26th
Snippets: Becoming Danish, Urban Design Class, Dinner Out
Yesterday I had an interesting moment on the train. I was riding alone in the evening, watching a video on my laptop, when I heard two women speaking loudly in front of me. A Danish woman and an British woman were talking, presumably about business. My first thought was, “Gosh they’re annoying. Why do they have to talk like that?” It was then I realized that I’d had a really Danish thought. As an American, talking on the train shouldn’t bother me. Maybe I’m getting used to this whole quiet thing.
Today I had my European Urban Design Theories class, which is prepping me for studying urban planning in grad school. It’s an excellent course, and I realized just how amazing my teachers are today. Camilla, one of the two teachers, told us that she had just come from a party because her big project was about to be officially announced. She and other members of her planning/architectural firm did a study for New York city, made some recommendations on how to improve it, and the result was a decision to pedestrianize Times Square and seven blocks of Broadway. The class was in shock when she told us. What a monumental accomplishment! After taking that big annoucement in, I started to feel anxious because I’d heard we were going to do a drawing exercise during class. I’m a sociology and politics major back home… I don’t draw. All turned out OK though. We went to a square and were assigned to make a serial of four sketches describing a path into and through the square. My drawings actually weren’t half bad considering my lack of experience, and despite the cold and the wind, it was pretty fun. That class amazes me every session.
Finally, all of my American friends at the folk high school and I organized a dinner out tonight. It was the first time in a while we spent some time all together, the nine of us. It was also the first time I had gone out to eat while here and been served by a waiter or waitress. We had a great time, and everyone was thankful of my excellent choice of restaurant (Ali Baba in Nørrebro, in case you were curious). We had an outstandingly fun time and I got some great Pakistani/Indian food for even cheaper than I would have back home! I love our little group… we’ve become really close in the 6 weeks we’ve been here, and I look forward to making many more memories with them.
