So, without further adieu, things I have been up to:

1. Riding trains

2. Walking around neighborhoods

3. Taking photos of friends

4. Nervously reading American political and economic news, never being quite sure if I could access my bank account (I was/am a Wamu customer)

5. Getting my first package and postcard. This helped get me through my first bout of homesickness.

6. Long Skype calls, which somehow are still never enough.

7. Recovering from my first living-in-dorm-environment cold.

That about covers it. Exciting, huh?

It has. I’m dealing with a daily craving of pho, a mind which wanders to those of you who keep me sane and centered and laughing, and a desire to watch a lot of American television online.

The one positive change with adjustment is that school is starting to get more intense, not only in course work, but also adapting to the Danish style of teaching (which will merit an entirely different entry). In addition, my group of UW students have had an interesting week, including going to Dyrehaven (a deer park in North Copenhagen) and a visit to Nationalmuseet  (National Museum of Denmark). My personal highlight was retreating behind my camera and capturing some hilarious moments.

Lakrids smile.

Another interesting part of this week included seeing an international reaction to the seventh anniversary of 9/11. Many of us were asked how we were feeling and what the day means to us. For me, the sentiment was stronger here. I will never forget that day and how I felt, and my memories felt amplified by being in an unfamiliar place, trying to decipher newspaper articles using images burned into my memory in a language I can’t read. Those emotions are even trickier to reconcile when people are asking you questions about your feelings, which inevitably leads to a political discussion (yet another blog post).

My typical breakfast

ANYWAY, tangential thinking aside, I have found it relatively easy to eat on the cheap, espcially now that I am out of Copenhagen and in Roskilde. Eating at home is a breeze, with the normal staples of pasta, rice, and potatoes being pretty cheap. Dairy goods, especially cheese, are a huge part of the daily diet and are really affordable. I’ve even incorporated the super tart but tasty Danish yogurt into my breakfast.  All in all, it’s not as tough as I thought to keep my food costs low, though I’ll most likely tire of the staples soon.

I look forward to trying all the weird fish I see in the market, but can’t afford yet. And yes, this means I started eating meat here. I’d hate to miss out on any part of the Danish culture because of my moral and ethical beliefs. Plus, with the EU standards of animal harvesting being higher, I don’t have the same level of guilt about supporting the industry.

A dinner from a few days ago

Sleeping area

View from the door

I’ll post a photo of the bathroom later. The ones I took do it no justice, but it is a sight to be seen. It’s my favorite area, if for nothing else the walls and the floors are all tiled, so I can take the detachable showerhead and have a private concert without concern of getting anything wet or getting out of hand.

This morning I took the train into the town of Roskilde (one train stop away) to register with the Danish government and get a doctor assigned. While Roskilde is a lovely town with cute shops and some interesting looking churches, I am finally seeing cracks to the pristine exterior of the Danish people. Here I’ve finally seen some sketchy looking characters, metal kids, and some genuine crazies. I’m grateful to see that not everyone is shitting rainbows and has the perfect complexion. Rumor has it that there is a Viking museum and a sandy beach on the fjords just on the edge of town, so I fully plan on checking both of those out once I’m feeling a little more adjusted.

At this point I’m recharging my batteries by reading and listening to good music and watching movies and writing sappy emails and getting rid of the living-out-of-suitcase funk. It’s good timing too, as the skies are starting to turn a more familiar shade of gray and I’m starting to feel like I’m living here, rather than just passing through.

But the sun is shining today, the strong coffee is coursing my veins, and everyone is totally cool with speaking English, so I can’t ask for much more. I’m staying with the kindest woman, who is a teacher of 20+ years at a school in Vesterport. Her flat is full of character with weathered wood floors and colorful walls, complete with cordoned off enclaves deocrated with art from all over the world all located on the fifth floor of an old building on Store Kongensgade. She’s been an enthusiastic cultural embassador, fielding questions ranging from whether to tip a cab driver or not (sure, if you feel like rounding up the nearest kroner) to where grocery stores are and what is in a smørrebrød (it’s just an open face sandwich).

Anyway, I’ll do my best to keep you all posted. And if I don’t have your address, and you’d like to do a proper snail mail exchange, I’m totally game. I’ve got my address ready for you as well.

This time last week I was consumed with thoughts of the upcoming weekend. He Who Makes My Heart Beat Faster was swooping in to rescue me from nights filled with longing and dreaming and wanting. My normal secretive self couldn’t contain the excitement and soon enough I had my co-workers counting down the hours along with me. It got to the point where the obnoxious smile on my face and my silly happy dance was given a name.

And now my perfect weekend of bliss has passed.

It makes me sad to report that this week my mood is markedly different. Rather than elation and excitement, I’m filled with dread and stress. I have many details to attend to - boxes! storage units! mail forwarding! - and I can’t seem to put any effort into addressing them. My head and my heart are still soaring far above the clouds and it bums me out to think about putting so much distance between this perfect thing and that land way over there.

But Denmark WILL be awesome. And this time next week I’ll be headed for Sea-Tac with two huge bags, a heart that is full, and a sad bastard iPod to keep my chin quivering for the next four months.

And since I’ve been asked by a few people: yes, I will continue to blog; yes, I will post photos; yes, I will send letters/postcards/packages; yes, I want a mix CD/letter/postcard/package from you; yes, I will miss you all something fierce; yes, I will most definitely be back.

Light as a feather, stiff as a board, light as a feather, stiff as a board.

I kept looking down the length of my body to see if I could detect my chest rising and falling with my shallow gasps of air. I was clearly winning that battle. The twitches I felt traveling the length of my legs didn’t register on the outside and inside I did the smallest, most undetectable dance of obnoxious gloating. I let this battle of mind versus body entertain me for a long while.

My body finally won when my mind began to wander. The murmur of sound in my ears grew in volume and clarity. I suddenly heard the lyrics at the precise moment that mind became totally enraptured with what was pounding my ears…

I’m on the corner

Thinkin’ about my bed

He just stands still

And signifies

This perfect moment in the perfect sun with the perfect song (”Looks Just Like the Sun” by Broken Social Scene) segued into a maelstrom of sensations.

My body, still shaking off the rigidity I forced it into, slowly began to twitch to life.  First, my toes started to wiggle. Then those electric shocks running up my leg forced my knees to bend. Those neurons firing electrical impulses stopped at the top of my head. My bones and muscles and nerves were on high alert.

And suddenly there he was. I could feel my head propped up on his leg, his hand gently brushing the hair off my forehead. I felt so lost in this moment, these sensations, that I lost track of time. I wanted to spend this time with him rather than deal with anything OUT THERE.

Suddenly, I sat up in sheer panic. I was afraid that I slept through work or that some crazy person was standing at my feet staring at me.

Instead, there was no one.

I couldn’t tell if I felt relief or disappointment. I slowly rose, brushing off the stray pieces of grass that were clinging to my clothing, and began to walk off the most strange, most delightful, and most heartbreaking afternoon I’ve had in a long, long time.

To my pigeon-chasing, stinky-breathed cuddle partner: I’ll miss you Freckle-dog. I hope you feel better now and I hope you know how much you are already missed.

I curse all of you who knew about these awesome Prince performances from the Super Bowl and never told me about them.  I should’ve watched this ages ago, but instead I had to find out about it tonight. Thankfully someone rad out there has my back and told me to watch it, because my life feels a little richer for seeing his version of “Proud Mary.” I do love me some sweet marching band action.

I finally have my Danish visa. I guess this means I can start freaking out a bit.

I can officially say I’ll be leaving for Copenhagen on August 27 at 1:15 pm. I’ll catch you all on the flip-side back here in Seattle on December 19.

Since all of you are worldly, jet-setting types, any advice on phones in Europe? I don’t have a phone that uses a SIM card, so that’s not the cheapest alternative for me. I know about Skype too, but I figured the more enterprising people out there may have something better. I’m suddenly in a position where the thought of not being able to call my people makes my chin quiver, which is totally unbearable.