there is certainly a lot to see in paris. more than i'd originally thought. had it not been for radiohead, it would not have been one of the top countries on my list.
prior to visiting "the city of lovers," i've heard left and right that the natives there are pretty much arrogant assholes. don't worry, they're right; i can vouch for that. if you don't speak the language? good luck; they won't bother to help. however, of the six days that i spent there, i must say that it was progressively getting better.
friday, aug 25: landed in paris sometime in the evening. found the hostel and decided to spend the night in, since i was utterly exhausted. i was waiting for lynly to et back from rock en seine anyhow.
saturday, aug 26: rock en seine. beck didn't go on stage until about a quarter till 8, but we got there around 330 because lynly wanted to see taking back sunday. it rained on and off...got muddy.. there were a LOT of people. by the time radiohead came on, one could even barely move. you want to go to the outskirts of the crowd? well, that didn't even exist. remember when they played coachella about two years ago? i think the crowd was about twice as big. eesh. the subway ride home was no better. in all, they played a good set though.
sunday, aug 27: eiffel tower all day. first real french meal. they're really into their cappuccinos and baguettes here. and crepes. i probably gained 5 lbs in the duration that i was in france. canal tour. brewskies in front of the tower amongst other people while waiting for the tower to light up. ghey. but nice.
monday, aug 28: the night before, lynly and i ran into some other eap kids from lynly's program. we met up with kristy and irina at 9ish to go to the cemetary (i forget the name). it was raining. the cemetary was a labyrinth. you ask why we went? jim morrison. oscar wilde. frederic chopin. amazing. then it was off to the picasso museum. and the louvre. the mona lisa is NOT that small, despite what everyone says. walked alllll the way to the arc of triumph and then dinner at a fancy schmancy restaurant complete with a piano dude. back to the louvre at night but sadly the pyramids were not lit.
tuesday, aug 29: we all met up again to go to the catacombs. that place is insane. it's a gravesite for about a few million people from the 18th century. it's underground, and it's nothing but bones, bones, and more bones. it was a bit creepy at first, but towards the end i got really sad. how weird is it to make this available to the public. i mean, tourists going "HAVE YOU TOUCHED A SKULL?" and taking flash pictures does not necessarily constitute a peaceful final resting place. made a detour to starbucks, where i had my first coffee there in a month (sadly i did not think that i would miss that place; it wouldn't be so bad if other coffeeshops offered to-go cups). then we trekked over to the orsay museum for a good handful of impressionist paintings, from monet to van gogh. other destinations: la chappelle, conciergie, notre dame! notre dame was amazing, from the inside and the outside. we got there just in time for mass.
tried to find the marc jacobs store (only one in europe), but it was closed by the time we got there. then we had din din in the latin quarter. indian food! lord knows we can't find anything ethnic once we return to our respective countries. afterwards we went for some drinks at the bar where the waiter called himself freddie mercury and fun times ensued.
weds, aug 30: the girls left in the morning, so it was just me for the day. i checked out the dali museum and then went and saw the thinker. how rad is that? then i wandered around town for a good few hours looking at little shops and my little feet were dead by the end of the day.
thurs: ummm flew back this morning. i'm dead. its about 3pm. i will take a nap.
i need to get a usb cable. i took 250 pix0rz in france! sheeesh.
XOXOX
Thursday, August 31, 2006
Friday, August 25, 2006
jeg elsker kbh. og øl ..selvfølgelig
(i love copenhagen. and beer... of course)
surprisingly, it did not rain at all today. it's rare for copenhagen! anyway, just got back from the open air cinema. movie was all in danish, of course, but it was super-nice. sitting on wet grass.. at night... with a good number of people.. and beers.
i'm going to continue taking danish in the semester; it should be fun. i can't wait till the day i get to catch at least half of what the natives are saying around me. i get my results from the language final tomorrow. a bit nervous, but i'm more excited for the free food.
i should get ready for tomorrow. hello paris! stupid me bought grapes today but this only leaves me about 14 hours to eat them. good thing they were only 8 kr for a bunch the size of my head.
see youuuuuuu & i love you guyss!
surprisingly, it did not rain at all today. it's rare for copenhagen! anyway, just got back from the open air cinema. movie was all in danish, of course, but it was super-nice. sitting on wet grass.. at night... with a good number of people.. and beers.
i'm going to continue taking danish in the semester; it should be fun. i can't wait till the day i get to catch at least half of what the natives are saying around me. i get my results from the language final tomorrow. a bit nervous, but i'm more excited for the free food.
i should get ready for tomorrow. hello paris! stupid me bought grapes today but this only leaves me about 14 hours to eat them. good thing they were only 8 kr for a bunch the size of my head.
see youuuuuuu & i love you guyss!
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
jeg er træt (tired)
i bought a ticket to see sufjan stevens at vega, right in vesterbro, in november. i'm excited. he's one of my favorite artists and if i can't see him in the states, i'll catch little stevie here.
tomorrow concludes my last day of the danish language course. i was entertaining the idea of even possibly extending it into the semester... but naww, that's too much work (if you haven't caught on, im quite lazy). if i get into the classes i want, i'll only be in school two days out of the week: tirsdag og onsdag (tues & weds).
i'm going to be honest here. i'm finding it extreeeemely hard to meet people here. for those of you who actually know me, you KNOW that i'm quite possibly the shyest person you know. if not shy, then quiet. okay maybe until you get to know me/get me drunk, then that may be a different story. yeah, anyway, just one barrier to get across (this so-called anxiety, which i am sure will pass). for those of you who think i'm getting drunk and partying every night, i'm not. for those of you who think that i am hooking up with 324 different hot menz every week, i'm not. well, not yet. i hope i will get over this soon. i don't know, it could very well just be me; i haven't exactly found any people with whom i've "clicked." then again, you don't need to click with somebody in order to have a good time. it just gets old after awhile, i suppose. i'm ready to get past the standard small talk: what's your major? where are you from? why are you in copenhagen? and meeting actual danish people? apparently they're really difficult to get into. i guess i shall see when real school starts.
don't get me wrong though, it's not as if i'm being a recluse or anything. god forbid if i start doing that here!
on a better note, i'm flying to paris right after school on friday. radiohead! beck! shopping! baguettes! wine-tasting! lynz0r! yessss.
tomorrow concludes my last day of the danish language course. i was entertaining the idea of even possibly extending it into the semester... but naww, that's too much work (if you haven't caught on, im quite lazy). if i get into the classes i want, i'll only be in school two days out of the week: tirsdag og onsdag (tues & weds).
i'm going to be honest here. i'm finding it extreeeemely hard to meet people here. for those of you who actually know me, you KNOW that i'm quite possibly the shyest person you know. if not shy, then quiet. okay maybe until you get to know me/get me drunk, then that may be a different story. yeah, anyway, just one barrier to get across (this so-called anxiety, which i am sure will pass). for those of you who think i'm getting drunk and partying every night, i'm not. for those of you who think that i am hooking up with 324 different hot menz every week, i'm not. well, not yet. i hope i will get over this soon. i don't know, it could very well just be me; i haven't exactly found any people with whom i've "clicked." then again, you don't need to click with somebody in order to have a good time. it just gets old after awhile, i suppose. i'm ready to get past the standard small talk: what's your major? where are you from? why are you in copenhagen? and meeting actual danish people? apparently they're really difficult to get into. i guess i shall see when real school starts.
don't get me wrong though, it's not as if i'm being a recluse or anything. god forbid if i start doing that here!
on a better note, i'm flying to paris right after school on friday. radiohead! beck! shopping! baguettes! wine-tasting! lynz0r! yessss.
Sunday, August 20, 2006
hvor har du været henne?
i just moved into my room. it's cavernous; everyone is moving in furniture and art decor and shit. all i have is a shower curtain. and no electricity. i am awesome because i just blew out my power.
this last week has been a blur. i can't believe that i've only been here for a bit over two weeks and so much shit has happened. so much that i have to get sick. i've probably been drunk for five nights in the past week.
haha ok bye. i think im going to go take a shower in the dark now.
this last week has been a blur. i can't believe that i've only been here for a bit over two weeks and so much shit has happened. so much that i have to get sick. i've probably been drunk for five nights in the past week.
haha ok bye. i think im going to go take a shower in the dark now.
Monday, August 14, 2006
hvad med dig?
pooja, i will hook up with 23423 hot danish menz for you and everyone else, duh.
okay! and i get to move into the dormitory next monday! i'm so fucking excited because not only is it 26 square meters for my own room & utilities (for a mere 2470 ddk/month! that's $411.67 USD), it comes with my own bathroom!!!
please do send me double-doubles, golden spoon, toilet seat covers, and california burritos at this address after the 20th:
Christina Tam
Tietgen Kollegiet
Rued Langgaards Vej 10, 1, 102
2300 København S
Denmark
okay! and i get to move into the dormitory next monday! i'm so fucking excited because not only is it 26 square meters for my own room & utilities (for a mere 2470 ddk/month! that's $411.67 USD), it comes with my own bathroom!!!
please do send me double-doubles, golden spoon, toilet seat covers, and california burritos at this address after the 20th:
Christina Tam
Tietgen Kollegiet
Rued Langgaards Vej 10, 1, 102
2300 København S
Denmark
Saturday, August 12, 2006
det kan jeg godt (tale dansk)
okay i can't really speak danish.. i lied.. only a lidt (little).
so i'm pretty much exhausted. the last couple of days have been unreal.
tues: all the logistics of setting up my bank account, cpr number (like a social security) -- you know the govt here provides everything for "free" here? from health care to the university to social security. but of course, i believe denmark has the highest tax rate in the world. 50%, i believe. i was just informed last night that taxes on a purchased vehicle can go as high as 180%
weds: for some reason everyone thought that international night started this day. i presumed that the international house was still closed, but everyone kept telling me to go, soo.. everyone was there and it was closed. thus there were about a good 30-40 of us in the city centre square with beers in our hands. some of us wandered around for about a good hour and a half looking for a bar. but who can find a bar when theres a group of about 20 kids? surely everyone inside would be intimidated. anyway, the group dwindled down to about six of us, and we ended up by the canal in the nyhavn district. beer and hot dogs at midnight, yessss.
it was during this time that for the first time since i've been here, i'd never been more ashamed to call myself an american. is that bad? i mean, we are already attached with the stigma that we are completely oblivious of the outside world.. and that we are essentially retarded. a couple of us (or them, rather) were talking about european politics, and this austrian dude (i forget his name) asked me what i learned in school about europe. i had to be honest.. nothing.
thurs: canal tour! mediterranean buffet at this really classy restaurant called rizraz. im getting extremely hungry just thinking about it. ugh the beers were so small.
fri: some english bastard in my danish class said that us americans were "good for nothing." because of everything that had happened at heathrow airport in london, and i had no idea, to be honest. it was a bit difficult getting myself informed when i don't have access to the internet, television, or english newspapers. i shouldn't have cared because he's an arrogant asshole anyway, but it somewhat just fueled the fire of all things american that i'd been pondering the whole week.
following the advice of a resident californian, i went to club rust last night. seriously, the club does not get filled until after 1230am, and it's still really weird to comprehend that most clubs dont close until 5am here in copenhagen. and get this: for those who can't stop partying, other clubs open up at 5am and last until the next day at 3pm. crazy. i'm going to have to get used to this life! anyhowwww, a bunch of international kids were there, so it was fun. josef, a fellow dane, started talking to me and i'd like to think that we hit it off. we danced (!), exchanged numbers, but i think he's gay.
sat (today): excursion to the frederiksborg castle north of the city. this place is truly out of a faery tale. i'll try to post pictures soon. then off to the louisiana museum of modern art.
i think this is it for now. i want to eat dinner or something, but i must first figure out what to make. it's been raining here a lot. if the weather lets up a bit tomorrow, hopefully i'll be able to catch the gay pride parade!
xoxox christina
so i'm pretty much exhausted. the last couple of days have been unreal.
tues: all the logistics of setting up my bank account, cpr number (like a social security) -- you know the govt here provides everything for "free" here? from health care to the university to social security. but of course, i believe denmark has the highest tax rate in the world. 50%, i believe. i was just informed last night that taxes on a purchased vehicle can go as high as 180%
weds: for some reason everyone thought that international night started this day. i presumed that the international house was still closed, but everyone kept telling me to go, soo.. everyone was there and it was closed. thus there were about a good 30-40 of us in the city centre square with beers in our hands. some of us wandered around for about a good hour and a half looking for a bar. but who can find a bar when theres a group of about 20 kids? surely everyone inside would be intimidated. anyway, the group dwindled down to about six of us, and we ended up by the canal in the nyhavn district. beer and hot dogs at midnight, yessss.
it was during this time that for the first time since i've been here, i'd never been more ashamed to call myself an american. is that bad? i mean, we are already attached with the stigma that we are completely oblivious of the outside world.. and that we are essentially retarded. a couple of us (or them, rather) were talking about european politics, and this austrian dude (i forget his name) asked me what i learned in school about europe. i had to be honest.. nothing.
thurs: canal tour! mediterranean buffet at this really classy restaurant called rizraz. im getting extremely hungry just thinking about it. ugh the beers were so small.
fri: some english bastard in my danish class said that us americans were "good for nothing." because of everything that had happened at heathrow airport in london, and i had no idea, to be honest. it was a bit difficult getting myself informed when i don't have access to the internet, television, or english newspapers. i shouldn't have cared because he's an arrogant asshole anyway, but it somewhat just fueled the fire of all things american that i'd been pondering the whole week.
following the advice of a resident californian, i went to club rust last night. seriously, the club does not get filled until after 1230am, and it's still really weird to comprehend that most clubs dont close until 5am here in copenhagen. and get this: for those who can't stop partying, other clubs open up at 5am and last until the next day at 3pm. crazy. i'm going to have to get used to this life! anyhowwww, a bunch of international kids were there, so it was fun. josef, a fellow dane, started talking to me and i'd like to think that we hit it off. we danced (!), exchanged numbers, but i think he's gay.
sat (today): excursion to the frederiksborg castle north of the city. this place is truly out of a faery tale. i'll try to post pictures soon. then off to the louisiana museum of modern art.
i think this is it for now. i want to eat dinner or something, but i must first figure out what to make. it's been raining here a lot. if the weather lets up a bit tomorrow, hopefully i'll be able to catch the gay pride parade!
xoxox christina
Monday, August 07, 2006
velkommen
one observation that i must note: i would say that at LEAST 80% of all the danish (wo)menzz here are hot. that's a good thing. the people i've talked to back in the states were not lying.
oh and before i forget, desi & jeff, they drive on the right side of the road here. they have no regard for pedestrians, whether you are behind the wheel or the handlebars of a bike. i need to get a bike, but i think i'm afraid to handle one of those things. i think i's even worse than driving a car here. they.. are.. so.. aggressive..
and so today concludes my first day of danish class. i must say, danish is the ugliest language of my life. (after dutch) nothing is pronounced phonetically! though you may see a "g" or "d" in a word, unless it's between two vowels or some other weird rule, it's silent.
i met some international students, so no danes today. just went through the ho-hum of orientation and all that fun stuff. met a finnish girl, linda i believe is her name for now (probably/most likely pronounced/spelled in the most finnish way possible), and we went grocery shopping. you have to pay for your own grocery bags and weigh your own produce! hah the luxuries of living in the states.. . not really but it was an interesting observation.
we wanted to get beerz but decided to reserve that for a night when we can meet some hot menz or something. naturally, everything is expensive here in europe. say a beer is 30 kroner (about five dollars) at the bar, but a six-pack of the same shit is 42 kr. i don't think that i can eat out ever again, either. a lunch here is easily ten u.s. dollars. and i'm talking about a mcdonald's lunch.
i got lost in the district of vesterbro yesterday. i was probably wandering around aimlessly for three hours. good for sight-seeing, i suppose. this is a relatively small city (and especially for a capital), so no matter where i am, i know that i can always find my way back. i think i've lost 5 lbs from all this walking already, from the time that i've arrived. oh and i made a detour into the museum erotica yesterday.. mostly danish history shit; it was interesting to say the least. i also experienced my first danish open-faced sandwich (they're apparently really into those).. and it wasn't that great. maybe it was the cafe?
hopefully, the next time i update, it will be more interesting. but this is all i have for now..i miss you all and i'll talk to you guys soon on aim when i get the internet.
byeee xoxox
oh and before i forget, desi & jeff, they drive on the right side of the road here. they have no regard for pedestrians, whether you are behind the wheel or the handlebars of a bike. i need to get a bike, but i think i'm afraid to handle one of those things. i think i's even worse than driving a car here. they.. are.. so.. aggressive..
and so today concludes my first day of danish class. i must say, danish is the ugliest language of my life. (after dutch) nothing is pronounced phonetically! though you may see a "g" or "d" in a word, unless it's between two vowels or some other weird rule, it's silent.
i met some international students, so no danes today. just went through the ho-hum of orientation and all that fun stuff. met a finnish girl, linda i believe is her name for now (probably/most likely pronounced/spelled in the most finnish way possible), and we went grocery shopping. you have to pay for your own grocery bags and weigh your own produce! hah the luxuries of living in the states.. . not really but it was an interesting observation.
we wanted to get beerz but decided to reserve that for a night when we can meet some hot menz or something. naturally, everything is expensive here in europe. say a beer is 30 kroner (about five dollars) at the bar, but a six-pack of the same shit is 42 kr. i don't think that i can eat out ever again, either. a lunch here is easily ten u.s. dollars. and i'm talking about a mcdonald's lunch.
i got lost in the district of vesterbro yesterday. i was probably wandering around aimlessly for three hours. good for sight-seeing, i suppose. this is a relatively small city (and especially for a capital), so no matter where i am, i know that i can always find my way back. i think i've lost 5 lbs from all this walking already, from the time that i've arrived. oh and i made a detour into the museum erotica yesterday.. mostly danish history shit; it was interesting to say the least. i also experienced my first danish open-faced sandwich (they're apparently really into those).. and it wasn't that great. maybe it was the cafe?
hopefully, the next time i update, it will be more interesting. but this is all i have for now..i miss you all and i'll talk to you guys soon on aim when i get the internet.
byeee xoxox
Sunday, August 06, 2006
i'm alive!
hey everybody,
so im sitting in an internet cafe right now, and it reeks of smoke, sweat, and nerd. anyhow, look at what this danish keyboard can do!: æå ø ÆÅ Ø ooohh shit.
yeah thus far everybody here has been uber-nice. for instance, since i got off the plane i've had 23894723 people help me with me 23423 lb. luggage. i met two hot swedish menzz on the train. seriously jet-jagged, and im totally not feeling this keyboard at all. i am so awesome to think that yesterday was the 4th (when indeed it was the 5th).. therefore meaning that i missed my check-in time on friday at the international office, classic christina style. i am so awesome. i start my danish course tomorrow, so hopefully i'll be able to meet some other rad international students such as myself.
quick update: i haven't been doing too much, just walking here and there and exploring copenhagen a bit. i love the architecture here, and i love how there is a plethora of mass transit. you can definitely not find that in irvine! sooo on the second day, after sleeping for about 312312 hours, i decided to go downtown and explore a little.. asked this girl camilla for help, and it turns out that she was going in the same direction. she ended up inviting me to a (karoake) bar with her. second danish word learned? "skol," meaning cheers (i know i completely butchered the spelling...), after tak, for thank you.
of course, i got drunk after about two beers, and theyre really good about buying you more beerz and smokez. my apartment here is literally a hole in that wall, but that's okay -- i'm moving into the lovely tietgen kollegium on the 20th. i'll post pix0rz later when my computer is juiced and whenever i get the internet. alright i'm off to the coast and maybe meet some new people; payce!
--christina
XOXOXO
so im sitting in an internet cafe right now, and it reeks of smoke, sweat, and nerd. anyhow, look at what this danish keyboard can do!: æå ø ÆÅ Ø ooohh shit.
yeah thus far everybody here has been uber-nice. for instance, since i got off the plane i've had 23894723 people help me with me 23423 lb. luggage. i met two hot swedish menzz on the train. seriously jet-jagged, and im totally not feeling this keyboard at all. i am so awesome to think that yesterday was the 4th (when indeed it was the 5th).. therefore meaning that i missed my check-in time on friday at the international office, classic christina style. i am so awesome. i start my danish course tomorrow, so hopefully i'll be able to meet some other rad international students such as myself.
quick update: i haven't been doing too much, just walking here and there and exploring copenhagen a bit. i love the architecture here, and i love how there is a plethora of mass transit. you can definitely not find that in irvine! sooo on the second day, after sleeping for about 312312 hours, i decided to go downtown and explore a little.. asked this girl camilla for help, and it turns out that she was going in the same direction. she ended up inviting me to a (karoake) bar with her. second danish word learned? "skol," meaning cheers (i know i completely butchered the spelling...), after tak, for thank you.
of course, i got drunk after about two beers, and theyre really good about buying you more beerz and smokez. my apartment here is literally a hole in that wall, but that's okay -- i'm moving into the lovely tietgen kollegium on the 20th. i'll post pix0rz later when my computer is juiced and whenever i get the internet. alright i'm off to the coast and maybe meet some new people; payce!
--christina
XOXOXO
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