The dearth of the nordic sweater

Hmm so you'd think being in a Scandanavian country that I would have an easy time finding the perfect authentic christmas gift: the nordic sweater. You know of what I speak...the sweater with some interesting angles,zig zags, maybe a snowflake design, triangles etc., that is hard to wear but a must have in any good wardrobe. Well apparently these sweaters are Norweigan more than Danish fyi. And Danes seem to think they are silly and that I am silly for even thinking that these would be Danish clothing items. Apparently Scandanavia is not so homogenous as we think it is....FYI. I think it is easier to get a nordic sweater in the US than here in Nord country...damn globalization for making original gifts quite hard to find!

Mr. Brooks....Mr. Disgusting

So I saw this movie last night, Mr. Brooks. Wow. I had no idea what is was about or anything but I must say the dialogue was terrible and the violence was unbelievable, and this is me talking, Mr. I love horror movies. Worse though was the dialogue and Demi Moore's acting, and for awhile I was convinced this was unusual for Demi Moore because I thought she was a good actress, then I remembered she is married to Ashton Kucher....and that she was in Ghost, and Striptease and let's not forget the best of the worst "Nothing But Trouble" wow...she is a terrible actress!

More fun..

So these are some of my neighbors and friends here in Denmark...they're fun kids and it has been really nice living in the dorms and sharing 2 toilets between all 15 of us! This was after the Kokken cleaning, there is a big dinner and then a party where you go from room to room and each room has a funny theme. It was really fun- I made them all Jello which they thought was pretty nasty except for Thomas who pretty much ate the whole bowl. Since I don't have class in the dental school these are the people I spend most of my time with.

This is Emir- he is a wildman:


Dinner party in the Kokken that we had just cleaned...


Jeppe looking like Robin or Ace or Gary from the ambiguously gay duo:


One of the themes was an elementary school:


Thomas owned the jell-o and he is into the world's craziest sports like free diving and anything where there is a high possibility of death:

Family and Friends...thank you.

So this last week my mom and two brothers came to visit. This was a much needed visit. I have been going through some pretty tough times as many of you know and well, out here on exchange you can get lonely, homesick and, especially when you are going through hard things, you can get the feeling that there isn't anyone to talk to. With that being said I just wanted to say thanks to all those who have had to listen to my rambling and for those who have been supportive. I have great friends and a great family and I just wanted to acknowledge this for once. I actually do appreciate you all, despite my grumblings and overall orneriness (couldn't resist not using that word).

Here are some pics from Sweden and Copenhagen:
In an old barn in Den Gamle By (the olde town)


My brothers faces are pretty funny in this Warren G inspired pose



The bicycle that I ride around here, which coincidentally bears my name!


I think Bug is trying to tell us something about Nathan....



The old fountain in Sweden (It is freezing there BTW)


This was the coolest thing- it was gold mosaic, the picture didn't do it justice.



My mom, Nate and Bug in the center of the townhall in Sweden...Nate was grumpy.

Some more Spain

Hey here are some more pics to keep up with demand whilst I figure out the Picassa dealio...I'll keep everyone posted.


Alex and Erin, dental school friends who met up with me in Barce. I am jealous their fountain shot had better color!

At Parc Guell- Gaudi park

Stained Glass window in Sagrada Familia

Ain't never been to Spain- oh wait I just went!

I have been so lazy about blogging and I really have no good excuse besides the usual- I was busy line. But I have been busy as I went to Spain for a week, got back and then had to prepare for a Danish halloween party, and have fun with my fellow U of M students from the Netherland exchange that came up to visit.
Now that I made the obligatory sob story excuse, time for the much needed update:







Spain- what can I say about Spain that hasn't been said before? Apparently a lot since this was once of the coolest places I've been. Seriously, the place is set up to be easy as possible for tourists- the metro is great and inexpensive, there are signs everywhere, in short I loved Catalonia. The language is weird though- a strange mix of spanish and french it seems but I'm not quite sure. It didn't help that about 1/5 of the North American spanish words mean something completely different in Spain, and that Spaniards speak with that horrid lisp- it was good to dust off the spanish again though.



I loved Gaudi- SO much more talent than Dali- this is at Parc Guell


From a nook in La Sagrada Familia which is THE most impressive building in the world.


Resting on top of the Batilo House

Roof of Casa Batilo, weird gnomes used to dwell there.
(Danish tip of the day: Nissa is Danish for gnome, and it is pronounced Knee-sah)


The tree of life montage, YES I used montage!, on La Sagrada Familia


Me at the awesome and totally free water show that happens every friday and saturday night in front of the Catalan Parliament


Sagrada Familia Back Facade


Sagrada Familia Front Facade

So go to Spain and enjoy the siesta/manana attitude, good weather and warm, sandy beaches.

København

So last week I went to what we call Copenhagen to visit with a group of exchange students here at Aarhus Universitet. The group included: 9 Italians, 1 Dane, 1 French, 1 German, 1 Belarusian, 1 Chinese, 2 American and 1 Kingdom of Bhutan-ish student. Talk about an odd assortment. What I learned most was that Italians are consistently the latest people I have ever met. They have literally no concept of punctuality or time- and remember friends, this is me speaking! They are also really fun because it was non-stop goofing around so I am glad I was able to meet them.

Some interesting points to Copenhagen- 1. Copehagen tobacco is incidentally not at all Danish, nor is it even sold here I am told
2. Christiania is a dirty hippy sector that is more reminiscent of Jamaica than Europe
3. The statue of the Little Mermaid is extremely overrated



To get to Kobenhavn which is situated on an island from Aarhus you can take a Jet propulsion ferry, they are pretty sweet and pretty fast...these jets of water were about 50 feet high and 300 feet long..pretty impressive!



This used to be the whore part of town for old sailors but now it is the trendiest of streets because the bourgeosie have gentrified it and made it "quaint and cute"



My group in a shameless tourist pose....



A small Cherubim reminiscient of the pure soul of Spencer..........