Reminiscing

At the end of last week I ran out of my old deodorant. I had bought three new sticks before flying out, but unfortunately they didn't have the kind I usually get. It's strange, but for the all the new experiences I try to give myself, real change still isn't comfortable. It may just be a different smell, but it was a smell I had identified with myself for years. Now who I am? Changes, changes, changes. Most of them come too slowly to notice, but sometimes it's good to take a step back and see what has changed. I suppose I'm finally at that age where one starts getting nostalgic about things. I can't help it. The pictures bring back so many great memories.


Peñíscola

About that. The pictures. You may have noticed that about 950 of them are posted online. If you're not familiar with Flickr, it may be a bit tough navigating through all of them, but I really suggest you do. In fact, I cordially invite you to take hours out of your day to do so. Some are quite great. Just go to the main page. Along the right hand side you'll see my different photo sets.

The leaves are beginning to turn, and my beard is coming in quite well. I officially look like a hobo. But for me, it's the hobo time of the year. At night it's getting pretty chilly, and I sleep like a rock. It takes a lot to get me up in the morning. The winter is slowly creeping in and I'm sinking into it. At dinner tonight we talked about making soup once it starts getting cold. The next time I go shopping I'll buy some tea. And I'm still working on finding shoes that suitably contain my horrid smelling feet. Sandles and clogs just don't fly come winter time. I guess my mind is still in Florida...

Who is Alfredo?

I don't know about you, but ever since my first introduction to standardized tests, challenging homework, and classes from hell, every once in a while I'll get one of those school nightmares. I think they're pretty common. You know the deal, since you wake up in the middle of a golf course, you're obviously going to be late for school... you get there, and everything is different, so you have no idea where your classes are... you finally make it to class after having to navigate the halls with a unicycle, and then, when the class starts, it's in some language you don't understand. Well, the last part of that nightmare has become a reality for me. Two of my classes are taught in Danish. Both professors are fine with me being there, as they suppose it isn't completely necessary for me to be able to understand them, but it will surely make things interesting. Other than that little temporary barrier, the classes are great. It'll require a heck of a lot of work, but the material is motivation enough on its own.

So here's what should be my final schedule for this semester: Wind Turbine Technology and Aerodynamics (7.5 credits), Ecocar (10), Internal Combustion Engines and Transport (10), and Applied Mechatronics (5). Ecocar and Combustion Engines are both taught in Danish. On top of that, I'll be taking Danish two nights a week. I've gotta say that I'm really excited about all of these classes. I've never felt this way before. It's all so practical and hands on. There are some great opportunities here. I'm definitely considering grad school.


Home

Another week speeds by. I've definitely got the shopping down. I know about four or five markets that are close enough, and between all of them I know exactly where I can get everything. And man am I really kicking ass in the kitchen out here. I don't know what it is, but my culinary ambition is really setting in. During dinner the other night, Marco, my friendly Italian containermate went as far as to say that I am "beating [them] in their own field". Though I admit, I did have an unfair advantage. Some how, I can't imagine what the reason for this is, but none of the three Italians I regularly cook with have heard of alredo sauce. To them, Alfredo is a name, and that's it. Yet for some reason, every single "Italian" restaurant in the US has it on the menu. I still have a hard time believing it. Maybe it's just not as common. I don't know. Anyways, I used it to my advantage and hit them with some tortellini alfredo with mushrooms. Extremely easy to make, but they just didn't see it coming, especially from an American. Honestly, I didn't think it was as good as some other things we've had though... I get so excited about food. I fear the day my metabolism slows down. So yeah, if anyone has any ideas of things I should make out here, just let me know. On the list of possibilities so far is Paula Dean fried chicken with mashed potatoes and gravy, and some kind of pasta with vodka sauce.


Delicious

And I can't help but mention that the other night the idea of using the food as a Danish dating tool was mentioned. The possibility is intriguing, but either way I'll keep you up to date at the adventures in the kitchen continue, and I'll be sure to take pictures of the more physically appealing dishes. Yeah, there's pun there.

International Orientation

Many things have been happening over here: great achievements in grocery shopping, quirky European salutations full of dialectical lisps and awkward silences, Danish exploration, and the mutual prearrangement of common food cooking in the container... with Italians!! Yeah you know it. The settling in continues, and though I am without wheels, I have covered much ground.

First the bad news. Yacht Design, that sailing course I had been drooling over all summer, is out. I spoke to the professor Thursday afternoon and he will not teach it in English, and Danish is not an easy language to learn in little time. I think I would have been upset, but I had just spoken to the professor for Ecocar, and he told me that he'd love to have me in the class, and even offered me a position as a technical journalist. That should allow me to get a very good understanding of all aspects of the course, and he mentioned that it would mean updating the webpage in English and also answering questions for the press. Doesn't sound too bad to me.

Orientation was the big event this week. I can't believe how busy they had us. We'd start at 10 in the morning and some nights I didn't get back till as late as 2. There were no breaks, but it really gave everyone a good chance to get to know each other. They say there's somewhere around 360 of us. Divided into groups of 14 or so, I made friends right away with two Nordic guys, Anders from Norway and Gunnar from Iceland. Gunnar and I had a great conversation about old school WWF. He seemed to be a big fan of the Ultimate Warrior, as was I back in the day. Anders has a nice Danish girlfriend and apartment in the city. They said they'd like to have me over for dinner some time soon.



Speaking of dinner, in an attempt to save some money and eat very well, some Italians and I have made a deal to cook for each other various nights during the week. The first dinner was last night, and if that's any sign, I am going to be a very happy boy this year. So far it's Riccardo, Marco, Paolo, Francisco, and I. They're very friendly and even seem like they'll help me learn a bit of Italian. George from Greece sounded interested as well. I think I really lucked out with containermates.

So everything is slowly falling into place. Classes start this week and I don't think I've ever been more excited about it. On top of the engineering classes, during orientation we had an introduction to the Danish course. It was very interactive as they tried to get us to make all these sounds our mouths aren't used to making. I wish I had a recording of it because it was hilarious. The most difficult part of all of it will be the pronunciation, but I've got some people eager to help me. What's kind of motivating me is that if I learn it well enough, I'll be able to understand a bit of Icelandic, Norwegian, and Swedish. Seems like a good deal to me.





Danish Wildlife