this is africa, baby!

Hello all! Love and miss you! Just wanted to send a quick update telling you how Erica and I are doing here in Namibia! I love it here! We’ve been here for a week, getting used to the routine, getting to know the kids, listening to Marybeth and Father Rick explain the social situation here, and more. I love love love the kids here! They speak a language called Dama (I think), which, as you all should be familiar with in The Gods Must be Crazy, is the clicky language! Trust me, its priceless to hear a three-year-old girl speak with clicks! Haha.

We spend most days at the Center, a place run by Catholic AIDS Action. From 10 to 1 in the morning we run morning school for those kids who either have special needs or who have been kicked out of school for various reasons. We are trying to keep them up with learning so that eventually they can get back into school! Then from one to 5:30 or so about 150 other kids show up to play games, etc at the center! We feed them soup around two and then a snack before they go home at five. We spend our time playing games, listening to them read, teaching them math, and just talking with them and getting to know them.

On Saturdays, 400 kids come out to a dirt field filled with rocks to play soccer. Games are run for one hour and then switched up so that everyone can play before about three in the afternoon. It’s amazing to watch these kids play barefoot on the rocky field! They are so talented! Last Saturday I was able to meet Father Rick, who is the head of Catholic AIDS Action here in Namibia. He is such an incredible person, and talking to him helped Erica and I understand the unique situation here in Namibia that makes this country one of the top countries with AIDS cases. Marybeth runs the center and helps keep kids in school, so she is who we have spent most of our time with while we are here. She is really great, always full of energy and ideas on how to improve the kids’ lives, even if it’s just a little bit.

Erica and I would love any prayers that you would be willing to send overseas to us in Africa. We’ve both been hit emotionally by the situation here, and we both want to do something to help but we just do not know what. Plus we are still getting used to being in Africa, so we would appreciate prayers for safety and for adjustment.

Love you all! I’ll try to send more updates as they come! Thanks for your prayers already! And make sure to check my facebook for pictures!

Poland- read with a hot chocolate in your hand!

I know, I know. I'm so far behind on my blogs, it's just not funy anymore. I'm going to reach the one month marker before posting about some trips that I went on. But seriously, when you consider that I went to 8 cities in a 5 week time span, throw in some homework and tests and papers and preparing for a certain family to come over to Denmark, you can come to understand why my blog has taken the backseat. And I really even shouldn't be posting a blog now, but what's the harm in a little break from reading?

So I guess I'm on to Poland from my short expose on Berlin. We took a fun little bus ride to the city of Poznan, complete with a stop at a McDonalds with flags stating "ich liebe es" as opposed to "I'm lovin it" outside.

Then checked into one of the most fabulous hotels in the small city of Poznan; not a surprise, really, considering how small and inexpensive this little place was.

Our view:

We all went out to dinner that night together too, a traditional Polish dinner of some kind of meat, some kind of potatoes, soup, and coffee/tea and dessert following. Yum-o! We also found out, in the course of dinner and needing to go to the bathroom, that the Poles only put a circle on one door and an upside-down triangle on the other. translation? Go into both bathrooms and see which one has the urinals in it.

After dinner a few girls and I started exploring the city. I was so afraid of pickpockets tat I actuall yput my purse inside my jacket. Hence the pregnant picture. People thought I looked a little, well, abnormal. but that's not too unusual for me I guess. :)

Then next morning we woke up bright and early for a delicious breakfast (after having bread and jam for breakfast the past forever, it was nice to get some hot food in there!) and went off on a trolley car to the hospital to follow around a pediatrician (refer to previous blog). On our way back, though, we ran into a little jam. The problem with cable cars is that if one breaks down, the others can't pass it. So we waited for a stupidly long time before realizing that no, our car was not going to come. Better book it back to the hotel to make it in time for our walking tour! While some proceeded to walk, four of us hailed a taxi to make sure we'd get back. I was a little nervous at first--i didnt want to pay an arm and a leg to get back. It ended up, though, that our taxi fare per person was equivalent to US $2! Crazy, huh??

Following the walking tour was one of m favorite moments in Poland. We were frozen stiff after wandering around the city in the cold, so once the tour guide ended his talk, four of us scooted over to a little cafe that my friend Charlotte and I had found the night before. We walked in and were greeted by the sweet smell of flowers, warmth enough to be able to take off our coats, and decorations (including lit candles everywhere!) that made us feel very hygge (a Danish word that kindof means cozy). I got the biggest salad int he world, only because Denmark does not believe in salads, and then a huge cup of steaming almond-flavored coffee. It was jsut perfect to be able to sit there with friends and casually eat, drink, and talk while watching the people rush by outside.

Can you find me in this picture above??

Then we unfortunately had to get up and run back to he hotel to change for that night's Polish Philharmonic Orchestra and Choir Concert. I had flashbacks of getting ready for formal events in highschool as we all got dressed up to go. Though the next time you are in Poland, please take my advice and do NOT wear heels on the cobblestone streets. I almost wiped out more than once.

We found out upon arrival at the cathedral that having a ticket to this thing did not guarantee seating. Aka we were squished into the church like sardines in a can. I'm not kidding. I didn't even have room to sit in a ball on the floor. I could either stand or take half an hour to try to shove my way back out of the church. So we stood. For the two hour concert. Another good reason NOT to wear heels in Poland.

the church where the concert was

But all was remedied with the most amazing cup of hot chocolate EVER after the concert. It was liquid chocolate pretty much. Just delicious, and exactly what we all needed after being deprived of our personal space for two hours.

Next day entailed watching an autopsy (yuck-o!) and learning about cell pathology, followed by time to just wander. And eat pastries. And pierogies. And wonder why exactly Poznan is such an awesome city.

And lastly, before our 12 hour bus ride back to our home in Copenhagen, we ate dinner at a small microbrewery. Following a serioes of somewhat embarrassing (although fortunate) events, a few of my friends and I started talking to a German man in lederhosen that we tried to sneak a picture of. Turns out he was from Munich, in Poland for a friend's wedding, and wearing the lederhosen in honor of the wedding. Such a nice guy, even gave us a map of Munich and told us what to go see if we ever found ourselves there! Which so far I haven't. Maybe someday...

And that was our short but sweet trip into Poland. Great country. Awesome hot chocolate. Altogether a very cozy, home-y feel. I really loved that city and was sad to go so soon, especially when leaving meant a long long bus ride through the night where I had to climb over nad under peoiple's legs to try to get to the bathroom without waking up. An unforgettable experience, to say the least.

Jinkuyeh! (I think I spelled that wrong)

Berlin in a nutshell

I am just so overwhelmed with story after story, I couldn't possibly tell them all on this blog. Or on a thousand blogs. I just got back from three weeks of travelling all over Europe. I went to Berlin, Poland, Barcelona, Madrid, and the Czech Republic. I know, some of those places are odd choices, but you'd fall in love with the little Polish town of Poznan and the countryside of the Czech if you were there, too. And Prague was beyond-words breathtaking. trust me.

But I'm going to go country to country, splitting up my blogs so I don't get too overwhelmed. Well, I already am, especially because it is almost 2 in the morning and I should be sleeping, but I promised myself I would write a blog before Monday. So here goes...

Berlin and Poznan were part of my acdemic study tour with my Medical Practice and Policy Program. From the last blog, you have an idea of the academic activities we did, so I'll focus on the cultural ones:

On our way to Berlin, we stopped at a concentration camp. It wasn't a big-name one, I'd never heard of it. But it was incredible to see. All of our stomachs just dropped and we all fell silent through the hour or so that we were there. It was an experience I'll never forget, especially the moment I willingly walked through the entrance of the camp that so many people were dragged through. I still can't possibly conceive of all that happened there, could you?

Then, on a lighter note, our first dinner in Berlin was at a blind restaurant. Yes, you read that right. Every server at the restaurant was blind, and to top that off, we sat in a completely dark room, as if we were blind ourselves. Luckily, that also meant that noone could see me eat with my hands and accidentally get food all over my face. I dont know how that happened. Honestly, every sense is thrown off a bit when you can't see, including the hand-to-mouth sense.

The next day we took a city-wide bus tour of Berlin with a great tour guide. What struck me the most about this city was that it was so easy to see all that these people had been through. They didn't try to hide their past, but instead acknowledged and accepted it. And we could tell the difference between East and West Berlin, mostly in the architecture. it was incredible. Moment number two that I will remember forever: walking from East Berlin over the two-brick-wide line where the wall used to be to West Berlin, then through the Brandenborg Gate. Something that East Berliners used to only dream about. Bonus- there was a Starbucks on the other side!

That day we also went to the Berlin Dom, this amazingly beautiful cathedral in the middle of the city. We even climbed up what seemed like neverending stairs to the base of the dome to see the entire city of Berlin! Stunning!

We also saw the Berlin Olympic Stadium, which hosted the Olympics in 1936, one year before the Holocaust exploded. Huge, magnificent stadium. Interesting fact- since the germans wanted no memory to Hitler, they cut off the part of the balcony where he used to sit and watch the games. It is now two feet shorter.

At night, a few of my friends and I would wander through the city, finding little parks and buildings, cafes and brautwurst. the lights in the city were so colorful and truly dazzling, in preparation for the Festival of Lights starting in a few weeks. And nothing beats walking through colorful fall leaves on a crisp but not too chilly night in Berlin.

We also visited KaDeWe, Berlin's equivalent to the New York Macy's. Their displays had already been infiltrated by Christmas decorations, which made me all the more excited for the holiday season.

And in a nutshell, that was my trip to Berlin. I think it will always remain one of my favorite cities. The history was incredible, the people amazing, the architecture breathtaking. It was just beautiful. I could never explain that feeling of walking in the footsteps of so much history, turmoil, tears, heartbreak, and death. But that city had taken leaps and bounds since then, never forgetting where they came from, always commemorating those who died.

yes, i do occasionally do schoolwork

So just to let you all know that I am learning academic things here, I thought I'd post a blog about my Human Health and Disease class. We've done some crazy things, saw some incredible procedures, and all-around, gotten to work hands-on with medicine!

One of our first days we learned how to insert an IV into a person's arm and hand, and also how to draw blood. We began by using dummy hands with veins inside them, then turned to each other. Of course, after one of my classmates missed my vein while inserting an IV, everyone else refused to volunteer to be the patient.


Later on, while learning about eyes and their diseases, we got to "play" with all sorts of eye equipment! Our class is held right down the hall form the Opthamology department, and since both of our teachers are opthamologists, they thought it would be cool for us to look into each others' eyes, dilate some pupils, take retinal scans, do general eye exams, the works. We all had a blast.

Then on our study tour, in Poland, we got to put on lab coats and watch an endoscopy and colonoscopy happen just a few feet away! So interesting and much more intense than you can imagine.


In Berlin we were shown into a cadaver lab, where we put on some gloves and a robe and touched cadavers. Held a few brains, a heart, a lung, a kidney, touched a stomach, felt around through intestines, and more. Talk about exciting! We all had a blast! I think...

So there's a few of the highlights. All of us pre-med students are loving this Medical Practice and Policy Program. Couldn't be more fun, intense, or emotionally draining. Just like being a doctor, right? Well, close.

Kultur Natten!

So Copenhagen has this night called Culture Night. It's difficult to explain, I don't think I can do it justice, but try to imagine a city-wide open house, and you'll be close to what this night is. All of Copenhagen becomes packed with people going to different stores marketing their products, showing how things are made, exploring parliament and the haunted vaults beneath, visiting the zoo at midnight, listening to singers and bands and choirs, looking at art, just anything you can think of. I think my night was one in a million. Here's my schedule:

About 6 I met up with my visiting mom Karin and her son Peter. She works at, well, I'm not sure of the exact title, but it's like the ministry of health or agriculture or something. She basically works for the government and tries to promote healthy living with different kinds of food ad recipes and whatnot. A pretty cool job, if you ask me. Anyway, they were putting on a huge display of floors and floors of different kinds of healthy food, which we explored. And since she worked there, we got right in instead of waiting in a long line! But the best part was "100 Stars of the Milky Way," a huge room full of 100 kinds of dairy, from cheeses to milks to freshly-made cappuccinos, to yogurt, to ice cream. Delicious! We all ate so much that we couldn't possibly fit dinner on top of all that food! And once again we got in right away and skipped at least an hour long line!

Then we walked for a bit and stopped at random little booths, tried some soups and whatnot, then headed over to one of the biggest churches in Copenhagen to hear the Copenhagen Boys' Choir. After pushing and shoving through the cold, drizzly city, can you imagine how amazing it was to sit in a warm, gorgeous church listening to an indescribably awesome choir??

Before meeting up wih my friends, we went to the school that Karin is on the board for. It's kindof like a home ec school, teaching people how to make homes, cook, handle money, you name it. So once again we ate more food and finished the night with some (ironically) American Pumpkin pie. No, it didn't taste like American pumpkin pie at all.

Then my friends and I explored a little more, walked down some main streets, made pancakes in the fire with small skillets, explored the gorgeous parliament building (we had to put on booties to walk around!), went to a candy store, ate hot dogs, and all around had a great night!

Now I know this isn't the most flattering picture of me, but the yumminess of the hotdog makes up for it!

and the vikings raid once again

A common question Danes ask us Americans when they hear that we are studying in Copenhagen is, "Why Denmark?" All of us just stare blankly and wonder the same thing. Why Denmark, of all the places we could study? None of us really know. We could give you small reasons that would add up reasonably, but I don't think any of us really knew a firm reason until we left the country for two weeks. We had study break, and all of my friends and I jumped at the chance to explore Europe. But coming home, well, we all just realized why exactly we love this place. My friend Charlie explained it really well: "When you fly into Copenhagen, the plane swings around and all you see at first are these marshlands that look dreary and grey. But all I could think of was how much I love this place. I love Denmark" (paraphrased). No matter how rainy, windy, cold, expensive, ghetto, and strange it is, we just cant help it. And I guarantee that if you ever lived here for longer than a few weeks, you would love it too.

To make my semester abroad that much stranger, I decided to take a Nordic Mythology class. When in Denmark...

And who would have guessed that it would be the coolest class ever? One of my teachers is what I would call a modern-day viking. He towers over all of us students, has a scruffy grey beard, a deep voice that you can get lost in, and when he speaks Old Norse, you feel like you are listening to Gandalf from Lord of the Rings. Its great.

A couple weeks ago we had an all-day study tour around Zealand. We saw and went into a burial mound that as 5000 years old. It was spooky and awesome standing in there with candles listening to its history and how the bodies were buried until a bat decided to fly into my face. I freaked out a bit, trying to cover my face without burining off all my hair with the lit candle. Needless to say, I provided a bit of entertainment for everyone else on the trip!

We also went to the Viking Museum in Roskilde, where we saw 5 real viking ships the Danes had found in this one harbor. So cool.

Then we trekked to the setting of Beowulf. Who knew that it was actually based off of a feasting hall and king in Denmark?? There's not much left there now, just a grassy field, but you can see the stones in the shape of a ship marking a mass grave and the remnants of a foundation ish thing of a huge feasting hall. What did it for me was listening to my modern-day Viking teacher read the first few lines of Beowulf in Old Norse in his deep voice, dressed in a suit (he had to come from a formal event), standing in a field with grass up to our calves, with cows mooing in the background. Priceless.

Lastly, we went to this fortress build by Harald Bluetooth, a Viking king. He made the walls from earth, so they are covered by dirt, but still incredible to see!

And that's what it's like to be in a Nordic Mythology class taught by one of the leading experts in the world on the subject. Don't you wish you were in the class too?

The most amazing day ever!

I know, I know. I say that for every activity I do here, every place I visit. But this time, I'm serious... I think.

Last weekend DIS sent our program (medical practice and policy) on a study tour through Jutland, Denmark (look at a map!). We went to Veijle, Arhus, Aalborg, Skagen, and Grennan, and had the most fabulous time. I'll try to let the pictures speak for themselves.

on our way to Arhus- about a four hour bus ride!

Arhus! Our hotel was right along this strip! And during the night they shined different colored lights on the water right outside my window!

The theater where we saw a western-themed beach boys musical! That's right! And you know what, it was amazing!!!!!!!!

My cute little frog pastry I got when we stopped at a bakery. Sorry to say it was pretty disgusting!

Sydney! Ok, maybe not exactly, but at least the museum honoring the Danish architect who designed the Aydney Opera house! born and raised in Aalborg!

the strangest little chairs I have ever seen!

tiny bread plates!

Skol! We had dinner at a microbrewery, ribs and salad and bread, all paid for by DIS!!

this was right outside our hostel the second morning! Gorgeous!

Skagen! Such a beautiful little town!

Taking a pic of myself biking through Skagen and up to Grennan, the northernmost tip of proper Denmark, where the North Sea and the Baltic Sea cross!

Grennan! Perfect day for the beach!

One foot in the Baltic Sea, the other in the North Sea!

Seeing what we can see across the seas. Sounds like a pirate. Arr.

Sailing back to Copenhagen on a cruise ship during the sunset. Couldn't help but think of Titanic.

Anyway, that was my trip at glance. Too bad I can't post a movie of the Beach Boys concert, or take you to the amazing Skagen Art Museum, or guide you through the winding streets of Aalborg. But pictures are the closest I can get to showing you just how amazing this trip actually was. Denmark is a beautiful country, every inch of it. Unexpected beauty all around. I have learned to never underestimate this country.