A couple museums and some reflections

Good evening, all. I hope the day finds you well.

I do not have too much to write about this evening, but I feel that it is still incredibly important for me to keep a running update on how things are going. Here goes.

With my European Storytelling class, we went to the Frilandsmuseet, an open-air museum of old Danish and Swedish houses. The houses are apparently in almost the exact same condition as they have been for over a hundred (and some up to two hundred) years, the vast majority of them having been deconstructed from elsewhere around Denmark or Sweden, numbered, and then re-erected board by board and piece by piece at this museum. The buildings certainly looked authentic: the boards were of awful quality (apparently Denmark has very bad wood for construction purposes, so that's why most of the old houses' timbers are leaning to one side). We saw the village pond, the village tree, and all that, as well as the inside of a few homes. Because of the persistent cold every winter, very little of old Danish homes were heated, and the heat that was there was often the same heat source used for cooking. In most well-off homes, there used to be kind of a chimney room, where the blazing fire would heat stones that would be used for cooking, with an exit for the smoke at the top. The houses of the rich also often had an immense pile of manure in the center of the farmhouse in order to prevent other people from stealing your manure (mind-boggling, isn't it?) Danish egalitarianism was seen throughout the homes, as servants were allowed to eat with the family and often even sleep in the same bed as the master or children.

The storytelling element came into play when we talked about the "little folk" that helped do chores and protect the farmland. Previous Danes believed in the existence of tiny creatures that helped with housework; they would protect the family and farm from harm as long as the family left spilled food or drink for them to eat. There were also apparently some "little folk" rumored to live in the nearby forests, but those types were evil and malicious and abducted people to experiment on and terrify them. (One of my fellow classmates at this point made an astute observation that, while modern people don't often believe in little home elves running about the house, many still do believe in aliens that live in outer space that abduct and experiment on people). Apparently the little folk were supposed to be the angels that fell with Lucifer, not really evil beings but rather not-so-perfect beings.

Later that day (yesterday), I went on another museum trip, this time to the State Museum of Art. I was very pleased to find out that it was free; however, I must admit that it was not as much to see as other museums I have been to lately (maybe I spoiled myself by going to the Vatican Museums and the Hermitage?) The scope of art there was vast, ranging from 15th or 16th century to the present day. I must admit that, despite having gone to the Louisiana Museum and being exposed to the best modern art in Denmark, modern art still just doesn't do it for me, so I mostly spent time looking at the older stuff. There were an assortment of really gorgeous landscapes and still-lifes, as well as depictions of many mythological events such as the falling of the Titans. Of course, in almost all of the Christian artwork, Mary was the absolute focus; maybe I would have to be Catholic for that fascination to make sense. There was a photography exhibit on the top floor, though I was a little disappointed in that the vast majority of the photographs were heavily edited either through darkroom techniques or Photoshop, so it was kind of hard for me to get very excited about those. Then there was the modern art exhibit, some of which was kind of interesting: I liked the art from the era of intense Danish nationalism, most especially when the subject matter was something that I recognized from Copenhagen.

Besides these two museum trips, I have spent a lot of time reflecting on my experience here at DIS. There's so much to say; studying abroad is so much more complex than just a blog post can describe. I have done so many things that I never would have imagined doing: seeing the Winter Palace, integrating with a Danish family, seeing the Sistine Chapel, talking about ancient European stories's influence on modern video games, stood in the meeting rooms of the European Union, navigating a foreign city by myself... Now, classes are almost over, and in 9 days I will be heading back to the US. I have been talking with my friends here a lot about the program; what we have liked and what we have disliked. Many of us feel that the academics here are incredibly easy, with the obvious exception of pre-med, child development, or architecture students. Most of us loved the study tours, I feel, one person even going so far as to say that they are the reason that they would recommend DIS to future students. Some people felt that they did not learn anything in any of their classes and that this all has been one long vacation.

My analysis (and there will be more in posts to come, never fear) is that, with a few exceptions, DIS gives you what you put into it. The courses are easier than Grinnell, pure and simple; however, many of the readings are just as informative. I have written about the same number of papers that I do at Grinnell, but they are shorter and graded significantly easier. Tests are more about memorizing information rather than synthesizing it; however, there is a lot of information to memorize, especially in the science classes. If you want to get drunk every other night and drink yourself stupid on all of the study tours, you can; if you want to visit museums, get heavily involved in Danish culture, and have a cultural experience in many different cultures, you can do that too. The program is so large and so flexible that all 660 of us have probably had very different experiences. Personally, I have absolutely loved being able to take applied classes, and I truly feel that I have gotten some insight into some of the practical skills that might be needed if I decide to go down a particular career path. I certainly am burning with desire to study a language again, likely due to my amazing Danish professor. A host family is a mixed blessing, as it is incredibly cultural and insightful but very lonely. The study tours were amazing, and I cannot recommend them highly enough if someone wants to come to DIS to see Europe, which is not as shallow of a goal as I had once thought. Denmark is certainly a safe, wealthy, quiet country, and I can certainly understand why Danes are so reluctant to stray far from their little fairy-tale-land.

More, hopefully more thought out reflections will come later.