Proud

Today, I am proud of myself. The main street art web site in Aarhus asked if they could post my documentary on the news portion of their web site. Because they are non for profit, I said yes. The woman who runs the site told me that it was the best documentary she's seen on street art. I am proud of myself.

You can see it linked on their site here: http://www.gadentaler.dk/street-news.html

I checked the video on my Vimeo site and I have about 300 hits in five days. If you want, you can watch it here.

The final two weeks

So I'm not down to two weeks yet, but for intent and purpose I am. I am looking at the last few things I still need to do here in Århus, and trying to get everything in order for my departure. Today was the final exam for my class. Tomorrow we just have viewing of stories and feedback, after which I will make some changes to my documentary and re-post it on Vimeo.

This weekend I will be in Grenå with Mikkel's family at a cabin. I'm not sure what all we'll be doing, but I'm sure there will be lots of football and sitting in the sun. It won't be warmer than probably 15 (60 degrees) but the sun will be out I hope. Also, we are bringing a Wii, so that will provide some entertainment. I'm baking some "American" chocolate chip cookies on Thursday to bring along. I have yet to find chocolate chips in this country, so I suppose I'll be mashing up a chocolate bar? I realize this will not be the same, but close enough.

We'll return to Århus Sunday night and leave promptly at 6 am the next morning for Berlin. Five in the car for seven and a half hours should be a good time! Oh well, it's much cheaper than flying and I don't have to worry about bringing liquids on my person. Downside: no free baby cans of Cola Light. But we'll have an entire week in Berlin so if anyone has recomendations they would be strongly appreciated. After the street art documentary, I am excited to see the work in Berlin because I found through research that it is a very large city for street art. I will be sure to take pictures.

After I get back I will only have a few days left in Århus. I will need to pack up my room and make sure my bags aren't too heavy. I've already made calls in STL to get my serving job back for the summer, so besides the jet lag, everything will be taken care of before I leave.

But I'm not saying goodbyes yet. There is still work to do and lots of time to enjoy.

Oh, Deer!

There's a park just outside of town where deer, fox, ducks and other animals live. People are allowed to walk through and pet and feed the animals if they can get them to approach them. It's a lot like a free-range petting zoo. The animals just kind of walk around in a very large enclosed area. Today Mikkel and I walked there and met some very friendly animals.

There's a beach in Århus?

Yep.

The water is so cold!

Lots of people were out boating.

We had some tunes.

We played some games.

The beach here is really nice. From the brief time I've seen the East Coast of the United States, that's what it reminds me of. It gets warm enough in the day to lay out on blankets, and there are places to grill in the evening. Because of how far north we are, the sun sets about 10:30, so it's light for a very long time. We can go to the beach at 4:00 PM and it's still enough time to get a tan.

A Danish delight

So I've lamented the liver paste, pickled beets and mackerel with mayonnaise, but there is one Danish specialty that I am crazy about: Vaffel. Vaffel is a special kind of ice cream cone. Start with an extra large waffle cone. Add two scoops of any flavor ice cream. Top with soft serve ice cream, then add a scoop of strawberry whipped cream. To top it off, add a Floedbolle (A marshmallow on top of a cookie covered in chocolate and coconut.) The Vaffel is a huge ice cream treat, and costs about $4.50. Not only could this be an entire meal, but it will more that satisfy even the largest sweet tooth. Last night after dinner I had a Vaffel that I will never forget.

A post for my brother

Nick! Congratulations on graduating from high school! I got the announcement in the mail today and I was so proud. I remember when I was sending those out for myself, and in a year I'll do it again. I wish I could have been at your graduation. I remember it being so much crazier than I thought it would be. I bet there were a ton of people at yours too. The next few weeks will be really crazy. There will be parties every day and a lot of awkward "goodbye." It's weird to think that some of those people you probably won't see for five years at least, or maybe ever again.

But as soon as I come home we can make a trip to MU! I can give you the tours that really matter: Where's the best place for pizza and where are the free places to park. But even though you'll spend time in different buildings at MU than I did, most of the things I did as a Freshman you'll do too. Remember, get bedding with extra long fitting. You WILL want shoes for the shower. Bring an extra alarm clock to set on exam days. But we'll go over all this when I'm state-side again.

All cliches and sappy sentiments aside, I am proud of you and I'm very excited to have you with me in Columbia next year. MIZ!

(You say "ZOU!")

A big 'Tillykke' is in order!

Tillykke is the Danish phrase for congratulations. A big hand and pat on the back is due to my old friend and fellow journalistic schollar Will Lounsbury for his acceptance to the photo program at the Danish School of Media and Journalism! Will is one of eight students who have the opportunity to study here in the Fall of 2010. Though I wish he could have been here at the same time as I am, I certainly am excited for him to enjoy this school and all it has to offer. I am a bit jealous that he will be here for nicer weather than I will, but at least I'm not missing football season.

So a big congratulations to you Will, I know you'll learn a lot here. You deserve it and the best of luck!

It might not be warm, but it certainly looks nice

The city is beginning to look so much friendlier. The sun is breaking through the clouds more days than not, and despite highs of 9 and 10 C (50 F) the sun makes everything look better. The trees are finally in bloom and it looks like there is life in Aarhus. Street parties and long days mark the beginning of a warmer season, though the forecast doesn't agree. I'm beginning to wonder if I'll ever see 20 C. (70 F) The Danes laugh at me for complaining so much about the cold, but at the same time I know they wish it were warmer too. I've got a "camping" trip planned with the Linneman Johannson family at the end of May and I know they are all hoping for highs above 20. I put camping in quotations because they are renting a cabin with electricity and running water, so it's really more of a weekend away than anything else. I'm hoping it will be warm enough to spend the days outside. But regardless of how the forecast turns for the next few weeks, my family has reminded me that I only have 4 and a half weeks left of my stay. They have been counting the days, though my mother has always advised against that practice. I suppose sometimes it's forgivable.

It's warm enough for ice cream. I love this little shop on Mejlgade in Aarhus.

But not to forget that I still have a lot to get done in the following weeks. The documentary is in full force, and I have had some amazing filming opportunities. On Thursday an artist named Nicoli took me around the city and showed me hundreds of examples of street art, graffiti, paste up and tagging. He told me about the history of the different factions of the street art community and what the laws dictate as far as each type goes. He pointed me in the direction of the best people to talk to, and even some artists who now produce gallery shows. Hopefully this insight will be enough to produce a good story. Despite how unorthodox it is, I can tell the filming and editing experience I'll gain is invaluable. Doing a story in an environment that makes me uncomfortable is only training me for the million more times this will happen in my career.

Example of commissioned street art 

Speaking of uncomfortable, I was lucky enough to be invited along with some paste-up artists as they went out one night to mount their work. I know paste-up is illegal, but it's about as punishable as littering. A fine, a slap on the wrist and a "please go home," is the worst you can expect from getting caught. But even so, heading out in the middle of the night with people who are breaking the law can be scary. Having this experience though is the best training there is for a journalist. Knowing how to take precautions and when to leave are skills best taught through experience. Nothing at all happened when we went out on Thursday night, and the artists were very kind in speaking English for me the entire time. That's the thing about Denmark, everyone is really nice when it counts.

This week I'll be trying to get appointments with city council members, gallery artists, companies who clean graffiti and a few more interviews with the street artists. In the end, I aim to tell a story of a subculture that is greatly misunderstood and largely passed off as low life degenerates. It's laughable that I met these 20 somethings in an apartment, as they were drinking coffee and agreeing that they wanted to be done not long after midnight because they had class in the morning. Most paste-up artists are actually university students with jobs and life ambitions. I'm not aiming to defend them; they are breaking the law and vandalizing, but I still find their story interesting and worthy of being told.

Anyway, that's about all for now. Happy Mother's Day Mom!

A weekend in Nordjylland

This weekend Mikkel and I went to visit his family in the northern part of Denmark. The family had a party for two of Mikkel's cousins, Emil and Sofus, who are twins. Emil was confirmed and Sofus was "non-firmed" as they called it. Either way, the whole family got together to sing them songs and give them gifts. Their home is on a beautiful farm, and I even got to see some chickens and horses.

There was food for hours, and guests wrote songs about the twins and passed around the lyrics for everyone to sing along. This is apparently a really common tradition for most big celebrations like milestone birthdays, and confirmations. Luckily, I don't read Danish so I was able to just hum along. 

Earlier in the weekend, Mikkel and I took his niece and nephew to the Zoo for an afternoon. Jannik and Alberte were really excited to see the polar bears, so that was our first stop. After that we wandered through all the animal exhibits and even got to pet a pregnant goat. Near the children's zoo, there was a tree with pacifiers hanging from it. When I asked why, I was told it's some kind of tradition for children to tie their "sutter" (binkies) to the tree when they're ready to give them up. Alberte was not.

But we also got to see the harbor near Aalborg. We saw boats and ate ice cream. Though it's May, it's still surprisingly cold (in the low 50s) and very windy. Nevertheless ice cream is always a good idea.

All in all, a weekend full of people speaking Danish, eating Danish food and watching Danish television can be difficult for a foreigner to get used to. Sometimes it's hard to ask for someone to pass the salt or find the correct button on the remote control. But part of the cultural exchange is getting used to being uncomfortable. It's an empowering feeling to know you can get along without the comfort of understanding everything around you. It's a comfort you probably don't even know you enjoy. But all in all, there are some languages everyone speaks: laughing, eating, and enjoying each other's company.