An Entertaining Interview with Aaron
Saturday, November 2nd - Friday, November 8th, 2019
Copenhagen, Denmark
Let's be real. I'm a little behind on my posting. But I have an actual excuse this time! I was a little too sad about Aaron leaving to write about his visit yet. But yes. My dear Aaron C. Lauby (as he is professionally known, find him on LinkedIn) came to visit. You know, this guy.
Eep! It was so fun showing him around and bringing him to a few of my classes and favorite spots. We went to a few new places too! Because this isn't just a Cristiana experience but was so shaped by having Aaron here, I've done the ONLY logical thing, and called him up internationally (don't worry, I used Messenger calling -- no charges!) and asked him for his thoughts on all our adventures. So the following is a complete butchering of any journalistic principles but a very entertaining slightly edited transcript of our conversation. Any editorial comments on my part (and you know I'll have a few) will be in parentheses. *Note: this does get a little tangential. It should have been an unedited podcast.
Eep! It was so fun showing him around and bringing him to a few of my classes and favorite spots. We went to a few new places too! Because this isn't just a Cristiana experience but was so shaped by having Aaron here, I've done the ONLY logical thing, and called him up internationally (don't worry, I used Messenger calling -- no charges!) and asked him for his thoughts on all our adventures. So the following is a complete butchering of any journalistic principles but a very entertaining slightly edited transcript of our conversation. Any editorial comments on my part (and you know I'll have a few) will be in parentheses. *Note: this does get a little tangential. It should have been an unedited podcast.
The following is a transcript of an interview conducted by Cristiana P Hawthorne, of Aaron C. Lauby:
C: Hey, Aaron. I have to be really formal today because we're on the record. You know, for my blog. I'm actually wearing business casual right now. And I've prepared a whole list of questions.
A: Can you put in parentheses that I squeezed my face?
C: Why'd you squeeze your face?
A: I don't know it was my reaction to "a WHOLE list of QUESTIONS".
A: Can you put in parentheses that I squeezed my face?
C: Why'd you squeeze your face?
A: I don't know it was my reaction to "a WHOLE list of QUESTIONS".
C: So you arrived in Copenhagen on Saturday, November 2nd. As I remember it, I dressed up as a chauffeur all in black, with an iPad that said "Aaron C. Lauby" and rushed to make sure I was there on time. I got there really early, so I stopped to pet this REALLY cute dog. And then I gathered up my composure so that I looked really professional and stood by the arrival gate and tried to blend in with the other drivers to confuse you a little. And then I got a little nervous because I wanted to see you and it was taking SO long... And then finally you came through the door. You did a double-take because you didn't recognize me at first. How do you remember it?
*both chuckle*
A: I remember expecting a running hug but instead I got a cooly dressed girlfriend.
*Cristiana cackles at that*
A: And I also remember the double-take. Except I think it was more like a triple-take. But it was cute, nonetheless.
C: I'm gonna take this as a compliment.
A: Of course you should. I would expect nothing less than for my insults to be taken as compliments by you. (How rude!)
*Cristiana laughs again*
C: What were your first impressions of Cope like?
A: Pretty neat. Ya, it was good. I liked it. Uh, they have bike lanes. That's pretty weird. Like, REAL bike lanes. Like a whole separate place for bikes, not just a like a... you know... THAT.
C: (I do not know what THAT is but I assume he's referring to a painted stripe of ground for bikes, versus Copenhagen's whole separate lanes divided by a curb. But we may never know for sure. Aaron Lauby is a difficult language to speak fluently.)
C: What did you think about my house and my friends?
A: Your friends funny and pretty weird. Which is par for the course. Can I give a shout out to Sisi and Toe at this point? (Sisi being my witty friend Elise Lanigan, and Toe, who's perverse levels of bathroom humor match if not exceed Elise's wittiness, being Tori MacCaulsand.) Okay well, I'm going to do it anyway. (Note that I did not object to this shout out in any way). Shout out to Sisi and Toe. But they're a good time. And they were very welcoming.
C: The first night you were here, you rallied, and we went out to the Meatpacking district and hit up the club Bakken. Thoughts?
A: For a guy recovering from being sick, the atmospherics weren't my friend. (Bakken is very smokey.) But it was a pretty neat spot. And actually just the other day I was talking to someone about Copenhagen and they asked me where I was, and I said "Bakken", and they were like, "Oh, I know what that is". So that was cool.
C: That's actually hilarious. They knew what Bakken was?
A: Ya. They were like, "Oh that's the one that's by Jolene, right?" and I was like, "Ya, it's just down the way".
*At which point the conversation briefly tangents into a fruitless investigation into WHO Aaron was actually talking to that knew Bakken, but we couldn't figure it out.*
C: The next day, I think we just went to Tivoli? WAIT NO! We went to the Cisterns first! (blog readers, if you remember, I first went to the Cisterns back in August with my family. You can read about that first visit in my post, "Snail-y Sweden and Kindred København".)
A: How could you forget that?!
C: Okay, I was really excited to show you the Cisterns. And we stayed down there for a long time. Did you know what to expect? Had you been to an art gallery like that before? What did you think, arteest?
A: I literally did not know what to expect because my girlfriend forgot to tell me to wear socks.
*Cristiana laughs again* (Although let it be known that most people don't need to be reminded to WEAR SOCKS in mid-November! Leave it to Aaron to be the exception. Not to mention I don't usually consider helping Aaron pick out his outfit one of my daily chores, but...)
So I wore a stranger's boots in cold water.
(He did have to put on shared boots... I maybe could've mentioned the socks, but I wanted the whole experience to be a surprise!)
But it was pretty neat. I thought it had something to do with the world flooding cause of global warming but I guess not really? Still. Pretty neat. Also, the neon lights were pretty cool for photos. Ooo! Can I plug my Instagram?
C: Mmmhmm.
A: I want you to put in the part where I say "Ooo! Can I plug my Instagram?"
C: Mmmhmm. (As if I was editing this.)
A: We got to take a lot of photos and I got to have Cristiana share in her first part in MY weird travel thing, which is taking random products that are funny and putting them in random travel places that they don't belong really but kind of. And this one was PlayDoh! Check out my Insta, coming soon. Well, my Insta's already here but the posts on my Insta.
(He forgot to mention his handle, and I love the idea of just NOT including it to spit him a little, but I will because his pictures are really cool. @aaron.c.lauby)
C: *Laugh* And THEN we went to Tivoli. Had you heard of Tivoli before? What did you think of her? (My first trip to Tivoli was also written up in "Snail-y Sweden and Kindred København".)
A: Never heard of Tivoli before. But I'm also not nearly as well-traveled or well-informed as Cristiana. Wait, can I cut that part?
C: Ya
A: Okay good because I don't want that on the record
C: HEY!
A: We both know it and I don't want it in writing.
C: I'm keeping that now. (I'm keeping the WHOOOOOOLE exchange! Heehee)
A: Damn it... No, it was cool. Last day of the Halloween decorations so everything was spooky, and there were these cool pumpkin-headed scarecrow dudes everywhere that I really liked. Every time I saw one, I was like, "Oooo! That guy's cool!" and Cristiana got really confused and weirded out by me but I was obsessed with them.
C: (For the record, I don't actually REMEMBER the scarecrow dudes or giving Aaron weird looks about his weird looks, but seems probable).
A: Also, I was sick so it was a little rough and cold. But mostly super cool. Kind of reminded me of DisneyWorld, but less commercial, and then Cristiana told me it was what DisneyWorld is based off of, and then I was like, "Oh".
C: No... No, it's what Disneyland is based off of. (I can be a bit of a prat sometimes. Also, I just learned the phrase isn't "based off of" it's "based on" and the first way is technically not correct. The more you know!)
A: That's what I mean!
C: No, but like, they're also, like... Walt was never around to fully realize DisneyWorld.
A: Ohhhh. Okay. Good point, good point.
C: But you know what, Aaron? I really appreciate that you remembered all that!
A: *laughs* Ya, sometimes I listen to you.
C: You're so sweet.
A: What? I wasn't listening.
C: I said "You're so sweet"
A: I know, it was a joke, but you didn't catch it, it's fine.
C: So Monday we went to class! You came to my marketing class and my new media class. And in marketing, we were being pitched a project by Greenland Travel and we were seriously 2/3 people engaged and asking questions. It was kind of embarrassing for the rest of the class tbh, but kind of awesome for us.
A: Ditto?
C: *Cristiana waits for a second* Other thoughts on that?
A: Ditto. *Aaron pauses* No, it was a little bit funny and embarrassing for everyone else, but I was also interested enough that I didn't give a... What am I allowed to say? Crap! Didn't give a crap!
C: *giggles* And then we spent the evening at La Banchina, the sauna wine bar! I... Aaron, I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but it was fun, don't you think?
A: It was fun. Actually, I just looked at that picture [of us there] as you were saying that... Yes, the sauna was super cool. We got hot water in our faces and then jumped in freezing cold water and tried not to scream because that's against the rules. Also, some Danish women came and put lot of essential oils and fumigated all of us out.
C: (It should be known that the water was INSANELY cold in the harbor, and Aaron and I both sawm for the ladder at the same time, and I swear I elbowed him right out of the way. Even though he was sick. Like, I was not waiting a second longer to get out of that water. I thought I was going to die. And I was going to leave Aaron and save myself. At that moment I had ZERO qualms! ZERO!)
C: And then we used public transit and navigated alllll the way back to Vesterbro from Reffen. I was so proud of us.
C: On Tuesday, you came to my "Pornography in Scandinavia" class... Weird class to just jump into. What did you think?
A: I thought it was funny when someone started a sentence with "I'm sorry I know we have a guest today but..." [And then proceeded to talk about her own experience having sex.] Overall, really interesting subject matter though. 10/10 would uh... porn again.
C: *Laughs*
A: Maybe cut that one out...
C: *Laughs louder* And then...
A: *in the style of Macklemore x Ryan Lewis in "And We Danced"* We danced... And had a really really really good time.
C: AND THEN we ended the evening with dinner at my visiting host family's house! I was SO glad you could meet them. They truly are my family away from home, so it was awesome that you could meet.
A: Agreed. They were super nice. Also, we played with these things that you program, that make different movements, and we made them dance.
C: Beebots!
A: Yes, Beebots! Also, I talked about Black Bear and rap with the children, which is probably not my best moment, but still.
C: (I actually think Christian and Viggo were probably happy that someone could discuss rap music with them because I certainly don't know enough!)
C: The next day, we went and toured some of City Hall and met with a press officer with my new media class. That was fun. I think my professor Mie, AKA my favorite professor ever, really liked you. And not gonna lie, that made me really happy.
A: Dating Cristiana is like jumping through a bunch of hoop holes... Wait, that's not what I mean. What are they called? Hoops! Jumping through a bunch of hoops of people she likes and that you have to make sure like you too. But it's worth it, cause usually, they're pretty cool people.
C: *laughs* (I have good taste!!! And isn't that how ALL relationships work? You want your people to like your people! Jesus Aaron, it's not rocket science, I'm not reinventing the wheel over here.)
A: Oh, did I just spoil the fun? Sorry. Cristiana and I are dating. I don't think she ever said that on here [the blog].
C: *exasperated* Aaron.
A: Am I wrong?
C: Well, you're pushing your luck.
A: That's not the same thing!
C: *giggles* And then that afternoon we hopped a train to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. We were real art museum visitors this trip. I thought it was cool. The style was very Scandinavian and I liked that they had like, artisan fashion pieces in their gift shop, like clothes are art too? And I LOVED the classic Yayoi Kusama "Gleaming Lights of the Souls" piece. And I could've spent DAYS in Lauren Greenfield's "Generation Wealth" exhibit. Do you have thoughts? I feel like you might.
A: It was a very interesting museum, and we didn't have nearly enough time to go through it. But definetly the room with the mirrors and the balls ["Gleaming Lights of the Souls"], which sounds weird, but was really cool, was worthwhile. 10/10 would... Copenhagen again.
C: That's better than "porn again".
A: Ya, I figured I'd give you one that you could keep.
C: Thursday we went and saw the Little Mermaid statue. Did it live up to your expectations?
A: I had seen pictures of it so, yes, it was exactly what I thought it was. But it still is a little bit bizarre.
C: I've taken to calling it the little disappointment.
A: Oh-ho-ho! *chortles* That's not very feminist of you.
C: *scoffs* (Aaron knows exactly which buttons to push). ...that's not a feminist issue.
A: You're being mean to women. That's feminism 101. Don't be mean to women.
C: *scoffs again* I don't think that's feminism 101. *laughs*
A: *sing-song-voice* I think it is! I think I'm right! I think you're wrong. Because you're a woman.
C: Thank you. I liked that little delve into mansplaining. *laughs*
A: Ya, it was funny though, wasn't it? Cause I did the whole thing where I said "feminism" and then I "anti-feminized".
C: Ya, it was very clever of you. Very meta. (He needs constant reassurance, he's still figuring out how to make sarcastic feminist jokes.)
A: So meta! You know who was also meta? Lots of people in Denmark! Because that's their name! Cause that's a name they give people there.
C: *Breaks down.* (Spelled "Mette", but the pronunciation sounds the same to American ears, like ours.)
C: Moving on! And then, low and behold, surprise, surprise, we went to another art museum. This time to hear a conference on New Extremism at the ARKEN. We were invited to the conference, complete with dinner and museum entry, for free, by my new media professor, Mie. Aaron, actually thank you for coming to that. I was really glad you were there.
A: I'm glad I got to come. It was a super cool museum. The conference was super interesting. But just to be clear, for the sake of this blog, the conference was ABOUT extremism, not PRO extremism.
C: *laughs*
A: Just wanted that to be super clear.
C: Friday. It was already time for you to go. Aaron, after I left the airport I like, stood and cried on the train platform. It was embarrassing. I was all "I'm not crying, don't look at me!" But it was worth it.
A: I'm sorry. Is this part where I said I cried?
C: I think you'd be lying.
A: Okay.
C: Were you? Crying?
A: I'm not gonna say anymore.
C: Nooo, tell me!
A: Too late!
C: Aaron! Awwww. What was it like for you?
A: It was sad, and I cried a little bit.
C: Awww.
A: But like, in a manly way.
C: Okaaaay. Any last thoughts?
A: Ya. My girlfriend's pretty cool. And I'm glad I get to go on adventures with her. And that she shares her adventures with other people through this blog. Meta. Boom. Disappears in a cloud of smoke.
C: *Pity laughs* Well thank you for agreeing to this random phone interview. And thank you thank you for coming to visit me in Cope! I'll see you soon when I'm back home!
A: Can't wait.
C: *quick to jump in* You also can't answer because you disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
A: My voice is still here!
C: Alright. *laughs* (I guess I think Aaron's funny)
A: You didn't think you were gonna get that, did you?
C: I did not. That was beautiful Aaron Lauby.
A: Thank you. You're welcome. Sometimes I'm pretty neat.
C: Sometimes.
A: Hey! Watch it!
And that my friends, is what a completely natural conversation with Aaron C. Lauby sounds like. But for real, it was so nice to host him, and a special thanks to all the friends, professors, and flatmates, who were so willing to include him in our adventures. I love you all!
Next time, on "Ceeping Up with Cristiana": another visit from home! Welcome family! Welcome cousins!
*both chuckle*
A: I remember expecting a running hug but instead I got a cooly dressed girlfriend.
*Cristiana cackles at that*
A: And I also remember the double-take. Except I think it was more like a triple-take. But it was cute, nonetheless.
C: I'm gonna take this as a compliment.
A: Of course you should. I would expect nothing less than for my insults to be taken as compliments by you. (How rude!)
*Cristiana laughs again*
C: What were your first impressions of Cope like?
A: Pretty neat. Ya, it was good. I liked it. Uh, they have bike lanes. That's pretty weird. Like, REAL bike lanes. Like a whole separate place for bikes, not just a like a... you know... THAT.
C: (I do not know what THAT is but I assume he's referring to a painted stripe of ground for bikes, versus Copenhagen's whole separate lanes divided by a curb. But we may never know for sure. Aaron Lauby is a difficult language to speak fluently.)
C: What did you think about my house and my friends?
A: Your friends funny and pretty weird. Which is par for the course. Can I give a shout out to Sisi and Toe at this point? (Sisi being my witty friend Elise Lanigan, and Toe, who's perverse levels of bathroom humor match if not exceed Elise's wittiness, being Tori MacCaulsand.) Okay well, I'm going to do it anyway. (Note that I did not object to this shout out in any way). Shout out to Sisi and Toe. But they're a good time. And they were very welcoming.
C: The first night you were here, you rallied, and we went out to the Meatpacking district and hit up the club Bakken. Thoughts?
A: For a guy recovering from being sick, the atmospherics weren't my friend. (Bakken is very smokey.) But it was a pretty neat spot. And actually just the other day I was talking to someone about Copenhagen and they asked me where I was, and I said "Bakken", and they were like, "Oh, I know what that is". So that was cool.
In Bakken. I don't know where Aaron wandered off to at this point.
C: That's actually hilarious. They knew what Bakken was?
A: Ya. They were like, "Oh that's the one that's by Jolene, right?" and I was like, "Ya, it's just down the way".
*At which point the conversation briefly tangents into a fruitless investigation into WHO Aaron was actually talking to that knew Bakken, but we couldn't figure it out.*
C: The next day, I think we just went to Tivoli? WAIT NO! We went to the Cisterns first! (blog readers, if you remember, I first went to the Cisterns back in August with my family. You can read about that first visit in my post, "Snail-y Sweden and Kindred København".)
A: How could you forget that?!
C: Okay, I was really excited to show you the Cisterns. And we stayed down there for a long time. Did you know what to expect? Had you been to an art gallery like that before? What did you think, arteest?
A: I literally did not know what to expect because my girlfriend forgot to tell me to wear socks.
*Cristiana laughs again* (Although let it be known that most people don't need to be reminded to WEAR SOCKS in mid-November! Leave it to Aaron to be the exception. Not to mention I don't usually consider helping Aaron pick out his outfit one of my daily chores, but...)
So I wore a stranger's boots in cold water.
Shadows in the Cisterns
(He did have to put on shared boots... I maybe could've mentioned the socks, but I wanted the whole experience to be a surprise!)
But it was pretty neat. I thought it had something to do with the world flooding cause of global warming but I guess not really? Still. Pretty neat. Also, the neon lights were pretty cool for photos. Ooo! Can I plug my Instagram?
C: Mmmhmm.
A: I want you to put in the part where I say "Ooo! Can I plug my Instagram?"
C: Mmmhmm. (As if I was editing this.)
A: We got to take a lot of photos and I got to have Cristiana share in her first part in MY weird travel thing, which is taking random products that are funny and putting them in random travel places that they don't belong really but kind of. And this one was PlayDoh! Check out my Insta, coming soon. Well, my Insta's already here but the posts on my Insta.
(He forgot to mention his handle, and I love the idea of just NOT including it to spit him a little, but I will because his pictures are really cool. @aaron.c.lauby)
Cristiana in the Cisterns
C: *Laugh* And THEN we went to Tivoli. Had you heard of Tivoli before? What did you think of her? (My first trip to Tivoli was also written up in "Snail-y Sweden and Kindred København".)
A: Never heard of Tivoli before. But I'm also not nearly as well-traveled or well-informed as Cristiana. Wait, can I cut that part?
C: Ya
A: Okay good because I don't want that on the record
C: HEY!
A: We both know it and I don't want it in writing.
C: I'm keeping that now. (I'm keeping the WHOOOOOOLE exchange! Heehee)
A: Damn it... No, it was cool. Last day of the Halloween decorations so everything was spooky, and there were these cool pumpkin-headed scarecrow dudes everywhere that I really liked. Every time I saw one, I was like, "Oooo! That guy's cool!" and Cristiana got really confused and weirded out by me but I was obsessed with them.
Halloween Tivoli!
C: (For the record, I don't actually REMEMBER the scarecrow dudes or giving Aaron weird looks about his weird looks, but seems probable).
A: Also, I was sick so it was a little rough and cold. But mostly super cool. Kind of reminded me of DisneyWorld, but less commercial, and then Cristiana told me it was what DisneyWorld is based off of, and then I was like, "Oh".
C: No... No, it's what Disneyland is based off of. (I can be a bit of a prat sometimes. Also, I just learned the phrase isn't "based off of" it's "based on" and the first way is technically not correct. The more you know!)
A: That's what I mean!
C: No, but like, they're also, like... Walt was never around to fully realize DisneyWorld.
A: Ohhhh. Okay. Good point, good point.
C: But you know what, Aaron? I really appreciate that you remembered all that!
A: *laughs* Ya, sometimes I listen to you.
C: You're so sweet.
A: What? I wasn't listening.
C: I said "You're so sweet"
A: I know, it was a joke, but you didn't catch it, it's fine.
Dinner at Tivoli
C: So Monday we went to class! You came to my marketing class and my new media class. And in marketing, we were being pitched a project by Greenland Travel and we were seriously 2/3 people engaged and asking questions. It was kind of embarrassing for the rest of the class tbh, but kind of awesome for us.
A: Ditto?
C: *Cristiana waits for a second* Other thoughts on that?
A: Ditto. *Aaron pauses* No, it was a little bit funny and embarrassing for everyone else, but I was also interested enough that I didn't give a... What am I allowed to say? Crap! Didn't give a crap!
C: *giggles* And then we spent the evening at La Banchina, the sauna wine bar! I... Aaron, I didn't know what we were getting ourselves into, but it was fun, don't you think?
A: It was fun. Actually, I just looked at that picture [of us there] as you were saying that... Yes, the sauna was super cool. We got hot water in our faces and then jumped in freezing cold water and tried not to scream because that's against the rules. Also, some Danish women came and put lot of essential oils and fumigated all of us out.
The picture he's referring to
C: (It should be known that the water was INSANELY cold in the harbor, and Aaron and I both sawm for the ladder at the same time, and I swear I elbowed him right out of the way. Even though he was sick. Like, I was not waiting a second longer to get out of that water. I thought I was going to die. And I was going to leave Aaron and save myself. At that moment I had ZERO qualms! ZERO!)
C: And then we used public transit and navigated alllll the way back to Vesterbro from Reffen. I was so proud of us.
Look at us, freezing cold and sopping wet, on the bus
C: On Tuesday, you came to my "Pornography in Scandinavia" class... Weird class to just jump into. What did you think?
A: I thought it was funny when someone started a sentence with "I'm sorry I know we have a guest today but..." [And then proceeded to talk about her own experience having sex.] Overall, really interesting subject matter though. 10/10 would uh... porn again.
C: *Laughs*
A: Maybe cut that one out...
C: *Laughs louder* And then...
A: *in the style of Macklemore x Ryan Lewis in "And We Danced"* We danced... And had a really really really good time.
C: AND THEN we ended the evening with dinner at my visiting host family's house! I was SO glad you could meet them. They truly are my family away from home, so it was awesome that you could meet.
Viggo, me, Aaron, and Christian
A: Agreed. They were super nice. Also, we played with these things that you program, that make different movements, and we made them dance.
C: Beebots!
Thank you for this image of a Beebot, Google
A: Yes, Beebots! Also, I talked about Black Bear and rap with the children, which is probably not my best moment, but still.
C: (I actually think Christian and Viggo were probably happy that someone could discuss rap music with them because I certainly don't know enough!)
C: The next day, we went and toured some of City Hall and met with a press officer with my new media class. That was fun. I think my professor Mie, AKA my favorite professor ever, really liked you. And not gonna lie, that made me really happy.
A: Dating Cristiana is like jumping through a bunch of hoop holes... Wait, that's not what I mean. What are they called? Hoops! Jumping through a bunch of hoops of people she likes and that you have to make sure like you too. But it's worth it, cause usually, they're pretty cool people.
C: *laughs* (I have good taste!!! And isn't that how ALL relationships work? You want your people to like your people! Jesus Aaron, it's not rocket science, I'm not reinventing the wheel over here.)
A: Oh, did I just spoil the fun? Sorry. Cristiana and I are dating. I don't think she ever said that on here [the blog].
C: *exasperated* Aaron.
A: Am I wrong?
C: Well, you're pushing your luck.
A: That's not the same thing!
C: *giggles* And then that afternoon we hopped a train to the Louisiana Museum of Modern Art. We were real art museum visitors this trip. I thought it was cool. The style was very Scandinavian and I liked that they had like, artisan fashion pieces in their gift shop, like clothes are art too? And I LOVED the classic Yayoi Kusama "Gleaming Lights of the Souls" piece. And I could've spent DAYS in Lauren Greenfield's "Generation Wealth" exhibit. Do you have thoughts? I feel like you might.
Aaron somewhere in the Louisiana
A: It was a very interesting museum, and we didn't have nearly enough time to go through it. But definetly the room with the mirrors and the balls ["Gleaming Lights of the Souls"], which sounds weird, but was really cool, was worthwhile. 10/10 would... Copenhagen again.
Us in "Gleaming Lights of the Souls"
C: That's better than "porn again".
A: Ya, I figured I'd give you one that you could keep.
Aaron hugging a giant thumb at the Louisiana
C: Thursday we went and saw the Little Mermaid statue. Did it live up to your expectations?
A: I had seen pictures of it so, yes, it was exactly what I thought it was. But it still is a little bit bizarre.
Visiting the Little Mermaid
C: I've taken to calling it the little disappointment.
A: Oh-ho-ho! *chortles* That's not very feminist of you.
C: *scoffs* (Aaron knows exactly which buttons to push). ...that's not a feminist issue.
A: You're being mean to women. That's feminism 101. Don't be mean to women.
C: *scoffs again* I don't think that's feminism 101. *laughs*
A: *sing-song-voice* I think it is! I think I'm right! I think you're wrong. Because you're a woman.
C: Thank you. I liked that little delve into mansplaining. *laughs*
A: Ya, it was funny though, wasn't it? Cause I did the whole thing where I said "feminism" and then I "anti-feminized".
C: Ya, it was very clever of you. Very meta. (He needs constant reassurance, he's still figuring out how to make sarcastic feminist jokes.)
A: So meta! You know who was also meta? Lots of people in Denmark! Because that's their name! Cause that's a name they give people there.
C: *Breaks down.* (Spelled "Mette", but the pronunciation sounds the same to American ears, like ours.)
C: Moving on! And then, low and behold, surprise, surprise, we went to another art museum. This time to hear a conference on New Extremism at the ARKEN. We were invited to the conference, complete with dinner and museum entry, for free, by my new media professor, Mie. Aaron, actually thank you for coming to that. I was really glad you were there.
Cristiana outside the ARKEN
A: I'm glad I got to come. It was a super cool museum. The conference was super interesting. But just to be clear, for the sake of this blog, the conference was ABOUT extremism, not PRO extremism.
C: *laughs*
A: Just wanted that to be super clear.
Aaron in front of Simon Fujiwara's "Joanne"
C: Friday. It was already time for you to go. Aaron, after I left the airport I like, stood and cried on the train platform. It was embarrassing. I was all "I'm not crying, don't look at me!" But it was worth it.
Cristiana sitting at the airport, pretending to be ok
A: I'm sorry. Is this part where I said I cried?
C: I think you'd be lying.
A: Okay.
C: Were you? Crying?
A: I'm not gonna say anymore.
C: Nooo, tell me!
A: Too late!
C: Aaron! Awwww. What was it like for you?
A: It was sad, and I cried a little bit.
C: Awww.
A: But like, in a manly way.
C: Okaaaay. Any last thoughts?
A: Ya. My girlfriend's pretty cool. And I'm glad I get to go on adventures with her. And that she shares her adventures with other people through this blog. Meta. Boom. Disappears in a cloud of smoke.
C: *Pity laughs* Well thank you for agreeing to this random phone interview. And thank you thank you for coming to visit me in Cope! I'll see you soon when I'm back home!
Us at a cocktail bar in Copenhagen
A: Can't wait.
C: *quick to jump in* You also can't answer because you disappeared in a cloud of smoke.
A: My voice is still here!
C: Alright. *laughs* (I guess I think Aaron's funny)
A: You didn't think you were gonna get that, did you?
C: I did not. That was beautiful Aaron Lauby.
A: Thank you. You're welcome. Sometimes I'm pretty neat.
C: Sometimes.
A: Hey! Watch it!
And that my friends, is what a completely natural conversation with Aaron C. Lauby sounds like. But for real, it was so nice to host him, and a special thanks to all the friends, professors, and flatmates, who were so willing to include him in our adventures. I love you all!
Next time, on "Ceeping Up with Cristiana": another visit from home! Welcome family! Welcome cousins!
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