Going Back to High School... In Denmark

Tuesday, September 17th - Saturday, September 29th, 2019

Copenhagen, Denmark

Wow two weeks went by and I was so caught up with being sick, and then being in Finland, that I forgot to post! In the past two weeks, I went got to see The Crossing perform Aniara, went to a new country, visited a toy museum, hosted a French-themed party, visited a Gymnasium, visited a Flokeskole (Danish primary and lower-secondary school), tried out a new club, did a little ~shopping~, ferried to a small island, and went to two contemporary art galleries... Not to mention all the wild things I've been learning in class. Ya. I've been busy. 

And because I'm so busy, I'm going to split this one up into two posts, one about my adventures in Copenhagen, and one about my adventures in Helsinki. It makes more sense thematically. And let's be honest, it's way easier to read two short posts than one long. I don't know why but I feel like that's very true. So let's jump in with Copenhagen first. 

The week after I got back from Sweden (see last post) was really busy, and I was still really sick. It was the first time I really felt homesick. Grinding away while you're feeling sick and in a foreign country was exhausting and stressful, I'm not gonna lie. It was hard trying to take care of myself without the medicines I'm used to, or my mom close by, if I needed her. Luckily, my housemates were really kind to me and did their best to check-in and take care of me. If you're reading this, thank you all. Despite my illness, school went on. 

In the middle of my pity party, I had two field studies. So the coolest thing about DIS is that we have these field studies that are different visits around Copenhagen. Their motto is something cheesy like, "Make Europe your classroom". It sounds dumb NGL, but it's also very cool in practice. 

So I dragged my sick body out of bed and sniffled through a visit to (and I kid you not, this is a real word) the Digitaliseringsstyrelsen. I think it's a compound noun... It translates to the Danish Agency of Digitalization. It's their federal-level agency that in the past 10 years, has transferred all public-sector communication in Denmark online. Meaning you do everything from taxes, to doctor's visits, to signing your children up for school, to registering your business, all online. They've basically rendered the DMV useless. I tell you, Denmark is living in the future. They even have digital IDs. Crazy. 

This can work in Denmark for a few reasons (and might be why it will be a while before it, if ever, works in the United States). They have a relatively small population and country. And that country is just small enough that WiFi covers almost everywhere, even the most rural areas. Their population is well-educated. As education often goes hand-in-hand with economic class, they also have a pretty high-income level. Their citizens can mostly afford the hardware needed to support a fully digital system. The agency operates at a national level, but also on a regional and local level, so the public sector communication and access are consistent across the whole country. And the Danes have a lot of trust in their central government. I know, a rather foreign concept to us Americans, especially these days. 

After that, I did not go rest! No, there was no time! I had to meet my Danish class to go visit a gymnasium. Which, as best I understand, is a high school. But is also optional and only one route a student might take. Danish schools are free but also way more complicated to my American brain. I was really glad to go, because I've heard a lot about Gymnasium, but couldn't quite picture it. Turns out, it's, well, a high school. It reminded me quite a lot of my high school back home, a little alien, but oddly familiar. Like my high school, they had a coffee shop, an outdoor classroom, and lots of areas to lounge around and do group work together. Some of my classmates went to more traditionally structured or less-renovated high school though, and the school was very different from what they experienced. Some especially unique things: the school kept bees, the students called their teachers by their first name, and the students were mostly done with class by 1. Their schedules seemed much less structured than they might in the US. 

Their roof-top outdoor classroom (swanky!)

Entering the Gymnasium

Their bee houses! (the yellow boxes)

What was really interesting to me was visiting the primary school this week, with my host mom, Mette.  Mette is an English teacher to a class of 13-14-year-olds, and I came in to present about Minnesota, and see their school. The kids were so sweet! They were so excited to ask about Orange County, TikTok (a social media app), Mr. Beast (a YouTuber), the American drinking age, and the 4th of July. Haha, it was a funny mix of questions they all had. Two young ladies gave me a grand tour, and this was the school that really surprised me! While the Gymnasium that my class visited didn't seem all that different from home, the elementary school felt really different. They had four or five courses that everyone had to take, that I think would be classified as electives at home. Nature class (which as far as I could tell, was no biology so much as like, outdoor studies), woodcarving, sewing, cooking, and art. Everyone has to take those for one year, and then they can choose which they want to continue. I have it on good authority that the cooking class is the best one to continue on with. 

But the weirdest thing is that they have a recess about every 1.5 hours, and the kids just kind of... Run free. Even the little ones. There were so many open common spaces with carpets, and Foose-ball tables, and ping-pong sets, and playgrounds. We walked into the area of the school where the kindergarteners, first-graders, and second graders were, and there was a class of second graders just chilling, without a teacher, running around, a few of them fighting. Then the teacher walked up, and instead of scolding the fighters or telling them to sit down and be quiet, just let the kids work it out, and calm down by themselves. I don't pretend to understand all of this from one visit. But it struck me as a much more casual relationship between teacher and student, and a little more laissez-faire. I was really glad I got to go!

Outside of school, my Arts House had our weekly field trip, and we went to Den Fries Udstilling. That translates to "The Free Exhibition", and is a decidedly NOT free contemporary art gallery. It's called "free" not because there's not an entry fee (there is) but because it was the first artist collective in Denmark. Ugh, so it's like "free" in the hippy, socialist kinda way. We went to see the exhibit "Cosmic Existence" and "All and Everything". "Cosmic Existence" was pretty cool. "All and Everything" was not worth it. It was two projections. All in all, I was decidedly less impressed with Den Fries Udstilling than I was with Copenhagen Contemporary, but there were a few really interesting pieces, and I think this place has a very significant place in Danish art history. 

Squid-y art

Suncatcher-y art

Stone-mom-baby-y art

Spider-y art

Friends: Sophia, Elieen, Hanan, and Esmerelda

The building itself was built by Danish artist and architect, J.F. Willumsen, who is considered to be the father of the Danish art nouveau tradition. I'm gonna be totally honest, that doesn't mean a lot to me, I don't have the right context here. But I think he's a big deal in the Danish art world. This place is owned by an artist collective, and the goal was to create an alternative to the juried exhibition at Charlottenborg. Ayyy. Good for them. 

Finally, on Friday night we decided to host a little party for our housemates and random friends. Julia came up with the idea to do a French-themed night because she had a great playlist for it already. That's right. We planned a party around a playlist. Everyone had to come dressed up in their poshest, snobbiest, French-inspired outfits, and I took it upon myself to be the bartender. And this is the last time I am allowed to bartend. Because I spent $50 on a bottle of St. Germain liquor. I cannot afford a $50 bottle of liquor. And to add insult to injury, the boy at the liquor store who sold it to me, asked if I was taking shots with it. WHO DOES HE THINK I AM? NO WAY am I taking $50 shots. Jesus. Instead, I made St. Germain Spritzes, which were such a hit, they almost made up for the money spent. Luckily, the party guests all chipped in for alcohol so I wasn't out quite that much. 

Your hostesses

Cristiana's Bar HAHAHA (The HAHAHA is part of the name)

The party was a hit and we spent the time laughing, chatting, giving apartment "tours" of a few of the flats in the building, making drinks, bonding, and running up and down our secret back staircase. (It's basically a secret passageway.) At about 11:45, we cleared out and headed to the club Bakken down the street in the Meatpacking District. And low and behold, our favorite crepe stand was set up outside. So french night continued! 

French night guests!

Julia and I at Bakken

Oh, Copenhagen. There is never a dull moment! 

Vi ses, 

Cristiana 

P.S. Carter dropped a pan out the window. Yes, it was an accident. Yes, she was sober. Yes, it's very dented. Yes, we will keep using it, like the broke college students we are. Yes, she is the same flatmate who dropped the cutting board out the window earlier this fall. We gotta keep an eye on her!