Snow

It’s the last day of September and the first snow fell in Fairbanks. It was a great reminder of Denmark as it also melted before noon. All day people have been saying “first snow”, while I stubbornly refuse to accept any talk of first snow before it actually stays on the ground and looks like something I can ski through. Hopefully, within the next month that will happen.

This weekend I didn’t go out, as I had an essay to write and a book to read. Sitting here, Sunday evening, I can happily confirm that I have read a third of the book, written half the essay and then cleaned the house including dusting the walls (?), did my laundry, copied my hard disk to my external hard disk, learned three new songs on the ukulele, almost finished the socks I am knitting, watched a very scary movie with James, and painted my kitchen. I also know that I am going to crash sometime around Tuesday because I didn’t (mentally) take time of this weekend, but nothing that a visit to the Pub won’t cure.

I bought a ticket to go home for Christmas, which I am really excited about. I can’t wait to see my friends and family, eat Danish food, bike my way to and from, and have a beer at a public park outside – well the last one might be a bit cold, but there is nothing like the freedom to have a beer wherever, whenever. I am already thinking of all the things I want to bring back – mainly edible items, like Danish candy, real chocolate – not the American stuff that barely melts and is twice as sweet, cheese – if I can somehow think of a way to transport it 24 hours over the Atlantic, pickled beets, yes you read it, I really, really miss pickled beets. I am sure there are a hundred other things I want to bring back.

This just a short greeting from a Sunday in darkness, full moon and -2 degrees Celsius. I will leave you with the wise words of the church down the street that has a big, electric sign with new holy messages every week, this week saying:

 “Autumn Leaves, God Doesn’t”

(???)

Golden Days of Happiness

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It’s gold outside, everything is covered in gold, as fall enters its last phase. I finally had the chance to take it all in today as James and I drove through the valley for breakfast and took a back road home to really enjoy the golden meltdown. Now I am all curled up in the couch trying to ignore the TV’s signal disturbance as strong winds mess with it and shutting the windows as smoke from a fire somewhere has blown into town.

 So, something that I have repeatedly discussed with people is the question of what it means to be happy. I know I have mentioned it before but since it’s been a while and it was with a different discussion in mind I will return to it today. A couple of years ago there were a global survey of happiness that found that Danes are the happiest people in the world. Americans were found to be seriously unhappy in comparison. So people ask me, why are Danes so happy? And I wonder, are we really so happy – and happier than everyone else? First of all, when you ask a Dane if she (or he) is happy, the rationale would be to think: well, I am not dying, I have a good job/study, I have friends and food on the table, so yes I guess yeah, I’m happy. While if you ask a French person – and I did, she would instantly name the first 7 things that were wrong in her life, even if they weren’t really that bad (speaking from a Danish perspective). It is true that Denmark has a highly functional social system with free education, free health care – you don’t have to worry if you get sick as a Dane, you will be taken care of. There is very good public transportation and bike paths everywhere so it is easy to get around. And most Danes, equally distributed between men and women, have an average income. In Alaska there is no safety net if you get sick – only a dysfunctional health insurance and medical system that will help you if pressured into it and only provide bare necessities. Many people live for far less than an average income and that, in an environment that is much harsher than the Danish. So why, am I, a Dane, in Alaska and not in Happy Denmark? For me, the Danish mentality can be extremely rigid. There is a right way to live and act and develop, and there is all the other ways – which are mostly frowned upon. Danes are a very homogenous people and as a result it is very noticeable when someone choose to do something outside the Danish norms and it is very often questioned. In comparison you can be as weird as you want and you will still fit right in in Alaska. The downside here is that I have to search to find people who see the world from the same perspectives as me, which is immensely important to my sanity. In Alaska, standards are where you set them and you, only you, can be held responsible for any pressure on your shoulders. This results in extremely ambitious people and extremely laid-back or unambitious people. I land somewhere between Danish and ambitious and is usually in extreme need of the laid-back to calm me down. So the ideal, I guess, would be some more Danes in Alaska. Take the Danes out of the homogeneity and they are incredibly resourceful people, who just happen to get caught up in them and theirs sometimes. Put the ambitious Alaskans in a Danish context and they will think they have gone to communist crazy town, while the laid-back seem to have a calming effect. And as for the happiness? Different cultures have different values that they use to measure their happiness and general well-being. To do a global happiness survey is difficult if not just silly in the first place. Happy people are to be found all over :) 

Fall is here and so is September, apparently

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Fall has set in. First it wouldn’t come, reluctant to leave summer behind and then three days ago it arrived with the blink of an eye. Birch leaves are falling all around us and the colors have gone from green to yellow, orange, and red. I have harvested my garden except for the carrots: they are still standing tall so I hope they grow a bit more. This weekend was Labor Day weekend; so a few stores are closed, while others are having a sale. I think there was a parade downtown but not much was advertised and most people I’ve talked to don’t seem to care much about it. I went out in the woods for a wedding – yes the third – and last - wedding of this summer. It turned out to also be the best as all the guests brought food to share – wild caught salmon, homegrown greens and home made berry pies. It took place at a scout camp with small cabins with bunk beds and a main house with a kitchen and one with couches. Everybody hung out, played music, hung out at the fire or went on walks and enjoyed the last warmth of the season.

Since I last wrote I have also been roadtrip’n with do lovely Danes to the coast of Alaska and towns such as Homer and Seward. Irmelin’s landlord was so kind as to let us use his Ecamper for the trip and so we (somewhat surprised) found ourselves part of a whole new community of car campers. The Ecamper is basically a small square car with a pop-up tent on the roof that you enter from inside the car and all the other campers were fascinated as to how it worked and how it was built. We were less fascinated with all their big RV’s with room for about 20 people but mostly carrying two, and towing cars behind them while driving 40 miles/hour. Luckily someone has taught me the anal RV game where you put the word anal in front of whatever name the RV has on it’s license plate. Driving around are such RV’s as the anal breeze and the anal prowler.

The trip was beautiful and I got to be by the ocean for the first time since I left Denmark in December last year. We crossed the bay in Homer with the intention of hiking in Seldovia, but accidentally ended up on a cruise that took us around the bay to look at birds and sea otters. It was enjoyable enough except for the realization that two other tourists on the boat were Danes as well and we had been blabbing about pretty personal things thinking no one would understand us. It was just so nice to speak Danish non-stop. I guess that is pretty classic tourist behavior.  Most of the time I don’t feel much like a tourist up here though. I can mask my accent pretty well and I know my way around town. I also know my way around the university and for the first time in years I am starting a new semester in the same institution as my last semester. I actually know what I am doing, where I am going, who I need to talk to and why. I have begun my Teaching Assistant job and have already received the first emails from students asking questions. I will mostly be grading their assignments and helping them with any difficulties they may have in class, but with a 170 students and three TA’s this should keep me busy.

I will post some photos from our road trip and wish you all a happy fall!