The last blog post in the universe: Part I

Hello, it's me, your friendly neighborhood plumber yet again and it's about time for a recap on everything that has been going on over here. So fasten your seatbelts because you might doze off in front of your computer, fall off your chair and get a concussion, a broken spine and herpes or something.

I admit that I lied a bit in the first paragraph because who in the world would want to actually sit down and read about everything that has been going on in my life. Not all the things I do here really deserve to be written down.

For the sake of appearances, I suppose it would be a reasonable idea to stop beating around the bush and start writing about stuff. The only alternative would be to post some pictures and write one-liners under them, but since I'm not that lazy and I don't (from the point of view of the police) legally own a photo-camera, I will not stoop to such a level just yet.

Here’s a semi-brief semi-overview of the last few weeks:

I went to Copenhagen three weeks ago and I liked the experience. To sum it up: I ate some sandwiches; was present (but not fully conscious) at a workshop about culture-shock and other things I can’t remember; went bowling and lost horribly; slept in an unreasonably expensive hotel without paying a dime for it and visited a kind of ex-hippie Mecca called Christiania (of which I will write an article when I get bored enough).

I also had the joy of grabbing a week-long winter holiday which was slightly more than great but still under the ‘amazing’- threshold. The most notable events were visiting two different zoos - Randers Regnskov and Kattegatcentret.

The first one is an indoor rainforest where many of the (furrier) animals are not kept in cages. A fantastic experience, the only problem is that you can neither touch nor fondle the animals inappropriately or throw people into some of the cages where the dangerous critters are kept.

The second is a sort of aquatic zoo with big sharks and boring, dull-eyed fish which look like they just want to die. I got to touch some of the more harmless sharks and lobsters - though I'm not too sure whether they were alive (or really lobsters for that matter) - therefore I have no complaints.

I must not forget to mention visiting the local science museum. The only thing of any interest there was a model of a human being whose organs you could remove and put in a red box next to the model. I removed all the organs, but I didn’t have the time or the know-how to put them back so I just gave the model back its lungs, caecum, an eyeball, and part of his brain and stuffed the rest of the organs back into the box. I couldn’t help but feel sorry for the model - Larry I named him - as we left him there on the operating table with only about 1/6 of his organs and the rest inside a filthy plastic box. Godspeed Larry, we’ll see you in another life – hopefully one where you have all your organs, or at least more than half of them.

Another interesting place I visited was the Danish history museum where they showcased the Tollund Man - the naturally mummified corpse of a man who lived during the 4th century BC (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tollund_Man). He wasn’t all that active in that glass coffin of his, what with him being dead and all. He reminded me of dried plums or, even better, licorice. One would think that if a man looked like plums then at one point in his life (or death when it comes to the Tollund Man) he would certainly hear something along the lines of “Look at him, he is so sweet!” from a gang of teenage girls, but apparently girls aren't really fond of comparing dead bodies to the sweetness of certain foods. Oh well Tollund Man, I can only comfort you with the fact that your brain has long stopped functioning so you don’t have to worry about your appearance anymore.

The way the Tollund Man died was also quite intriguing. Apparently he was sacrificed in a bog by his fellow villagers. His leg was broken and his throat was cut – all in the name of some invisible man in the sky (a practice that mankind has not yet fully abandoned, as you can see by watching the news).

Things I forgot to mention:

· Visiting a salt-museum (very interesting if you have a lamp for a brain).

· Visiting the local university.

· Probably something else.

I’d like to write more right now, but time’s a-wastin’ and I haven’t done my homework yet. I’ll write more tomorrow or some other day and I promise it will be more interesting and longer than this post.

Here's a stupid picture I allowed/demanded to be taken of myself:

It's me, again

I obviously can't think of any original titels. Oh well.

It's getting harder and harder to write. This might aswell mean that my mind is settled here.

Yesterday we went to visit our dad's mother, which means we went to see Bjørg's and Hilde's farmor. She's a nice old lady, who lives in a cozy little house in a humble town called Kolding. There I saw once again provement to my theory, that all grandmothers prepare a feast when they know that guests are coming. There were four of us going on a visit, but there was enough food to feed 8 people. Grandmas are awesome.

I hope that when I am old, I will not turn into an avid collector of stuff. If I live that long, my house will be probably empty of porcelan figures, pictures (unless contemporary art) and other collectibles.

And the day before that, I went to Aros, accompanied by my sketchbook and got inspired


A view from the window at Laura's house.



I'll add some pictures later

Head Vabariigi aastapäeva, Eesti!

Process so far

Well, the holidays are over, which is always a sad thing, nevertheless, which is never appreciated while it lasts.
Things haven't been all sunshine and daisies, dear readers, but for reasons I'm keeping for myself. Non of public property.

Other than that, here are the highlights of my mini-vacation.

1. Cooked an excellent dinner with Bjørg. Something which consists of macaroni filled with ricotta and parmsan, oven-baked with tomato sauce. Yes, the stuff you see on cooking shows.
2. Went to see Black Swan. Amazing movie, worth the money and both waiting for to see it in a lounge filled with smell of burnt pop corn.
3. Chilling at Laura's place, she's a friend of Bjørg. Her cat Misse (that's the spelling, probably) woke me up in the morning by finding out that my stomach is an excellent sleeping spot.
4. Seeying Pille, always nice. (Pille, the next pizza is on me!)
5. Probably something else which I forgot.

Cheers!

Lame assignment/essay thing

What do people miss most about their own country and culture when they go abroad?

There comes a time in every traveler’s journey when they are forced to take a look back at where they came from (in the case discussed here: their home country) and collate the experiences they have had there with the ones that they have recently acquired in their new environment. This period of cogitation (which can be either long or brief, depending on the individual) upon the differences between a person’s home country and their new, usually temporary location in the world may sometimes have an adverse effect on the state of mind of the traveler – the person might start to miss something from back home. But what are the things that a layman migrant may miss most when said migrant is abroad?

Unfortunately mankind has not yet evolved to a state of collective consciousness and it is therefore impossible for anyone to tell what people may or may not miss when they are in another country without assuming that all people share the same mentality, personality, values and overall impression on life. With this in mind it is both inane and futile to ask a person to say what they think people miss the most when they are abroad because there are now almost 7 billion representatives of the human race out there – also 7 billion minds with various things they may or may not miss. Most things can’t be proven without sufficient evidence and such is also the case with the subject at hand.

But if one were to set the aforementioned counterproductive arguments aside, considering all that as just a minor digression from the main subject, and look at the broader picture – mankind in general – then some common denominators between people here and there could be found with regards to “missing things when abroad”. For example, an edified spirit would not miss anything at all from their home country because only the ignorant choose to mentally embellish one small section of the fishbowl (where they were born) over another section of the fishbowl (where they just haven’t happened to have been before) and brood over their temporary absence from the first of the two – it’s the same fishbowl regardless of one’s location at a given time.

To conclude this schizophrenic menagerie of mostly unrelated statements, it has to be said that a considerable amount of people probably miss their friends and family the most because they are really the only reasons for a normal person to function at all.

Randers Regnskov

Käisime kolmapäeval perega vihmametsas(Randers Regnskov). Koht ise on väga fantastiline. Seal on erinevad kuplikesed, kus on selle piirkonna loomad. Lõuna-Ameerika majake koos oma vabade ahvide ja lindudega oli minu isiklik lemmik. Omamoodi kogemus on ka "ussimaja", kus enamus madusi on vabad, aga ei tasu karta, nad ei hammusta (ma vähemalt loodan nii). Nad on üldjuhul lehtede vahel peidus ja magavad. Mõned suured ja ohtilkud maod olid siiski puuri pistetud ning neid söödeti jäneste ja hiirtega, mis tundusid üpriski värsked olevat( seal on üleval ajad, millal kedagi kuskil toidetakse ning seda on võimalik vaadata).

Annan väikse ülevaate piltides.



Mina ja mu õde.


Väike krokodilli beebi, keda õnnestus paitada.

Õde,ema ja mina.

Assignment

What do people miss most about their own country and culture when they go abroad?

After a while everyone gets missing something on their own country. For some people it takes more time to miss someone or something and another one can miss this anything in the first day.

Mostly people miss their friends and family, because you are separated from them a long time and you can’t see and speak face to face with them. We are used to speak or see some people every day, but if you are away, then you can’t do this, but if you are back then you have this opportunity again. Also some people can miss some specific food, what you are used to eat, but aboard it is impossible.

You can miss talking in your language and jokes in your mother tongue. It is always much easier and understandable to speak in your native language.

In my opinion Estonia and Denmark are quite similar and because of that there isn’t much to miss back. We both are small countries, even we look like similar. Perhaps in here are more natural blond and read head people. For other nationalities we seem shy and reserved, but it seems to me that danes are more helpful and open-minded. Every country has their own pros and cons.

I think in twenty first century everything what you need is close. If you have internet connection you can talk with your friends, read news, listen and watch your own music and TV-series and also you can buy a flight ticekt back home.So there aren’t any good reason why do miss something , when everything is great.

Christiania - it is a must-go. Google it and go there. It will broaden your minds.

But from 13 to 17 I went skiing in Germany. Needless to say it was great! 10 hours in a car twice is not the best but I managed. I definitely over reacted all my fears about skiing though. I mean I wasn't exactly good at it, but I didn't break my legs - I'm awesome. Just so you could laugh at me I should mention that I had the worst problems with stopping almost every single time - managed to fall into a wall and at the end of the baby-mountain and hit a person and fall on the machine-lift (like an escalator for skis and they actually had to stop the machine so I could get up), also fell myself down on the snow so I wouldn't hit a tree. I fell a lot, but like I said, didn't brake any bones.
There was another family with us on the trip that they have known for 16 years or so, they also have two kids. We spent our free time with them. Oh, and one night we went for dinner at the Czech Republic just randomly. I quite smirked at that, to have dinner at another country. But mostly the trip was just a vacation in a vacation. I enjoyed it.

Pictures are coming soon...

Siiani on kõik hästi:)

Võiks öelda, et meie koolivaheaeg algas 10.02(-11.02) koolitusega Kopenhaagenis ja nüüd on see üks nädal täielikult alanud. Loodan, et tuleb tore ja sisukas vaheaeg.

Minu ettekujutus sellest koolitusest oli hoopis teistsugune, kui see tegelikult oli. Oma mõtetes, paar päeva enne seda kujutasin ette suurt ruumi mitmekümne õpilasega, aga ei, olime ainult meie 5 eestlast ja 2 itaallannat ning meie kordinaatorid (neile oli eraldi koolitus). Meie õpilaste koolitus kestis 4 h järjest, aga see ei olnud üldse igav ja tüütu istumine ühes ruumis paigal. Koolituse viis läbi Tobias/Thobias, kes on olnud ise ka vahetusõpilane ainult, et aasta ja USA-s. Ta hoidis koguaeg põnevust ja sära üleval. Me tegime palju grupitööd, argumenteermist ja põhjendamist, tutvusime rohkem Taani stereotüüpide ja hoiakutega võrreldes Eesti ja Itaaliaga. Kui 4h läbi oli, saime lõpuks oma asjad hotelli viia ja õhtust süüa, toimus ka sõbralik bowlingu mäng ja õhtune jalutuskäik linnas, kus leidsime ülilaheda reklaamtahvli vms, mida sai liigutada, katsuda ja sellega pilti teha. Teise päeva hommikul enamus meist käisid ujumas enne 2 tunnist ekskursiooni Chrstianias. Minu jaoks oli see juba teine kord selles linnakeses, aga esimest korda koos giidiga, kes ise elab seal ja mõned uued kohad ka. Käisime lõunatamas, lahkusime hotellist ja tund vaba aega linnas kulus ka kiirelt ning 3,5 h pärast olime tagasi kodus. Kokkuvõttes oli väga meeldiv koolitus, kus sai kasulikke näpunäiteid.

Õhtul naabrite juures sai ka lõpuks ära proovitud nende kuulsad magusad kartulid, jõulutoit ja selgeks õpitud mõni uus kaardimäng. Nädalavatus möödus mul pere seltsis, käisime poodides, uisutamas, sõitsime veidi ringi, tegime õhtusööki, sest meil käisid külalised -sain oma kokkamisoskusi meelde tuletada.

Nende poodide lahtiolekuajad erinevad väga Eestist. Laupäeviti on kõik poed ülerahvastatud, sest need on avatud ainult kella 16.00 ja pühapäeval on absoluutselt kõik poed suletud. Nädala sees on poed avatud kella kuueni, toidupoed on vist 20.00 ja reedeti hoiavad nad poed 19.00-20.00 lahti. Mõned poed on avatud ka kuu esimesel pühapäeval 11-16.00. Ühesõnaga nii nagu paljudes teisteski riikides. Ma olen siiski harjunud, et saan minna pühapäeval poodi ja osta, mida parasjagu vajan.

Tutvusime erinevate väikeste sadamatega ja nende kalapaadiga. Tundub, et igas mereäärses linnakeses on oma sadam.

Sunny Saturday

And indeed, a weather was a pleasant suprise right from the beginning. Although a little frosty to my taste.

Having picked the absolutely wrong clothes to go out with, the day was still quite a success.

I managed to make friends with the library in Aarhus. During our trip back from Copenhagen, Tanel incepted interest towards a Japanese writer Haruki Murakami and influenced by this new idea a got a book of his. And of Terry Pratchet's.

Met Taniel and hanged around a little why. Was glad to see that the guy's doing fine.

And in the evening, Bjørg invited some of her classmates over and we watched Fight Club. (Cross out the fact that the receiver had to start 4 times before it agreed to give us the sheer joy of watching that perfectly mind-f*** movie). I really- really want to watch it again.

Other than that, enjoy the pictures.

hei!

Mainiks ära mõned huvitavad küsimused ja veendumused. Mõnda küsimust neist on kohe päris palju küsitud.

Do you have a lot of prostitutes in Estonia?

Do you have twix (chocolate) in Estonia?

What are you wearing in winter?

Does Estonia look like Russia?

Do you have animals in Estonia?

Do you have black bread in Estonia?

Is it cold in summer?

Do you understand Latvian language?

You have russian maffia in Estonia.( see on paljude kindel arvamus)

Nende arust on eesti keel väga naljakas.