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Denmark-a short re-visit

kuma — Mon, 05 Oct 2009 13:04:48 +0000

HEJ! A new post at last! I was worrying I no longer have access to managing this blog. I’ve been hearing from you people who have read this blog from around the world who are planning on your own exchange study to Denmark. Great! Even though I have long been back at my home in Hong Kong.
I did a short re-visit though, very recently. Coming back to the campus where the school of humanities is, allowed me to see the many changes and improvements made. More LCD monitors are hung around campus showing news, the school just seems to have made many high-tech advances when I wasn’t there. The new canteen is under construction. Things are wayyyyyy more expensive this time around. My jaw dropped and my heart sank when I read the latest exchange rate of HKD-DKK. Obviously things in the supermarkets became a bit more expensive too. On the streets, staple food in Copenhagen(Kebab) costed a wee bit more than before, consider a 3kroner rise for a once 20dkk kebab.
I think my sense of direction that had once aided me strolling round KBH has become sort of rusty. Not to mention lots of new shops opened, and it didn’t help me get my orientation better. But I know better the rules now than the first time I came here, hence no more being crashed by bikes.
During my seven days here, I met up with some old friends. So if you have read from previous posts and know that I traveled round Denmark with a group of people–there were the people I met up with again. We met again at a party where the awesome Danish band that I fortunately recently discovered, The Breakers, gave a very energetic and ace performance. I know they’re doing a show every night in KBH for free in November, so watch out.
The Danish people are still awesome, I still love them a lot. I like the big blue skies, I like the not so crowded space, compared to my homeland. I think the weather is a bit tooo cold for September, it makes me a bit lazy, but it’s okay.
Isn’t it a waste the tourism board just made that stupid commercial about a single mom with a kid from a one night stand in order to promote Denmark? Dear lovely, you have wayyy more than that to offer.

Last note: I have friends, also exchange students last year, made trips to Møn, it’s a place where you can find spectacular white cliffs. I’ve been to a similar one near Køge. I think it’s pretty and worthwhile to go there for a visit.

I may not update this blog again for the foreseeable future. Comments are appreciated but will take time to get response–be warned! Until then, cheers,

Kuma

So saying goodbye can be pretty hard

kuma — Tue, 03 Feb 2009 10:44:38 +0000

I left Denmark on the first of February at the Copenhagen Airport. It was hard to say goodbye to all these people that have become and been so close to my heart. Making leaving harder are all those pretty houses and what the city of Copenhagen looks like, not to mention all the memories I have with Denmark like traveling across it.
A new chapter began after I survived the day-long flights and journey back to Hong Kong, my hometown, when I see my family again, take care of the financial matters and go to new classes in the University of Hong Kong.
The first day off the plane was brutal. I never heard more noises in Hong Kong until I came back from the quiet Denmark. All these crowds and dense buildings were driving me mad. On the bus to home from the airport, I puked a bag full of crap because the roads are so winding and twisted. The roads are so wide and comparatively have so few of turns in Denmark. First day back, I was dizzy and sick and I ended up taking a couple of pills and were needy to get a back massage from my mom to get away from all the sickness. I can’t help but wonder how the tourists from the quiet parts of the world and coming to Hong Kong survive?
I managed to grab, however, a couple of Moomin cartoon books in the library. Having met friends from Finland etc. had the idea that Moomin is from Finland promoted to me. These books warm my heart because the connection to Scandinavian countries then seems to hang on.

I love Denmark so much I promise I will come back for more. Now for the remaining time, I’m catching up with the courses in my home university and getting a brand new place, and perhaps a new part-time job to restore my normalcy here. I definitely can’t wait to go back to Denmark and will learn Danish on my own before coming back for more. All the best to the new semester exchange students.

-Kuma

Aarhus

kuma — Thu, 22 Jan 2009 10:49:24 +0000

Seaside

Scared to lose my finger

Went to Aarhus to see some friends from University of Hong Kong and stayed there for three days, I had a blast.
We went to a few museums, including the Viking museum located within a Nordea bank(interesting enough), Aros ( though we peeped from outside) and the Old Town where lots of old houses from all over Denmark were relocated to. We also checked out the Aarhus Cathedral and the Church of Our Lady, within the latter a Viking old church from the 10th century can be found. Then my favourite is the Deer Park, an hour walk from city centre. We bought a bag of carrots and it was gone within minutes! The deers show a lighter color on their skins in winter, they’re all so lovely.
To go to Aarhus from Copenhagen, you can take a train or bus. A bus is cheaper, I got my return tickets for 280 dkk and one way trip takes three hours, with one hour spent on a ferry.

Kuma x

Old Town

Paper Free

kuma — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 04:50:04 +0000

I handed in my paper just in time to the department office, with the help of Susanne I got my paper printed out and photo-copied. It would be the last time for me to go to CSS now. Walking away from the campus I felt like I started to miss the place already. How gorgeous the campus is! Right outside the lake was frozen and ripples and whirls got patrified as if done by the wizards in København. I loved it!
It was a bit snowy and I got my first taste of snow. My lovely boyfriend told me the joke of yellow snow, a joke that according to him is known to everyone in every snowing country.
On the same day we went to Tivoli for the London Toast Theatre’s CRAZY CHRISTMAS CABARET 2008. Obviously there were people from all over Europe, including Sweden and Holland. I can see the show has some fans! When something good happens, or someone famous mentioned, the audience has to shout Hooray. When bad characters show up or a bad plot being formulated, we had to shout boo. Not the best show I’ve seen but I respected all the team work and coordination there were to make the show possible. It’s not easy for the actors to work hours straight singing and dancing. It was nice in that everyone laughed a little.
Now that I’m paper free and with only less than three weeks in Europe, I’m torn between finding myself a job through recruiting websites for money back in Hong Kong and trying to plan some travels before too late.

New Year

kuma — Thu, 01 Jan 2009 15:17:47 +0000

Didn’t stay in Copenhagen for New Year’s eve. Went to a new year party instead. Tried traditional Danish food- tuna paste and mandarin orange pudding. Had also pork with different sauces. Main thing is, the bring your own drink part of almost every party here, in this party we had snaps, champagne, whisky…All night long, we heard skål all the time. Table bombs were laid next to plates, strings were pulled and then festive colorful paper stripes or little plastic toys popped out high. After and already in between dishes, grown ups and children alike who were fortunate enough to spare themselves from the kitchen work took a hike outside where fireworks dominated. While it’s illegal to set off your own fireworks in Hong Kong, here all across the country people took pleasure in lightning their own yards. Already driving down to the party place, which was a over 30 mins ride, we saw fireworks from rooftops, from across the fields…never a moment of rest and silence.
Standing under the spectacular fireworks was definitely a pleasure, but the sounds of fireworks remind me of gunshots and rockets. I’m grateful for being safe -but let’s not forget the people in Gaza who got bombed daily and heavily.
It was a very festive evening celebration, even a table was dragged outside to the cold to hold glasses of champage while guests beheld fireworks demonstration.
At night before we left the party, I was just a bit drunk -the idea that it’s a new year and I should seige every opportunity and strive better and live a better year keeps me awake, it’s the motivation power that does the magic-we sang karaoke and had Irish coffee and tea. It was all lovely.
Few things only in Denmark:
Fireworks across every neighborhood- houses work together to assemble their fireworks. Families are really close in small towns. A great union that produces great joy. Sharp contrast can be seen in while our house in Copenhagen had to keep its light on despite our leaving for the party, houses in small towns can be taken care of and watched by neighbors for safety when the owners had to go out. They are that helpful and friendly toward each other.
At six, the Danish queen would address on television to the Danes, the people in Faeroe Islands and Greenland. Exactly how much the Greenland people want independence-I’m interested and yet to know. The guards with big black hats seem to walk in a bit of a too chilled and therefore lazy way. I didn’t see lots of strength and firmness in their match
Hmm…then on TV lots of choirs going on. When we sang karaoke, we see global brands and Scandinavian names that have been made world famous-when in Denmark, sing Kim Larsen, ABBA, Aqua and Spice Girls.
It’s a tradition to jump from high places to a lower point past mid night right after the count down. It’s something about getting good fortune, which is weird for me for in China, we’d very much prefer to jump to high places. Many of us aspire to reach higher and get to a better place by looking and reaching up high. I guess jumping down wouldn’t make sense to most Chinese.
Anyway, just a quick few updates. Hope you enjoyed it. Happy New Year.
Peace out xo

Festive December, trivia

kuma — Tue, 23 Dec 2008 10:49:40 +0000

When the deadline of a paper is approaching, I spend more time playing Little Big Planet on Playstation 3 than on my readings. Days round Christmas this year are actually warmer than previous days like in early December/November. Today it’s 6 degree celcius with a clear sky. Still at times it can be quite chilly if topped with strong winds. New shops opened across the walking street catering christmas shoppers. On the news it says with the financial crisis, spending by the Danes in this Christmas dropped from last year’s, despite there are price cuts offered by the retailing industry.

Instead of staying in Copenhagen, we took a little trip to Lyngby where a big shopping centre can be found. I was the happy one as I tried both the fried sugar coated almonds(normally spotted in red and white striped paper bags) and the marzipan pig, even just a tiny little bit. I had fun walking round with someone I care about, to be honest I can’t recall anything interesting other than what happened between us and our conversations, the shopping and others were greatly ignored. We took refuge from a temporary rain in a cafe called Café mig og Annie. The one in Lyngby has a great painting on the wall. It’s the cutest, crowdest and warmest cafe I’ve seen in Denmark.

I’m looking forward to Christmas, in Denmark it’s celebrated on the 24th instead of 25th, and presents are exchanged on the 24th. Christmas candles can be bought, numbers from 1 to 24 are printed on the festive candle and you light it everyday from the beginning of December until Christmas came. To be honest, I just can’t wait to eat rice pudding again!

Cultural awareness alert- Just keep in mind not everyone celebrates Christmas due to different cultural backgrounds and religions. Meanwhile, if it might not be entirely appropriate to wish someone Merry Christmas, you can at least say Happy Holiday.
-KUma x

I experienced an Earthquake

kuma — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 13:06:51 +0000

From the Politiken:

A mild earthquake measuring 4.7 on the open Richter scale shook Denmark this morning, with concerned members of the public across the country telephoning police and rescue services.

The quake, which the USGS center in the United States said had its epicentre in southern Sweden, was one of the strongest ever to hit Denmark.

There are no reports of casualties or damage although there were reports of people in some high rise buldings rushing outside as windows and cupboards shook and buildings swayed briefly.

According to the USGS center, the epicenter of the earthquake was some 40 kilometers east of the southern Swedish port of Malmo, and 65 kilometers east of the Danish capital Copenhagen.

Although there are a handful of much smaller tremors in the area each year, these are normally registered only by highly sensitive equipment. A tremor of 4.7 on the Richter scale has only been measured in the region once before, in 1985.

It was round six in the morning and I was woken shortly before the quake happened as my boyfriend got ready for work. My eyes were close but I was not back in dreams yet. Then all of a sudden I felt a strong shake of the bed and I was like on an electric chair for a while. My innate urge to focus on the visuals was so strong it blocked out most sounds and all the other senses. If anything, I just felt so profoundly mystified watching the windows shake. The frames were definitely moving. How long it’s gonna be, I kept thinking. I knew it was a quake. I stayed in bed for the few seconds anticipating as it was mild. If it was going to get stronger in a second, my decision to stay on bed would have killed me. I knew it was a quake as I studied geography and how neighboring Iceland was formed and the platonic movements in the area. It doesn’t take a place to lie directly on top of a hot spot to experience a quake. Then things were back to normal. I heard sounds coming from out the window. People were alerted. I felt surreal and just astonished.
My boyfriend came in from the shower and I told him there was a quake. He said it was all in my dream until he read the news at work.

Another Christmas lunch, Christmas lingerie and the sex industry

kuma — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 12:01:46 +0000

Christmas

We went to another christmas lunch held by some sports club. A LOT of herrings were served on the buffet table, there was some spinach sauce that I ate with ham. Besides the ham, other hot dishes were grilled ducks and deep fried battered fish. Most things were cold, I was glad there was rice pudding, which Morten ate a lot. Prior to the food I had a shot, which someone told me could soothe my throat. I had something called fisk before and that was said to serve the same purpose. Only what I had last night was 100 times stronger. Even the Danish girls found it hard to stand.

At the peak of my dizziness after the shot, I chatted up some girls in the party. Speaking of how easier it is for Danes to take a gap year and travel before University as the government pays for their education and they got some form of bursary during their study period. I think that it’s the ease that you can always study coming back from travels that makes it easier. In Hong Kong, free edcation ends after the 3rd year of high school, which sucks. In university, you can get loan from the government, but then you have to be tied to work your ass off a few years after graduation before you become a debt-free individual again. That is pathetic. That ties persons to study the fields that promise high income instead of follow their own interests. That renders parents thinking they should make their kids finish their education as soon as possible and end all these financial madness in the family, sometimes family sponsors a lot in their kids’ education. It’s also in Hong Kong’s culture you can’t get anywhere without a proper certificate from some highest institutions. That’s also because Hong Kong has such a competitive environment that keeps reminding everyone you have to strive, get the most comfortable house and most expensive car, eat the most delicate food.

Sex

I’m just so sick and tired of popular culture and beliefs. Christmas is around the corner. Sexy lingeries pop up in every advertisement on the papers and everywhere in clothes stores, in the walking street, in New Yorkers, in Victoria Secrets’ commercials etc. When all they sell to men are those games, razors and stuff, women have to put up with these messages underneathe they read: you have to be sexy on Christmas day, your gift is becoming your spouse/partner’s gift, bringing sexy back is what you can do for yourself on this special occasion.

How about all the other interests we have as women than dressing up and looking good, what about books, what about yoga clothing, what about painting tools and the like. Why the hell should the clothes stores use 50% of their space selling bras and translucent garments and not sports clothes and stuff.

Uh huh, christmas is a romantic occation where people can relax. But given all these price tags on the lingerie and the idea every woman is doing the same and so should you in addition to the popular culture spread by MTV and women magazines that girls have to compete against each other’s sexuality–I just feel so turned off.

Why can’t we women take charge of what we want to do on Christmas day, why doesn’t all this commercialisation leave us alone on this peaceful day of the year? To be romantic, it has to come from within, it’s spiritual, it’s about spending time with the ones you like, adore and care. To be romantic, you can tell what you feel to the man you love. Wearing those things and slautering your wallet on those just can’t do the same.

I’m upset by the fact how sexuality is made use by the industry and how such an initimate thing like sex is to be put into the realm of mass production. All these ideas by make up companies, lingerie companies, models companies and the sex industry that women have to make specified efforts as instructed by the aforementioned institutions so as attract men and as a token of showing how much you like your men–disgust me. To think about it, these industries want money, they have money to spread those nasty messages to influence our minds, they have the money to put pounds of make up and up to six lights in the photo shooting room and a technical team to work on the photoshop stuff to create those models that would otherwise attract men better than ‘the ordinary us’ do. Those created sort of models also intimidate us and pose a threat that women have to live to some standards otherwise we’re less a woman we are.

At the end of the day, I guess we should just all have our standards what is the woman that we want to become. Somehow, even I’m just twenty, I knew there is something beyond superficial about sexuality. How about a woman tends to be more conversational and has more ease where it comes to expressing feelings. How about a woman’s ability to add harmony -in places where there could be too many men, having some women’s presence can always bring sort of a comfortable feeling to the place. How about us loving tenderness and soft and smooth silkiness when decorating things and attentiveness to details. How about our born innate ability to care and nurture off springs.

Instead of sterorotyping women, I’ll make another attempt to share how I would really define what a respectable woman is about- it’s a woman who preseveres through her life, job and family and knows her place on earth who has so much regenerative power from within that she can uphold a family through rough times comes high water or hell, she stands. That’s what my mom does. Lots of women are proud of stretch marks. I’m proud of my scars, on the other hand, from hiking and riding a bike etc. and I’m equally proud of my tan, despite my mom’s opposition (Asian culture refers classic beauty as having whiter skin)–cos they all show individuality. I can be who I want. As a woman I have a life to live as well, I’m not just a doll or in our Cantonese slang, a vase to add to the table.

Just like a woman. To be continued.

Winter morning, trip to the museum and more

kuma — Fri, 12 Dec 2008 08:32:44 +0000

It’s eight in the morning, the sky is getting some light on, not directly implies it might get bright. Some days it never gets bright in the winter. At night it usually rains, in the morning I walked out with my huge coat and smudged make up to the balcony to check for my clothes. No use, they’re still too wet to be transported to the indoor heaters. I’m just lazy and reluctant to do my laundry downstairs-it’s those old fashioned laundry stores, help it yourself kinda, with a medium size black and white round clock on the wall, orange handles for the machines and brown wooden benches for some bald guys to sit on. I saw that many times in the movies. No, we don’t have that in Hong Kong. What would I do if I spent my time waiting on those benches?
One morning the sky was so bright, I woke up round ten. I had to. The sky is so rarely bright so when it is, it lures me a great deal to go outside. I followed my plan to the Geological Museum which situates right next to the university. It’s small and most things are in Danish. Two exhibitions are available in English, one showcasing LOTS of meteorites, including the largest in the world from Greenland weighing 550kg. The museum also showcases a minerals exhibition. There is a chip from Mars sent by the US to Denmark as a token of friendship. According to the museum staff, the museum is ‘trying’ to be international and hopefully more things will be in English in future. I’m a bit sad I couldn’t get to read the geology of Denmark, having spent seven years in high school study geography I’m an addict. Still, I liked the museum where they put in chair or a bench in each and every room and you can just sit down and wonder!
Not far away from the museum is the Rosenborg Castle, it’s VERY pretty and it’s one of the things I want to visit before leaving Denmark.

The moon is on the other hand

: Rosenborg castle from distance

: sun is so low, it was hardly 3pm

We went to the forest!(1)

kuma — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 22:03:13 +0000

The Danish Hunting and Forestry Museum has this amazing activity arranged for this December. Participants can go find the Nordic fairytale characters troll and nisser in the forest, taste some traditional Christmas food and make your own decorations, which In my opinion is the best way ever to spend a Sunday. The following text was copied from the official site,

Sunday 7th and 14 noon. 11.00 – 15.00
Nisser and Trolde in the winter woods
Go with a fresh turn in the woods, where we are looking for Trolde and nisser and assembles the final decorations for Christmas trees. Back in the workshop can I make Christmas decorations, and we offer gløgg and æbleskiver by the fire.
NB departure from the museum exactly noon. 11:00. The trip is about. 3 km long and suitable for prams.

Remember clothing after weathering.

What I really like about the trip:
1. The 30 minutes drive from CPH to Hørsholm, where the museum is, provided a feast to the eyes already. Moving out from the city fringe you’re slowly making a crawl into the suburbs. The highways parted fields and huge amount of trees. They are brown and bare as they do in autumn but as soon as you get into the museum area you can see lots of evergreen like the pine trees. Right in front of the museum is a lake where ducks dive and swans fly upon. Beautiful scenery. I like how easy it is to embrace the nature here in Denmark, never too far away.

2. The guides for the forest tour are very friendly and prepared great engaging stories to tell the little children, luring them to absorb all the greatness of the forest and the nature( from an adult’s point of view) and making the children enjoy the trip and stay out of boredom by soaking them in excitement( from a child’s point of view). They told stories about hiding trolls and a disappeared castle. Even I got attracted. =)

3. Derived from point two, the tour gave me a glimpse into the Scandinavian culture. Getting to taste more tradtional Danish dishes like the boiled red wines with grapes and walnuts and the apple stripes(Æbleskiver, Danish pancakes) was good as a step to know the culture.

4. I like the fact that some Danish parents take advantage of the ease to access greenery in the country and take their children to and rear them in the greatness of nature. Little children would kneel down and observe some bugs underneathe some moisted rock and the parent would strike a finger and tell his kids the bugs would curl if you stroke them. A dad with his kids observed the undergrowth andone of the little boys watered the trees( how many he had to water!), not least he also watered the bits that were left there on the ground after the wood was chopped away.

5. From four I guess I just have to say is to take pleasure in the nature, like finding the nisse which reminded me of all the orientation games I did when I was a young scout, is so different than what I used to in the past in Hong Kong where as kids we go to the forest only in geography excursions. That was pathetic. Some parents in Hong Kong do bring their kids to hike and stuff, but I wasn’t. The polluted city and sky don’t help gaining pleasure in the forest either. I liked this forest tour so much because it was very light hearted and the air was clean and the children were cute.

6. The prams can get to the forest? That’s unthought of and how hilly Hong Kong is renders taking the prams impossible. But hey, that is cool they can do they in Denmark!

7. We got the make Christmas decorations, which meant a slice of the wood to be laid under some clay which in turn supports all the forest collections- twigs, leaves, cones etc. I got to learn from Morten that many fires round Xmas time in Denmark happen when decorations like these- candles sided with twigs and leaves too closely-went wrong and the whole house caught fire.

I should say no more, here are the pictures:

collecting materials in the forest for xmas decoration

Lake

Trees

Spread your wings and fly

In the next blog entry I’ll write about Danish farming industry hopefully. Until then, ciao ciao x