Class by Day, Downtown by Night

The summer school schedule is broken up into two, three week long summer sessions. For the first session I am taking Stolen Childhoods: Migrant, Refugee, Asylum-Seeking and Exploited Children in Europe with instructor Judith Wagner. We started class by getting to know a little about each other and our backgrounds. For the remainder of class we discussed principles of "en god barndom" (the good childhood) and how Nordic countries use this principle as a central theme in child development. The six components of the en god barndom philosophy are: egalitarianism, democracy, freedom, emancipation, cooperation, and solidarity. People in the Nordic countries believe that children should have the same rights as adults, while recognizing that children require additional support and protection. Children in Denmark are very independent and can be seen completing tasks and doing activities that you would never see kids in the United States doing; for example, children as young as five years old ride the bus alone. I was intrigued by the class discussion and excited for the next three weeks.

While in the States I debated whether I should get a bike or just use the bus as my primary means of transportation, but after seeing how easy and efficient biking is, I'm going to rent one! After class, Natalie, Lindsay, and I went on an adventure through the crowded streets of Copenhagen to look for a bike shop. Even though we put the address in google maps and wrote down the directions, we still took a few wrong turns along the way. Hustling to get to the store by 5pm, we discovered it actually closed at 4pm. Figuratively and literally, the best way to find yourself is to get lost. We somehow managed to make it to the bike store, but finding our way back was a whole new adventure. Luckily we had no firm schedule and were able to wander the streets and window shop. I always manage to procrastinate when packing my suitcase, and of course I forgot a converter. We decided to stop by the Apple Store to see if they might have one, or at least get some directions. The store was practically empty and there were two cute Danish guys working. After quickly learning that there was no converter, they recommended we try a place down the street that is similar to Best Buy in the States. They tried to give us the name of the place, the street it was on, and stores to look for along the way so we'd know we were going in the right direction, but of course none of this made sense. The worst part about going to a foreign country is when people are talking about you right in front of you, but in a different language, so you have no idea what they are saying. This was clearly happening, but in this situation, I don't think the two guys were saying anything bad about us.

The other technology store didn't have a converter either, so we quickly gave up and searched for a place to have dinner. Everything was still new and different, so we decided to stick with something familiar and had burgers at Max. It wasn't that familiar and we didn't know how to read the menu so we pointed at pictures; luckily it's difficult to mess up a burger. The picture I was pointing at ended up coming with a plastic cup. Tom and Jerry is definitely something I recognize.

The city seemed to come alive at night and the streets were still full of people relaxing and visiting. After going downtown with a lot of people, Natalie, Lindsay, and I broke away from the group and went to grab a beer at a quiet pub. It was still early in the night, and apparently our burgers weren't filling enough, so we went across the street to a Lebanese restaurant, sat at the counter, and shared some shish kebabs. Like usual, we were chatty with the servers and cooks who gave us some free falafels. A little kindness goes a long way, or maybe I should say a little alcohol goes a long way.

From the Lebanese restaurant, we went to another bar with dancing. The dance floor is one of the most obvious indicators that you are no longer in the United States. In the States all you see is people bumping and grinding up on each other. Americans have a very sexual way of dancing that can be uncomfortable when you just want to dance by yourself and get out some energy. For the most part, guys and girls in Denmark dance by themselves or will hold hands and dance. I'm sure it is different everywhere you go, and there are a few exceptions where you will find two people a little too up close and personal with each other, but it was refreshing to be in a place where there was no pressure to dance with someone else. Of course we had to test the social norm, so we tried to get guys to dance with us "the American way." Many guys didn't like it and would either say something or revert back to dancing with more distance. The bar scene is always a fascinating place to people watch.

When trying to leave, it always takes a lot longer than anticipated. We made it to the door, but then started talking to the security guards. While Lindsay and Natalie were talking to them I met DJ Sam who was sitting on a doorstep eating a sandwich, and his sidekcik, Tip. After we started walking to the bus stop, there was a different group of guys that were walking with us. It took us at least 30 minutes to realize that these guys were under the impression that they were coming back to our place to hang out. Wrong. How we did not recognize their intentions sooner, I don't know, but we sure had a good laugh about it in the morning. Once one of us was ready to go, there was always another person lagging behind, and by the time that person was ready to go, it was the other person that was busy. It was a vicious cycle and by the time we started heading home, it was already 3am. We didn't get home until 4:30am and the sun was beginning to come up. Tomorrow, or more appropriately, in a few hours, we had class at 9am and had to get up at 7:30am (before the snooze button) to catch the bus at 8:15am. As for how long I got to sleep, you do the math.