...so, it DID end with a poem, but apparently there's one more blueberry danish in this bakery.
HAHA. Ha.
Such as this little tidbit: I've really become quite the pro at packing.
I leave for Vancouver in about 12 hours, and after starting a mere 20 minutes ago, this big fat Roots suitcase is full to the brim with Slovakian t-shirts and funky-smelling organic shampoo. HOO HA.
Oh yes, after a 5-month excursion overseas filled with many a weekend trip to European destinations, it's amazing how relaxed I've been while preparing for this summer tour...pssh, if you can actually even call it preparing! I remember last year being SO stressed and anxious weeks before our departure date. I spent hours deciding what to pack and what not to pack and I worried about all the logistics of the whole cross-canada expedition, wondering if myself and the team could actually accomplish such a feat.
Well, we DID, and I think it was last year's success mixed with my globe-trotting shenanigans that have lead me this year to be to be like, "Yo. I'll pack a few t-shirts and sell chicken like I own the place. Word."
Amoung many, MANY other things, Denmark has inspired in me the desire to just go with the flow and let dem chips fall where they may. (I'd thank to especially thank a Perugian farmhouse for helping me achieve this ;) )
So, Vancouver in the morn, Kimberly, chillin' like a multi-coloured popsicle.
However! The main reason for this last taste blueberry is to tell you about another upcming adventure.
If you refer to this post I wrote in the April days of yore, I was just starting the application phase for my internship. I'm going into my 4th and FINAL year at Ryerson this fall, and an internship is actually part of my semester, so I get credit for it while getting some valuble face time with the real world of journalism.
After some stressful moments and a mini-quarter-life crisis, I ended up applying to CBC Toronto.
Well...
From October 27 to December 2 of this year, I will be interning at CBC in Toronto with a program called the fifth estate!!!!!!!!!!!!
I actually found out while I was in Slovakia, but now that I'm home, and in a way, more back in "real life" mode, it's starting to feel more real - and ridiculously RAD. I'm really realizing now what an AWESOME opportunity this is, and when I envision the experience that's awaiting me I quite literally squeal out loud. (Pfft, I know, so not characteristic of me.)
So that's where I am, on this day, Tuesday, June 28th, 2011. Denmark done, Canada's coming, and soon, a rendevous at CEE BEE CEE!
The best 5 months of my life have indeed come to an end, and everytime a picture from Arhus flashes across my computer screen's slideshow, I let a painful, dramatic gasp that would fit well in a film noir. I've definitely missed Denmark since being home, and STILL miss it, even after having time back in "real life." But I think I'm slowly starting to be able to look at it objectively and realize that I can't let myself get completely stuck in Danish memories and be SAD about them!
The beautiful thing is that I don't have to be sad, dammit! Just look it! I will always have Arhus. It happened, and I have endless pictures and even more endless memories to prove it :) What I can do is be happy for what I've experienced, and take what I've gained from it into the next phase of this crazy, uncanny, and altogether mind-boggling concept call life.
The "adventures" - those grand opportunities for more whimsical moments composed of delicious human experience - don't ever stop. They just change. There are MORE things to see and experience, even after a grand experience like a semester abroad, and with that, many more chances to learn more about ourselves and develop cool, new, life-changing perspectives on things! I don't ever want to deprive myself of an opportunity as magical as THAT :)
THUSLY. As Captain Jack Sparrow once said,
DRINK UP, ME HEARTY'S, YO HO!!!!
AHA. Yes, he did say that. And I'm sure all the Danes did rejoice. But he also said:
Bring me that horizon.
Word up, Jack. We got some treasure in the chest, but who says there ain't more to discover?! The adventure continues!
Kimberly Ivany, Arhus, Denmark.
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, June 27, 2011
It ended with a poem
An ending log,
of Danish blog,
is on your ‘puter screens,
It’s time to try,
to tell you guys,
the sum of Danish dreams.
is on your ‘puter screens,
It’s time to try,
to tell you guys,
the sum of Danish dreams.
A packed up case,a parting place,
outside the airport entrance,
5 months ahead,
and so I said,
goodbye in one last sentence.
outside the airport entrance,
5 months ahead,
and so I said,
goodbye in one last sentence.
Hours pass,
we’re there at last,
Dad and I in Europe,
hotel for home,
some marrow bone,
and duck meat with some syrup.
we’re there at last,
Dad and I in Europe,
hotel for home,
some marrow bone,
and duck meat with some syrup.
A culture shock,in Canadian socks,
how do I speak Dane?
Perhaps I’ll learn,
for home, I yearn,
‘cause now Dad’s on the train.
how do I speak Dane?
Perhaps I’ll learn,
for home, I yearn,
‘cause now Dad’s on the train.
Time to be,brave Kimber-lee,
on your own out here,
the land of cheese,
of “Tak,” not please,
of local Tuborg beer.
on your own out here,
the land of cheese,
of “Tak,” not please,
of local Tuborg beer.
The first ride back,to my own shack,
“Skjoldhoj,” as they call it,
Ikea runs,
to make it fun,
Kroners in my wallet.
InternetI don’t have yet,
so sleep-over at Em’s,
but soon I’ll meet,
a lovely treat,
of inter-nation gems.
Outside the shop,we party hop,
to Shan’s we go for dinner,
we share some wine,
we talk and dine,
Denmark – you’re a winner.
to Shan’s we go for dinner,
we share some wine,
we talk and dine,
Denmark – you’re a winner.
Hello to school,you do look cool,
I love your chocolate “kage,”
TV group,
let’s say “WOOP WOOP,”
“Do you have yet-lag?”
First Friday bar,we dance bizarre,
together at Bodagz,
international night,
of skits alright,
and funny British gags.
Pub crawl walk,a lovely talk,
with lots of apple “kool aid,”
student hus,
you silly goose,
“Come shall ten well blaude blade?”
Assignment one,had soon begun,
we filmed some whipped cream cake,
dinner scenes,
in nights between,
Mexican night was GREAT!
dinner scenes,
in nights between,
Mexican night was GREAT!
Berlin trip,a joyful skip,
to crash a stranger’s party,
music room,
organic doom,
but Skjoldhoj meals are hearty.
Laundry stints,no winter mitts,
a trip to Copen-hagen,
eco-story,
Norway glory,
our wallets, they be saggin’.
a trip to Copen-hagen,
eco-story,
Norway glory,
our wallets, they be saggin’.
Opera show,the harbour glow,
together we went prancing,
second-floor seats,
a cousin meet,
underwater dancing.
Party face,Justina’s place,
assignment number four,
springtime bliss,
a Swedish kiss,
by Micheal Munk’s front door.
Halfway through,no time for you,
to stop and save a krona,
spring break is nigh,
it’s time to fly,
to Rome and Barcelona!
Danish class,we all kicked ass,
with pub quizz-es at Waxie’s,
birthday time,
with cards and wine,
21 at lasties.
with pub quizz-es at Waxie’s,
birthday time,
with cards and wine,
21 at lasties.
1st of May –so crazy, eh?
We head off to IsTANbul,
AMAZING sights,
of muslim rights,
and pol-i-tic-al handle.
A process long,of editing songs,
staying up all night,
handing in,
for feedback win,
finishing school off right.
Graduation,
inter-nation,
together one last day,
the goodbyes start,
OW – my heart,
can’t we all just stay???
2 more weeks,
of Danish treats,
before the last sha-bang,
good-time trench,
on picnic bench,
together we all sang.
Legoland,
artistic hands,
drawing with some chalk,
life’s a peach,
upon the beach,
and in a sunset walk.
staying up all night,
handing in,
for feedback win,
finishing school off right.
Graduation,inter-nation,
together one last day,
the goodbyes start,
OW – my heart,
can’t we all just stay???
2 more weeks,of Danish treats,
before the last sha-bang,
good-time trench,
on picnic bench,
together we all sang.
Legoland,artistic hands,
drawing with some chalk,
life’s a peach,
upon the beach,
and in a sunset walk.
A morning fill,upon a hill,
af-ter a week of biking,
Marije’s gone,
Christina’s moved on,
goodbye to Thorsten Weitling.
Time doth pass,
but not so fast,
Slovakia is comin’!
Ryanair,
will get us there,
but first a stop in London.
af-ter a week of biking,
Marije’s gone,
Christina’s moved on,
goodbye to Thorsten Weitling.
Time doth pass,but not so fast,
Slovakia is comin’!
Ryanair,
will get us there,
but first a stop in London.
The 5 of us,on train and bus,
we laughed and had a ball,
countryside schmooze,
and homemade booze,
a cracking castle wall.
we laughed and had a ball,
countryside schmooze,
and homemade booze,
a cracking castle wall.
And then,That was it.
That ending shit,
that makes your stomach hurt,
a long goodbye,
with tears in eyes,
our bodies shirt to shirt.
Home I jog,but stopped in Prague,
and saw downtown by night,
I breathed it all,
and tried to stall,
my last connecting flight.
I made it back,alone I sat,
thinking, “This is dumb.”
I want my friends –
start this again!!!
At least I had my mom.
Pictures down,I looked around,
how could this be so?
I’m packing up,
my clothes and cup,
to downtown, last I go.
Goodbye canal,Sherlock, pal,
goodbye to Cafe Tasteless,
Frederiksgade,
man, I love ya,
let’s stay here and be hasteless.
goodbye to Cafe Tasteless,
Frederiksgade,
man, I love ya,
let’s stay here and be hasteless.
And then we woke,when morning broke,
the suitcase-es were stuffed,
the Danish vibe,
on taxi ride,
I couldn’t get enough.
I snapped last pics,
before we sit,
inside the train caboos,
with John Mayer’s song,
the wheels rolled on,
goodbye, goodbye Arhus.
the suitcase-es were stuffed,
the Danish vibe,
on taxi ride,
I couldn’t get enough.
I snapped last pics,before we sit,
inside the train caboos,
with John Mayer’s song,
the wheels rolled on,
goodbye, goodbye Arhus.
So here I write,I laptop type,
I’m back across the ocean,
I’m overwhelmed,
from base to helm,
with such complex emotion.
I saw so much,
the world and such,
but more important-ly,
I met some guys,
who opened my eyes,
for that, I'm SO happ-EE!
We’ve said goodbye,
and still I cry,
but we met for a reason,
memories rich,
in my mind are stitched,
I’m gonna miss you, Sweden.
So I exclaim,
“OH, what an exchange!”
there are no words to say,
how much I’ve learned,
and now, this bird,
just wants to fly away.
AHOY, says I,
indeed I’ll fly,
to worldly places yet,
this is only the start -
but deep in my heart,
I’m keeping those I’ve met.
Thanks Den-mark,
a rocky start,
ended thee best way,
I’ll be back,
you count on that,
Love,
peace,
TAK SKAL DU "HEY"!
I’m back across the ocean,
I’m overwhelmed,
from base to helm,
with such complex emotion.
I saw so much,the world and such,
but more important-ly,
I met some guys,
who opened my eyes,
for that, I'm SO happ-EE!
We’ve said goodbye,and still I cry,
but we met for a reason,
memories rich,
in my mind are stitched,
I’m gonna miss you, Sweden.
So I exclaim,“OH, what an exchange!”
there are no words to say,
how much I’ve learned,
and now, this bird,
just wants to fly away.
AHOY, says I,indeed I’ll fly,
to worldly places yet,
this is only the start -
but deep in my heart,
I’m keeping those I’ve met.
Thanks Den-mark,a rocky start,
ended thee best way,
I’ll be back,
you count on that,
Love,
peace,
TAK SKAL DU "HEY"!
Sunday, June 26, 2011
Hot child in the city
Did I tell you already? On Wednesday, I'm getting on another plane.
Oh yes, when the calender doth chime out June 29th, I will be getting on my airship at Pearson Airport....only this time, the destination isn't European. :( :( :(
Sadly, regretfully and so very unfortunately, I'm not heading back to the land of cobblestoned lovin' just yet. Instead, I'm flying allll the way west to Vancouver, British Columbia to start my summah job!! (Ok, so it ain't no Copenhagen, but Vancouver is still pretty rad.)
I work for the Maple Lodge Farms promotional team, and this year (just like last year) we're doing a big tour across Canada putting on BBQs and handing out free chicken swag for all of July. I blogged about this tasty trip last year, which you can refer to if you so desire by clicking on this linkety-link-link.
In between my Danish and Canadian adventure - ha! - I've been staying in Georgetown at my old house/parent's house. Howeva, last night I left the somber streets of suburbia and went back to the place that actually felt like home:
TORONTO.
Normally, the mere concept of Kimberly in Toronto would totally not be blog-worthy. But after 5 months on a whole other continent, there is rather something special about this idea.
As soon as I walked into Dundas square from the subway, I felt MASSIVE pangs of excitement and wonder as I stood there in a familiar vibe of absolutely sparkling VIBRANCY!!! I just started laughing out loud and started taking pictures in every direction as I walked into the middle of the square. HA! I'm home and I'm still a tourist.
But that's what I felt like! Standing there, surrounded by lights and sounds and the most comforting summer breeze, I felt a renewed sense of amazement in my own city, just as I had experienced on my travels in Europe. I just wanted to TELL someone about it!!!
I tried calling Marieke in Belgium from my cell phone, but the stupid number wouldn't connect. BLAST! I ended up calling my Mom instead. Hee! But it was good to share my excitement with someone, if not a friend from overseas!
GARGH. That's the thing!!! I just wished SO deeply that my international friends could have been standing there with me!! I really can NOT wait to show them Toronto!!!!!!!!!!
The night took me to Sara's house for a LOVELY movie-esque reunion, then to the new Salad King restaurant on Yonge Street - (Adrian, BE EXCITED) - then up to Bloor for some good ol' Mill St. Organic beer where we met up with some other coolios from schoolios.
Yee, local Toronto brewskis are de bomb, but at one point, I passed a poster on the wall with a picture of a Carlsberg on it:
"The finest beer from Copenhagen"
AH!!!! Don't I know it :)
When I saw the poster, I was happy and sad and baffled all over again.
"Man, I lived there," I thought.
So. WEIRD!
And even MORE weird that I was home. It was so strange to look out the open windows in the bar and see Bloor street, and then walk back to the Bathurst subway station at the end of the night and pass Honest Ed's, still all lit up, 5 months later.
From Berlin, to Barcelona, to Istanbul, to Toronto...
And the whole time I half-expected the TV class to walk through the front door.
Oh yes, when the calender doth chime out June 29th, I will be getting on my airship at Pearson Airport....only this time, the destination isn't European. :( :( :(
Sadly, regretfully and so very unfortunately, I'm not heading back to the land of cobblestoned lovin' just yet. Instead, I'm flying allll the way west to Vancouver, British Columbia to start my summah job!! (Ok, so it ain't no Copenhagen, but Vancouver is still pretty rad.)
I work for the Maple Lodge Farms promotional team, and this year (just like last year) we're doing a big tour across Canada putting on BBQs and handing out free chicken swag for all of July. I blogged about this tasty trip last year, which you can refer to if you so desire by clicking on this linkety-link-link.
In between my Danish and Canadian adventure - ha! - I've been staying in Georgetown at my old house/parent's house. Howeva, last night I left the somber streets of suburbia and went back to the place that actually felt like home:
TORONTO.
Normally, the mere concept of Kimberly in Toronto would totally not be blog-worthy. But after 5 months on a whole other continent, there is rather something special about this idea.
As soon as I walked into Dundas square from the subway, I felt MASSIVE pangs of excitement and wonder as I stood there in a familiar vibe of absolutely sparkling VIBRANCY!!! I just started laughing out loud and started taking pictures in every direction as I walked into the middle of the square. HA! I'm home and I'm still a tourist.
But that's what I felt like! Standing there, surrounded by lights and sounds and the most comforting summer breeze, I felt a renewed sense of amazement in my own city, just as I had experienced on my travels in Europe. I just wanted to TELL someone about it!!!
I tried calling Marieke in Belgium from my cell phone, but the stupid number wouldn't connect. BLAST! I ended up calling my Mom instead. Hee! But it was good to share my excitement with someone, if not a friend from overseas!
GARGH. That's the thing!!! I just wished SO deeply that my international friends could have been standing there with me!! I really can NOT wait to show them Toronto!!!!!!!!!!
The night took me to Sara's house for a LOVELY movie-esque reunion, then to the new Salad King restaurant on Yonge Street - (Adrian, BE EXCITED) - then up to Bloor for some good ol' Mill St. Organic beer where we met up with some other coolios from schoolios.
Yee, local Toronto brewskis are de bomb, but at one point, I passed a poster on the wall with a picture of a Carlsberg on it:
"The finest beer from Copenhagen"
AH!!!! Don't I know it :)
When I saw the poster, I was happy and sad and baffled all over again.
"Man, I lived there," I thought.
So. WEIRD!
And even MORE weird that I was home. It was so strange to look out the open windows in the bar and see Bloor street, and then walk back to the Bathurst subway station at the end of the night and pass Honest Ed's, still all lit up, 5 months later.
From Berlin, to Barcelona, to Istanbul, to Toronto...
And the whole time I half-expected the TV class to walk through the front door.
Friday, June 24, 2011
Johnny from the block
Third day back in Canada, and I just had a massively happy reunion with one of ma best frands JOHN!
This picture was actually taken BEFORE I left for Denmark, but trust me, we're still just as good-looking ;)
I haven't seen many of my friends yet since being back on this side of the ocean, so it was SO lovely to see John tonight and wander empty Georgetown roads and just laugh and be baffled by the fact that we're still here. 11 years after meeting, after middle school, high school, university, his trip to Australia and now my trip to Europe, we're in Georgetown like no time has passed at all...WEIRD.
What was even more lovely though, and so refreshingly comforting, was John's understanding of the indescribable-lifE-changinG-sparKLE-SOUL-STORY that was my semester exchange.
"HOW WAS EUROPE?!" he asked as we hugged in the middle of the street.
"..." (A look of bewilderment. My trending response to this question.)
But he spoke again before I said anything.
"Man, how can you even describe it, eh? Where do you even begin?!"
:)
"Man, EXACTLY!!!!"
And then we walked on and talked about Berlin birthday parties, Mexico adventures, and what it's like to deliver chips at 4:00 in the morning.
Johneh! See you when we're 80.
This picture was actually taken BEFORE I left for Denmark, but trust me, we're still just as good-looking ;)
I haven't seen many of my friends yet since being back on this side of the ocean, so it was SO lovely to see John tonight and wander empty Georgetown roads and just laugh and be baffled by the fact that we're still here. 11 years after meeting, after middle school, high school, university, his trip to Australia and now my trip to Europe, we're in Georgetown like no time has passed at all...WEIRD.
What was even more lovely though, and so refreshingly comforting, was John's understanding of the indescribable-lifE-changinG-sparKLE-SOUL-STORY that was my semester exchange.
"HOW WAS EUROPE?!" he asked as we hugged in the middle of the street.
"..." (A look of bewilderment. My trending response to this question.)
But he spoke again before I said anything.
"Man, how can you even describe it, eh? Where do you even begin?!"
:)
"Man, EXACTLY!!!!"
And then we walked on and talked about Berlin birthday parties, Mexico adventures, and what it's like to deliver chips at 4:00 in the morning.
Johneh! See you when we're 80.
Thursday, June 23, 2011
Sweden calling
I just got a call from Robert, who is with Åsa, Damien, Nicole and Frauke in STOCKHOLM!!! Dinner time here, party time there, and we all yelled "I MISS YOU" across the ocean through a cell phone.
That is a CRAZAY thought in itself!!! But what it more crazy is the mind-boggling-ness that is life and time zones.
At the exact same time as I sit here eating a chicken burger in an empty kitchen on a rainy evening in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, 5 of my friends I met in Arhus are at a bar together in Stockholm, Sweden, Europe. CAN I PLEASE JUST TELEPORT THERE RIGHT NOW AH.
In other news. Jet-lag doth rage.
I didn't think it would affect me, as I stayed up until midnight and felt like a million bucks (awake-wise, that is) on my first night back. But no no. Last night I crashed at around 10 p.m., slept for 12 hours, and still, at 7 p.m. I feel like I've been hit by a train.
In other, OTHER news, I drove through Georgetown for the first time yesterday with Lindsay and I'm happy to report that I have not forgotten how to do it.
Not much has changed in this town (obviously)...some buildings have been torn down, some others have been re-built or finally finished being built, and we now have solar-panelled streetlights. Hooray for environmentally-friendly inventions...BUT WHERE ARE DE BIKES MAN? Arhus knows how to do it.
I also skyped a lovely Belgium girl named Marieke yesterday.
Man, what in the world did our parents do when they said goodbye to people? Or our grandparents?? I really can not imagine sitting down and writing a letter to someone that will get to them at least 2 weeks after I write it. There's definitely something magical about the written word...but in the context of being separated by an ocean from a group of amazing individuals, I am SO thankful for the magic that is internet.
...and the magic that is cell phones!!!
Surely the next step has to be teleportation. In the next 100 years I do hope that I WILL be able to zap myself to my friends when I get a call from a faraway land.
Can't. Even. Wait.
That is a CRAZAY thought in itself!!! But what it more crazy is the mind-boggling-ness that is life and time zones.
At the exact same time as I sit here eating a chicken burger in an empty kitchen on a rainy evening in Georgetown, Ontario, Canada, 5 of my friends I met in Arhus are at a bar together in Stockholm, Sweden, Europe. CAN I PLEASE JUST TELEPORT THERE RIGHT NOW AH.
In other news. Jet-lag doth rage.
I didn't think it would affect me, as I stayed up until midnight and felt like a million bucks (awake-wise, that is) on my first night back. But no no. Last night I crashed at around 10 p.m., slept for 12 hours, and still, at 7 p.m. I feel like I've been hit by a train.
In other, OTHER news, I drove through Georgetown for the first time yesterday with Lindsay and I'm happy to report that I have not forgotten how to do it.
Not much has changed in this town (obviously)...some buildings have been torn down, some others have been re-built or finally finished being built, and we now have solar-panelled streetlights. Hooray for environmentally-friendly inventions...BUT WHERE ARE DE BIKES MAN? Arhus knows how to do it.
I also skyped a lovely Belgium girl named Marieke yesterday.
Man, what in the world did our parents do when they said goodbye to people? Or our grandparents?? I really can not imagine sitting down and writing a letter to someone that will get to them at least 2 weeks after I write it. There's definitely something magical about the written word...but in the context of being separated by an ocean from a group of amazing individuals, I am SO thankful for the magic that is internet.
...and the magic that is cell phones!!!
Surely the next step has to be teleportation. In the next 100 years I do hope that I WILL be able to zap myself to my friends when I get a call from a faraway land.
Can't. Even. Wait.
Tuesday, June 21, 2011
Canadian breakfast
...did not include bacon, but a bowl of cheerios and shreddies with blueberries and a sunny day outside.
I woke up in a state of anxiety before that. It was 8 a.m. when I got off my mattress - surrounded by clothes and books and suitcases and STUFF - which meant it was 2 p.m. in Denmark. My first thought was:
"My friends have been awake for hours - I've MISSED something!"
I feel that my brain and body aren't really attached.
Meanwhile, I made tea that was bought in Arhus and now I'm spamming the Facebook pages of my friends across the ocean.
Ha! This could become an issue, maybe. I miss my friends and how it feels to wake up in Denmark and the internet seems the best way to stay close to that...
Pfft. I don't like this.
I want to eat cheese.
I'm also not wanting to turn on my Canadian phone. At all.
I brought it to Arhus, but I didn't unlock my SIM card in Canada before leaving for Denmark, so I had to buy my crappy little Nokia, which I now love with all my heart. (All I want to do is be able to send mad texts to Kristin and Marieke with it, but Danish SIM cards die once they exit the Danish border. So sad.)
I suspended my phone account while I was away, but after calling Bell this morning, I do believe it's back in service. So here it sits beside me, black and silent, longing to be turned on so it can inundate me with non-Danish things.
Um, no thank you.
Moreover, my uncle is here from British Columbia this week and he just asked me when I'm going to know about all the details about my summer job. I'm flying out to Vancouver next wednesday for my job with the Maple Lodge Farms promotions team, but I have NO idea how long I'll be gone, what events we're doing, la la la LA.
"Well," I said lacadazically, "I should probably call them...I could go in today, maybe tomorrow...I'm just resistant to start "real life" again."
"Hm. I see a country western song forming there..."
Dave, throw some chords together. I'll start working on the lyrics.
I woke up in a state of anxiety before that. It was 8 a.m. when I got off my mattress - surrounded by clothes and books and suitcases and STUFF - which meant it was 2 p.m. in Denmark. My first thought was:
"My friends have been awake for hours - I've MISSED something!"
I feel that my brain and body aren't really attached.
Meanwhile, I made tea that was bought in Arhus and now I'm spamming the Facebook pages of my friends across the ocean.
Ha! This could become an issue, maybe. I miss my friends and how it feels to wake up in Denmark and the internet seems the best way to stay close to that...
Pfft. I don't like this.
I want to eat cheese.
I'm also not wanting to turn on my Canadian phone. At all.
I brought it to Arhus, but I didn't unlock my SIM card in Canada before leaving for Denmark, so I had to buy my crappy little Nokia, which I now love with all my heart. (All I want to do is be able to send mad texts to Kristin and Marieke with it, but Danish SIM cards die once they exit the Danish border. So sad.)
I suspended my phone account while I was away, but after calling Bell this morning, I do believe it's back in service. So here it sits beside me, black and silent, longing to be turned on so it can inundate me with non-Danish things.
Um, no thank you.
Moreover, my uncle is here from British Columbia this week and he just asked me when I'm going to know about all the details about my summer job. I'm flying out to Vancouver next wednesday for my job with the Maple Lodge Farms promotions team, but I have NO idea how long I'll be gone, what events we're doing, la la la LA.
"Well," I said lacadazically, "I should probably call them...I could go in today, maybe tomorrow...I'm just resistant to start "real life" again."
"Hm. I see a country western song forming there..."
Dave, throw some chords together. I'll start working on the lyrics.
Here I am in Canada and I feel so far away
WELL now.
After a 5-month adventure and a 9 hour-ish plane ride, I have returned to my homeland.
AND I AM SO HAPPY TO BE HERE!!!!!
Pssssshhhhhhh. Totally. Not. This picture pretty much captures how I feel right now, and how I felt the whole live-long day. I think I made every single flight attendant uncomfortable, since I was bawling every time they tried to serve me water. Really, if I cry anymore, I will probably turn into a shrivelled raisin.
Mind you, there were some beautiful points throughout the day.
It was SO good to see my sisters and my Dad after all this time being away, as well as one set of grandparents who came over for dinner. My friends Bobby and Natalie showed up at my door by surprise tonight, and it was nice to sit under a massively blossomed tree in my old backyard next to a bonfire.
My papa gave me a good laugh as well.
"Have you heard of that singer...Lady...Gaga?"
Love it.
"She doesn't have the prettiest derriera...not like your Nana's anyway!"
Ah, yes, I missed my grandparents :)
But I feel so far away from Arhus and I don't like it.
I just left it this morning - THIS morning - but Denmark and all it's memories are feeling more like a dream right now. While I've been gone and seen big chunks of the world, Georgetown has remained the same...almost painfully the same, which makes it hard to imagine that I've been gone for so long and experienced so much.
I went for a walk with my sisters after dinner, and we ran into someone I knew from highschool.
"How was Europe?!" he asked.
...I really don't even know how to respond to that. Maybe give me a week and I try and describe just a little piece of it.
"AH, man, it was AMAZING," I said. "...Where are you guys headed?"
"Hmmm, I don't know, maybe Tim Hortons."
But, of course.
Barf.
I want to wander to the Colliseum, not Tim's for a doughnut.
Also, the toilets are weird here. They take a long time to flush and there is so much water in the bowl.
And the outlets are 3-pronged.
The tap water tastes different.
They don't accept my kroners at Metro.
There is no cobblestone on the streets.
And Canada is annoyingly obnoxious. All the cars are big and loud and the grocery store aisles scream at you.
In Denmark, if Netto could speak, it would say, "This is what you need, so we'll just take the space we need to provide you with it."
Here, Metro would yell in your face, "TAKE ALL YOU WANT!!! SPEND MONEY ON NEEDLESS THINGS! AREN'T THESE AISLES RAVISHING AND ELEGANT???"
But what's most heart-wrenching is that Kristin, Marieke, Robert, Dave, Marije, Rui, Thorsten and a whole bunch of other amazing people are across the ocean. That makes me feel really sick. It's 4 in the morning there, but only 10 at night here. I feel like we're worlds away and I don't want memories to fade with this distance...
I was saying to my Mom while we were waiting in line at customs at the airport today that it's such a strange scenario: There I was in Denmark having thee best time of my life. I met people I really liked and I was genuinely happy. And then, all of a sudden life declares, "Now LEAVE! :D"
I know that's what life is, essentially. You meet people, you share rich experiences with one another, you grow, you learn, you laugh, you move on. But...WHY??? Why do we force ourselves to put an end to that type of happiness? I know that "real life" calls - like summer jobs and school obligations and previous routines - but why can't we just be brave and step out of that expected pattern of returning to them? Why can't we just be like, "CHYEA, let's keep this rad time GOING!"
Oh, man. This is life and what it does to you.
My "room" in this house looks like a tornado went through it.
I watched the TV group "farewell" video tonight (basically a 20-minute montage of the fantastical ridiculous-ness that are the internationals), and videos of us at the beach and in Slovakia. I craved to be back in that vibe.
I was happy with my family tonight, then unhappy again, then happy, then bewildered.
Where in the world am I???
It's so surreal to think that while I'm here baffled by life and being back in Canada, Arhus is still breathing back in Denmark. The buses will run the same way even with me here and people will still go on as they did today and last month and the months before.
Man...
I don't want to forget it...
but the good thing is that I think it would be impossible to.
I've been awake for a long time.
I'm going to bed on a mattress on the floor, but in my mind, I'm going to wake up in Skjoldhoj...
HOOOO, I wish that was the case.
That's ok. I've decided I will dream internationally instead.
It would be so nice to hear Marije bursting out into song in an editing room right now...
I want to be back on Risskov beach...
I miss you.
January 22, 2011
June 20, 2011
After a 5-month adventure and a 9 hour-ish plane ride, I have returned to my homeland.
AND I AM SO HAPPY TO BE HERE!!!!!
Pssssshhhhhhh. Totally. Not. This picture pretty much captures how I feel right now, and how I felt the whole live-long day. I think I made every single flight attendant uncomfortable, since I was bawling every time they tried to serve me water. Really, if I cry anymore, I will probably turn into a shrivelled raisin.Mind you, there were some beautiful points throughout the day.
It was SO good to see my sisters and my Dad after all this time being away, as well as one set of grandparents who came over for dinner. My friends Bobby and Natalie showed up at my door by surprise tonight, and it was nice to sit under a massively blossomed tree in my old backyard next to a bonfire.
My papa gave me a good laugh as well.
"Have you heard of that singer...Lady...Gaga?"
Love it.
"She doesn't have the prettiest derriera...not like your Nana's anyway!"
Ah, yes, I missed my grandparents :)
But I feel so far away from Arhus and I don't like it.I just left it this morning - THIS morning - but Denmark and all it's memories are feeling more like a dream right now. While I've been gone and seen big chunks of the world, Georgetown has remained the same...almost painfully the same, which makes it hard to imagine that I've been gone for so long and experienced so much.
I went for a walk with my sisters after dinner, and we ran into someone I knew from highschool.
"How was Europe?!" he asked.
...I really don't even know how to respond to that. Maybe give me a week and I try and describe just a little piece of it.
"AH, man, it was AMAZING," I said. "...Where are you guys headed?"
"Hmmm, I don't know, maybe Tim Hortons."
But, of course.
Barf.
I want to wander to the Colliseum, not Tim's for a doughnut.
Also, the toilets are weird here. They take a long time to flush and there is so much water in the bowl.
And the outlets are 3-pronged.
The tap water tastes different.
They don't accept my kroners at Metro.
There is no cobblestone on the streets.
And Canada is annoyingly obnoxious. All the cars are big and loud and the grocery store aisles scream at you.
In Denmark, if Netto could speak, it would say, "This is what you need, so we'll just take the space we need to provide you with it."
Here, Metro would yell in your face, "TAKE ALL YOU WANT!!! SPEND MONEY ON NEEDLESS THINGS! AREN'T THESE AISLES RAVISHING AND ELEGANT???"
But what's most heart-wrenching is that Kristin, Marieke, Robert, Dave, Marije, Rui, Thorsten and a whole bunch of other amazing people are across the ocean. That makes me feel really sick. It's 4 in the morning there, but only 10 at night here. I feel like we're worlds away and I don't want memories to fade with this distance...
I was saying to my Mom while we were waiting in line at customs at the airport today that it's such a strange scenario: There I was in Denmark having thee best time of my life. I met people I really liked and I was genuinely happy. And then, all of a sudden life declares, "Now LEAVE! :D"
I know that's what life is, essentially. You meet people, you share rich experiences with one another, you grow, you learn, you laugh, you move on. But...WHY??? Why do we force ourselves to put an end to that type of happiness? I know that "real life" calls - like summer jobs and school obligations and previous routines - but why can't we just be brave and step out of that expected pattern of returning to them? Why can't we just be like, "CHYEA, let's keep this rad time GOING!"
Oh, man. This is life and what it does to you.
My "room" in this house looks like a tornado went through it.
I watched the TV group "farewell" video tonight (basically a 20-minute montage of the fantastical ridiculous-ness that are the internationals), and videos of us at the beach and in Slovakia. I craved to be back in that vibe.
I was happy with my family tonight, then unhappy again, then happy, then bewildered.
Where in the world am I???
It's so surreal to think that while I'm here baffled by life and being back in Canada, Arhus is still breathing back in Denmark. The buses will run the same way even with me here and people will still go on as they did today and last month and the months before.
Man...
I don't want to forget it...
but the good thing is that I think it would be impossible to.
I've been awake for a long time.
I'm going to bed on a mattress on the floor, but in my mind, I'm going to wake up in Skjoldhoj...
HOOOO, I wish that was the case.
That's ok. I've decided I will dream internationally instead.
It would be so nice to hear Marije bursting out into song in an editing room right now...I want to be back on Risskov beach...
I miss you.
January 22, 2011
June 20, 2011
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