Iben and I just had a chat. She feels that I am really reserved and don't want to be part of the family. I said that the whole thing is really awkward for me because I feel like no one wants to talk to me. I guess it's just been a big misunderstanding all along, but I'm hormonal and she had me in tears because I don't want my host family to think that I hate them :( I also wish they would stop comparing me to the other students they've had! Yes, I should be putting in a LOT more effort than I have been... but at the same time, I was forced into this living situation that is really not my personality at all. Iben says she has complained to DIS about schools that force students into host families, and I plan on complaining to Gettysburg when I get home. However, for the meantime, at least I know that my family DOES want to talk to me... they just want me to start the conversations. I guess I'm pretty similar to all of them, actually, considering I want them to start the conversations. This talk was so emotional and embarrassing, and it delayed dinner and me working on my paper.... but I'm glad we had it.
In other news, I had a strange, serendipitous encounter this afternoon. Allie and I had been working on our outline, and when we left to go home... I made the split second decision to use the bathroom first. I only say this because if I had left with Allie, it would have thrown off the timing and this would never have happened. Anyway, I walked to my bus stop, and just as I was getting there, 2 guys rode by on bikes. They were speaking English, which prompted me to look up.... only to discover that one of them was Marc Baker, who I went to high school with! I shouted, and undoubtedly drew all kinds of attention to myself, but I had to get his attention because HOW WEIRD IS THAT? Apparently, he is studying in Prague this semester, but he and his friend are here for the weekend. And neither of us ever would have known if it weren't for being in the same random place at the same random time. I can't get over it.
Okay, so that was basically today's events. What else has been going on lately, you ask? Tuesday night, Courtney, Sara and I went to the opera... almost solely because we now sound so cultured and sophisticated saying that we went "to the opera." The truth is we weren't that glamourous. Sara had her enormous backpack with her from doing work all day, and we all probably had kebab breath from getting Turkish fast food beforehand. ALSO, the opera (Tchaikovsky's Eugen Onegin) was in Russian. The translation? Yeah, that was in Danish. It was still an amazing experience, and I don't think too much was lost by not speaking either language. I swear we are starting to be able to read Danish anyway. But the opera house was beautiful at night, and we went up to the balcony during intermission and took pictures over the waterfront. Thank youuuu, self timer.
Yesterday was chock full of culture as well. I had an art history field study from 1-8, which again, ate up some valuable paper-writing time, but it was worth it. The first museum had a Munch exhibit (ya know.. the guy who did the Scream?) but the real attraction was the modern art museum, the Louisiana. We saw all kinds of crazy contemporary art, exhibits on sustainable architecture, and my personal favorite, a Jacob Holdt exhibit.
Jacob Holdt is a Danish photographer who traveled to the U.S. in the 70s with $40 in his pocket, and stayed there for years, making friends of all social classes, moving in with them, and ultimately photographing them. They say "every picture tells a story," but in this case, we were given a little book of stories to go with the pictures. He lived in some of the poorest, black ghettos in Jersey City (JERSEY!) as well as with KKK members, serial killers, and wealthy plantation owners. And he still keeps in touch with a lot of them. The guy is nuts, but the photos are even crazier. It was awesome.
So NOW, I am going to finish my epidemic disease paper, and hopefully go be social with my host family. Jeez.
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