Beginning of the End

I've been swamped these past two weeks with final papers and exams, but with three papers turned in and my only exam out of the way, I'm FREEEEE....to blog. I'm officially done with my time at DIS. It's hard to believe that I've already been in Denmark for four months and a day. With the end in sight (I leave this Friday for London to rendez-vous with my sister), I just want to thank some of the Danes who have made my study abroad experience so great.

First off, to the volunteers at Cafe Paraplyen:

I'm going to miss this cute little green awning...even though
 Comic Sans really should be outlawed.

Every single volunteer at the Cafe, has treated me so well over the past few months. Even though I would drop in and out because of travel breaks, they always greeted me with a smile and made sure I was fed...a lot. I'm definitely going to miss early morning breakfasts with that NASTY-ass cheese and singing hymns before starting the day of work. I was extremely blessed to have the opportunity to interact with both young and older Danes, and even more lucky to catch a rare glimpse of the Danish religious scene. My time spent here has taught me to better appreciate the free-thinking and tolerant ways of the Danes, and has taught me what it means to find fellowship in hard work. 

Mads, washing those dishes like a boss.

Master Chef John showing off the meal of the day.

Preparing the pickled beets for the next day.

I will always remember Cafe Paraplyen, or Cafe Umbrella, as a place that all are welcome -- Danes, Americans, young, old, employed, unemployed, healthy, disabled, gay, straight -- to call home.

I also spent the weekend with the Ehlerns, my visiting family. DIS could not have matched me with a more perfect family. Karina once worked as an au pere very close to where I live in California. When Kristian heard that I love food, he pulled no punches in wowing me at every meal I was invited to in their household. Whether it was lungfish roe on rye bread, crepes, lemon-butter cod, or barbecue roast pork, Kristian does not mess around. Mm. He may be single-handedly responsible for about five of the pounds I gained in Denmark. During the evenings I've spent with the Ehlerns, I've had some of the deepest conversations of my life.

Sitting down for a Saturday morning breakfast.

My visiting brothers are also unbelievably cute. Nielse is always showing me some crazy Parkour video on Youtube. Kalle offers me candies that aren't licorice, bless his heart. And how can I forget my adopted baby, Ofelia. That dog is PRECIOUS, I'm going to miss her so much!

Nielse climbing a tree....

The Ehlerns are going to be visiting the States this summer. They used to be a host family and one of their previous DIS students is hosting them in Maryland. We've made plans to meet up and I can't wait to show them a good time...and a good meal. :) 

Could not have asked for a better Danish family. 

Tak for the memories, Denmark!

Random Fun Fridays

Fridays, for me, are a great day to unwind. I spend the morning and early afternoon volunteering at Cafe Paraplyen, have a great traditional Danish meal for lunch, then I can choose to either take the rest of the day off and relax in Helsingor or explore the Copenhagen in my free time. 

Smørrebrød -- the traditional Danish open-faced
sandwich I talk about incessantly.

Stegt flaesk (thick slices of bacon) with potatoes
 in parsley sauce and røbeder (beets) on the side.

I learned how to make a traditional Danish birthday cake (lagkage = layer cake) today. There were two volunteers that I haven't met before, Katerina and Jasper (pronounced "yasper") and they were just a hoot. Jasper would break out into song and everyone in the kitchen would join in. The layers were filled with coffee cream and a prune cream sauce that I thought looked terribly sketch. When we were beating the coffee cream, Jasper snidely remarks, "Looks like shit." BAHAHA. The ladies gave him an exasperated look before giving in and making their best "taking a shit" expressions. 

After all that talk about learning Danish three weeks ago, I finally had the brilliant idea of carrying some pen and paper around in my pocket and writing down the things people were saying to me. Here are some key expressions I learned today:

"Hvordan går det?" -- "How are you?"

"Jeg ved det ikke." -- " I don't know."

"Jeg kan godd lide _____." -- "I like _____."

"Jeg kan ikke lide _____." -- "I don't like _____."

"Hvad laver du?" -- "What are you doing?"

"Har du brug for hjælp?" -- "Do you need help?"

"Ja tak"/ "Nej tak" -- "Yes, thank you."/ "No, thank you."

"Det ser godt ud" -- "It looks good."

"meget træt" -- very tired

I also learned that older Danes have atrocious handwriting.

The great thing about volunteering at Cafe Paraplyen is that I get to work alongside a very diverse group of people. There are the retired volunteers, the weekend volunteers, and then there are the work training volunteers. Apparently, in Denmark, the physically/mentally disabled undergo some sort of training where they work an increasing amount of hours and days in a week to acclimate to the workplace environment. I have also found that the attitude toward the disabled is very different in Denmark as compared to the United States. While in the United States, it is considered very un-PC to put down the disabled and institutions are made to go out of their way to accommodate the needs of the disabled, in Denmark the general population appears far less sympathetic. I don't often see ramps around public transportation buildings. There is a woman with cystic fibrosis volunteering at the cafe, and no one pays her any special attention, even when she is struggling to pull herself a chair without the aid of her two crutches. I thought maybe it could be a matter of personal pride, but I hesitantly asked her if she needed any help, to which she responded "Yes, thank you." What, Denmark? WHAT. She has been volunteering there for a loooong time and no one ever offers to help her pull out a chair when she is clearly struggling?? Also, one of the volunteers, Mercedes (who is actually native to Hungary), was talking about how she doesn't like one of the other volunteers because she never smiles. I was really shocked and a little appalled because the other volunteer in question was one of the mentally disabled workers enrolled in the training program. Did she expect her to whistle while she worked? 

When we were on our short study tour, we learned that there were not very many specialized psychiatrists in Denmark and that care for patients with these needs often fell to the general practitioners. I find it a little surprising that a country that boasts of such comprehensive national healthcare coverage could neglect to address mental well-being. I don't know if this is because I grew up in the US where psychiatric issues have undergone heavy medicalization in recent years. Anyways, this attitude toward the handicapped is something I am definitely going to observe and analyze more carefully in Denmark. Maybe I will bring it up in Human Health and Disease class and get a native perspective. 

Anyways, my friend from DIS, Shyniece, came to visit me at the Cafe today. She heard that we served some cheap, amazing, traditional Danish food and she knew she wanted in. We had lunch together, then I left my volunteer site a little early to check out Christiania. I don't know if it was because we were there at 2PM on a weekday, but it was rather deserted...but I've been told that it is usually that sketch. I guess I expected it to be kind of like Marijuana Disneyland, with big, clear signs pointing straight to it after getting off at Christianhavn Metro station. After about 30 minutes of searching, followed by some very sheepish asking of the locals, we finally found the shady little entrance...disappointing to say the least. We spent about 15 minutes there before we declared that we were bored and that we were leaving. We then took the metro back to Norreport and hit up the hookah lounge there to salvage the day. The apple hookah tasted a little bit like black licorice...but that's Denmark for you.

You're not allowed to take pictures in Christiania, but here are some random pictures from the past few weeks that have been collecting dust on my memory card:

NBD, just two miniature ponies inside
 a mall at Helsingor.

All dressed up for our Valentine's Day party at the IPC.

The cutest magnet of the Obamas hanging on my visiting family's
fridge. You can dress them up in different clothes.

First Day Volunteering

I mentioned before that I would be volunteering at Cafe Paraplyen this semester. It's similar to a soup kitchen, except this house is open to the public and charges its visitors a small fee (38 kr is considered a small amount by Danish standards) for a hot meal or a dessert. Cafe Paraplyen also holds a variety of classes, workshops, and talks that people are welcome to attend...they even have a masseuse that comes in periodically. (His services are available to both volunteers and house users...I got to get on that!!)

The day started with a 9:30AM meeting over breakfast to assign duties. I was preparing my traditional breakfast of jam and cheese on bread when I smelled a strange odor. Thinking that I must be sitting close to an open trash can, I proceeded to take a bite out of my breakfast. Then I sloooowly set the bread down. What I really wanted to do was projectile vomit across the room and gargle with scalding hot coffee to get the offensive taste out of my mouth...but that would make for a poor first impression. The volunteers sitting next to me, two hilarious older women who reminded me of those "crazy aunts" that you always see on TV, caught me discreetly scraping the cheese onto my plate. 

Birget: "Oh yes, that cheese is a little strong."

Me: "Yes, yes it is."

Alice: "You don't like it?"

Me: "Um...what kind of cheese is this?"

Birget: "It is cheese from cow... very old cow"

Birget and Alice proceeded to crack up while I miserably finished my jam and bread, still contaminated by the essence of that accursed cheese. I'm not even exaggerating. I had used my fingers to shift the cheese on my bread and my fingers smelled like ripe old gym socks!! UGH.

Birget: "Maybe you should try the Brie?"

Me: "No thanks...now I'm scared."

The table was filled with food and laughter. Nothing like everyone in the room laughing at a joke that you can't understand to motivate you to actually start learning Danish. People proceeded to introduce themselves to me in Danish and I just nodded politely until my supervisor Louise saved me. Sorry first half of the table, I still have no idea what your names are.

I got assigned to work with Darle washing dishes. Now I really wish I had a picture of Darle. Hopefully I will get one before he leaves in a month. Darle was born in Italy and immigrated to Denmark when he was young. He has the build of a boxer and sleeve tattoos that he hides under a sports jacket. He has pierced ears but only wears an earring on one side. When he rolled up his pants to show me the Viking (He pronounces it "Weeking". Too cute, this man.) tattoo on his leg, the elderly woman knitting across from me gave him the stank eye. When he's not volunteering at the Cafe, he works as a cars salesman. On the weekends, he sells antiques at the local market. Even though he looks like a total BAMF, he is always smiling and cracking jokes. He looks like he's in his early 40's but he's actually 54, he boasts. Why am I telling you this? Because I ascertained all this relying only on broken English and an elaborate game of charades. BOO YEAH, I AM THE MASTER OF THIS GAME, Y'ALL.

Darle spent the day teaching me random phrases in Danish (I remembered for about two seconds how to say "salt", "pepper", "young", "old", "Thanks for the meal", and "See you next Friday!") and how to operate the dish washer (I simply MUST have one in my future house. It made dish-washing nice and steamy). We also spent the day figuring out where the random items go. Seriously, there is a drawer specifically for egg slicers. Ain't nobody got time for that. I love mindless tasks and I am moderately certain now that I was born to be a professional dishwasher. They had to pry me out of the kitchen and force me to have lunch. Just something about stacking the plates and the cups, sending them through the dishwasher, letting them cool, and putting them back where they belong, restoring order in the chaos of a busy kitchen....aaaah, therapeutic.

A few pictures to illustrate my experience:

Hot coffee and tea are free at the cafe. Guests can pay
 extra for apple juice or soda.Look at this cool
 coffee maker!!

Menu of the Day: Ground beef cake with onions

The ground beef cake is served with beets and
potatoes,drowned in brown sauce.

Volunteers get a free meal on days that they work. They can also drop by when they're not working for a discounted price. I could not do justice to this meal with only a caption and a bleary iPhone 3 photo. Apparently, this is a very traditional Danish dish. Another volunteer (who looked like a punk-rock version of Heath Ledger), described it as "old-school". The beefcake (the food, not the volunteer) was topped with caramelized onions...but it could have been crap for all I cared. It was ALL about the brown sauce. More like crack sauce. After I finished the potatoes, I was tempted to search for some bread to mop all that goodness up. I have no idea what was in that sauce, but John (the chef) certainly knows what's up. I don't even like beets, but the their tanginess complemented the hearty savoriness of the sauce so well, I cleared this plate. Meat and potatoes. Them old-school Danes are definitely my kind of people.

One last thing: my experience this week really taught me the necessity of picking up some basic Danish. I felt so ignorant during my interaction with the other volunteers and the guests of the house when they would make the effort to communicate despite their limited English and I couldn't even meet them halfway with some limited Danish. I literally know nothing expect "Tak" which is "Thanks" in Danish. I mindlessly thanked people all day for handing me their dirty dishes like an idiot for lack of a bigger vocabulary. I was making small talk with Nina, an elderly volunteer, and I told her I was studying Neuroscience back home. I think she misunderstood me and thought I was already in medical school. She told me she had cerebral palsy and wanted to know more about it. I didn't have the Danish capabilities to convey to her that I really wasn't qualified, and even worse, I couldn't express any sympathy either. I did my best, but I'm sure I just came across as awkward. She looked sad, I felt like a turd. ):

I have to take both the metro and the train on my commute to and from Fredericksberg, but this was the first time I got to sit in one of the end cars. The metro that runs through Copenhagen is completely unmanned and comes around every minute or so. If you have an all-zone pass, or even a pass with less zonage (I completely just made up that term, but I hope it catches on), definitely take advantage of the metro and explore the area around central Copenhagen. There is so much going on everyday!

Doesn't that just look sick??

So yeah, DIS is about so much more than just your studies. Take the opportunity to volunteer -- a perfect way to immerse yourself in the Danish culture, understand modern issues from a new perspective, and meet interesting people -- all while having a great time (and getting fed)!

Café Paraplyen

This morning, I went down to Copenhagen to visit Café Paraplyen, my volunteer site, for the first time. I must admit that during the entire hour and a half trip, I entertained thoughts of requesting a site transfer because of the long commute. Getting up early on a Sunday and missing brunch makes me a very Bitter Betty.  However, once I walked into the Café, with its miniature green awnings and little knit hats in the window, I knew that this site was a good match for me. I was greeted by Nina, another volunteer who is responsible for making desserts on Sunday. She introduced me to two other male volunteers working in the kitchen, who unlike her, were not as fluent in English. The setting was very hyggelig ("cozy" in Danish, pronounced kind of like "hooguhly." It's a cute word that sounds like its meaning.), with lit candles and flower arrangements on each small table. I felt like I was walking into a family friend's living room, rather than a kitchen that serves dozens of meals each day. As we waited for Louise, the supervisor, to return from a quick grocery run, I struggled to make small talk with Paol, who had emerged from the kitchen to rearrange the magazines. Our conversation consisted of a few broken phases in English, gestures, and helpless smiles, yet Paol managed to make me feel instantly at home and welcome amongst this small kitchen family.

              

When Louise arrived, I bid the three kitchen volunteers goodbye and followed her upstairs to the office. There, she introduced me to the most delicious apple juice I've ever tasted. It was tart, it was organic, it was glorious...not to mention all proceeds go to support various Café Paraplyens around Denmark. She conducted a short interview that consisted mostly of her ascertaining my volunteer history and availabilities, then she gave me a short overview of the Café's mission.  Café Paraplyen serves discounted meals and provides various activities for the economically and socially challenged. This includes not only the homeless, but also under-served populations such as people with psychiatric disorders or even recently divorced individuals. It is an alcohol and drug-free environment, but with its Christian origins, the Café almost never turns anyone away, regardless of their pasts or histories.

               

It looks like my responsibilities at the Café will include a wide variety of tasks, including helping to prepare meals and desserts, washing dishes, socializing with the guests, and maybe even playing piano for ambiance. I'm a little nervous about the last item, but I did come to Denmark to step out of my comfort zone...

Can't wait to start volunteering this Friday! :)