I love it here, but sometimes I miss home and when that happens…well this is what happens- a lot of time spent thinking about the past through pictures.
This is a place in Akaroa called Giants House, you have to pay to get entry inside but I would say it is worth every dollar. All the artwork featured outside by artist Josie Martin is done with mosaic tiles, and just thinking about the amount of work and planning that went to this makes me tired but the end result is beautiful.
I like Aarhus so far; it is wonderful when it snows, the old buildings are beautiful and here to stay without the looming possibility of earthquakes and aftershocks. But one thing that is not so great is the rain. With rain comes unhinged winds and chills that seep through your clothes, but the worst part is that it masks the sun. I thought I was getting used to not seeing so much sun, or maybe I was accidentally getting my dose of Vitamin D elsewhere. Whatever the reason, I was starting to think that the human relationship to sun I was used to might be exaggerated, but then the most beautiful thing happened a couple of days ago. The rain stopped, and the sun came out to say hi in all its glory and I jumped with joy in my head.
So long story short, my friend and I decided to make the most out of this unusual winter weather and went to the deer park in Marselisborg-Moesgaard forest. It took us well over an hour to get there, even with the help of several local runners (my hands were starting to freeze even with insulated mittens on but these people are made out of something stronger I swear) as neither of us have any sense of direction. We finally found the park and I sighed in relief…it was worth it.
It is an enclosed area, but the different deer species walk around freely, giving us a chance to get close to them. Tip if you plan on going to a deer park/petting park or zoo or any kind: BRING FOOD FOR THE ANIMALS. They are not interested in flirting with you unless you have something to offer, something like carrots perhaps.
There are many picnic benches scattered throughout the park, and I made a mental and verbal note to come back here many times. I’m curious and excited to see how the park looks in spring, and perhaps even on my birthday so that I can celebrate with two of the most wonderful things in this world: open nature and food.
On one hand there is all the smoking, drinking and consumption of pork that makes me genuinely concerned. On the other hand, there is all the running around in spandex in weather that is made for hot chocolate and movies while swaddled in blankets. It boggles my easily- boggleable (shhh) mind.
All the stories you have heard are (probably) true. A friend told me recently they saw an elderly, seemingly disoriented woman drinking a beer on the bus the other day and I was not surprised. The university bar at DMJX is called Friday bar and I think that is a common thing for universities across Denmark. They open on Fridays, and the drinking starts in the afternoon and lasts well into the night. Weirdly enough, despite this heavy drinking culture I have not encountered any annoying drunk behaviour (you know the kind of stuff I’m talking about…) outside of bars- I wish this was the case in New Zealand but, alas, I guess we can’t have everything. You can’t smoke inside public places, but many of the buildings contain multiple small, open courtyards (kinda like an atrium if you will) and it is very common to see people going to these areas or even outside in between classes and during breaks to get in some smoko time. I actually have no idea if some of these are designated smoking rooms or free for all as I tend to stay away from them- growing up with a pretty aggressive anti- smoking media culture can leave you with a deep sense of discomfort towards second- hand smoke.
Despite all this, every day that I’m outside in all my glorious layers and winter accessories I pass by those I call ‘unnaturals’. There are always a few of these fit specimens running on the foot path at all hours, in their thin, tight, layers making me reconsider the extent of human potential. Then I console myself by thinking about their Viking blood, go home and eat till I can’t anymore, then eat some more. I’ve been told by Danes that the obesity levels here are increasing but even with that, I’ve seen very few that could be categorised under problematically obese. So I sit here and wonder and wonder while eating Mister Choc (it’s German chocolate and it tastes like heaven), how do I categorize Danes? Ridiculously fit and made for the cold, or crazy unhealthy? I’ve come to the conclusion, that I can’t solve this mystery so if you’ve managed to read this far I’m so sorry that was kind of useless. But now you know what I’m thinking.
When you haven’t travelled by yourself before, the idea of going on an OE can be daunting. I know because I’ve been going through it for the past few months. I got a partial scholarship to study abroad for a semester in Denmark (!!) this year, but the overwhelming happiness in being accepted lasted a few weeks before it was gradually overshadowed by fear and apprehension at this seemingly impossible task ahead of me. Denmark was one of the very few countries I was willing to travel to because of my extremely picky nature, but even the thought of going to this beautiful, relatively peaceful and exciting new country wasn’t enough to shake out the ‘what ifs’ running through my head. If you are finding yourself in a similar situation and freaking the f*** out, read on…it may be helpful but I won’t promise anything.
3. Stop worrying. This is DEFINITELY easier said than done, but I only survived the past few weeks prior to arriving in Denmark by simply refusing to pay attention to the incessant ‘what if’ voice in my head. Think of it as a white noise machine, do what you gotta do and stop thinking about things you don’t need to. Don’t build up unrealistic expectations in your head, but get excited because it will be an unforgettable experience and one that you will hopefully love.
I’ll start by saying I like myself most of the time. Not in the ‘Oh my god you are so great’ kind of way but content in the inherent knowledge that I am deeply flawed, yet liking who I am or who I have become anyway but lately I’m not sure how I feel. I feel like I’m losing my passion and vigour- everything that was annoying about me but made up the core of my personality. I mean I’m probably still fairly annoying, but I feel like the life force that led me is fading (so close to a Lord of the Rings reference) and I’m losing myself little bit by little bit every day. It’s scary but what is scarier is this shitty attitude on my behalf sometimes to not fight it that scares me more.
So all I have to say to other people who might be feeling the same way is: Don’t stop fighting the crappy part of yourself that wants to give up and be docile. Make some noise, and be unapologetically yourself- and if you aren’t too sure who that person is- go find him or her. Don’t lose yourself forever, your true self is somewhere out there, waiting to be reclaimed.
Taylors Mistake
Please don’t judge…it makes sense if you wait for the right mood.
I’ll start by saying if you don’t want to read about fitness, then pass on this post.
I’ll follow that by admitting, I’ve had a rocky on and off relationship with gym and food in the past. I would either gym obsessively, or not turn up for months, I would over train and spend a week recovering or try to make up for not being active by eating little (or eat way too much because I was being active). For the past couple of months or so, I’ve been following what I think is a more sustainable path to achieving my goal (which is being able to use 14 kg dumbells, and lose some body fat and put on muscle mass)- 3/4 days of gym with some combination of bodyweight training/resistance training, HIIT variations, uphill walking and cardio group classes and its actually working. I can see subtle differences in my body now: less pronounced love handles, quads look slightly smaller but starting to show some muscle, arms getting bigger in a good way, and finally FINALLy being able to see my traps from behind. The physical changes helped me after feeling like nothing I was doing was actually having any effect, and it has motivated me to keep going. But what’s really gotten me excited is how my body feels, I can run a little faster, go a little further. It takes more to tire me out. I don’t feel too guilty about having my off days. If I screw up my eating, or eat out too many times this week, I can just do some damage control and keep going which is pretty great. And most importantly, I feel good- moving around more, and being able to feel and see the changes in yourself over time is rewarding.
I haven’t really embellished this post, and it’s alarmingly to the point for something that is written by me and the reason is I don’t have time right now to make my words sound pretty or my sentences flow. In the middle of completing deadlines, and then its on to a short study break then exams. Promise I’ll do better, and post more photography stuff once that is all out of the way thought this blog is really more for me than for anyone else. :p
SAMSUNG CSC
Excerpt from an ESPN article on Madison Holleran, star athlete and student, and the connection between construction of virtual reality versus physical reality:
“I run because it’s therapeutic for me. Because every time I run outside, around my home, I am reminded of the beauty of the world, of which I often forget. Yet at the same time, I am fully aware of beauty — it simply saddens me because of reasons I have not yet conjured up. I suppose I am sad. But at the same time I am happy; and miserable; and joyful; and stressed out; and calm, and everything in between. I am everything. Every emotion, rigged in every format, and developed through every machine. I am numb but I am not.”
Read full article here.
bagabagaboo 