Nationalmuseet

Last weekend, Dave and I headed down to the National Museum. It's free and the presentation is wonderful! Nothing looks dusty!! We didn't get through the whole thing before getting tired, so we'll have to go back. But here are some funny or neat things that we saw.

First, Dave looking really serious. Of course, he IS in the presence of the bust of Augustus. That's certainly reason to be serious:)














This was a really really big snout from Syria from around 400BC. The bottom jaw was probably the size of Dave's head. The entire statue would have been the size of two people.











Here is their mummy in the egyptian exhibit. She was a princess who died at the age of 35yrs old. She dates back to 700BC.











These are two beautiful portraits made in Egypt after the influence of the Roman Empire swept through. Portraits like these were often place over mummies during the burials.











These are toys from Greece. They date back from anywhere between 600-300BC.











For you, Bill and Sherry, I've put up pictures up of a pot and bowl. As you know, they had many in Greece!











In the section of Danish church history, there were, of course, a lot of crucifixes. Denmark used to be Catholic way back when, until it became Lutheran. There were a few images that we found particularly humorous (forgive our sacrilege). First, God's hand pointing to Jesus. For some reason, that struck us as funny.














Second, Jesus on Mary's lap. Notice the smile on Mary's face. Apparently, this smile was typically Gothic. It's the first Mary that I've seen smiling. Jesus was smiling too, though it's hard to see in the picture.














Next, did you know that Jesus did not die on the cross? You can see here that these swords did the trick instead.....okay, I don't know what the deal with the swords is, they didn't explain....but don't you think that's a strange image?














Finally, unrelated to Jesus, but what is an amazing artistic feat, is this painted image. You can see the swirls. Those swirls are painted on a flat round table. Sticking up, in the middle of the table, is a smooth metallic tube. If you look carefully, you can see the image of a portrait on the tube. The painting is actually portraits of a married couple. The swirls get put proper when you look at the tube. It's amazing!!















So, there they are. Oddities at the museum.

Near Death...

During the summer months there is a lot of entertainment on the walking streets and in the squares of Copenhagen. There's one particular game that people get sucked into. The man will have three small boxes and a little marble. He puts it under a box, moves the boxes around, and you gotta guess which box it's under. But they're clever and know how to remove the marble so that the customer looses their money. Not only that, but signs at all of the banks along the walking streets have signs saying that while you are intently looking at the boxes, someone will pick your pocket from behind.

Dave and I often like to stand back a ways and watch to see who is involved in these games. Of course, if someone's wallet WAS stolen, I'm not sure what we'd do.

Several weeks ago, Dave was heading down to class. He walked through the square and noticed that people were playing this game. So he stood back and watched the crowd around. He noticed that, not in the crowd but around the square, there were about 6 men who were also watching the game and glancing at each other. Suddenly one glanced at Dave, glanced quickly at the others, and they scattered.

Dave thought, "That was a little weird." He needed to get food before class started, so he headed up the street to the pølser stand (hotdog stand). He bought his food and had to walk back through the square to get to class. He paused to watch again while he ate his hotdog. He noticed, this time, that there were not just 6, but close to 12 people glancing at eachother around the square. Again, one glanced at him, glanced at the others, and they scattered and disappeared.

That creeped David, so he left and walked quickly, glancing behind him as he turned each corner to see if he was followed. He didn't notice anyone following. He walked into the courtyard and to the stairs which lead up to his classroom. His classmate was sitting on the steps having a smoke, so he decided to chat with her. The windows of the classroom could be seen and they were dark still, so he'd be alone if he went up to class.

He told his classmate about what had just happened and how creepy it was. Suddenly three of the men from the square walked into the courtyard and up to David.

"What time is it?" one asked.
"I don't know," said David. "I don't have a watch."
"Where are you from?" the man asked.
"Canada" said David.
"Oh!"the man exclaimed and smiled. "We thought you were Italian."
He shook David's hand and the three men walked away.

David's classmate looked at David. "Was that THEM?" she asked.
"Uh, ya." said David.

So here's my question. What if David WAS Italian? What would have happened then?

It turns out that the group that runs these games on the walking streets are Romanien. They are like a mini mafia who run the area. Perhaps they thought David was undercover police, but more likely they thought he might be from another group, checking out the area. This group is serious about what they do and they are well organized. They will do a lot of harm to those who may be a threat. Several days later there was an article in the paper. Three or four of the ringleaders of this group had been caught and arrested.

Needless to say, I'm happy Dave came back without bruises or broken bones.

Karen's Minde and Tippen

Today I taught Danish class.

whaaaaaaa?

yep, I...taught...Danish class.

Wait, have I told you that I'm a substitute teacher at an international school? No? What about the other job that I will soon start, working in a danish daycare as a substitute? Have I told you that? NO???!!!! Maybe I should start again.

Several weeks ago, I was starting to loose my mind. I was home every day applying for work online (cause most people here say that that is how it's done) without much response. I decided that it was time to get out to the daycares and give them my CV in person. I can not explain how hard it was to walk out to the door. First, I broke down and cried (because I was so scared to go and try to apply to jobs in Danish), then I gathered all I needed, mustered up my courage, and stepped out the door. It shut behind me. I was on my way. I went to daycares in the area. They were friendly people. It went well. But there have been no phone calls.

So how did I get work? The first came by way of a friend (extended family really) called Kimie who works at the international school up in Hørsholm. She talked to her boss, who called Dave and I for an interview. She liked us both. Several weeks ago, she asked me to come in to work for two weeks to fill in for someone. So I've been there for two weeks. It's been a quick learning curve, though I'm sure it's not done yet. I've never taught children over the age of 6 and now I'm regularly will kids age 6-15. And today I taught beginner's Danish to a class of kids from Gr. 7. It was fun cause I speak so little Danish:) I also taught 2 classes of French. I'm ashamed to say that I knew nothing. I can now verify that I know more Danish than French.

The other job came by way of a friend. She works in a vuggestue/børnehave (childcare for kids age 0-6). I haven't started working there yet, but the interview, which took place entirely in Danish, went generally well. They liked me, and I liked them. They have such a beautiful place and the teachers are so friendly and welcoming. The kids are cute too:) But because I've been working in Hørsholm, I haven't had the opportunity to work in the vuggestue. I really look forward to it!

I've learned that I do not enjoy teaching. I much more enjoy the environment of child care centres, where things are taught through play more than anything else, where hugs are not only allowed but encouraged, where one works in a team! I find school is boring and I do not enjoy having my own room. Call me crazy, but I do not think that I will follow the path from child care worker to teacher any time soon. Nope, I admire those who work with teenagers, but I want to be with the wee ones.

David is still avidly hunting for work. He has some new leads and is hoping to land something next week. He's a GREAT house-husband, don't get me wrong. It's sooo nice to come home to a cooked meal that I would not have energy to cook myself. But he needs to work soon. He's gonna go crazy being at home all the time. One can only do so many chores before they get to you.

Here are the pictures I promised of the area that surrounds our place. I wanted to show you because it IS our haven. Outside of these areas is industry and then the big city.










The first picture of the heather that sits in our window that Kirsten bought as a house warming gift for us. Isn't it beautiful:) Outside, you can see the playground in the courtyard which is available, toys included, for all the kids from our building to play in. Here are two more pictures that give a better idea of the playground.












Two streets over lies the Kulturhus, Bibliotek, and Karen's Minde. Karen's Minde is a small farm with horses, ponies, and smaller furry creatures (bunnies, guinea pigs, etc). A lot of daycare's in the area bring the kids here. Even the little babies get to come in strollers to see the horses!


























If you walk down the path past Karen's Minde, you go into the nature reserve which, Dave and I are convinced, is built on garbage....sort of like Centennial hill. The path takes you over the train tracks and down beside a river that has a wild apple orchard. This first picture is of some really old apple trees. The next is of one of the young trees next to the path. On the other side of the river are houses that people built with their own hands (much like a shanty town, eh?). From what I understand, these are not "summerhomes". The people who live here do not pay taxes. I'm sure it will be cleared away soon by the government. Over the past few years the government has been buckling down on areas like this (Christiania, Ungdomshuset på Nørrebro). Interesting though...one can't live off of the land here.

















The photos of the reservation area, called Tippen (The Tip...because it was formed into a tip which, if you walk down to, looks out to the bridge that crosses to Amager...the island where the airport is located) show some of the plants, no animals (cause we only saw some ducks....though there are apparently a whole lot of other birds) and the concrete/brick constructions built by regular people who meandered through the area and found concrete/brick to build with. The whole area was manmade and now has grown wild.

























I'll leave it at that for now. The other area is Valbyparken, a huge park where many green concerts take place. They have great playground areas for kids too!

Next, Dave's near death experience....

Vores Dejlig Lejlighed!!!

Well, we did it. We have been hunting for a month for a place of our own to live and here it is. We are renting from a great guy who is quickly becoming our friend. His name is Henrik. He's 24yrs old and will be heading to east Asia to travel for 1/2 a year. Knowing that no one will rent for 1/2 a year, he's renting his place to us until the end of June. Any time we have questions about things, he answers them, or sends us websites with information. His parents live around the corner too so if we have troubles or questions, they're available to help out:) I'll have you know that we only pay 3700kr (750$) for this one bedroom, completely furnished, everything (except el) included. Most people are shocked by this:) Let me take you on a little tour:

First, David's favourite lamp, of Danish design of course. He's always wanted one, and now we have one because it came with the apartment:)

Next, the dining room, which is in a small nook. It's where we do our paper work too. Notice the entertainment system;) The bedroom is to the right, but I have no picture. It's big enough for bed, and dresser system.

On the opposite side of the room is the living room, with a very blue pull-out couch!

To the right is the hall, which leads past the front door to the washroom. Those of you from europe will have a good idea how big this washroom is. The shower is on the back wall, there's no curtain (and we're not getting one cause there'd be no room for it). Except for the calc that builds up so quickly from the hard water, this washroom is very clean:)

Just past the bathroom is our kitchen. There's a flat stove, and just out of the picture to the right is our very large fridge (yes, bigger than the small ones at York, yet smaller than the big ones at York). See how much room Dave has to cook?!!

Finally, we were told to bring some small things that really make us feel at home. Here it is, our bell (thank you Plamen and Elena!). Yes, THIS is what we brought from home:)

I'll put some other photos up later of the area around our apartment (which will include the playground for kids, the library, and parks). Our area, Sydhavn (South Harbour) is nestled between a huge park, a nature reserve, and a very large cemetery which is much like a park. It's quite quiet around here, which we really appreciate.

Next up, I'll share a little about what it's like to try to settle in a foreign (but becoming a little less foreign every day) country...