Stockholm Study Tour (part 2)

So many costumes…

Wednesday

Wednesday morning of Study Tour we had to ourselves! Some folks went shopping, others waited outside the Grand Hotel for Lady Gaga to make an appearance (she performed in Stockholm Tuesday night). Charlotte and Sara and I went to… wait for it… THE ABBA MUSEUM!! It didn’t occur to me until Sara mentioned it, but I’m glad she did! 2004-2005 was a major ABBA phase in my life. Of course Stockholm would have a museum, and when am I coming back? Probably not soon. If ever. There were pretty nifty cutouts of the band members you could stick your face into outside, which we had a lot of fun with. I look pretty great as Anni-Frid, if I do say so myself. Overall the museum was pretty fun and interactive, there were stations where you could “audition” for the band and sing one of their songs, virtually try on the costumes, mix tracks and see how they compared to the original, and even get up onstage and dance with holograms! I did it. Dancing Queen. Charlotte even got some video. It was so much fun, though I was a bit sick, which made the high notes a bit challenging. Though I did hit those low notes pretty solidly.

Stockholm Study Tour (part 1)

One of the things that makes DIS cool is that we take two study tours with our core course– I posted about our short tour to Western Denmark a couple weeks ago, and this week I’m in Stockholm with the other thirteen students in my Children with Special Needs class. With that said: here’s a run down of our week so far…

I LOVE BOARDING FROM OUTSIDE

Sunday
5:30. up and checked my temperature– Saturday had not treated me well, and I laid in bed most of the day watching Netflix hoping I’d be well enough in the morning to make the group flight. Thank goodness I was! We met at the airport at 7:45, and oddly enough, a highlight of the day was going through security. I set my passport in the bin and the transportation officer picked it up and checked it (unnecessarily, purely out of curiosity). The following conversation ensued:

“Washington- D.C.?”

Our lovely leaders, Kari & Sarah

“Seattle!”

“Seahawks?”

“Yeah!”

“Portland? Timbers? Soccer?”

“Yeah!”

“It’s a beautiful place!”

*smiling and nodding vehemently*

It was a good start to the trip.

Some History

1. Frederiksborg
A few weeks ago, a couple friends and I made a visit to Frederiksborg, a former royal residence and current museum. The oldest parts of the structure were built in the late 1500s by Frederik II, king from 1559-1588. His son, Christian IV, probably the most well-known monarch in Danish history, grew up here and made significant developments to the structure.

As you enter the courtyard…

Never Quite Alone (Race Day!)

One of the weirdest things about being abroad, for me, is the occasional feeling of complete solitude. It’s one thing to go somewhere by yourself at home, when your parents know you have the car or you’re meeting up with friends in a bit. At school, we get into rhythms, and I’ll know my roommate’s schedule by heart. But abroad, my host parents just know that I’m out. But no one that I’ve known more than a month has much of an idea of what I’m up to.

Big crowd!

Reason I bring it up: Today I ran the Copenhagen Half Marathon! I took the bus there, arrived two hours early, and got a latte and a banana. Perfect weather for a race, though a bit cold before the body’s got a chance to warm up. As I stood in the massive hoard of people waiting to start, I couldn’t help but compare this experience to my last, in Missoula. It felt very odd, this time, to finish and then just head home. In Missoula, it was my birthday and after my race I waited on the sidelines for three of my favorite people to finish the marathon. But today- no one to wait for, no one waiting for me. Not upsetting or disappointing, just- different. Suffice to say, as the MC announced the start of the race (presumably, it was all in Danish), I felt entirely alone. And then I checked my phone. And it was 11:07 am. And suddenly I didn’t feel so alone. Weird, perhaps, and silly to some, but when the number of the Carney house has been reflected on a digital clock, I have always felt a wave of comfort. And it shows up at the most opportune times…

Wonderful scenery…

Short Study Tour

Seventeen people. One bus. Oodles of fun.

7:30 Monday. We met at Frue Plas to get on our bus for the trip—as were half of the other DIS core classes. Being a class of fifteen, however, we didn’t need as much space as a standard tour bus would have afforded us. So naturally, we were on a smaller bus, with only 19 seats, pulling a trailer for all our baggage. The Special Needs kids on the short bus. The irony didn’t escape me.

Land Ho!

Hanging on the jib with some new friends!

Last Friday Night

There was no dancing on tables or shots taken. Though I think this blog’s demographic may not be up on their Katy Perry…

My host sister, Anna. The rain was a tad alarming.

On Friday, my host family took me to Tivoli- it’s one of the oldest amusement parks in the world (second only to Bakken, an hour north) and is only blocks away from DIS, right in the heart of the city! While my host parents walked around, Anna and I went to as many rides as we could, given the heavy rain and our 7:30 dinner reservation. My favorite was the tower that raised you up slowly and the let you down in short, sudden bursts. From the top you had a perfect view of the cloudy Copenhagen skyline. If it weren’t such a dumb idea, I would’ve whipped my camera out in a second. The roller coaster went so fast the rain pellets hurt our faces, and by the time we made it to the tunnel ride, the rain had stopped.

Dilemma, Dinosaurs, & Dirty Dancing

Trinitatis Church, built by Christian IV in 1656 an home of the Rundetårn, the Round Tower

 

1. Dilemma

Way back in July, I got an email from someone at DIS saying that due to a scheduling conflict, I could no longer take Art in the Making and had to switch into a different class, but could remain on the wait list for the other section. I was convinced they’d changed the day of the class from Friday to Thursday, since I tend to pay close attention to those things, so I was very sad that I’d need to drop the first real art class I had the opportunity of taking since sixth grade. Wednesday afternoon, I got another email saying that there was an opening in the Tuesday class, meaning all I’d have to do was switch my Danish section and swap out Royalty in the Land of Equality for Art in the Making.
Except that Wednesday morning was the Amazing Race, where we were split up into teams of six to explore the city by way of four landmarks (different for each of the groups). Along the way, members of the DIS staff gave us some of the history of the building, the relative monarch(s) of the time and their political or social motivations. By the time we made it to Amalienborg, the royal residence, I knew that I wanted to learn more about Denmark and its monarchs and history than I would learn through a couple museum tours. So while I sent an email back to the office confirming the switch, about two hours later I sent back a worried message wondering if I could switch back, concerned that he would have given up my spot to another on the wait list. But it all worked out, and I am all set to learn all about the oldest monarchy in the world, in the city where it started.

If Home could be anywhere but the PNW…

… it would be Copenhagen (Obviously, I love Bates+Maine, but when I’m there, it is with the knowledge that it’s a location I’ll be leaving after graduation). The sky is partly cloudy with a chance of showers, and I can walk five minutes from my house to the waterfront or find any of the little lakes or canals downtown for a picnic lunch. But before I go too far…

16 August.

Dublin Round Two, Belatedly

Free pint with a view of the city!

Our second time in Dublin was far better than the first. This time, no one was jet lagged, we saw some great parts of the city, and stayed with a family (friends-of-friends) who we were able to get to know a little bit. After a day full of buses, going from D0olin to Galway to Dublin to our friends’ house a bit outside the city, we were welcomed with a hot meal and good company. They even had several guitars, so Matt and I were able play a few tunes (it’d been a couple years since some of them, too). High on the guys’ list to see was the Guinness Storehouse, so we spent several hours wandering through the many floors, learning about the brewing process and global distribution. Did you know that 2/3 of barley in Ireland goes to Guinness? Now I do. From the Gravity Bar at the top (where you get a free pint) you have a 360 degree view of Dublin, with a helpful little map pointing out various locations of interest. Matt and Casey noted that every museum tour should end with a free beer.