Europe: CHECK!

With the end of the semester fast approaching, my head is full...not of theories and theses, like is typical of this time of year, but of memories and stories, all of which I hope to never forget. So, I will be true to my finals mode and make some lists to clear my head (so I will have room for all of the memories to come)...Here we go!

My Semester Abroad in Numbers:
• 6 weeks lived out of a back pack
• 2 nights spent sleeping in airports
• 15 airplanes
• 11 countries
• 25 cities
• 44 blog posts
• 2977pictures
• 3 ballets
• 2 plays
• 6 art museums
• 2 boats
• 5 trains
• 1 roommate, 3 quadmates, 9 flatmates
• 1 scar
• 11 languages
• 5 hostels
• 1 B & B
• 5 hotels

Best of Copenhagen:
• Bakery: Christiania
• Sandwich shop: Eat Me
• Museum: Museum of Kunst
• Beach: Klampenborg
• Late night food: Shawarma
• Club: Kulor Bar
• Bar: LA Bar
• Place: Nyhavn
• Park: Kongens Nytorv (King’s Gardens)

Best of Europe:
• Meal: Dinner in a Castle – Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Hostel: Rivoli Cinema Hostel – Porto, Portugal
• Museum: Aros Art Museum – Arhus, Denmark
• Beach: “Fisherman’s beach” – Alghero, Sardinia, Italy
• Hike: Monterosso to Vernazza hike – Cinque Terre, Italy
• City: London
• Town: Vernazza, Cinque Terre, Italy
• Late night food: Walk to Wok – Amsterdam, Netherlands
• Club: Tiger.Tiger – London, UK
• Bar: Kulor Bar – Copenhagen, Denmark
• Church: St. Michael’s – Kiev, Ukraine
• Language: Russian
• Clothing store: Desigual – Barcelona, Spain
• Gelato: Tiramisu – Venice, Italy
• Pastries: Porto, Portugal
• Focaccia: Cinque Terre, Italy
• White wine: Cinque Terre, Italy
• Red Wine: Alghero, Sardinia
• Prettiest Place: Manarola – Cinque Terre, Italy
• Pizza: Poco Loco – Alghero, Sardinia

Of course, these lists will need some serious revising when I get back to the states after my next trip...but for now, I have cleared a little bit of room in my head for more...Bring it on Europe!

A home away from home away from home

When I came to Copenhagen, I was seeking a social experience. Of course I wanted to meet the Danes and experience their culture, but like so many of my peers, I really wanted to have fun and take a break from my hard-working-student life at home. Well, if you've been reading my blogs then I'm sure you have been able to tell that I've been living up to that dream, having both a social and a fun semester (it'd be pretty hard to miss...no reading between the lines needed.) But, DIS just happens to have this nifty thing called the visiting family program, where they set you up with a Danish family to hang out with on occasion; perfect for those of us who don't want a full-time host family but still would like some family time. Well, to add to the good fortune I have had this entire semester, I was paired up with the most incredible family, made up of a mom (Birgit), dad (Claus), two brothers (David and Daniel), and sister (Ditte.) Throughout the semester we have spent hours around their table, talking and laughing and eating delicious food, soaking in the hygge ("coziness") of their home right outside the center of the city. Early in the semester I went to Ditte's 18th birthday brunch, I spent a night out on the town with David and Daniel, compared musical tastes with Claus, and watched clips of Daniel playing handball with Birgit. From the start, I have fit right in and feel like I have gained a second family and a home away from my home away from home. Hopefully someday my two families will be able to meet on my side of the pond, but until then I have some great memories to go on.

Obamamania

When I was in China last summer, Kobe was the celebrity in the spotlight; this year in Europe, it's Obama. And I quite literally mean a celebrity; Obama is everywhere: his face is on everything, his posters cover every surface possible, and he is always on people's minds and entering into conversation. I started off my semester watching the inauguration in a random pub, finally feeling proud of my country for the first time in a long time. Since then, it's not uncommon to have a conversation go:

ME: "I'm American,"
EUROPEAN: "OBAMA!!!!!"

The Obama-related interrogations are definitely made easier by the fact that I have always been a firm Obama supporter, but these conversations are always a little bit tricky since I have lived out Obama's first months on the outside. As of right now, the only things I know about how things are going under our new president is from media and hearsay, so it will be quite interesting to re-enter an Obamafied America. But nevertheless, how refreshing.

Freedom or tolerance? Do you have to choose one or the other?

Today I watched as my entire News Media in Transition class argued for the Muslim side of the argument surrounding the Muhammed Cartoons that were published by the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten in 2005. After a class discussing this issue last week, we all received an email from our Danish teacher expressing his surprise that we - the American students, the poster-children of free speech - were not siding with the free-speech-above-all argument. And today as we sat through a panel discussion in the class, it became increasingly difficult to listen to the conservative and intolerant arguments that free speech should not be limited no matter who it offends or what lines of cultural, social, and religious sensitivity it crosses.

I have often had a hard time with American "political correctness," feeling that being PC was keeping Americans from discussing important issues and was exacerbating instead of healing some of the divisions in our society. But after these few classes, I started thinking: what exactly is American PC? Disregarding the extreme cases, it is a way of people being respectful, censoring themselves rather than causing unnecessary offense. In a country made up of so many backgrounds and opinions, we must use this sort of self-censorship so that our speech can be used as a means of exchange rather than attack.

And according to the speaker defending Jyllands-Posten’s, this “self-censorship” signals the beginnings of the loss of free speech. But I wonder, why do Danes feel so confronted about their rights to free speech? Defenders of the cartoons say that the cartoons were supposed to foster a debate about self-censorship and free speech, but why were they feeling threatened in the first place? Is this merely Denmark’s way of reacting to the diversity that is beginning to infiltrate its historically homogenous society? Or more, a way of recognizing the intolerance embedded in their social fabric, and not knowing how to negotiate it?

The US has battled over issues of free speech throughout the entirety of its existence and yet has seemed to accept that in order to protect our rights to both the freedom of speech and security, free speech is limited by permeable boundaries. In order to protect our rights, we have to learn to respect them and use them consciously and responsibly.

I agree with the defending argument that free speech should not be given up because of one group, but I also think freedom of speech can be exercised without being purposefully offensive, which just seems ignorant, irresponsible, and intolerant. Intolerance marks an entire culture, rather than the intolerant individuals within it. In our world today, we cannot afford to be intolerant.

Back to unreality

I had to get over my complete exhaustion before I could finally start processing my traveling experience. And it's interesting; I have realized that the things that stood out most were not in contrast to the United States, they were in contrast to Denmark. Maybe it was because the US is everywhere: in advertisements, in products, in language, in pop culture. Whereas Denmark, well, even Europeans sometimes have to ask where Denmark is. Here we are constantly reminded of how American we are, because anything outside of the Danish norm stands out, and yet while we were traveling, it was surprising to realize how Copenhagenized we had become. First of all, being from the US, we are all used to diversity in some form or another. But it was a shock to reenter a society not only full of diversity, but where people do everything they can not to conform. And it was almost hilarious to see how Danish we looked in our black leather jackets, boots, and scarves. And it was even weirder to go out and be surrounded by scantily clad girls and overly aggressive guys, which is almost non-existent here in Denmark. Even more, we had to relearn how to react to the dangers of big cities. Never once have I been afraid of pickpockets in Copenhagen or been worried to walk around late at night, whereas I had a death-grip on purse at all times as we wandered the streets of cities like London and Barcelona. In ways it was a relief to come back to the safe, sheltered bubble of Copenhagen, and in others, it was almost like falling back into a haze of unreality.

Some food for thought...

The US is one of two developed nations that permits the advertisement of prescription drugs, but is this ok? There are reasons that the rest of the world prohibits this type of advertisement, which is something we have been discussing in my advertising class. Follow the link below and watch the video clip; think about it...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rwendcLch-4

Black taxi, you are colourful today

The black taxi is to Londoners what the yellow cab is to New Yorkers: an easily spotted mode of transportation accessible by the flick of a hand. But more and more, taxis are taking on a new role as their traditionally sleek exteriors are being replaced by colorful advertisements for everything from tourist attractions to fashion magazines to shampoo. This picture perfectly exemplifies London’s transformation into a center of media hybrids where nothing is as it seems anymore: taxis are advertisements, advertisements are artwork, PR is advertising, and there is less and less paper involved in news papers. And even more, this eye-catching taxi, which proclaims not too subtly “Black taxi you are colourful today,” embodies the creative elements that are infiltrating the London media scene. Clearly, nothing is black and white anymore when it comes to London media, and the only way for journalists, advertisers, and various media firms to conquer the grey areas is to use creativity and innovation.