Heartwarming Holiday Story

So lately, I've been playing with ideas to keep blogging about. I loved having a blog this past semester, and I want to continue it, but I want something inspiring to write about. I'm not sure what my focus will be, but I wanted to share this wonderful video.
http://feministing.com/2010/12/27/miracle-on-22nd-street/.

When One Door Closes, Another One Opens

I wanted to begin my last post (at least for a while) with a quote that I found while researching John Dewey for a presentation. It is: “Education is not preparation for life; education is life itself.” I thought that quote put a nice bow on my study abroad experience because this semester I learned more from navigating maps, asking for directions, and getting lost while traveling than I did in the classroom. I have confidence that I can go somewhere new, order food and find housing all on my own. My semester has been filled with life lessons, and I learned them because I experimented and tried new things.

Copenhagen has also taught me to revisit my ideas about what true happiness is. Denmark is considered “the happiest place in the world” but the scale of happiness is different. My experiences this semester have led me to think that happiness in Denmark is measured based on smaller moments like spending the night making Christmas decorations with candles lit and music playing while in the States, a person’s happiness depends on how good his or her job is. People here do not live to work; they work to live. Even though my host parents still work almost forty hours a week, they have a different attitude about work, and they always have time for their children. We eat dinner together every night, which is a tradition that is becoming extinct in the States. Being here has taught me to cherish the quieter, smaller moments.

Here are some of my future travel goals. Hopefully, putting it in writing will force me to make these plans happen!

1. Witness something once-in-a-lifetime, like Jokulsarlon, a lake next to a melting glacier in Iceland. (I just read about this on a blog!)

2. Go skydiving in New Zealand.

3. Next itinerary for Europe: Copenhagen, Amsterdam, Paris, Munich, Interlaken, Venice, Barcelona, Lisbon, London, and Edinburgh.

I miss a lot about Copenhagen. I miss my host family. I miss hopping on a bus for twenty minutes and entering a mysterious, enchanting city. Farvel, Copenhagen! I’ll be back!

Galaxen

Galaxen is the name of the daycare center I helped at every Thursday. I worked with Danish children ages 0-5. I wanted to share some pictures and cool ideas that the school is implementing.

The outside of Galaxen with of course a bike in front.

Notice the heart decorations in the window. I learned to make them at a Christmas lunch. Decorating for the holidays is a huge part of Danish culture. 

The teachers document all the students activities. They have a book outside the classroom, so the parents can see what the kids are doing. Also, each child has their own portfolio of photos and artwork. They are given the books when they leave Galaxen and go to Kindergarten.

There were wonderful decorations and artwork on every wall. Galaxen's philosophies are loosely based on the Reggio Emilia technique, so they incorporate a lot of art in their curriculum.

I loved this idea one of the pedagogues developed. She asked the children to bring in an object, and then the kids would have to create a story about the object. They would sit around in a circle and write it together.

My Copenhagen MUST list

During my last few weeks in Copenhagen, I became a tourist. Most people wouldn't think that there's a lot to see in Copenhagen, but there is. Here's my list of things you should do and see:

1. The Royal Ballet: I saw the Royal Ballet perform Sleeping Beauty. My program was selling tickets for $10. The costumes were fantastic, and I got to see the Royal Theater.

2. Go to a Christmas lunch. This may not be possible if you visit in the summer or if you don't know any Danes, but I would recommend getting yourself invited to a Christmas lunch. They are dinner parties where Danes drink a crazy amount of alcohol, and therefore, chaos and fun ensues. 

3. The Little Mermaid. Yes, this is an incredibly small landmark, but if you're in Denmark, you need to see it. 

4. The Black Diamond. It's a beautiful library. Unfortunately, I did not get to see the inside, but it's a great place to relax, do some homework, or read a good book.

5. Go on a canal tour. There's is a 30 kroner canal tour (approximately $6) that's excellent.  Find this tour along the water. There's another one that's 60 kroner, but they're the same tour. Go for the cheaper one.

6. The Round Tower. I would recommend going to the top. You get a beautiful view of the city.

7. Walk down Copenhagen's winding streets, enjoy the architecture, and find a cafe. Sit outside and relax. Denmark is known as the home of the "happiest people in the world," so that might give you a good reason why. The Danes do not live to work, they work to live. I would recommend visiting Cafe Paluden. It's close to Norreport station.

8. Tivoli. It's an amusement park in the center of the city, and you should at least walk through it or peak inside.

9. Agnes Cupcakes. Of course, this list wouldn't be complete if I didn't mention "the first cupcake bakery" in Denmark. You must try one of these cupcakes if you visit.

10. Danish. You must try a wonderful Danish pastry if you're in Denmark. I would recommend St. Peter's Bakery. The prices are cheaper, and it's delicious. 

11. Christiana. It's a free town in Copenhagen where people can live and work. I would describe it as a kind of hippie place where people can relax and shop. There's a church that is very close to the entrance of Christiana. You can't miss the winding golden steps up to the top. I would recommend going to the top. You get a beautiful view of the whole city.

12. The Frederiksberg Gardens and Zoo. I loved walking through the gardens. You can also take a boat ride.

That's all for now. Wow! That took a long time, and I've already thought of a few places I missed like Rosenborg Castle, the home of the crown jewels, the Botanical Gardens, and Amalienborg Palace, where the queen and her son live. Better plan a long trip to Copenhagen!

PAUL

No, unfortunately that is not the name of a gorgeous Frenchman I met in Brussels, it is the name of a bakery Christy introduced me to. There was one right next to our hotel in Brussels, so we went three times in the span of two days! 

Here's a link: http://www.paul.fr/fr-fetes/home.php

So, I arrived in Brussels on a Friday night to meet Christy. Wow, it was a big airport! I was so excited to see her. Skype is not enough. We needed some pillow talk and time to catch up. The first evening we had some delicious food. I had a huge vegetable omelet (Dad, of course, it was not as good as yours.)

The following day, we had a few places in mind to visit, but we just decided to wander, shop, and see what happened. We stopped at Paul to begin the day. We sat outside with our coffees and croissants enjoying the sunshine. I was happy it wasn’t as freezing as Copenhagen.

I loved Brussels. I was a little worried since a few people told me that it would be rainy, and they didn’t have a good time when they visited, but I enjoyed it. Christy and I achieved our goals of having Belgium waffles in Belgium. I also sampled the hot chocolate, and wow, it was good! As we were walking, we stumbled onto all the major sights in Brussels. I can’t tell you what all the landmarks we saw were, but they all looked important. I liked Brussels because it had the feel of a European city with winding streets and little shops, but it also had a big industrial section with skyscrapers.

We found a fantastic Christmas market. It just went on and on. We enjoyed a gourmet meal for dinner and had a relaxing evening. It's scary how fast time slips away. Everything seems too short. We had to saw goodbye in the morning. Luckily, a croissant from Paul was there to console me.

I couldn't get Christy to rent bikes with me!

Our new hats. Christy and I bought hats at the Christmas market. We both only wanted to pay 10 euros each for out hats, but mine was 15 euro. The lady let me get it for 10 euro. Christy said that the lady said in French that I looked sad. It seems that I have picked up some skills at bargaining from my time in Florence.

Last Italy Post: Venice

Finally, I am finishing my blogs about the family trip to Italy! I considered waiting until I came home, but I want to do it now, so I don’t forget anything. So, we arrived in Venice on Saturday with a gondola ride planned for 2:00 in the afternoon. Venice is an extraordinary city, and I would love to go back there one day. I think it is so fascinating that it is all on water. We learned on the tour that residents often get lost on the winding streets since the street signs are so ancient.

Aidan was a bit restless before the train came...

Speaking of getting lost, we had some difficulties finding our hotel. We dragged our suitcases for a while until we asked for directions and finally found our way. I would love to live in Venice and wander around the city whenever I wanted to.

We had a wonderful gondola ride. Here is a sample of the conversations the family was having during the ride:

“Aidan, do you want to go swimming?

“No.”

“We could push you in.”

“Okay, I can swim.”

“No, it’s too cold.”

“Really, push me. I’ve been taking swimming lessons.”

(Good thing we had the gondola to ourselves, and we were not sharing it with another family.)

After that, we stopped for some… gelato. Of course, I needed some gelato on my last night in Italy. We walked along the Rialto Bridge, and I bought a few gifts on the way. We had some pizza for dinner, and then after Dad, Mom, and I figured out where I would need to take the boat in the morning to the train station.

Dad and I went out for one last night of fun. We were looking for St. Stefan’s Square. We passed it on our tour, but we could not find it, so we settled on buying some pastries and heading back to hotel. In the morning, I had to take a boat to the train station, a train to Milan, and then a bus to the airport in Milan. It was exhausting, but I arrived back in CPH safely to get ready for class the next morning!

We had some problems getting the door open in the hotel. It turned into a comedy...

“Wow, I just provoked you”

“Wow, I just provoked you” –quote from a Danish person Hillary and I met on Friday while enjoying one of our last nights out in Copenhagen. He kept using the word “provocative” incorrectly when describing how everyone in the U.S. is judgmental and uptight. Anyways, it was just funny, and I am really going to miss the nightlife here.

It seems that my love affair with Copenhagen is about to end, and I just don’t know how to let go. I have two finals on Friday, but I’m not letting them stop me from enjoying my last few days! Today, I biked (Yes, I am still biking!) to the Frederiksberg Gardens.

Copenhagen in the distance.

Hillary recently gave me some advice that I wanted to share on my blog. She talked about how one of her teachers said that many students email her saying that they miss Copenhagen and wish they could come back. The teacher would respond asking, “Do you miss Copenhagen? Or do you miss the person you were when you were there?” I thought that was incredibly wise. I think I have changed from being here, and I don’t want to lose the new person I am.