Odense / Aarhus

I was going to be totally awesome today and add photos to this post, but sadly I not only left my camera at home but I also left my plug adapter there as well, so this could be short. Sad, because there's so much to talk about! :)

Last week our program went on a short study tour to the cities of Odense and and Aarhus. We visited a lot of places that dealt with issues on integration of immigrants and minorities. Despite a couple fiascos, the trip was really interesting and I enjoyed it a lot.

Thursday was in Odense and the first thing we all noticed was how much warmer it is in Copenhagen - win. The first group talked to us about their work in finding jobs for ethnic minorities. The second visit was to a professor who made some good points, but spent a good portion of his speech attacking the US. Normally, i would accept this as a difference of opinion, but he couldn't back up his arguments with any facts other than a law which was declared unconstitutional in 2002. It was a definite fiasco and the group was not pleased. But then we watched a ridiculous cartoon with our professor Jakob translating for us (voices included) and everything was better.

Friday began our adventure in Aarhus. First we went to a school where 85% of the students are bilingual. They face a lot of challenges with both the students and the parents in regards to literacy, knowledge of Danish, and manners. We heard a lot of interesting stories and even got to play some handball with some of the students. Then we went to a Turkish bazaar which got us really, really excited for our upcoming trip to Turkey. Oh delicious food. Finally we heard a discussion of the government to open up this highly diverse area to attract investment and people. Unfortunately, a lot of people will have to move, but they will be relocated at the expense of the state. They hope to triple the population by 2030. Theeeen we went to dinner and Jakob bought each table a bottle of wine (aka per 4 people) and later another drink. Oh Denmark.

Saturday we explored the city (I ♥ Aarhus), couldn't find the museum we were supposed to go to, then had a 4 hour bus ride back. All it comes down to is I love that city and I would so much rather spend the next 3 months there than in Copenhagen. But getting out of here was really nice and hopefully from now on, Copenhagen and I will start to get along better.