FRIDAY JANUARY 26th

Got up around 6:30. Went downstairs to have a pastry and tea for breakfast. Talked with Ida and Karen. Jens had already left. Karen is going to a classical music concert tonight. Ida is going to visit her mother who is in the hospital. Strange pic. in the paper of a worker sawing at a railroad rail.
Went for run. Warm but snowing/raining/sleeting and VERY windy. Frenetic and not fun to run in. Went running by the school where I will be doing my practicum. Also went running around the other two lakes that I haven’t been running around yet. They are OK. Lots of people walking dogs! People hide their children in carriages but love to show off their dogs.
Went back and showered.
Took bus to DIS. Went to 20 Century Euro history. I like the prof. he moves around the classroom but then stays put unlike some American teachers who pace. He likes to pick a person to speak at but he rotates who he intensely focuses on. He is older maybe late 60s and has obviously taught this type of stuff for a while. Also teaches at Copenhagen University. Asked a lot of questions that were somewhat rhetorical and about stuff that we didn’t really know the answer too. Made lots of funny jokes. Gave us a break in the middle of the 1.5 hour class.
He told a funny joke about a European study of elephants. The French wrote about the elephants sex life. The Danes wrote about its eating habits. The Germans wrote about its functioning and processes. Finally the Swedes wrote about Sweden and the Swedish people. We talked about how history is a science. We talked about how the 20th century is relative and refers to a certain mindset not especially to the dates 1900-2000. We defined Europe as a historical construct. The southern and eastern borders are not definite.
Had lunch of focaccia bread, a Clementine and a cookie. Ate with Elizabeth and some other DIS students that I now forget the names of.
Went to Environmental History. Saw Peter Christianson (the prof for 20th century and enviro history) smoking a pipe outside. We must call him Peter because that is the informal way the Danes operate. Much of the stuff at least for today was repeated in Enviro history. What is history? What is Europe? What is nature? Talked about how humans brought storks to Denmark by cutting down trees and creating meadows and then drove them away again by altering the environment again. Mentioned population growth and global warming. Al Gore had just been in Denmark to show the movie and talk about the book.
Went to Danish class. Nina Lahav is the professor. She gave the tour of Denmark I went on Monday. We went over the survival Danish stuff your name, where you are from etc. etc. Helped with pronunciation a LOT.
Hung out with Elizabeth and some other DIS students that I forget the names of. Worked on Danish HW that you have to do on the DIS computer b/c it involves listening to a movie.
Went to a meeting about sports in Denmark organized by a Smith alum who’s running a marathon this spring. Met 10 other runners! Very exciting. There is a running club I could join or we may just get together to run as DIS students. Nice to make the connections. I guess there are ton of sports clubs but in general for professional sports only soccer and handball are really popular and get money in Denmark. There are no super serious NCAA, NFL, NBA like organizations.
Went to “The Happy Pig” for a free Danish hotdog for dinner that DIS provided but it was tiny, crowded and too sketchy and barlike so we left very quickly and went to this other café type place. It was Elizabeth and Ashley and Emily two girls from Hobart and Williams Smith. We had a great time talking and drinking tea. Then I went home.