Thanksgiving(s) in Denmark!

 

Let me tell you a little story….

My first Thanksgiving away from home was this year while I was in Denmark. Our Danish friends don’t really eat turkey the way we do. We learned we might have to pre-order a turkey. Thinking that would be such a hassel that no one would want to deal with, I made a passing comment, “If y’all find and buy the turkey, I will cook it.” I ended up spending my first Thanksgiving on my own stuffing and cooking a ten pound turkey for seven people, and guess what…..IT WAS DELICIOUS!

I was so proud of myself and probably had 10 panic attacks in between seeing the frozen turkey defrosting on my roomate’s floor until it was stuffed, cooked for 3 hours, and came out of the oven all lovely brown and delicious.

We turned my room into a dining room, I turned around my bookshelves, made my desk a make shift dining table, some festive napkins and tea lights and a smorgasbord of thanksgiving traditionals and we were in the money! It certainly wasn’t the same without our families but I have to say I think I can speak for us all when I say it was very fun and definitely a great substitute on this favorite American holiday.

Jonas, our resident Dane at thanksgiving, put up with us going around the table saying what we were thankful for, and he even got seconds--that’s how good my turkey was! (recipe cred goes to Grandmom Phyllis, it was her stuffing recipe!)

 

the table!

nom nom turkey!

a little blury...but you get the picture!

the aftermath

Thanksgiving Part Two:

Then I had a second Thanksgiving on Sunday with my Danish mommy and brother! My Danish brother, Sebastian, decided that the Sunday after Thanksgiving is now called “Crazy Thanksgiving Christmas Day” because we ate thanksgiving food (we just went with a stuffed chicken--turkey is a real commitment) and made Christmas decorations, it was really fun, I am definitely going to miss them!! A good thanksgiving was had by all!

 



me and my Danish brother, Sebastian making Christmas candle arrangements (it's a Danish thing)

Denmark is into non-traditional gender roles so I cut the chicken

christmas decorations!!

GlasGO

 

My next excursion took me to some friends in Scotland! The past few summers I have worked at a summer camp for girls outside St. Louis, Missouri. Each year we get about 10 international staff who come through an organization called Camp America which helps foreigners find summer camps to work at in America and vice versa. This summer I became very close with two beautiful Scottish lasses, Linsey and Nicole, and was lucky enough to have them show me their home outside Glasgow, Scotland!

We had an eventful weekend and it was so nice to have someone else plan my adventures! The first day we went to Loch Lomond which has some of the most beautiful lochs in Scotland. Right on one of the lochs is a an absolutely gorgeous hotel called the Cameron Inn, we went there and had some hot chocolate by all of the cozy fires and tartan carpeted halls. We happened to be there at the same time a famous football player was having some lunch with his girlfriend, (of course I had no idea who he was but Linsey told me!). That evening we went to a Ceilidh! A ceilidh is a traditional Scottish party where you drink and do traditional Scottish dances! Each song would begin, they had a little band with a fiddle, and we would get up and get in lines, they would give you a quick overview of the dance, and you would just have to do it! We were all flung about the room by massive men in kilts and one grandma (who flung us harder than any of the kilted men). We met a really funny pair of British twins and it was a great night! I was forewarned that ceilidhs sometimes result in arm bruises from all of the dancing, but I left unscathed. However right as we left the ceilidh I fell on the pavement and got a bruise on my knee, good nights out in Glasgow J

The next day we kept it casual and just walked around downtown Glasgow, we saw George Square as well as some of the famous shopping streets and landmarks, including the man on the horse outside the modern art museum with a traffic cone on his head! That evening we just relaxed and watched movies. On Sunday before I left Linsey’s mom made me a “proper fry up” with eggs, ham, bacon, sausage, the works and it was delicious.

Such a funny weekend with friends, I swear my abs hurt from laughing so hard. Not to mention it is so fun after you have hosted some friends over the summer to get to go to their home and visit with them--such a rewarding experience! I could also fill up another two pages full of our inside jokes, but I won’t bore you to tears, so much fun with Linsey and Nicole, I know we will see each other again soon J !! xoxoxo

 

Loch Lomond, most beautious countryside known to man

 

Linsey's so cozy!!

 

nom nom hot coco!!

 

the beautiful Cameron House!! If I ever for some strange reason get married in Scotland...it will be here, so gorgeous!

 

we're ready to ceilidh!!

 

dancin time! (I think I'm dancing with one of our favorite british twins here--quality gals)

 

swinging Nicole around Scottish style!!

Venezia

(view outside the window at my hotel)

 

I took a short little trip to Venice during one of my breaks. Very laid back and relaxing, the days events included, sleeping in, having a traditional Italian breakfast, then wandering around Venice (mostly getting lost) until dinner time. Although I will say that the Peggy Guggenheim collection is quite possibly the most fantastic art collect I have ever seen. I also stayed at a little bed and breakfast run by an adorable Italian couple who had a little 10 month old baby named Maria Sola. She was a cutie and they were so sweet.

 

St. Marc's Square

 

There was quite a bit of flooding on the news, but I didn’t encounter anything except some large puddles like this one in St. Marc’s Square. But all of the stores were selling thigh high goulashes which was pretty funny.

Rialto Bridge

inside the fantastic Guggenheim Museum

(outside the restaurant with the best seafood linguini ever)

 

I also found this cute little restaurant (pictured above) that had the most delicious food I have ever had, the entire trip was worth it just for their seafood linguini. I was walking by and a man stopped me and said in a heavy Italian accent, “if you looking for a good food, eat here” I listened to him and was not at all disappointed.

Istanbul

...Where to begin. Last week I went to Istanbul, Turkey along with 55 other sociology students and saying it was an amazing experience is a total understatement. We arrived on a Saturday and we whisked off to the most delicious dinner I have probably ever eaten in my life (this pattern continued throughout the ENTIRE week--so much good food!). Our hotel was right behind Taxim Square and adjacent to Istagal which is the main pedestrian street (comparable to Copenhagen’s Stroget for my avid readers J .) and this is where we spent most of our time. Istanbul is just alive, there’s no way to really convey the feel of the city but it’s bustling in a way that is overwhelming in it’s subtlety, (if that makes sense at all). The first day we were in the huge group and did the big sights = Hippodrome, The Blue Mosque, Ayasofya, and Topkapi Palace.

A well at the Hippodrome.

Inside the Blue Mosque (formally the Sultan Ahmet Mosque).

 

Me inside the Blue Mosque (photo cred: Lucy Gleysteen)

 

Outside the Blue Mosque with Jenny, Kris and Ben!

Inside Ayasofya, absolutely breathtaking and this building is 1,500 years old...

The symbols for Allah and the Prophet Mohammad and in between? Oh thats Mary and Jesus.

Ayasofya was originally a church during the time of Constantine and after it was converted into a mosque under Ottoman rule out of respect the Ottomans didn't deface any Christian symbols, they covered some up and left some where they are like this depiction of the virgin and Jesus. (Hmmmm could there be a lesson in here America?? In a country that borders Iran, Iraq and Syria these two religions co-exist...cough cough...)

Topkika Palace: the Sultan's Harem

Bedroom in the Harem

Exhibit on religious symbols at the Palace--quite possibly the coolest thing I saw in Istanbul.

This exhibit had parts of the original Kabba (that big ol’ square thing in the center of Mecca), as well as relics of different figures in Islam including a cemented footprint of the Prophet Mohammed (along with some pieces of his beard). I couldn’t take pictures inside but when I saw the gold trimmed ledges from the Kabba I was just blown away without words as I was in the presence of something so sacred to Islam, and seeing this while being in a country that’s 90% Muslim made the experience even more moving. Verses of the Koran were being sung in Arabic in the background of the exhibit and it was just amazing.

The vast majority of our time was spent hearing lectures and academic visits. We were divided into groups based on our areas of interested and had academic/cultural visits accordingly. My group, “Political Islam”, heard many lectures concerning toleration, the potential for Turkey to become a presidential system, education reform, minority issues, etc. And we were able to meet with the AK Parti Youth Branch (The AKP or Justice and Development Party is the current party in power under Prime Minister Erdogan, very controversial party at the moment as they are conservative and preach secularization under the umbrella of religious freedom and reform and are very much criticized for an ulterior agenda for increased Islamization in Turkey).

As far as the people of Istanbul I will readily admit I have never seen so many burqas in my life. The dress of the Turkish women was about 1/3 by demographics. A third were in the full burqa with a niqab covering everything but their eyes. Another third wore the hijab covering their head but not their face. The last third was in total western dress. It was by no means overwhelming we were obviously foreigners.

Another experience that I have no photographic evidence of is going to the Turkish baths. This was quite an experience. Before it’s development Turkey’s water was under control of the central government and privatized water systems didn’t exist and no water or plumbing existed in homes. People would go to public common baths and these baths are still up and running today as a symbol and a traditional Turkish experience. Now more of a spa you can go and pick from a list of services such as massages and facials. But the real experience is in the scrubbing…

You go to the baths and men and women are separated (Sorry you cannot go with your gay friend, I tried.) You are sent upstairs where you get a locker and a changing room. You are given a pair of bikini bottom type swim pants, and that’s all. In your topless state you go downstairs and a nice Turkish mama ushers you into the main room of the bath. Steamy and sauna like the room is very spacious with a dome at the top and large raised stone in the center. You are with several other women and you lie on the heated stone for 20 minutes and soak in the relaxing atmosphere. After a couple minutes you even forget everyone is topless and lie on your back on the hot stone and let your back muscles just unwind. Once you have been there for your twenty minutes you receive a friendly (but firm) slosh of water across you--this is your Turkish mama’s signal it is time for your scrub down. You lie on your stomach, then back, then sit up, as a large and in charge women in a bra and underpants scrubs off your first layer of skin. My Turkish mama even tapped me on the shoulder so I could look down and see all the dirt she was scrubbing off…so kind. Then you are taken over to fountain where your mama rinses you off and shampoos your hair. After this additional 20 minute experience you go into a little side room with large heated pools of water where you can sit and relax even more. After this you are encouraged to sit in the waiting room for another 20 minutes and let your body adjust from being in the hot rooms. There are showers and blow dryers in your changing rooms and you can sit and have a cup of tea or go as you please there is no time limit.

There were many women in the baths, some locals, some foreigners and all different shapes and sizes. Probably the best part of the experience was lying on my hot stone as a couple, then a couple more, then a couple more, sociology majors trickled in until there were about a dozen of us (all topless) chillin’ in the Turkish baths. The boys were (and still are) extremely jealous of what we all have seen to say the least. At first it was a little awkward but then as time passed and you realized that no one around you was at all miffed at the “state of things” I began to relax and thoroughly enjoyed my Turkish baths experience, it was needless to say one of a kind.

Here are some more pictures from the trip of different things!

Lamps at the Grand Bazaar

Supposedly one of the nails from the cross at the Greek Patriarch Church

(yes, the Greek Patriarch is in Turkey not Greece..)

Panoramic view from atop a tower, you can see the Bosphorus (water between Europe and Asain sides of Istanbul!) Topkapi Palace on the tip, then Ayasofya, then the Blue Mosque next to that!

So many incredible views!!

daily activity = tea and hookah

 

I tried to upload a video here but it didn't work so I will put it on my facebook! It is me walking out of a restaurant and hearing the call to prayer from the Blue Mosque for the first time. It is absolutely unreal. The traditional Muslim prayers happen five times a day, (at sunrise, after lunch, before dinner, after dinner, and before bed). The Mosques typically call the middle three and we got accustomed to what time it would happen and we would all rush outside or throw open our windows at each call during the day and just stand in awe of it's beauty.

 

My trip to Istanbul was so moving and thought provoking. I found myself jounaling on the regular about everything going on around me. I will leave you with this story and thought about my experience. While visiting with the AK Parti Youth Branch and young man said to us "Can I say something to you about Islam in America?" to which we all without question told him he could. He looked into all of our eyes and said, "I know there are many Americans who hate Osama Bin Laden, but I promise you Muslims in American hate him 10,000 times more because he ruined their lives [as well as all the victims and their families of Sept. 11th]". Tears welled up in my eyes and I have been haunted/thinking about this comment ever since. An unforgetable experience.