Day 3 Belfast, unedited

Quick disclaimer: our tours and experiences were mostly from the perspectives of Catholic Republicans, but this is not to put down the plight of the Protestant Unionists who have been living in Northern Ireland for hundreds of years as well.
Wednesday was pretty wonderful/dramatic. We went on a tour of Belfast with the famous Gerry, who showed us around the city, demonstrating which streets constituted which neighborhoods (the difference between Republican and Unionist neighborhoods can be a mere street) as well as the most amazing surprise along our mural tour – Danny Devenny, the artist who is responsible for most of the murals! This cannot mean much to someone who hasn’t met him, but he is such a wise, enlightening man with a powerful presence. I’ll talk about him later in my account. Anyway, it was an on and off bus tour that was unfortunately rushed and definitely not long enough, but Gerry presented us with photographs of the city from 30 years prior during the Troubles and then we compared it to present-day Belfast. Even today, you can see large dents next to the police station where they fired three rounds of RPGs, and the station is surrounded by metal protection and cameras. It gives you an eerie feeling like the protection is still definitely necessary. Gerry talked about different quarrels between the local Unionist groups, the UVF (Ulster Volunteer Force) and the UFF (Ulster Freedom Fighters), and that there were individuals with their own agendas who would use violence as a means to an end. Some families were mixed, meaning that there were Catholics and Protestants in one unit; nothing is black and white in these situations. No individuals are enemies in these situations; no sides of a fight are “bad” sides. When kids play games and one kid plays the “good guy” and the other the “bad guy,” they often grow up completely unaware that they apply that mentality to real life situations, and that’s just not applicable most of the time. The Republicans are big supporters for Palestine’s cause, flying the Palestinian flag in some places, so we talk about that situation and its applicability to Ireland often. I think that the Gaza blockade and the recent Israeli attacks on the flotilla providing humanitarian aid are absolutely despicable, shame on Israel, but they started as a displaced people in search of their holy land. I sympathize, and shame on America for involving itself yet again in affairs that it doesn’t understand or respect. In fact, on our fabulous mural tour, we witnessed some politically charged murals (you can see fabulous Danny Devenny in front of a Bush mural) with portraits of people like MLK Jr., Nelson Mendela, and Mother Theresa. Danny was the artist who painted the internationally famous mural of political prisoner Bobby Sands, the mural that grabbed public attention and was shown on international television programs. Bobby Sands was a Republican political prisoner who won an MP seat in the British parliament while in the prison Long Kesh; he died almost a month after the election from starvation, a product of his world-famous hunger strike to achieve POW status instead of criminal status. He exposed the world to the lack of civil rights by the extremity of his actions, and many see him as a martyr (though old British PM Margaret Thatcher did not). Currently, there is a feeling of hope for the future and a sense of peace that is slowly settling in people’s hearts, and Danny engendered that feeling of peace gained from the wisdom many developed from surviving the Troubles. He said something that really impacted a lot of us: (paraphrased) hindsight is like looking in a rear-view mirror; if you look too long, you’ll crash. What a hopeful reminder to stay present and work toward peace for their people! I’ve heard these hopeful sentiments from many different places and people, and it’s really refreshing after hearing about violence as a result of political control.

That night, we saw the O’Malley experience, some AMAZING, funny Irish musicians who played with traditional Irish river dance-style dancers. The concert was a blast, and the boys of our group tried (and almost succeeded) to dance with the ladies for a song! Irish music is full of anecdotes and history, and the stories behind the music are just as enjoyable as the music itself. They were so good that we demanded an encore, which I’m pretty sure is an American thing, and the last song was so raw that I shed a few tears. It was a culmination of everything that we’d been exposed to all day. Afterward, drinks at the pub, wandering around looking for good dancing, and one of the most intense moments of my experience in Belfast.
A new paragraph is necessary for this. Chris, Molly, and I were journeying home from the city centre to Elms Village, and three guys a little younger than us got off of a bench in front of city hall and tried to get Chris’s attention. Chris stopped to talk to them, and they surrounded him.
Guy: Hey, where are you from?
Chris: America
Guy: Oh, cool! Well, what were you doing tonight?
Chris: We were just having some drinks at the bar.
Guy: Oh, great! Which bar did you go to?
Chris: Uhhh, Dukes of York.
Guy: Great! Well, you can go on. Have a nice night!
It felt so much like these guys were really territorial and they were making sure that we went to the right places, had the right political allegiance, and they might have jumped Chris if he’d said something wrong. We took a taxi the rest of the way home and have ventured in only large groups ever since.
So that was my third night in Ireland, and we’re at night 7 or something, but I’m too tired to keep writing. We’re taking a coach to Dublin early in the morning, and Chelsea’s meeting me there. So excited!! To be continued…

first few days

I’ve never walked into something so intense so quickly. Traveling to Belfast was uneventful, other than the chaos that is London-Heathrow airport. As soon as I got to Elms Village where we are staying, my professor (Marika… don’t tell her I told you that we’re on a first name basis in Ireland) told everyone that it was my birthday. It was at that moment that I remember getting swept away with this sense of community that I’m sure we’ll need to support each other through the rough spots of what we’re studying. Monday night was a blast, a lot of partying and shenanigans – a great way to spend the first night with people you will be with incessantly for a month.
Tuesday morning was early. Really fucking early. We had a meeting, and afterward, we went for a walk through the area we’re staying over to the museum that had an exhibit for the Troubles, as well as art, history, and fashion exhibits. Before coming to this program, we had to answer questions about events as they happened chronologically, from the time of the Protestants moving to Ireland until the recently history of peace. It was a systematic and comprehensive way to get the facts straight, that Republicans were typically Catholic for a Republic of Ireland, that Unionists were typically Protestant and wanting to be a part of the United Kingdom, that the IRA fought the UVF and the RUC, etc. When we went into the Troubles exhibit, you got a real feel for the chaos of the period as the exhibit was scattered around the room so that every time you turned your body, there was another wall of information and photographs. It was difficult to read everything and to be surrounded by photographs of the prison Long Kesh and the Royal Ulster Constabulary holding down riots. I believe that the layout of the museum was very deliberate because it isn’t a simple event in time, and there is still a lot of chaos where we are.
After the museum and lunch, we went on our first tour of Belfast on a bus led by the wonderful Martin. He showed us city hall where hundreds of people were laying in the grass, soaking up the sun, the birthplace of the Titanic (did you know it was built in Belfast?!), which is now a big hole in the ground, and Stormont, their parliament. The Stormont is absolutely grandiose, just stunning, but it has been historically open only the Nationalists who ran the government. It was at the Stormont that I had my first really emotional experience, the first of many to come, I’m sure. Martin is a Catholic and a Republican who was an IRA member, and he shared with us the story of his first entering Stormont after the Belfast Agreement was passed in 1998, telling us how difficult it was just to walk inside the building, tears streaming down his face. He talked of how difficult it is to shift from 30 years of hating and fighting to the last 10 years of working with Nationalists for peace and reform. With all the statues and symbols currently reflecting the Unionists at the Stormont, they are trying to add more statues and art that reflect the Republican presence in their government, trying to add community activities on the grounds to pull in and include different communities. I think it’s really noble and inexplicably difficult to rewrite your mental and emotional disposition after having it for over 40 years. Do you ever forgive? Do you ever forget? While we were standing in a smaller group, I asked Martin about whether schools are integrated or not, which led to a much more intimate discussion about how his family and he personally have been involved in the politics of Ireland. His family was educated in a Catholic school, though I believe he wants his children to have Protestant friends, and I know he wants his children to have very different experiences from his own. He showed us the scar on his arm from when he was shot, which naturally led everyone to gasp. A lot of his accounts were really difficult to follow and complicated in nature. When I looked into his eyes, they showed a pain almost tangible and still soft and sensitive, like the pain is still easily rubbed raw, the wound readily opened. I can’t imagine regularly giving tours and opening myself up to perfect strangers like that, subjecting myself to emotional trips like what Martin was obviously experiencing at that moment, but it seems like this city wears its emotions on its sleeve. This was the first really emotional moment I had in Belfast, but everyone we’ve talked to since then has shared the same sentiments, like talking about it is very therapeutic and there are still many overt wounds to be healed. When we left the bus, Martin shook my hand and gave me a kiss on the cheek. I felt a great connection with him, maybe just something I saw and felt in his eyes, and this short but sweet relationship has made me more prepared for all subsequent events on this trip.

birthday!

birthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthdaybirthday! in sweden!

Birthday abroad

I've been gallivanting around Stockholm with Michael and Jennie for the last 5 days, and I've come to the conclusion that I'm not as in love with Stockholm as I thought I'd be. I miss bustling cities, loud, colorful people, and warm summers. I do love how clean and considerate the people seem to be (compared to Americans) and the many fruits of their successful socialist government, as well as Swedish meatballs :)
Michael and I walked around Gamla Stan, or Old Town, and had some drinks in a really neat underground-cellar-turned-into-coffee-shop and caught up for the first time in months. I had a berry citrus cactus smoothie there, one of two cactus drinks I've had in Stockholm, and I must profess my curiosity for them. They were both extremely refreshing and engendered a sense of summer, but I have no idea what cactus tastes like or its effect on me. The other drink was a cactus lime cider that was slightly carbonated and slightly alcoholic, like a bacardi breezer, or whatever those drinks are. Anyway, it was awesome and REALLY green.
While we were walking on the old cobbled streets of Old Town, we encountered the best painting I've ever seen. The tacky tourist shops are littered with souvenirs with the Crown Princess and her betrothed posing for cheesy post-wedding photos. You can get a magnet with a thermometer, a mug, a small tray, Swedish crystal plates, even a wedding meal at IKEA in their honor. It's awful/wonderful. Anyway, I had to stop Michael in the middle of our stroll to reflect on this terrible-quality painting someone did of the princess and her fiancé riding a unicorn over the city of Stockholm. FTW! If I have time tomorrow, I'm going back to the shop to inquire as to the artist's information.
Other fun things in Stockholm include going to the Absolut Ice Bar, which seems to have been haphazardly built into the Nordic Sea Hotel, made out of Lapland ice. They serve you one Absolut cocktail in a glass made of ice, which is later used to maintain the cold atmosphere for the bar. Michael and Jennie loved it - well, Michael loved it - but it's not something I'd ever recommend to anyone. It's tiny and cold. We went to see a show at a nice venue located right off of the port called Debaser, featuring a Swedish band and a band from Sacramento. I don't recall the music too much, but I was so happy to be seeing a live show again. Yesterday, it was cold and rainy as we took the long hike to the largest IKEA in Europe (and probably the world) for some traditional Swedish meatballs covered in gravy and served with some lingon berry sauce (similar to cranberries) and potatoes. Oh, Jesus and Heaven in my mouth! I'm not going to lie, that was probably my favorite part of the trip.
When we got home, we made dinner and watched The Princess Diaries for some reason. We were watching the US-England futbol match while we were making dinner, and then the movie came on after the game and we were transfixed by the awful American view of European culture and small, quaint European countries. The movie was on in honor of the royal wedding, of course.
All of my down time has been dedicated to doing research before going to Ireland; I have had to learn the details of 400 years of political strife and civil unrest and consequently write 4 pages of information in a matter of a few days so that I could take a quiz before the program starts tomorrow. In fact, that's why I stayed home tonight while Jennie and Michael went to a Hirvasoya family celebration; I've finally taken the quiz and now I need to make sure that everything is in order before I travel to Ireland tomorrow. It's also my birthday at midnight, and I want to make myself a pie.
Tomorrow consists of mostly last-minute packing and a lot of traveling, so it's not really going to be much of a birthday. I've hit an emotional slump with being abroad and being away from home for so long. I didn't feel this way at all in Aalborg because it felt like I was coming home. We'll see how things change once I'm in Northern Ireland. It's going to be an emotional trip, given the nature of what we're studying. Prepare yourself, Dani.

Hej hej Danmark, Hej från Sverige!

My last full day in Aalborg was attending to business, closing my Danish bank account, trying to return my yellow card (my Danish ID as a part of my student visa), going to the post office, etc. Afterward, we had a big - and very cheap - dinner for 13 or so people which Dop helped me make. Unfortunately, I haven't taken any pictures since Løkken because I got sand in my lense... oof. It was definitely a night to document! It was just supposed to be dinner with friends, hearing stories of Yasin's trip to Spain, and a celebration for Elisa, who turned in her thesis that night (Brava, Elisa!!!). It became a "Dani's going away, so let's get drunk and do karaoke" party, and Yasin brought a bottle of green anise poison from Mallorca. Oh goodness! Dance party and beer fight ensued. We tore it up until the early hours of the morning, and then woke up at 10 to make sure I packed and caught my (somewhat) early flight at noon. Bastien, Yasin, Laure, and Séverin took me to the airport, all of us in Séverin's tiny car with my giant suitcase. It was a really lovely goodbye, one of the best I've ever had, and I feel so connected to all of my friends, old and new, and my sweet "hyggelig" Danish home.
Unfortunately, the flight from Copenhagen to Stockholm was excruciating because the high-elevation pressure didn't mix well with my sinus infection, and I was partially deaf out of my left ear for the rest of the day. All is well now, and Michael and Jennie are renting a really cute flat in student housing one or two blocks from the Natural Museum. We found out that on Sunday, the day before I leave, Jane Goodall will be giving a talk for only 90 krowns!! Michael was making fun of me because seeing the Natural Museum is one of my top priorities here. Me? A nerd? Not at all. I have a full transportation card for the time that I spend here, and I plan on seeing a lot of the city, which is very clean and organized (and very Scandinavian). Last night and this morning have been completely relaxed and calm, but tomorrow we're setting out early to take a trip and have a picnic in an archipelago. We're also going to the Absolut Ice Bar, which is a bar made entirely out of Lapland ice. Pretty cool... pun intended!
There's a Swedish royal wedding between the Crown Princess Victoria and her "frog kissed and transformed into a prince" boyfriend Prince Daniel, who was a fitness instructor turned into royalty. It's supposed to be the biggest European royal wedding since Prince Charles and Lady Di, so the city is in celebration mode. I've been invited to join the "celebration of love," a.k.a. Love Stockholm 2010. This is really sweet and cheesy and strangely appropriate, given my third-wheel status with the happily reunited couple I'm staying with. I believe this will be a nice time to visit Stockholm.

http://www.nordicseahotel.se/en/The-hotel/Food-and-drink/Absolut-Icebar-Stockholm/
http://www.examiner.com/x-/x-5821-International-Travel-Insights-Examiner~y2009m12d2-Celebrate-Swedens-royal-wedding-during-Love-Stockholm-2010-June-6th-to-20thwere-talkintravel

The great gray country

Today marks the beginning of a week of shit gray weather in Denmark, which is crying because I leave so soon. I leave for the airport at noon on Tuesday to visit Michael and Jennie in Stockholm, and they've already settled in their new flat.
I didn't end up visiting Skagen as I had hoped, but am content nonetheless. Séverin came back while we were having a really nice bonfire at the AIK Friday night. We made smores and drank beer until 4am. The next morning, we went to the west coast to Løkken and Lønstrup for a little dip in the Baltic Sea. Jeebus, it's cold in the sea!! Løkken is strange because all of the Danes drive onto the beach and sit in their cars, and very few go swimming (with good reason). I put my entire body into the water, against better judgment, with the attitude that any chance to live is worth taking. Now, I believe, I have prolonged this cold of mine. Even so, I think I would have regretted not getting in the water. After being cold and wind-blown and hungry and thirsty, Bastien, Laure, Séverin, and I went to the store to buy food for lunch and then drove to the lighthouse at Lønstrup. The lighthouse was built 200m inland, but the sea levels rose and the strong winds have blown GIANT dunes around the lighthouse, covering a lot of it. When you drive up to Lønstrup, it looks like you're approaching a desert. You climb to the top of the dunes and overlook the rolling hills and forests on one side, and the turquoise Baltic Sea on the other. It's surreal. I've never seen anything like it. I feel very complete with my trip to Denmark now that I've been to the sea as well as the local viking graveyard. It was a reminder of my love for Denmark.
Tomorrow is my last full day in Aalborg, and I have business to attend to instead of more playing. Besides removing myself completely from Denmark, I have research to do on Ireland for my program. I am choosing not to do any homework or work while I'm in Sweden, so tomorrow will be a busy day. Fortunately, the gray weather doesn't tempt me to do anything else.

the wiking museum!

There has been lovely weather last few days! Each day is spent lunching outside, lounging in the AIK hammocks, lots of reading, and taking walks. Unfortunately, every night I fight with my body to go to sleep. It appears that I have a sinus infection and yellow mucus... what can you do but blow it out. Even so, I feel happy and somewhat healthy and eat really well and get a lot of sun.
Yesterday, Cherie and I walked about 10 km through the city center and across the Limfjorden to the viking graveyard, Lindholm Høje. Before we went, I read that the vikings chose their graveyards based on hills with nice views in consideration of the mourners. There were about 700 graves total, from 400-1100 AD, the older graves starting at the top of the hill. The rounded, shorter stones represented the women buried, and the tall sharp stones, sometimes encircled by female stones (though, notably, this is only the case at the top of the hill), were placed for men. It's truly beautiful there, too, with a lot of sheep roaming freely, the wind blowing in many directions from the fjord that snakes around the site, and countryside on the valleys of the hill. We also went to the viking museum where we learned about the flint deposits under Denmark that they used as weapons back in the day, saw some skeletons of viking men and women that had been preserved over time, and ate some yummy candy with the same designs as the elaborate glass beads found on one of the female skeletons. Actually, the Norwegian crowns (currency) look a lot like the copper currency they were using in the turn of millennium... isn't that interesting?! Also, the jewelry made of amber, gold, and copper had a lot of really interesting and funny designs and some very advanced craftsmanship. You can easily see how their exposure to other cultures from trade influenced the style of jewelry and sacrificial pieces. I have more of an interest in learning about vikings now, having gained a large respect for them (but come on, Dani, they're freaking vikings!!!).
On the subject of food, I've been baking a lot, including my first really good batch of fresh bread (with the help of Jesper). I made too-garlicky eggplant rigatoni and bombass spiced apple bread for dear friends last night. On our way to Lindholm Høje, Cherie and I stopped at a bakery and had our first Danish pastries. Not too bad, not very sweet but very buttery with some marmalade in the center, like a special surprise!
Also, I've spent much time talking to people from different countries about education, food, politics, differing economic systems, and different places to travel. Talking like that gets me in a hot fever to see and experience the world, but then I remember beautiful Aalborg and I'm happy where I am right now. Sometime soon I have to start researching information about Ireland and doing my homework. Instead, I spent the morning reading about the current blockade of Gaza, and Israel and Palestine situation in general, which I think shares similarities to the Northern/Republic of Ireland situation. Anyway, tonight Séverin comes home and it will be a busy weekend, so hopefully updates will be regular.
Hilsener fra Danmark!!

Denmark: The Sequel

So I am here in sunny Aalborg finally! It is so beautiful here now, like it was in September, the first month I arrived. Hardly any clouds, sky stretching out before me for days, and the green spreading across the whole country. There is the ever-present breeze and the sun baring down harshly on you to remind you how much closer you are to it compared to somewhere longitudinally lower.When I left, the whole country was covered in ice, and the sun "light" would grace us with its presence for 5 hours total per day. Now, there's too much light! At midnight, the sun still cast a multicolored hue on the sky, and it was alive and alert at 4am. When I go to Stockholm, it will be worse. I never feel like I'm missing the day this way, however, which is nice.
Once I got to Copenhagen, I took the 5 hour travel cross-country, and I got to see how Denmark thrives in the summertime. It's magnificent! There are fields of yellow blossoms on top of the brightest green I can imagine. What a difference from winter!
I arrived at midnight on Thursday, safe, sound, tired. I slept 14 hours and haven't faced any jet lag since then. Friday I went to the city center and had dinner with friends, but we went back home early to prepare ourselves for karneval early
the next day. I woke up Saturday morning around 8am to the sound of the squawking Danish girls across the common area from me.
I suppose I should talk a little bit about karneval, seeing as that's the main reason for me coming back to Aalborg. There are family activities happening all week in Kildeparken, like music and art and far-too-expensive beer. Friday night there is a battle of costumes in the street and the beginning of the big festival in Kildeparken. The main events happen on Saturday, where everyone wakes up early and starts drinking with breakfast. The masses congregate around 11am, already drunk, and start the parade around noon. Basically, the parade is just a mass of drunk, wildly costumed college-age people walking through the city center of Aalborg until they reach Kildeparken.
It sounds ridiculous... and it is, but so much fun with all of the colors and the music and masses of people, and of course the shenanigans. Bastien and I lost everyone we'd congregated with, but we took a lot of good pictures and left the parade around 3. After a very sobering nap, we had dinner and met with other international students to prepare to venture back to the city center. Somehow, Bastien and I lost our group again, but we danced our hearts out until 4am. I have such a fondness for dancing in Europe in the smoke-free discos with poppy Euro-trash music until the late hours of the morning. I missed the last bus home, so I walked by myself about 3 miles to the AIK. As miserable as that seems, it has refreshed my enjoyment of walking. It was also light outside by the time I started walking. So far, I'd say my trip has been a success!
Other than that, I have nothing interesting to report. I've been alone most of the time since karneval, of my own volition, reading and writing and making food. I have a bit of a sore throat from the long walk on Saturday and going to the grocery store in the rain the next morning, so I find it really nice not to talk much. I anxiously await Séverin's return to Aalborg, and I have seen almost everyone I have wanted to see. On Thursday, I am walking to the Lindholm Høje viking graveyard with the girls before making dinner that evening.
http://www.vikingdenmark.com/lindholm-hoeje-viking-burial-site-jutland-denmark.html
One week until Stockholm!
And for you viewing pleasures....