Random bits and pieces

I should let you all know: State of Emergency over - for now. One of the lovely ladies I work with went to the big library during her lunch break and brought me two English novels, one of which is written by one of my favorite authors, Neal Stephenson. Hurrah for good friends! She has also helped me translate Danish transportation sites, even calling the main offices for clarification. I really enjoy working with her, and everyone else at the clinic. Even though Danes are stereotypically reserved, once you get to know them, they are just about the kindest people ever.

Speaking of transportation, yesterday I spent my time after work buying a 45 day train pass. At the rate I was going to work or to the city, I was spending about 20 American dollars a day, or around 100 Kroner (Danish money). If I were to travel 45 more days, I would have spent around 900 dollars, or 4500 Kroner. So I bought a pass instead, which cost me about 200 American dollars, or 1000 Kroner. So in the end I will have saved about 700 American dollars! I think it's worth it, don't you?

Today after work I went to the little market up the street and bought some baguette and Brie, nectarines, and these little candies I found in Holland. At least I thought they were! The holland candies were these marshmallow bars about as long as a finger and as wide as two, with a thin layer of raspberry jam running through the middle, all wrapped in milk and white chocolate. I saw similar candies in the market, but as it turns out, they're filled with marzipan instead of marshmallow. BOO! I hate marzipan. Oh well. It was fun to pretend to be a local by shopping at the local grocer. Even though my brown eyes gave me away. At least when I wear my sunglasses, my blonde hair fits in with the crowd, and no one knows I'm not Danish!

So basically, I am having a really great time. This weekend I am going to spend time with Nicolaj and his family, and he has promised to take me to a local outdoor museum, and perhaps Tivoli, a park that inspired Walt Disney to create Disneyland.

I have so many things I want to share with you all, but as you can tell from this entry, I am so excited about everything that I am failing to organize my mind. We all have days like that, I'm sure. Perhaps I will just make more entries. Maybe even another one tonight! But first, a shower.

My First Day

Last night I could hardly sleep with anticipation. That, and reading Pride and Prejudice until the wee hours of the morning. But mostly anticipation. I got up extra early this morning, 6:30 as opposed to my usual noon, and took the three trains and two walks required to meet my destination. I have worked at 4 different clinics, and this is the first one I have felt immediately integrated into. There was no awkward phase where everyone is aware I am new, and in this case, foreign. There certainly were moments of me wandering through the clinic, but that was largely due to it being a slow day. The girls at the clinic were so welcoming and friendly that I immediately knew that it was a good place for me. All the puppies didn't hurt either. Even though it is an hour commute and about 20 dollars worth of train tickets every day, and I can't understand a word anyone says, I feel it is worth it.

Every Monday the clinic buys lunch for all staff present, and I was treated to a Chicken Sticks sandwich from the Crazy Chicken (unaffiliated with the Pollo Loco in the US), which bore little resemblance to sticks. It was 2 slabs of chicken on a king-sized bed of lettuce, slathered in some kind of curry mayonnaise, all between two slices of a brown bread. But hey, what is traveling if not taking adventures?

Later in the day the nurse in charge of the attached shop decided the products would be more enticing if the walls were painted Caffe Latte instead of the barren, clinical white that it currently boasted. Since we were not needed otherwise, we taped up the floors and windows and began to paint. Now, the last time I painted a building in a foreign country (Ecuador) it stood only a week until it was buried and then forgotten under an exhalation of ashes. This memory returned to me as I first dipped my brush, but my fears were quelled once I recalled that Denmark's highest point is 561 feet, basically a tenth of a mile. With no volcanoes to ruin my work, I painted.

It was a good day :)

København

Tomorrow is the day of days. I start my internship at the veterinary clinic here in Copenhagen (well, technically in suburb called Vanløse). I am pretty nervous, largely because of my inability to speak Danish, but also because I haven't worked in a hospital since last summer. From what I have seen of Copenhagen, neuterings are also not common, so maybe the clinic won't be so busy and I will have a lot of time for each exam. But that is usually not the way things work.

I spent this weekend getting to know the city a little bit - yesterday I ventured out to Østerport train station, right in the middle of historic Copenhagen, where I saw the famous Little Mermaid statue that has been a tourist attraction for many years.

As well as a target that local teens just love to desecrate:

I also spent the equivalent of 9 American dollars on a bottle of water and a medium Soft-Ice, which while very expensive, was pretty much worth the money. Soft-ice is the most incredible thing I have ever eaten. Imagine frozen yogurt, but creamier and thicker and sweeter and oh so amazing. I can guarantee I looked like a small child with the amount of delight that covered my face while eating this treat.

Because most of the attractions in Copenhagen, like everything else, were really expensive, I decided instead to walk around some of the gardens. First was Kongens Have (King's Garden), where I found a multitude of tall, blonde, blue-eyed young people (my age) enjoying the rare sunshine that has graced this country for the past few days (I am giving my arrival the credit). It was nice to see so many people out and about doing stuff, and I always appreciate a beautiful, well-maintained garden.

Plus, it included the Rosenborg Castle, pictured above, which houses the royal jewels, which I was too cheap to go see.

All in all Copenhagen and its surrounding suburbs are beautiful and unique, and I look forward to getting to know them better. It will be nice when Michael gets here, because I intend to do a lot of the touristy stuff with him, since I don't want to pay for stuff twice. Also, he moved his flight 2 days earlier! Yay!

So long, and thanks for all the fish

Tonight I will be leaving on a train to Copenhagen, and I will have to bid "adieu" to the city that has hosted me for the past few days. I have had an amazing time here in Amsterdam, and I have learned a lot of important things about a new culture.

1) Tipping is not really necessary. This has been difficult for me, because in the US you will be chased down the street for not leaving a 15% tip, so I have been inclined to leave a few coins at the table.

2) Cleaning up after your dog is not expected. I have had to maneuver around so many poos while walking through the streets to avoid stepping in them, and some of my friends have not been as lucky as I.

3) Bicycles rule the streets. This isn't like Davis, where the bikes will stop for you. Stopping is not an option for them. Cars, pedestrians, and animals must yield or suffer the consequences. The hierarchy goes Bikes -> Cars -> Dogs -> Pedestrians.

4) Neutering your pet is not popular or necessary. The veterinary credo is "Spay and Neuter or go to Hell" (slightly modified), or at least I thought it was. I have never had a stronger urge to go around snipping at the backsides of all the dogs, but I don't want to be deported. Surprisingly, I have seen no feral or stray animals, so maybe the lack of fixing is okay.

5) Recycling is not so important. I have seen a couple of recycling bins for paper and bottles, but I have never seen anyone use them. I have however, seen many people toss their recyclables in the trash or in the canals, whichever is closer. This city is progressive in many ways, but not in recycling. I guess they bike enough to make up for it.

6) Herring. It is herring season in Holland right now. That means everyone is downing entire herrings in one gulp. Take a look at my Dutch blog friend Dutch Donut Girl's post about the festivities.


It was really fun being in Amsterdam, and I'm excited to come back in September to experience it again. I have seen so many things I would rather never see again, but all the memories are fun and worthwhile. I am looking forward to being in Copenhagen - I emailed the veterinary clinic that responded to my initial email, and they still expect me to come to work next week, so I am very excited about that. It's been too long since I've been in a hospital. And hopefully being there will make up for the lack of neutering going on in this town, and I can rest easy.

Veterinary-ing

I got a job! I got a job! I got a job! It doesn't pay but...I got a job!
The whole purpose for this summer was to emulate a typical study abroad type program, since my major (Animal Science) isn't widely taught throughout the world. Since I am going to be a vet one day, I figured a good replacement for studying would be working to gain clinical experience.

Today I received an email from the Sallingvej Dyreklinik (animal clinic) in Copenhagen saying they would let me work with them for the summer and show me the ropes! Click this link for a description of the people working there (in Danish).

I am so grateful for them taking in a non-Danish-speaking-American-traveler like me! They were so nice in their email and they seem like truly wonderful people to work with. Unfortunately right now all I can say in Danish is hot dog with ketchup (pølse mel ketchup), but I plan on learning some medical terms so I don't end up accidentally killing anything during an emergency (not that I would, I am very good at what I do).

Yay for work! Now I don't have to sit around for 6 weeks working up the courage to ask for a hot dog.