Monday, November 23, 2009

All's well that ends well?

I've tried to write a finishing post for this trip but it's a lot harder than I thought it would be - mainly because the end seems wrong.

I've been on danish soil for a few weeks now. And until now I've been surfing friends' couches; just hanging out with people I like, and I've been drunk as many times here as I've been for the 2½ months I've been travelling.

My base of operations is now my parents place and it will be until the middle of december. My birthtown is pretty, historical, peaceful ... and if it wasn't for my parents there would be nothing for me here. Don't get me wrong, my childhood was great and the town does bring back those memories but there is also a reason why I moved to another country at 17 - this place drives me nuts. I love it here but I can't stay for too long at a time. Also, today none of my friends live here anymore so they can't help with the nuttyness O_O I'm self-medicating myself with books, movies, series and painting.

I also have time to revisit memories of my trip to two very different countries.

When thinking of the states I can think back to my inspired "length of Manhattan" walk (man, did I hurt >_<) that got started by me seeing that there was a comics and cartoon museum in the south end, and how when I finally got there just stood and looked at the building for 5 minuttes saying: "Typical" because they had closed the museum the previous month. Typical for my luck.

I can think of the dissapointing day in Washington that ended with me draging my butt back on a bus to go to Nashville, and how that bus ride was the best that I had because of Dennis the driver that told jokes and said that all you needed to make a day perfect was a smile; also because of the sweetest pixie woman at McDonalds in the Viginia mountains who made me a vegetarian burger despite it not being on the menu. I love the accent too :)

And I can think back on how disturbing the poverty in the states where; and how weird it was to have someone come up to me and ask for money when they had nicer clothes on than me and only picked me to ask because I was the only white person present.

I can think of the very nice indian woman at a hotel in Memphis who gave me a room with a kingsize bed for a dormroom prize because she didn't want me to walk through a bad area to get to a hostel.

I can think of how typical it is that Texas has one of the driest, hottest summers and when I got there it started raining.

And I can laugh to myself for noticing that fire hydrants are different colours in different states and sometimes in different cities: In Asheville they are clown coloured fx ^^

When thinking back on Japan my internal movie shows me the most beautiful pictures of mountains, castles, woods, sea, temples, wildlife and traditional arts and crafts *sigh*, as well as very kitshy things in an overkill way that only the Japanese can get away with.

I can remember sitting under one of the bridges in Kyoto talking to a couple of the homeless people living there after I had offered them some food; they only accepted the food on the condition that they could be hospitable to me and offered me a seat in their home.

Also, I can think back on how much it amused me that a school on Okinawa had their very orderly morning gymnastics to the beat of the Imperial March from Star Wars; cute little stormtroopers they were ^^

I can remember the panic I felt after a big 5cm bug bounced of my sunglasses because I was afraid my allergy wouldn't be able to take it if it was one of those huge hornets I've seen on tv.

And I can remember how funny it was that none of the Japanese women could walk properly in high heels (probably has something to do with the lack of hips and junk in the trunk); and that even though a lot of people rode bikes it looked like they all learned it the previous day (I have no theory as to the reason for that! I got nothin')

I am grateful for every encounter and experience that I had.

... travelling is probably the only thing I am really good at that I also really enjoy. I miss it.

Monday, November 09, 2009

Tokyo madness

It is amazing how many clubs Tokyo have (and you can get into a lot of them for free if you're female). A goth club can be right next to a disco and nobody finds it strange. I was out with a french girl saturday and we were following a bunch lolita girls around for a bit and they went from one extreme to the other - it was very interesting. We toasted in sake everytime we came to a new place.

Be careful with Sake. It's a killer. It goes straight to your brain and boils your brain ... especially if it's hot >_<

Maybe it was the sake that made a guy offer me money if I would step on him wearing a pair of heals. I wasn't drunk enough to accept and felt that it would be too much like standing next to someone as they jerked off to you. Don't get me wrong, I don't mind a boyfriend or someone I find attractive doing it, but this dude was not my cup of tea. I might be dirt poor but walking around on someone until he jizzes in his pants just doesn't seem like the right way for me to make money o_O

The sake almost ruined my Sunday, at the very least it made it harder. I went to Harajuku to goggle the cos play zoku (costume play gang). The visual onslaught to my eyes was almost as bad as standing in front of an arcade in Akihabara (my poor brain).

There were a bunch of really pretty costumes on a gang of teeny tiny girls and I asked in my very bad Japanese if I could take a picture. After a lot of giggles - I got out my camera, they posed, I said cheese ... and the fucking camera died. I might have been a little overly dramatic with my: NOOOOOOOOO! But the girls all took pity on me and chatted with me for about an hour after that.

I can't remember exactly how we came on to the subject, but the girls agreed that I could make a lot of money in Japan. As one girl so nicely put it: "There are two types of men in Japan: Type 1: the ones who wants to step; and Type 2: the ones who wants to be stepped on" and I had already had a run in with the second type the night before. The girls felt that most Japanese women can only fill the needs of type 1 so Japan needed women that could take care of type 2.
-Then a discussion about my weight started (the only part of this scenario that wasn't amusing to me) and then an argument about whether or not my boobs were real which ended after one girls grabbed them and went: "Hai! Real!" ... and here I thought that the Japanese were suppose to be a polite people, oh dear oh dear.

Today I went around Shinjuku and Shibuya with Julie, the french girl, and we could tell that I do not exist according to the shops there. Julie picked up a shirt that said XL and I swear it was a XS. We got so depressed that we ate a box of cookies. Pretty good monday really :)

I'm going to take a walk around central Tokyo tomorrow and see a Kabuki show at Kabuki-za. I'll probably love it; vibrant colours, dance, drama and men in drag - I mean, you can't go wrong there ^^
I've already seen some puppet theatre and Noh theatre so it's the next step.

I think I'll just relax after that. Read and gear up to the plane trip home.

Sooooo tired ...

Sayonara. さようなら

Saturday, November 07, 2009

A little extra somethin' somethin'

The "Culture Day" Tuesday did turn out a bit of culture ^^

On a hunch (which is just another word for subtle pattern recognition) I made my way to Senjo ji temple and ran into a parade. It was basically a run-through of Japanese history and culture, and I ended up with 50+ pictures on my camera O_O Some very pretty things there. I also ran into an Aussie that I had couch surfed with at Mochan's place and had a little chat.

After the parade was over I went up Nakamise dori, a shopping street leading up to the temple, to get a few souvenirs for the people at home. The good thing about Nakamise is that most of the stuff in the stalls are made in Japan; of course you get the "made in china" stuff in between but I stay away from it. I mean, seriously - I'm in Japan so I should get things that are made here and not in the neighbouring country.

I asked a sales person about some kanji on a small figurine and the outcome was interesting:

Lady: Helt.
Me: Helt? Eh ...
Lady: Helt! Helt!
Me thinking: Oh crap ...
Lady looking very distressed: Helt! Heelt! Hellsss!
Me grapping on to the last attempt the lady did and running with it: ... Hells ... Health?!
Lady lighting up: Haaaaai! Helt!
Me: Riiiiight ... okidoki ^^

Now, we continued to poke a bit of fun at the Th-sound before I showed her how to make it. In short, I got my phonetic ass in gear and visually showed her where the sound was to be found in her mouth - and she was besides herself.

Lady: Health! The theatre! The the the the! Health!
Me: *With a big old smug smile and feeling happy that I helped*

I got a figurine for free for my help ^^
My phonetics training is really useful here; most Japanese have only minor problems reading English but have great difficulty with pronunciation. It feels good to be useful :)

In the evening it was karaoke time (I kicked ass ^^).
And we did it for so long that I didn't have a voice the next day.

Thursday, November 05, 2009

Down to earth magic!


"Do everything by hand, even when using the computer."
-Hayao Miyazaki


Went to the Ghibli museum today. Woaw ....
The place has a very organic feel to it; it could be somebody's home (I'd live there for sure!) It's so nice to see that museums can be interesting without being arrogant and stand-offish. It was magical in an approachable, tangible way that made it extremely memorable to me.

The museum made me think of the "caves" I used to make as a kid; the ones where you hide away and fill your little space with treasures. I guess in some way I've never gotten beyond that since I still live in small little spaces surrounded by my cherished things. I am just a big kid. An old soul but a child at heart. I really appreciate Hayao Miyazaki's vision for his museum and I truely think he hit it right. I wish I could crawl into his head, just for a week or two. But since that isn't really possible the museum and the movies will have to do.

Uh! And I got precious booty from the shop there! ^^

It's been a long (yet satisfying) day and I'll write more tomorrow.

Dream big, my pretties.

Tuesday, November 03, 2009

Another holiday?!

It seems that the Japanese has at least one holiday every month and this tuesday we have now run into Culture Day (I haven't really found out if it means I can get into museums cheaper or something similar ^^) So I'm jumping on my rental bike and taking a look at gardens and parks today.

My trip on the ferry from Okinawa wasn't so bad this time because I had food with me.
There were a couple of re-runs of people:
-The cool biker chick was back and I spent a lot of fun time trying to teach her to play The Good, the Bad and the Munchkin (I actually think the language barrier made it more fun!).
-Also on board was a guy I refer to as "Mr Stare"; an extremely creepy man who kept watching me when I slept. The last time around I kept telling myself that I was imagining things and maybe he just had very bad eye sight so he focused on the darkest spot in the room; but this time I tried to move out of sight and he followed me ... twice o_O
-There was a little girl on board who last time had looked at me a lot too and this time she had worked up enough nerve to approach me. Really cute. She had seen Little My and Snufkin on my jacket and she had decided that the best way to make contact with the big gaijin was to sing the theme from the Moomins cartoon series. Kawaii ^^ It worked. We had our own little singalong and managed to get through a lot of Disney songs and a few Ghibli :)

I looked through my pictures and realized that I hadn't taken that many on Okinawa and none of people! It's too bad because I met some very colourful characters; my hostel was full of hippies, street preformers (among others a firedancer who gave a preformance that kicked ass; he's the best I've ever seen), surfers, soldiers, globetrotters. I liked it ^^

After getting very lost in Osaka (it involved about 10 japanese people who all tried to help me before someone finally found an english teacher from Australia - who ended up offering me a job because "we need brave people" :D) I was late for the Halloween celebration with Mochan's new couchsurfing group. And then I got extremely smashed.

We all went back to Mochan's house in Shizouka and arrived at about five in the morning. I hadn't really slept on the ferry due to a combination of bad weather, snoring/snorting old guy, and Mr Stare, so you would think I would be able to sleep at Mochan's ... but no. The alcohol in my system was making my world sail and I didn't manage to fall asleep before people started getting up again. The house was buzzing (along with my head) all day and we left at midnight to make it to Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo and I didn't get any sleep on the bus either. I finally got a bed at 11 monday morning and had pretty much been awake since thursday. Talk about feeling your age all the sudden. Gah! But I doubt that I have ever been happier to go to sleep in a crisp bed before ^^

The fish market was quite the show by the way. And it cemented my resolve to never touch meat again.

I'm back at Khao San (yes, like the backpacker street in Bangkok) in Tokyo. And here I'm going to enjoy my last days in Japan and pick up a few last souvenirs.

Sunday, November 01, 2009

I was thinking ...

I like the fact that people pronounce my name correctly here. Japanese people take one look at my name and say it right on the first take without me saying it out loud first. Aah ... the small joys in life ^^

There are other things I do not like though. The Japanese is a apologize-first people but it doesn't stretch to their manners on the street, they walk into each other and even knock people over and keep going. I've had people turn around and stared at me like I was the scum of the earth after they've hit me with their umbrella. Very odd. Maybe the street is one of those places where they can get a couple of aggressions out that they can't other places, heh.

And I occasionally see people forget something on the train or drop something on the street and, being the gaijin that I am, I of course pick it up and return it to the owner because nobody else does it. I'm big, noisy and do not speak Japanese ... but is luckily forgiven for these traits because I'm not from Japan.

But it is hard to say really bad things about Japan. The attitude towards animal welfare is the biggest in my book but I'm sure others would disagree.

I wish it was easier to be vegan here but I'm getting by. I lived on rice and sugar to begin with but have now gotten good enough at recognising the kanji for meat products and I found out that you can go to a lot of Buddhist temples and get vegan/vegetarian food, WOO!

Would I be able to live in Japan for a year? Hm ... yeah, I think so. It couldn't be in a place like Nagoya or Osaka though: Too soulless, too much concrete, too stiff. Kyoto is a beautiful choice. Tokyo is weird enough. One of the south island is probably a better choice for me though; I could kayak, surf, dive and trek when the culture wasn't enough.

Anyway! I haven't made it to Tokyo yet. I'm at Mochan's place in Shizouka. I got very drunk on Halloween and needed some serious downtime (I'm getting old) so I've been hanging out with Mochan's recent set of couchsurfers today. We're all heading to Tokyo in the morning.

Hope you all had a great Halloween ^^

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

I believe I can fly!

I as a general rule love animals, but of course there are a few I appreciate more than others. There are a couple of people who know my favourite animal. For the rest who does not: Manta.
Maybe it's a Pisces thing, but I love Manta rays. They fly under water; how cool is that!?! It amazes me that something so big and odd can be so graceful and magical.

And one of them went right past my face today and I swear I stopped breathing for a minute or so. HoooOOOly fuck! They're HUGE! I already knew that they are the largest of the rays, but still ... DAMN! I'm very happy right now; the sun is shining inside my head ^^

I had been in kind of a shitty mood since yesterday when I made a soldier cry. Yup, a grown man broke down on me. I had asked why he drank so much and he had answered that it was because otherwise he couldn't sleep. He's not the first soldier I've met on this journey that didn't sleep without aid. We had a talk about Iraq and how it has messed up a lot of young men and continues to do so. It was only after he said out loud why he couldn't sleep that he broke down and I'm sorry I asked him. It was nice to talk to him though. Speaking English without simplifying was good too.

The night under the stars was spend on the most awful beach. It is the closest to the hostel and there is actually a road going across the water and ruining the view o_O I was a good thing we were all drunk!

I'm going back to the mainland tomorrow and will land in Osaka in time for Halloween.
Happy sailing to me.

Monday, October 26, 2009

Just another day in paradise.

Well, I haven't really been doing much to tell you the truth.
I arrived early Thursday and spent most of the day at the beach in a hammock with a beer ^^

Friday I biked around south Okinawa looking at peace memorials and reconstructed historical sites (no historical site survived the battle of Okinawa in 1945 unfortunately) which of course was an active thing to do. And today I walked to the Shuri area which used to be the capital of Okinawa - but in between Friday and today Monday I only read, drank and played cards because of a typhoon (an extremely wet experience)

I was suppose to go couch surfing with an American couple for a few days near Kadena Air Base but they haven't been online to give me the address so I'm not entirely sure what I'll do tomorrow. If they do not get in contact I think I'll head out to a nearby island to snorkel with mantas.

Maybe I'll bike the 20km up to Okinawa city and snicker at the spectacle that is the Americana japan. Central Okinawa is were most of the bases are and despite some guide books' insistence that it has an international feel every traveller and Japanese person I've meet says that it's a kinda freaky experience, heh.

We're a few people who are going to camp out on the beach under the stars tonight; mainly because we've all been cooped up inside the whole weekend and just need air! Now!

*Flies out the door with a bag full of beer*

Friday, October 23, 2009

Domo!

Osaka turned out to be boring. It's alright for nightlife but it is a butt ugly city. It got leveled in WWII and is one of the cities that just never got over it. It is industrial in the uninteresting way. But I guess it's a good base for exploring other places in the region; I went to Nara on a day trip.

Nara looks very small when you step off the train but it holds 8 temples, shrines and ruins that are on UNESCO's list of world heritage sites; quite impressive really. Everyone talks about Todai-ji as the place to see so I went there first expecting big things ... and I guess that's what I got. Todai-ji is a monster. It's the largest wooden building in the world. When you first enter the gate it looks nice but not too impressive (I've been in Japan for a few weeks now so I've seen my fair share of impressive buildings) But like with Niagara Falls the closer you get the greater the impact. When I left again my neck hurt from all the looking up and going "Holy dung beetle".

Nara had just had the weirdest festival: Deer antler cutting festival o_O
So all the Sika deer that roam the "Historic Monuments of Ancient Nara" site were without antlers, heh. A bit odd but it apparently has something to do with protection of locals and tourists. My guess is that some of the males there are very horny (pardon the pun) buggers who are very protective of their harem and in order to give stupid people a fighting chance when they do what comes naturally to them: Not think when faced with a territorial deer; antler cutting became mandatory for all deer on the site. There were a hell of a lot of school kids there that got their first visual biology lesson on reproduction; like I said: horny buggers.
All I got was a couple of shoes full of poo >_<

There were a few school classes that were there to interact with tourists to practice their English. So I managed to say "Good. And how are you?"- "My name is Ane. I'm from Denmark"-"Thank you (for a piece of origami)"- "Bye bye" 10 times ... and I know this because I had 10 pieces of origami in my bag when I came back to Osaka. Kids are cute sometimes ^^

Well, I decided against going to China (too much paperwork involved) so after spending 40 hours on a ferry I'm now in Okinawa. It's a good thing I like the water and sailing otherwise a person might go mad on that ferry trip. There is nothing but vending machines on board and I didn't know that so I hadn't brought any food with me and I only had 200 yen in coins in my pocket. It was a loooong trip from my stomach's point of view. You are put in a room with 40 futons and you can choose to lie there or go out on a small section of deck; I spent a great amount of time reading on deck and watching the waves and occasional flying fish. On the upside I got to practice my Japanese because I met the coolest biker chick (who owns a fish pet shop) who spoke a minimum of English so we had to make do with numbers, my "point and speak" book and impro sounds ^^

Anyway ... I am back in tropical weather and I don't mind that one bit. It suits me ^^
Okinawa is reference heaven for me but probably lost on most of you so I'll just keep it to myself :) And I'll write about paradise later.

See ya'

Monday, October 19, 2009

Utsukushii!

Oh yes, Kyoto is beautiful ... when you are willing to look for the good stuff. And I don't mind walking for a far bit so I'm okay ^^

When I first got of the train and looked out from the station my heart sank: Concrete *sigh*
It's the most uninspiring material, concrete, and you see a lot of it in Japan >_<

But luckily on my quest to find a place to sleep I found Gion, where the Geisha live :D I quite literally stumbled upon it and a couple of Maikos thought I was cute. I'm getting better at Japanese and I must have blushed because they giggled, heh.

I dropped my bag at a Ryokan and proceeded to get hopelessly lost; I'm good at that. Saw a lot of cool and beautiful streets though (pictures will come later). The Imperial Palace found me not the other way around, and from there I managed to find the Manga Museum. Oh yeah!

It's kind of too bad I won't get to see the philosopher's walk in full bloom, but I did get a beautiful autumn walk in Fushimi inari taisha (I have a little pictures diary of that, hehe) And on my way back I walked past the Nintendo building. Woo!

The least touristy thing was Shimabara, the old "entertainment" district. I went to the old gate and to Sumiya without meeting a single westerner :O

I've overdosed on temples. There are sooo many here! Nishi Hongan-ji was my favourite.
And I've been fairly antisocial here. No hanging out with people really. There was an american that seemed very eager buuuut no.

Anyway, I was suppose to go to Okinawa today but the ferry has been cancelled (which I am told happens quite often) so I'm in Osaka trying to decide if I want to wait for tomorrow's ferry for Okinawa or if I want to wrestle with Chinese immigration and take the ferry to Shanghai. Hm ...

Saturday, October 17, 2009

Nice to see a friend.

It is really nice to experience new things and meet new people but I have to admit that it was great to see a familiar face of a friend. A big hug and a smile after getting of a train made my day ^^

I watched a play in Nagoya by the way ... in Japanese ... it was Phantom of the Opera ... and it was the most surreal experience I have ever had in the theatre ... no shit.

Anyway, I went to Gifu to meet Makoto, but I didn't have to since we ended up in Nagoya anyway. Makoto had the great idea of going to Nagoya Port Aquarium and I didn't complain. I've never seen him as serene as when he was looking at the dolphins; we all have our safe places.

Before we went to the aquarium we stopped between Gifu and Nagoya to check out a replica of Satsuki and Mei's house ... yes, the girls from My Neighbour Totoro ^^ I now have a picture of myself next to the house and next to the bus stop (with an umbrella). It was amazing! They had all the details right: The imperfections on the house, Mei's boots and bag, The dad's bike. The thing that was missing though was a big one: Totoro's tree behind the house. But it was awesome anyway. Woo! I can't wait for the museum!

Makoto took me to his favourite cafe to eat and gave me a Japanese "point and phrase" book (and it's damn useful) so I was really happy until we got to his house in Gifu. Getting introduced to Makoto's family really had my nerves on end; I didn't want to embarrass him by doing something stupid and breaking some formal rule. Well, if I did commit some taboo I wasn't told, hehe. The area and the house is very traditional Japanese in a beautiful way and I only had the best impression of his family.

Speaking of beautiful: I'm in Kyoto. But I'll write about that later :)

Wednesday, October 14, 2009

Whoops ..

Well, slight change of plans. I'm in Nagoya. I had misunderstood Makoto; he said thursday, I heard tuesday. So I made a little detour to Nagoya before going to Gifu.

The best thing about Nagoya is a castle and a Noh theatre. Boston museum of fine arts also have a place here but it's so damn far away from the town that I'm skipping it.

I'm staying at a ryokan here (japanese inn). I'm getting used to tatami mats on the floor, sleeping on futons, deep bathtubs, little elves that serves me tea undetected, and of course a nice crisp yukata robe after a bath. Hotels will seem like such a letdown after this. It does however strike me as a bit weird that I have to share the roomkey o_O

It bugs me that postcards and postoffices are really hard to find here. Postcards is a small thing to do but it means a lot to my grandmother that I write her nice cards. Damn it.

I am building up a small collection of photos of Stitch. He is everywhere! Every little tourist attaction has their version of Stitch souvenirs. Apparently there is an anime running here based around Stitch and it's insanely popular. Very kawaii ^^

Just one question before I go: Is it wrong to eat sushi every day?
The answer is "no", right? ;P

Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Moving on.

I haven't had any time to myself the last four days so no update has been possible.

It has been a very compact few days. We were lucky to have a perfect view of mt. Fuji so it appears in a lot of my photos, hehe. Shizouka and close by towns are very traditional Japanese so I've definitely got my share of under the skin experiences with Japan ^^

Anyone who has seen Lost in Translation would have been able to snicker along with us when we went to Suntory winery; there where a lot of: "For relaxing times, make it Suntory time." being thrown around.

I only recognise a few Japanese characters so I'm blissfully unaware of what is being thrown at me from ads and billboards. The joy of not being sold anything; aaaaaaaaah ... ^^

I've decided to skip Hiroshima and go directly from Osaka to Okinawa (heat, wildlife and diving). First I'm going to Gifu, Kyoto, Nara and Osaka though.

Slowly getting ready to move along from Shizouka and all the people I've been hanging out with the time I've been here. Going to Gifu to hang out with my friend, Makoto, for a few days.

Thursday, October 08, 2009

Big in Japan.

It's quiet here ... really.

When I arrived at Narita airport and left the plane the sound disappeared. There is the occasional "bling pling" of their version of elevator music but that's it. It might be because I've spent the last month in a loud country but day time Tokyo is very quite for a big city and sometimes void of sound altogether if you are nowhere near traffic.

At the moment nature is making up for the lack of sound though as there is a typhoon on. Woo!

I'm staying at a very homey little hostel where I keep adding new bumps to my head because of the low entry ways. It's really cheap and they are so nice; they had a girl switch bed with me because hers was the only one that was long enough for me in the girl's dorm (all the 2 meter ones are in the men's dorm heh)

The japanese have a real thing about harmony and positive things so a lot of things are "Happy": "Happy Shoes", "Happy Net", "Happy Food", "Happy Sick" (no shit, I saw that lasts one).

Their love of vending maschines is awesome. My inner clock is still a little messed up and I was really hungry in the middle of the night, and normally you have to settle for junk at that time of the day; but not in Tokyo! I got a meal, a real meal, from a vending maschine down the road! Yeah baby!

I got freaked out when a toilet spoke to me though o_O That I could do without.

I'm going down the coast on friday and saving my Tokyo experience for last. I'm trying to couchsurf my way through 50% of my time here starting out with a guy in Shizouka who is a hardcore couchsurfer and host. I'll have 4 days at his house along with 3 others and we're going to a tea ceremony and an onsen, to Mt. Fuji and wine tasting which is close to his home. Later in the month I'll go along with a larger arrangement he has set up for travellers that involves Halloween in Osaka ^^

Anyway, I'm going to pick up my ticket for the Ghibli museum now. See ya later!

Tuesday, October 06, 2009

If you can make it here ...

I've realized that I for about 16 years have had a resentful attitude towards the US. I kept telling myself that it was an uninteresting place that I didn't really want to travel to. And it's not really fair because it's not this country's fault that I resented it ...
When I was 15 I desperately wanted to be a high school exchange student in the states but my mom said no because she would rather spend the money on a pool that the whole family could enjoy. I was heart broken but understood my mother's reasoning so I sucked it up. Putting away a deeply felt wish involved telling myself that the grapes where probably sour anyway. A couple of years later I went to England without any cost to my parents.
At my age it is easy to laugh at teenagers when they act like every setback is the end of the world; there will be lots of setbacks during a life time and you can get used to disappointment. Only thing is: some things stick ...

Damn it. I don't want to leave. And it's a hurt teenager on the inside that has been during cartwheels for a month now that is saying it. She got her wish. It feels GREAT!

Heh. I've always felt things deeply and loved fiercely, but this surprised me. I had honestly forgotten that it mattered so much to me that I didn't get to go.

Anyway, I am leaving. I am going to a country my grownup self has wanted to go to for 10 years and my teen just has to stay quiet until the Japan trip is over. I will immerse myself in the japanese culture, be an appreciative observer of the people, enjoy the differences and make a fool of myself with the language. And when I return to Denmark in november I'll sit down with my teen and apply for an extended stay in the states (because that's what grownups do).

Thursday, October 01, 2009

"Could you help me?"

I look like a New yorker. At least that's what people in New York keep telling me. Not the upscale, snobby as they come, goes to the Hampton's, wasn't born here - kind; I talked to a guy at the Cuba Cafe and he just went: "Shit, girl, you could be one of the street." Ooookaaay ... is that good? "Hell yeah, it means you're real" and I thanked him ^^

I do have a slight English accent (which is slowly disappearing o_O) that tips people off.
But the big diffence between New York and the rest of the places I've been here is: In New York people ask me for directions and everywhere else they ask me where I'm from.

Oh well ...

Despite New York being in the expensive end you still get a lot of free stuff here. I'm fx going to a Metropolitan Opera event in Bryant Park tonight to check out a season intro preformance and I went to a lot of museums yesterday for free. Of course I'm also writing this for free in the New York Public Library (what an incredibly beautiful building) and there was a cook-off in Chelsea where they handed the food out afterwards (damn good food). The big apple is aaalright!

The free stuff is good since I've blown my budget for the states and that means I have to tone it down in Japan. I'm getting more money in November but it still means I'm probably going to have red numbers before returning home.

Okay. I'll most likely write again before leaving for Japan.
Bye bye.

Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Cheers!

Yeah ... I was there. Got a picture and everything ^^
No locals though, only tourists, so I didn't stay.

Anyway, Boston. It tried to drown me sunday and then tried to blow me away today.
And I've had a really good time while that has been going on :D

I arrived here early sunday and found my hostel which was pretty central for once. I figured I'd check Harvard out first because maybe it wouldn't be crowded on a sunday (I was of course wrong). Enjoyed a jazz sunday in a veggie place I can't remember the name of and ended up playing disc golf with some dudes in a park. The drowning started during the disc playing, and my poor always suffering shoes died - they have been slowly falling apart for a few weeks because of all the walking and there had been holes clean through the soles for a couple of days so the sudden death wasn't so sudden. But I had to find a new pair on a sunday ... in the rain ... in bare feet. It took an hour but I found a pair and rewarded myself with some Starbucks time and a couple of new books.

The shoes on the bus to Boston and
before the sole on my right shoe fell off:


I also needed a new pair of socks and went into a souvenir shop and asked if they had a pair of Red Sox red socks .... and the people behind the desk looked at me with murder in their eyes! They take their baseball veeery serious here o_O

There are quite a few irish people here. I found out after I went into an irish pub to have a pint and watch sunday football (yes, I know, watching sport is not something I do but I'm kinda hooked on NFL at the moment) And I realized that that was what Boston reminded me of: Ireland. There is a feel here that makes me think of Ireland; I like it.

My day today was windy, but I didn't mind because I got to see a guy windsurf down Boylston street and I had Granary burying ground all to myself. I ate dinner at a thai restaurant called iPhoo and only choose it because the name made me laugh out loud.

Oh, and I found the most evil shop here . Very, very, very evil. Newbury comics! I'm poor! Gah!

Later ^^

Friday, September 25, 2009

Niagara Falls (edited)

It's wet.
Hm ... yeah ... it's wet ^^
If you are ever in Niagara Falls do not, and I repeat, DO NOT take your camera out when you are on Maid of the Mist and don't let anyone around you do it either. The Falls become more and more impressive the closer you are; it also becomes increasingly more loud and WET! The last fact hadn't occurred to a lot of tourists who kept taking pictures and then started swearing when their precious digital camera couldn't take the mist anymore. Duh!

I like all the black squirrels here; and they are everywhere and there are a lot of them!

Niagara itself is a bit sad really. I stayed in the so called art district and most houses were boarded up and just as many had "For rent" or "Available space" signs in the window. Once you get close to the falls the streets turn into one big tourist trap. Ripley's, Horror Houses, Souvenir shops, Fast Food joints and way too much neon on signs >_< The city sort of has the feeling of a place that used to be a big thing but then fell from glory.

One good thing happened on the way here though: Found two new friends. Anything that takes more than 14 hours produce buddies, hehe. They were men of course .. women don't like me.

I was going to go back to New York after this but it seems my wandering feet wants to go to Windsor here in Canada to say hi to Sarah; and I can swing by Detroit on the way back to New York.

EDIT: Well, I'm in Toronto. I hopped on a bus that turned out to be one and a half hour late so I missed my bus to Windsor and now have to wait five hours before the next one leaves. If I continue I'll be in Windsor past midnight and Sarah went to London until Monday so I can't crash on her couch ... ooooooh well ... maybe Boston would be a good idea. It sounds like a brilliant idea to me. I have to maximize my use of my greyhound pass anyway ;)

Wednesday, September 23, 2009

Over the mountains.

When I got off the bus in Asheville I instantly got homesick; the air was crisp, cool and there was a yellow brick house just across from the station. I started missing danish autumn right away.

It is nice though to finally be in a place where I have an easy time getting food. I've been to two places here where it is printed on the menu if the dish is vegan or not; awesome ^^ People had warned me that Asheville was hippie heaven but I think they have their catagories mixed up, 'cause Austin had hippies (tie-die t-shirts, long hair with braids and beads, funny hats, sleep outside, was alive in the 60's) and Asheville has health freaks (organic, vegan, recycle, dairy free, work out, holistic medicin), and I really do not mind that :) Especially since I live in west Asheville and everyone does it here so it's the norm.

I havn't had much luck with meeting people I knew before coming here: My friend in New York thought that I had meant october so I haven't met up with her yet. The one in New Orleans got attacked on her job and is now spending some time with her family in Canada. And I went to Asheville because I could meet up with someone I've talked to a lot that lived here, but she isn't answering at all! So I've met a bunch of new people but no old.

Oh yeah: I'm going to CANADA! ^^

Sunday, September 20, 2009

Is it hot enough for you?

Getting ready to leave New Orleans. Despite the humidity my nordic self isn't melting away like some of my travel buddies, hehe. I started talking to a couple of guys when I got on the bus in San Antonio; they were both heading for Florida, but they ended up getting off the bus in New Orleans with me. We spent a lot of our time in the french quarter at the Cat's Meow singing our karaoke ass's off. And I've now got two new places to stay if I come back here ^^

"N'awlins" is constantly partying, but 99% is out-of-towners and 50% of those are foreigners. It makes for a cool loose atmosphere at night, but I actually like it better during the day (yes, despite the humidity). The place has some seriously interesting shops and artwork that has me engulfed for hours. I also have to come back for Mardi Gras one year; the guys say they'll come with me :)

I'm going to Asheville, North Carolina tomorrow. See ya fat cats later.

Wednesday, September 16, 2009

Surfing USA.

San Antonio ... mmm...
You don't even have to go to Mexico to get the mexican feeling; go to San Antoniooooo!

I'm couch surfing here. A really kick ass family; musicians, teachers, theater people. And as is befitting Texas: Huge house, huge cars and a huge circle of friends that I'm being introduced to ^^ Even the heat is of a serious size. It's HOT here. Seriously. Damn! I'm starting to understand the whole deal with driving everywhere: You have your aircon with you ;)

Downtown is not that big, I guess it makes sense since it's a really old town and all the historical stuff is within short walking distance - but it is slightly misleading since San Antonio is the 7th largest city in the states. Soooo many people here o_O

One last note in case you're not familiar with San Antonio's history: REMEMBER THE ALAMO!!

Well, I'm going to New Orleans. Later!

Monday, September 14, 2009

These boots are made for walking!

I'll never be a cowgirl, let's face it. I'm never going to honky tonk it down at a local bar after herding cattle all day on my trusty horse. I do not eat enough meat or drive enough truck either. BUT I used to ride horses though and that's more than can be said for most of the people I've met in Austin; some of them have worn cowboy hats and boots but they've never been to a farm or seen the landscape from a horse. HA!
Fair enough, Austin isn't your typical Texas town; it's quite off-beat really. Maybe it comes from being the capital, a university city and having kind of an odd history. And BATS, lots of bats!
Did I mention that I love it here?! Hehe.

About the bats: It's a tradition here that people watch the bats fly out at dusk and it really is awesome. Couldn't get any good pictures though :(

Austin is a music mecca apparently. A lot of the most interesting country and rock seems to come from here at the moment. They have music festivals scattered through out the year and I've managed to land here in the one month they don't have anything going on (lucky me). I guess it's alright since it has been raining on and off since I got of the bus here (once again, lucky me)

But seriously, I really do like Austin. This is the first place where I've been able to say: Yeah ... I could live here. New York is brilliant and I could probably spend some serious time there but it doesn't feel like a place I could live for an extended periode and Austin is. Funny ... I didn't think Texas was a place for me, heh.

Anywoo! People love my Elvis shades. Graceland's finest ^^

Friday, September 11, 2009

Pork... Pork! PORK!

Memphis is a hard place for vegetarians, vegans and people with heart problems (maybe that's why they call it the heartland (poor joke I know)) On my first day here I found one place that was willing to make a vegan meal; an irish pub called Silky O'Sullivan's where the food was so hot I couldn't taste my ale after I'd finished eating, hehe. It also introduced me to the strange concept of serving food in all plastic containers and with plastic cutlery for an extra challenge (I felt sorry for the people with a steak o_O).

Well, I went to the mother of all tourist traps: Graceland ^^
The house was a well preserved piece of the 70's. And I saw a woman break down crying when she came to Elvis' grave. It was cool to look at the trophy room where there were scandinavian gold records hanging on the wall. I decided that paying an ekstra $30 to see all that Graceland had to offer wasn't worth it so I quickly made my way to the Sun Studios afterwards.

Sun Studios ... damn! A three room slice of rock history. Such a tiny little place that had such a big impact on the world and it had an impact on me unlike Graceland. Sun Studios was sealed off after Sam Philips moved shop in the 60's so when it opened up as a museum much later it was exactly as it looked in the 50's when Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash and Carl Perkins recorded there. Soooo cool!

I also spent way too much time in the Rock and Soul Museum. There was a lot of stuff I didn't know. Plus I spent half an hour listening to Robert Johnson - king of the delta blues. Mmmm ...

I went to my second Gibson factory as well. Rock on \m/

There's more to tell but I'm out of time on the computer.

I'm going to Austin now. Texas here I come!

Tuesday, September 08, 2009

Leaving Nashville *Yeehaw!*

I did some very touristy things today: Went to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum and also bought a cap with their logo on it for my dad (hope he likes it). Although it was a rather touristy thing thing to do it was pretty cool; it cleared up a few cultural references from movies for me.

For some reason three random people unrelated to each other took pictures of me today; very odd.

My Boston people left. So sad. They gave me one of their beds when I first got here; I arrived really late and the hostel managers had all gone to bed. So the nice Boston people gave me beer and a bed. Awww ... ^^ That first night I also realized that Nashville mosquitoes have a weird appetite for my knees (seriously!)

Anyway, Moving on to Memphis. Going to Graceland *shakes hips*

Another picture: I see anime everywhere O_o

Monday, September 07, 2009

Lazy days ...

Relaxing big time ^^

I haven't found an adaptor for my phone charger yet so I'm phoneless, musicless and timeless. I'm fairly okay with that (except the music part).

Nashville is great for live music though ... most of it is Country ... but it is not baaaaad Country ... so far anyway. I'm kinda enjoying it - and I don't know how I feel about that o_O

Anyway, I just uploaded some of my first pictures and realized that I only take pictures of stuff I think are funny. So I don't have any pictures of people - I should since I've met quite a few brilliant people.

Something I thought was funny:

Sunday, September 06, 2009

Howdy y'all

I'm in Nashville. And I like it. Yes, you heard me.

I went to Washington friday and lived to regret it. When I got off the bus someone pointed out that I was the only white person; I hadn't noticed up until that point and it sorta set the tone for my time there >_< There was no vacant beds anywhere unless you wanted to pay 200$ for a room so I was walking around at night looking at monuments with my backpack on (since there was nowhere to store my stuff either) I tried to get a bit of sleep on a monument actually but guys kept thinking I was homeless and wanted to give me money to get a room so (and this is a direct quote) "the black guys wouldn't rape me"! Gah! Plus in the middle of the night I was talking to a couple of girls that had been attacked and one of them was pretty upset (large dane to the rescue) And one final thing: A lot of rats. Damn!

So anyway, to get some sleep I went back on the bus and am now in Nashville. I like it here ^^
I realize that I'm mainly here so my parents will envy me for the rest of their days but I'm not sorry I came. The weather is nice and people are nice. The town only have one hostel but it is awesome.

I'm going to stay here for a few days before moving on to Memphis. Going to rest my poor feet and chill out in a hammock with a book. We're going to BBQ tonight and I'm looking forward to it :)

Friday, September 04, 2009

Moccachoccalattewhitewhipstuff to-go plz ^^

Yes, the first thing I did when I arrived in New York was to order a coffee at Starbucks; I was just honouring Tina and Anja's wishes.

Getting here wasn't a big thing; Finnair now has personal entertainment systems for all passengers so i watched movies and cartoons all the way. This personal system also shows you the take-off and landing from outside the plane, wicked cool! And off course I had to buy a few things at the Moomin shop in Helsinki.

I've been living in Chelsea since I got here; and just in case you don't know what that is: Lots of gaybars, rainbow flags everywhere and it's on your way to the west villiage.

My legs are busted and I have a hard time walking today. I had the inspired idea to walk the length of Manhattan; zig-zagged Broadway from upper Manhattan to Battery Park down south where I had some nice moments with the statue of liberty. I have to say that the south of the island is more me than the lights of the north.

Well, apparently it's Labour Day on monday and that means everything is booked up for the long weekend. This kind of long term stuff does not go well with my care-free style of travelling. So after 4 days in the big apple I'm moving on to Washington DC.

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Not all those who wander are lost.

It annoys me that I packed away Lord of the Rings; it would have been perfect to reread it during this trip. I guess Otherland and The Science of Discworld will have to do ^_^

All That Is Gold Does Not Glitter

All that is gold does not glitter,
Not all those who wander are lost;
The old that is strong does not wither,
Deep roots are not reached by the frost.
From the ashes a fire shall be woken,
A light from the shadows shall spring;
Renewed shall be blade that was broken,
The crownless again shall be king.

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Counting the days ..

Counting up or counting down is the same deal in my case at the moment.

The States is less than two weeks away now. And they can't pass quickly enough. I really need to get as far away as possible.

My ex added me on Facebook and the first thing I saw on his profile was the girls he had hurt me with. I actually tried to ignore it for awhile, but then remembered that I didn't have to accept their presence in my life anymore. So a bit of selfpreservation set in and I deleted him as a friend. He really is one of the good guys, but he lacks empathy when it comes to giving up things that soothes his ego. So he is basicly quite disrespectful sometimes and at the same time demands that you respect him and his choices. I hope he learns.

I'm in Sweden for a few days and I'm feeling better being surrounded by people who love me (and I must be looking better too: guys are flirting with me again :)

The next time I write I'll probably be stateside ^^

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Roundtripping!

After a lot of broken plans and just as many maybes, it's official: The US from september 2nd to october 5th and Japan from october 6th to november 11th.

Getting away.

Monday, July 06, 2009

The festival aftermath

It never ceases to surprise me how much of an impact Roskilde can have on people. Some go only to one or none at all; while others come back year after year after year. They happily spend a week every year being too dirty, too hot, too cold, too wet, too drunk, too mentally and emotionally bombarded.

It never fails that I have one moment during every festival where I tell myself that this year will be the last time. I'm starting my second decade of Roskilde dedication. And I probably won't stop any time soon despite the fact that I'm becoming one of the old ones, heh.

This year's drama was that I got kicked out of the tent I was staying in by the tent's owner's very jealoux girlfriend (it was extremely unpleasant) and after trying to get a hold of various people for four hours where I only got sorely disappointed ... I gave in to despair and called Martin for help so I could dump my things in his tent.

-Thursday's highlight was Social Distortion, with Rumpistol as a close second.
-Friday's high point was Faith No More; but I have to say that it would probably have been Nine Inch Nails if it wasn't for the fact that by the time they finally came on I was so exhausted that I was falling asleep on my feet and I only managed to stay for half an hour.
-Saturday's sweet spot wasn't actually music. I mean Gogol Bordello was a blast as always, but the day was saved by two movies: Pussy Soup and Dead Snow. The first one was a japanese movie about a stuffed animal cat how made ramen nudles (you heard me). The second one was a norwegian movie about 6 friends who have gone to an out-of-the-way ski cabin to celebrate their easter holiday ... and then ENTER NAZI ZOMBIES! WOO HOO! And the shouts from the audience only made the experience better ^^
-Sunday's best feature was Madness. Talk about a childhood funride! And Coldplay was a brilliant way of closing the festival.

I got a lift back to Copenhagen in the middle of the night and slept on Martin's sofa.

We slept late and come afternoon I left for my friend Line's place.

I said goodbye to the love of my life.

Now hoping for the hurting to end ...

Wednesday, July 01, 2009

Roskilde

Even though my world is falling apart I'm standing in the heavy blanket of rain (that looks and feels like an indian monsoon) that I know is going to turn the festival into a mudbath ... and I'm smiling. I'm genuinely smiling while I'm being soaked. I'm smiling at something for the first time in two weeks. I love the rain. Furious summer rain. I'm so glad he didn't leave me in the winter time.

Monday, June 22, 2009

No time, no Japan.

I couldn't get tickets for my holiday's full three weeks, so I'm saving Japan for a time when I can go for a month at least.

Sooooo New York here I come! Heh.
I haven't been to the states before so I guess it's about time.
Not going to be spending three weeks there though, just a week and a half.

Will start the holiday with a trip to the Roskilde Festival. I'm really looking forward to a week of blissful submersion in music ^^

Sunday, April 05, 2009

Well, well, well ...

It seems I've had complaints about the lack of updates on the blawg so I'll throw a bone.

For those who don't know: I got really ill on our way back from Thailand. I'd been a bit unlucky with a mosquito bite - and I'm telling you dengue feber seriously hurt. I had the flu a few months ago and that was a walk in the park compaired to dengue.

Our plane was overbooked so we stayed behind one more day. We really didn't mind since we as compensation tried staying in a luxury hotel with gourmet food three times a day (yum yum) and received travel vouchers worth 1200 euros combined.

But I got ill on the plane and the hotel, food, vouchers really didn't seem worth it. It took almost a month to get back on top again.

I wouldn't mind going back to Thailand though, it really is a beautiful place, but I need to wait quite a few years I think.

The next time I won't be shocked by the rascism you encounter sometimes. In general Thai people are friendly (especially if you get outside very touristy areas) but you can tell that a lot of Thai's attitude has been damaged by the tourist trade. It's in particular young men in the tourist trade that are horrible and it's sad.

I was planning on going to India this summer but my doctor thought I should wait because of the Dengue. So we are going to Japan instead (finally) :)