Dead Leaves on a Dirty Ground - Jack White

It is officially my favorite time of year. Autum.

Its the colors, its the leaves, its the chill, its the breeze.
I like watching the trees explode with color just before they shed their coats to brave the winter bare.
I like knowing that soon it will be cold and all there will be to do is to sit inside with warm drinks and warmer conversations.

The experience is only intensified in Copenhagen. The ancient ivy covered buildings are now on fire, yellow and red. Walking to school on century's old cobblestone, withering leaves descend from durable branches to grace those stones below my feet. And instantly everything feels surreal again.

Not much to say except that I am about to leave for travel break. I'll try to update if I find a computer to use, but it might be about three weeks until I can blog again. Anywho...here are some lyrics to a white stripes song that reminds me of Fall. Enjoy! Vi ses!




dead leaves and the dirty ground
when I know you're not around
shiny tops and soda pops
when I hear your lips make a sound
when I hear your lips make a sound

thirty notes in the mailbox
will tell ya that I'm coming home
and I think I'm gonna stick around
for a while so you're not alone
for a while so you're not alone

if you can hear a piano fall
you can hear me coming down the hall
if I can just hear your pretty voice
I don't think I need to see at all
don't think I need to see at all

soft hair and a velvet tongue
I wanna give ya what you give to me
and every breath that is in your lungs
is a tiny little gift to me
is a tiny little gift to me

I didn't feel so bad 'til the sun went down
then I come home
no one to wrap my arms around
wrap my arms around

well any man with a microphone
can tell you what he loves the most
and you know why you love at all
if you're thinking of the holy ghost
if you're thinking of the holy ghost

LegoLand and The Art of Travel.

Soooo did you know that Legos were started by a carpenter from Denmark? Its true WIKIPEDIA it. hehe

Anyhow...that is where I went this past weekend. I never was a Lego fan as a kid, but I have now seen the possibilities that those colorful little blocks hold. Although I think that all of the creations could easily be a scam. They could just have a mold and then draw lines in between all of the bricks. They could save a lot of man hours that way. I think being a Lego architect is probably the coolest job on the planet, though. I wonder how much schooling that requires.

I think the coolest part of Legoland was that rebuilt parts of Copenhagen and also told the history behind each building. It was probably a more thorough tour on Copenhagen than I had actually walking through Copenhagen. It was cool to see American statues too. There were some tempting BBQ restaurants in the "Wild West Section" and I lusted over a BBQ sandwhich. Sadly it was 150 DKK....aka...about 30 dollars. Outrageous....and creul.

After a full day of Legoland we went to our much anticipated birthday party for two lovely girls on our floor. The rented out the entire bar that is in the basement of our kolligium. They had a Colombian DJ and other latin americas tried to teach the joint how to reggae dance. You just can't find that in the states...

School is getting down to the nitty gritty. Its midterm time. I have a BioMed ethics and a Danish test next week. BioEthics is really interesting to me. I like being forced to apply my morals, and I think I am getting better at articulating my motivations. I think the worst thing would be to be put in a situation where I have to make a life or death decision and then not be able to explain myself to a patient or her family. Danish is going to be really hard, but doable. We have a written and an oral portion. I think I can do well on the written...not so much on the spoken. You should look it up if you've never heard it. It sounds like they are just throwing vowels and gutteral stops around at random. I wish I could stay here longer and become fluent. Its fascinating.

After all of those inky tests....TRAVEL BREAK!!! I am so excited. First I have to go on my study tour to Berlin and Poznan. I'm so glad I have made good friends with people in my group, that will make it far more fun. I am really excited to see Berlin. Its my secret dream to own a piece of the Berlin wall, but I will settle with seeing it. After the study tour, Molly and I embark on discovering the rest of Europe. London, Paris, Venice, Florence, Rome, Amsterdam, Belgium...we're doing it all :) I am going to enjoy every minute of those three weeks. I probably will fall behind in my blogging, but I promise to provide a full an thorough update when I return.

So next week will be relatively slow. Much studying, not a lot else. I can't believe it is October already. This is going by way too fast and I'm already getting sad thinking about having to leave all the amazing people I've met and all of the spectacular places I've seen. I stumbled upon a movie the other day called "The Art of Travel". It wasn't necessarily groundbreaking, but it described the situation in which I find myself. It is about a 20 year old guy who, after an attempted wedding, goes on his honeymoon alone and deviates from his college plans to travel. He ends up going to any place that interests him and pursuing challenges that most people wouldn't dream of taking. The tagline of the movie is to "find yourself through travel". Having been here a while, I can say that this exactly what happens when you travel. Especially for Americans. Being away from all the petty convieneces of American life you realize that you don't need any of it, you can survive on so little if you try. Conversations are precious, especially if they are with people who share nothing in common with you. That is how you learn what really defines you. It is scary and risky and infinitely rewarding.

Well...I better get studying for those tests I mentioned. Until next time.

:)