Wednesday = Field Study Day

This Wednesday, I went with my Danish Language & Culture class to Christiania, which is an "Freetown" within Copenhagen founded in 1971 by hippies at the site of ex-military barracks. These self-proclaimed anarchists do indeed pay taxes to the Danish government like everyone else, but everyone pays the same rent, regardless of living situation.

However, what Christiania is known for is Pusher Street, where hash is sold by the brick or pre-rolled joint, for your convenience. When Christiania was founded, any and all drugs were available and used, however, due to the negative consequences of heroine and cocaine, there is a strict soft-drug-only policy, which is strictly enforced, as depicted and explained by our guide below.

After the tour of Christiania, I made two stops with my adventuring buddy Kara. First, we went into a beautiful baroque church and found out that later the same evening a Confirmation celebration would be held, and we were more than welcome to come. Secondly, we stopped by a bakery and I had my first Danish danish. It was excellent.
After walking around with my roommate for a while, we decided to grab hotdogs for dinner. There are carts all around that sell hotdogs inside seedy baguettes with a mayonnaise herb concoction. We stopped by Studenterhuset, the student union, to get a beer and out of the cold to better enjoy a surprisingly delicious meal.

Kara and I did go back to the church to witness at least 200 teenagers sing and celebrate their confirmation. The lineup included: Man in the Mirror (standard Michael Jackson) Faellessalme: O kristelighed (a hymn in Danish), Halleluja (good old Cohen), and Shackels (Mary Mary). In the background of the picture is the alter, and in the upper left hand corner is a very small portion of the light show that was going on throughout the whole performance. 

All in all, this "service" exemplifies the Lutheran identity, but secular nature of the Danish people.

Greetings from Denmark

 Well, Hayley, it's funny you should ask.

I've been in Copenhagen for more than a week now, and while the first few days primarily featured the haze that is jet lag, it's been good. Apart from waking up in the very very dark that stays around until 7:45 or so in the morning and coming back to my room in the dark that is 4:30 pm.
During our extensive orientation activities we had a chance to walk around the city and see some sights. Copenhagen is beautiful: many of the streets are cobblestone, the buildings are painted cheery colors, perhaps to make up for the dreary weather, and they're really into squares and plazas featuring kings usually named Frederick or Christian the such and such roman numeral.

 This is Kongens Nytorv (Kings New Square) featuring Christian V.

Copenhagen is surrounded by canals, for safety. The Danes were, and seem to continue to be, obsessed with keeping the Swedes out.
On Saturday I went to Kronborg, in Elsinore, the castle that inspired Hamlet. Apparently only four kilometers from Sweden, the castle was built in the 1500s and funded by tariffs the king put on goods passing through the strait. While most of the castle burned down at one point or another, the original chapel, once converted to a fencing hall and back, remains. The tour took us through the dungeons which were cramped, dark, damp, and moldy. While it was an interesting experience, that was not the best part of the day.

The best part of the day was eating lunch at a bakery/cafe, specifically when the old man baker came around to the tables and offered everyone an orange meringue from a heaping tray. And so I have resolved to spend money exclusively on pastries. Partially because everything else is far too expensive to buy, but mostly because nothing else is quite as tasty.
Classes have begun, but in spite of the pile of reading I have managed to go adventuring.

While Kara and I did not go to any of the places pictured here, we did go to Kongens Nytorv, and took a water bus (so cool! it's just a boat that is part of the transportation system) from Parliament to a playhouse and ate lunch overlooking one of the canals.
I hope my wonderful housemates are excited for awesome adventures and debilitating jet lag! Safe travels to you all.

Hayley: Getting Psyched!!

Okay,

So there is still a little more than a week before I jet off to Quito.  However, I am experiencing the initial excitement and nervousness that accompanies a semester abroad (or so I imagine is the case with most people).  I have succeeded in lugging up suitcases to my room and throwing in mosquito repellent and sunscreen, along with some other essentials.  Not bad, right?  I just know I might forget something crucial but I figure that will just add to the whole experience.  I'm sure I'll have much more to write about once the stress starts to kick in.

I wonder what my dear housemates are up to? 

Hayley