Danish Darkness Descends :S

Yeah I like alliteration and I'm not afraid to show it.

It's official. It's almost 1pm here in Copenhagen and that means I have 3.5 hours more of light today. WHAT. This is when the sun sets in Seattle at the darkest point of the year  :S

(Speaking of emoticons though... Danes are ALL about them. I can't sort it out. On the one hand super NOT emotive, but so free with the little punctuation-based emotions. Makes me realize my gendered assumptions about this sort of thing when my guy friends are always sending me smilies and hearts.... still throws me off, I'm embarrassed to say!)

This week at the HIA Senior Fellows board meeting we were setting dates for our upcoming events and it was hilarious to me how much winter weather / darkness factored in! No one wants to arrange anything in December because it's hyggelig enough with all the Christmas and people are busy and cosy.... But then someone suggested we set the New Year's brunch, workshop on conflict resolution and application reading party in February because "we'll need something to look forward to". I thought it was a bit humorous but there was nothing funny about the looks on their faces. We then realized that we were going to have chill out a bit and not have an all-HIA-all-the-time month of February...

A couple months ago my friend Rasmus told me warningly that I better find hobbies that I can do in doors and activities that will bring me in contact with other humans during the winter. Again I thought he was making fun of the situation somehow but oh hell no he was dead serious. And he's followed through, too! He helped connect me with a friend who plays frisbee and I'll be going to my first practice next week :)

THAT EMOTICON WAS ENTIRELY UNPREMEDITATED.

All this darkness has also made me realize how crazy I've gotten about hygge times and candles. The other day I was having lunch with a Canadian friend. We lit about half a dozen candles in the middle of the day and stared at them dreamily. It was at that point that we both had to admit that something is up with this place... neither of us would EVER do that at home. Nor would I find it sensible to even buy candles. Now it's like... oh, 4pm candlelight, duh!

Wish me luck with this gloomy Scandinavian business. I can't complain too much though because Hege and Lotta will remind me that Norway is further north and Helsinki is wayyyyy further north. The shortest day of the year in Helsinki is six hours long... I just looked it up. That's just sick.

Janteloven... as told by two Norwegians, a Finn and an American:

As part of my thesis this past spring I did some research into Janteloven, "Jante's Law", which is essentially a code of conduct and pattern of group behavior in Scandinavia centered around the idea that nobody is superior to anybody else. The "laws" were originally set down by Danish (or so I thought until this afternoon) author Aksel Sandemose in his 1933 novel, En flyktning krysser sitt spor, "A fugitive crosses his tracks". He didn't at all invent the term or pattern but merely described, somewhat satirically, the Danish village of Jante in which everyone lived by these 'commandments'.

Mr. Aksel Sandemose himself

The rules state (translation courtesy of Wikipedia):

        1.       You are not to think you're anything special.

               2.     You are not to think you're as good as us.

               3.     You are not to think you're smarter than us.

               4.     You are not to convince yourself that you're better than us.

               5.      You are not to think you know more than us.

               6.    You are not to think you are more important than us.

               7.     You are not to think you are good at anything.

               8.     You are not to laugh at us.

               9.     You are not to think anyone cares about you.

               10.  You are not to think you can teach us anything.

An eleventh rule recognized in the novel is:
         11.  You are not to think that there aren't a few things we know about you.

We’re all studying for the exams now (I’m finally out in the world among the people, mostly healthy!!!). During a break just a bit ago we started joking around about the Scandinavian panopticon because yeah, I make friends with that sort of crowd. Hege mentioned something about Janteloven and they turned to me to explain it but I knew about it from my thesis on Danish nationalism. Lotta said something like, “Oh really? Because the author was Swedish.” Hege and I then simultaneously insisted that he was Norwegian / Danish. Ohhh national identity, at it again.

Turns out we were all a little bit wrong – though Lotta was the wrongest ;). Aksel Sandemose was half Danish, half Norwegian. Grew up in Denmark and moved to Norway, but the town of “Jante” was technically placed somewhere in Jutland. Hege and our friend Mari, who is Norwegian and has lived in Copenhagen for the past four years, were completely shocked…. apparently in Norwegian they think of Janteloven as a Norwegian concept. We then launched into a conversation about Janteloven in their lives which was, for me, highly entertaining.

Lotta on advice she received from professors about how to get a job:  "You need to get over Jantelagen!"   (that's the Swedish spelling)

On online profiles/personalities:

Mari: “I don't want people to think I'm indirectly saying something good about myself on facebook so I have to be careful what I post."

Lotta: "I have to be careful when I’m writing on my blog – even having a blog could be bragging - I know my mother is reading it... so can't brag!"

Hege on how American talk about their physical appearance: “You can't say that you think you're beautiful - can't say it out loud."

Ohhhh Aksel, causing an international sensation in the 21st century....

nye venner! / uusia ystäviä!

I have listened to the first 24 chapters of Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire in the last two and a half days.... I am a PROUD fan. I've been sick, this isn't just a normal day-in-the-life-of-alice update. Last night two of my lovely new friends came and took care of me. I am just filled with love for them and wanted to blog about it. You know how everything seems horrible when you're sick just because you can hardly work up the hutzpah to make toast much less do something more long-term or interesting? Well I was feeling extremely whiney and lonely and sad... and Nash and Lotta came and cheered me up immensely.

I had been looking forward to "kulturnat" when all the museums and other spaces are open late and everyone is out and about doing things.... but that will have to wait. I did a test drive to see how i was doing and went to the grocery store half a block away to get some oranges. I had to lie down for an hour afterwards hahahaha.... so no kulturnat for me.

Lotta and Nash came and made homemade tomato soup for me and kept me company. So sweet. And beautiful soup.... Lotta took pictures so I'll post them later. Anyway... not much to say besides, thanks you two! Made my day. That and JK Rowling.

Finnish Health!

I'm still sick... so have some time on my hands since I haven't been out of my apartment lately... My lovely Finnish friend Lotta has been telling me about this diet trend in Finland and Sweden that she's totally on board with but now I'm convinced! It's low carb high fat. You're actually supposed to eat as much fatty things as you want like cheese, avocado, eggs, butter, fish, meat.... and also vegetables that grow above ground, nuts, some berries, and a small amount of fruit. You avoid sugar and carbs. That's it! Very simple.

The reasoning is much more holistic than I usually hear in fad diets... that we humans should be eating real foods. Our bodies have been evolving slowing over millions of years but it's only the last couple of decades that we've seen such a scary obesity epidemic in the US. Something I didn't know - the move away from bacon/fat/eggs/butter happened in 1984 when there was a big campaign in the US against fatty foods that was not based in actual research. Americans stopped eating real fatty foods - and obviously needed to be eating something - so the fatty foods were largely replaced with starches, carbs, and sugars. This time period actually coincides with the remarkable increase in American obesity....

Watch the video halfway down this page!

If you don't have time for the full thing minutes 3 - 12 talk about the facts about increase in obesity and the "fear fat" campaign in '84 and compares it with the situation in Sweden.

http://www.dietdoctor.com/lchf

Scandinavian Public Transit / Fredricksborg Slot

Today I'm feeling like one sick puppy so I am home in my pajamas, listening to Harry Potter.... 8 chapters into the Goblet of Fire already. It's sort of good to be reminded by my body that I need to slooow down and take a moment to do a little bit of nothing. Our course exams are coming up - mine is on the 24th. We have the choice between a 24 hours written and a half hour oral exam. I'm doing the oral... I'd rather have it more quickly over with than anxiously losing sleep for a day. And I like to talk.

Public transit. I don't have much to say about the actual workings of public transit.... it's much better here than a lot of the US, especially the West Coast, which is my referent for American. About a third of Copenhageners simply bike... which of course significantly lessens the burden placed on public transit and roads. Biking isn't a hip eco-friendly or athletic statement about who you are... it's mostly just a way to move around. I love my bike :) It's only one gear and I've got quite the beast of a hill up to my place, but all the better for my workout.

BUT WHAT I MEANT TO TALK ABOUT - Danes / Scandinavians on public transit. My Finnish friend, Lotta, told me a story the other day that so beautifully captures the atmosphere on Danish public transit that I have to share. She was reading a Swedish book on the train (Swedish is her first language, not Finnish), sandwiched in between two guys - one who she presumed was a Dane and another who - !!! - was reading a Swedish book as well. She contemplated striking up a conversation with him - he's a cute guy, reading an interesting book, in Swedish, they have some time before the central station... but then she decided against it thinking - "no nono, Lotta you don't bother people on the train!" So instead she leaned her book pointedly into his field of vision, near to his book. Nothing. When the other guy at the window seat got up to pass them a bit later she said "Excuse me" to the maybe-Swedish guy with as thick a Swedish accent as she could muster. Didn't work out.

This seemed like such a caricature of Scandinavians interacting in the public sphere that I had to sphere. I have gotten better at the subtle body language that says "my stop is coming soon" and saves you from actually saying anything to your seat mate.

On Tuesday, Lotta, Hege and I visited Fredricksborg Slot in northern Sjælland! Sjælland is the island Copenhagen is on.... Fredricksborg slot is the largest Renasissance castle in Scandinavia. It's been a national museum since the late 1800s and is full of paintings depicted various stages in Danish history. It was particularly cool to be there with Hege and Lotta because of their own connects to Nordic history...  In one room there was a painting of a Danish guy who was the founder of Hege's town in Southern Norway and a guy that has supermarkets in her town named after him. There was of course many battles with Sweden and Norway as well. The weather for our trip was less than perfect.... but that made it a little bit hilarious and "extreme". Here are some photos... the first is of me sprinting across the large castle courtyard in order to limit my time in the torrential downpour and tropical storm caliber winds.

War Legacy and travel blog --> life blog

On Friday, like I mentioned before, I was privy to a delectable Italian feast prepared by two Italian classmates. They live quite a bit north of the city so we had to train.... for me a bus, a train, and another train - so worth it! Very cosy evening. Without even planning I hopped on the train in the very same car as Lota, Hege, Laura, and Nash.... then when we got off at the station three other friends popped up. WOAH.

Over lasagna and pizza Laura and I somehow started talking about family histories.... She is from Belgium, the Dutch/Flemish speaking area. I was telling her that I had been to Belgium with my grandfather in the areas where he fought in WWII when I was 12. Her grandpa was also in the war. Comparing stories of how they've reflected and formed their identities around the world was eerily similar. As more joined in the conversation we became acutely aware of the meandering and unpredictable ways the world can shake up and rearrange human beings. Our two Italian hosts both had grandfathers who had fought for the fascist Italian army - everyone had to. One of my Italian friends is actually half Swiss - she's from the north of Italy - so that grandfather had been exempted from fighting simply due to his Swiss passport. Lotta from Finland told of her grandfather's traumatic experiences in the Finnish-Russian war. Irene from Spain grew up hearing mostly about the trauma of the Spanish civil war just before and around WWII. It was a sobering conversation to be had over such luscious food. The historian in me was going wild.

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Lately I have been contemplating how this blog feels different these days. I'm not "traveling" like I was when I had my fun 'gap year travels' blog (http://aliceminor.blogspot.dk/ if you're interested). With that blog there was always something ABSURD or extreme happening. A giant Indian moth that I mistook for a rat with enough conviction to inspire the local guards to come in with a machete, the time we got caught up in Ganesha's birthday festival on the Ganges, learning what the hell they meant by "shame, auntie, shame!!!" in relation to my dupatta. And frankly, I was so young then. I'm so young now, but I was SO young then, and had no sense of wanting to build permanency around me. Now I find myself trying to settle into routines, make stable and close friends, get to know this place. The way I make friends here is very different form when I was traveling after high school. Then I wanted to meet and hear from everyone almost just for the sake of hearing anything anyone had to say. I still believe that I can learn a great deal from anyone I meet.... but I'm much more prone to seeking commonalities and people that truly make sense in my life. In many ways I think I exoticized the friends I made in India, Thailand, and elsewhere. They were "experiences". My friends here.... are friends. Which makes me feel weird about blogging about them and our more personal connections.

All this, I've come to believe, is a reflection of the fact not just that I'm a bit more mature, but also that I want to LIVE here. It's less fun to go on and on about how crazy and different things are when you want to be a part of it. In that vein, I had a fantastic conversation with a friend of mine from my graduate program who has been reading my blog who related to much of the feelings of being out of place or different in Copenhagen that I have discussed. She's Danish! But from a very small town in Jutland, which truly is a different world from Copenhagen.... one that I have yet to really explore. As much as I know that Jutland is a different world from CPH it was wonderful to be reminded, and also to talk to someone with an unexpectedly similar experience.

It's tiresome to be constantly reminded of my nationality in some of my young friendships with people here. I don't want to interact with people as representatives of Spain, Belgium, Ghana, Denmark, Romania, Finland -whatever. As evidenced by my earlier story about WWII legacies sometimes that's the best language we have to talk about our selves and histories but there is that fine line between discussing place-based divergences in experience and assigning inherent or defining value to those divergences. Trying to walk that line in my friendships.

Shout out to FINLAND!!!!

What's UP Finland? As it turns out my lovely new friend Lotta Smeds from Vasa, Finland linked my blog to hers and Finland is now one of my biggest readership communities. Her blog is: http://lottaleverlivet.wordpress.com/. It's in Swedish. Which I guess isn't a barrier for all of my readers...... but it is for me! Hot damn, I try not to confuse myself too much with Swedish and Norwegian - Danish is enough. It would be an absolute dream to solidify Danish enough to be able to speak to other Scandinavians without going insane.

I went to the first meeting for a Copenhagen student debate club yesterday! My friend from HIA started the club last year as his Action Project - when a fellow completes the summer program we are asked/expected to complete some sort of activist/political/community engagement project. His idea was to create more introspective and critical debate in Denmark regarding big philosophical / political issues.   It really took off as well! They went to several international debate trainings and conferences. It's all in English which is beyond impressive. No excuses for me I guess. At the competitions there is a separate bracket for native speakers and second-language competitors though of course very well accomplished second-language competitors can enter in the native speaker category as well. We also get a little bit of funding for the trips... so this could be a fantastic way to meet people, practice speaking, travel a bit. Fun stuff - we'll see where it goes! It's also fun to be critically engaging with the English language. I miss that!  

Last night I had the chance to spend time with my phenomenal friend Vibeke who I lived with this summer. She is the most natural-born hostess I can imagine - makes you feel totally at ease in her home helping or not helping depending on the moment. Of course I lived there so I'm pretty damn comfortable hahaa... but still. I was just biking home and called her when I was near her house. There's something very cosy about that. heh - that's a Danish use of the word cosy in a way - hyggelig. The best of Danish words. She was just in Sudan for a month doing research for her thesis... pretty legit.

Anyway.... HEY FINLAND, here's lookin' at you, kid. Finland is now my fifth most actively reading nation.  Rankings: USA, Denmark, Serbia, Russia, Finland. I live in Denmark, my family and friends are in the US and I blogged about/from Serbia several times... but I really have no clue about Russia.