Am feeling mostly better. Still a little congested and coughing some, but not really a lot, so.
Midterms are basically next week. I don't expect them to be difficult.
Today I came up with a crazy idea: get a small tattoo of the national flag of every country I will visit, while in the respective country (so that would amount to, right now, Denmark, England, and France -- maybe Sweden?). I know it is crazy, and I won't do it... I don't think. Too much money. Though I am putting out some feelers... :D
(Rest assured, all reading this, this is highly unlikely to ever happen. Even if I could convince myself to spend the money on it, there are still the NEEDLES to consider. *shiver*)
Today I bought a personal-size type pizza from a bakery near DIS (Sankt Peder's Bageri). Everyone frequents this bakery for pastries (which are delicious -- side note, "Danishes" as they are called in the US are named here under the umbrella term "wienerbrød," of which there are a number of varieties), but I forgot to pack a sandwich today and so I saw them and, instead of buying a pastry, bought a tiny, fresh, homemade pepperoni pizza for 20kr. It was fantastic!
Hopefully doing something fun tomorrow with some people, after attending some art exhibit somewhere (I have to do an exhibition review for Monday...). It's a very vague looking Saturday at this point.
I signed up/paid for to go to a ballet on the 10th -- Romeo and Juliet. A couple of people I know who are in a history of ballet class went with the class and they all enjoyed it, so DIS was offering a discounted price, I'm game.
Am also trying to pre-order the new Decemberists CD but the site is down, presumably because so many people are trying to access it. The first 750 people to preorder the CD and 250 people to order the vinyl get a copy signed by the band, and a chance to win some weird instrument (also signed by the band) and two free tickets to any of the shows on their upcoming tour. So, if the site works, that's $13.00 well spent, in my opinion. If I haven't managed it in the next hour or so before I go to bed, I'll pass and let the other fans have a go. :)
Friday, February 27, 2009
Sunday, February 22, 2009
Danish Welfare
Looks like I'll have my first personal experience with the Danish welfare system tomorrow, most likely. I almost certainly have a sinus infection -- my host mother's about ready to take me to a hospital just so I can have medicine immediately, but this is definitely not a medical emergency, it can wait until I can get an appointment with my state-assigned doctor tomorrow.
So, what's all this about a welfare state, you may ask? We had a discussion about it in my Danish class on Friday; how's that for apt timing?
Well basically, just about all medical care is free... well, not quite free. Because taxes are sky high. My politics professor put it this way, "Everybody gives, and everybody gets." When I got here, I had to register for a CPR card/number, basically a Social Security card/number. At the same time I was assigned a doctor near my home, actually the same doctor my host family has. Also according to my politics professor, "You can't exist in Denmark without a CPR number."
And then, if you need to go the doctor, you call in the morning and make and appointment, go, the prescribe you something, you go the the chemist and pick it up. All without being charged. Hospital and emergency care is also covered, I think people may pay on their own for more specialized things -- for example, I think past a certain age dental care isn't covered, and my host mother says a lot of people don't go to the dentist for that reason, and people have to pay part of the cost for glasses or contacts.
Also, in regards to unemployment -- you definitely still can collect money when you are unemployed, and something extra about Denmark: the government has a responsibility to try and help you find another job. We all boggled at this in class, and our teacher boggled at the facts we were telling her about Social Security and unemployment in the US.
We also discussed how this would never work in the United States. Part of the reason is was successfully enacted in the 60s and 70s is due to the fact that, at the time, there were still a very low number of immigrants and the vast majority of the population in Denmark were ethnic Danes. The population of the country was so homogeneous (and so small in comparison to the US and other countries, as it still is) and people were all sort of raised the same way and of the same mindset that the policies could be successfully enacted. Part of the problem in Denmark today is the resistance to immigration and how that's affecting the welfare system. The US is just too large of a country for one thing, too diverse, and people have a mentality that is more "look out for myself" than "make sure the whole country's doing well." People would balk at the high taxes and say, "Why am I paying for all these other people to get medical care, etc.?" It's nice ideal, but, sadly, ain't gonna happen.
On a completely unrelated note, here are a couple of interesting stories I think you should take a look at: Facebook Won't Let You Remove Dead Relative's Page, Per "Policy" and the update where Facebook gives in and says it was a misunderstanding. The second post there raises an interesting question, though: what happens to a person's online/virtual life after they die?
So, what's all this about a welfare state, you may ask? We had a discussion about it in my Danish class on Friday; how's that for apt timing?
Well basically, just about all medical care is free... well, not quite free. Because taxes are sky high. My politics professor put it this way, "Everybody gives, and everybody gets." When I got here, I had to register for a CPR card/number, basically a Social Security card/number. At the same time I was assigned a doctor near my home, actually the same doctor my host family has. Also according to my politics professor, "You can't exist in Denmark without a CPR number."
And then, if you need to go the doctor, you call in the morning and make and appointment, go, the prescribe you something, you go the the chemist and pick it up. All without being charged. Hospital and emergency care is also covered, I think people may pay on their own for more specialized things -- for example, I think past a certain age dental care isn't covered, and my host mother says a lot of people don't go to the dentist for that reason, and people have to pay part of the cost for glasses or contacts.
Also, in regards to unemployment -- you definitely still can collect money when you are unemployed, and something extra about Denmark: the government has a responsibility to try and help you find another job. We all boggled at this in class, and our teacher boggled at the facts we were telling her about Social Security and unemployment in the US.
We also discussed how this would never work in the United States. Part of the reason is was successfully enacted in the 60s and 70s is due to the fact that, at the time, there were still a very low number of immigrants and the vast majority of the population in Denmark were ethnic Danes. The population of the country was so homogeneous (and so small in comparison to the US and other countries, as it still is) and people were all sort of raised the same way and of the same mindset that the policies could be successfully enacted. Part of the problem in Denmark today is the resistance to immigration and how that's affecting the welfare system. The US is just too large of a country for one thing, too diverse, and people have a mentality that is more "look out for myself" than "make sure the whole country's doing well." People would balk at the high taxes and say, "Why am I paying for all these other people to get medical care, etc.?" It's nice ideal, but, sadly, ain't gonna happen.
On a completely unrelated note, here are a couple of interesting stories I think you should take a look at: Facebook Won't Let You Remove Dead Relative's Page, Per "Policy" and the update where Facebook gives in and says it was a misunderstanding. The second post there raises an interesting question, though: what happens to a person's online/virtual life after they die?
Monday, February 16, 2009
Utterly ridiculous
So, on the way back from Odense the other weekend, we filled out a survey about the study tour, and there was this quiz-type thing (for fun!) with just questions about Denmark -- and they told us whoever got the most right, would win a prize. So I filled it out. And I won. This:
"When is it appropriate to wear this?" I asked my friend Kathryn.
"ALL THE TIME," she answered.
Other recent happenings: Wednesday was the field study to Roskilde Cathedral, where all the royals for hundreds of years have been buried. It was pretty cool! But also really weird, because there are coffins and such which have remains in them about three feet away from you, and then you also walk over all these different tombs which are in the floor. But, on the whole, very pretty and interesting. Made the first jaunt on the trains here too, which was kind of confusing because I didn't know how to get anywhere, so I was just following along, and then if the people I was following didn't know what was up, it was crazy.
The host family made it back yesterday from Norway, with some delays because they ended up having to take a bus to Oslo and get a flight, as the airport they were supposed to fly out of was experiencing heavy snow.
Friday night I went out to dinner with Kathryn, Caitlin, and Anna, and then we hung out at Caitlin's for awhile before Kathryn came here and stayed the night, as she lives over an hour away and it was late, she wouldn't have made it home due to the bus/train schedules until after 2 in the morning.
Today, it snowed like all day. I was ten minutes late for my first class because the buses were running late and there was traffic, ugh. But, I survived another Monday, and the week only gets easier from here.
"When is it appropriate to wear this?" I asked my friend Kathryn.
"ALL THE TIME," she answered.
Other recent happenings: Wednesday was the field study to Roskilde Cathedral, where all the royals for hundreds of years have been buried. It was pretty cool! But also really weird, because there are coffins and such which have remains in them about three feet away from you, and then you also walk over all these different tombs which are in the floor. But, on the whole, very pretty and interesting. Made the first jaunt on the trains here too, which was kind of confusing because I didn't know how to get anywhere, so I was just following along, and then if the people I was following didn't know what was up, it was crazy.The host family made it back yesterday from Norway, with some delays because they ended up having to take a bus to Oslo and get a flight, as the airport they were supposed to fly out of was experiencing heavy snow.
Friday night I went out to dinner with Kathryn, Caitlin, and Anna, and then we hung out at Caitlin's for awhile before Kathryn came here and stayed the night, as she lives over an hour away and it was late, she wouldn't have made it home due to the bus/train schedules until after 2 in the morning.
Today, it snowed like all day. I was ten minutes late for my first class because the buses were running late and there was traffic, ugh. But, I survived another Monday, and the week only gets easier from here.
Tuesday, February 10, 2009
This post will be epic (part 3)
So we had breakfast again around 8:30, the same type of food. Then we were split into two groups for walking tours of Odense. We went into the old part of town, a lot of the buildings date to the 1800s I think, because they were at one point burned to the ground during the some war or other. We saw Hans Christian Andersen’s (recently graffitied) home from the outside, then went into the museum. They have a large collection of his books, manuscripts, crafts, and personal effects.
The whole town is basically a monument to Andersen. Just about every building or street corner has some tie to him or his family. “This river is where Andersen’s mother washed clothes for a living.” “Andersen was confirmed here, and he tucked his pants into his new boots to show them off.” “This is the one room home where he spent his childhood, and the gooseberry bush he sat by writing stories.” “This is statue of him” Etc, etc. In the church where he was confirmed, they also have the bones of a Viking king and his brother, they were at least 800 year old bones. Pretty astonishing.
Our final stop on the tour was Brandts, a media museum. They had a lot of cool printing press type devices, but everyone was crashing at this point. We went for our last group meal and had gigantic sandwiches, and when one of our group leaders asked if we would like to start the trip back to Copenhagen early, a great cheer went up!
I finally made it all the way back home by about 5 or so on Saturday. Spent a relatively relaxing night, wished my host family a pleasant trip as they would be leaving before I woke up on Sunday, and got some glorious sleep.
The whole town is basically a monument to Andersen. Just about every building or street corner has some tie to him or his family. “This river is where Andersen’s mother washed clothes for a living.” “Andersen was confirmed here, and he tucked his pants into his new boots to show them off.” “This is the one room home where he spent his childhood, and the gooseberry bush he sat by writing stories.” “This is statue of him” Etc, etc. In the church where he was confirmed, they also have the bones of a Viking king and his brother, they were at least 800 year old bones. Pretty astonishing.
Our final stop on the tour was Brandts, a media museum. They had a lot of cool printing press type devices, but everyone was crashing at this point. We went for our last group meal and had gigantic sandwiches, and when one of our group leaders asked if we would like to start the trip back to Copenhagen early, a great cheer went up!
I finally made it all the way back home by about 5 or so on Saturday. Spent a relatively relaxing night, wished my host family a pleasant trip as they would be leaving before I woke up on Sunday, and got some glorious sleep.
This post will be epic (part 2)
So we got up around 7:45 on Friday, gathered up our things, for the most part, and went to get breakfast, which was cereals, the was stuff for sandwiches, etc. We left on the bus around 9 for Kolding and the castle there. It was okay, but our tour guide was repetitive and the structure had been restored in a way that didn’t really preserve it. I think it would have been much better looking as a ruin. We also had time to get something to eat in Kolding, so Caitlin, Anna, and I did that at a coffeehouse/sandwich shop, which translated to English as The Golden Oven.
Got back on the bus for the ride to Odense, and we actually arrived at TV2 – Denmark’s largest television network – about a half an hour early. This was definitely the most interesting academic visit. We had a lecture and discussion with a man who I believe was a producer of some sort. After that, we were given a tour of the studio. The building was impressive, I believe it was at one time a place for selling cattle; they even kept the old Danish phrase on the wall directing people not to lead their cattle through the square. We were able to go into the studio where they film their sports broadcast, and the array of technology suspended in the ceiling was crazy. We also walked through the new wing of the building and into the newsroom! We were able to stand in the newsroom during the short four o’clock broadcast. The anchor joked around with us a little bit before he went on air.
Kathryn, Caitlin, Anna, and I checked into our room in the second hostel, which was so much better than the first. We had our own bathroom in the room, it was not as clinical, there were carpets, and we all got our own key card. We weren’t even disappointed in the first hostel until we got to this one! We had about an hour before a group dinner, so we made our beds and relaxed for awhile.
We went to a restaurant called The Ugly Duckling (but in Danish, of course – I think it was Den grimme Ælling). It was just a buffet style place, but it was also really nice and we were able to get a glass or red or white wine or beer paid for by DIS. We headed back to the hostel after dinner and ended up hanging out with the girls who were staying in the room next door to us, just talking and sort of watching Friends on someone’s laptop. I ended up taking a shower and working on the study tour assignment, and I went and paid 10kr. to use the Internet for 15 minutes, but I was glad I did because I had so many emails. Bed early again, by 12:30 I think, and got a good night’s sleep.
Got back on the bus for the ride to Odense, and we actually arrived at TV2 – Denmark’s largest television network – about a half an hour early. This was definitely the most interesting academic visit. We had a lecture and discussion with a man who I believe was a producer of some sort. After that, we were given a tour of the studio. The building was impressive, I believe it was at one time a place for selling cattle; they even kept the old Danish phrase on the wall directing people not to lead their cattle through the square. We were able to go into the studio where they film their sports broadcast, and the array of technology suspended in the ceiling was crazy. We also walked through the new wing of the building and into the newsroom! We were able to stand in the newsroom during the short four o’clock broadcast. The anchor joked around with us a little bit before he went on air.
Kathryn, Caitlin, Anna, and I checked into our room in the second hostel, which was so much better than the first. We had our own bathroom in the room, it was not as clinical, there were carpets, and we all got our own key card. We weren’t even disappointed in the first hostel until we got to this one! We had about an hour before a group dinner, so we made our beds and relaxed for awhile.
We went to a restaurant called The Ugly Duckling (but in Danish, of course – I think it was Den grimme Ælling). It was just a buffet style place, but it was also really nice and we were able to get a glass or red or white wine or beer paid for by DIS. We headed back to the hostel after dinner and ended up hanging out with the girls who were staying in the room next door to us, just talking and sort of watching Friends on someone’s laptop. I ended up taking a shower and working on the study tour assignment, and I went and paid 10kr. to use the Internet for 15 minutes, but I was glad I did because I had so many emails. Bed early again, by 12:30 I think, and got a good night’s sleep.
This post will be epic (part 1)
So last Thursday, I got up at 6, gathered a few things, ate a banana, and was out the door and into the snow by 6:30 or so. I mad it in time to Frue Plads, out meeting place for the bus, and waited around with people to find out which of the many buses there was ours. We finally get on the bus and head out, and end up turning around after a couple of minutes to get three people who were extremely late.
Roughly three and half hours late we arrived (20 or so minutes late) in Århus for a lecture at the Danish School of Media (the Journalisthøjskolen). The guy giving the lecture was cool, but it was really nothing we hadn't heard, and everyone was still tired and hungry. So after about an hour of that we went and had a group lunch at this very posh place. Everyone got their own giant fried filet of sole -- my first fish in Denmark -- and potatoes and such. It was good, but had all the bones in which no one realized when they took their first bite.
After lunch we went for another lecture/discussion at the media house Midtjyske Medier. They publish what I think is the largest local paper in Århus. The guy who gave this lecture was also pretty cool. Talked some about how they are dealing with the Internet, etc.
Then things started getting good! We went to the ARoS Museum. While we were waiting for our group leaders to get our tickets, some man who worked at the museum came up to us, asking us where we were from, what we were doing. Then he told us that there was a new exhibit opening the next day, all about digital and interactive art, that he thought would be perfect for our group, so he managed to get us into an unopened exhibit for about a half an hour. What was even more amazing was that almost all of the artists were there, setting things up and whatnot because there was a press conference later. So we got explanations about the pieces from the artists! The coolest piece were the Life Writer and the Pulse Room. The former piece was an old typewriter somehow wired to a computer, and based on this coding, whatever was typed could then be created into little programmed insects that moved around. It was very cool. In the Pulse Room, the cieling had 300 lightbulbs on it, and there was a device that transferred your pulse into this pulsing lightbulb -- the room went dark for a few seconds as the new pulse transferred to the a single lightbulb and the 300th beat was replaced.
So after all this, we went to the hostel and checked in, then the bus driver was nice enough to drive every back into the city so we could go and get dinner. Myself and three of the girls I was staying with, along with three guys from our program ended up joining us, and we just went to a cafe and got sandwiches and such. We then met up with two of our group leaders and went the the Studenterhus (Studenthouse) for a little while -- got a Carlsberg, it was actually good. We watched a band play for about twenty minutes, but we were tired and wanted to get showers before bed, so we found our way to the bus we needed to catch for the hostel. Bed early!
Roughly three and half hours late we arrived (20 or so minutes late) in Århus for a lecture at the Danish School of Media (the Journalisthøjskolen). The guy giving the lecture was cool, but it was really nothing we hadn't heard, and everyone was still tired and hungry. So after about an hour of that we went and had a group lunch at this very posh place. Everyone got their own giant fried filet of sole -- my first fish in Denmark -- and potatoes and such. It was good, but had all the bones in which no one realized when they took their first bite.
After lunch we went for another lecture/discussion at the media house Midtjyske Medier. They publish what I think is the largest local paper in Århus. The guy who gave this lecture was also pretty cool. Talked some about how they are dealing with the Internet, etc.
Then things started getting good! We went to the ARoS Museum. While we were waiting for our group leaders to get our tickets, some man who worked at the museum came up to us, asking us where we were from, what we were doing. Then he told us that there was a new exhibit opening the next day, all about digital and interactive art, that he thought would be perfect for our group, so he managed to get us into an unopened exhibit for about a half an hour. What was even more amazing was that almost all of the artists were there, setting things up and whatnot because there was a press conference later. So we got explanations about the pieces from the artists! The coolest piece were the Life Writer and the Pulse Room. The former piece was an old typewriter somehow wired to a computer, and based on this coding, whatever was typed could then be created into little programmed insects that moved around. It was very cool. In the Pulse Room, the cieling had 300 lightbulbs on it, and there was a device that transferred your pulse into this pulsing lightbulb -- the room went dark for a few seconds as the new pulse transferred to the a single lightbulb and the 300th beat was replaced.
So after all this, we went to the hostel and checked in, then the bus driver was nice enough to drive every back into the city so we could go and get dinner. Myself and three of the girls I was staying with, along with three guys from our program ended up joining us, and we just went to a cafe and got sandwiches and such. We then met up with two of our group leaders and went the the Studenterhus (Studenthouse) for a little while -- got a Carlsberg, it was actually good. We watched a band play for about twenty minutes, but we were tired and wanted to get showers before bed, so we found our way to the bus we needed to catch for the hostel. Bed early!
An interesting discussion
I just had my Danish Language and Culture class, and we had a really interesting discussion about the Danish mentality, so I thought I would share some of the most interesting points with you, dear readers. So basically it kicked off when were talking about the Jante Law. Some Danish author in the 1930's wrote a book which included this kind of cultural code that amounts to "Don't think you are special or better than anyone else."
"Don't think that you are special.
Don't think that you are of the same standing as us.
Don't think that you are smarter than us.
Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
Don't think that you know more than us.
Don't think that you are more important than us.
Don't think that you are good at anything.
Don't laugh at us.
Don't think that anyone cares about you.
Don't think that you can teach us anything."
So we got to talking about how this is not exactly taught in schools, but represented well by the public school system, where basically everything is taught for the average student, and we really branched off on how in America, everyone is taught that they are special and unique from a young age, and how that contributes to (well, at least perceived) American arrogance versus Danish modesty.
Some other simple things that tie into this concept of modesty and everyone being equal, that I think differ greatly from the US:
It is impolite and very difficult to brag about anything, even successes in school.
Parents won't even brag about their kids to others.
There's no talk in grammar schools about what kids want to do as a profession, not even in a fantasy-type way, as far as I can tell.
And in regards to university education:
Most people need to know from day one what they are going to study.
But then, almost everyone takes a gap year to figure that out.
Programs are three years for a B.A. and two more for an M.A.
Everyone does the five years, because you can't get a job here without an M.A.
Students get state financial support for at least four of those five years, what amounts to 3,500 DKK a month (roughly, 700 dollars) -- but this is for all expenses like rent, books, food, travel, and most students get a part time job.
Things I learned while typing this post: There is no key for a dollar sign on these Danish keyboards at DIS! (I didn't bring my laptop with me.)
I'll probably update again later today all about my study tour to Århus and Odense!
"Don't think that you are special.
Don't think that you are of the same standing as us.
Don't think that you are smarter than us.
Don't fancy yourself as being better than us.
Don't think that you know more than us.
Don't think that you are more important than us.
Don't think that you are good at anything.
Don't laugh at us.
Don't think that anyone cares about you.
Don't think that you can teach us anything."
So we got to talking about how this is not exactly taught in schools, but represented well by the public school system, where basically everything is taught for the average student, and we really branched off on how in America, everyone is taught that they are special and unique from a young age, and how that contributes to (well, at least perceived) American arrogance versus Danish modesty.
Some other simple things that tie into this concept of modesty and everyone being equal, that I think differ greatly from the US:
It is impolite and very difficult to brag about anything, even successes in school.
Parents won't even brag about their kids to others.
There's no talk in grammar schools about what kids want to do as a profession, not even in a fantasy-type way, as far as I can tell.
And in regards to university education:
Most people need to know from day one what they are going to study.
But then, almost everyone takes a gap year to figure that out.
Programs are three years for a B.A. and two more for an M.A.
Everyone does the five years, because you can't get a job here without an M.A.
Students get state financial support for at least four of those five years, what amounts to 3,500 DKK a month (roughly, 700 dollars) -- but this is for all expenses like rent, books, food, travel, and most students get a part time job.
Things I learned while typing this post: There is no key for a dollar sign on these Danish keyboards at DIS! (I didn't bring my laptop with me.)
I'll probably update again later today all about my study tour to Århus and Odense!
Monday, February 2, 2009
I did a lot this weekend
On Friday night I watched the Denmark vs. France semifinal handball game with my host mother. Denmark lost, and then yesterday lost to Poland, so they didn't even get third place. Oh well. But apparently handball is huge here. It's kind of exciting, it's like basketball except they carry and
throw the ball at a soccer-like net with a goalie. High-scoring, fast-paced, so it's got that going for it.
On Saturday I went to the Statens Museum for Kunst, the Danish National Gallery, because I needed to pick and artwork by a female artist to talk about when the class goes together on Wednesday and we all have to do short oral presentations. It's a pretty cool place, and it was free, so.
I think I'm going to present
on this piece, called "She was never alone" by Kathrine Ærtebjerg. We need to talk a little about visual qualities and take a stab at the meaning, so I think I can do it.
I also ended up walking through the Kings Garden and snapped a few pictures of Rosenborg Castle on my way back.
On Sunday I went on a trip to Fredericksborg Castle. I believe it was originally built in the 17th or early 18th century; some of the rooms are reconstructed due to a fire that destroyed a couple of wings at one point, but the chapel, which was probably the most impressive bit, is all original. The tour guide was pretty cool as well, he kept pointing out things like a tiny piece of graffiti on the wall where King Christian V had drawn a 5 inside of a C. Pretty cool!
Can someone identify this bird for me? I see them around, and I think they're pretty interesting.
throw the ball at a soccer-like net with a goalie. High-scoring, fast-paced, so it's got that going for it.On Saturday I went to the Statens Museum for Kunst, the Danish National Gallery, because I needed to pick and artwork by a female artist to talk about when the class goes together on Wednesday and we all have to do short oral presentations. It's a pretty cool place, and it was free, so.
I think I'm going to present
on this piece, called "She was never alone" by Kathrine Ærtebjerg. We need to talk a little about visual qualities and take a stab at the meaning, so I think I can do it.
I also ended up walking through the Kings Garden and snapped a few pictures of Rosenborg Castle on my way back.
On Sunday I went on a trip to Fredericksborg Castle. I believe it was originally built in the 17th or early 18th century; some of the rooms are reconstructed due to a fire that destroyed a couple of wings at one point, but the chapel, which was probably the most impressive bit, is all original. The tour guide was pretty cool as well, he kept pointing out things like a tiny piece of graffiti on the wall where King Christian V had drawn a 5 inside of a C. Pretty cool!
Can someone identify this bird for me? I see them around, and I think they're pretty interesting.
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