tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-68442814793551048532024-02-18T17:45:41.661-08:00Global Cultures in Context 2013Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-27511680819334497172013-08-30T03:27:00.000-07:002013-08-30T03:28:30.042-07:00It's a wrap.As I sit in my bedroom looking at photos, I can't help but smile when I think of all that has transpired within the last 23 days. It's hard to believe around this time 24 hours ago, we were still in Norway. Actually, that probably explains why I am having a hard time going to sleep right now. Imagine that!<br />
<br />
There is no better teacher than experience. To be frank, there are things one can not learn via dictation, reading, or even taking someone else's word for it. You simply have to experience it for yourself. For me, this study tour put a face to that saying. Having the opportunity to live what we were learning took the retention and application of the material to another level. If you ask me, that is the most effective way to educate young people: by exposing us and allowing us to think and draw conclusions ourselves.<br />
<br />
For me, this trip has been a time of growth not just in my knowledge about Islam, my waist size, or my hair, but of my honors classmates as well. I learned something new about each and every person that I did not know about them prior to our departure from the United States. I am very proud to say, without bias, that the La Sierra University Honors program is comprised of some truly amazing students, all with great personalities, brains, and hearts to match. I will forever cherish the memories made, and friendships formed with all of them, and can not wait to see what God does with and through them in the near future.<br />
<br />
All in all, this study tour was awesome. There is no other way I would have preferred to spend my first time out of the United States. And for this reason, I will go to sleep with a song in my heart, and a smile on my face.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16433914219582696481noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-74798019647075496912013-08-29T16:42:00.000-07:002013-08-29T16:42:33.329-07:00A Scream for Peace <div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751386656611816862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-80614726212943860222013-08-27T14:36:00.002-07:002013-08-27T14:36:34.117-07:00We saw Kristel tonight!One of the reasons we were interested in coming to Norway (besides looking at the impact of the July 22, 2011 terrorism incident on the Norwegian people and on how they relate to Muslims), was that one of our former graduates, Kristel Tonstad, works here in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Kristel graduated from the Honors Program at La Sierra University in 2004 and has has had a long interest in international affairs and the Middle East. She came to meet us at dinner tonight and talked with us for quite a while about current affairs in Norway, the impact of the July 22 incident, and her own shared interests with us.<br />
<br />
Earlier in the day today we had walked around downtown and came upon an area where a number of government buildings were boarded up and those that were still in partial operation had high security entrances. I was suspicious that this might be the area Breivik set off the bomb in 2011, but it looked like there was too much damage. We confirmed tonight with Kristel that this was the site of the bombing. Because there were only 8 casualties in Oslo, I hadn't expected the bomb damage to be so extensive. Kristel told us, though, that the reason the casualties were so low was that the bomb went off on a Friday afternoon in the summer, and almost no one is still at work after 3 pm on Friday afternoon in the summer in Oslo. The casualties would have been much, much higher if the incident had occurred in the morning and/or in another season of the year. I think this part of the story was lost in the American media. I know that after the carnage at the youth camp the bombing was secondary in most people's minds, but I was still shocked to see how extensive the damage actually was. It was clear to me that the bomb was much bigger than I realized. Also, although the foreign media immediately assumed the violence was from Islamic terrorists, Kristel said that locals knew right away that this had to be a local incident because the youth camp on the island where Breivik later attacked the young people was very much a locally-featured and locally-known event of the labor party. It was recognized as symbolic by the local community, but the international community would not have seen it as a significant target, because it was a feature of domestic rather than international politics. The report on the government and police response to the incident recently came out, and it reflected negatively on the preparedness of the government for such an event. There were a number of failures on a national and local level which allowed the event to be much more lethal and uncontrolled than it should have been. Kristel talked with us about the elections coming up in two weeks, and said that because of the report on the government failures, no one expects the current government to be able to continue, but there is a lot of uncertainty about who exactly will end up being part of a coalition government. There is a very anti-immigrant party as part of the ruling coalition in Denmark right now, and Norway doesn't have a party like this that is strong enough to get into power, but it's unclear exactly who will emerge as part of the next government and how that will affect the national stance toward immigrants and openness to foreigners. <br />
<br />
I think hearing Kristel's memories of what she was doing and how she and people around her reacted at the time of the July 22 events helped the students to put them into a more personal perspective. We will meet with her again tomorrow afternoon and are looking forward to talking with a researcher here who studies the role of Muslims in the Norwegian community.<br />
<br />
Today the students were assigned to choose one of three museums to go to. A number of them went to the Nobel Peace Prize Museum, which sounded very interesting. They reported back on what they had learned about the history of the prize, various efforts for peace in the world, and how the Nobel Prizes developed. Another group of students went to the Jewish Museum here, which is what my family did as well. The Jewish Museum is a history of the fate of the Jews living in Norway at the time of the Nazi occupation. As we've been studying religious minorities and how these groups are perceived by majority groups in Europe, it's been very interesting to compare what happened to the Jews in various countries and consider that in light of how the Muslim religious minority is perceived today. As in Denmark, many of the Jews of Norway took refuge in Sweden if they could get there, and the Swedes' openness to assisting these refugees was vital to their survival. Unlike in Denmark, though, the Norwegian Jews who were unable to escape to Sweden did not receive the widespread support of the general population, and in fact in many cases they were betrayed by neighbors. Clearly this happened in many places, but it has been interesting for us to discuss the various factors that contribute to creating situations in which people help those who they perceive to be different from them vs situations in which people turn their backs on others. I wish we had more time here to visit the Norwegian Resistance Museum and the Intercultural Museum. As we look at historical reactions to religious and ethnic minorities and the types of reactions we see to Muslims now, it's been interesting to see similarities and differences. Muslims certainly seem to be perceived as being "different" from previous stigmatized groups, but some of our reading has made clear just how similarly people have reacted to previous waves of Jewish and Catholic immigrants. <br />
<br />
Having previously studied the French situation, we are able to look at ongoing events in France in new ways. We talked today about the defenstration (apparently a suicide attempt) of a young Muslim woman in the outskirts of Paris, after police harassment claiming she had filed a wrongful report of discrimination. We also discussed today reactions to Lady Gaga's new song about the burqa and the report of the UN weapons inspectors in Syria confirming chemical weapon use there. Although we have not had as many opportunities to spend a sustained amount of time with individual Muslims as we do in Turkey, the chain of people we've met and their reactions to and opinions about the situation of Muslims in Europe has definitely impacted us. <br />
<br />
We are enjoying Oslo and our apartments are very nice and convenient to everything, and are also very close to where Kristel lives, which is nice. <br />
<br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-53596406945781866602013-08-26T22:34:00.001-07:002013-08-26T22:37:41.032-07:00 Well, hello from Norway. Sorry we (this is a joint post by Katy and Laura) are posting a little late. In the past day we have been in Denmark, in Norway, and on a cruise boat somewhere in between the two. Traveling can knock the energy right out of you! But so far, we approve of Oslo!<br />
Reasons:<br />
1. They have delicious, salty green soup! This soup was the perfect thing to enjoy after being cold and hungry for a couple of hours.<br />
2. They have good French onion soup. Its caramelized onions and thin broth far surpasses the overly creamy, cheesy thing Laura experienced in Brussels.<br />
3. Their sweater shops are beautiful and depressing. Beautiful, because these are the most fine, soft, ornate, lust-worthy sweaters known to man, and depressing because they cost about 1,908 Norwegian crowns. Which means we will never be able to afford them. :(<br />
4. People think Laura and I are Norwegian. People at the grocery store, the restaurant, the yogurt shop--they start talking to us in Norwegian, and when we look confused and say, "What?" they try to re-explain what they said...in Norwegian. After a red-faced, "I'm sorry. We don't speak Norwegian," they smile and quickly switch to perfectly fluent English.<br />
5. The entire city of Oslo, which is the largest in Norway, has a population of about 600,000, which is only twice the size of Riverside! Though this population is packed into a small area, Oslo gives off a peaceful, quiet feel.<br />
6. Munch! As in the artist from Norway (I'm pretty sure his name has little dots in it somewhere but I have no idea how to enter them). They are having the Munch 150 exhibit here in Oslo. I (Katy) went to see the exhibit yesterday and was surprised at what a versatile artist he was. He was able to paint in many styles, including realist, impressionist, and modernist. While some of the works were disturbing, it was exciting to see the collection, which had pieces borrowed from museums across the world.<br />
<br />
We have yet to assess what we think of the running routes here in Norway. We are about to head out on our eight mile adventure and are sure to get lost! Only two more days of running in foreign countries before we can return to our routes in California. Katy and I are proud of ourselves for running every single day of this trip (except for our two rest days per week), and we know our running habits will help us deal with jet lag once we endure the long flights back to California on Thursday.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06899201807752748724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-63976898781919402342013-08-26T14:00:00.003-07:002013-08-26T14:00:40.777-07:00Farewell, Copenhagen
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<br />
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Hello this is Pupae and Daniella, the roomies! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(we’ll be using 3<sup>rd</sup> person sometimes in this
entry because this is a joint blog)<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
So, this is our last day in Copenhagen, Denmark and also the
first day we decided different things (for half an hour). Daniella went to the
gym with some of the girls and to the sauna at our fancy hotel called
“Scandic.” We met for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. The breakfast was really great and
fancy. We had a couple of hours before we had to check-out, so Ashlee joined us
to a walk to the National Museum to see the Viking exhibition. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
At the Viking exhibits, we saw lots of antique artifacts,
saw the life-sized Viking boat, learned some interesting things about Vikings,
and tried on the Viking helmet. Did you know that Vikings filed their teeth as
a fashion statement? <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After the exhibit we power walked back to the hotel area and
had lunch at Luna’s Café with Barbara and Chloe. Daniella had a veggie wrap and
Pupae had Roma pasta. By the time we finished eating lunch, it was time to
leave the hotel and head to the ferry (mini cruise) dock. The ferry was bigger
than we thought. However, we were so shocked and amazed at the overall
experience here the cruise. After exploring the cruise, a group of us decided
to sit in the café area. While reading our textbooks, we sipped beautifully
decorated lattes and overlooked at the ocean. Then, we had a buffet dinner and
class. Now we’re all really tired, so now we are going to bad. Sadly, we are in
separate rooms today. <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is Daniella and Pupae signing off. Good night! <o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
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P.S. There’s a Jacuzzi on the cruise! But it was too late so
we didn’t get to go. <span style="font-family: Wingdings; mso-ascii-font-family: Cambria; mso-ascii-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-char-type: symbol; mso-hansi-font-family: Cambria; mso-hansi-theme-font: minor-latin; mso-symbol-font-family: Wingdings;">L</span>
<o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731883787440276222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-21781196677858592522013-08-26T07:02:00.002-07:002013-08-26T07:03:13.313-07:00Netherlands and Denmark<div class="MsoNormal">
I wrote most of this post when we were traveling from
Belgium to the Netherlands and back, but haven’t had a chance to post it, so
I’m doing that now, completely out of order.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ve had some difficulties with internet access in the last few places
we stayed, and my MacBook Air has always had problems with staying online (is
“searching for networks” a familiar phrase for anyone else – it’s seems to be a
consistent problem reported with this series of computers, but Apple doesn’t
seem to have addressed it effectively).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In any case, a week ago we went to the University of Leiden
to meet with a Dutch colleague of Paul’s, Colette van Laar.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She is a social psychologist who studies
intergroup relations, specifically focusing on stigmas and discrimination between
societal groups that differ in terms of ethnicity, religion, national origin,
etc.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>She was quite surprised to find
that we had made a day trip to the Netherlands to see her.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Apparently for most Europeans, the idea of
traveling two hours, and to an entirely different country as a day trip to
visit someone is quite remarkable.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In
California it can easily take two hours to reach West LA from Riverside, and
it’s not too unusual to have school trips that are that far away.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For us, of course, the idea of traveling to
an entirely different country seems like a big trip too, but one has to drive
much further in most of the US to reach another country.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Somehow I had the idea that the because so
many of the European countries are small and close together, it would not seem
strange to them to go back and forth.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Perhaps
the psychological barriers around crossing borders and changing cultures are
not so different here than they are at home.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span><o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I think most of us enjoyed the fact of visiting the
Netherlands almost as much as the actual things we did.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s true that the part of the Netherlands we
went through is full of windmills, but they are not the stereotypical old-style
Dutch windmills that we picture.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Wind
power still seems very significant, but almost all the windmills we saw were
the modern style with a white pillar and a set of blades mounted near the
top.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These are very similar to the ones
a Californian would see going over the Altamont Pass (if this means anything to
anyone) or in the desert near Palm Springs.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>As we’ve traveled to Denmark and now Norway, we keep seeing these
windmills and observing that the presence of the windmills is one of the big
differences between the US and these countries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>There seems to be a significant objection to windmills in the US (often
of the “not in my backyard” variety), and it’s kind of puzzling to me why
people object so strongly.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>My leaning is
to say that it has something to do with oil and gas lobbying power, but I still
find it odd.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s weird to me that we
are less concerned about off-shore oil rigs that periodically leak and cause
major spills than we are about windmills off shore blocking the view of more
ocean.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We are coming to enjoy seeing
the windmills out into the ocean here.<o:p></o:p></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
The countryside in the Netherlands struck me as looking very
much like a Playmobil set.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For those
who haven’t seen Playmobil toys, they are a little like Legos, but Legos are
more free-form, in the sense that you can make anything with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Playmobil sets tend to include specifically
shaped pieces to make specific objects and people.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There are houses, vehicles, people in varied
historical dress, etc, and all look neatly groomed and perfect.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>The Netherlands looked like that to me.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It was almost like a storybook: a little too
neat and organized and perfect.<o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdkYe278gB_Q9NAktHOP9XHI5r-gy-nyWdtqV3ZY2AAuAco1SKGyvy_s77HEtSpaUnrRtVp_muJ3m5hQx5es2_yijKv1cRy6dxNbyzBGv6OzCgya3vSDnaKlu_J9xeXDLeBE7ufBAawA/s1600/IMG_2638+-+walleroo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWdkYe278gB_Q9NAktHOP9XHI5r-gy-nyWdtqV3ZY2AAuAco1SKGyvy_s77HEtSpaUnrRtVp_muJ3m5hQx5es2_yijKv1cRy6dxNbyzBGv6OzCgya3vSDnaKlu_J9xeXDLeBE7ufBAawA/s400/IMG_2638+-+walleroo.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Upscale jogging stroller bike with moon roof<br />
<br />
<br /></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
One of the really remarkable things about both the
Netherlands and Denmark is the sheer number of bicycles.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In both countries there are distinct lanes
for bikes, and on significant roads these are often set off from the main
roadway by a median or other barrier to protect the bikes from cars.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In the University town of Leiden, from the
outer edge of the road to the center there was a sidewalk, a wide bike lane, a
grassy median strip with trees, and then the main roadway.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In Copenhagen the bike lanes are delimited in
more subtle ways.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Generally the sidewalk
will be a few cm higher than the bike lane, and the bike lane may only be
distinguished from the sidewalk by that slight dip or by a slightly different
design on the paving stones.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>In general,
bikes seem to be allowed to park anywhere there is a wall as long as there is
no sign specifically forbidding it (and some seem to ignore the signs).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>On a lot of streets bicycles will be parked
two or three deep against the walls for the entire length of the street.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We’ve been surprised that so few of them are
locked up.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Many riders just seem to get
off their bikes and leave them wherever they are, with full confidence that the
bike will still be there when they return.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We’ve been by the bike stores, and they are not cheap here, so I think
it’s more of a general assumption that no one will harm your property (or
perhaps a view that bikes are sacrosanct).<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>We have some friends who lived in Denmark about 40 years ago (Hi Mike
and Linda) who say that when they lived here people would actually park their
baby strollers WITH THE BABIES STILL IN THEM outside of stores while they went
in to shop.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>They said that the babies
were always bundled up if it was cold outside, but no one seemed to be
concerned about whether the baby would still be there when they returned.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>This seems a bit shocking to me as a parent
in this era. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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</div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9B1Nnow3NQmMRg2KLMT56cWgu9hlbqXMm2ta0erqjeR8WZxaX-VeRHiD5GZg6eebypTgLh042dwdJkpWdZoVuHSmcx78oCxYUkVkNz9RSoBgG2vDzPlXJqgJdHwjbhxOQmnbjzCZykns/s1600/IMG_2636+-+4+child+stroller+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="295" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi9B1Nnow3NQmMRg2KLMT56cWgu9hlbqXMm2ta0erqjeR8WZxaX-VeRHiD5GZg6eebypTgLh042dwdJkpWdZoVuHSmcx78oCxYUkVkNz9RSoBgG2vDzPlXJqgJdHwjbhxOQmnbjzCZykns/s400/IMG_2636+-+4+child+stroller+bike.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">which apparently holds FOUR kids in addition to the one adult!! <br />
(the mini-van of bikes)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-ASXAydsg5TSUtvu1hrRBmhz7G7ZBE7rEjRaPwYR4FZqY_i3RmnwtD8WKsnpu61USYngSO492_yvgy_LN8QW0rBWh70FmxZ32O1rhm5wbzewZx8quYQGR39H-UDXXsM-NyFUehB4Xzk/s1600/IMG_2632+-+brochure-rack+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="296" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEha-ASXAydsg5TSUtvu1hrRBmhz7G7ZBE7rEjRaPwYR4FZqY_i3RmnwtD8WKsnpu61USYngSO492_yvgy_LN8QW0rBWh70FmxZ32O1rhm5wbzewZx8quYQGR39H-UDXXsM-NyFUehB4Xzk/s400/IMG_2632+-+brochure-rack+bike.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Brochure-rack bike (the seat is on the left side with the handles <br />
against the red brochure bin</td></tr>
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In any case, the most interesting feature of the bicycles in
Denmark has been the wide variety of modifications people seem to make to
them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It’s not entirely clear whether
people buy bikes with all the designs I’ve seen or if they buy a cruiser bike
or something like that and modify it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Certainly some of the designs look quite original, which makes me doubt
that they are manufactured that way.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>Probably the most common bike mod looks like a combination of the back
2/3 of a cruiser bike and the front portion of a jogging stroller.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Some of these are fairly high class vehicles,
and some look like a large garbage can on wheels with a cut-away window welded
below the handlebars of the bike.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We
also saw several bikes that looked like they incorporated the concepts of a
flatbed truck.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>These sometimes had a
platform for cargo just in front of the handlebars, with the front wheel of the
bike stretched way out in front of the platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>People seemed to be using these to haul a
variety of things, including hardware or tools or groceries.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>We saw one of two that had the platform
behind the seat with a back wheel trailing behind the platform.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were also bikes that had been modified
for other purposes.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>For example, one
bike had a brochure rack mounted over and in front of the front wheel so it was
essentially a rolling advertising stand.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>It was parked in a prominent place so people could take the advertising
brochures for city tours, from the rack and then the business owner could ride
the whole thing home at the end of the day.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;">
</span>In addition to these special modifications, people had every kind of
carrying contraption you can imagine mounted on their bikes for carrying
smaller packages.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>A lot of bikes had the
classic wicker basket on the front or metal mesh professionally made baskets,
but some of them had milk crates, plywood platforms or other home-made or
make-do solutions for carrying things with them.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>There were also a lot of baby seats on bikes
as well as a few that had platforms built onto them for older kids to sit
on.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>It <span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>At one point we were scolded by a
group of Danes for blocking the WALL, because people wanted to park their bikes
against it.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span>Sigh.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span><o:p></o:p></div>
was pretty clear that bikes are
the preferred mode of transportation, and people seem to be very open to a
variety of ideas about what is considered proper to do with or to one’s
bike.<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPShyphenhyphenH8qVhvn4r4npGvKOGmu6FRfK7dT3e0HDznWrXobzYDZutV629weRmk8FOTOUfQkNKy7LckJyg-IAE_jnDQUYI8bl3GYvR7M0kBEtgo0U7QyxMjgveIjpi958cso7otGiE8Pxv9mo/s1600/IMG_2608+-+baby+can+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPShyphenhyphenH8qVhvn4r4npGvKOGmu6FRfK7dT3e0HDznWrXobzYDZutV629weRmk8FOTOUfQkNKy7LckJyg-IAE_jnDQUYI8bl3GYvR7M0kBEtgo0U7QyxMjgveIjpi958cso7otGiE8Pxv9mo/s640/IMG_2608+-+baby+can+bike.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Baby-in-a trash-can bike modification, with rain hood. I think these are available to rent<br />
<br /></td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmnmeW-XRDnpOs0fHDF3C9UYlH3DMYpABpwJ5gLafI4WEp1_UuiiUGGW5xE6R9Co7raiWDMy7CBz3ueQ0GTQuzyHhsP1RQKHFfWgvoECMckd63t5vq7sHyl43HdmFnq2igkMdHT7uHbc/s1600/IMG_2577+-+wheelbarrow+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDmnmeW-XRDnpOs0fHDF3C9UYlH3DMYpABpwJ5gLafI4WEp1_UuiiUGGW5xE6R9Co7raiWDMy7CBz3ueQ0GTQuzyHhsP1RQKHFfWgvoECMckd63t5vq7sHyl43HdmFnq2igkMdHT7uHbc/s640/IMG_2577+-+wheelbarrow+bike.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "wheelbarrow" bike in front of the "Boger" store (apparently it's a book store, but it's well suited for American junior<br />
high school humor)</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16RAsMRQWAroplCy9PCT1aHy0HJmZxbEwruPxF_VcaRfntCFEhtb36rrVFTe3HcNfjSPYn2vO26-fdgmrJw5MKwoHhCN9QdKhYPMYiui6_rDfRnj6d4erhyi-Lcb39FTFH3sI1om1T1M/s1600/IMG_2628+-+flatbed+bike.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="474" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj16RAsMRQWAroplCy9PCT1aHy0HJmZxbEwruPxF_VcaRfntCFEhtb36rrVFTe3HcNfjSPYn2vO26-fdgmrJw5MKwoHhCN9QdKhYPMYiui6_rDfRnj6d4erhyi-Lcb39FTFH3sI1om1T1M/s640/IMG_2628+-+flatbed+bike.jpg" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">The "flat-bed" bike modification (it's not entirely clear to me how the steering works on this one. Perhaps it's just brute force? Perhaps "lean to the left" might work just as well?). You can see Aydin reflected in the window. I think he's<br />
saying, "Mom, why do you keep taking pictures of bikes??"</td></tr>
</tbody></table>
Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-41504529886953701822013-08-26T03:59:00.000-07:002013-08-26T03:59:07.263-07:00Greetings from the Copenhagen to Oslo ferrySorry I haven't posted anything in a few days. Internet access has been unreliable. We just boarded a cruise ship ... Errr...."ferry" but it looks more like a cruise ship to me. I may be an unreliable witness on this point, though, as my only experience of cruise ships has been in magazine photos. We just passed a room full of our students who brought more that the recommended amount of luggage (a frequent problem), and they seemed to be drowning in luggage in their teeny room. We ran into Allan a few minutes ago, and he was running up and down the stairs like a kid who has just discovered sugar! New experiences are fun. <br />
<br />
This is an overnight trip, and we will arrive in Norway in the morning. Thus far the trip has been productive and interesting. Our project has been to compare the way that Muslims, particularly Muslim immigrants, are perceived and treated in various countries in Europe. Because of different political systems and different histories and social norms and values and different populations of immigrants, the countries we have visited have had a different types of issues to address and different levels of success in achieving their own particular models of integration.<br />
<br />
In France the official form of secularism makes use of the school system to attempt to produce a homogenous, idealised Republican (as in the French Republic) citizen. This means that differences are things to be overcome rather than appreciated. This creates conflicts between those who resent others who won't comply and immigrants who feel a part of their identity is systematically suppressed. It also creates splits between those who are seen as "good Muslims" because they try to comply with the secular ideal by suppressing any signs of religion, and the "bad Muslims" who maintain aspects of their religious and/or national identity. There is no religious education in the schools, and the issue of headscarves, face veils, and burkas is very problematic and conflictual. We spoke with a representative of a group in France that addresses violence and discrimination against Muslims, and this is a serious and widespread problem there. There is sometimes a sense among people that Muslims who "look like" Muslims are actively resisting becoming assimilated and thus have no place in France.<br />
<br />
Belgium teaches officially recognised religions in the schools (families can choose). The Belgians we talked to seemed to see the French model as too antagonistic, although they hastened to assure us that Belgium is a secular state and holds secularism to be an important value. This value seemed to be share by the religious people we met. <br />
<br />
Denmark is very different because there is an official church that is the State church of Denmark. This means that the church by and large fulfils some of the functions the state normally would like registration of births and deaths. Religious expression and practice are much less restricted than they would be in France, but Denmark is also one of the few countries in Europe that has a nativist party in power. The Danish People' Party is based on the premise that Denmark should be for native Danes and that immigrants, particularly Muslims, are a threat to ethnic Danes. The DPP is currently part of a coalition government. This is a great concern for the Muslims here, as these Nativist parties tend to support policies that promote deportation of those who are seen as incompatible with "Danishness." We talked with a La Sierra alum who is African American who said that prejudice is a bi issue in Denmark and she hasn't found Danes to be very open to or welcoming of those they perceive as different. Anyone who comes to Denmark from a non-EU state is required to learn Danish, and even with fluent Danish, looking non-Danish is an obstacle. When we were in Odense we didn't see inter-ethnic friendships with Danes with the exception of people involved with the church inter cultural outreach program. This was one of the reasons the program seemed particularly powerful to me.<br />
<br />
<br />
<br />Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-50078848653808628392013-08-24T14:33:00.002-07:002013-08-24T14:33:32.607-07:00We Saw Her!
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Happy Sabbath!<br />
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We had free time for the whole day today! Yay! We started
the day with a nice hotel breakfast then we had worship. After worship, a few
of us girls went to watch the changing of the guards at Amalienborg Palace. It
was really cool! Then, we went to the Rosenborg Castle to look at the crown
jewels. The crown jewels were really shiny and pretty. Sadly, we had to pay
extra 20 kroner to take pictures of them so we didn’t get pictures. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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After going to the Rosenborg Castle, we had a really nice
and healthy lunch at his place called “Big Apple.” I had mint milkshake and
avocado sandwich. Our server was very nice because he gave us free Chai Latte.
We went to a canal tour after lunch and had a super good time. The scenery was
really pretty. I enjoyed the wind and the water. We got off the boat at the
Little Mermaid statue. All of us really want to see her since the first day we
reached Denmark. The statue was really pretty. I was very happy to see her
because Little Mermaid is one of my favorite Disney cartoons. We stayed there
for a while to take pictures and appreciate the view at the canal. I got a soft
serve ice cream before we get back on the boat. The ice cream was so delicious!
Sadly, I spilled it on my new jacket. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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We took the rickshaw back to our metro station. It was super
fun! There were three of us on one rickshaw, so I was worried that we were too
heavy but our driver seemed fine. After the rickshaw ride, we took a picture
with our driver and took the metro back to the hotel. We closed our day with a
nice dinner from Luna Café. We’ll be going to Oslo, Norway by an overnight
ferry tomorrow, so I’m very excited. <o:p></o:p></div>
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<br /></div>
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Good night! <o:p></o:p></div>
<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00731883787440276222noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-59535319403222058672013-08-24T14:33:00.001-07:002013-08-24T14:33:16.443-07:00Back to Copenhagen
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I can't believe it's Friday already. I was excited to have a classic
European breakfast at the Windsor Hotel this morning. I could taste the hard
crust bread with freshly cut cheese topped with tomatoes and cucumber, and a
side of fluffy scrambled eggs, yum! </div>
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After breakfast, we visited a local
mosque in Odense. As we entered into the mosque, the <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">imam</i> (a pastor-like figure) and Muslim community leader greeted us.
We removed our shoes and entered into a large room with elaborate decorations.
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Next we were off to the train
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beautiful city of Odense.<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"> </span></div>
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<span style="mso-spacerun: yes;"><br /></span></div>
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<!--EndFragment-->Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/04751386656611816862noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-52742531082401159132013-08-22T22:17:00.002-07:002013-08-22T22:17:24.588-07:00FireworksGood morning to all!<div>
If you could see my eyes this morning, they would be drooping, probably with bright purple bags. Last night, we endured what appeared to be a bombing of Odense. However, it turned out to merely be the people of Denmark celebrating Hans Christian Andersen. This came complete with fireworks, concerts, and screaming people. I actually like that they have created a festival around Andersen. It's quite charming that they take such pride in their literary figures. When I first saw the signs for the festival, however, I was imagining a much more historical, quiet, 19th century type of affair. I was very wrong. That being said, so much hubub over the writer of fairytales makes me automatically like the Danish people.</div>
<div>
This morning some of us went to the H.C. Andersen museum. They have a library of his translated works, personality descriptions, and many of his personal possestions. Overall, the museum gave an amazing feel for what type of person he was. I don't want to try to describe it to you though. A description would never suffice, and I would probably unknowingly tarnish his image. However, I will say that he was sometimes passionate, sometimes reserved, his favorite color was blue, and the museum said he was "ugly." </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Excerpt from <i>The Melodies of the Heart:</i></div>
<div>
<i> </i></div>
<div>
"It is a legend - an adventure, </div>
<div>
Every mussel-creature, </div>
<div>
That builds in the sea so deep, </div>
<div>
When a pearl's created its life no longer can keep, </div>
<div>
Oh, love! - for you my heart will yearn and vie, </div>
<div>
And so, the pearl's creator is destined to die."</div>
<div>
H.C. Andersen</div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
Brilliant. </div>
<div>
<br /></div>
<div>
In the later afternoon we explored the town. I like that it has a much smaller feel than Paris or Brussels. The people here also seem to be more friendly. Much to my delight I have been asked for directions in Dutch twice, and had several people try to start up conversation in Dutch. It makes me feel less touristy... just so long as I stick to saying Hai, nej, ya, and 'un-skuul' (I don't know how that is spelled though). The second I actually talk, however, its all over. </div>
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Laura and I must go for a run and so a bid you "farvel!" (fah-vel)</div>
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Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06899201807752748724noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-83483191553473152462013-08-22T14:54:00.001-07:002013-08-22T14:54:46.694-07:00Friday and Saturday nightsWe have confirmed that we will be taking a train to Copenhagen tomorrow and will be staying in a hotel there for the next two nights. This will give us a chance to see Copenhagen and maybe a bit of Sweden too before we move on to Norway.<br />
<br />Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-79802967250950546192013-08-22T14:53:00.000-07:002013-08-22T14:53:08.563-07:00A few more photos of Odense<table align="center" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzpu_pd0i-uS5qo5OU0kk3X9QdqAlYV3PmGTJEXzaGnegEXQHCAB2H7melTZME-zGwrQgaP8f1CHugEYDOdWLPWMiLTxVWixSAylST6mB0InpPODk1AcLwPoJYXyzKpleBRoiFAl3TRg/s1600/IMG_2549+-+chocolate+shop.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjBzpu_pd0i-uS5qo5OU0kk3X9QdqAlYV3PmGTJEXzaGnegEXQHCAB2H7melTZME-zGwrQgaP8f1CHugEYDOdWLPWMiLTxVWixSAylST6mB0InpPODk1AcLwPoJYXyzKpleBRoiFAl3TRg/s320/IMG_2549+-+chocolate+shop.jpg" width="238" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Store window display for a Danish chocolate shop. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjOaaCPT95BcFuWnuatMSnlFA0whbk7GiZaQUvLcy_xcPS06iC3cMEM37uCHRy2ueP4iuSb1xLJwtgP6ByvC7Lahf537zaw3Uo0LEI-58e88rDGHthyphenhyphen3NFhm45onPA8VZOmkSueBoDNU/s1600/IMG_2550+-+Danish+flag.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiWjOaaCPT95BcFuWnuatMSnlFA0whbk7GiZaQUvLcy_xcPS06iC3cMEM37uCHRy2ueP4iuSb1xLJwtgP6ByvC7Lahf537zaw3Uo0LEI-58e88rDGHthyphenhyphen3NFhm45onPA8VZOmkSueBoDNU/s400/IMG_2550+-+Danish+flag.jpg" width="296" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Danish flag in Odense<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdzmvGJrUJXoy34JBRXNcV2dksotmktYOSjxQmSaDBmpHoBLi4bF7REsC0bJNtr4_ztxPxXRuwVgRSe40UnR1us79rGPpDig_BU4pWRKig_WB49s-BRqoFnGmOJ_tWR3Mm9-N7-bcXck/s1600/Odense+altar+rail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiIdzmvGJrUJXoy34JBRXNcV2dksotmktYOSjxQmSaDBmpHoBLi4bF7REsC0bJNtr4_ztxPxXRuwVgRSe40UnR1us79rGPpDig_BU4pWRKig_WB49s-BRqoFnGmOJ_tWR3Mm9-N7-bcXck/s320/Odense+altar+rail.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Detail of altar rail in Odense Cathedral</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYid91x0xB_vjQpU6GdddS1qwd5xh0WTSps3Zj0kEE9IMZZviQmIb0HvnMX_rtmYNKnxjWOlo5aJCwYJOF9yca-XBTVYWsPw-4HF44NU8LHwggUsKIrQm2rpCM81R023nisEtYqUWsBTU/s1600/IMG_2538+-+Knut.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiYid91x0xB_vjQpU6GdddS1qwd5xh0WTSps3Zj0kEE9IMZZviQmIb0HvnMX_rtmYNKnxjWOlo5aJCwYJOF9yca-XBTVYWsPw-4HF44NU8LHwggUsKIrQm2rpCM81R023nisEtYqUWsBTU/s320/IMG_2538+-+Knut.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Clear glass reliquary with the bones of St. Canute inside<br />
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Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-55165001201798824682013-08-22T14:38:00.000-07:002013-08-22T15:01:24.577-07:00Bridges<span style="background-color: black; color: white; font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;">As I mentioned previously, Denmark has a lot of islands of various sizes. Between the two largest islands there is a very long bridge, called <span style="line-height: 18px;">Storebæltsbroen, or the Great Belt Bridge. The entire complex is 18 km long, but it's made of two spans with an island between. The island is also the site where a train tunnel goes under the sea for the length of the Zeeland (western) part of the bridge. The Eastern span is the second longest span of a suspension bridge in the world. The Western span includes a deck for cars and a deck for trains. Riding the train from Copenhagen to Odense is an interesting experience because when the train gets to the western edge of Zeeland it plunges into a tunnel and goes under the sea until it gets to the small island between Zeeland and Funen. On the island, the train emerges from the tunnel and joins the bridge traffic for the Eastern half of the bridge. On our way to Odense it was a bit startling to emerge from the tunnel and find the train suspended on a bridge over the sea. The sea was somewhat foggy, so we came out of the darkness of the tunnel into a dim foggy afternoon, with the ocean as far as we could see. </span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: black; color: white;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;"><br /></span></span>
<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">We've been impressed with how well the Danes and the Dutch make use of the ocean winds. In both countries there are modern windmills along the ocean and even extending in lines out into the ocean. When we stopped at the Deltaworks in the Netherlands, we noticed that the wind was particularly strong and there was a berm extending out into the ocean with windmills evenly spaced along its length. In Denmark there are also lines of windmills that appear to emerge from the ocean. It seems like these must be anchored on a strip of land or rocks extending out into the ocean, but we couldn't see it. In any case, both countries seem to be taking advantage of the strong winds to generate power. </span></span></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">Sometime in the next couple of days we will also travel across the </span></span><span style="font-family: arial, sans-serif; font-size: x-small; line-height: 12.800000190734863px;">Ø</span><span style="font-family: Georgia, Times New Roman, serif;"><span style="line-height: 18px;">resund Bridge that stretches between Denmark and Sweden. This is also a combination of a bridge and tunnel, and was a joint project between Denmark and Sweden to link the two countries. Before it opened in 2000, the only direct way between the two countries was to take a boat. These small boats were a crucial link during World War II, as they became the means for the Danes to save the majority of the Jews in the country from the Nazis by evacuating them to Sweden in fishing boats. This is quite an extraordinary story, and involved massive cooperation among ordinary Danes to help shelter and protect Danish Jews in occupied Denmark as well as extensive help from Sweden to give them refuge. Because Sweden was neutral, once Denmark's Jews had crossed the sea between the two countries into Swedish territory they were safe. The Nobel Prize winning physicist Niels Bohr, a Dane, went to the Swedish government to beg for shelter for the Jews of Denmark and to request that the Swedes make regular radio broadcasts to let the Danes know that they would be welcome in Sweden. These hourly broadcasts gave hope to the Danish Jews who were still in hiding, and the entire operation kept a remarkable 95% of Denmark's Jews from being killed by the Nazis. </span></span></span>Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-1073961298958053542013-08-22T14:18:00.001-07:002013-08-22T14:18:51.124-07:00A few photos from the trip<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHqB7BRFgJg87W3yIxb4siONJgBdH3mNt6jNQ0iiXaFWiPrNdW-irkHSC71a4IOtt5SYpqNhBv6qTWKPHtnFB8O3sokTV2xVM_EVfxn1YC4xy5n1ftNxspuRKHwqthMVye3hFCVicVY-6/s1600/Paris+Science+Museum+Sphere.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEivHqB7BRFgJg87W3yIxb4siONJgBdH3mNt6jNQ0iiXaFWiPrNdW-irkHSC71a4IOtt5SYpqNhBv6qTWKPHtnFB8O3sokTV2xVM_EVfxn1YC4xy5n1ftNxspuRKHwqthMVye3hFCVicVY-6/s400/Paris+Science+Museum+Sphere.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Museum of Science and Industry in Paris reflected in the planetarium.</td></tr>
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I've tried to upload photos earlier, but the internet connection was flaky at our last place and it didn't work when I tried. Here are some of my favorites so far throughout the trip. Those marked "HDR" are high dynamic range photos, so they are a combination of several photos blended together to allow you to see details in the bright parts and shadows that you wouldn't normally be able to see (because our eyes can more easily adjust their range than a camera can). <br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZ2kOa6b9oZJZN-SQ4AG45cwDwDjmcIAo4P4-YAxDq7NeNyRTO49bk3PBffHNrgLC88NZdhHdOJ2gBR8C7CnEHZEzyWAT0Ip-GrsNnJsQFNt36DZiwQ1lr63lLB4BDVCtlf1ny5aOc6_9/s1600/Notre+Dame+and+Entrance+Pavillion.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiXZ2kOa6b9oZJZN-SQ4AG45cwDwDjmcIAo4P4-YAxDq7NeNyRTO49bk3PBffHNrgLC88NZdhHdOJ2gBR8C7CnEHZEzyWAT0Ip-GrsNnJsQFNt36DZiwQ1lr63lLB4BDVCtlf1ny5aOc6_9/s400/Notre+Dame+and+Entrance+Pavillion.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Notre Dame Cathedral and the (I hope temporary) entrance pavilion.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-USthZOBlQAaIEHRmsVCwAgsDfuvp1EkjdXgkg7MR6kYfC9g27xvqMgbK0Wcewae0RX8gSGHR7xdYIx2-TUH8CSXiUEkRmsEw4fg73iLKzhAt2i3hvayoEgwBh9gLDOBdgmaHgl7pm8N/s1600/Notre+Dame.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjh-USthZOBlQAaIEHRmsVCwAgsDfuvp1EkjdXgkg7MR6kYfC9g27xvqMgbK0Wcewae0RX8gSGHR7xdYIx2-TUH8CSXiUEkRmsEw4fg73iLKzhAt2i3hvayoEgwBh9gLDOBdgmaHgl7pm8N/s400/Notre+Dame.jpg" width="281" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Altar at Notre Dame from the rear of the nave. (HDR)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkynlLGMySeFJxcSVq8nO5Qc6yIsd9e4PfHRh2bRfzMYAkKE0mB8HQh-gZABWXziVjn0C0OaRSb1A7x-3EiQv9X4dlC7poKT2Exd7dM_WvudrjRzMxeFimCjlPtabYDp-G2Hw9L02tMwA/s1600/Stained+glass+at+Sainte+Chapelle.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgkynlLGMySeFJxcSVq8nO5Qc6yIsd9e4PfHRh2bRfzMYAkKE0mB8HQh-gZABWXziVjn0C0OaRSb1A7x-3EiQv9X4dlC7poKT2Exd7dM_WvudrjRzMxeFimCjlPtabYDp-G2Hw9L02tMwA/s400/Stained+glass+at+Sainte+Chapelle.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Stained glass at Sainte Chapelle in Paris.</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIG6mdzGWr7qJHOD4r21thAhHDTj9ZuMPsL0da48B59pws4blbkN8vPBNMN1rq4He-DjmiUvKIPt0bBTb-9wHOQuInglTFFY13bOWAnciaPUgVsWhyJFgaBw0Q5pP-pMCaMEnl4S6oFNj/s1600/537205_603081646409128_1532245109_n.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhBIG6mdzGWr7qJHOD4r21thAhHDTj9ZuMPsL0da48B59pws4blbkN8vPBNMN1rq4He-DjmiUvKIPt0bBTb-9wHOQuInglTFFY13bOWAnciaPUgVsWhyJFgaBw0Q5pP-pMCaMEnl4S6oFNj/s400/537205_603081646409128_1532245109_n.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Monet's garden in Giverny, France. Recognize the lily pads and willow tree?</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSP9MMP89e09IpSWN74pTeAHwXdg29TcgcwvwTXrPlWkOp19Ypy5XLKYQk98LVxy-nb_hVW6f_R36UFyG-XWQEQ4Q7u5NE5-jd7ydWVi1DQvHjZX_7twcAWLJW_irEaUDIVcN95KKRCTN/s1600/Brugge+building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiaSP9MMP89e09IpSWN74pTeAHwXdg29TcgcwvwTXrPlWkOp19Ypy5XLKYQk98LVxy-nb_hVW6f_R36UFyG-XWQEQ4Q7u5NE5-jd7ydWVi1DQvHjZX_7twcAWLJW_irEaUDIVcN95KKRCTN/s400/Brugge+building.jpg" width="266" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Lots of interesting architecture in Bruges. Gothic horror anyone? </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhormITwNNjNBYpaUSSvKqrA9hFeiGsO4wH421qwqwduXYQR5Qdw9XFJ3sTO4DIA_abMRbeLiYlMSHAM_DZT_c01eqODoUIbSYWNrBt4e2ft6-fljrZkwgsMcFHxo01Z9yMR8y_WrZj5SZW/s1600/Brugge+Church.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhormITwNNjNBYpaUSSvKqrA9hFeiGsO4wH421qwqwduXYQR5Qdw9XFJ3sTO4DIA_abMRbeLiYlMSHAM_DZT_c01eqODoUIbSYWNrBt4e2ft6-fljrZkwgsMcFHxo01Z9yMR8y_WrZj5SZW/s400/Brugge+Church.jpg" width="285" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Church in Bruges. (HDR)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-Crd4ua48VgRBQvntQvA05T5ksqqb2l2C41Ep3mWwzriWc-g-xblPZhAN3wvvG-y8W-xcA99CvkgDRtuggIdslBv7oTsWsCh3f1Qrc_YRzc7FyBZypuToyk0m8CpeCM83bmLEHhg6Y4c/s1600/Brugge+Market+Square.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_-Crd4ua48VgRBQvntQvA05T5ksqqb2l2C41Ep3mWwzriWc-g-xblPZhAN3wvvG-y8W-xcA99CvkgDRtuggIdslBv7oTsWsCh3f1Qrc_YRzc7FyBZypuToyk0m8CpeCM83bmLEHhg6Y4c/s400/Brugge+Market+Square.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Market Square in Bruges. </td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQllHcx2rzd_zVwGMdTEwdZ7pzyd-LwSF7_1QEHIqyJyl3jWLjxDCD1ohFv_scuSq-UWOV3p6jdJ27LZ03t3-Ruf4nPNnURUDhXjtWaolwiC4kiMrsvQ-iMRYzgVXiukVk6w1yiBy5k5X/s1600/Brugge+River+and+Building.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhOQllHcx2rzd_zVwGMdTEwdZ7pzyd-LwSF7_1QEHIqyJyl3jWLjxDCD1ohFv_scuSq-UWOV3p6jdJ27LZ03t3-Ruf4nPNnURUDhXjtWaolwiC4kiMrsvQ-iMRYzgVXiukVk6w1yiBy5k5X/s400/Brugge+River+and+Building.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">River in Bruges. (HDR)</td></tr>
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0C1bWQ4iym57XYZFtO-x5bH2pLoZ4QF8x7ET22QVQ5ErNYesWHSzFmtSIz15rupQXMKfNzxq5CZVTBE2CYWHVrRqLHndh-4Past0uRWfU9BlR6RoXR3Tgc25MripKdxKqa0EO6lYJcPX/s1600/Delta+works.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjH0C1bWQ4iym57XYZFtO-x5bH2pLoZ4QF8x7ET22QVQ5ErNYesWHSzFmtSIz15rupQXMKfNzxq5CZVTBE2CYWHVrRqLHndh-4Past0uRWfU9BlR6RoXR3Tgc25MripKdxKqa0EO6lYJcPX/s400/Delta+works.jpg" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Cait photographic electricity-generating windmills in front of delta works in the Netherlands.</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Candles and view of a rear chapel at the cathedral in Odense. (HDR)</td></tr>
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Organ at the rear of the nave and carving above the pulpit in the cathedral in Odense. A very modern-looking organ console with a couple more ranks of pipes were across from the pulpit. (HDR)</td></tr>
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<br />Paul Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/06439694530615118019noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-36091353957291803262013-08-22T07:56:00.002-07:002013-08-22T07:56:55.349-07:00Greetings from the Hans Christian Anderson Festival in Odense, DenmarkWhat's that you say? Odense? That wasn't on the itinerary! Well, yes and no. It wasn't on the original itinerary, but it has been on my horizon for a while because we received an invitation from a La Sierra University Alumni couple to come visit Odense and learn about the Danish church cross-cultural network here, and I've been working on confirming details for that for the past couple of weeks. I'll give you more details on that later. <br />
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In the meantime, though, we have ended up spending two nights here for several reasons. It was actually more practical for us to stay in Odense last night than in Copenhagen, because our meeting didn't get out until about 9:30 pm, and the train back to Copenhagen takes an hour and a half. We'd been planning to stay in Copenhagen last night anyway, but when we arrived at our lodgings we discovered that the travel agent (who had assured me that everything was lined up) had not paid for the house, and because the manager of the house had not heard from the travel agent, he had let out the rooms to other people. This was understandably a big concern for us, and you can rest assured that the University is following up on it to determine how this could have happened. In the meantime, our primary concern was to be sure we could provide for the students a place stay that we knew was safe and would have some interesting places to visit and where we could continue our studies. We booked rooms at a hotel in Odense, the third largest city in Denmark. Denmark includes many small islands and two very large ones, and Odense is on one of the large Islands, the island of Funun. Funun does not have an "island" feel, though, because it is big enough that from most places on the island the sea is not readily apparent. We are currently finalizing our hotel reservations in Copenhagen for Friday and Saturday night and will keep you informed about that.<br />
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The town of Odense is the birthplace of Hans Christian Anderson ("Ho See Annerson," as the Danes say) and a festival in his honor is being held this week. There are a lot of events going on, including street actors, people dressed in clothes from the Victorian era, a light show, sand paintings, and various companies showing off their goods (there was a Segway practice track next to the Cathedral this afternoon, with lots of people in helmets learning how to drive Segways). Danish flags line the streets, and there are people out enjoying the town.<br />
<br />I must say that families should be very proud of their students. Yesterday was a very long day, with a lot of hauling luggage around (the significance of the term "luggage" is growing on me), and a lot of traveling. We took vans to the Brussels airport, flew to Copenhagen, took the metro and then walked to our intended housing, walked and took the metro back to the airport, took a train to Odense, and then walked to meet the church pastors and then to our hotel. The students were all really good sports about all the traveling and took the need to change locations in stride. This is a flexible and good spirited group of young people, and that flexibility and positive outlook will serve them well in the future. We know they were all tired and hungry and uncertain about how much of the things they were wanting to do they would be able to do, but we didn't hear any complaining or criticizing. Our two kids also managed it quite well, and we were proud of them too.<br />
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Because we were all still very tired, we gave the students free time to rest and explore Odense in the middle of the day today. We will still have class and go out for dinner this evening, but we wanted to let them see what they wanted to see of Odense, because today is our only full day here. <br />
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My family really enjoyed the cathedral. K'nut IV (sometimes called Canute IV in English) was a king of Denmark in the late 11th century and is the patron saint of Denmark. He was killed in Odense, and his skeleton was moved to the cathedral here when it was built. The original church on this site was being built in 1095, and remains of that church are still visible in the crypt. The current cathedral was begun in the late 13th century, with additions made over time. Canute the IVth was one of my ancestors (less exciting than my kids made it out to be: he's probably the ancestor of a large portion of the people currently living who have any European ancestry at all. The kids were trying to figure out where they would be in the line of succession to a throne. Our answer was rather disappointing, I think). <br />
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It's almost time for class, so I'm going to go meet the students, but I will post more later today and include some photos of Odense.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-56410824167204491742013-08-20T11:22:00.001-07:002013-08-20T11:22:25.290-07:00Goodbye Belgium!<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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Today was our last day in Belgium. What is nice about staying in these cites for a week at a time is that we really start to feel like the locals. The first couple of days is always a confusion of how to work the metro, read the map, and find our way home. It's also days filled with endless sightseeing and "touristy" activites. But by the end of the week we are navigating through the metro and streets like a true native and looking for places that are less known yet still fascinating.</div>
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That is exactly what we did after class this morning. We had lunch at our favorite healthy cafeteria/cafe EXKI. After lunch we went to an exhibit about Leonardo ad Vinci. It was a really complex and intriguing exhibit. Although it did not have any of the original works it had full scale models of inventions and had interactive displays that explained the genius behind each of ad Vinci's works.<br />
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We spent the remaining afternoon doing some shopping in the local stores. </div>
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And of course we couldn't leave Belgium without one final taste of the famous Belgium Waffle and chocolate!</div>
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Then we came home for a quiet dinner prepared for us and spent the rest of the night packing for our early flight we will be taking tomorrow.</div>
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Goodbye Belgium! It's been an amazing week here in the lovely city of Brussels but I am so excited to see what adventures await for us in the following days to come.<br />
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Daniella Hernandezhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/11402453893335722043noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-16136607680854279442013-08-20T05:54:00.002-07:002013-08-20T05:54:57.922-07:005 things I like about Brussels:Hi everyone! I'm Cait, and I finally remembered to start writing blog posts, which I have been forgetting to do for two weeks now. My topic today is 5 Things I Like About Brussels.<br />
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1. Orange juice machines. On our third day in Brussels, during a trip to a local deli for lunch, we came across a juicing machine with oranges sitting inside, and about 30 clear plastic bottles to fill with freshly squeezed OJ. Me and my dad each got a bottle, and had delicious orange juice in 20 seconds. I wonder why we don't have these awesome machines in America?<br />
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2. Stroopwaffles. A few years ago, one of the students introduced these delicious cookies to my family, and we found a package of them yesterday which we ate with our lunch. Unfortunately, they're not available in the U.S. Stroopwaffles are made up of two thin wafer cookies with caramel in between them, and are usually eaten with coffee.<br />
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3. The buildings. When we arrived in Brussels on the train, one of the things I noticed first was the buildings. The houses are all different styles, shapes, and sizes, very different than some of the cookie cutter neighborhoods in California. Old brick red buildings with stone balconies are squished next to new white stone buildings and grey buildings with multicolored stained glass windows.<br />
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4. The restaurants. If you walk down one of the streets here, you will see many different types of restaurants. Moroccan, Italian, African and French, Sushi, Pizza, Teahouses, and Delis. There are lots of different types of food here, and we have all enjoyed trying the new cuisine.<br />
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5. The flowers. We recently visited the Grand Hall, and saw many different and interesting flower arrangements. One of my favorite ones was a bunch of Coke cans with flowers growing out of them. I have also seen quite a few tiny white flowers growing in the streets of the city, as well as in our backyard.<br />
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Well, that's all that I can think to write about, hopefully I'll get an opportunity to blog again soon.<br />
-Cait M.<br />
P.S. Sorry if I somehow posted this wrong, the instructions are all in Dutch.Cait Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16788630520583158360noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-86977153524883274032013-08-19T12:07:00.002-07:002013-08-19T12:28:49.719-07:00Can I Count Holland?We spent seven hours on a bus today. Thankfully we drove through the beautiful Dutch countryside and could stare out the windows and appreciate Holland's windmills, parts of the North Sea, some of the Delta Works, and the myriad cows and sheep that graze all over the fertile land. We got to stop and get out at a Delta Works bridge with a series of dams and barriers that protect cities like Amsterdam and Rotterdam from flooding--I'll post photos of that bridge! The wind blew relentlessly with a fresh, salty tinge that blew the city sootiness away from my skin. We only spent about half an hour enjoying the bridge and the sea, and then we climbed back aboard the small van-bus-thing...which began having engine trouble and could not go fast at all on the freeway. A trip that should have taken two hours to complete took us five!<br />
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When we finally arrived in the old, beautiful Dutch city of Leiden, we went straight to Leiden University to speak with Colette van Laar, a social psychologist at the university. She welcomed us into a small lounge room, offered us fresh coffee, and spoke to us for an hour and a half about the problems different minority groups face in the Netherlands and other Western European countries. She expressed her regret that we were not in Leiden long enough to see it--and I agree! I wish we could have walked through the city and inhaled local cuisine for dinner, but we had to hop back on a fresh, well-running bus and endure a much shorter voyage back to Brussels.<br />
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The bus driver did drive through Leiden on our way out, and I saw many lovely old buildings and people riding bicycles. It seems as though three-fourths of Holland's citizens use cycles with big saddle-bags or baskets attached to them as their modes of transportation, which is wonderful to me! I have a cruiser bike with a basket attached to it at home, and I wish Southern California's streets suited biking the way Leiden (and, I'm guessing, Amsterdam and Rotterdam and other Dutch cities) do. Perhaps the next place I move to will be more like Leiden. I wonder, though--can I count Holland as a country I've been to if I only left the bus and stepped on the earth three times total? I don't know what others say, but I say that I can.Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15985015253841702454noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-70195482247954844042013-08-18T15:08:00.001-07:002013-08-18T15:09:04.233-07:00More signsHere are some additional signs that I found odd or humorous:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_M7Jz_SXEDZMmdJnsTMRrlygFGgI8GjbRu6aEpw7exQfeJNAMeSVDeST4s0_tiO3nu70bDLeA9n_q7Sc-u3VFW64RPH7JWlDu0YexgevIsFAxhur_y-8ifSNvNSK2Rzs_Wgr-vsQFUUHW/s1600/IMG_2398+-+pickaxe.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_M7Jz_SXEDZMmdJnsTMRrlygFGgI8GjbRu6aEpw7exQfeJNAMeSVDeST4s0_tiO3nu70bDLeA9n_q7Sc-u3VFW64RPH7JWlDu0YexgevIsFAxhur_y-8ifSNvNSK2Rzs_Wgr-vsQFUUHW/s320/IMG_2398+-+pickaxe.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">This is a sticker on the inside window of a bus. I'm assuming it's telling you how to get out in an emergency (because we all carry a pickaxe around in our purses, right?)</td><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;"><br /></td></tr>
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After discussing the sign above with several people in our group, Allan pointed out that in fact there is a tool mounted above the window, presumably for just this purpose:<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiPuk3_LEWKPpXMx2AGyTclZIeFW5Y6EXX__76mPkVerVJUQ3sjQYL52RwIGmS2N_1ZCOTU_ge_G37RhAveD42_F616428xiIQHOY5d9Nbe81K4Lcqf95vafVVaWKtLOMFCm2iZXMH2ti/s1600/IMG_2401+-+smashing+tool.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="239" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhfiPuk3_LEWKPpXMx2AGyTclZIeFW5Y6EXX__76mPkVerVJUQ3sjQYL52RwIGmS2N_1ZCOTU_ge_G37RhAveD42_F616428xiIQHOY5d9Nbe81K4Lcqf95vafVVaWKtLOMFCm2iZXMH2ti/s320/IMG_2401+-+smashing+tool.jpg" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Looks exactly like the illustration, right?</td></tr>
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<br />
And finally, this sign, which seems to be needed here. Dogs are particularly popular here, and we see dogs out on the streets a lot. Actually yesterday I saw a man and a woman casually leading a large dog into a restaurant where we were eating. Apparently the sign is necessary too. I've seen evidence that more of these might be useful ...<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o5W02Pi_4t97lJ_TvEF5P8G220EwrmukUzOJFPZoS9TOg9K3HlFerWU25L422DMkTFT578EvOB5lYWqXy3_br3qnoJL944Hg3HlZwmos-LaPD3FokRh6ORaWMth4q5eyRKOybQcVDy5K/s1600/IMG_2354+-+doggie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj_o5W02Pi_4t97lJ_TvEF5P8G220EwrmukUzOJFPZoS9TOg9K3HlFerWU25L422DMkTFT578EvOB5lYWqXy3_br3qnoJL944Hg3HlZwmos-LaPD3FokRh6ORaWMth4q5eyRKOybQcVDy5K/s320/IMG_2354+-+doggie.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Seems to imply that the owner should be able to stop the dog's action rather than just cleaning up after it.</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-37871585319057455612013-08-18T15:00:00.001-07:002013-08-18T15:00:12.791-07:00Old hands at the metroI have been impressed with how quickly the students, many of whom (I think) have never used a subway system, have adapted to using the metro as a primary means of transportation. They have quickly learned the ins and outs of the system, and although there are a number of different mechanisms for getting in and out of trains, they seem to have mastered them without difficulty. One of the curious things about the metro in Brussels is the system of elevators and stairs to the surface from the metro. Generally when we approach an escalator it isn't moving. We initially took this as a sign that the escalator was out of service, but when one of us got close enough to it the escalator immediately started up. It's clear that the escalators here are on sensors to save power. They don't operate until they are needed. When a person approaches the escalator, though, the system starts moving and continues until everyone is off. This is one of those innovations that seems obvious once you think about it, but I've never seen anything like it in the US. I assume someone has done an analysis of the use of these escalators and has determined that it's more energy-efficient to start them up when they are needed rather than keeping them running all the time. <br />
<br />
Another interesting feature of the metro that I noticed today is something that I have not yet figured out. This is a narrow track that runs down the center of the stairs into the metro. It's a metal track with high sides and bumps along the bottom of the track to increase friction. It's clearly not a drainage mechanism, because there are drains along the outsides of the stairs. The walls of this track are too high for most luggage wheels to use. The only thing I can think of is that it may facilitate the descent of wheelchairs. This seems a bit unlikely to me, though, because it seems like the grade of most staircases is too steep for wheelchairs. The track runs immediately to one side of the center handrail on the staircases, so it might be possible for someone in a wheelchair to use the handrail, but it seems awfully precarious. The only other thing I could think of would be for bikes, but the track is close to the handrail, so it seems like handlebars or pedals would conflict with the handrail. I'm kind of stumped by this one. My best bet is for bikes, but even if you stood a bike up I'm not sure the pedals would clear the railing supports. If anyone has any ideas, let me know. If not, I'll see if I can find a Belgian to ask about it.<br />
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<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKJr4uR5Dl56IK2oLv4Kr6V1w6AJHnI3ue_EURBfF8PEn69ppbwKlq8io8fUAGQEsnv2Zv8m7ty_GpwDSHaeQDKnpxqwFIkFJBOuXS0DdwMguz6LRvvW0AkfbO6Udw1nbnPwILiuU33A0/s1600/IMG_2459+-+metro+track.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgkKJr4uR5Dl56IK2oLv4Kr6V1w6AJHnI3ue_EURBfF8PEn69ppbwKlq8io8fUAGQEsnv2Zv8m7ty_GpwDSHaeQDKnpxqwFIkFJBOuXS0DdwMguz6LRvvW0AkfbO6Udw1nbnPwILiuU33A0/s320/IMG_2459+-+metro+track.jpg" width="239" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: center;">Mystery track down the stairs to the metro</td></tr>
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<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-60002919370498845162013-08-18T14:51:00.002-07:002013-08-18T14:52:17.964-07:00Europa! Europa! <div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">For Sunday, we decided to have class shortly after
breakfast. It was comfortably informal and brought many of the politicized
issues regarding women, military conflict in jihad, and scholarship in Islam
from past readings to the forefront of the class. In the course of our
discussions we touched on a myriad of topics ranging from female sexual
liberation and emancipation in dress to analogous misconceptions on Islam in
the negative publicity extremists such as David Koresh produced about
Adventism. Once we fully reviewed our reading material and sat down for a quick
lunch at a local cafeteria, we paid a visit to the European Union Parliament here
in Brussels. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal" style="text-indent: .5in;">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;">This “parlamentarium”
near the actual EU legislature happens to be a museum offering a spectacular timeline
of modern European history spanning the formative years of this “United States
of Europe” idea. Another fascinating exhibit in the parlamentarium was an
actual simulator of the European members of parliament (MPs) voting process
among the various international parties. I was amazed at how orderly,
efficient, and cooperative this entire government system functions even with
serious linguistic and political differences. I felt a sense of grandeur was
captured in how this shared vision of a European community among millions of
people spanning an entire continent emerged from the rubble of a terrible pair
of wars. I thought if anything this museum triumphantly showcased the truth
that humanity can be great because of our wealth of diversity and not despite
of it. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: "Times New Roman","serif"; font-size: 12.0pt; line-height: 115%;"> Afterward
our class took the metro to the Atomium, a large iron crystal shaped structure
constructed for the April 17, 1958 World Exposition Fair in Brussels. Designed
by the engineer-architect Andre Waterkeyn to feature nine large iron and steel spheres,
the Atomium represented a sense of optimism toward science in the modern world.
Although the crowds were unbearable at times with the long wait to use the
elevator to reach the restaurant on top, the Atomium left me with the same
sense of wonder that it imparted on its first visitors. Iron gave birth to
steel, and its role has been invaluable in our push towards mass
industrialization. In the imagination where iron and steel have been
emancipated from the drive toward war and destruction, there is a wonderful
picture of a rich, leisured, glittering, antiseptic world of white concrete and
steel. Alongside space travel, it fills you with a sense of nostalgia toward
this now seemingly naïve belief in collective human scientific and technical
progress. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-49978770501963781492013-08-18T14:40:00.000-07:002013-08-18T14:40:00.213-07:00Freeway tunnelsOne thing that has impressed me about Brussels is that although it is a relatively large city, the traffic is not a significant problem. Of course, I realize that we are here in August, and many Belgians may be on holiday, but I've been surprised by the number of parking spaces available on our street at any given time. When we went to Bruges yesterday I was anticipating that it could take quite a while to get out of the city. In fact we were able to get out relatively quickly. Brussels has a series of underground tunnels that allow freeway traffic to flow fairly quickly through the center of the city. The tunnels run underneath streets and parks (I'm not sure if there are any buildings on top of the tunnels). Each tunnel is one or two km long, and then surfaces for a short distance, at which point traffic can transition onto above ground streets or move from those surface streets onto the freeway. The freeway quickly goes back underground for a km or two and then comes back up for more exits and entries. It seems like a very efficient system, and the traffic seems to move at an efficient speed while still allowing for a lot of pedestrian and bicycle traffic on the surface. Once you are in the tunnel system you can very easily emerge onto the surface relatively close to your final destination. Even though we drove in the system during rush hour, the traffic was traveling at full speed or close to it. There was some construction at one end of the first tunnel, which slowed entry into the system from the above ground freeway system, but once we were in we moved surprisingly quickly. Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-88452877973009456332013-08-17T13:53:00.000-07:002013-08-17T13:53:02.265-07:00MarsipulamiWhen we arrived at this house, my daughter told me there was a giant puppy on the couch. I was a bit confused by this, but she showed me a human-sized stuffed animal sitting like a human would on the couch. This was a bit odd, but I didn't think much of it until one of our speakers came over and said, "Oh, you have Marsupilami." I had to ask him to repeat this several times, and finally he explained to me that the giant stuffed animal on the couch is actually a toy version of a Belgian cartoon character named Marsupilami. Apparently the marsupilami is supposed to be a new species of animal, related in some way to monkeys (but with leopard-like spots) who features prominently in his own comic books and apparently a short-lived TV series. Interestingly, one of our students seems to know all about him, having seen him on TV at some point. I, on the other hand, was completely clueless about this Belgian cartoon character, and I'm not sure it's just my age. I was surprised just to discover that he had a specific name and was representing a specific character. So now I know. You never know what you will learn when you set out to explore the world.Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-2403760025646214842013-08-17T13:40:00.001-07:002013-08-17T13:40:55.752-07:00Bruges SabbathToday was Sabbath, so we organized a trip to Bruges. Bruges is a relatively small town about an hour to an hour and a half from Brussels by car. It flourished in the 13th - 15th centuries, in large part because it was a port town. In the late 15th century, though, the waterway that linked the city to the sea silted up, and the city was left without access to the sea, at which time it was largely abandoned. Because of this history, much of the city is preserved in a medieval state. In the 19th century it began to revive, but its medieval character was a great part of its charm, so it was preserved. Now the medieval buildings are home to Belgian chocolate shops, upscale clothing, computers, and other goods, though the architecture remains a great tourist draw. <br />
<br />
One of my favorite parts of Bruges was the convent for Beguines. The community remained until the 1920s, when it was dwindling severely. At that point the local parish priest and the head of the beguines made an arrangement for a community of Benedictine nuns to begin. This congregation continues today, though the open courtyard in the middle of the Beguine house is still open to visits by tourists.<br />
<br />
One thing Paul and I noticed as we took the train into Belgium and again today as we watched the scenery from the bus is the large number of family farms that still seem to exist here. We have not seen any sign of factory farming or large scale corporate farming, but instead tend to see small herds of cows in a pasture big enough for one farm family to manage. It's not clear to me whether this is the entire story of farming in Belgium, but the family farm does seem to be surviving here, while in the US it's increasingly difficult for families to make a living on a family farm. <br />
<br />
For those who aren't familiar with Belgium, the country is essentially divided between the French-speakers, or Walloons, and the Dutch speakers, or Flemish. There is also a very small section of the country that is German-speaking. In the Brussels, most signs seem to be in both languages, but French is strikingly missing in the Flemish area we traveled through today. When we see French, it tends to be one of a list of four or five languages, including English. Occasionally restaurant menus will have both, but not always. We haven't been in the purely French areas, so I can't speak to the presence or absence of Dutch in those areas. We were told by some of the people we've met here that the Flemish have a greater sense of cultural identity and uniqueness than do the Walloons. According to one informant, the Walloons sometimes have a hard time differentiating their identity from that of the French, but the Flemish seem to see themselves as a distinct group. <br />
<br />
My grandfather was Dutch, and I've noticed that at least for older people, I can identify who is Dutch/Flemish by their features. I'm not sure exactly what cues I'm seeing, but there is some similarity in facial features or mannerisms or way of speaking to what I remember of my grandfather, and somehow it jumps out at me. Essentially everyone I spoke to in the Flemish region today could also understand French, though a few said they are more comfortable in English than in French. <br />
<br />Unknownnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-6844281479355104853.post-16284400174818689002013-08-17T00:40:00.002-07:002013-08-17T00:40:49.272-07:00Cookie butterChloe mentioned "cookie butter" in her last post. "What is cookie butter?" you may ask. Good question. Actually, "cookie butter" is our name for a product that some of the group have fallen for, hook, line, and sinker. For those who haven't seen it before, believe it or not, it's actually like peanut butter but it's made of cookies. I know .... weird huh? It's Speculoos cookies, pulverized into a paste and apparently mixed with oil or something to make it into a weird paste. People spread it on bread. Yes, I know ... ick. It tastes good, but it's a bit odd on whole grain bread or bread with various seeds included. Apparently one can buy it at Trader Joe's (per Katy). I wouldn't be surprised if World Market had it too. As you can probably tell, I'm not a huge fan - I think if I wanted cookies I'd just eat cookies rather than trying to spread them on my bread. But then again, I like a lot of other odd things that most of the rest of the group thinks are outrageous (like Ayran, which is sour yogurt thinned with water into a drink and salted. I was able to find some at a local Iranian market, and had some in Paris as well, but no one has jumped at it for some reason). Suzanne Malleryhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/15443604201545913041noreply@blogger.com0