Hi. I'm Nat box.

Hi. I'm Nat. From January - June, 2014 I was on exchange in Copenhagen, Denmark. I'm now travelling around Europe, will update when I can (that is, probably not much at all.) Accept the challenge to follow my ramblings!

Wednesday, March 26, 2014

A few fun things

Hi hi. Or rather hej hej. Not that if I was speaking to you, you'd know the difference. Makes it easier actually, I don't have to think when I reply. Except that 'hey' sounds like Swedish apparently. So if you reply 'hey' to a 'hej' maybe they look at you funny. I don't know.
Keeping with tradition-- Thursday night
pre-training hot dogs :)

So this'll probably be my last update for a little while, seeing as I'll be in America (do do do do do America! No? West Side Story? Oh never mind. I don't know the actual words.) I will have wifi for at least part of it but I don't want to try writing on my phone. That just seems designed to irritate me. But we'll see. I'm in New York from Friday-Wednesday, then I go to Myrtle Beach for the Quidditch World Cup on Thursday. We have four games on Saturday then if we finish top three (of five, duh) in our pool we'll progress through to Sunday. So excited!

I spotted a few fun things this week though:


This guy was talking Danish. (Er, I think.) I wonder how he chose his NFL team... I was the 5630th person to ride past this sign that day. It was a mainish road in the middle of the city, but isn't that fantastic? So this guy just casually taking his hockey stick on the train. Little creepy. What's creepier is the guy behind him with the exact same hair.

I was walking around in town the other day (which is a little strange to say. Copenhagen really isn't that big and I'm only a 10-15 minute ride into what I consider the centre anyway, but there is still a distinction between where I live and there.) and came across this stage that hadn't been there the last time I was there. There was a girl walking up and down the catwalk singing into a microphone, and a few minutes later the full music came through as well. My sources tell me there was an X Factor concert on there that night, so I assume I found the sound check. It rained though if I recall, so I don't know how happy the crowd would've been.

On Sunday I played in a football match (rather badly, I will admit), for which we (by which I mean my lovely team mate) had to drive outside of Copenhagen. It was strange being in a car again, and super strange having the steering wheel on the wrong side. Didn't notice so much being on the wrong side of the road, since on a split highway you don't really notice the other side anyway. The really odd thing was the countryside-- so highways and rolling green hills look mostly the same (if the grass was the wrong colour), but the trees were really tripping me out. It honestly looked like bushfires had gone sweeping through all of them-- they were that pale white colour with not a breath of green for ages. I mean I know they just came through winter and winter here is not to be trifled with but it was super, super strange to look at. Also they had signs warning of wildlife in the coming stretch. With a reindeer as the animal depicted. I normally don't notice my accent when I'm speaking, but my reply to the question "oh, you don't get that?" was "reindeer, no. A stray kangaroo maybe"-- and I really heard it then. Sorry, I didn't take a photo :(

Aight that'll do. I'm tired and I'm sick of trying to get the photos to align up there. So sorry if it looks a little strange. It'll bug me more than it does you, I'm sure.

So have a wonderful almost two weeks. I know I certainly will :D

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

Two Months Later... (St Patrick's Day)

Yay parade!
Hello! So today marks two months since I landed in Copenhagen. And it simultaneously feels like I've been here forever and that I've been here since yesterday. It's incredible and I am so glad that I'm here. Oh, yeah. Miss y'all too.

Haven't been up to too much that's terribly exciting. Actually doing real Uni work, finalising US plans, celebrating when I understand a spoken phrase or a piece of Danish text I come across, random bike rides to nowhere, partying through my last weeks of teenagerdom, that sort of thing. It's gotten colder again but that's really just windchill. Riding in the wind is irritating because it is so much harder and you feel so unstable! I rearranged my room the other day so next time I post a video you'll have a new view. And I've fallen in love with a brand of cookie/biscuit (I'm not entirely sure which. Actually, what is the difference?)
Parade parade!
People gathering in Rådhuspladsen
(remember that from an earlier post?)
Good costuming effort!!
Music and dancing stage. Nice balloons, no?

There were festivities in the main town square yesterday for St Patrick's Day, so we went along to check it out. Little strange really seeing as Denmark isn't terribly religious and then isn't Catholic. But I guess there is enough interest and any occasion to drink extra beer on a Monday goes down well with the locals, and hey, why not?.

There was music playing and Irish dancing, then the crowd went on a parade through the streets. Just a nice sea of (somewhat) green just casually walking around, a bit of singing, people were looking at windows and such and it was fun parading around.

A group behind us started up a chant of "LEPRECHAUN" a few times to the tune of "here we go, herewego, here we goooo, here we go here we go here we gooooo-ooooh....". Some people put a lot of effort into their costumes (or recycled them from last year) which added to the fun. They had a tent set up offering face painting [free only for kids ):] and with more live music. I think there were other things planned for the rest of the evening but me and Manon were tired and cold so we went back.
Short parade video :)
Haven't got much planned in the near future at the moment. I have a huge chunk of work I want to get done before I go to the US so that's kind of taking priority at the moment. Or, well, in theory at least :P

Farewell!

Thursday, March 13, 2014

If you can dodge a wrench...

Hello, dear reader! I hope this finds you well. I think I'm getting sick again. Booo-urns.

The big news of this week is THAT THE SUN IS OUT. And it is out for long enough that I can actually feel warmth from it when I am outside, can feel heat coming in through my windows. It is beautiful and majestic and wonderful and a whole eight degrees outside. Isn't that ridiculous? That would be middle-of-winter-rug-up-and-stay-home weather in Sydney but here everyone is outside, sitting on the lawns drinking, in the parks, and in my case celebrating only wearing one layer, namely one t-shirt, jeans, and my coat (and scarf and gloves while riding). But it is so great, I wore my sunnies outside on Sunday (blog to come!)... and promptly stepped on them Monday morning so had to buy a new pair. Good to know that the rules of the universe haven't changed for me, namely that sunglasses have a very limited lifespan. My new ones were $10 from the Kmart/Coles crossover place, which will hopefully not suffer the same fate as their predecessor. But I'm not particularly hopeful.

Still playing in blue :)
Yes that is artificial turf.

My football team had a match last week, they ended up losing. But it was fun to watch. Everyone was wearing long sleeves and pants and when they started I didn't think it was that cold to warrant that but damn by the end (about 6pm) it was freezing and I completely understood! They had kids matches all the way up til about 5pm too, space is clearly a premium here!


&nbsp &nbsp Just casual pop-up dodgeball.








So on to the title of this post. My uni is pretty cool, have I mentioned that? Last week they had a dodgeball tournament. Inside one of the large seminar room type things, just a few strung nets, a whole lot of orange balls and people willing to hurt each other for entertainment.

And it was entertaining! Dressing up was encouraged so there were a few pirates, ninjas, fluro people, cats, I don't know what else. Was a fun way to spend the afternoon!

Vi ses!

Saturday, March 8, 2014

Hells Angels, Danish and the Sydney Derby

Hello!!

Sorry it's been a week since I updated! I realised this week that I actually had to do some real work, get my proposal in for the paper I have to write worth 100% for Sports Economics. The brief is basically "write up to 15 pages on something to do with sports and money", so I had to do some research. Haven't written the proposal yet, but I think I'll be looking either at the league design of the A-League, what choices they made when creating it, that sort of thing. Or, if I can track down some key information (through polite emails) about the 'success' of the Wanderers as a new team, how their marketing strategy operated, maybe compared to the GWS Giants in AFL or something, etc. I should get onto that.

Of course, the only thing the Wanderers were successful at tonight (well, lunchtime my time) was messing up and losing. (Burn). SYDNEY IS SKY BLUE!!! I made a Bet365 account and had to put $10 on it but it was totally worth it because I could stream the second half, when all the action was and it was fantastic! Earliest I've voluntarily gotten up in a long time!

Anyway, so I made this video. It will become apparent that I meant to upload it a few days ago, but like I said, I got busy. One of the captions is cut off a little, sorry, it looked different on the preview.



Hope you are having a great day! 

Saturday, March 1, 2014

Signs make people go round the world

So this is at Kongens Have, the garden I
found the other week. I really just love
that it has a crown.
Just proof I'm alive. Bonus points
if you can pick the signs of
photoshop- we were playing with
my friend's new phone. So, thinking
about it, not very good proof I'm
alive at all, really.
Get it? As in 'make the world go round', but they don't really, but they do help people get around the world.

I'm so cool. I know.

Also, I've changed the settings so you don't need a Google account to post comments, but also I have to okay them before they'll be published-- but that's cool, unless you're being a real prick I'll publish them :)

So! Seeing as I haven't done anything exciting this week besides Danish homework, and tried a satay sauce mix (which was quite delightful), I don't really have much to say. So instead I shall share some of the fun signs I've found so far on my adventures.







So these are the movie posters from Frozen and Cloudy With a Chance of Meatballs 2 in Danish. Not terribly exciting but more a 'hahaha, look at the language' thing.

Cultural sensitivity, what?

Also this shows how long ago I took these photos. It hasn't snowed since then, and I'm fairly certain these movies have long left the cinema.





Hmmm, I wonder what they sell? Good motto. Except Carlsberg is horrible.
Sorry Denmark.
Another great shop name I go past on the way to uni is 'Gastro Pizza'. But I've seen quite a few things with 'Gastro' in the title describing food related things, so I think it is just a phrase. And you know, not to be feared.

-> -> And I'm pretty sure that this is the national motto of Denmark. Except that I've hardly seen anyone drinking Carlsberg. Also, if you look closely, this establishment appears to be called Brooklyn. Naturally.




These are from the sports bar around the corner from me (which I have actually spent no time in). Denmark made the World Handball Championships semi final against Croatia. Denmark won, and then lost to France in the final and there was a massive public outcry because they got smashed when they were the favourites. Danes love handball. Also the Superbowl was kind of big here. We had a party in my dorm, but if you will remember I was sick that week so went down for like 20 minutes before going back to sleep. I'm so social.

Good advice. Even if John Hurt doesn't appreciate sand shoes.
(Yes that is another Doctor Who reference.)


Okay these aren't signs but I haven't shared them yet, I mean it is Lego, and they are pretty cool. This is inside the Lego Shop on Strøget. What else but a bike were they going to make? Also the giant dragon curling its way through the wall wins at life. I will be going to Legoland in Germany in a few weeks too, and then in Denmark the week after, which should be really fun! Yay Lego!!



<- This shop is merely declaring that the sale it is having will soon be ending. What did you possibly think it meant? :P

So, poor you Australia, no longer in Summer, but I'm celebrating because it is officially no longer Winter! Although apparently it is meant to get colder next week again. Which is a shame, but such is life!

[Also incredibly, I wrote the preceding few sentences last night, just to make the point, and then walked past this last night, on the construction wall things in the city. Good job, universe!]

Farewell!