Familiarity Abroad

Some may call what I'm feeling "homesickness" but I'm not ready to give into that title and labeling just yet. I'll give it a different name to humor myself. I think I will describe it as "desiring something familiar". I will expand on this in a bit. But first, these weekly articles have been my first crack at being a journalist, if you can call it that. The writing has been an interesting journey in itself. It is both work and therapy. For those who have ever kept a journal about anything (daily life, a trip, or an experience), then maybe you have been exposed to the joys of its therapeuticness. There is something good about thinking and capturing your thoughts and happenings in words. They don't have to be good words or complete sentences, or full of deep philosophical meaning, but they should be words that are descriptive and allow for an unrestricted variety of emotions to be shared. Describing how you feel at that certain moment is important because, unfortunately, the faithful passing of time will surely soften the memories that were at one point full of vividness. I chuckle when I recall a quote by Beth Moore, "feelings can be a little like our laundry. Sometimes we can't sort them till we dump them out." I guess paper is a good a place as any for our emotional laundry sorting. So I would encourage any study abroader to do the same and keep some kind of record of their journey.

Last week I talked about the happiness of Danes and how the outdoors seemed to fit into that recipe. Well this weeks traveling experience took me to my family's summer house, as they call it. It is basically a cottage about an hour's drive south of Copenhagen, and a couple hundred yards off the east coast of Denmark. It was a great little overnight excursion. My host-father Flemming and I were the only two to make the journey. The grass had to be mowed, and some mild cleaning needed to be done. So I volunteered myself to be of service. In exchange I was treated to some good ole small town Danish living. This is where my "desiring something familiar" began to set in. Soon after arriving we were engaged in discussions about how there is something about the water, the pheasant filled fields, the brisk morning sunrise, and general small town country life that is good for the soul. We didn't really come to any great conclusions but dually agreed there was something to it. I began to think back to earlier in the week when I met Peter, the father of my host mother Dorte. He was a former lawyer turned professor at a local university just outside of Copenhagen. He had written a handful of books and was eager to dive into discussions about life and his work. His newest book was filled with teachings based on the concept of Natural Law made famous by Thomas Aquinas. I am not totally familiar with the subject or the concept but I gathered that natural law was law that didn't have to be written. For example, a written law could be something like needing a visa to study abroad for a certain amount of time. However, natural law is unwritten law that we all seem to follow, similar to our conscience but not exactly. These natural laws seem to have been etched into each of our hearts. I personally think that some people are better at recognizing these natural laws in their life than others, but regardless of obedience they are still present. A good example would be that of adaptation.

While studying abroad there exists a natural tendency to adapt to the different surroundings. But like I mentioned earlier, there are exceptions. Just this week a student quit the program I am in because of an inability to fit in and adapt to the world around. Some other examples that I think could be categorized into natural law are the things that I had discussed with my host father. Sunshine, water, and fresh air are all things that, to me, are indescribably desirable. We all have them. Maybe some will describe them as personalities, or humanness, while others may believe these laws are the work of a higher power. Whatever the belief I think it is good to put some effort into asking the why questions in life, and what more perfect of an opportunity than while studying abroad. I find it interesting that if you ask just a half dozen, or so, 'why' questions, in a row, you begin flirting with the limits of human understanding. To illustrate this lets get into the mindset of a five-year- old. A child's father tells the child to put on a hat before going to play in the snow, and the child asks "why?" The father says "because its cold out", and the child asks "why?" The father replies, "because its winter", and the child asks "why?" The father replies, "because the earth is pointing away from the sun", and the child asks "why?" The father replies, "because the earth rotates about an axis and spins around the sun", and the child asks "why?" I think you can see where I am going with this. The purpose of this little exercise is not to attempt to begin explaining astrophysics, but to show the importance of asking questions and understanding why things are the way they are. As mentioned in an article a couple weeks ago, beginning to understand things is the beginning of accepting and erasing our ignorance of differences and cultures that we aren't even aware exist.

Back to my "desiring something familiar" feeling I began having this week. With each person and family there are a set of traditions and values. The strength of these traditions can be seen by the continuation of each from generation to generation. These traditions have been a main motivation that has shaped my attitude to devote as much time as possible to the members of my host family. I want to learn about their traditions and values. I want to experience them first hand, and up to now, I must admit, I am not disappointed in taking up this attitude at all. This may sound silly, to some, but being in the country this weekend with autumn approaching made it hard for me to ignore the fact that I will be missing deer hunting season in the UP this year. If you are familiar with this yearly event you know it is commonly referred to as a holiday. A holiday that is traditionally important in my family. A time my father and I to connect, to bond, and share much needed time together. Spending the weekend, and this semester, with my host father and host family, respectively, has reminded me of how much I "desire something familiar". That something familiar is my family and friends and the experiences with them.

While in Fakse Ladeplads, the city location of the summer house, I was able to see some of Denmark's natural beauty. Something I much desire to see, as old buildings and people are very interesting, but lack the awesomeness of cool landscape. The best part about our sightseeing adventure was the old-timer who accompanied Flemming and I to the local attractions. Unfortunately I don't think I am able to pronounce or spell the fellows name, but he is the stepfather of my host mother Dorte, and has lived in the area for 80+ years. I got first hand commentary on the interesting facts of each place. Information I doubt can be found in any tour book. I appreciated his guidance very much. Our first stop was a huge chalk mine, dubbed the biggest hole in Denmark. From there we wound our way up the coast through small villages, slowing so I could get a translation from Danish to English, through Flemming, about the different buildings our guide had built in his lifetime. It was beautiful countryside, with flocks of pheasant abundant in the fields, and beautiful tree lined roads whose leaves were just beginning to be painted by the crisp Fall weather, and finally to the coast. A coast lined for 10 km with five to ten story chalk and flint stone layered cliffs. A beautiful sight that I will be unable to share until next week when the disposable camera pictures get developed. I frustratingly forgot to charge my camera before leaving and was unable to obtain any digital photos. My elder friend described how many people worked to mine the cliffs for blocks of chalk that nearly all nearby towns were made of. He also took us to a place where he had built bunkers during the cold war of the 50s, and pointed out the straights between Denmark and Sweden where the Danes had spotted the Russians shipping nuclear weapons to Cuba. This trip created memories that will not be soon forgotten.

As far as school goes, my international team did some research on the area where we are planning on designing and dimensioning a junction for the RUF system. The place is called Jamers Plads, and is located near the center of Copenhagen. We made preliminary measurements and attempted to get an idea of how the place would be visually transformed by a raised rail transport system. I could take a whole article in itself to describe the system, but it basically incorporates a vehicle that can drive both on a normal road, or a raised monorail system to ease traveling and congestion. My team's objective, this semester, is to show how the system would work when two of these raised monorails intersect each other. A 30+ page mid-term report and presentation is coming up next week so life will get a little more educational focused for me.

With that I think I will bring this week's article to a close. I hope you, the reader, can benefit from these short compilations of words and ideas that I am experiencing abroad. This type of experience in my mind is worth putting effort into documenting and encouraging others to experience the same. I will end with some short natural laws of some sorts. Every baby is cute, every bride is beautiful, every dead man is a good man, and if you study abroad you won't regret it.

• Big smile from Copenhagen,

  

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