It's been quite a while since I've last updated, and yes, I've been bad about it. There is just so much that has happened during the last 4 weeks and I don't really have the mind to remember it all, nor do I think you would want to read through all of the details of my adventures...or do you? In any case, Stockholm was an amazingly beautiful city that literally took my breath away while walking along the water front. It also reminded me a lot of the states, making me come to the realization that I'm a bit homesick. At this point, I think this is the longest span of time that I've spent away from home. Even though I am having an amazing time, I can't help but feel that I am really alone here. Even though that's not really the case. A cool fact, or at least I find cool, is that the places we visited and stayed in Sweden were mentioned in "The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo" it's really a cool feeling when you can imagine where the characters are traveling and going through their daily lives. If I had read that book at any other time, I probably would have been very lost. As cold as it was in Denmark, Finland was even colder. We saw a lot of Aalto buildings, and at this point I really could get into everything that we saw, but I will spare you from my geeky side. There were two things that really stuck out as cultural activities during our stay in Finland for the long study tour. First, was the Finnish saunas. (little did I know this would become a reference point for my next architecture assignment.) we took the bus into the country side, and by the time we reached the location, the sun had a.ready set. Lit only by a small path of lights, we made out way into the cabin where we were fed dinner. Apparently we had reindeer meat. The man who ran the saunas was a poet and because it happened to be International Women's Day, not only did we receive roses at some of our site visits, but this poet, Pekka, asked for words from the guys and he wrote a poem out of it for us. It was interesting what they came up with.
You left words for me because of the women day. Each of the boys left one word so I can write a poem to all ladies because of that date.
Words were these, in this order also:
nasty
confusing
niccceee
smooth
flowing
rusty
hair
lovely
powerful
beautiful
sensual
dramatic
sweet
Poem :
Woman
One day I lost my wings
nasty things happened later
me and my lady casting rings
from a bridge to water
confusing feeling
would really need a healing
some niccee and smooth
woman of my dreams
flowing personality
in a woman always quality
never rusty
I might be a bit dusty
Thinking of the hair of a woman
can anything be lovely for a man
powerful ladies always ruling
decisions in our head
beutiful, you enough never can get
company of a living flower
sensual every day building a tower
to heavenly hights
being dramatic a man despites
because they are so sweet
nothing ill ever beat
their blooming presence as a rose
of our lifes as men
After dinner, we went down to the sauna. We were split up of course into groups, male and female. As we were guided down to the location, we saw Jupiter and Saturn, the brightest stars in the sky that night. It was amazing that you could see it so clearly without all of the light pollution from the city. Then, there we were. In the saunas. I'll let you discover for yourself what the Finnish tradition of saunas are. Or maybe not....did you guess? Yes, naked people again. The body is just the body, there is no sexual tension placed on the body here in Europe as much as there is in the states. Not only that, butttttt, after the sauna, we jumped in a frozen pond covered in ice with only a small hole to get through. Our feet were sticking to the ice in the ground, and from inside the sauna you could hear people screaming as they dipped themselves into the CE cold water. Apparently, it's supposed to be good for your immune system, but I just so happened to get sick the very next day. It was an eventful night to say the least.
The second thing to note was a showcase in a museum titled, "The Silence of the Crows" upon entering the exhibition space, you are confronted with a series of chairs set up in a circle. A few chairs had speakers placed n them. In the center was an old school speaker, I forgot what they are called. You would sit within the series of speakers and the exhibit was nothing but audio playing. I was so immersed in the sounds that it felt like I was in the midst of a movie, the scenery moving about around me. Totally like surround sound, but better.
Needless to say, the Sweden/ Finland trip was amazing. I came back to Denmark, and rested for a day and then went to Malmo with Sarah. We didn't spend too much time there becaus ethe weather decided to get very cold all of a sudden, so we are definately going to have to make it there some other time.
The last few weeks, I really have started to become more comfortable and socialize a little more. It nice to be able to come out of my shell a little more, but it's crazy to think that it's taken me well over two months to really get adjusted, and to think, hey I'm only here for three more weeks. A bittersweet thought.
Being here has really confirmed for me that architecture is what I want to do, and if not, it's definately something along these lines. Something that is techinical and creative at the same time. I guess the sky is really the limit.
This now brings me to the present time. If you made it this far, thank you for reading! I am finally on spring break! Polskefajia, I think that's how it's spelt. A time to just travel and not have any studying to do whatsoever during my trip. Although, the geek in me did contemplate whether or not to bring my sketch journal with me. I decided against it.
If you've been following me on facebook, you've seen that I am now in the Czech Republic! We took a red eye bus ride down, and I must admit I didn't sleep too well, but we made it nonetheless. On the ferry ride over to Germany, Sarah and I played a game of monopoly, in which I caused her to go bankrupt. It was a fun game haha. Anyway, we got to the hotel around 730 this morning. It's located at the top of a hill in Hruba Skala, and happens to be a castle. That's right, I'm staying in a castle. But this is far from luxury. We have a sink in the room, but it's oddly placed in the corner. Did I mention that our door is also oddly padded like an insane asylum? Plus, it's freezing here, it's colder in the room than it is outside. Odd...As I was just getting used to the absolutely gorgeous weather in Denmark, the sunshine that really made my day, I cam back to a cold cold place. O well. The view from this hotel though it amazing, and brings me back to the days in Japan with 360.
We started out with icebreakers. And boy did I learn a good number of them. Then we did a bit if tightrope walking and the finished off with archery. I am left handed in case you didn't know, so I used the left handed bow...only to use it backwards...Oops! On my second shot I hit a bulleye! But then missed the rest of my series of 8. Quite a sad feat, but it was fun. I will post pictures in a bit.
This shall be it for now! Hopefully I'll update tomorrow :)
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