game day, race day, pain day

This morning I woke up early(well, for a Sunday 8 am is early to me) and took a train to meet Elizabeth--who goes to DIS with me--and her family. To recap, two weeks ago Elizabeth called and asked if I wanted to run in a 10 K because her family had an extra ticket. She caught me just after I woke up that day, and in my vulnerable state I agreed. So today was the day of reckoning.

Looking outside at the blanket of clouds, I forced myself to get up, throw on spandex, and walk to the metro. She gave me rough instructions, and I found my way to the right train tracks downtown. It was about 45 minutes total to get out to the correct stop, where her uncle picked me up. Elizabeth, her uncle, and her two cousins. Her cousins were very cute, even though I didn't understand much of what they were saying. Within 10 minutes we were at the race site, where we had plenty of time to contemplate the lovely race ahead.

Elizabeth just started running this summer, so this was her longest run ever. A 10 K is equivalent to 6.25 miles. My last race was 5 weeks ago when I did the Bradbury Mountain 10-mile trail race, which is hardest run that I've done to date. After that I took 2 weeksish of cross-training only, and therefore I've only been back running for less than three weeks. I have done no speed-work, so my expectations weren't to high going into the race.

The first 2 ks were uphill; it wasn't horribly steep but definitely not flat. I had to maneuver my way to the side in order to pass at the beginning, but after that I had no major problems. It was bit a bit windy, but the temperature was ideal/the rain held off. The course was quite beautiful. We were running in the countryside. I paced myself off a soccer player, and ended up with a decent time of 48 minutes( approx 7:40 mile pace). I'm not thrilled, but it's nice to know that I can pull of that pace just a few weeks back. As I tell my friend Sam, it's all about muscle memory.

I'm sorry if I'm boring all the non-runners.

When I got back I made lentil soup. This weekend I have cooked some good things. I made pizza on Friday with autumn roasted vegetables on top. Last night I made toll-house cookies to give to Elizabeth family, which I forgot in my room so I have to do that tomorrow. I have gearing up for another week. I have a full schedule, like always. Tonight I will do some more reading, and then attempt to start my take-home econ project.

Reading the Days away

For the past few days I have been up to my ears in readings for my course. Yesterday, Tuesday, I had a test in my Trade, Aid and Political Power course, and tomorrow I have one in my EU class. Tomorrow's test is short answer, which I prefer over multiple choice, so I just need to review a bit more.

On Monday in between classes I went up to the library at DIS in search of a hole punch. I say search, because I have not been able to find one since coming to Denmark. I have checked numerous stores, different classrooms, and various places within DIS, yet no 3 punch. At the library I found a 4 punch, which used. Then I felt silly, because the binder I bought had two holes, but at least my papers were secure. Then I broke the binder. Not intentionally, but there is an odd system where you pull this odd lever thing to open up the binder--too complicated for me. I was in a hurry/didn't realize it was different. Seeing as it was the only binder I bought, at the only store I could find that sold binders, I asked the librarian where I could find another binder. I'm betting my frazzled expression made the nice man feel bad for me, because he gave me two binder free. I'm pretty excited. Now all my paperwork is nice and organized, my printed notes arranged chronologically inside them, and my desk is now clean.

My room is also clean. I did laundry today. I wasn't able to do laundry with my laundry card last week because it broke. It looks like a credit card, but does not function like one. I have no idea why it broke, nothing physically was damaged. I kept it in the pocket they gave me. When I went to the office to ask for help, the lady checked the card on a machine and said, 'sometimes this happens', and took my card for a week. It was in my mailbox yesterday, and it nows works fine; I have clean sheets and towels to prove it.

Last night I was at the gym late. I was procrastinating, got distracted, and before I knew it, it was 1030. So rushed to the gym, which officially closes at 1130. Yet, there is no monitor, and we all have keys so you can really stay as long as you wish. Well the last guy left at 1135, so I locked the door, and continued to do the rower. I locked the door because I'm paranoid and wanted to make sure I noticed if someone was coming in. Someone did come in, but I had to open the door for them. Then lights went out in the room. They guy was very freaked out by it and basically ran out. I finished my workout light by the hall lights (only 5 minutes more) and left, amused.

Tomorrow after my classes I'm meeting my danish networker, and possibly her friend, at the train station. We are going to cook dinner at the kollegium. It should be fun, though I'm thinking about what I should serve.

Back to Work

Time has been flying by me this weekend. On Friday my friend from Providence came to visit. This semester she is studying in London, so she flew out here late on Friday afternoon. After class I ran a couple errands, tided my room, and then found my way the airport. It is very close to my kollegium; 3 metro stops and a train ride away. I, surprisingly, didn't get lost at all and was there early. We made dinner back at the kollegium and then went into the city.

On Saturday we had great weather for walking. I showed her my daily route to school and then took her to my favorite bakery. Saturday is cinnamon bun day there, which I didn't know. Cinnamon is my favorite spice, and breakfast was delicious. Then we walked and shopped around until the stores closed at 4. I was very good and didn't buy anything but gelato.

We came back to the kollegium and went for a run/walk through the trails. On Friday I had found this hill on the trails which gives you a view of the entire city. It is stunning. Keely had a bit of a cough, and I wanted a low-key evening, so we dressed up for dinner and went downtown. On Nyhahn street we found a little italian restaurant overlooking the water and had a great meal there. It was the first time I've gone out for a real sit-down dinner since I've been here. The temperatures had cooled down, but the sky was still clear of clouds, so we walked along the waterfront. When we came back to the kollegium we made a plum and strawberry tart (that recipe is my new favorite--so easy/quick). We watched Duplicity, which I highly recommend, and the end of dirty dancing.

This morning my alarm didn't go off, but I woke up just in time. We got to the airport an hour before her flight. All in all, it was a lovely weekend. I hadn't seen Keely since May, because she lives in California so it was great to see a familiar face.

Right now I need to do work for tomorrow, and so it begins again.

3 down and 2 to go

This week has been full of schoolwork. Next week I have two tests, so my professor are all trying to cram in as many reading assignments as possible. It's lovely. I have, however, managed to extract myself from my books for an hour here and there to regain my sanity.

On Monday I left my room at 930 and came home at 730. I went the grocery store after my classes, which is an activity in and of itself. I love grocery stores, but Monday was one of those days that I just felt frustrated. I am getting used to allotting extra time in my travels. I have fully accepted that stores are not open on a regular or schedule basis here. It does sometimes get frustrated after spending over an hour in the store to pick a few thing simple things, knowing that doing the same thing at home would take minutes. I searched for breadcrumbs, baking soda/powder, brown sugar, vanilla. While I managed to find most of the items, not knowing the danish words on the packages made me feel ignorant. I learned to recognize, but not pronounce, words like chicken, tomatoes, cumber, but sometimes you cannot discern the items based on the looks alone.

So after performing a scavenger hunt of sorts in the grocery store, I hauled all my goods home and made a delicious dinner. Although shopping was frustrating, overwhelming, and just plain exhusting, I remind myself that it is par for the course, and teaching me to be more patient (which I certainly can use more of).

Tuesday class went well, had a good run. Today I had no classes, so it gave me a chance to catch up, and get slightly ahead in my work. I woke up to a call asking me if I wanted to run in a 10K next weekend, because she remembered that I said I run, and her relatives in Denmark have an extra ticket. Now grant it, I just woke up, thus everyone who knows me can draw the conclusion that I was not in the 'right mind' to make decision. I agreed; the race is next weekend. I warned Elizabeth that my time will not be, shall we say, fast. I am only a few weeks back from cross-training. It is next Sunday. It will undoubtedly be interesting.

So when I hung up the phone, I rolled over and went back sleep. Then later in the day I met Hanna, who is in my EU class, at the metro and we made cookies. Learned that oats here are not rolled oats, and saved the cookies by adding flour (thank goodness I watch food network and was able to figure that out). I kept three cookies and packed the rest up with her. My mom baked me cookies, biscotti, and sent them here. I got package today, which made the day even better. Went for a run, homework, and now I'll do yoga and then more reading.

3rd Sunday

Last night I arrived back from my short study tour. It was a busy trip, but good trip.

On Thursday morning we left bright and early from Copenhagen. My group was composed of all the students in my 10:05 European Union course, and there were about 30 of us. From Copenhagen we traveled to Rodby, Denmark and took a ferry from there to Germany.

The ferry ride was quick, 45 minutes. It was a beautiful day so I stood on the deck for a while. From the ferry we took our bus, we traveled on the same rented bus the whole time, to Lubeck which was about and hour and a half away.

I slept most of the time, though when I was awake there were great views. The country

side of Germany is similar to Denmark's. There were lovely views and plenty of windmills. The first thing we did when we got to Denmark is went to lunch at Schiffergesellschaft, a restaurant which is over 600 years old. It was a nice place, traditional German cuisine, so heavy but good. The carrots there were delicious.

After that we went to the Willy Brandt Museum. Willy Brant was the former mayor of West Berlin, born in Lubeck. He was outspoken against the Nazi regime, so he was exiled to Sweden for a number of years. The museum was

in the home he was born in and was quite interesting. Outside garden they had managed to get a piece of the Berlin Wall.

The photo on the left in the wall that faced East Berlin and the one on the right is the wall that faced West Berlin.

After our museum tour we wondered around the town for a bit. Lubeck is a small, cozy town. Next we checked into our hotel. They assigned us rooms, which was good because we got to know different people in our class. Before the trip I didn't know too many people; it's a lecture class so we just listen and leave. Now I know most of the class, so that will make class and the week in Brussels more lively. (We saw this dog in Lubeck--he's massive!)

I went for a run with the intern, DIS staffer, and another student. Then I met up with a group from the class and we sat outside enjoying the good weather. The next morning we headed to Hamburg where we had lunch and had a lecture from Hamburg's European Affairs Committee.

They seemto schedule lectures right after we eat, which does not bode well for me. I had the 'turkey affect' --aka full and content-- so I was pinching myself to stay awake at the beginning of it. I did, however, perk right up when the different party members began to speak. There are over four major parties in Germany, and they don't see eye to eye on anything. When we had a Q&A session, I didn't laugh, but was fighting it. There was a man from one party and a woman from another who not only would interrupt each other, but would make faces and roll their eyes when the other was speaking. They disagreed on everything, even when it was a basic structural question. They keep making jabs at each other about the other's spending habits/platforms. It was very amusing. If that is how they behave when they are trying to get along, I can only imagine how they are when it comes down to voting.

After that session we had a tour of the Parliament building. It is large; they boasted that they have 3 more rooms than Buckingham Palace. I feel like there was a black cloud over the history of city; the palace was occupied by Hitler when he installed a mock-democracy there. The rooms were ornate, but I didn't fully enjoy it.

The tour lasted for an hour, at which time we were released into the city. I went with friend to hunt down a soccer/football jersey for my darling brother. I would estimate that it took between 45 to an hour to find a store that had them (mind you I went in around 5

stores and asked countless people). When I finally found a store I had to figure out which was the national team's jersey. The whole experience made me feel like i was on an episode of the amazing race,wondering around clueless in a foreign city.

From Hamburg we traveled to Sonderborg, a town in southern Denmark. We stayed at hostel, my first experience staying in one. I don't know what I was expecting, but the hostel was fine. I brought my own sheets, kept the window open, and slept well. In the morning we had a lecture at the University of Southern Denmark on German-Danish boarder relations,a trip to the battle field which was Danish version of Gettysburg, then headed back to Copenhagen, stopping at an art and crafts museum called Trapholt. The location of the museum was stunning, the exhibits were alright. There was an exhibit of chairs, some which were stained and looked like something I played in growing up. There were some cool ones though.

When we got back on the bus our intern and DIS staffer gave us water, chocolate, and beer for

the rest of the ride. I had the water, saved the rest, and took a nap.

Today I am catching up on my work, going for a run, then bed early!

Packing again, too soon

Every Wednesday at DIS we don't have classes with lecture. Instead we have field studies, meaning that two or three times a semester each class meets on Wednesday and goes somewhere in the city. It's a field trip, minus the permission slip and boxed lunch. My European Union course met this morning, and we took a field trip to the Parliament.

My professor used to be a member of Parliament, so he knew the member who was giving us a tour. First the member gave us a power point presentation explaining how parliament operates and more specifically how it deals with the EU. Denmark has a committee, Foreign Affairs, which has a representative elected from each party within the EU. That representative's job is to convey his or her party's position on the issues that are before the EU and the WTO. What's interesting is that this committee directly dictates what their representative at the EU in Brussels is allowed to do. So if the issue before the EU was immigration this committee would give their rep. specific guidelines and parameters that he or she would be able to negotiate within.

This is different than other countries whose representatives make the choice and then go back and explain to their government. The member said that in Denmark it is different because the government is minority run, meaning that there are many parties within the government.

In addition to the structure of their Parliament being different than our Congress, the building itself was quite different. We did not walk through any mental detectors. I saw no weapons. Their constitution was framed in glass, but you could walk right up to it. It was a much more relaxed capital than ours. The Maine State House or the federal building in Augusta have tighter entrance security.

After the tour I got gelato( nutella and hazelnut--extremely similar) and came back to my kolligum to pack/run/do laundry before the trip tomorrow. I got an iron today so I steamed some of my clothes. I also made end-of-summer vegetable soup. Very delicious, but I burnt the tip of my tongue when I was seasoning it. I leave at 815 tomorrow from downtown, so I'm heading to bed now to get a complete night's sleep.

Swan Pond and Mini Muffins

I had a great 20th Birthday on Saturday. The morning started off a little shaky when my alarm failed to wake me up, but it got progressively better from then on. I met my Danish Networker, Anna, downtown. We were suppose to meet at the Royal Theatre. I went to the new theatre; she went to the old one. Shocking, me mixing up directions, but it all worked out in the end. Thank goodness for cell phones.

When we finally found each other we found coffee shop to sit and escape from the rain. Anna is in boarding school right now and is would be a junior in high school in the States. Last year she studied in Canada so her english is perfect. We both like to shop, run, and visit museum, so I think we'll have some fun this year.

After Anna left, I roamed around the city and did a bit of shopping. I was looking for a pair of rain boots but had no luck. I did find some really neat vintage shops. I love looking at old dressing and plan on going back there. Later in the evening some of the girls in my kollegium took me out to dinner, and then we came back and had cake/berry tart. All in all, a wonderful day.

Sunday I had to get up early so I could go to IKEA. I thought it was the IKEA in Sweden, as did many of the other students. I was wrong. It was a store just outside of Copenhagen. Although it would have been much more fun to go to the one in Sweden, this one was only 15 minutes away. I now have a blanket as well as a top sheet on my bed. Very exicting stuff. I also bought my brother a birthday gift. Fairly certain I could say what it is here, there's no way he reads this, but just in case he's bored one day I won't give it away. It's good gift in my completely unbiased opinion.

Today was a very long day, but a great one. I had three classes in a row and then a two hour break. I was quite productive during that time. I found the Kommune, the danish version of a town hall/DMV. It was a very modern setup, much more comfy then a DMV. I turned in my paperwork, and am now officially register for my health card. I will get it within the next two weeks, and it allows me to have free health care all over the city. It also will function as an ID, so I won't have to carry around a passport, which will be nice. They gave me the name of my doctor here, so I am all set.

I had reading to do for my last class of the day, so I went to a bakery and had lunch there. I had a delicious turkey sandwich and they had really good mini-muffins. People from my kollegium had gone their last week, so I knew that the place would be good. It is one of the most famous bakeries in Denmark, and I know why. It smells good, it's not too expensive, and it's delicious. I did my reading in there and then went to class.

When I got home tonight I was beat. Despite my fatigue I forced myself to throw on my running shoes, and I'm so glad I did. I headed out in the direction of the city. It was around 6:30 so I didn't want to go too far and wanted a well populated path. Copenhagen is one of the coolest cities to run in. They have a lane for car, bikes and pedestrians. You don't have to share with the bikes. Additionally in the middle of the city they have random dirt paths, trails. I ran past a few small parks, and then stumbled onto a large pond. I ran across bridge and saw swans. I was on such a runners high when I got back that I decided to pick apples.

Everyday when I head to the metro I see apples right outside my building. They look good, like macintoshes. Fruit is expensive here, and good fruit is sparse. The only thing I was holding was my cell phone so I stepped up onto the concrete wall (a foot high) and then started to climb the tree. For all biting their nails, don't worry. I have climbed many trees and went apples picking nearly every year when I was little. I found four nice apples, used my shirt as a basket, and headed down. I had a little trouble balancing, but made it to the bottom of the tree fine. I hopped off the tree, but forgot about the concrete wall. I took a bit of a spill, scraped up my arm, bruised my ego. I don't think anyone saw, but if they did I'm sure I amused them. Luckily things like this happen to me all the time, and I can bounce back from a fall. I cleaned it up with witch-hazel. It only stung a bit. Now I am about to get into bed and read. I had the apple a few minutes ago; it was worth it.

Fridays are lovely days

Thank goodness it's the weekend. My first full week of classes have sufficiently worn me out. It's only week two, yet my courses are already moving full steam ahead. This week I had a paper for econ, an assignment and my others piled on the reading. As much as the work is exhausting me, all my subjects are very interesting, so I will appreciate it later. For now, I am beyond thrilled it's the weekend.

This morning I ventured out for a run at the perfect time. The sun was breaking through the clouds and I had near perfect conditions. It was a bit windy, but the resisitance just gave my workout a boast. I discovered a gorgeous park with many trails. There are paths to little hills that give great views and it is all dirt paths. Bikers were out in full force. I think I will be spending quite a bit of time in there. Another bonus: I can see the tall office building from anywhere in there, so I can't get too lost. Though I'm sure I'll prove myself wrong.

Today after class I marched to the grocery store armed with a list. Over the summer while living in the mountains I learned that mapping out a schedule of dinners and shopping for that list is the most cost-effective way to cook. Last night and this morning I completed my schedule for the next month. It looks good, if I do say so myself.

The problem is I have a problem with estimations. I either shop thinking I am much stronger than I actually am, or that 5 pds of flour, milk, yogurt, ect. aren't really that heavy. Either way I got an additional workout coming home. The DIS student living next door and I were going to make pizza, but she had a meeting so I decided to go ahead with it on my own.

I love to cook. I love to bake. I would say, though my brother and father disagree, that I can hold my own in a kitchen. Tonight, however, was a certainly a challenge. Making the pizza dough, I forgot that they don't cups over here. Furthermore, their scale wasn't working correctly. There was an old measuring cup that wasn't accurate, but beyond that I was on my own. They don't have teaspoons in the kitchen, so I had to approximate the entire recipe. I looked up conversions on the internet and used what they said, but the dough was incredibly wet. So I had wing it. I add sugar, salt and a lot more flour. When I put a towel on the dough I had no idea if it would rise. I've made dough at home that has flopped, and that's with the proper tools.

Needless to say I was pleasantly surprised when it doubled and even more shocked at the end result. It was delicious. Best one I've ever made. I also made a rustic tart, in honor of my upcoming birthday (didn't have room in my fridge to wait until tomorrow). It is equally good. The difficulty in making the tart was that the butter here is in blocks and I don't know how to measure it. Never the less it's great.

By the time I had finished and cleaned up I had been in the kitchen for three hours. It was fun, though. A girl down the hall made dinner in there so she stayed for a bit after she was done to talk. Now I am going to met up with some people and watch Ace of Cakes. I'm bringing the tart to share. Tomorrow I'm going to meet with a Danish student that I've been paired with. We're going for coffee and then I'm going window shopping, well that's the plan anyway...

Laundry-mats and Schoolwork

It seems that time in Denmark is speeding by me. On Sunday I spent a few hours hauling my laundry-mat down the street. Our resident assistant person here in Denmark has yet to get us cards that give us permission to use the laundry machines downstairs. Knowing that my gyms clothes probably wouldn't hold up well in a plastic bag under my bed-- no laundry basket-- I decided to find a laundry-mat and get it out of the way on Sunday. So Jen (who lives in the room next to me) and I hauled our bags and wondered off in the direction that a Danish map told us to. To make matter slightly worse, I was the one leading. So it was more or less the blind leading the blind. After asking three, maybe four people, we ended up at the right place.

Now I don't have a lot of experience with laundry mats in the States, but I'm fair certain Dainsh ones are completely different. To begin with the settings are in Danish, that was a given. But they are also in Celsius so that didn't help to much when two settings had the same number next to it. Also you don't put the money in the machines. Across the room there is a master machine where you put your money in. It does not dispense change. The machine is complicated. I looked pathetic and confused enough to attract the attention of a kind older lady who helped me start my washers.

The dryers were also complicated. They were neat looking, I defiantly could fit in them, if I had the urge to do so. When you put your money in and pressed your number, it did not necessary go on for the whole time. You had to press the button a few times to get certain numbers, I still don't really understand. In any case the dryers work very quickly and within long my clothes were mostly dry. I ran out of kronners, so it was as good as it was going to get. To make a long, painfully long, story short I now have clean clothes. I know you all were very worried. Jen took a picture of the machines for me so I'll post it soon.

Monday I had another busy day of classes, four. Today I slept late and then went to class again (See Dad I'm working hard!). Tonight we had a Birthday celebration for the girl next door. We had cupcakes/muffins. Now I have some more reading to do, so that is all for now.