Antwerp

June 26

With my class we went north of Brussels for the day.  We had an instructor teach us how to make Belgian chocolate lollipops as well as chocolate crunch balls in a gorgeous building in the town square.  The chocolate in Belgium is very delicious, as you can imagine, so I enjoyed this part of the trip very much.  He let us take home the candies we made as well as sample his chocolate by dipping marshmallows into it.  The chocolate filled me up quite a bit, but I had lunch in a very good Italian restaurant, which was on a side street of the town square, next to city hall in Antwerp.  Then went to SENSOA where they gave a presentation about their organization.  Later that night I ate at a Chinese restaurant with my friend Marissa, we met up with the rest of our class and went out to a bar called Délirium Café.  This bar has over 2,000 different types of beers that you could order, from fruit beer to beer with a very high percentage of alcohol.  It was recorded in The Guinness Book of Records in 2004 as there are beers from over 60 countries available there, many of them being Belgian beers.  The great part about this is that it was only a couple of Euros.   

Chocolate lollipops 

Making the chocolate crunch balls

Antwerp Town Square

Délirium Café

Brussels and Mussels

June 25

Today we left for Brussels, Belgium bright and early-too early if you ask me.  The minute we arrived we placed our bags in storage in our hotel, went to grab a quick lunch, and went on a two hour walking tour of Brussels.  We saw the square (picture below), which was gorgeous and had many different styles of architecture on each side of the square that you looked at.  We covered a lot of ground, seeing practically every aspect of Brussels that was important and beautiful.  Our tour guide also added in many interesting facts about the sexual history of Brussels as well, which has a very different feel than Copenhagen does.  We then went to ILGA-Europe, International Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, and Intersex Association, where we meant Sophie who gave us an overview of what the organization does.  ILGA main concern is with LGBTI (lesbian, gay, bisexual, trans, intersex) human rights and equality in all aspects across Europe.  We then went back to the hotel and relaxed for a couple of hours.  Then went to this amazing restaurant called Chez Leon, where I had mussels, french fries, traditional Belgian beer, and chocolate mousse.

Brussels

Symbol of Brussels- a little boy peeing

Crepes

June 24

Today was a rather relaxing and boring day.  Most of the day it rained so I slept in late and then Kevin and Mick had to leave for their study tour around 2.  Then I walked around with a couple girls in my hall and found a crepe place where I ordered a crepe with nutella and a scoop of ice cream.  Afterwards, I went back to Skindergade and packed for my study tour, then watched England sadly lose to Italy in penalty kicks with my SRA Robin.

Sight Seeing and History in Copenhagen

June 23

Today I finally got to sleep in, but I also wanted to go an see some sights around Copenhagen, so I woke Kevin and Mick up.  We went to the Botanisk Have, which means the Botanic Gardens.  Here we saw, beautiful gardens and got to explore in them.  We eventually made our way to Rosenbourg Castle as well in Kings Garden.  Kevin wanted me to take a picture with the guard so I did, and when I approached him he said it was all right to take a picture, but it was not all right to get to close.  I guess he liked to have plenty of personal space. 

We then went back to Skindergade 40 and relaxed for a while and made dinner before going to Sankt Hans, which is the burning of the witch, in Fredericksburg Park.  The celebration of Midsummers’s eve was a festival of summer solstice.  Bonfires were lit to protect against evil spirits and in later years, witches were burned in them.

Rosenbourg Castle

Botanic Gardens

Fredericksburg Park

Sankt Hans

Waffles, Chocolate and Beer- The Belgian Way

June 22

Today, we gave and received many presentations on all aspects of Brussels, Belgium, which is where we are going next week for our study tour.  I learned many interesting facts about Belgium, such that there are two languages spoken here, French and Flemish.  However, in Brussels, French is the dominant language.  Also, the region of Belgium is broken up by the language you speak; the Flemish in the north of Belgium, the French in the south and Brussels being the middle ground.  Our presenter, a native of Belgium, suggested many places to get waffles, chocolate, and beer- only the finest of Brussels of course.  I have really been enjoying my class as well.  It has been brightening my horizons to new ideas and experiences on the topic of sexuality in different cultures. 

Later that night I returned home, met up with the usual crew and went out to a couple of bars with our SRA Robin.  

Daily Life in Copenhagen

June 21

Today I woke up with what I thought was pink eye.  So I went to class as I normally would, and then my eye got better so I thought it was just an allergic reaction.  So I put a towel over my pillow, took some Claritin and by the next morning I was good to go. 

Overall, today was a fun day with the basics of going to class, coming home, doing some homework and going out.  Our SRA, Robin, Mick, Kevin and I had dinner that Robin made for us.  It was a beef pasta dish that was very good.  We ate this while watching the Czech Republic vs. Portugal Euro Cup game.  Later we went out to Kuhlerbar again; this time our SRA Robin came out with us and showed us all his great dance moves.  I made sure to get plenty of pictures of that. 

Relax

June 20
Today was a day that was filled with a lot of sleeping and school.  Even though my class is a lot of work and homework, it is very intriguing to me.  We talk about many parts of sexuality in Denmark and Brussels (where my study tour is next week) and compare it to the United States.  This class is not only giving me more international knowledge of history, laws and social life in Copenhagen and Brussels, its also giving me perspectives that many Americans do not have.  I have also talked with my SRA's (social residential assistant) and their friends from Copenhagen and it is fascinating to me to hear their perspectives about the United States compared to Denmark.
Every one in my class today was very hungover and I found it very hilarious.  I guess Americans really aren't responsible when it comes to drinking, especially before they are 21.  After going to my class I came back, relaxed, and did some homework.

Boring Day, Exciting Night

June 19
Today was pretty dull and boring, until the night.  Went to class and had a guide take us around Copenhagen teaching us the sexual history of the city.  Although it was very interesting, by the end of the tour my feet were sore and I was tired.  Got back to my housing where Mick and Kevin wanted to go to Christiania.  This is a place that is self-proclaimed and self-governed neighborhood in the borough of Christianshavn.  It is like a commune and there is also lots of stands where people are selling things such as food, souvenirs, ponchos, rings, etc.  It has a completely different feel than the rest of Copenhagen.  Also, you are not allowed to take pictures inside of Christiania, unless its on the outside.  Afterwards, we came back and went out to a bar called kulørbar (pronounced like "cooler bar").  This bar was very fun and had lots of music, dancing, and free beer all night.  I've learned a couple of Danish words already that have come in handy: øl which means beer, skål which means cheers, and tak which means thank you.

Jet Lagggg

Waking up was the most difficult it has ever been.  I was feeling beyond exhausted and so jet lagged.  Lucky for me, we had to be up and at town square for a welcome meeting at 9am.  After the meeting, we went got into groups and went on a hunt to find the major historic and important areas in Copenhagen.  We visited a port, which is the biggest tourist attraction in Copenhagen because you can sit on the canal and admire the surroundings as well as the colors of the buildings, the water, etc.  We also went to the place where the Queen stays and witnessed the changing of the guards.  After 3 hours of walking, we finally came back to our housing.  Kevin and I got a delicious club sand which at the place next to our housing.  Surprisingly, we were able to pick out some  words such as roast beef, bacon, etc. that in Danish look very similar to English.  Unfortunately, we had to go to our classes.  I am taking psychology of human sexuality and after about an hour of lecture we were assigned to groups to go to explore Copenhagen (again).  We ended up having to go to similar places that we were sent to before, while observing the PDA (public display of affection) and cultural aspects of sexuality in Copenhagen.  We also went to 2 gay bars and 2 sex shops, both of which were very different than in the states.  After we finished exploring, I went home to meet up with Kevin and Mick where we then went to the grocery store.  It was not as hard as I expected to get food there and figure out what the words meant.  We got breakfast food, spaghetti and meat balls, bread and sand which supplies, as well as plenty of beer.  The Danes were very helpful when we were purchasing milk, as milk and yogurt come in cartons here and the words are very different from skim, whole, or 2 percent milk.  In Denmark, the grocery store does not provide bags for you.  You either have to bring your own bags or have to purchase them from the grocery stores.  Then we went home, made dinner, watched the Spain vs. Croatia soccer game, and called it a night early.

Longest Day Ever

Traveling to Copenhagen was tiring and long.  After waking up at 4am to get to LAX, I spent 5 hours on the first flight, had a 2 hour lay over and then another 8 hours on the second flight, only getting about 30 minutes of sleep.  By the time I arrived in Copenhagen, I was excited and exhausted.  Once we got to DIS we had to attend an orientation and pick up our books, cell phones, etc.  At this point I was becoming delusional from lack of sleep.  Luckily, Kevin came into the orientation 10 minutes after me; a sigh of relief.  We then went to our housing called Skindergade 40, got into our rooms and unpacked.  We met the three SRA's (Social Residential Advisors) and fellow students that lived in our housing over a couple Pilsner beers and pizza.  Pilsner is the equivalent in price to a Keystone, however Pilsner tastes so much better.  We were informed that there was a soccer match viewing of the Euro Cup in the Kings Garden, just a 5 minute walk away.  Everyone went to the Kings Garden to watch the Denmark vs. Germany game on the big screen.  It was crazy and so much fun.  As I quickly learned, soccer is a way for the people of Denmark to express the pride they have for their country, and they certainly showed it with how many people attended the showing, face paint, jerseys, etc.  After a depressing 2-1 loss to the Germans we strolled home an had the best night sleep I'd ever had. 

Denmark vs. Germany-Kings Garden