I awoke early this morning to finally realize that I should have given that driver something while I had the opportunity. I had him right there and the money in my hand. Every cent of it. Everything was there. I will find him somehow. But for now I had to go back to Copenhagen to meet with the Fulbright Commission.
I walked to the bus stop near the house awaited the next bus to city centre. The wait was not really that long, good thing too because guess what – it was still raining.
Got to the train station and got my seat assignment on the 7am train to Copenhagen. I must admit to dozing some on the ride; I have no idea how long but the three-and-a-half hour ride seemingly took only minutes. I arrived at the Copenhagen central station about 10:45am where I was met by Anders Folkmann, the Danish Fulbright Commission representative with whom I have been working since day one of my selection for this assignment. I had never met him, nor did I have any idea what he looked like, but he had seen photos of me so I left it to his keen eyes to find me at our designated meeting spot – the McDonalds in the central station. He found me.
Anders took me to the hotel where they had made reservations for me, and I checked in and dropped my bag. He and I then walked the short distance through part of the city centre to the Fulbright Commission offices. The meetings went very well; they were mainly “meet and greet” since I had not been able to attend the social meetings back in August and could not attend a forthcoming meeting in November. There is a meeting set for November 18, but I am scheduled to speak at a gathering of the English teachers in Denmark, those who work with the handelsskoles. My lecture is titled American Indians in the Globalized 21st Century, and it is the same day as the Fulbright meeting. Anyway, so all of that adds up to me meeting with the Commission today.
The meetings went very well. Lunch was very good; there is a specialty here called the open sandwich, which I have now enjoyed several times. That’s what we had in the Fulbright offices for lunch. General conversations about “how this or that is going” were the appetizers of the dialogues, but then the meat and potatoes of the meeting came around: What can we do together in the future? Apparently the Danish Ministry of Education and the Danish Fulbright Commission are seeking to expand the offerings of Danes Abroad. The thought of studying American Indians and Native America seems very appealing to these offices, and I must say the faculty, staff, and students of the school where I have been working. Once I get back home and to NSU I will need to relay these desires to the administration and offer back to Denmark the results.
Once I finished with the meetings I made my way back to the hotel to change clothes. Of course I had dressed up for the meetings but wanted to get back into jeans and my sneakers before hitting the walking trails again. It was not long before I was out again exploring the city of Copenhagen. I must testify here to the incredible street musicians I encountered during my walks. There was one fellow, a violinist, who had to be classically trained. The music pouring forth from this man’s violin was angelic. He had a small CD player he was using as accompaniment as he played the melody of the songs. Orchestral. This man is no mere street musician; he could easily be first chair in the Copenhagen Philharmonic. And for all I know he is, and is simply doing this for the love of music. I have noticed this about the Danes. Often they do things because they love to, not for the money. I have been told that many garbage collectors or road construction workers have advanced degrees, and not in garbagology or constructioneering, but in areas such as the humanities, art, philosophy. And they pick up people’s trash or fix potholes. Why? Because they want to, and they feel they are doing a great service to their fellow Danes/human beings.
Think of that: a place where people are not scorned for what they choose to do for a living. I know all too well that in America we look down on or up to people in certain professions. Trash collectors are often not thought of very highly, but what if, let’s say, they were given the respect they deserved and what they did for a living made no difference to the public or themselves. They were equal.
So I philosophize, and then I return to walking. I made my way around to many amazing parts of the city. I saw many interesting people. I saw many interesting pastries! The people were good conversation, but the pastries were sinful. And I was in a violating frame of mind. I have no idea what some of these things were called, but I shall never forget the taste. I tried the ones with fruit on them. A small cake-like pastry with cream, blueberries and strawberries with thin stripes of chocolate racing across the top. Don’t bother me – I’m sinning.
Another thing I tried was a Belgian Waffle with soft ice cream and chocolate. Now this was not at the same time as the other pastries (I do have limits) but it was within the same day. Let me tell you friends, these Danes know how to eat. And they know how to treat. I really enjoyed this day. Good food; good company – good day.
No comments:
Post a Comment