Prom

I am overhearing some Danish teenagers outside my window talking to an American girl who is here and missing her prom today. Let me tell you about my senior prom:

My boyfriend would not go with me. I wore a dress that he later made fun of and told me was ugly. I took a friend of mine, and that happens to be the last time I ever saw her. I tagged along with another friend's group where I obviously did not fit in. I did not eat my dinner. I saw the girl who destroyed me dancing with the boy I used to like, who later overheard me talking about her in the bathroom. I did not dance with anyone because I thought my boyfriend would be mad. The music was okay. The location was not fabulous. Afterwards, I did not not go to a party. I did not get drunk and have the best night of my life. My friend and I drove around until 5 in the morning so I could at least tell people I was out late. I had fun, but I had to force myself to not dwell on how much the reality really sucked.




Also, this is not a sob story because my jr. prom really was perfection.

Let me tell you about the day I had in Denmark. The entire city is covered in flags (including on the buses) to celebrate a royal birthday. My Danish class was fun and pretty comfortable. I had weinerbrød for breakfast. I went shopping and bought a blazer and a dress. I grabbed a sandwich from my favorite sandwich place. I watched part of the Royal Wedding. I went to my Hans Christian Andersen class where we got snacks and watched The Little Mermaid. I walked home in the sun. Took a short nap. And tonight I am going out to celebrate a friend's birthday.

Basically, I am so happy here. I am so happy to be away from my old life, and to feel free to enjoy the simple things. I will probably always be a little bitter about prom, but honestly? I live in Copenhagen. I do not need one night of feeling like a princess when I have been given the opportunity to live in a fairy tale for a year.

Pre-FInals Bliss

Last night I had one of those perfect dreams that could never happen in reality, but enough of it was based on true events that you wake up in a state of overwhelming good vibes circulating through your mind and body.

I discovered a Beatles lyric that I had previously not paid attention to and adore. From 'Baby You're a Rich Man':
"Now that you know who you are
What do you want to be?
And have you travelled very far?
Far as the eye can see."

Love it.

I went to Tivoli on Monday! It reopened while I was on break. We got soft ice with Tivoli sprinkles and everything was very springy and still decorated for Easter.






I got all the classes I wanted for first registration for Fall back at Sonoma.

I learned how to make an amazing meal out of brown rice and spinach.

Dinner date with Grace tonight after not seeing her for like a month! This weekend also promises to be fantastic. Right now I am going to go for a run! Possibly the first run outside of a gym I have done since high school. And by possibly I mean that it is.

Life is fantastic. My work ethic should probably be kicked up about 10 levels, but tomorrow I get to see my practicum kids and play in a springtime forest... can we pretend that is academic?

Tales From Spring Break Part 1: Adventures in Istanbul

I flew to Istanbul on April 12th to see a good friend from high school? Well, from elementary school? Middle school? The exact derivation of our friendship is unclear, but we have known each other for quite some time. I came during his midterms and let him have the first two days to himself, which allowed me some time to explore Istanbul. Istanbul is the most foreign place I have ever been. Every other place I have been in Europe looks like something I recognize, either from media portrayal or my imagination. I did not think I was ever really going to make it to Turkey, so I guess I did not pay it proper attention while picturing different potential vacation spots. It was awesome, it was also HUGE. The city of Istanbul is 3 times the size of the population of the entire country of Denmark. That is 15 million people in one city! One nice thing is that they have to be able to feed 15 million people and for ridiculously cheap. I am pretty sure I ate about 5 meals a day.

Day #1. Sprinted through Latvian passport control. Stayed in a hostel with kittens and an interesting assortment of people. I ate my first Turkish food and fell in love. I took no pictures.

Day #2. Slept in until 11 am for the first time after 3 weeks of previous academic stress. Went to Topkapi Palace and the Grand Bazaar with new friends. Ate a lot of Turkish Delights.



Day #3. Met up with my friend at his school, which happens to be right next to Rumeli Fortress. Sprinted up a mountain (in Bebek)! Silliness ensued.



Day #4. We saw literally everything that exists in Istanbul, including: the Hagia Sophia, Basilica Cistern (complete with Medusa heads), the Blue Mosque, AND ASIA! He took me baklava sampling. The sun shone and Istanbul gleamed, just like the smiles on our faces.



Day #5. We ate an incredible breakfast and proceeded to go to the largest of the Princes' Islands. We rode bikes, picnicked, looked at houses, and took in the beautiful simplistic contrast from the city. We went back to Asia for dinner, since it was on the way home and everything...



Day #6 - 7. I let my friend sleep in and I went to Dolmabahce Palace by myself. We met up to say goodbye and eat incredible waffles. I went back to Sultanahmet to say goodbye to Istanbul and thank it for giving me a truly great week, although I did get a horrid sunburn. Caught a 1 am bus tot he airport for a flight that left at 5 am.






What an attractive picture to leave you all with! Join me next time for installment 2: Frolicking in Prague.

Påske

I sit here watching the Sunrise Service at my church online, wearing a spring dress, eating jelly bellies and my last Reese's egg, and it hits me:

Today I am homesick.

Thank you Easter for allowing myself to miss California and what I left behind. I have been saying some pretty harsh things lately.


Like really, REALLY homesick.

Home from Istanbul and Prague

Both of which were fabulous.

Copenhagen is bursting with Springtime beauty and I checked my calendar and I leave in 31 days. Not okay. I am giving myself this week to write papers, but after that I am spending every single day outside and going on adventures.

Noting how soon I am coming home I have decided what I am going to do with my summer. I have a few church things lined up and will probably spend quite a bit of time just trying to readjust to California life, I am even considering looking into a class or something at a Community College, but this summer I want to get in shape. This sounds like a New Years Resolution gone wrong, but I have had a lot of moments this past month where my body longs to dance. I hear music that begs me to move and express myself. There are so many emotions and feelings and pain and joy and I have ran out of ways to articulate and people to listen. I want to spend my summer building up my endurance, and rediscovering my flexibility. I want to be able to dance in the fall. That is really all I want.

Home will not be Copenhagen. Home will not even be home. I do not know where I belong anymore. Home has always been church, working with children, friends, and my parents. I haven't gone to church in a year, have completely changed my views on proper ways to treat children, have lost some of my absolute closest friends, and have lived extended periods of time without constant interaction with my family. As I feel lost I search for the last thing besides these things that made me feel absolute joy in California. I want to dance again. I will dance again. In order to dance again I need to work my butt off so that I can be closer to a level that will let me be the dancer I want to be. My body will never let me be good, but I can at least be the best that I can be.

My Shoes

I had my last pair of athletic shoes for 4 years. In the 8 months I have been here my new pair is almost as worn out as the pair they replaced. I am going to blame the 7 weeks of international travel where I have walked all day every day in almost exclusively them. Possibly also the month where I only wore them because they felt best for my ankle injury. Maybe also winter before I got my snow boots and the ice was too bad to wear my uggs. Also every day at practicum for 2 semesters... Anyways, the moral of this story is that I walk all the time and these shoes have saved my life.

My shoes have gone to Denmark, Sweden (x4), England, Switzerland, Germany (x3), Luxembourg, Belgium, The Netherlands, England, France, Italy, and Estonia. Tomorrow my shoes leave for Turkey and then the Czech Republic. Maybe my shoes are falling apart because they realize that this trip symbolizes the end of study abroad. This is the last big adventure they are going to be taking and they feel like there is nothing left for them in America. Why should my shoes want to go back to California when everything they have experienced here has been so magical and life changing? My shoes only have 3 more weeks of school left after they get back, and only 4 more weeks in Denmark. My shoes have a big stamp on them that say "Made in USA," but maybe they do not feel American anymore. Maybe they like public transportation and eating sandwiches with a knife and fork. Maybe my shoes can't imagine going back to a high stress environment and teaching children who have been drained of creativity and pumped full of rules. Maybe my shoes should be falling apart. Maybe falling apart is the only defense my shoes have left to the utter frustration that they have to leave and there is nothing they can do about it. Then again, they are only shoes.

My Camera Needs New Batteries

This is being the most beautiful Springtime city. I walk around and I am seriously in awe of Spring. It also makes me realize that 1) we do not have Spring in California, and 2) the cold miserable Winter was SO worth it. The one thing that is really tripping me out is it is still twilight at around 8:30pm. I do not remember if this is normal, but I do not think so. I was prepared for the sun to set at 3pm in winter, but I really can't figure out how the sun has time to spend it all over me. How does the rest of the world get sunshine in April if it is just chilling in Scandinavia? I have not decided what I am doing today, but I expect it will consist of something along the lines of taking a ridiculously long walk and smiling a lot.

UPDATE: I just made a "cleaning the fridge out" kinda lunch. It was spectacular. I took a picture with my laptop because it more than reminded me of my mothers infamous "Yoda Swamp Soup" which I would not touch as a child. I made soup that was almost purely fresh spinach with a few sliced potatoes and ate it with a slice ryebread with a bit of goat cheese on top. Considering I ate almost the entire pot and feel like I will burst from being so full I like to know that the majority of what I consumed was spinach and water. I hope that my Danish cooking habits and acceptance of what I will eat remains with me when I come home.



Yum yum yum!

I Feel Lovely

I woke up this morning naturally at around 9am. I caught up with some of my TV shows and lounged in bed for a bit. I made a spectacular breakfast of rugbrød with honey. I took a long shower and shaved my legs hopeful for the chance to wear shorts. I painted my toes and my fingers and my hair is drying perfectly. I wish every morning could feel like this, but then I realize that this entire process has taken 4 hours... perfect for a lazy Saturday though.

I do not know what I am going to do without rugbrød (the Danish version of ryebread) next year. I legitimately think that I will have to learn to make it, and it does not sound easy. I eat it almost every day and I actually missed it when I was in Italy. I was going to post a picture of it and be like: "yum yum yum look how delicious!" and then I realized that it looks totally unappealing, almost like bad over seeded meatloaf... Do not judge. It is spectacular.

Right now I should run to the store and get supplies for traveling, but I think I will take a nap instead. The store will still be there tomorrow (actually not, because it is closed on Sundays, but it will be there on Monday...)

FCK, Munich, FAMILIE!

So a million years ago since I made my last "real" post, as in maybe 3 weeks tops, I went to my second FCK v. Brøndby foldbold game. The first one was very exciting and full of conflict, but because the last game was so out of control this time all the Brøndby fans had to get finger printed to buy a ticket so many of them snuck in as FCK fans or just didn't go. The energy wasn't as fun, but overall it was a better played game.


There was also this guy whose job I do not envy at all.


After the game we walked to get some Shwarma in Nørrebro. On my walk home while everyone else was taking the bus, I took this picture.


I adore living on the lakes. We have been getting some awesome sunsets lately too. The Wednesday after the FCK game I flew down to Munich to meet up with my parents and sister! It was great. We went to Neuschwanstein, Dachau Concentration Camp, Herrenchiemsee, a lot of other churches, and got to spend some time in city center.







I came back on Sunday evening to go to class on Monday, then my family joined me in Copenhagen! I wish I wasn't so stressed out when they were here, I so desperately wanted them to love my city as much as I do. We went on walks to some of my favorite place, and we went to a few castles including Rosenborg and Kronborg. I took them over to Sweden to Hilsingborg which I hadn't been to yet. It was great to have them here. I did not take any pictures of them here, total fail, but my dad and sister both took lots of pictures that I hope to steal later on. And of course, there is always this little gem:


Now I have my 2 week travel break. Tonight I feel like I can FINALLY get as excited as I should be. I was just so stressed out before. I am leaving on Tuesday for Istanbul and then off to Prague. I will be back in Copenhagen in time for Easter. Life is chaos to say the least. I can't wait to just be somewhere and stay somewhere, but then again... staying in ONE country for more than a month? How perfectly ordinary.

Poor Neglected Blog and Gym Longing

My parents left this morning so hopefully life will slow down a little bit so I can get back to over-sharing my life, but not yet. If all else fails I will try to make a blog date on Wednesday to catch you up on our adventures. For right now it is time to study study study and write me some papers.

EDIT: Okay, lets not pretend like I didn't do most of my work then get distracted by facebook for the past half hour. Having my family here was a strange mixture of wanting to show off my home here and make them love it as much as I do, and getting really homesick for life in California. I spend so much time trying to hold on to the moments I have left here that I forget about the perks of America. The main one that I have been missing the past month or so is the gym. I hate running. I think I do not know how to run. The only time I have ever actually exercised outside was senior year of high school when I used to run/walk the track during lunch hour. I like to be inside. I like the sound of the machines whirling away, I like to see my distance and the number of calories and steps I have taken. I like to have my water right there without having to hold it the entire time. I like to be able to watch TV or study flashcards or just be somewhere that I can creep and people watch and secretly make up stories for why people are at the gym. I like that no one has to see me except other people who are just as sweaty and gross as I am. Here I walk more than I ever have in my life. My feet and ankles almost constantly hurt and when I travel the walking I do increases and I usually lose a little weight and my legs get a little sore. I have not actually worked out in a long time, possibly all year. For some reason I thought that having an active lifestyle means that I did not have to go through the pain of finding a gym here and paying Danish prices for a gym membership. I did not want to spend my year abroad on an elliptical. That being said, I miss the endorphines and the great feeling of pushing your body to it's physical limits and then hopping in my car with all the windows down and my music blasting letting the wind cool me off.

In this time of academic and life stress all I want to do is be active. I actually want to go running, which I never do, but my ankle is still slowing me down quite a bit. (Sidenote: I have a bug bite right where my ankle injury is and when I scratch it the itch feels better but the pressure of scratching makes me ankle hurt. [Sidenote to sidenote: I taught my visiting family the word "itch" and they thought it was hilarious.]) I think I am going to make a Summer Resolution to exercise every day. I also want to join a yoga class. Maybe then I will be in shape enough to start dance up again in the fall, since that really is the most magical type of exercise and stress relief that exists.

After I cleaned my room and vacuumed and mopped the floor I put on my socks and worked on pirouettes. I miss dance so much.