October 24–30, 2007, Number 165
A photo of the entrance to Carlsberg Brewery, built in 1881. (Click on photos for larger images)
Halfway Home
I will start this week with a question a friend of mine asked me. He asked, "Do you think when you return to the US that you will continue to be as observant about the culture and life around you as you are in Denmark?" The immediate response that came to my thoughts was that I sure hope not. I have found it challenging to constantly be observing and contemplating the things happening around me. I have been finding it to be increasingly difficult to take these observations and put them into writing. All in all it is becoming quite taxing to consistently be aware of the world around me. It is much easier to be uninformed and just live life not asking questions and not seeking understanding. This carefree attitude more resembles my lifestyle in the US, which may be easier, but probably not as beneficial.
This leads me to a recent encounter I had with a Danish student and the suggestions of the study abroad program that I didn't take seriously. Before every student leaves for their study abroad experience they are each given a survival packet of information. It contains to-do lists and checklists, as well as a list of things to do in preparation for life abroad. One of those suggestions was to know what the US Government is doing, where they have troops, why they have troops in those areas, some current events, and famous people. Not being all that interested in what I call politics, I quickly ran through these questions in my mind. Ok, our president's name is Bush and we are fighting a war in Iraq; that should be enough for now. Unfortunately, I was mistaken. I met a Danish native studying at my University who was much too knowledgeable about a government not of his own. He began inquiring about the war in Iraq (which I was aware of) and the upcoming presidential election (which I also was aware of) and of US foreign policies (not so aware of). I was quickly bombarded and overwhelmed with questions I was embarrassingly unable to answer. I realized I had not put enough energy into the suggestion to learn about my own government before going abroad. The Danish man was quick with a chuckle and sharing of his thoughts. This experience kind of put me in my place a little bit and got me thinking about government and the importance of it.
Last week I commented on marriage differences in Scandinavia and the influence of culture on how we live our daily lives. I began to ask myself how much of culture is molded by the laws of the land, and how much of culture is molded by the ideas and thoughts of the people. Which comes first? Does a law get put in place, and subsequently the ideals of the people begin to change, or do the ideals of the people first begin to change and then laws get passed to support these changing ideals? An interesting question that I am not sure how to answer. Either way, this questioning has helped me to gain a deeper appreciation for the importance of legislation and its effects on a country. Maybe I will go back to the original study abroad help sheet and reread its contents. I am sure there is something that is more applicable now than when I read it before in the comfort of the US.
My excitement for the week was very much restricted due to the increase in schoolwork that came with finishing the 50-page, halfway report for our project. But a group member and I did find some time to take a tour of the local brewery. When I say local, I do not mean small. Carlsberg Brewery is the 5th largest brewery in the world. They make an estimated 30 billion bottles of beer per year. If you do some quick math, Carlsberg produces about 5 bottles of beer for every man woman and child in the entire world, wow. The building and stone sculptures were quite beautiful, and their record of holding 17,000 bottles of unopened beer collection, in the Guinness Book of World Records, was quite an interesting collection to see.
I also witnessed my first handball match this week. The half-brother of my host mother plays in the 3rd best league for handball in Denmark. I had never seen a game, or even heard about it to be honest. It was, however, a very exciting spectacle. Handball seems, to me, to be a combination of water polo, rugby, hockey, soccer, and basketball. Combine rules from each of these games and leave out the water, tackling, sticks, cleats, and basketball hoops, and you have handball. It is played on a basketball court with two teams of six players with two net goals with a goalie at each end. A soft, and sticky, sap covered ball, about the size of a softball, is used. Teams must throw the ball, baseball style technique is common, from behind an arch surrounding the goals. The object is to get the ball past the goalie into the opposing teams net. The exciting part is the amount of contact that takes place. Any movement toward an opponent's goal and you would quickly find two or three linebacker-sized men with their shoulders planted in your side in an attempt to keep you from shooting. Too much intentional contact though and you could receive a yellow card, similar to that of soccer, or two minutes in a penalty box, like hockey. It was an exciting game that is commonly started at a very early age. I think this is the Danish equivalent of baseball since there are zero baseball teams in Denmark.
As I mentioned earlier the 50-page, halfway report was completed this week. This not only marks the halfway point of my studies here, but also the first encounter with some challenges our international team ran into as far as group dynamics. It seemed like such an easy task to split up the work into five equal sections, but it proved to be a little less evenly distributed than desired. I am pretty sure that those who designed this international program are aware that such challenges would arise. I am finding that it is part of the learning curve associated with international interactions. These challenges are nothing to be scared of, but are necessary to be addressed, and they aren't confined to international groups either. Ask anyone who has had to work within a team atmosphere and they will mention of members not pulling their weight. It is just a little more complicated when each of the members speak different languages and are trying to explain themselves in a foreign dialect. Our next task is a thirty-minute presentation for next week on our report to the supervisors of the group. This should keep us plenty busy preparing for that.
My host family has been a welcome oasis of fun to retreat to when the craziness and expensiveness of college life are not desired. It has been fun playing Danish games and enjoying Danish foods with them. I was even able to apply some of my "engineering" skills to help assemble a fairly complicated computer desk for Lasse, my host little brother, and to the assembly of the families new gasoline powered lawn mower.
To recap I would have to say that the lesson I learned most this week is to keep in mind the suggestions of those who go before you. For me this is a hard task, because I am what I would call a hands-on learner. I need to experience something before I will take somebody's word for it. Wise is the man, though, that can successfully learn from those who previously went before him. In this case it is the wisdom shared by the Study Abroad program and its advisors. They have provided a lot of useful information that is worth the effort to investigate.
That should about wrap it up for this week's escapade. Overall I am hanging in there and am looking forward to the Eurotrip I have planned in a week and a half. It will be fun to share about that while on the road in two weeks time. Until then I hope you are staying dry and appreciating the changing of seasons. Nice weather all the time would be so boring, eh?
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Many Thanks,
- Michigan Technological University
- 1400 Townsend Drive, Houghton, MI 49931-1295
- 906-487-1885