why DIS is like camp... kinda

*** Edited to add: my first summer at camp, and actually most subsequent summers, were in fact NOT spent completely own. An old friend from AWANAS (long story..), Miss Rachael S was my camp buddy. I was being dramatic... big shocker. ***

so i've offically survived in europe for nearly a month now. it has been a bit of a culture shock adjusting to life in copenhagen, but with the exception of missing my loved ones back home, i like it better here than in the states. everything is close by, and there are so many people here. it's wonderful.

it's not like cincinnati: people aren't afraid to use the public transit. it's not like new york: not enough cars and people are generally nicer. it's just... copenhagen. tree lined streets. people in the plazas. pedestrian only streets. i'm more afraid of getting hit by a bike than a car.

bbut back to the original intent of my post: DIS, my school, and camp are kind of like the same thing. i'm put into a new situation with lots of new people and a common goal. the first weeks everyone was standoffish and kept to their own groups. but gradually everyone is coming around. last week we went on a week long study tour through sweden and finland. we even stayed in cabins one night! then i REALLY missed camp.

i've never been able to fully connect with a physical place the way i have with the 3 acres that is camp tippy back in northern indiana. i wasn't even supposed to go there, everyone said i should go to the closer one. but that's where dad had gone as a kid, so 10 years ago this year, i trooped off by myself to what would become my favorite place in the world.

i've worked there, been a camper, and been a counselor. i guess there's something magical about going to a beautiful place and growing and changing people's lives for the better, even if it's only for a week. 6.5 days fly by as you sing, play, laugh, swim, eat and pray together as a group. there are trees, a lake, cabins, campfires, and stillness where only the things moving through the evening air are lightning bugs and God.

well, there aren't any lightning bugs in copenhagen that i've found. but i'm making new friends and gaining new experiences. i squeegee my bathroom floor every morning after i shower and think about camp. (there isn't a shower stall, there is a shower head connected to the sink that you hang on the wall. no jokes. so the floor of the bathroom gets really wet after you shower and you have to squeegee it down so it dries eventually)

it kills me that i didn't get to counsel this summmer. absolutely kills me. i know that i have gone through some rough patches at tippy, but nothing but an out of country experience could possibly keep me away. seeing my friend's pictures this past week brought back happiness and heartache. i saw an old camper of mine, bryce, that i counseled my junior year of high school (5 years ago!!) and he has now grown from a silly 4th grader with a penchant for spongebob into a graceful young man who is probably on the football team. crazy.

at DIS we don't pray or sing camp songs (well, i do... but no one else does. or appreciates it much, for that matter) we all walk the streets of copenhagen as a huge pack of people instead of clomping down to the beach, jewel shelter, or where have you back at tippy. i buy my own food and have access to the computer. but there are still stalecakes, crazy pictures and memories and learning.

i am learning to appreciate walking by myself, listening to my ipod or the danish around me. i am lonely sometimes, even in the sea of humanity, but it is not necessarily a bad thing. i'm appreciating what i've got while i've got it.

peace.

DIS - I've finally arrived

I have now officially spent a week in Europe. it's pretty crazy stuff. My friends corrie and sarah and i flew into hamburg last wednesday, and spent a couple days de-jet lagging and getting used to everyone around us not speaking english.

germany was beautiful. i am very interested in sustainable urbanisim, and seeing how cities work. hamburg is a great example of a sustainable city with heavy car usage. all the cars there, even the work cranes, delivery trucks and cement mixers, are much smaller. they have smaller roads with tree-lined medians in the middle. everywhere there are smart cars and hybrids. they park halfway on the sidewalks, but the sidewalks are much bigger than in the states. the sidewalks have a bicycle lane marked in a different colored paver to distinguish where the bikes go and where the walkers go.



the U-bahn (U train) is very good as well. Easy to navigate, as long as you look to the end of the line to see which direction you should go in. corrie sarah and i walked all over the place, saw many people and tons of wonderful architecture.



that saturday we took the train from hamburg to copenhagen. there was a man in a chicken suit on our train. he and his friends were drinking the whole time on the train, and he ran up and down the main aisle, singing children's songs about birds in german. all the little old ladies on the train were delighted, and egged him on (no pun intended!) the whole time!



we got into copenhagen and managed to find our way to the hostel we stayed at for the night. we met up with another friend from school, drew, and went out and explored the city. there is a lot of american influence in the city center. i have seen Build a Bear, Burger King, and Blockbuster, just to name a few. when we walked through the town hall plaza there were some Native American dancers performing in the center! geesh, we traveled thousands of miles just to get surrounded by american stuff!





but seriously, copenhagen is amazing, and very different from the states.
they are not kidding when they say there are bikes EVERYWHERE. in a lecture the other day a professor told us that 36% of locals bike into the city, 34% take public transportation, and the rest are a mix of walking and driving cars. there is a forty percent tax on everything, and so a 15,000 dollar car can end up cost almost four times as much! but there are bikes for every sort of occasion. i've seen mail bikes, rentable bikes (stick in some money, ride it, put it back and get your money back), and even bikes that sell ice cream or fruit in the front!



the streets here are geared more towards pedestrians than cars. the bikes have a lane in the main streets, and they even get their own street light! basically, i want a bike. apparently you can rent one, kind of like a car, for a week or a month.



i am in the architecture\design program at DIS, and there are students from Pratt, RISDE, Oregon State, Columbia... everywhere, basically. our first assignment is to make a model of the old part of Stockholm, Sweden. next week we will travel to all the places the groups are modeling. i think there are 20 or so total buildings, and we will be in sweden and in findland.



I could write for another hour, but i need to head to studio. most of you over in the states will be waking up soon, but it is already almost 1 pm here! i hope to post more later.

peace!