Tourist Transitions

We have left Copenhagen. On our last day we went to Tivoli, an amusement park in the center of the city, and rode a 100-year-old roller coaster that had a brake person who slows the ride using a hand brake. I am excited to know that we will be a short train ride away from Copenhagen all year as there is much more to see and do including taking in a football (soccer) game, two teams in the Danish Superliga are based in Copenhagen, FC Copenhagen and Brondby.

Our next stop following Copenhagen was Roskilde where we visited the Viking ship museum. Roskilde has a rich history and the museum tells the story of five Viking longships that were recovered from the Roskilde Fjord where they were used to create a barrier between the town and the attacking Norwegians.

One of the kinds of boats shown at the museum was a dugout made from a single log, not as impressive as a Haida canoe but the same idea. The museum also showed how the Viking boat builders made planks using wedges and I was reminded of how the Haida made planks that way too.

We will be moving into our house tomorrow and begin the transition from tourist to temporary residents, now wouldn’t it be nice if we had those permits…..

What time is it?

Today is our second full day in Denmark, the past two have been spent adjusting to time change and taking in as much of Copenhagen as we can under the circumstances. This morning I was up before 5 but that’s an improvement over 3.

Yesterday we did a lot of walking and went to our first castle – Rosenborg. We also saw the little mermaid statue in the harbour, Jesse and Gus took pictures with a Hans Christian Anderson statue, and we walked down many a narrow street, lots of brick and stone. I guess all we can do when we see new things is attach it to what we know and so I find myself comparing what I see to what I have seen before, a bird slightly different but crow-like (a kind of crow?), carless streets remind me of Quebec City, the bikes make me think about what Vancouver would like to be. I had heard about the popularity of bikes but I am still surprised to see so many. So many Danes, young and old travelling to work and elsewhere by bike! A related observation I think is that everyone seems fit, which I suppose you would be if you biked everywhere you went.

Today we go to visit our new home in Ringsted, Niels was kind enough to meet us at the airport when we arrived and we look forward to meeting his family. Niels has also started a blog – Christensen in Canada – this was meant to be.

Two Days to Ferry

It is Friday and we are on the ferry on Monday. I’m trying not to think about all that needs to get done between now and then, reminding myself that whatever shape things are in when we leave is just how it is going to be. Half of the things I have done over the past two weeks are things I may not have done for another year or more, and yet somehow they have to be done before someone else comes to live in my house. I’m sure they will appreciate the weather stripping around the front door, the rotation of compost, and the well-organized basement.

Yesterday I carefully crammed my stack of Masters related paperwork into a drawer and I thought about how this is what the upcoming year is all about. Teaching abroad is like going back to school, it is a way of making sure that I’m not getting too comfortable, that I’m not slipping into routines, that I am challenged and always applying new learning to my life and work. I remember the discomfort I experienced going back to school, my flailing in the deep end, but I know how to swim.   

My mind is occupied more frequently with imaginings of first days, first classes, first staff meetings. I have to remind myself that just because I can’t understand what they are saying doesn’t mean I should imagine they are saying bad things about me. Denmark: a different language, a different culture, and a staff larger than our school, a whole ocean of discomfort to flail about in.