23/4-15: Fairytales in first grade

The man to the left is rotarian Nathan Brown, who's granddaughter, Belle in the striped dress, is in the class

Allerede da jeg i efteråret gav min første præsentation om Danmark ved Rotary, blev jeg spurgt om ikke jeg ville komme og fortælle lidt i en 1. klasse - i april lykkedes det endelig at få en aftale på plads. 

Med fokus på H.C. Andersen og kongefamilien gik præsentationen rent ind ved børnene som til sidst kunne vinde en præmie ved at være den bedste til at sige "rødgrød med fløde". 

Efterfølgende fik jeg mulighed for at snakke lidt med børnene, hvor pigen på det sidste billede f.eks. spurgte om min mor var gode venner med dronningen, og om jeg da ikke kendte hende personligt? 

Der var mange andre nysgerrige spørgsmål som f.eks. hvordan jeg var kommet herover, hvor min mor var, og især det med hvordan man blev prinsesse. 

Jeg behøver vel ikke at sige at Frozen-sammenligningen gik rent ind ved pigerne..? :-)

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Already when I gave my first presentation to Rotary about Denmark during fall, I was asked if I would come speak to a 1st grade class - and in April we finally managed to make it happen. 

Focusing on Hans Christian Andersen and our royal family, the presentation was a huge success with the kids who at the end could win small prizes by being the best at saying "rødgrød med fløde" (which is the name of a Danish dessert). 

Afterwards I had the chance to talk a bit with the kids, and the girl on the last picture asked me if my mother was good friends with the queen, or if at least I knew her personally?

There were a lot of other curious questions like how I had gotten over here, where my mom was, and especially how you become a princess. 

Needless to say the Frozen comparison was a winner too.. :-)

The current situation at Valdosta State University

I fredags imens jeg fredeligt lå på stranden i Miami, var en knap så fredelig situation i gang med at udvikle sig tilbage på Valdosta State University. 

Herunder følger min forhåbentligt objektive og uspekulerende beskrivelse af situationen:

***

Fredag eftermiddag var der nogle studerende som demonstrerede på universitets grund. 

Demonstrationen omhandlede ifølge andre kilder, regeringen, racisme, samt hvordan demonstranterne mente at "hvide" har mere magt verdenen over end "sorte". 

Under demonstrationen blev det amerikanske flag gået på, og ifølge nogle også brændt, hvilket førte til stærke reaktioner fra andre, blandt andet en kvindelig veteran som tog flaget fra demonstranterne, for at undgå at de gik på det. 

Universitetspolitiet som overvågede situationen kunne ikke tillade kvinden at tage flaget som ikke var hendes, og da hun ikke ville give det tilbage, blev hun derfor tilbageholdt. 

(læs historien en artikel om historien her). 

I kølvandet på hændelserne fredag, blev der hurtigt lagt an til en moddemonstration som skulle hylde det amerikanske flag og alt hvad det står for. 

Denne demonstration foregik mandag og flere hundrede studerende, professorer m.m. deltog da der blev sunget nationalsang samt afsagt "Pledge of Allegiance" til flaget som er tradition i USA. 

Gruppen som startede demonstrationerne vendte senere tilbage, men alting foregik rimeligt fredeligt. 

Senere mandag aften begyndte rygterne dog at svirre på de sociale medier, blandt andet med billeder af de oprindelige demonstranter hvorpå de bar våben og udtrykte trusler overfor den "hvide" befolkning. 

Mange studerende blev meget bekymrede, da truslerne var meget direkte, og med historien for vold på amerikanske universiteter var der flere som snakkede om helt at blive væk fra skolens område indtil situationen blev bragt til hvile. 

Tirsdag svirrede rygterne fortsat, og politiets tilstedeværelse på campus var tydeligt forhøjet efter at det var blevet offentligt at de havde påbegyndt en efterforsking af truslerne på de sociale medier. 

Sidst på eftermiddagen offentligtgjorde universitetet at lederen af den oprindelige demonstration nu var eftersøgt af politiet efter at man havde fundet en skoletaske med et våben i som viste sig at tilhøre lederen. 

Det er endnu ikke lykkes politiet at finde den eftersøgte studerende, som de i øjeblikket mener forsøger at gemme sig enten her i byen eller uden for byen. De mener i hvert fald ikke at han udgør nogen direkte trussel for de studerende på nuværende tidspunkt, selvom de anser ham for at være farlig og bevæbnet. 

***

Som I nok kan regne ud er situationen på universitetet altså rimeligt anspændt disse dage, hvor jeg må indrømme at jeg personligt forsøger ikke at tilbringe så meget tid på den centrale del af campus. 

Indtil situationen udviklede sig til hvad den er nu, synes jeg faktisk det var en spændende oplevelse at se de studerende samt lokalbefolkningen stå sammen om at beskytte nationens flag. 

Udover blot at tage afstand fra den første demonstration, var der en tydelig bevægelse mod at forsøge at fremme forståelsen blandt alle parter og i øvrigt forsøge at vende hændelsen til noget positivt. 

På torsdag har Valdostas borgmester annonceret officiel flag-dag i hele byen, og selvom jeg tager tidligt på weekend, håber jeg at se mange striber og stjerner på min tur ud af byen. 

I kan læse den seneste officielle udmelding fra universitetet her.

Med dette indlæg håber jeg at undgå spekulationer, skulle nogen ske at høre/se noget i medierne - særligt de sociale - de næste dage. 

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Friday afternoon while I was peacefully lying on the beach in Miami, a not so peaceful situation was developing at Valdosta State University. 

Here is a hopefully objective and non-speculative description of what has happened:

***

Friday afternoon a group of students demonstrated on campus grounds. 

The demonstration was according to other sources, against the government, racism, and how they believe that there is "white supremacy" all over the world. 

During the demonstration the students walked, and allegedly also burned an American flag, which lead to strong reactions from amongst others, a female veteran who showed up to take the flag from the group, to keep them from desecrating it. 

Campus police who were monitoring the situation could not let the woman take a flag which was not hers, and when she did not want to give it back to them, she was detained by police. 

(Read an article on the story here).

Following the actions of Friday, a counter-demo was quickly put together to salute, cherish and celebrate the flag and everything it represents. 

The counter-demo took place Monday and hundreds of students, faculty and staff showed up to sign the Star-Spangled Banner and give their Pledge of Allegiance to the flag. 

The original demonstrating group later returned to speak further on their beliefs, but everything went on peacefully. 

Later Monday night the rumors started spreading on social media, some showing images of the first group of demonstrants with weapons and threatening messages, and with the history of violence on American universities many students started talking about not coming to school until the situation was put to rest. 

Tuesday the rumors were still flowing, and police presence on campus had been notedly increased since it was now public that they had started an investigation into the threats posted on social media. 

At the end of the afternoon, the university announced that the leader of the group was now wanted by the police after they had found a book bag on campus containing a gun which belonged to said leader. 

The police has not yet succeeded in apprehending the suspect, who they currently believe is hiding somewhere off campus. They do not believe that he is posing any direct threat to the university or the students, even though they do believe he is armed and dangerous. 

***

As you probably know by now, the situation is very tense these days, and I must admit that I am trying not to spend too much time on main campus. 

Until the situation developed into what it is now, I was actually finding the situation very interesting, especially seeing the local community come together to support and protect the nation's flag. 

Besides just distancing themselves from the original demonstration, I actually felt like there was a real movement towards enhancing understanding and also trying to turn the events into something positive. 

This Thursday the Mayor of Valdosta has announced an official flag day in the town, and even though I will be leaving early for another weekend, I hope to see many stars and stripes on my way out of town. 

You can read the latest statement from Valdosta State University here. 

With this post I hope to avoid any speculation in case anyone sees/hears anything in the media - especially the social ones - the next couple of days. 

20/3-15: The Big Apple?

Now you're in New York! 

These streets will make you feel brand new 

These lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York!

Man kan ikke helt lade være at have det indre soundtrack kørende når bussen ruller igennem New York's gader. 

Vi får set lidt af det hele må man sige - først Harlem, så Upper East Side, og til sidste havner vi i Midtown hvor vi bliver smidt af bussen. 

Busturen fra Boston tog omkring 4-5 timer, og vejene er tydeligt mærkede af den hårde frost de oplever oppe nordpå (det var et "bumpy ride"). 

Vi finder straks en subway og kort tid efter står vi foran døren til vores New York-home i East Village - hvor der i øvrigt var udsigt til Empire State Building fra vinduet :-) 

Vores airbnb-vært tog super godt imod os, og jeg vil klart anbefale andre som rejser til New York at bruge airbnb - læs om det her.

Vi tog en gåtur i området, og som var det planlagt begyndte små snefnug at dale ned over os, og lyse alting op med et tyndt lag ny sne. 

På gåturen var vi omkring China Town hvor vi endte med at spise lækker Dim Sum og desuden Manhattan Bridge. 

New York er fyldt med kontraster og forskellighed, og efter at have boet nede i det sydlige Georgia, hvor de fleste mennesker ser ens ud, så var det forfriskende hele tiden at se forskellige mennesker. 

East Village er et livligt område fyldt med gode restauranter (virkeligt gode), og små barer, butikker m.m. Der er liv i gaden! Hele tiden! - og det er altså lidt fantastisk når man er blevet vant til Valdosta hvor man sjældent ser folk gå udenfor universitets område :-) 

Ps. Hvorfor hedder det egentligt The Big Apple? 

(Jeg er sikker på Google har svaret, men umiddelbart har jeg ikke fundet grunden på egen hånd endnu) 

::::

Now you're in New York! 

These streets will make you feel brand new 

These lights will inspire you

Let's hear it for New York, New York, New York!

You can't quite stop from replaying that inner soundtrack when the bus is taking you through the streets of New York. 

We get to see a bit of everything - first Harlem, then Upper East Side, and finally Midtown where the bus drops us off. 

The trip from Boston took around 4-5 hours, and you can definitely tell that the roads are suffering under the harsh cold up north (it was a bumpy ride). 

We immediately catch the subway and few minutes later we're standing in front of our New York home in East Village - where we by the way, have a view of the Empire State Building from the window :-)

Our airbnb host gave us a warm welcome, and I would definitely recommend others traveling to New York to use airbnb - read about it here. 

We went for a walk in the area, and is if it was all planned out, small snowflakes starting falling from the sky and lightened up everything with a thin layer of fresh snow. 

Our walk took us to China Town where we had wonderful Dim Sum, and also by the Manhattan Bridge. 

New York is full of contrasts and differences, and after having lived in South Georgia for a while where people just look similar in an inexplicable way, it was refreshing to see so many different people around. 

East Village is a lively neighborhood with great restaurants (really great!), small bars and stores etc. There is life in the street! All the time! - which is also pretty amazing after being used to rarely seeing people walking in the streets outside the campus area :-)

Ps. Why is it again it's called the Big Apple? 

(I'm sure Google has the answer, but I haven't yet been able to figure it out by myself)

International Pancake Day!

I går var der international pandekagedag! Og selvom amerikanerne, dvs. IHOP (international House of pancakes som er en kæderestaurant herovre) insisterer på at holde national pandekagedag den 3. Marts, så fik jeg altså lavet en 14-15 pandekager i går aftes som Basak og jeg delte. 

Vi spiste ikke dem alle sammen selvom de var meget lækre :-)

::::

Yesterday was international pancake day! And even though the Americans, and by Americans I mean IHOP insist on having a national pancake day on March 3rd, I did make about 14-15 pancakes last night, which Basak and I shared. 

We didn't eat all of them even though they were very delicious :-)

February 14th 2015

Det kommer nok ikke som nogen overraskelse for nogen at Valentins dag er KÆMPE stort i USA. 

Og ikke bare KÆMPE stort, men altså virkelig, virkelig KÆMPE STORT! 

Her ser i f.eks. indgangen i Walmart den 13. februar 2015 - de ved hvad kunderne vil have! 

I stedet for at gå på date sammen med ca. alle andre i hele byen, tog jeg i stedet en tur til Athens hvor vi skulle fejre en af de andre GRSPeres fødselsdag. 

Valentins dag - den 14. februar blev tilbragt hos en rotarianer i godt selskab med 25-30 andre GRSPere - så jeg synes faktisk det var en ganske god måde at tilbringe den på. 

Jeg kan ikke komme udenom lige at kommentere på hvad den 14. februar 2015 ellers bød på af nyheder hjemme fra Danmark. 

Selvom vi var i et område stort set uden dækning og kun med sporadisk wifi, så gik der ikke mange minutter før hændelsen på Østerbro nåede os i Georgia, både på facebook, men også på CNN som tilfældigvis kørte på TVet i kælderen. 

Jeg må indrømme at det er rigtig underligt pludselig at se mit lille land trække overskrifter på de internationale medier. 

Efter at have været i USA i lige over 6 måneder, har jeg virkeligt fået øjnene op for at værdsætte mit lille, fredelige land, hvor store problemer i virkeligheden er ret små set i et større perspektiv. 

Det er sørgeligt og måske også en smule skræmmede at se ting som disse ske derhjemme, og opleve dem på afstand, men jeg håber uden at gå for meget ind i diskussionen (da mit blogindlæg ellers ville blive aaalt for langt), at en hændelse som denne kan være med til at vende den negative udvikling som jeg synes at have set over de sidste år. 

::::

It probably won't come as a surprise to anyone back in Denmark that Valentine's Day is HUGE in the US. 

And not just HUGE, but really, really HUGE! 

We don't really celebrate Valentine's in Denmark, however most shops are of course trying to commercialize it as a way of making more money. 

Here is a picture of the entrance to Walmart on February 13th - they sure know what the customers want!

Instead of going out on some date like everybody else in town, I went to Athens to celebrate one of the other GRSPs' birthday.

Valentine's Day - February 14th, I spent at a rotarian's house with the great company of 25-30 other GRSPs - so I would say that is a pretty good way to spend it. 

I can't get around not commenting on what February 14th also had to offer in terms of news from Denmark. 

Even though we were in an area with pretty much no reception and only very little wifi, it didn't take many minutes before what happened at Østerbro in Copenhagen, reached us in Georgia, both on Facebook, but also on CNN, which just happened to be on in the basement where we were. 

I must admit that it is very strange to see my little country make the headlines of international news stations. 

After just over 6 months in the US, I have come to really appreciate my little, peaceful country, where the usually big problems actually are really small problems when put in a larger perspective. 

It is sad, and also a bit scary to see things like this happening back home, and to experience them from this distance, but I hope, without getting too much into the discussion (since that would make this post waaaay too long), that an 'event' like this can help turn around the negative development that I believe to have seen over the past few years. 

Destination: NOLA (New Orleans LouisianA)

The bridge going to NOLA

Our cute, comfy and cheap hostel

Lunch time/Happy hour

Bourbon Street is alive!

Dressed up people throwing beads from a Bourbon St. balcony

Nadine and I stole a selfie with a highschooler in the marching band

People of Bourbon Street/Mardi Gras (one was in a parade, one wasn't)

Oh the creativity..

The Mississippi river

Sian, Nadine, Flora and I - check our bead count!

Wonderful jazz at Fritzel European Jazz

Tirsdag aften blev det besluttet at jeg skulle en tur til NOLA, og fredag morgen et par timer før solen stod op var vi (Flora, Nadine, Sian, Thomas og jeg) på vej med en fyldt bil på vores 7 timers køretur vestpå :-) 

Det var weekenden før weekenden før Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, som er den 'rigtige' festdag.  

Mardi Gras er den sidste dag før fasten, og hedder derfor "Fat Tuesday", fordi der skulle fyldes godt med kalorier på inden fasten. 

I dag bliver Mardi Gras mest associeret med fest i lange baner, musik, optog, og perlekæder!

En tur til NOLA under Mardi Gras, var den ENE tur som jeg vidste længe før jeg tog herover, at jeg absolut bare skulle opleve! Man kan jo altid flyve til New York, eller Miami, men når man bor blot 7 timer fra New Orleans, og ligefrem kan tage turen på en weekend - så skulle det gøres!

Vi boede på et hyggeligt hostel lidt udenfor centrum. Jeg har aldrig boet på hostel før - tro det eller ej - og havde nok en ide om at man altid endte med at bo med en flok backpackere med sure tær - men det var i stedet en positiv oplevelse, og der var fin morgenmad inkluderet - som først blev pakket væk kl. 11.30 (vigtigt!).

Efter ankomst mødtes vi med fire andre GRSP'ere på en restaurant i Bourbon Street hvor der tilfældigvis var Happy Hour :-) 

Derfra var det parader og perlekæder hele eftermiddagen, og vi sluttede aftenen på en lille jazz klub med noget fremragende musik. 

::::

Tuesday night it was decided that I was going on a trip to NOLA, and Friday morning a couple of hours before sunrise we (Flora, Nadine, Sian, Thomas and I) were on our way with a full car for our 7 hour drive West :-)

It was the weekend before the weekend before Mardi Gras/Fat Tuesday, which is the actual holiday. 

Mardi Gras is a celebration of the last day before the fast/lenten season, and this is why it is called "Fat Tuesday" because people needed to stock up on calories before fasting. 

Today, Mardi Gras is probably mostly associated with lots of partying, music, parades and beads!

A trip to NOLA during Mardi Gras was the ONE trip I just knew long before going over here, that I really wanted to experience! You can always fly to New York or Miami, but when you live just 7 hours from New Orleans and you can make it there and back in just a weekend - it had to be done!

We stayed in a really cute hostel about 20 minutes from the French Quarter and Uptown. I have never stayed in a hostel before - believe it or not - and I guess I had an idea that you would always end up staying with some group of backpackers with really smelly feet - but it was actually a really nice experience, and we had a good breakfast included every morning (until 11.30 - awesome!).

After arriving we met with four other GRSPs in a restaurant on Bourbon Street that just happened to have happy hour :-)

From thereon it was all parades and beads all afternoon, and we finished off in a small jazz club with some amazing music.

(Boller) og Lagkage!

Bare uden boller..

I torsdags var det Theresas fødselsdag, og det blev fejret med middag hos hendes mor i selskab med Jims ekskone og døtre. 

Jeg havde fået lov til at medbringe kage, så nu var der endelig mulighed for at få brugt de lagkagebunde som mor havde sendt over tidligere ;-) 

Kagen blev rigtig fin, og med friske jordbær, hindbær og godt med kagecreme og flødeskum, gik det rimeligt hurtigt med at få spist den. 

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(Title: birthday buns and layered cake) - a Danish birthday tradition

Just without the buns... 

Thursday was Theresa's birthday, and we celebrated with dinner at her mom's house with the company of Jim's ex-wife and daughters. 

I had asked to bring a cake, which was a perfect opportunity to use the "layered cake layers" that my mom had sent over earlier ;-) 

The cake turned out great and with lots of fresh strawberries, raspberries and a good bit of curd and cream it was no problem to finish almost all of it in one sitting.

The layered cake has three layers of cake, and three layers of filling. Typically the filling is a vanilla curd and then different types of fruits and jellys like banana, strawberries or perhaps even chocolate. 

You usually just eat this kind of cake for birthdays, after you have had the buns with butter, jelly, chocolate.. Both are usually accompanied by hot chocolate with cream or coffee for the adults :-)

Elvis has left the building...

Carl Perkins/Gabe Bowling, me, Mr. Sam Phillips/Bryan Langlitz and Elvis Presley/Skye Scott

I tirsdags var jeg endnu en gang i teateret her i Valdosta til endnu et broadway show. 

Showet var Million Dollar Quartet, som er en gengivelse af en aften i december 1956, hvor Elvis' første pladeselskab - Sun Records (mest bestående af én person - Mr. Sam Phillips), fik samlet fire af tidens største musikere: Elvis, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins og Jimmy Lee Lewis, til lidt hyggejam, indspilning, og lidt alvorlig snak om fremtiden for musikerne. 

Jeg havde fået en billet i julegave af Jim og Theresa, som jeg så endte med at kunne give videre til en af deres venner, da jeg kunne få en gratis billet igennem skolen sammen med Basak. 

Inden showet havde jeg inviteret på middag, så det var en rigtig aften i teateret :-) 

Showet var fantastisk og der blev spillet (LIVE!) alt fra Blue Suede Shoes, Fever, Walk the Line, Great Balls of Fire, Hound Dog osv. 

Efter showet blev Basak og jeg naturligvis hængende for at få et billede med de (meget) flotte skuespillere.... :-) 

:::::

Tuesday I was once again in the theater here in Valdosta for one more broadway show.

The show was Million Dollar Quartet, which is a remake of a night in December 1956 where Elvis' very first record label - Sun Records (primarily consisting of one person - Mr. Sam Phillips), managed to get four of the biggest stars of the time together in one room: Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Carl Perkins and Jimmy Lee Lewis, for some man-to-man talk, casual jamming, and some serious talk about the future for these musicians. 

I had gotten my ticket as a Christmas present from Jim and Theresa, which I could then give on to one of their friends, since I managed to get free tickets through VSU along with Basak. 

Before the show I had invited Jim and Theresa for dinner, so it was a full night of fun at the theater :-)

The show was amazing and they played (LIVE!) everything from Blue Suede Shows, Fever, Walk the Line, Great Balls of Fire, Hound Dog etc. 

After the show Basak and I of course stayed around to get a picture with the (very) handsome actors.... :-)

SUPER BOWL XLIX (49)...

Som det vist ikke går nogens næse forbi længere, var der Super Bowl i søndags. 

Eftersom jeg for en gangs skyld faktisk kunne se kampen uden at skulle blive oppe hele natten, så jeg rigtig meget frem til dette ærke-amerikanske event, og jeg var inviteret ud til en veninde til Super Bowl party. 

Der var naturligvis disket op med alt hvad der hører sig til at pizza, øl, snacks i lange baner, og så hvad de forskellige gæster kom med af chips, dip, m.m. 

Første halvleg blev mest brugt på at høre musik, snakke og drikke øl, hvor der selvfølgelig blev fuld fokus på skærmen da halvlegsshowet kom på - det var faktisk det de fleste var kommet for! :-P 

Efter Katy Perry havde reddet rundt på en elektronisk tiger, og fløjet på et stjerneskud, tog det første hold også hjem igen.. 

Jeg blev hængende, og fulgte med i sidste halvleg, som faktisk var rigtig spændende - men det var de af jer som så kampen jo godt :-) 

::::

As most people probably know by now, the Super Bowl was on last Sunday. Americans know this for sure, but it has also become almost impossible for people back home in Denmark to avoid the event because of the massive marketing stunt all the organizations are doing to sell more stuff.

Since I for once could actually watch the game without having to stay up all night (which a lot of guys back home actually do), I was really looking forward to experiencing this truly American event, and I had been invited out to one of my friends' house for a Super Bowl Party. 

We of course had all the necessities like pizza, beer, and endless snack, plus all the stuff that the guests brought a long like more chips and dip..

During the first half we mostly listened to music and drank a few beers, but when it was time for the half time show, all attention was directed towards the screen - after all, most people had just come to watch it, not the game :-P

After Katy Perry had been riding around the arena on an electric tiger, and flown across the stadium on a shooting star (or something), the first group of people went home..

I hung around and followed the last half of the game, which actually turned out to be quite interesting, which those of you who watched them game, already know :-)