Danish Dogs

Over the past few days I've found myself thinking often about the employees at Steff's Place. For those who don't know, Steff's Place is the hot dog stand at the far end of terminal 3 of the Copenhagen Airport and by far the only reasonably priced place to eat in the entire building. If you've flown through CPH you know exactly the place I'm talking about, and if you don't, you should. For those mock-gagging themselves at the thought of eating a hot dog, you're either vegetarian (in which case I make no attempt to understand you), or you obviously haven't yet had a Danish dog.

Let me put it another way: Danish hot dogs are, without a doubt, superior to all other hot dogs. So superior in fact, that non-hot-dogs-eaters such as myself convert almost instantaneously at the smell of salty grease wafting from the funny little wheeled huts stationed on street corners throughout the city at all times of the year, rain, shine or snow. Danes love their hot dogs and it's no mystery why. First of all, they're delicious. Secondly, cheap. And not least, you can walk straight from the bar, pub, club or bodega and buy them at 3 in the morning when nothing else in the heart of the country's capital (and Scandinavia's largest city) is open.

But enough about the sausages. If you don't believe me, you can ask a Dane about them. That'll give you an objective opinion on the matter for sure ;) But seriously, the original point of this post was about Steff's Place, and the people that keep it going.

What I wanted to say was that they are probably the most under-respected staff in the airport. As someone who spent a great deal of time watching all the busy, and the not-so-busy, bees run the airport, I can honestly say that if I had to choose from the airside retail/restaurant staff, these are the people with whom I would want to be stranded on a deserted island, and not say, their cafe neighbours. While their colleagues at other venues goof around, they maintain a sense of humour and fun. When others drop a glass and leave it for someone else, they simply clean it up. While their neighbors receive visitors with screams and shrieks, leaving a long line of angry customers to wait, they continue to serve their patrons quickly and efficiently until they have a natural break. To the best of my knowledge, the same cannot be said about any other shop in the airport.

And now to end this most-random post: Next time you're satisfying your craving for salt and grease while waiting for your gate to be announced, please, just smile a little wider, and really mean it when you say "tak".

and an african update

Well, two things: I've got my visa for Benin now, so all that's left to do is get the plane tickets. And secondly, now I know for sure that I will have internet access from home in Africa, which means that I'll actually be able to maintain regular contact with the rest of the world. #Insert sigh of relief here.#

4 hrs, 54 min, 56 sec... 42.195 km!

Exactly one week ago, almost to the minute, I finished the Copenhagen Marathon. Scratch that one off the list of life goals. I have to admit, after training for only two months, I was more than a little shocked to reach the end within my 5 hour goal, and with enough energy left to walk to Central Station. In fact, I think I probably could have finished 15 to 20 minutes sooner if I were a bit more experienced at judging my enegry levels. But that's not to say I'm not pleased. Honestly, I was just hoping to finish. Wait, not even. I was just hoping to have the guts to show up on race-day. And I think that if I hadn't told so many people of my plan to run, I might not have. Well, that and the fact that I paid 500 DKK to enter. So thank you to all who believed in me. And thank you even more to all those who didn't. Nothing's more motivational than the opportunity to prove people wrong.

Really though, it just felt like a very long run. A very long run with a whole lot of other people cutting you off for the first couple of hours. Ha, ha! First couple of hours. Sounds funny, doesn't it? And I reached the end thinking, "Okay, it's over now," and it took full a minute or longer for the impact of it all to properly sink in. And then I thought, "This definitely isn't going to become a habit," but now I'm catching myself googling marathons in Africa. Maybe I'm getting a little ahead of myself here. These things happen one step at a time after all.

It's a beautiful day in the neighbourhood... won't you be my neighbour?

Last night T and I moved back into the kollegium as the flat's been sold and we're basically homeless until we reach Benin. While this is just a temporary residence, I already miss sleeping on a properly-sized bed (two people on a 90 x 200 isn't so fun... how did we do that for two months???) and having my own kitchen. There will be no more eating breakfast in my pyjamas, experimental cooking I would never try in front of someone else, or making a dozen brownies that last more than 5 minutes. I understand Gondul's longing for her old life in Frederiksberg in a whole new light now.

But at the same time, it's kind of nice to be back amongst all my friends during my last few days in Denmark. And the school is only a 5 minute walk away, meaning that I might actually get some work done. Besides, it just feels right to be back here again, ending this whole experience where it began. There's something about moving back into Grønjords that has made it really hit home that I'm going to be leaving this all behind, saying goodbye to all the people that have made the last two years special - well, all except for one, of course. And I miss everyone already. But I guess I shouldn't be too melancholy; it sounds like I've talked many of them into coming to visit :-) See you tonight at Tivoli!

It's all good.

Random thought (or maybe not so random...) on the nature of the world and we within it:

Life has this funny way of knowing what's best for us even when we don't. Sometimes it takes a few minutes for our feeble little minds to catch up.

Okay, I'm obviously not very good at this... yet

After a couple of months of not writing - wait, no, several months without a word - it's become clear to me that I'm obviously not very good at this whole blogging thing. But that's got to change, and fast, because in less than a month this blog will be one of my only means of staying connected to the "real" world and all the people I once knew within it.

Announcement: I'm moving to Africa. Africa? Yes, Africa. Why? Why Not. Well, that and there's this Danish guy I'm rather quite fond of (you may have heard) and he's taking me with him... :-)

While this is going to be adventurous, fun and exciting and all that, I'm not delusional about how hard it's going to be. I see many lonely hours ahead of me in a country where I can't yet communicate with anyone and I spend most of my day at home in a big empty flat, worrying about whether or not I have malaria.

So I think I'll fill the time, or at least some of it, by telling you all about the voodoo nonsense I just witnessed at the market, or how awkward it is to have a cook/maid (apparently she kind of comes with the place) that you can't even speak to, and how hot, hot, HOT it is outside.

At least I'll have my thesis to keep me company. Might have to follow kimananda's lead and name him. I'm going to need a friend. And I suppose I'll also have French. Now there's a challenge.

But for now, it's vaccinations (Tetanus, Hep A, Typhoid, Yellow Fever, Meningitis, and Cholera all in one day), visas, plane tickets, and packing. Oh, and of course, worrying. Worrying incessantly about things I have absolutely no control over. At least then you're mentally prepared :)