Back at the Junction

So after 9 months of traveling, living in Shanghai, a short Christmas Vacation in the US, and a short 4 month excursion to Copenhagen, I have returned home.

Feeling a bit jet-lagged.

More inspiration writings with come forth in the next few days.

Until then, stay classy.

Homeward Bound..

So Im glad to see that the ranks of my followers have risen to an enormous 5 dear friends and I thank you for your committment even though I have not written since March, I appreciate who reads this.

Today is my last wednesday in Copenhagen and saturday will be my last day aboard. Traveling the world these past Nine months has been an amazing experience. Alot has happenend in that time and I promise to finally post pictures on Facebook for your viewing pleasure once I get home and figure out my life.

I would like to say that I feel like I've grown up in a way, definitely in the independence department but in many ways this time abroad has only reaffirmed the fact that I am still a little kid. My jokes are still dirty, my laugh is still loud, and I still smile at the most inappropriate times but I guess thats just who I am, hopefully that still makes me a good person.

What I have learned while traveling is that you should not take anything for granted, which I know is hard to actually put in practice, but I am doing my best to let it always weigh on my mind throughout my daily activites. Take pictures whenever you can, and do your best to write things down; its good to remember the big picture but in the end its the little things throughout life that matter..remember these things they will enrich your life.

In the past nine months, I have traversed the sand dunes of the Gobi Desert, lived in a city of 22 million people, eaten my way through Italy and and nearly traveled to 3\4 of Europe. I would be wrong of me to say that I am not satisfied with the people Ive met and the places Ive seen, but I have come to the conclusion that my hunger for travel in insatiable.

Hopefully my future plans in life involve exploring the world, experiencing new cultures, and of course eating delicious food (I have ten extra pounds of culture on me to share with all of you).

Returning to America will be difficult for me, in many ways I will be frustrated and angry by being stuck at home, teaching swim lessons and doing the same ole crap that Hopewell has offered for the past decade, but in others I will fell at peace øthanks friends!.

Be Spontaneous, Be Adventurous, there is always something around the corner that is waiting to be discovered, and seen in a new light.

Although Im not sure ive grown in ways that will guarantee me a higher salary down the road, I do know that my life has been enriched by what I have done.

Fortunately there is always more to see and do. Hopefully next time you my dear friends can join me in these adventures.

To close,
Denmark has been wonderful, in regards to China it was a completely different culture and I would have to say apart from being obssesed with bikes and smoking the polar opposite of Shanghai. I loved that. Slow pace living and solace Vs. Chaos and the growing passes- not too often are these both experienced in such a short amount of time.

Well I hope to see you all in Mei Guo (USA) sometime at the end of this week. I must leave, I just consumed my last giant cinnamon roll from Saint Peters and now have 12 pounds of culture on me.

Catch you all across pond.

Peace.

From the Student Lounge My 2nd Home.

So I feel that I must take this time to vent about all of the bullshit about this semester that I finding annoying. Although I am determined and quite capable of putting it aside, I feel that it is necessary to take a "Word Dump" on the faces of those @ DIS, and others within Copenhagen that have made it their mission, whether they now it, to bring all the negative qualities of an American College Student to Europe.

YES I am talking about the BROS, HOES, SLUTS, FRAT BOYS, BROSHIFS, BIMBOS, HIOTCHES, and BIOTCHES that are the plague of existence within the higher education community. YOU ARE NOT IN AMERICA ANYMORE; I find it fascinating that people have become so caught up in their shit, that they still need to act fake and douschbaggish around others. No one cares how much weed you smoked this weekend, or that you Hooked up with that Rich Danish Guy. I hope that you all get hit by a Danish Bike Rider.

On a positive note, I am going to Malmo, Sweden this weekend- seeing some castles, attending a VIP party, going on a Smorrebrod (Danish Open Sandwich) tasting, and perhaps trying some Liver Paste...

It seems hard to deal with those that I despise so much coming from China last semester, where all the friends I made and people I met were real, inspired, outgoing, and truthful. Unfortunately that magnitude of persons has not traveled to Europe, which saddens me, but for those select few that I can call friends here, Thank you for being REAL PEOPLE. 

Now I am off to find some pizza, and perhaps visit the nearest museum. It's not all about blackout and hooking up with random Danes...

Until next time

Zai Jian

I Made Yellow Curry HotDogs for Dinner Tonight

So seeing that my enthusiasm for exploration has been severely diminished over the past two weeks, thanks in part to the gray skies but mostly the consuming of mass amounts of the juice, I figured it would be appropriate to actually write some sort of entry into this online blog.

For all those that bother to read this, hopefully a few others outside of Lexie *Thanks, Sorry for the horrific grammar* Be warned I will not PROOFREAD before submission, this blog is about writing thoughts, not elegant sentence structure.

So Copenhagen thus far has been a wonderful city to be in. The Danish are colorful in their own way and quite a joyous bunch, and the ones that I have met (yes mostly at bars, nightlife here is so critical to everyday life!) have been amazing people. The close proximity to Sweden has also allowed interaction with some of the Fabled Swedes, (YES YES We Know you Have Good Candy) alas my laziness has kept me from traveling to Malmo some 30 minutes across the bay, but they too are a quirky bunch. I will get there eventually I assure you.

Overall, the one aspect of the Scandinavians that I find appalling is their negativity towards Muslims and other immigrants who are flowing into the region. However this topic is one I will get back to in greater detail sometime in the near future. Its much more complex than I am making it sound.

Apart from that topic, Copenhagen is a diverse city, one that I say is struggling to accept certain cultural transitions which in a way makes the city all the more exciting. 

Returning to my inability to get up and go explore, it just dawned on me that the majority of my time in between classes has actually involved quite a bit of wandering. For those of you that truly know me, I have the tendency to just wander off especially at social gathers or in public places towards the nearest shop window or shiny thing. Some find this annoying, however I embrace my curiousity for it will keep me young, while those that look down upon it will be bitter old fools. Woo sorry, a little angry aren't I.

Alas the most recent wandering took place with one of my new friends Kiersten, she is quite the lively girl, quirky in her own right, and always smiling. Upon strolling down Stroget (HA its a walking street and it rhymes....) we found ourselves at a pastry shop *All streets in this city seem to lead to pastry shops, its so beautiful, artery clogging, but absolutely fricking delicious!*

FYI- In Denmark there is no such thing as a (Danish Pastry), it is actually called a Weinerbrød or (Vienna Bread). 

Also any legitimate bakery where they bake on premises will hang a Pretzel, normally painted Gold with the Royal Crown above it outside of their building.

This wandering concluded with a exploration of the crazy Danish Coffee Pots and Hot Chocolate Machines, and debate if we could purchase just one piece of fruit at the supermarket. All in All it was a great little afternoon treak.

Unfortunately I must return to the physical world, perhaps the Gym and then some homework seeing how it is 830 at night  and I have not touched any textbooks.

FUN FACT!

Although I need some more final details on the history of the event, listen up!

This week brings about the traditional Danish holiday of (I Forgot), but it is the equivalent to Halloween. From what I recall, only a few decades ago, before the Birth of Peta and the Death of JFK, traditional practice was the gather in the city square and take turns hitting a barrel like pinata filled with one or numerous black cats. *Note* you were not blindfolded the idea was to beat the living shit out of the barrel and scare the cat. Following the cats traumatic escape from the barrel, normal procedure was to then chase the cat and beat it to death thereby warding off evil spirits.

Fortunately for all the black cats of Denmark this is no longer the case, and today people of all ages were costumes and hit a pinata filled with different candies to compensate for the age old lust for feline blood that the holiday originally brought.

So on that note, I am sure more wacky details will come forth in the near future, I bid you all adieu.

*If you want to impress your friends* Say SKAL (pronounced SKULL) thats the Danish CHEERS!

Man on the Tracks..

So the other night on the way home from a 12 hour day at DIS *OH JOY*

A Man jumped from an overpass onto the oncoming train tracks, and pending further inquiry actually survived. Unknown to yours truly, before a nice Danish woman explained to me, that this is a normal occurance, and that the Copenhagen Metro System has a whole system of trains and buses set up in case of a so called *Jumper*

GOTTA LOVE EUROPEAN EFFICIENCY!

Let us Begin

First and foremost let it be clear that at this point everything that comes out of my mouth starts with, "Well in China..." as that was my first epic adventure for this year and is all that I truly have to reference, in terms of stark contrasts in the world.

Secondly, I currently reside in Copenhagen Denmark and am having a great time, all be it not as epic as China, but Europe especially Scandanavia is fulfilling and beautiful in its own way.

Finally, Danes do not like peanut butter..... what the hell people!