Family Dinner

Many years ago my Danish brother, sister and cousins spent each Tuesday afternoon with their grandmother.  For Grandma's birthday one year, the grandchildren decided to have a Tuesday night dinner for her in memory of the good old days.  This soon emerged into a family tradition and they now get together the last Tuesday of every month for a special meal.  Dinner was held at Rasmus' house this month and I was glad to be a part of it.  Loved the memories everyone shared tonight such as the time Bodil decided it was a good idea to buy a pony because she had always wanted one when she was younger.  After leaving it in the garden for one night she soon realized she had made a mistake and immediately brought the pony back to where it came from.  Or the family canoe & camp vacation a few years ago when everyone thought someone else was going to bring the tents.  When they finally arrived in Sweden, the family realized they were going to be completely "tent-less" on the camping trip.  Here's the family photo--Danish mom, brother, sister, cousins, uncles, aunts and grandmother!

Butcher's Garage

I heard so much positive feedback about "Butcher's Garage" that I knew I needed to give them a try!  Butcher's Garage is one of nine crossfit affiliates in Copenhagen, Denmark that is located in a two room warehouse at the edge of town.  Walking into the gym was a bit intimidating but I immediately fell in love! It became clear during my first workout that Butcher's Garage strives to create a supportive environment because every crossfitter in the building was screaming and cheering me on.  Although I had no idea what everyone was saying, you could just feel the encouraging energy in the building.  Looking forward to more training at the Garage!

Random Fact- The owners of Butcher's Garage also have a second crossfit location in Copenhagen called Butcher's Lab which can be found in the old Meatpacking District.  I tried out this gym first but I was completely disgusted walking into a stuffy room equipped with stainless steel counters and dirty tiles from floor to ceiling.  Trying to exercise in a former cow slaughterhouse made me sick to my stomach so I am glad the owners opened up a second location in a much better part of town!

America the Beautiful

This was my weekend to teach Guilia a little bit about America so we started off the afternoon by cooking hamburgers and fries for lunch.  I was a little nervous since we were cooking the burgers in a frying pan on the stove instead of out on a grill but they turned out just fine!  Although lunch was good, the best part of the day was definitely the dessert.  My mom helped me think of some ideas and I ended up deciding to make smores!   You can find chocolate anywhere here in Copenhagen but it took all week to find a bag of marshmallows and some graham crackers!  This was Guilia’s first time eating a marshmallow and I am pretty sure she immediately fell in love because every time I looked over she was sneaking another one out of the bag!  As we roasted marshmallows on the stove, I tried to explain that this would normally take place outdoors by an evening campfire.  Being used to eating everything with a fork and knife, I think Guilia was a little nervous about the idea of picking up a sticky smore with her hands but she ended up being “fascinated” with the dessert!  I turned around to check on her while I was cleaning up the kitchen and she was already busy making seconds!  All her friends in Italy have now heard of and seen pictures of this crazy American dessert!  Such a success! 

Fastelavn

Today I got to celebrate the Danish holiday of Fastelavn, which is commonly referred to as the Nordic Halloween.  Children dress up in costume and look forward to coming home at night with a bag full of sweet treats.  Many towns in Denmark are known for their large Fastelavn festivities and parades complete with a traditional event called slå katten af tønden ("beat the cat out of the barrel").  But don’t worry, these days the barrel or piñata is filled with candy instead of a real black cat!  I spent the afternoon is Dragør, a small town outside of Copenhagen, and got to watch a round of “beat the car” played by about 20 horseback riders.  The one who knocks down the bottom of the barrel (making all the candy spill out) becomes kattedronning ("queen of cats"); the one who knocks down the last piece of the barrel becomes kattekonge ("king of cats").  After the King and Queen were crowned today, we headed back home to enjoy the holidays traditional dessert, Fastelavnbolle, which is a round sweet roll covered with chocolate pudding and whipped cream.  They came homemade from Bodil’s mother and were absolutely delicious!  

Afternoon with Guilia

I feel like I want to start every blog with "I had the best day ever!"  Being in Copenhagen has been absolutely incredible and I have definetly enjoyed every minute of my time here!  Today was a lazy rainy afternoon at Guilia's apartment but I had such a great time with her.  We had pasta and wine for lunch, followed by tea and biscuits for dessert.  Guilia then taught me so much about my iPhone and I am now set to Skype and iMessage from my phone instead of needing to be stuck at home by my computer to communicate with everyone!  It was then my turn to teach her a few important things.  I honestly don't believe this but she had never heard of Oprah or Ellen Degeneres.  That just amazes me!?  How does someone not know Oprah!?  So we spent some time on youtube watching any clip we could find!  Next weekend it is my turn to make some American food for her so I think I will whip up some PB&J and jello for us!  That sounds awful!  Will be getting on google tonight to think of something good!

Barcelona

Crossfit Copenhagen rented out part of Barcelona tonight, a bar in the Norrebro district of Copenhagen.  Had the best time with my new friend Lilja that I met during our weekly Friday afternoon workout with Daniel!  She moved from Iceland to Denmark two years ago with her boyfriend to study radiology at the University of Copenhagen.  Here we are bundling up for the 3km bike ride home!

International Sports Law

Just finished reading my assignment for International Sports Law.  Here is a great quote that the author of the book, who also happens to be my professor, wrote about American sports. 

..the "Americanization" of European sports has been portrayed as posing the clearest and most present danger to the well-being of European sport.  American professional sports are a "three ring circus" with no morals or ethics and with only one objective: profit maximization at any cost."  

Really!?  A three ring circus!?  Guess my professor isn't much of a fan of the States!  Definitely not going to mention that I am from California! 

Norway

After a quick trip on the train, a few stops on the metro, an hour long flight, two busses and a car ride, I finally arrived in Budor.  Budor is a small ski resort just outside of Oslo, Norway that easily became my absolute favorite place in Europe.  The seven of us (me, Bodil, Rasmus, Jeppe, Emil, Victor & Gustav) stayed in a two bedroom flat.  Yes, I just said seven of us in a two bedroom flat for the week!  We all headed out on our skis after dropping off our luggage and I quickly learned that I can NOT ski.  The plan was a few long, flat cross country ski trips but my first night was filled with ridiculously steep hills.  I'm surprised everyone in the States couldn't hear me scream as I awkwardly plummeted down the hill until falling to a stop.  After a few hours we stopped back home for dinner before heading out for round two.  

I started my Saturday morning with a hike up the mountain and enjoyed some incredible views.  It was so peaceful that I put on my tennis shoes and went back up the hill on a run in the afternoon.  Added some lunges, squats and push ups into my run which made for a great outdoor workout.  

The boys decided to slalom ski on Monday, making me the official photographer for the morning.  After a few hours, Bodil and I decided to leave the boys on the mountain while we went on a cross country ski tour.  It began to snow during our afternoon trip which I absolutely loved!  Later we left the boys at home to cook dinner and went on our second trip out late at night.  There were no lights so we had to rely on the tracks to guide us trough the snow.  The few stars and distant cabin lights created some truly stunning views.  Bodil and I stopped several times during the trip in absolute amazement; it looked like we were walking through a fairytale.  The scenery in Norway is so surreal that words can not even begin to describe my experience.  We shared Budor with a handful of people on the weekend but I think we were the only ones in town during the week.  The resort was so peaceful and serene that I would go back in a heartbeat.  The best part was being able to look around in any direction and not see a sole in sight!  Thank you Bodil for letting me be a part of your family ski trip! 

Baking with Bodil

On my flight home and will post something later this week about my trip but here are a few pictures of Bodil baking fresh rolls for dinner.  Sad to go home and have to cook for myself again because I enjoyed being spoiled with incredible home cooked meals this past week!  While making dinner last night we learned that the country of Norway has a shortage of butter so the stick we got from the store was 77 Norwegian Kroner.  That is $13.50 USD.  Yes, we paid $13USD for a little bit of butter!  And I thought Denmark was expensive....

København Universitet

Two weeks into the semester, I can definitely say that my time in Copenhagen is going to be much less stressful than at McGeorge.  It’s hard to say this, but it is almost hard to deal with some of the differences.  The first difference I have noticed is the importance of time.  At McGeorge, it was pretty crucial to be on time to class.  Some professors may let you slip in late but others, such as 8:00am Civil Procedure with Galves, would resort to public humiliation.  You better be sure you are prepared when walking in late to Prof. Galves because you can guarantee you will be the one he calls on for answers to ridiculously hard questions the entire class.  Whenever I would hit traffic during my morning commute, I would contemplate turning around and missing class instead of showing up after lecture had began.  Here in Copenhagen, the University had a brilliant idea.  Classes are scheduled on the hour but there is something known as the academic quarter, which means instruction doesn’t actually start until fifteen after.  That gives students time to show up late to class.  Well it worked for the first class but now students just consider the class to start at fifteen past so they are still showing up last minute and late.  One of my professor welcomes everyone into the class, even after she has started the lecture, and will walk through the room helping late students find a seat while giving them a quick update on what they missed the first few minutes.  Umm….really!?  Show up on time people.  A judge in court is not going to deal with your inability to be punctual. 

The second thing that is beginning to drive me a bit crazy is that people don’t come prepared to class.  Honestly, I can even imagine not doing the reading assignment before a lecture at McGeorge.  And if you aren’t going to read, at least download the case briefs/outlines off the internet so you have at least some idea what is going on.  Yesterday in my Intl Children’s Law class we got put into groups of eight to do group presentations and there were groups in which not one person had done the reading.  Unbelievable.  I feel like I am back in high school and not working towards a law degree.  Although this semester will be relaxing, I have to remember that in sixth months it’s back to reality at McGeorge so I can’t slack off too much! 

Oh and we have had two weeks of classes and now it is winter break!  Two weeks on, one week off!?  Seems so strange!  I am just finishing packing and will be heading out in the morning to Oslo, Norway for my very first ski trip!  Will be gone for five days and am just praying I come back in one piece which I know may be asking for too much!  The weather this week in Oslo has been -22*C (-8*F) so I’m hoping it will warm up a little this weekend because that it just ridiculous! 

IKEA

I’m almost embarrassed to admit that it took me a month in Denmark before I made my first trip to the local IKEA store!  IKEA got its start right here in the Scandinavian countries and is known to locals as just a mass-discount store with cheap items, almost like Wal-Mart is to Americans.  My friend and I walked in with a short list but, of course, left with a cart full of things we couldn’t resist.  Now it’s time to clean my room and get organized... 

"Great Danes"

EVERY YEAR, WALLETS ARE SPRINKLED THROUGHOUT DIFFERENT COUNTRIES IN A TEST OF TRUST TO SEE HOW MANY ARE RETURNED TO THEIR OWNER; THE DANES ALWAYS WIN.