But first, more thoughts:

I've found that rarely do my experiences follow a logical, building formula towards a great understanding or epiphany; instead, realizations happen irrationally in quick, unexpected bursts. I notice small things, from time to time, and months later, I am able to look back on a period of collected insignificant recognitions with the hindsight and comprehension that the passage of time has afforded me. Perhaps predictably, trying to find my way in a new country has progressed similarly. While it is hard to make generalizations about the quality of life or the quality of my experience here, it easy to tally the things I notice along the way as a larger summation of what I have experienced. In time, I'm sure looking back on all this will provide me great insight and a greater understanding of what will soon (but not too soon) be my four months in Denmark.

Enough philosophizing. On to more trivial (at least for now) things:

Thought One: Today at the grocery store I paid over twenty dollars for a small jar of pesto, a bag of muesli, and a bottle of ranch dressing. Holy fuck. I think I may need to stop shopping at Irma, the Whole Foods of Denmark. I think I may also need to take out a loan.

Thought Two: Apparently there was a shooting in my neighborhood, Nørrebro, this weekend. I didn't know anything about it since I am incapable of reading Danish newspapers, but everyone in my kollegium received an email assuring us that we are all safe. Well, that's good news. Also, funny, since none of the other Americans I talked to had any idea about either, so that reassuring email just made people more nervous. The shooting, as most in Denmark are, was related to gang matters, so unless I happen to make the wrong hand signs or wave guns around in the street, I should be okay. Fingers crossed.

What is hilarious, and also kind of pathetic, about this whole thing is that it probably makes Denmark the most dangerous place I have ever lived. When Denmark is the most dangerous place you've lived, most people probably wouldn't be surprised to hear that you spent the majority of your life in a hermetically sealed environment (like Sarah Palin!) and not out on the streets as a gangbanger. But I don't know, I have heard of members of the Crips and Bloods shuddering at the thought of a night alone on the mean streets of Copenhagen. I'm just not sure whether Copenhagen qualifies as "East Side" or "West Side." In the meantime, I'll just use both and wait until I get shot at to figure out which one is right.

Thought Three: On Sarah Palin, I've spent the past hour or so watching lots of footage of her on the internet, including Charlie Gibson's recent interview on ABC. The interview is certainly worth watching, and I think makes even clearer the fact that this woman is in no way qualified to take a tour of the White House -- let alone work in it. Straightforward questions seem challenging, and she actually repeats the ridiculous assertion that the fact that Russia is visible from some parts of Alaska gives her foreign policy experience. Watch it here.

Perhaps some of the best commentary on this whole Sarah Palin charade comes from Matt Damon:



Absolutely spot on.