Yes, I am "all by myself" now. Paul left early this afternoon and is now halfway across the Atlantic, finally going home after ten weeks abroad. For him it was very exciting; I'm excited too because I know how much he wanted to go home but at the same time it stinks to again be alone here. Yes, I am making friends but we all know that is not the same. But let me tell you about yesterday!
I did not blog yesterday because, well, it was Paul's last day here and we did quite a bit. I went to work in the morning and got as much as I could done before he came around noon. He successfully managed my morning commute by himself and we went to lunch with Arkady. Klas was eating with his group and Esben was busy in lab. Not exactly how I'd hoped lunch would go but I knew he would meet Klas and Esben at dinner for sure. He got a very short and limited tour and then we just waited around for a couple of my things to finish so we could leave. Left work a bit after two and headed into Copenhagen.
We walked for about two hours, covering the whole of the Pedestrian Street as well as Christiansborg (another palace) and Nyhavn and Kongens Nytorv (again). We got delicious ice cream and also looked around the Georg Jenson store (really pricey and beautiful silver) on the Walking Street. Plus, you know those street performers who are in all white/gold/silver, including their faces? Well apparently, even after visiting multiple big cities in Europe, Paul had never seen one. So that was kind of fun to see.
We weren't meeting anyone until 6 but finished walking around 4:45. We were near Tivoli and sat on a bench right outside of the City Hall building on a big square. Besides the fact that a huge screen next to us was playing the World Out Games recap and some rather obnoxious and repeating music, it was very relaxing. Just chilling with hundreds of other people out in Copenhagen. :-) Oh, I forgot, when we were walking down Nyhavn we heard some really loud singing. Turns out it was a group of Spaniards who were in town either to cheer or play (not sure if it was the team or just fans) against one of the local soccer teams. I was enamored and we stood there watching and listening for like 5 minutes. Anyway, after sitting for 45 minutes we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe Copenhagen.
Happy hour at HRC goes from 5-7 and, since we were meeting people at 6, we went a little early to get some drinks. Now, we both somewhat forgot about happy hour until we ordered. I got a Raspberry Lemonade and only remembered Happy Hour when the bartender began making two of them. Yes, happy hour is two for one on cocktails and drafts. And oh, how delicious and dangerous that Raspberry Lemonade was. Absolutely delicious! Right at 6 Burcin and Brandon walked in, followed almost immediately by Klas, Arkady and Esben. All we had to do was wait for Yujie but, since it was already 6, I showed my priority seating confirmation and we were immediately seated (very cool thing when you see the people in front of you get handed a beeper). Arkady and Esben visited the bar for the Happy Hour special and I started in on the 2nd Raspberry Lemonade. Somehow 40 minutes passed and we eventually all ordered. 5 of us got ginormous burgers (I am pretty sure all of us Americans had forgotten how large our portions are) and Brandon got the pulled pork and Arkady got Salmon. No burger was the same but they were all polished off, some more easily than others. :-)
I just want you to know that dinner with these guys will probably be one of my favorite memories from this trip. I love people coming together and this group definitely came together. Brandon randomly catches my "accent" the first day of work and later, upon my invitation to Roskilde, I find out his girlfriend works at Topsoe too (Burcin). At lunch the same day as the invitation she and I meet for the first time. And who did I eat with that day? Klas, Arkady and Esben: all of whom knew her or of her. I LOVE connections! And then Paul comes to town and I knew almost from the beginning that he'd get along swimmingly with these people. And, ahem, I was right. :-) We all had the science connection and, for the scientists and engineers out there, our conversation sometimes strayed to topics and jokes that no normal group of people would have found interesting or funny. I apparently can't find the words to aptly express everything I feel about dinner so I will leave it at that.
Dinner wasn't the end of last night, though. Oh no, far from it! Arkady convinced us all to go across the street to sit in a bar and have "a beer." Oh man, "a beer" will be the famous last words of this summer. Everyone but me (I was incredibly full from the burger and the sweet lemonades) had a single drink and we sat and talked for close to an hour. The atmosphere was very relaxed and the conversation pretty easy. It was during this time that I realized the whole evening had been spent talking in English and I had never felt out of place or as if I didn't belong. Once we all reached Vesterport (minus Klas because he was taking a bus and not a train) I shared these sentiments with Brandon and Paul and they both agreed. Brandon especially because he and I (and Burcin) generally find ourselves in an all Danish group about once a week if not once a day or more. It is frustrating, as you probably know from my previous posts, to be somewhere and not be able to understand anything. I am lucky in that I do not have to go to group meetings that are held entirely in Danish--something that is a weekly occurrence for others. But anyway, that's a complaint that will put a damper on how fun this night was.
So anywho, the 6 of us waited for the train and we were off. Esben left first, then Arkady and the 4 of us continued to Hellerup. We said goodbye to Burcin and Brandon there and waited about ten minutes for the bus. We were so into talking about careers and choices and such that we almost missed our stop! I happened to glance out the window right as the gas station before the stop came past my window and we were able to get off. It was going on eleven when we got to the house and I think Yujie was already asleep. She never did show up to dinner and I was afraid that I had missed her and she'd just gone home.
Paul and I finished off the little beer that we'd bought on Sunday and watched 4 or 5 episodes of Scrubs. THAT was great, let me tell you. Plus I had some lemon bars at like midnight. Yes, I know, very bad decision but it was sooo good! About 1 I called it quits and we both went to bed.
And now we're to today! Haha, not as much excitement or as many smiles as yesterday here. I got up a little after 8 (yes, sleeping in felt sooo good!) and got ready for the day. Once ready I biked down to Fakta to get bacon and rolls. I also picked up chocolate (some for me to bring home home and two little candy bars for Paul to take on the trip). Must've been a strange sight. :-) Once back here I immediately got to making breakfast. Bacon, rolls and gravy. Still not doing so well on the gravy as this time I added too much flour. I'll get there, though. Just might need to wait a week as the bacon seemed to have been salt itself and, well, the gravy is mostly fat; my body needs to recuperate from such tastiness.
Oh, and I finally caught up with Yujie this morning. Turns out she'd e-mailed me around 3 or 4 saying she wouldn't be able to make dinner and would tell me more later. Since I'd left work at 2 I had not read the e-mail. I was still relieved to hear she had been safe and not lost last night.
Anyway, we left around 10:35 and caught the 10:43 bus to Hellerup. Oh, it was raining too, by the way. We caught the 10:59 train to the airport and were there around 11:30. I stayed with him until he'd checked in, dropped off his checked bag and walked up the stairs to security. It stunk. On the way to the airport I had a sinking feeling in my stomach for two reasons. First off, Paul was leaving and, obviously, that didn't exactly make me excited. The second seems to happen every time I go to the airport (except for when I picked Paul up): I don't want to leave Copenhagen. Even though I was going there to send Paul home I still didn't want to think about leaving. And as much as I want to see everyone at home and in Madison, my life here just started! It is selfish, I know, to want the best of every world and to want to stay here. But I digress.
From the airport I went straight to work. Took the train to the Central station and met two British women with four young girls in tow. They were adorable! The women sounded so sophisticated with their accents and I think even more so because it wasn't fake or pushed; they spoke naturally and talked about their own lives--something about that grabbed my attention. Anyway, I got off and switched to the B line to go from the Central Station to Jaegersborg. Once there I waited for the local train and, upon reaching Topsoe grounds, went immediately to the cafeteria to grab a sandwich. On my way in I ran into Esben, Anders and Mai-Britt just leaving. Grabbed food and headed to my desk. I took about 20 minutes to eat and check e-mail and then look to see if Paul's flight had taken off. My mother's habit has definitely rubbed off. Haha!
Radek stopped by my desk to see how I was and I apparently looked intent on my screen because he immediately asked if I was busy. I was, to a point: busy looking for Paul's flight update! Anywho, tomorrow is the last Friday of the month and he wanted to know if I'd be going to the bbq (just like last month). I really don't know if I will or not. It will depend on how I'm feeling, especially because I feel, at the moment, that I've had enough to drink this week and really don't want a repeat of what happened after the last bbq.
The next two hours passed relatively quickly, which surprised and pleased me. But, after that two hours, my work was basically done. I had gotten to work around 1 pm and was done by 4:30. Honestly, there was nothing else I would have done today. I am waiting on supplies and doing whatever reactions I can so I am limited. I did wait to leave till about 5, a half day of work being done. Plus I was able to see when Paul's Atlantic flight took off (at least 25 mins late, fyi).
I came home and on the way realized how tired I was. I had seen Arkady by chance around 3 or so and he said I looked really tired. I denied being tired and said I thought I was just disappointed that Paul had left. The trip home "showed me the light." I have done very little tonight: a couple e-mails, made dinner and washed dishes while it was cooking, watched TV and now blogging. I will probably get ready for bed, watch a bit more TV and then go to bed "early." It will be a good decision, I know.
My prayer requests remain the same but please pray that Paul gets home safely. I'd also like to say that I am feeling much better and didn't have any discomfort today, or yesterday for that matter. The days are flying by so I ask that you pray for wisdom (I need to buy my Munich flight and hostel still), courage (to face the fears I have of travelling alone as well as finishing strong), contentment (with the time I have left in Copenhagen), motivation (to see and do what I want to do before leaving), and peace. Peace in relation to the other requests, to my dwindling time here, to my solitary travel experience, to my flight home, and to the job searching and decision making that waits once I am back. I am finding it difficult to not worry about the future, especially because the future holds my second to last semester of college as well as the career fair that could very well place me on the path to a permanent job. Ah, can you feel my fear? How wonderful to know that God will provide and that He has a plan for me. My past three summers have been proof of that!
Well, I am off for now. This has been incredibly long and for that I do apologize. I seemed to have a need to blow off a few thousand words tonight. :-)
Have a wonderful and restful day/night/afternoon,
Bekah
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Tuesday, July 28, 2009
Productively Unproductive
Oh my goodness, I did so little at work today it is ridiculous! Not exactly the best thing to broadcast on a blog but it is true. I guess one consolation is that I'm not technically paid by the company but I felt very constrained the whole day.
Once up and going I left for work and met Klas at Hellerup. Meeting someone I know in the morning just makes the day seem so much better. He wanted to know if that was when I usually went to work and I said no, I am usually on the train before the one we got on. He laughed and said this (8:20) was when he usually got on this train. We met up with Esben on the regional train and he told us about his night and I made it known that I had brought lemon bars.
I did basically all my real work in the morning. Arkady got me for lunch and off we went with Esben and Klas. I am almost always smiling when I am around these guys and we walk by people on the way to lunch and I just have the urge to smile at them too. I would say I smile too much but I honestly believe that to be impossible, especially when it is sincere. Most of mine are. :-)
Anyway, Esben left us and Klas, Arkady and I ate with another guy, Henrik (maybe, I don't actually remember his name). I do not remember what all we talked about but Klas has a place to live for the next two months and so he and Arkady will come to the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow after work (meeting me, Paul and Yujie). Should be fun. I actually introduced myself to the other guy about 3/4 of the way through lunch. He asked if I was a student and I said yes, I am but I'm only here for 2 and a half more weeks. To this Arkady, with a grin, said: "So you don't have to remember her name because she'll be gone soon and won't have been here long." I laughed and said "Thanks, Arkady! Did you actually WANT a treat after lunch? You may not actually get a dessert!" And Klas told him that was real smooth. :-P
Klas and Arkady followed me to my desk and I invited Burcin along the way. They all said the bars were good and I definitely agree. I also gave one to Radek (Polish guy) and two people who sit in offices near my desk. Who am I? I just went around giving treats away. Took some courage, I won't lie, but I'm very glad I did so.
I left work around 4:20 and, when I reached Hellerup, I mailed my postcards! Ah, can't tell you how good it is to finally have them off! Well, all but one. The guy told me they would be in America tomorrow but from there he had no idea how long it would take. He gave me his "sob story" of how anything he sends to America takes forever (i.e. 3-4 weeks) to be delivered, though nothing has ever been lost. Anywho, I am just glad they were sent.
Came home, we made dinner, watched some Scrubs (SUCH a good show) and then headed to Noerreport. I showed him Rosenborg and actually saw the castle from a different side. We walked down to Kongens Nytorv and then to Nyhavn and around the harbor to see the water way, the Opera house, the fountain near the Queen's garden and Amaliensborg (sp?), which is the official royal residence, though none of the royal family is currently staying there. Saw a big church and then walked back to Kgs. Nytorv to catch a bus home. It was a nice walk and I told him that was how I first saw Copenhagen: walking around for a couple hours. It is kind of ridiculous to think we're both in Copenhagen, just hanging out and walking around. Crazy.
We came back to the house and now I need to get to bed. I'm sure I am forgetting something that happened today but oh well. Hopefully I have time to write tomorrow but, if not, Thursday's will just be obscenely long. Oh wait, all my posts are really long. Stupid need to be rid of 5000+ words a day. :-P
Prayer requests are the same, especially my own health. And pray that my postcards don't get lost or too damaged too.
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Once up and going I left for work and met Klas at Hellerup. Meeting someone I know in the morning just makes the day seem so much better. He wanted to know if that was when I usually went to work and I said no, I am usually on the train before the one we got on. He laughed and said this (8:20) was when he usually got on this train. We met up with Esben on the regional train and he told us about his night and I made it known that I had brought lemon bars.
I did basically all my real work in the morning. Arkady got me for lunch and off we went with Esben and Klas. I am almost always smiling when I am around these guys and we walk by people on the way to lunch and I just have the urge to smile at them too. I would say I smile too much but I honestly believe that to be impossible, especially when it is sincere. Most of mine are. :-)
Anyway, Esben left us and Klas, Arkady and I ate with another guy, Henrik (maybe, I don't actually remember his name). I do not remember what all we talked about but Klas has a place to live for the next two months and so he and Arkady will come to the Hard Rock Cafe tomorrow after work (meeting me, Paul and Yujie). Should be fun. I actually introduced myself to the other guy about 3/4 of the way through lunch. He asked if I was a student and I said yes, I am but I'm only here for 2 and a half more weeks. To this Arkady, with a grin, said: "So you don't have to remember her name because she'll be gone soon and won't have been here long." I laughed and said "Thanks, Arkady! Did you actually WANT a treat after lunch? You may not actually get a dessert!" And Klas told him that was real smooth. :-P
Klas and Arkady followed me to my desk and I invited Burcin along the way. They all said the bars were good and I definitely agree. I also gave one to Radek (Polish guy) and two people who sit in offices near my desk. Who am I? I just went around giving treats away. Took some courage, I won't lie, but I'm very glad I did so.
I left work around 4:20 and, when I reached Hellerup, I mailed my postcards! Ah, can't tell you how good it is to finally have them off! Well, all but one. The guy told me they would be in America tomorrow but from there he had no idea how long it would take. He gave me his "sob story" of how anything he sends to America takes forever (i.e. 3-4 weeks) to be delivered, though nothing has ever been lost. Anywho, I am just glad they were sent.
Came home, we made dinner, watched some Scrubs (SUCH a good show) and then headed to Noerreport. I showed him Rosenborg and actually saw the castle from a different side. We walked down to Kongens Nytorv and then to Nyhavn and around the harbor to see the water way, the Opera house, the fountain near the Queen's garden and Amaliensborg (sp?), which is the official royal residence, though none of the royal family is currently staying there. Saw a big church and then walked back to Kgs. Nytorv to catch a bus home. It was a nice walk and I told him that was how I first saw Copenhagen: walking around for a couple hours. It is kind of ridiculous to think we're both in Copenhagen, just hanging out and walking around. Crazy.
We came back to the house and now I need to get to bed. I'm sure I am forgetting something that happened today but oh well. Hopefully I have time to write tomorrow but, if not, Thursday's will just be obscenely long. Oh wait, all my posts are really long. Stupid need to be rid of 5000+ words a day. :-P
Prayer requests are the same, especially my own health. And pray that my postcards don't get lost or too damaged too.
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Monday, July 27, 2009
Scientist to house wife--All in a day's work
Hello hello! Haha, I sound much more cheery than I felt earlier today. I was incredibly tired at work today. I couldn't shake it for some reason; guess the train adventure from yesterday really wore me out. Anyway, up around 6:30 and then, once ready for work, I made a rather large breakfast. This would have been good if Paul had been awake but I didn't think about that and he wasn't sooo it was a little wasted for the morning, but he did eat it all when he got up...at noon. :-P
Anywho, I went on my way and thankfully met Arkady for the regional train. I think my day would've been much "worse" if I hadn't run into him. I still wasn't nearly as perky as usual but it helped. He wanted to know when I would be bringing in more baked goods since I hadn't brought any today and had apparently said I would bake this past weekend. So I laughed and said before Friday I would bring something because he's leaving for Switzerland and he IS the one who lent me the baking forms.
I got started with my work once double checking a couple things with Esben and then spent my down time reading and researching different topics in catalysis. I don't know why I did since I've done it before but I learned quite a bit. Arkady came to get me for lunch and we got Esben and met Klas and Kresten. Lunch was rather quiet for me because the guys were talking about where Klas was going to live (he needs a new apartment like yesterday). I brought up going to the Hard Rock Cafe on Wednesday and that brought Paul's visit up and they all seemed a bit incredulous about him coming to spend the whole day at work. I know it shouldn't have but that actually really brought me down. It's true, he'd be bored and there's the "risk" of confidential information going the wrong place, but, yeah, just one of those days where things I know wouldn't normally bother me happen to bother me.
I decided to start a reaction around 1 which meant I wouldn't leave till after 4:30. Felt kind of necessary since I was going to ask to leave early Wednesday and come in late on Thursday. Before he left I was able to talk to Esben and he was all for me being able to leave early Wednesday and coming in late Thursday (I want to "take" Paul to the airport). Plus we talked about him maybe just coming for an hour or two around lunch time because otherwise he'd be bored and the whole risk thing. Anywho, I finally left around 5:15. That is the latest I've left work since my first week here. I got home around 6 and started making dinner. I had to run out to get a few things at the grocery store (guys eat a lot, nuf said) so I got my bike ride in. Oh was it rough! I haven't done the hill in quite a few days and was huffing when I got back. Plus the weird pain in my chest was back today, almost full force. Not sure what's up since it's been pretty non-existent the past week or two.
Dinner turned out pretty well. Burgers, bbq peppers, rolls, pears and brie, and an English Ale. We really just chilled. He'd only been up for like 6 hours and I was tired from the day. However, I was determined to make lemon bars. So guess what? I did. They are currently cooling and I am praying they taste decent. I felt like a little housewife because 1) I don't have measuring cups, 2)I don't have a blender and 3) well, it's not exactly my kitchen. All things that women "way back when" would have dealt with when baking. Plus I had to find a recipe that didn't have powdered sugar OR baking powder in it. Ha, I ended up just ignoring the baking powder in a recipe and going from there. They may not be as light and fluffy as they should be but the lemon juice was fresh (squeezing the lemons--THAT was fun!) so they should be plenty tart.
Anyway, enough about my baking escapades. Prayer requests. As I mentioned, the pain in my chest is back. I don't know why but it is a bit unnerving. "Pain" is a strong word but discomfort isn't quite strong enough. Please pray that the pain would go away or at least recede to a level that doesn't make me uneasy. Continue to pray for Paul as he recuperates and gets ready to head back. And please keep praying for the people I meet here and who I get to know.
The lemon bars came out well!! I just tried them, as did Paul and Yujie. The crust is a bit thick but other than that, they are pretty good. :-)
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Anywho, I went on my way and thankfully met Arkady for the regional train. I think my day would've been much "worse" if I hadn't run into him. I still wasn't nearly as perky as usual but it helped. He wanted to know when I would be bringing in more baked goods since I hadn't brought any today and had apparently said I would bake this past weekend. So I laughed and said before Friday I would bring something because he's leaving for Switzerland and he IS the one who lent me the baking forms.
I got started with my work once double checking a couple things with Esben and then spent my down time reading and researching different topics in catalysis. I don't know why I did since I've done it before but I learned quite a bit. Arkady came to get me for lunch and we got Esben and met Klas and Kresten. Lunch was rather quiet for me because the guys were talking about where Klas was going to live (he needs a new apartment like yesterday). I brought up going to the Hard Rock Cafe on Wednesday and that brought Paul's visit up and they all seemed a bit incredulous about him coming to spend the whole day at work. I know it shouldn't have but that actually really brought me down. It's true, he'd be bored and there's the "risk" of confidential information going the wrong place, but, yeah, just one of those days where things I know wouldn't normally bother me happen to bother me.
I decided to start a reaction around 1 which meant I wouldn't leave till after 4:30. Felt kind of necessary since I was going to ask to leave early Wednesday and come in late on Thursday. Before he left I was able to talk to Esben and he was all for me being able to leave early Wednesday and coming in late Thursday (I want to "take" Paul to the airport). Plus we talked about him maybe just coming for an hour or two around lunch time because otherwise he'd be bored and the whole risk thing. Anywho, I finally left around 5:15. That is the latest I've left work since my first week here. I got home around 6 and started making dinner. I had to run out to get a few things at the grocery store (guys eat a lot, nuf said) so I got my bike ride in. Oh was it rough! I haven't done the hill in quite a few days and was huffing when I got back. Plus the weird pain in my chest was back today, almost full force. Not sure what's up since it's been pretty non-existent the past week or two.
Dinner turned out pretty well. Burgers, bbq peppers, rolls, pears and brie, and an English Ale. We really just chilled. He'd only been up for like 6 hours and I was tired from the day. However, I was determined to make lemon bars. So guess what? I did. They are currently cooling and I am praying they taste decent. I felt like a little housewife because 1) I don't have measuring cups, 2)I don't have a blender and 3) well, it's not exactly my kitchen. All things that women "way back when" would have dealt with when baking. Plus I had to find a recipe that didn't have powdered sugar OR baking powder in it. Ha, I ended up just ignoring the baking powder in a recipe and going from there. They may not be as light and fluffy as they should be but the lemon juice was fresh (squeezing the lemons--THAT was fun!) so they should be plenty tart.
Anyway, enough about my baking escapades. Prayer requests. As I mentioned, the pain in my chest is back. I don't know why but it is a bit unnerving. "Pain" is a strong word but discomfort isn't quite strong enough. Please pray that the pain would go away or at least recede to a level that doesn't make me uneasy. Continue to pray for Paul as he recuperates and gets ready to head back. And please keep praying for the people I meet here and who I get to know.
The lemon bars came out well!! I just tried them, as did Paul and Yujie. The crust is a bit thick but other than that, they are pretty good. :-)
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Cleaning and a train adventure.
Today has been really very good. After going to bed incredibly late I slept till a little before ten, showered, and then cleaned. I cleaned up the bathroom as much as I could, cleaned my room (it was very much needed!) and vacuumed most of the house. I ate some food and got ready for church. I decided to take a risk and wear the blue dress I bought. It's very short by itself but with leggings it's not so bad. Plus I felt pretty good about how I looked. :-)
Left for church and made it in plenty of time. On my way to the bus stop a guy, who happened to be looking out his window, whistled and started talking to me. Because I had no idea what he was saying but could understand his tone and because I had my shades on, I simply smiled and said no and kept walking. Anywho, church was good but very very long. We had a interpretive dance by the Filipino women of the congregation as well as a testimony from a visitor. Then the pastor gave a sermon that was really two in one and went VERY long, though it was good. All about our Sovereign Lord and how we find success and blessing when we align our lives with God's purpose, depending upon him.
Funny it should be about depending on God to handle everything because, as soon as service was over, I booked it out of there so I could go get Paul from the airport. I got to Norreport Station and tried to buy a ticket only to have it not read my card--four times! Eventually I got help and headed to the train but I missed the one I originally wanted to take. Got on board at 2:58 and we were off. About 3:15 we were five minutes from the airport and the train stops. It starts to move again when sparks fly from the top of the train with a loud pop! One of the staff comes on over the PA but I can't understand anything beyond technical and problem. A German and a Dane were in the same car as me and none of us could understand what was being said because it was all Swedish! 25 minutes later the problem was solved and we were on our way to the airport. I practically ran to the ticket windows and found Paul and apologized profusely. He had been waiting a whole hour! Ah, not cool.
We headed down to catch a train back but everything was running late so we grabbed one to Kobenhavn H then waited 15 minutes for one to Hellerup. We missed the bus by 30 seconds and had to wait half an hour for the next one. We got to the house about 5:30--three hours after he'd landed! Ridiculous.
Yujie had invited some of the Chinese students over for dinner but they weren't there yet so Paul and I went to the grocery store to pick up food for his time here (drinks too). Headed back and the gang had arrived so we put the food away and had dinner. It was really good. Yujie made duck wings and pork dumplings as well as two noodle dishes. Then we finished off my fudge and the ice cream that they had brought.
After doing some dishes, Paul and I headed up to my room to "escape" and just relax. Now we're watching the Brewers game and just chilling. I will have to get to bed here in an hour or so because I do actually have to work tomorrow. :-)
Prayer requests remain the same but I'd add Paul. He's pretty exhausted mentally and looking forward to going home, though there's a lot for him to do between now and August 24th when he starts grad school. I also reconnected with one of the girls I accompanied for Solo and Ensemble at Hale and she's starting college in the fall and pretty nervous. So please pray for her too.
That's it for now. No baking, unfortunately, so I will probably have to get on that tomorrow since I don't have a ton of time left to make goodies for the guys at work. :-)
Have a great day/night/afternoon,
Bekah
Left for church and made it in plenty of time. On my way to the bus stop a guy, who happened to be looking out his window, whistled and started talking to me. Because I had no idea what he was saying but could understand his tone and because I had my shades on, I simply smiled and said no and kept walking. Anywho, church was good but very very long. We had a interpretive dance by the Filipino women of the congregation as well as a testimony from a visitor. Then the pastor gave a sermon that was really two in one and went VERY long, though it was good. All about our Sovereign Lord and how we find success and blessing when we align our lives with God's purpose, depending upon him.
Funny it should be about depending on God to handle everything because, as soon as service was over, I booked it out of there so I could go get Paul from the airport. I got to Norreport Station and tried to buy a ticket only to have it not read my card--four times! Eventually I got help and headed to the train but I missed the one I originally wanted to take. Got on board at 2:58 and we were off. About 3:15 we were five minutes from the airport and the train stops. It starts to move again when sparks fly from the top of the train with a loud pop! One of the staff comes on over the PA but I can't understand anything beyond technical and problem. A German and a Dane were in the same car as me and none of us could understand what was being said because it was all Swedish! 25 minutes later the problem was solved and we were on our way to the airport. I practically ran to the ticket windows and found Paul and apologized profusely. He had been waiting a whole hour! Ah, not cool.
We headed down to catch a train back but everything was running late so we grabbed one to Kobenhavn H then waited 15 minutes for one to Hellerup. We missed the bus by 30 seconds and had to wait half an hour for the next one. We got to the house about 5:30--three hours after he'd landed! Ridiculous.
Yujie had invited some of the Chinese students over for dinner but they weren't there yet so Paul and I went to the grocery store to pick up food for his time here (drinks too). Headed back and the gang had arrived so we put the food away and had dinner. It was really good. Yujie made duck wings and pork dumplings as well as two noodle dishes. Then we finished off my fudge and the ice cream that they had brought.
After doing some dishes, Paul and I headed up to my room to "escape" and just relax. Now we're watching the Brewers game and just chilling. I will have to get to bed here in an hour or so because I do actually have to work tomorrow. :-)
Prayer requests remain the same but I'd add Paul. He's pretty exhausted mentally and looking forward to going home, though there's a lot for him to do between now and August 24th when he starts grad school. I also reconnected with one of the girls I accompanied for Solo and Ensemble at Hale and she's starting college in the fall and pretty nervous. So please pray for her too.
That's it for now. No baking, unfortunately, so I will probably have to get on that tomorrow since I don't have a ton of time left to make goodies for the guys at work. :-)
Have a great day/night/afternoon,
Bekah
"I should be sleeping instead of keeping these late hours I've been keeping"
Haha, no, I'm not "love sick" but I should definitely be sleeping. However, wedding pictures were available for the Doty wedding and I couldn't resist reliving a wonderful and blessed experience like that. :-)
Today was great. Sleeping was a bit rough because my body apparently likes getting up at 6. So when I woke up at that terrible weekend hour I also discovered a fly was trapped in my room. Not a big deal except the buzzing was a bit annoying. I eventually fell asleep and got up around 8:30. Got ready and was off and at Hellerup to meet Brandon, Burcin and Patrick at 10. We were then off to Roskilde!
The drive was pretty good; we chatted the whole way. We made a stop at the Roskilde Cathedral and were lucky to arrive before 11 because that is when it closed today (there was a funeral or wedding or something going on after that). The cathedral was beautiful. We only had twenty minutes there but the tombs and detail and decoration were inspiring. From there we headed to the Viking Ship Museum. We were a bit disappointed in it on the whole but I'm glad we went. There were many replicates of different ships from the Viking Era and we all got a chance to try some archery. I missed the target all three times BUT I overshot in the same place twice, just above the target, and then aimed a bit too low on the other one. The kids who went before us all hit the target...we were a bit ashamed of our own performance. :-P
We decided to grab lunch at that point and I had a delicious salad with steamed salmon and lovely veggies. We also missed 4 or 5 short, but intense, rain showers while eating. Then we had a chance to see the actual museum. It was built for the sole purpose of displaying the excavated and preserved remains of 5 ships from the Viking period that were deliberately sunk (scuttled I think is the proper term) in one of the Fjords. Pretty cool. To preserve the wood pieces they were soaked in warm water and glycol was slowly added. Over time (some pieces took years!) the glycol replaced the water in the wood, preserving them. The long boat was the most impressive as far as size goes but few pieces had actually been recovered. Still, impressive on the whole.
While inside it poured again and we saw the tour right before ours rowing furiously to get back and out of the rain. None of us wanted to go on the tour if it was going to pour! But the weather was with us and we got into the boat, rowed out a bit, raised the sail and enjoyed the peaceful water. Rowing was pretty fun, though a bit tiring on the way back into the harbour. It's a full body workout, though, and, yeah, I would probably do it more often just for the physical benefits.
We made a stop at the gift shop and then were off, back to the downtown of Roskilde. We walked around, saw some giant flower vases and then headed back to Copenhagen. We picked up Thai take away and ate at Brandon and Burcin's place. It was great to hang out with other Americans because we "commiserated" on things that make us feel more foreign than usual and out of place. Most importantly, though, was that I could talk at whatever speed I wanted and say "normal" phrases and not have to explain them. I also got a lot of advice on furthering my studies, how industry works, and suggestions on how to get a Topsoe representative to come talk to AIChE. We also laughed about silly things Danes do or situations we'd found ourselves in to which only other foreigners could relate. Brandon then from Patrick to Hellerup and me home. I had planned on blogging and going straight to bed but, as I said, I looked at wedding pictures instead.
I also chatted with Paul, who at the moment is on a bus to Madrid to catch a plane here to Copenhagen. I'm pretty excited about that. But I need to get to sleep because I have some cleaning to do before Paul arrives, plus Yujie is having people over for dinner and the house needs a bit of cleaning.
My prayer requests remain the same but I add humility, open-mindedness (is that a word?) and grace. I add these mostly because it is easy to play the "pity me I'm a foreigner" card and to complain about the things that make you feel out of place but I really do like it here and want to fit in and give all Danes the benefit of the doubt. Living in the States we are very blessed. Yes, we have our issues and they are both global and national but overall diversity is key to our great nation, something that is not so easily embraced here abroad. At least, not in my Danish experience so far. Also pray that I would begin prepping for the impending job search. There are certain things I know I want and do not want in my future job but other things I have not even given a thought and they are probably going to be important.
Okay, time to sleep. Have a great day/night/afternoon!
Bekah
Today was great. Sleeping was a bit rough because my body apparently likes getting up at 6. So when I woke up at that terrible weekend hour I also discovered a fly was trapped in my room. Not a big deal except the buzzing was a bit annoying. I eventually fell asleep and got up around 8:30. Got ready and was off and at Hellerup to meet Brandon, Burcin and Patrick at 10. We were then off to Roskilde!
The drive was pretty good; we chatted the whole way. We made a stop at the Roskilde Cathedral and were lucky to arrive before 11 because that is when it closed today (there was a funeral or wedding or something going on after that). The cathedral was beautiful. We only had twenty minutes there but the tombs and detail and decoration were inspiring. From there we headed to the Viking Ship Museum. We were a bit disappointed in it on the whole but I'm glad we went. There were many replicates of different ships from the Viking Era and we all got a chance to try some archery. I missed the target all three times BUT I overshot in the same place twice, just above the target, and then aimed a bit too low on the other one. The kids who went before us all hit the target...we were a bit ashamed of our own performance. :-P
We decided to grab lunch at that point and I had a delicious salad with steamed salmon and lovely veggies. We also missed 4 or 5 short, but intense, rain showers while eating. Then we had a chance to see the actual museum. It was built for the sole purpose of displaying the excavated and preserved remains of 5 ships from the Viking period that were deliberately sunk (scuttled I think is the proper term) in one of the Fjords. Pretty cool. To preserve the wood pieces they were soaked in warm water and glycol was slowly added. Over time (some pieces took years!) the glycol replaced the water in the wood, preserving them. The long boat was the most impressive as far as size goes but few pieces had actually been recovered. Still, impressive on the whole.
While inside it poured again and we saw the tour right before ours rowing furiously to get back and out of the rain. None of us wanted to go on the tour if it was going to pour! But the weather was with us and we got into the boat, rowed out a bit, raised the sail and enjoyed the peaceful water. Rowing was pretty fun, though a bit tiring on the way back into the harbour. It's a full body workout, though, and, yeah, I would probably do it more often just for the physical benefits.
We made a stop at the gift shop and then were off, back to the downtown of Roskilde. We walked around, saw some giant flower vases and then headed back to Copenhagen. We picked up Thai take away and ate at Brandon and Burcin's place. It was great to hang out with other Americans because we "commiserated" on things that make us feel more foreign than usual and out of place. Most importantly, though, was that I could talk at whatever speed I wanted and say "normal" phrases and not have to explain them. I also got a lot of advice on furthering my studies, how industry works, and suggestions on how to get a Topsoe representative to come talk to AIChE. We also laughed about silly things Danes do or situations we'd found ourselves in to which only other foreigners could relate. Brandon then from Patrick to Hellerup and me home. I had planned on blogging and going straight to bed but, as I said, I looked at wedding pictures instead.
I also chatted with Paul, who at the moment is on a bus to Madrid to catch a plane here to Copenhagen. I'm pretty excited about that. But I need to get to sleep because I have some cleaning to do before Paul arrives, plus Yujie is having people over for dinner and the house needs a bit of cleaning.
My prayer requests remain the same but I add humility, open-mindedness (is that a word?) and grace. I add these mostly because it is easy to play the "pity me I'm a foreigner" card and to complain about the things that make you feel out of place but I really do like it here and want to fit in and give all Danes the benefit of the doubt. Living in the States we are very blessed. Yes, we have our issues and they are both global and national but overall diversity is key to our great nation, something that is not so easily embraced here abroad. At least, not in my Danish experience so far. Also pray that I would begin prepping for the impending job search. There are certain things I know I want and do not want in my future job but other things I have not even given a thought and they are probably going to be important.
Okay, time to sleep. Have a great day/night/afternoon!
Bekah
Friday, July 24, 2009
All on a Friday!
Haha, sorry, I don't have a clever title for this one. And I have quite a bit to say as it's going on 11:30 and I've been home for about 30 minutes since leaving for work this morning.
I did not go for a bike ride this morning because I wanted to get to work early to make sure I could get two reactions in for the day. Well, I left a little after 7:30 and got to work around 8:20. Oh, but before I go further, if the bread on sale looks like it has carrot pieces in it, it probably does. So just because it's on sale does NOT mean you should buy it to save 5 kroner. Just an fyi.
Anywho, once at work I got to work right away. Things took a little longer than I would've liked because glycerol takes forever to heat up. Esben nearly scared the pants off me when he came into lab because I wasn't expecting him till like 9 and it was 8:40. I spent little time at my desk as I was observing, finishing and analyzing reactions and products.
It was nearing lunch time and Anders, the guy who retaught me how to titrate, asked if I'd like to go to lunch. I said sure. Esben came to my desk not two minutes later and said he was going to lunch. I had to choose: eat with Esben or hold to what I'd said and eat with Anders and Mai Britt (the lab technician of our group). I decided to hold to what I'd said and Esben went off. Anders, Mai Britt and I headed to lunch 10-15 minutes later and, before we did, I prayed. And you know what? It was fine! I asked them about their work projects and once we had our food Mai Britt asked what the English words were for some of the veggies and the flying insects that kept coming to our table. We ended up sitting at the table next to Esben, Kresten and Matt but didn't really talk to them. I did learn that Anders actually lives over two hours away from Topsoe, on a little island. Because the distance is so great he is only there on the weekends and has an apartment here during the week. He makes dinner for his wife every Friday, the first day he is home, which I thought was sweet. I can't imagine living like that, though, where I would only see my husband for 3 days but I am not married nor that old so I can't really judge their choice. At one point while we were eating everyone was talking in Danish. Now, I am learning a word or two a day but because I have no Danish grammar skills it is hard to understand what people are saying. During those few minutes I really missed having Klas or Arkady around because they would have said something in English or at least also been quiet. But no big deal, really. On the way back Mai Britt and Anders taught me a couple words, velbekomme being the best. It is analogous to Bon apetit (sorry if I spelled that completely wrong). :-)
The afternoon was also pretty busy as I had more analysis to do and another reaction. I had time to sit at my computer, though, and I read up on some world news as well as updated spreadsheets and presentations. Arkady came to visit us in the lab to see if we'd want to go to the pub for a beer and some pool after work. We agreed we'd meet up a little after 4 to go. I successfully used the GCMS here by myself and got results. Oh, I also successfully broke a burette and funnel today. Yeah, that was fun. I was doing a titration and after refilling the burette went to take the funnel out and apparently hit the stand holding the burette and it went flying backwards into the hood and hit one of the bars on the back. The top of the burette broke off and the bottom of the funnel did too. Thankfully I didn't get cut or any NaOH on me. Still, I broke a burette. Poo on a stick.
After everything was shut down and Esben and I talked about the next set of reactions we'd try we met Arkady and headed to the pub. The "pub" is on the Topsoe grounds and really all it ended up being was a beer machine. Similar to a soda machine but it puts out glass beer bottles and has a can opener on it. I started out with the Tuborg Special I think and watched the first game of pool. I played the next one and won with Klas as my partner. I think I won the next game with Rashid as my partner (a new person I met today; his office is right next to Esben's and he did NOT go to DTU--a first!). One more game with Klas as my partner and we again won. Then I played one-on-one with Arkady. He kicked my butt the first game and I won by default on the second because he scratched on the 8-ball. Esben and Rashid had left by that time and Klas and Arkady invited me to go downtown to eat with them before they headed to the Friday night concert at Tivoli. They invited me to that as well but Tivoli is expensive and I do not have a year long card so it isn't exactly economical for me to go for a few hours on a Friday night. Anyway, we headed downtown in the rain and eventually decided to eat at Vesuvio of Copenhagen, a pizzaria. We had quite a bit of time to talk and they kept telling me to say something so I just started asking questions. I asked about their families, their favorite color and from there we talked about favorite music and movies and where I see myself in 5 or 10 years. It was really nice. The pizza I ordered was very good but I could only eat half of it. No worries, I had two grown men to finish the rest of it. :-) They then walked me to the train station and I headed home. When I reached Hellerup I realized I'd forgotten to get my postcards from Arkady; I'd given them to him to keep dry in his bag since it was raining. So now I won't be able to send them until Tuesday of next week--oops!
While I was waiting for the bus at Hellerup I heard some yelling, in English, and realized a very ticked off guy was yelling at a woman standing near the station sidewalk. It was somewhat obvious they were lost but I didn't really know what to do. As God would have it they eventually walked by me and I asked if they needed help. You should've seen the relief on their faces; the poor woman had been crying too. As I talked and tried to figure out where they wanted to go the guy all of a sudden asked me if I was from America. I said "Well, yeah." and also told them I was from WI. We traded stories as to why we are here in Denmark; turns out they are both interns at the US Embassy, which is pretty cool. I kind of helped them get to the right bus and then got on my own. I'm sure they got to Svanemollen safely. I then came home and here I am.
Tomorrow is my day adventure to Roskilde with Brandon, Burchin and Patrick. I'm meeting them at 10 so I need to head to bed. Today was very good, though. I thanked Arkady and Klas for inviting me out because I really did appreciate it. I am so blessed. I would do just about anything to increase the amount of time I am to be here because I myself feel more comfortable and I think my coworkers are also more comfortable. I cannot tell you how many times I said "Poo on a stick" or "Holy poo" while we were playing pool. And the funny things that were said because it was Friday and no one was fully thinking were priceless. Really, I am blessed to be here and enjoying it!
Please continue to pray for the health of my coworkers and myself. Pray for courage, patience and peace of mind for me. Pray for a safe day tomorrow as we are out and about in Roskilde. Thank you so much for praying or thinking about me!
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
I did not go for a bike ride this morning because I wanted to get to work early to make sure I could get two reactions in for the day. Well, I left a little after 7:30 and got to work around 8:20. Oh, but before I go further, if the bread on sale looks like it has carrot pieces in it, it probably does. So just because it's on sale does NOT mean you should buy it to save 5 kroner. Just an fyi.
Anywho, once at work I got to work right away. Things took a little longer than I would've liked because glycerol takes forever to heat up. Esben nearly scared the pants off me when he came into lab because I wasn't expecting him till like 9 and it was 8:40. I spent little time at my desk as I was observing, finishing and analyzing reactions and products.
It was nearing lunch time and Anders, the guy who retaught me how to titrate, asked if I'd like to go to lunch. I said sure. Esben came to my desk not two minutes later and said he was going to lunch. I had to choose: eat with Esben or hold to what I'd said and eat with Anders and Mai Britt (the lab technician of our group). I decided to hold to what I'd said and Esben went off. Anders, Mai Britt and I headed to lunch 10-15 minutes later and, before we did, I prayed. And you know what? It was fine! I asked them about their work projects and once we had our food Mai Britt asked what the English words were for some of the veggies and the flying insects that kept coming to our table. We ended up sitting at the table next to Esben, Kresten and Matt but didn't really talk to them. I did learn that Anders actually lives over two hours away from Topsoe, on a little island. Because the distance is so great he is only there on the weekends and has an apartment here during the week. He makes dinner for his wife every Friday, the first day he is home, which I thought was sweet. I can't imagine living like that, though, where I would only see my husband for 3 days but I am not married nor that old so I can't really judge their choice. At one point while we were eating everyone was talking in Danish. Now, I am learning a word or two a day but because I have no Danish grammar skills it is hard to understand what people are saying. During those few minutes I really missed having Klas or Arkady around because they would have said something in English or at least also been quiet. But no big deal, really. On the way back Mai Britt and Anders taught me a couple words, velbekomme being the best. It is analogous to Bon apetit (sorry if I spelled that completely wrong). :-)
The afternoon was also pretty busy as I had more analysis to do and another reaction. I had time to sit at my computer, though, and I read up on some world news as well as updated spreadsheets and presentations. Arkady came to visit us in the lab to see if we'd want to go to the pub for a beer and some pool after work. We agreed we'd meet up a little after 4 to go. I successfully used the GCMS here by myself and got results. Oh, I also successfully broke a burette and funnel today. Yeah, that was fun. I was doing a titration and after refilling the burette went to take the funnel out and apparently hit the stand holding the burette and it went flying backwards into the hood and hit one of the bars on the back. The top of the burette broke off and the bottom of the funnel did too. Thankfully I didn't get cut or any NaOH on me. Still, I broke a burette. Poo on a stick.
After everything was shut down and Esben and I talked about the next set of reactions we'd try we met Arkady and headed to the pub. The "pub" is on the Topsoe grounds and really all it ended up being was a beer machine. Similar to a soda machine but it puts out glass beer bottles and has a can opener on it. I started out with the Tuborg Special I think and watched the first game of pool. I played the next one and won with Klas as my partner. I think I won the next game with Rashid as my partner (a new person I met today; his office is right next to Esben's and he did NOT go to DTU--a first!). One more game with Klas as my partner and we again won. Then I played one-on-one with Arkady. He kicked my butt the first game and I won by default on the second because he scratched on the 8-ball. Esben and Rashid had left by that time and Klas and Arkady invited me to go downtown to eat with them before they headed to the Friday night concert at Tivoli. They invited me to that as well but Tivoli is expensive and I do not have a year long card so it isn't exactly economical for me to go for a few hours on a Friday night. Anyway, we headed downtown in the rain and eventually decided to eat at Vesuvio of Copenhagen, a pizzaria. We had quite a bit of time to talk and they kept telling me to say something so I just started asking questions. I asked about their families, their favorite color and from there we talked about favorite music and movies and where I see myself in 5 or 10 years. It was really nice. The pizza I ordered was very good but I could only eat half of it. No worries, I had two grown men to finish the rest of it. :-) They then walked me to the train station and I headed home. When I reached Hellerup I realized I'd forgotten to get my postcards from Arkady; I'd given them to him to keep dry in his bag since it was raining. So now I won't be able to send them until Tuesday of next week--oops!
While I was waiting for the bus at Hellerup I heard some yelling, in English, and realized a very ticked off guy was yelling at a woman standing near the station sidewalk. It was somewhat obvious they were lost but I didn't really know what to do. As God would have it they eventually walked by me and I asked if they needed help. You should've seen the relief on their faces; the poor woman had been crying too. As I talked and tried to figure out where they wanted to go the guy all of a sudden asked me if I was from America. I said "Well, yeah." and also told them I was from WI. We traded stories as to why we are here in Denmark; turns out they are both interns at the US Embassy, which is pretty cool. I kind of helped them get to the right bus and then got on my own. I'm sure they got to Svanemollen safely. I then came home and here I am.
Tomorrow is my day adventure to Roskilde with Brandon, Burchin and Patrick. I'm meeting them at 10 so I need to head to bed. Today was very good, though. I thanked Arkady and Klas for inviting me out because I really did appreciate it. I am so blessed. I would do just about anything to increase the amount of time I am to be here because I myself feel more comfortable and I think my coworkers are also more comfortable. I cannot tell you how many times I said "Poo on a stick" or "Holy poo" while we were playing pool. And the funny things that were said because it was Friday and no one was fully thinking were priceless. Really, I am blessed to be here and enjoying it!
Please continue to pray for the health of my coworkers and myself. Pray for courage, patience and peace of mind for me. Pray for a safe day tomorrow as we are out and about in Roskilde. Thank you so much for praying or thinking about me!
Have a great night/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Busy and Happy...but also a Lazy Bum!
Hmm, I am a lazy bum. Haha! Why? Because I don't do anything but make dinner and watch TV after work. :-)
Anywho, today was good. I did not bike this morning because I wanted to sleep 15 more minutes. Yeah, I know it's only been a week and I'm already shirking the morning ride. I did miss it, actually. But then I realized it was raining, not that rain would be a huge deterrent but it was support enough for sleeping in. :-) The rain had basically stopped when I left for work but I brought my umbrella and off I went. I was in the lab and working by 8:35. That's ridiculously early, people. And tomorrow I hope to be there even earlier, so I won't ride in the morning either. But anyway, I had to wait until reactions were finished and took the time to type up all the postcards I'd written just in case they get wet and are unreadable. I talked to Burcin today and I'm going to send all the postcards on Saturday before we leave for Roskilde--I hope the ones destined for CA make it before the girls leave!
Once my supervisor got to work I was in the lab the rest of the morning with little to no time at my desk. I loved it! I love being busy and productive and I have actually been given work on a 2nd project, though it's not really "my" project. :-) Arkady came to get me in the lab but I had to go get money so he went ahead with Kresten and Esben and I followed. Lunch was rather quiet. Klas ate with his group (I think) and Kresten sat at the table next to us with another coworker. Arkady asked what I had baked for them today and I had to tell him they would have to wait till next week for more sweets. I'm hoping I can attempt lemon bars on Sunday once Paul is safely here. We shall see! On the way back to work Arkady asked why I had bought a dress here if I had no reason to wear it, quickly followed by his comment that "but women just buy things, right?" I had to laugh and somewhat explain I'd been in the mood to buy something blue but I didn't say that it was "European" and I bought it as a risk in fashion and a memory of what I'd seen here. I had a feeling a guy wouldn't appreciate that as much as my girlfriends. :-)
After lunch was just a busy as the morning but I did get time at my desk. In fact, when I did get the chance to sit I found the tupperware I'd accidentally left with Arkady yesterday sitting on my desk with the note: "Tusind tak!" Even I could figure that one out. So I IMed him the Danish for "You're welcome" and he messaged back, in Danish, that I could speak Danish! "nej" I wrote, "I looked it up." It was probably funnier in the moment. But later, when I was getting help from Esben with some analysis I did ask the Danish words for How (Hvordan), what (hvilket) and why (I don't remember this one at the moment and may have mixed up what and why). Now all I need is some grammar lessons and I might actually be able to form sentences on my own. Who knows, maybe I will learn a bit more Danish yet!
Once everything was in order I knew I could leave for the day. So I left about 4:30, got home in a light drizzle, and decided to bike to the grocery store because I needed pasta and bread. As usual I bought much more than that, including brie and blue cheeses, tomatoes, and salami. I spend too much money on food, especially when I convince myself it's all for experimentation. Anyway, when I left it was raining. Not pouring, thankfully, but I was very wet when I got home. Biking uphill wasn't wonderful but it did feel good to be biking.
Got home, dried off, checked e-mail then made dinner. I had a hankering for shrimp and the kaffir og ginger marinade I have so I had some shrimp with pasta and then a pear with brie. The two dishes do NOT blend well together but on their own they were both delicious! I also put some of my fudge on the pear slices and that was delightful too. Sometimes experiments turn out well.
I really did nothing else except watch TV on my computer and chat with a few people. If I'm going to get to work early tomorrow I need to get to bed. Why so early? I want to get a lot done tomorrow without staying late or possibly not doing more work because my supervisor will be gone. And with Paul coming next week I may ask to leave a bit earlier in the day so there's time to sight see and whatnot.
Prayer requests remain the same. Nothing really new to ask at the moment. Maybe for my lemon bars? Haha, I do not jest but that is a bit ridiculous. I am sure I am forgetting some small things from throughout the day that I may or may not remember at some point. It is hard to remember all the little things sometimes, though when they occur they instantly brighten my day.
Have a wonderful evening/day/afternoon,
Bekah
Anywho, today was good. I did not bike this morning because I wanted to sleep 15 more minutes. Yeah, I know it's only been a week and I'm already shirking the morning ride. I did miss it, actually. But then I realized it was raining, not that rain would be a huge deterrent but it was support enough for sleeping in. :-) The rain had basically stopped when I left for work but I brought my umbrella and off I went. I was in the lab and working by 8:35. That's ridiculously early, people. And tomorrow I hope to be there even earlier, so I won't ride in the morning either. But anyway, I had to wait until reactions were finished and took the time to type up all the postcards I'd written just in case they get wet and are unreadable. I talked to Burcin today and I'm going to send all the postcards on Saturday before we leave for Roskilde--I hope the ones destined for CA make it before the girls leave!
Once my supervisor got to work I was in the lab the rest of the morning with little to no time at my desk. I loved it! I love being busy and productive and I have actually been given work on a 2nd project, though it's not really "my" project. :-) Arkady came to get me in the lab but I had to go get money so he went ahead with Kresten and Esben and I followed. Lunch was rather quiet. Klas ate with his group (I think) and Kresten sat at the table next to us with another coworker. Arkady asked what I had baked for them today and I had to tell him they would have to wait till next week for more sweets. I'm hoping I can attempt lemon bars on Sunday once Paul is safely here. We shall see! On the way back to work Arkady asked why I had bought a dress here if I had no reason to wear it, quickly followed by his comment that "but women just buy things, right?" I had to laugh and somewhat explain I'd been in the mood to buy something blue but I didn't say that it was "European" and I bought it as a risk in fashion and a memory of what I'd seen here. I had a feeling a guy wouldn't appreciate that as much as my girlfriends. :-)
After lunch was just a busy as the morning but I did get time at my desk. In fact, when I did get the chance to sit I found the tupperware I'd accidentally left with Arkady yesterday sitting on my desk with the note: "Tusind tak!" Even I could figure that one out. So I IMed him the Danish for "You're welcome" and he messaged back, in Danish, that I could speak Danish! "nej" I wrote, "I looked it up." It was probably funnier in the moment. But later, when I was getting help from Esben with some analysis I did ask the Danish words for How (Hvordan), what (hvilket) and why (I don't remember this one at the moment and may have mixed up what and why). Now all I need is some grammar lessons and I might actually be able to form sentences on my own. Who knows, maybe I will learn a bit more Danish yet!
Once everything was in order I knew I could leave for the day. So I left about 4:30, got home in a light drizzle, and decided to bike to the grocery store because I needed pasta and bread. As usual I bought much more than that, including brie and blue cheeses, tomatoes, and salami. I spend too much money on food, especially when I convince myself it's all for experimentation. Anyway, when I left it was raining. Not pouring, thankfully, but I was very wet when I got home. Biking uphill wasn't wonderful but it did feel good to be biking.
Got home, dried off, checked e-mail then made dinner. I had a hankering for shrimp and the kaffir og ginger marinade I have so I had some shrimp with pasta and then a pear with brie. The two dishes do NOT blend well together but on their own they were both delicious! I also put some of my fudge on the pear slices and that was delightful too. Sometimes experiments turn out well.
I really did nothing else except watch TV on my computer and chat with a few people. If I'm going to get to work early tomorrow I need to get to bed. Why so early? I want to get a lot done tomorrow without staying late or possibly not doing more work because my supervisor will be gone. And with Paul coming next week I may ask to leave a bit earlier in the day so there's time to sight see and whatnot.
Prayer requests remain the same. Nothing really new to ask at the moment. Maybe for my lemon bars? Haha, I do not jest but that is a bit ridiculous. I am sure I am forgetting some small things from throughout the day that I may or may not remember at some point. It is hard to remember all the little things sometimes, though when they occur they instantly brighten my day.
Have a wonderful evening/day/afternoon,
Bekah
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