one was good (though I think I may have accidentally nodded off a couple times... Apperently colds make me slightly... prone to falling asleep at inopportune moments... like really interesting lectures.) It was a member of the German minority in Denmark who had been travelling with us. He talked about how he identifies and how he reconciles his German past with WWII and such. It was really good. Then we had lunch... But all the cafes were closed??? So we went to the fast-food stand. I had a kebob pita. It wasn't amazing. We met back up and had an architectural tour of the building (its name is 'The Alsion Complex") we had spent part of yesterday and all of today in. It was an AMAZING building. It had an area for companies to have offices so they could all collaborate, it had a clean room (so they could do research on nano technology), it had what will be the concert hall with the best acoustics for a year (until a new one in Hamburg is built) and then that was all attached to the University... like... in the same building. And it had art by the waterfall guy too. The tour was interesting... But all in danish and it all had to be translated... So it was a little awkward...
The only picture I got of the building...
After that we had another lecture. This was a guy who works in the government as a part of the German Minority party. He was a little sick, but he was good. He talked about some really interesting things :) My problem: I started off really well... then started to fade (sleepy wise) and did everything I could to stay awake. I was taking notes on interesting things he said... then I'd forget what I was writing in the middle of a word... And then I started to just fall asleep in the middle of words... it was bad. Eventually my teacher had to wake me up... Super embarassing. But as soon as the lecture was over, the whole class just started laughing at me... Which I didn't really mind. It was funny and I don't really care. Apperently, they'd all been watching me instead of the lecturer... And, one of my friends told me, at one point I had completely slumped forward and my professor and another guy who was travelling with us both looked at me, then at eachother and just started cracking up laughing. I was glad they weren't angry... But it seems like everyone knew I could not controll this... And I got a good bit of sleep the night before too!!! I don't know what was up...
But yeah. After that, we made the 5 hour drive home. I made it back to my house and promptly went to bed and slept until noon. Woke up and did a bunch of homework and went back to bed. Okay. here are some more random pictures from the trip. Random meaning that I don't remember what they're of or they didn't fit elsewhere...
I think this is Sonderborg? I know its in Denmark because of the flags hanging on the street...
This was when we were on the Odense Bridge... the second longest in Denmark!
I think this is Aabrenaa... And that would be fjord in the back :)
Crappy picture, BEAUTIFUL light house!!!
Sonderborg, at sunset!
The last day of study tour was tough. I had started to come down with my cold so I wasn't feeling so hot and we had 2 lectures. The first one was good (though I think I may have accidentally nodded off a couple times... Apperently colds make me slightly... prone to falling asleep at inopportune moments... like really interesting lectures.) It was a member of the German minority in Denmark who had been travelling with us. He talked about how he identifies and how he reconciles his German past with WWII and such. It was really good. Then we had lunch... But all the cafes were closed??? So we went to the fast-food stand. I had a kebob pita. It wasn't amazing. We met back up and had an architectural tour of the building (its name is 'The Alsion Complex") we had spent part of yesterday and all of today in. It was an AMAZING building. It had an area for companies to have offices so they could all collaborate, it had a clean room (so they could do research on nano technology), it had what will be the concert hall with the best acoustics for a year (until a new one in Hamburg is built) and then that was all attached to the University... like... in the same building. And it had art by the waterfall guy too. The tour was interesting... But all in danish and it all had to be translated... So it was a little awkward...
The only picture I got of the building...
After that we had another lecture. This was a guy who works in the government as a part of the German Minority party. He was a little sick, but he was good. He talked about some really interesting things :) My problem: I started off really well... then started to fade (sleepy wise) and did everything I could to stay awake. I was taking notes on interesting things he said... then I'd forget what I was writing in the middle of a word... And then I started to just fall asleep in the middle of words... it was bad. Eventually my teacher had to wake me up... Super embarassing. But as soon as the lecture was over, the whole class just started laughing at me... Which I didn't really mind. It was funny and I don't really care. Apperently, they'd all been watching me instead of the lecturer... And, one of my friends told me, at one point I had completely slumped forward and my professor and another guy who was travelling with us both looked at me, then at eachother and just started cracking up laughing. I was glad they weren't angry... But it seems like everyone knew I could not controll this... And I got a good bit of sleep the night before too!!! I don't know what was up...
But yeah. After that, we made the 5 hour drive home. I made it back to my house and promptly went to bed and slept until noon. Woke up and did a bunch of homework and went back to bed. Okay. here are some more random pictures from the trip. Random meaning that I don't remember what they're of or they didn't fit elsewhere...
I think this is Sonderborg? I know its in Denmark because of the flags hanging on the street...This was when we were on the Odense Bridge... the second longest in Denmark!
I think this is Aabrenaa... And that would be fjord in the back :)
Crappy picture, BEAUTIFUL light house!!!
Sonderborg, at sunset!
Sign by a drawbridge in Sonderborg: Stop for blink!
These guys randomly 'fought' in the streets of Sonderborg while we were buying lunch...
Old windmill by the battlefield where Denmark lost to Germany...
Sonderborg... And sailboats!!
Battlefields! With destroyed German fortifications!
Sonderborg... but it reminds me of Nyhavn.
Pretty, typical street in Sonderborg.
Anyway, Monday was pretty good. I had class (including a ridiculous 20 question test that we got 35 minutes for despite deep, multilevel answers being required for each question...) and then I had another class... And then I met up with Gabi and we ate lunch in her Kolligium before going to cooking class!!! Cooking class was good... Its more a cook in large group with supervision and I kinda feel like it was a waste of my money... but it will be good to have good meals and get some good danish recipies... Then I came home... at like... 11 PM (shoulda been like, 10:30, but the busses never run when I need them to...) And then I went to bed.
Today I got up, fought to get my internet to work and then skype'd Mikes :) Then went to my least favorite class... then my favorite class... then I had a meeting with my Cross-Cultural prof to talk about how the class was going (I'm class rep... one of two :) ) and then I went to my other favorite class where we discusses intercultural communication and cultural styles and things and then did a role-play where we each had a different cultural trait and we had to work with other people to build an awesome marshmallow/spagetti/ apple tower... We were in two groups... it was a competition. We won.
The top is above the guy in the orange shirt's head... its a white marshmallow... can you see it?
After that, I came home and played games (connect 4, war, speed, 500, guess who...) with Amanda for a couple hours before coming down here and writing this lovely blog for you fine folks. Have a lovely day, and I hope you enjoyed! I'll probably get another update up for you before the weeks over since tomorrow should be interesting: National Museum and the Red Cross Asylum Center (where the people waiting to be granted asylum are held...) Then, much homework, of course.
Today I got up, fought to get my internet to work and then skype'd Mikes :) Then went to my least favorite class... then my favorite class... then I had a meeting with my Cross-Cultural prof to talk about how the class was going (I'm class rep... one of two :) ) and then I went to my other favorite class where we discusses intercultural communication and cultural styles and things and then did a role-play where we each had a different cultural trait and we had to work with other people to build an awesome marshmallow/spagetti/ apple tower... We were in two groups... it was a competition. We won.
The top is above the guy in the orange shirt's head... its a white marshmallow... can you see it?
After that, I came home and played games (connect 4, war, speed, 500, guess who...) with Amanda for a couple hours before coming down here and writing this lovely blog for you fine folks. Have a lovely day, and I hope you enjoyed! I'll probably get another update up for you before the weeks over since tomorrow should be interesting: National Museum and the Red Cross Asylum Center (where the people waiting to be granted asylum are held...) Then, much homework, of course.
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