Last Friday Stefan and I accompanied his mother and baby Sylvester to the Zoo, where a giraffe licked my hand - it felt like a cow. We went to the other side where Tali and I hadn't gone, so it was completely new and totally worth it. We also saw sea lions being fed, hippopotamuses (which are much uglier than I thought), and Tasmanian devils - much more, but I can hardly remember. We did end up going back to see some of the other stuff that Tali and I had seen, too:
Golden Compass Monkey!
Being childish...as usual
Polar bears!...or "isbjørn" - one of my favorite Danish words
LION BABIES!!!!!!
Speaking Parseltongue (:
Anyway, then we went back to the apartment and hung out for a little longer - Alice had made this amazing apple cake, so at least while we struggled through communicating, we were able to eat something good? I don't know. I'm REALLY working hard on Danish so I can speak a lot more the next time I see her - unfortunately I'll be out traveling Europe, so learning Danish might be difficult. Maybe I'll buy a dictionary and just read it.
We went home for a bit to do some homework before our weekend started, and then we went out to this thing called "Rock the Night" - something that Thomas, my photojournalism subject invited me to. It was three floors of different kinds of music, bars, and him tattooing. I got some pretty cool shots of him, and definitely had fun. There was actually this guy there who has his own TV show - it's basically some reality TV show, and all the cameras were there following him around. Definitely weird - I didn't really know what to think. When we left, he was hitting on some trashy-looking girl outside the club - hilarious. Sidney Lee...LEGIT TOOL. Check it out. Seriously. It'll be worth your time. Then you'll understand why he has to talk to trashy girls. It just fits. But then you can also hear what Danish sounds like!
Thomas' work!!
The next morning we went to the Botanical gardens - originally to have a picnic, but it was rather cold, so we didn't. We wandered around for a little while, and I finally got my perfect swan picture:
Instead of our picnic, we went to the grocery store and got a craving for chicken - I guess it wasn't necessary to buy an ENTIRE chicken like we did, but whatever....Leftovers? We had said we would go out to dinner with some friends, but after elapsing into a food coma, all we could do was lie around and watch Family Guy. Later that night, we went to The Dubliner (an Irish pub) with them, and ended up hanging out, drinking a Somersby, and listening to some Irish men play some twangy country and oldies - weird night. Resulted in lots of photo-taking and laughing.
Nothing else of much excitement happened. Sunday was a lazy day (I think...I really can't remember?), and Tali and I hung around the house and tried to get some work done. I had invited Emily over for dinner, and we cooked quesadillas for our host parents - they turned out wonderfully and were a big hit - I think that's because Emily was there cooking for us, though. I think she really loved Lars and Lene - but I guess you can't help but love them. It's amazing how DIS has matched everyone with their host families - it seems like no one has any complaints. I couldn't have asked for better host parents, and there's nothing that they could be doing to make us any happier. Amazing luck, or just the Danish people? I can't decide.
I realized then that it would be a ridiculous week for me - three group projects, a HUGE test in photojournalism, and an 8 - 10 page paper for Janis. I brainstormed for a long time on the paper, and eventually got two pages done, but that was about it. I went to bed at midnight, but set my alarm for 2am, so I could start to study for Photojournalism. I got up around 2:30, and read straight through until 6:30, when I would have to start getting ready for classes. Stefan had a huge report due as well, so we were chatting on Skype (kinda) throughout the entire night - needless to say, we were dead for Monday. After an exhausting day (and six hours of classes) I went to Baresso (The Starbucks of Denmark) to meet Stefan, and we went back to the Kollegium to make dinner. I was supposed to study with my friend Lucy, but she ended up being too tired, and just went to bed. I continued to power through my Photojournalism studying, but sadly, the next morning, I failed the test. I think. Well, I'm pretty sure. Upsetting, as I spent about 10 hours total with the material for six stupid, stupid questions. Damn.
On the bright side, when I met with Anders on Friday, he said that he'd given me As on everything we'd turned in so far. I guess until now. Can't wait to get that test back. Blah.
On the BRIGHTER side, we got our Danish exams back - I got two points off on the oral part, and two points off on the cultural essays - resulting in two A-s. I think Morten's a tough grader, too, so that makes me feel happy. I know my Danish is improving, as I'm beginning to be tossed into situations where only Danish is spoken. I'm getting more confident in speaking Danish to Danes, and believe it or not, I think they're starting to laugh less. For example:
I usually buy 4DKK apples from this little store right next to DIS. I usually say, "Jeg vil gerne hav en æble, tak!" and that's the end of our exchange. Because I got really sick, I had to get some cough drops, and obviously had no idea how to ask for them. I desparately said, "Cough drops??" and the lady at the counter looked at me, seeming somewhat surprised. "You're a DIS student? Didn't you know you get a discount?" Now my apples are 3DKK! (:
Not to say that I'm wonderful at Danish - those words are easy to say, but it's definitely a confidence booster to realize that people actually understand what you're saying, and realize that you're making an effort.
We also found out a little bit more about our study tour in London - we'll be doing some moderately cool things, I'm really excited for it. We're going to see Chicago in the theater, see the London Eye, get a tour of London and Oxford, and all that tourist-y stuff. We'll have options to go see tons of stuff while we're there...all the different museums and everything. I hope I'm feeling much better by the time Sunday 1pm rolls around! Last night was absolutely miserable - totally dead to the world. I guess I lucked out, because Stefan tucked me into bed with tissues and mint drops (they clear your sinuses because it's such a strong scent), kept me hydrated, fed me pizza, and went on a search for some Danish advil - I'm feeling much, much better today. I would assume that it was the late night studying that's made me so sick - it started out with a sore throat that's finally gone away, and then a migraine last night, but now I think it's just a lot of congestion.
Today I went to volunteer training with my friend Shea at Dyreværnet - an animal shelter with cats, dogs, bunnies, guinea pigs, rats, blah, blah, blah, you name it! It was really awesome - I'm so excited to start. It's really relaxed...you can go to walk dogs, hang out with cats, snuggle up with a dog in the "relaxing room", just so both the dog and you can get some peace and quiet from the rest of the kennel...so cool. It's a really huge facility, and I can't wait to go back. I hung out with a big, fat, black cat named Rambo today. They also have this thing where you can 'foster' an animal over night as many times as you want if you're a volunteer - meaning you get to take the animal (cats, dogs, or bunnies) home with you to hang out and socialize it! So much fun. In about a month, there will be tons of kittens brought to the shelter, and they encourage volunteers to bring them home for a few nights - EE!!!! (: (: I'm so happy! Lene says no, but Stefan says yes, so I'm determined to have a temporary kitten.
We actually saw some teeny tiny kittens today - they were just two weeks old, and smaller than the palm of my hand. They were SO cute, and so little...ahh. I honestly can't wait until kittens start pouring into the shelter so I can hang out with them all the time...I just hope they can all find homes!
And now I've procrastinated for another hour or so writing this blog entry, so I guess I owe Janis another six pages on that paper - sounds like I've got a fun couple of nights ahead? But luckily, I've finished all of the group projects, so those are out of the way.
It's definitely been a really busy week - I just can't wait until it's over, because that means LONDON!
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