Off to Croatia for the Week!

I apologize for not getting another post up today...I had two midterms but I'm feeling good about both! I'm off to Croatia for the week to see Plitvice Lakes National Park and hang out in Split. I'll post a few pictures from google to give you all a taste of what I'll be seeing!

Plitvice!Biokovo Nature Park!

Louisiana, Kindergarten, and the Beach!

Greetings readers! As I've been a little slower with my responses I'm going to try to do a few shorter ones more frequently, but who knows how that will go. I shall recap by starting with my trip with my parents and Dave to Louisiana. No, not the one down South, the world renowned museum just outside of Copenhagen. I'm not art critic but this was one of my favorite museums that I've been to. I think that's mainly because it was on this beautiful coast where you could see Sweden across the way, but the art was pretty cool too! They had a big Yoko Ono exhibit, who I knew very little about. It was interesting to see what she had done. I will let you take a look for the works yourself. Another day, my sociology class went to observe a kindergarten. We ended up going to a multicultural kindergarten in which 66 3-5 year-olds went, representing 20 different nationalities. It was really cool and much more diverse than the relatively homogenous Denmark. We learned about their system and how they get students from all sorts of backgrounds with varying degrees of ability to speak Danish, some who can't even say a word! The goal of the school is to have them be somewhat competent in Danish before moving to primary school. One way they teach is by singing in dancing. Naturally I, and a handful of other brave peers, joined in with the dancing. They did a few familiar ones like Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes and the Hokey Pokey. Their Hokey Pokey was a little different than ours, and frankly I liked it more. We were all in a circle holding hands, then we would let go to shake it all about. Right after saying "that's what it's all about", we would hold hands again and rotate the circle, saying "boogie boogie boogie" four or five times. In between each triad of boogies, we would jump and say "Hey!". It was a grand old time! On Friday after class, six of my fine peers went to a beach to hang out and unwind. Naturally this led to a photo sesh happening, but I'll let you check that out for yourself in the pictures. Lastly, my parents and I met up with my friends Mags and Zoe at a coffee shop called the Living Room. Zoe Hemenway is an old family friend that I hadn't seen in a while so it was great to see her! Anywho, let's look at some pictures. So much for being brief...

 A cool sculpture with an even better view.

 I liked these colors.

 Very pretty space.

 So this is exactly what our inner ears look like. With three semi-circular fluid-filled canals with little otoliths, rock-like structures, within them. These are what sense movement. When you move your head, the fluid moves and so does the otolith ("rock") within it. Knowledge bomb ensuing: when you spin around really fast and then stop suddenly, the fluid stops moving but the heavier otoliths keep moving in the fluid, making you think you're moving when you actually aren't. This is why you get dizzy! Whammo! And yes, this is what I did for 10 weeks this summer. Who knew it would come in handy with art?

 This was a cool part mirror part class box like thing.

 Half empty, or half full?

 The cutest little pair of dress shoes I'd ever seen.

 A beautiful canopy landscape.

 Yoko Ono, John Lennon's wife, had this huge exhibit at Louisiana. This was an interactive part where you could write a wish of yours and put it on the wishing tree. It was pretty cool.

 Then Dave wrote this...classic Texan.

 This kinda looks like the Michelin Man!

 A really cool sketch.

 Another.

 Just like Foggy!

 An owl/bat perhaps?

 I hope he's not a snapper.

 Yoko Ono plays with mirrors.

 The kindergarteners nap from 13.00-14.00 (1pm - 2pm) every day on these little naps. How adorable!

 Green Crocs and socks...I think I'm setting a trend over here!

 These kids were absolutely adorable singing and dancing.

 There should be more of these signs around every city.

 The beautiful Amager Beach.

Again.

Pictures of people taking pictures of people

 Look at all those future physical therapists, physician's assistants, and doctors! From left to right: Kristina, Davey, Rachel, Dayna, Christina, Mags, me.

 Mags...that's the future of medicine folks

 And so is this! Note the green crocs and socks...just like the boy at the kindergarten!

 Nothing like a romantic prom pic on the beach at sunset.

 A delicious brunch meal with my good friend Dave right on the water.

Pops, ma, and me with Zoe Hemenway (Iain Hofle's daughter).

 Us and Mags in the living room. From the bottom left going clockwise, Mags, me, papa bear, and Zoe. The setup at the Living Room was awesome with couches and armchairs, even a bed!

 Zoe and Ben strolling through their city.

 Look at those two beautiful works of art behind the sculpture...they sure are pieces of work, that's for sure!

We couldn't resist a goofy pic. What a bunch!

A Smattering of Danish Living

Now that I got those crazy parents out of my hair, let's get back to some blogging! I shall be jumping around a lot this entry so brace yourself. We'll start with the Living Room. It's this little coffee shop by day, pub by night, kind of a place with so many couches and arm chairs and is very hyggelig (remember it's pronounced hoogley). On a more active note, two Danes on my floor (Claes and Stefan), asked me if I wanted to go rock climbing. What better place to go rock climbing after shoulder surgery than Copenhagen?! Don't worry Grandma, I made it, and all in one piece! It was this really cool arch that was probably 20 meters high that was attached to an apartment building. Claes had all the gear and let me wear his shoes when he wasn't using them. Turns out we have the same sized feet! Who woulda thunk? I am about a size 43 in Europe sizes. Knowledge bomb: The European shoe sizes are measured in Paris Points, which are 2/3 of a cm. Kapow! What a weird system right? So my 43 Paris Points is really just a shoe that is about 28.7 cm long. Who comes up with this stuff? Claes and Stefan were a lot of fun. They're these goofy Danes who are about 30. I eat breakfast with them frequently and we have great goofy conversations about why giraffes have long necks and other things. They also teach me a lot of my Danish, which, after four weeks, is still the hardest language I've ever tried to learn. Claes is this very fit lifeguard with flowing blonde hair. He's a bit afraid of heights which was a bit funny 'cause he was so good at climbing! In other news, I made frikadellers which is kinda the Danish dinner staple here. They are pork meatballs. Usually people make them with potatoes and gravy and red cabbage. They were mighty fine if I do say so myself. Jumping around again, I did the whole touristy thing with my lovely parents. They so generously took four friends and me out to a nice dinner which was definitely much appreciated by all parties involved, considering we've been eating pasta, eggs, pizza, and an occasional hotdog for the most part. Oh and kebabs of course. Wow I love those. Anywho, the meal was amazing. The next few days, I spent largely with my parents which was very nice, and not just 'cause I wasn't paying for anything! They aren't so bad. And, I got free breakfast at the Marriott which was just scrumptious. We went to Parliament and checked out the Royal Library where Kierkegaard is sitting and still reading. We then went to the Royal Palace and watched the changing of the guards which was wildly anticlimactic. It was a process that took around a half hour. Naturally I took a picture with one of the guards (sometimes I just can't help myself). Later on, we stumbled upon a replica of Michaelangelo's David whom (who? who knows...) I also took a picture with. We made our way to Little Mermaid (yes the same Little Mermaid) who just celebrated her 100th birthday three weeks ago! The Little Mermaid was written by the only Hans Christian Andersen who was Danish of course! What a guy. Unfortunately, the wait was too long with tourists and everything so I could not take a picture with Ariel. The next day, we went to Copenhagen's Oktoberfest which was just a grand old time! I've never seen so many lederhosen in my life. We stuck out a bit...but got a few liters of beer to try and blend in. It was so much fun to see everyone dancing on the tables in their beautiful attire. Anywho, let's look at some pictures!

Kierkegaard. Quite the philosopher apparently!

 The Living Room. How hyggelig!

The climbing arch.

There I go!

 I got a bit stuck here...

Stefan belaying Claes. A couple of great guys!

We even inspired some little kids! There were actually a surprising number of people who stopped to watch us climb.

 I made it!

Frikadellers! I'm definitely bringing this back to the states.

The changing of the guards. I swear they were just having a really long staring contest.

The Royal Church

 Look at that dome!

As tempted as I was to capture David's attire (or lack thereof), Doug and Amy would not let me...

Mom behind Mr. Thinker!

The Little Mermaid! She's still dreaming of that prince...

My pops enjoying some ice cream as I scoff down a waffle.

My did this thing called Fish Kiss where these little teethless fish eat all the dead skin off your feet. Apparently it's quite ticklish.

She was absolutely loving it. She was waving to everyone walking by trying to get them to come in and try it. Classic muddah.

We ate at Ny Havn which was quite nice.

The Dream Team! From the left going clockwise: Dave, Mike, Doug, George, me, Amy, and Mags.

Look at those two drinking all that beer!

That's more like it...

Just a few friends enjoying a slice of Germany in Copenhagen.

 Dancing on tables was not uncommon. Check out those lederhosen!

I finally caved and got a crepe with nutella and banana which was totally worth 7 bucks.

Just thinking about my next blog post...