The Road is Long

But there is always Shell and Mcdonalds

Took this shot as I was walking home from Børglum Kollegiet, where I went to watch the England Germany soccer match. It was a pretty tough room - think many germans there to support their country. I cheered quite loudly too when Frank Lampard put in the first goal (now you know I would never do that had this been an EPL game), only to catch some dirty looks. Not going to talk more on this; I got the feeling that the danes who were there were secretly hoping for England to win, if only to see some anger from german exchange students. But alas it did not happen. Denmark was also hosting Ireland around the same time in Århus. But Ireland won 4-0. Heh.

Random trivia: Børglum was my second choice of accomodation, and their huge shared kitchen always leaves me wondering if I made the right choice in opting for a puny personal kitchen.

But the bloody long walk home reassured me sufficiently.

Methodist Church on Sunday

Felt moved to write this post. Woke up early on Sunday morning, which was a good thing because I was led to the Methodist Church in Aarhus.

Click on the photo for the link to the website, if you wish. I was not expecting much because - the service would be in Danish; I was told that Danes do not go to church every Sunday, only on Easter and Christmas; Methodism is not a smash hit denomination in Denmark.

What did follow was truly amazing. A kind lady sat next to me and offered to translate so I could follow the service and sermon. And while singing a Danish hymn, tears just started flowing freely. I used to wonder in the past when it happened, whether it was just that I liked the song so much. Now I truly know that it does not matter whether I know the lyrics of the song, but whether the presence of the Holy Spirit stirred me sufficiently. And it did. And I came out of the service feeling truly blessed.

!!! ANTI-CLIMAX WARNING !!!

After the service as I was wandering about the City, a gentleman came up to me and started talking. He was standing close to the cathedral obviously for a reason, which I only knew on hindsight. After chatting for a bit, I left, with a copy of a Watchtower magazine and some other publication.

For those who need me to elaborate.. (law students, shame on you).. I met, for the first time, a member of the Jehovah's Witness.

Har du haft en god weekend?

Ja tak =))

The weekend came a lot sooner because there was no Danish class on Friday, what we had was a tour of a Folk High School in Denmark. "A stay at a Folk High School is... not part of a formal education, but rather an element of the individuals personal development and general education" .. taken from here. Education in a Folk High School is not compulsory and the view is that all there are interested in the learning.. whatever it is they want to learn.

Here's a photo of the jolly teacher who was also tour guide to my group.

And here's what I actually feel about the place: It seems a very alternative place to the traditional formal education that generally most would opt for. But we only had a guided tour and no interaction with any students there, so I do not have a full picture of the type of people who go there. Also, the folk high schools are very much autonomous in how they want to run their school and the teaching methods to employ, all of which I do not feel comfortable about. There was a method called the "Walk and Talk" where you line up in pairs and start talking with your neighbour about something you find interesting, then switch partners every ten minutes.

Here's the kicker: Apparently theres a lot of group discussions among peers to "gain enlightenment" and the teacher told us that students "owe a responsibility" to other students because if they do not show up, there will be "less energy in the room". It was indeed very enlightening for me, in the sense of "Thanks, but I think I will stick with Aarhus University.." Anyway, the tour ended with a group singing a Danish song for everybody (because their teacher tour guide is the school's music teacher). Which was pretty all right, considering I had a lesson in Danish Politics, for the third time. Whoopdee doo. More insight on the Proportional Representation system and "weak coalition" governments!

Party!!!

This is what usually makes a good party...

I was asked to bring stuff to mix the alcohol with. So being the obedient Singaporean, I brought a 2L bottle of coke and 1.5L of orange juice. By the end of the party, my coke was untouched, and more than half of my orange juice was still standing. But all the alcohol was raped, including my bottle of white wine. Ho Ho.

We met this random Dane at the kollegiet. After some alcohol, and cross-cultural learning of alcohol-drinking songs (If you know of any from Singapore, pls share) and suddenly he showed us some circus stunt. The photos speak the truth. Man.

Legoland

Managed to wake up for this trip the next morning. The fact that I paid big money for it helped, too.

Landed straight at Legoland. Why bother with the airports at Aarhus, Copenhagen or Billund?

Viking made of Lego. And behind's a huge splash from a not-so-scary ride.

This one's for you

And a place not unlike Underwater World, but instead of feeding Stingrays I get to hold a crab.

Other photos:

The Days Are Just Packed

I'd like to say the days have been packed with bumming around, tasting all sorts of culinary delights, watching a stunning performance at ARoS.. but no, thats not what I do.

Weekday mornings are spent in class.






And theres homework too. Its hard to imagine I will be studying at a tertiary level next month when these days I have trouble doing my grammar homework.

More immersion programme in the afternoons: visits to museums, lectures on Denmark, sports and games etc.

Standing at the top of the Town Hall, aka Rådhuspladsen. I need a danish keyboard for typing such words.



Couple of ashtrays outside the Wedding Room within the Town Hall. Apparently weddings done in the Town Hall are really quick, so they can pack in more couples. And two ashtrays! Maybe so they can blow a smoke ring in the shape of a heart.



ARoS Art Museum. I'd say it was a very good experience for me. But I'm not so sure I like it so much as to go there every week, or month.




Of course there are fun moments as well.

Its hard to sum up what the immersion programme is like in a few photos and words. What I do know is that I am glad for it. Glad to pick up a new language, which I am actually interested in knowing to communicate, if only just to get a few sympathetic smiles and painful winces. And I get to do all the touristy things as well, just I have to keep reminding myself to resist buying all the fantastic looking things at gift shops. Because, well you know.

Chokoladefabrikken

Live band that was playing at (literally) The Chocolate Factory on Saturday Night. I'll let you judge for yourself...

Airport Photos

Yes, they've been wanting. Go on, right click and Save As. And use it as your Wallpaper already. Thanks bro, the shots are wonderful.. but thats also cos you have a solid camera :P

Beer Buffet

Theres free beer for one hour every Friday and Saturday nights at the social club in town, and free entry for students. So thats what I was up to last night, and it was fun because all the ERASMUS, exchange and foreign students thronged the club for the free beer and everyone was very, very happy by the end of that hour.

Inevitably there was the tinge of loneliness which stood out in stark contrast to the huge smile plastered on my face and a full glass of beer in my hand. Its not quite missing home... rather its the knowledge that everyone I meet are but mere acquaintances, and there is totally no common background or connection. Every other question feels like Comparative Studies, i.e. : Do they have XX in your country? But this is why I am here. To get way far out from my comfort zone, where I have to meet new people, and to rethink my filters and view of the world.



Here's what it looks like when I finally reached home about.. well.. early enough. Honestly intended to be home much earlier, but as I pulled out my map a Danish girl asked me if I knew where I was going. Then we started talking and I went with her group of friends to some club where they were playing old school Danish Rock Music. I'm an old geezer for liking such music







View of my room from outside. Glad to be home!

Laundry & Cooking

Those of you who know me will know that I don't cook or do my laundry. So this post of great jubilance is going out to all my fans, and people who are like me and going on exchange.

Laundry was a nightmare - all the instructions everywhere in the laundry room were in Danish, even the one that says Warning: Remember to remove everything out of pockets. Thankfully some Danish people helped me with the translation; one of them had also gone on exchange in Singapore, but in SMU, unfortunately.

Anyhow, my laundry success could be attributed to beginner's luck. But I'm sure not gonna post about any laundry disasters (c'mon you've had them too. c'mon. don't lie)

As far as cooking is concerned, I've decided to eat out during lunchtimes, partly because its too much hassle cooking and washing up, partly because whats the point of going another country and not trying their food. And while its definitely true that cooking is more economical than eating out, I think the capital outlay for cooking is scary. Think oil, sauce, ingredients, washing up stuff.

And here's where I messed up. Bought a packet of frozen stuff from an Asian shop thinking it was fish, and when I defrosted the 'fish', it felt rubbery. So then I spent some time googling how to cook squid.



Boil the sucker, add some sauce, cook it some more and...



Great success! Will do calamari with the rest of them squids. Yum!

Photos Galore

Okay this post will contain photos from the stuff I have been doing over the past week. Mundane stuff have been intentionally left out. Suffice to say it feels like a big adventure game, where I need to complete one quest, gain a rare item to bring to random undisclosed location, proceed with another quest etc. Obstacles include lack of FAQs, loss of memory and insufficient experience.

Bicycle Culture

Besides the fact that in Denmark they drive on the wrong side of the road (other side of the road if you want to be PC), they do have something nifty called a bicycle lane. Many people own a bicycle, and use it to commute to work etc. And they look good too, unlike the stereotypical sweaty man cycling hard and panting even harder.

City Tour

City tour conducted by the Student Society.



My group for the city tour. Nothing much, except the guy in red looks like Jean-Claude Van Damme.

Stella Polaris Party

Think setting up of beer tents, playing weird monotonous music (supposedly chill-out music) type of party. This took place after the City tour where me and my friend Juan Miguel from Spain were walking. We originally intended to go visit the Botanic Gardens but hey this is way more interesting.

Some guy in the water after having a bit too much to drink. His friend is baiting him out with a can of beer at the end of the line. Heh! The guy at the bottom of the photo has brilliant abs. Just fyi I'm not homosexual, just green with envy at guys with hot bods.

The group I was there with. Basically Juanmi's friends from Spain and the girl second from left is from Greece. Great cultural learning of Singapore, only its Mau instead of Borat.

The view. BBQ, cook-outs and stuff. We so did not come prepared. I had to buy some Tokyo Noodle from the food tent which was horrible - think spaghetti with peppers, coriander and other exotic veggies bought from discount supermarkets. If they served crap like that in Tokyo, it wouldn't last two seconds.

But the evening went well. Learnt quite a bit about Spain, and in turn shared about Singapore. Headed to a pub near the train station after the 'party', had a few more beers and caught the last bus home. The very first bus ride I took and its the last bus of the night. Its a miracle I got off at the right stop.

BBQ by the University Lake

Aint my mentor great? Thats the guy sitting opposite me. He arranged the BBQ, brought sausages, the pit, beer and all. I brought uhm.. Ribs, Party Pack of Lays, Bananas. All the three food groups, beat that. Girl next to me is from Germany, also studying law. Other girl's from Finland, studying Marine Biology. Around here no one knows the names of one another, just where they hail from. So I'm the strange guy from Singapore, who brought good stuff for the BBQ, and brought his laptop along to use the wireless. I was suffering withdrawal symptoms can? Did not have the cable for the internet in my room.

Day at the Beach

'Twas a nice Monday afternoon at the beach in Risskov. This came after a boring lectures about Norse Mythology; its all very history - about Vikings, Valhalla, historical findings, written sources etc. I was on MSN the whole time and even ran the game Box World. Then came some obnoxious German sitting behind me who was staring at my screen and commenting to his neighbour that I sucked cos it was so easy. Those who do play Boxworld will know that looks are deceiving. So anyway I held it in and refrained from calling him...... stuff. Or challenging him to complete it. He can so suck it cos I'm the one with a laptop and internet whereas he's the one who can do nothing but wank.

Culture shock cos some people here sunbathe topless. By some people, an example would be the woman on the extreme right. No I do not have explicit photos, but if you were to buy me a good DSLR with telephoto lens, I'm sure we could work something out the next time I'm at the beach.

Clockwise from left:

1. German girl, friend and classmate of the german girl in previous photo.

2. Polish girl studying law

3. Thomas, aka mentor to me, the polish girl, german girl, italian girl and two more incoming law students.

4. Italian girl studying law

That should about bring things up to speed. Could always MSN or email me (the gmail email!) if you want to know more about my room, the weather, the prices (generally horrible), the culture and if you miss me.

Farvel!

Farewell Singapore; Hello Århus, Denmark

Its been a week since I've left Singapore. Once again, a big thank you to all who came to see me off and those who sent me kind words of encouragements. Photos will be up soon I promise.

Journey was long and tiring. Started off with a passenger who fell ill on board the plane, which caused a delay in take-off, which then caused me to miss my connecting flight in London. So here is a photo of my meal at an airport cafe in Heathrow.



The meal costs 5 GBP. Good luck to all going UK.

祸不单行

After finally reaching Copenhagen Airport, my huge 29kg luggage went missing. But hey I got my golf bag all right, so maybe the idea was I could take out my clubs and threaten to bludgeon people if they didn't give me clothes. In the end the luggage was located, somehow it was on the next flight and I was delayed yet again for another hour =|

Next came my first encounter with the Danish Language cos I wanted to buy the train ticket at a discount price. Had to fill in some form which I could not understand, the lil old lady selling tickets was possibly quite annoyed that she had to do it for me. But yay I saved some money. Well technically I didn't, but I'd be saving future money.

Train ride lasted 3.5 hours. By this time I was so exhausted because I forgot to reserve a seat (like what the heck?!) and I was booted out of my comfortable seat by someone who trumped me with her reservation. Met a girl from Romania on the train; Chatted with her cos I saw that she was reading the Denmark Today book (immersion course) and found out that she had her luggage lost, too -_- . Sheesh.

Drama ended at the train station. Mentor came, grabbed my stuff, and headed for the Kollegiet where I will call home for the next year. I was just so happy to have a place to dump all my stuff and a bed I collapsed into almost immediately =)

Truly humbled by this entire experience. I went into it thinking I've got everything worked out, nothing can stop me. Maybe arrogance and pride did. Found myself needing Him a lot, and feeling blessed that in the end, everything worked out fine. And I gained +250 travel experience. Hurrah! Level up!