Getting my mojo back!

This week saw my lust for life and living in Denmark come back. We're talking about my 'mojo' as in my magic charm or spell that allows me to be successful and happy. As I said in my last blog post I've had a bit of a rough time lately and not in the sense of terrible things happening but things just not working out and small things getting me down, but as my friend Bronwen said yesterday 'life would be boring without stories to tell.' After a couple of weeks of slogging it through the rain with my temperamental bike, the good times I've had recently have felt so much better.

A couple of things have changed since I last wrote, firstly I now contribute and edit for an online magazine called 'Jutland Station.' If you're friends with me on Facebook then you've probably noticed that I've started sharing some of my pieces. I'm co-editing the 'In The Danish Press' section with a Danish Journalism Masters student called Morten. We are currently producing a round-up article every Friday which looks at three big stories from the Danish newspapers that week. It's been great for getting to know Denmark and its press.

When I first moved here I would see faces on front pages of the newspapers or on the news in the morning but because of my lack of Danish I wouldn't understand why they were in the news. I still have a profound lack of Danish because I still haven't managed to sign up for Danish classes, but with the help of my flatmates, Morten and Danish subtitles on Netflix, I'm starting to decipher Danish news. You can check out our section here.

The biggest event happening in Aarhus and that I've had a hand in reporting, is the local elections that are taking place this Tuesday. My classmate Sam, the Society Editor for Jutland Station has been working really hard to report on the elections because there is very limited coverage in English. This has proved to be really helpful seeing as I can vote, as an EU citizen :). This week I worked on a piece about gender equality in the local elections, which was truly fascinating. I knew that gender equality in Danish politics was impressive before I moved here as I was an avid watcher of all three series of 'The Killing' or 'Forbrydelsen' and 'The Bridge' which feature strong female characters in important jobs. I didn't manage to watch 'Borgen' but I will get round to it at some point.

When I started researching for the piece I was surprised to find that whilst the representation of women is moving towards 50/50 at the Parliamentary level and Denmark has its first female Prime Minister, at the local level only around 1/3 of candidates are women. So I decided to find out more. The process of researching, interviewing a representative from the Women's Council in Denmark and a young female politician and writing the article, reminded me of why I chose this course in the first place. This is what I want to do! I want to look beneath the surface and find out more about how things work. I really hope that I will get a job that allows me to do this and pays me for it.

Being a part of the 'Jutland Station' team has meant a huge amount to me over the past few weeks. It has allowed me to learn more about Denmark and Danish culture and to write about it. Also I have been invited to meetings and met some great people. On Friday we had a lovely evening and I met some girls from the year above me who are now studying in Hamburg, which is where I'm going next year. I also met a Mundus Journalism graduate who is now completing his PhD at Sheffield. It was fascinating to meet people who have followed the Mundus path and to hear how things are going for them. It makes me very optimistic for the future.

Two weeks ago I hit a low point when I was pretty fed up of spending so much time by myself and facing bike and or weather problems if I decided to go out. I'm glad that I wrote about it because I want to be able to reflect on my time abroad in a way that looks at both the ups and downs.

I was lucky because my boyfriend came to visit me and really cheered me up. I had a lot of work to do when he was here, two essays and a presentation, and he also had to come to a couple of lectures with me, but he took it in his stride and even helped me with my work. Sometimes I just need reminding that I have consistent, steady and strong support so his visit really helped.

We had a lovely time, we worked on my assignments but we also explored Aarhus and met up with my friends. We went for a walk down to the sea, explored the city centre and visited both the Occupation Museum and Aros, the art gallery. Obviously I didn't want him to go but he left me feeling much happier and optimistic :).

Another big thing that happened this week was that I went to join a running group with my friend Katherine. I was a bit apprehensive because I haven't run much in the past 4 years but I had an absolutely brilliant time. They run on Tuesday and Thursday evenings and the whole group is training for a half marathon event in June. There's something very special about exercise groups because everyone is friendly and supportive. It was the happiest group of Danes I have met since I've been here, all those endorphins! I couldn't keep the grin off my face. If there's a sure way to get your mojo back, it's by doing things that you enjoy and are good at.

I may not have run properly for 4 years but running on Thursday made me realise just how much I've missed it. It's interesting because I might not have been where I am today if I hadn't quit athletics training when I was 18. I chose to focus on my A levels which meant that I chose University and became involved with student journalism. I even tried to join Southampton's athletics club in my first few weeks but kept missing the group. I have no regrets because I am pursuing something else which I'm good at, but finally, after 3 very busy years at Southampton I am able to do both.

I think that I have learned a huge amount since I moved here, but perhaps the most important thing is that I should make the most of it, surround myself with people I care about and do the things that make me feel alive like running and reporting. 

Rain, more rain and the occasional rainbow

The last time I posted was on the 20th October, I am sorry that I skipped a week. I've been having a difficult couple of weeks, having some real euphoric ups and crashing lows, not in terms of really awful things happening just that sometimes I'm in love with my life in Denmark and sometimes I'm not. 

I think that when it comes down to it, most of my problems tend to be linked to either the rainy, windy weather we've been having lately, or my bike, or both. I've been a bit down so haven't wanted to write in case I came across more angry than I meant to. However, I think that I should be as truthful as possible in this blog because it'll be interesting for you and also for me when it comes to reflecting on my year in Denmark.

First off, I haven't been unhappy, just not happy, as I am most of the time, so I've had a couple of weeks in that interesting middle ground when things are ok but could be better. I'm sure a lot of people can relate to this :) I've had a lot of free time on my hands because my timetable has changed so I only have lectures on Wednesday morning and Thursday afternoon. This is not a bad thing, at all, but as I've always been a ridiculously busy person it has been a bit strange. I said in my last blog post that there is a lack of common space, organised activity and student-led societies here so I've really been feeling it. I guess what it comes down to, is spending a lot of time by myself.

I was always envious of people who packed up and went to live in another country for a substantial period of time, a semester or a year. But I think I only ever saw their lovely pictures of nights out with friends or sun-drenched activities during the day. I never really thought that there would be a difficult adjustment period that came with moving abroad. In my case this has meant adjusting to a country which has very similar weather to the UK but has substantial cultural differences. So there's been a distinct lack of sun-drenched activities- well at least the kind that warm you up. Don't get my wrong there have been some really beautiful days with bright autumnal sunshine but there has also been a LOT of rain.

It's the little things!

I have been adjusting to the fact that I can't smile at strangers in public and the fact that unlike the familiarity of British politeness, many Danes come across a lot more blunt. This is no bad thing either, I think actually I could learn a lot from being a bit more to-the-point. The Danish just seem to have a very different approach to life and way of doing things, which makes me feel quite out-of-sync, like I'm always one step behind. There have been some exceptions of course, like my wonderful housemates who are friendly and inclusive. But when it comes to administrative things, like signing up for Danish language classes I am met by brick walls. It always seems difficult and I am the one who is doing things wrong.

In order to counter the loneliness I have been meeting up with friends and organising things myself. I've been saying 'yes' more and have taken initiative to go and explore the city myself. For example, the other week I went to a dance performance with a girl from my course, which was fantastic. I haven't been to many dance shows, but this one, entitled Kvinde Kend Dit Skab or 'Woman Know Your Box/Cupboard' was highly inventive and skilful. The dancers used four large cupboards which they moved around during the performance, perching themselves on top and moving with the cupboards in a domino-effect. They also used a range of props from ukuleles to plastic party horns which gave the dance a sense of fun, but it dealt with issues such as gender and race in an ambivalent way. I thought it was genuinely fascinating. We stayed after the performance for the after-party which was another eye-opener. The professional dancers definitely knew how to take control of the dance-floor :)

I also visited the Women's Museum in Aarhus, which was the first of its kind and one of only a handful of women's museums in the world. It's well-worth a visit and is a real reminder of how neglected women's history has been and continues to be. This museum focuses on Danish women's history but its themes are universal.

I have also been meeting up and going out with friends which has been a great way to get out of the house and enjoy their company. We tend to go out on Friday or Saturday nights and meet up during the week for more low-key things- like film nights.

I just had one particularly bad day this week when everything seemed to be against me. I fell off my bike on the way to my lecture which meant that yet again I had to run to the lecture. Then when I went to get my bike, after the lecture, the bike lock key snapped in the lock. I was with Hannah, and she persuaded me to ask for help from the mechanics, we managed to persuade someone to take the broken piece of key out with a pair of plyers. Then when we were cycling off, my chain fell off! I managed to fix it, but it did take a while. I got home and had planned to go into the city to meet Hannah for a documentary event she had helped organise. I cycled into town, then tried to get some money out and for some reason the Danish cash-points didn't like my English bank card. So with no money, and standing in the pouring rain I decided to cycle home. I got all the way back to my halls only to find that I'd lost my keys. I then cycled back to try and find them. By this point I was in tears just wondering how everything could possibly have gone wrong! I managed to find my keys though so I got back home, got in my pyjamas and skyped my boyfriend.

Yes, I had a terrible day, but as Hannah pointed out, these days are designed to make us stronger, and we managed to fix my bike twice. So, although some days I am really tested and it feels very rainy and dark, I am still here and battling through it.

I think these past few weeks have been difficult because I've thought that it was me, that I was somehow doing things wrong and that things are against me. But I am changing my mentality by organising events myself and telling myself that I'm in a different culture and that I need to approach things differently.

It's been difficult working out who I am, away from home and without my family, friends and boyfriend but I don't need to think about that either because I'm just me! I'll always automatically smile at people and I'll always be the one pulling crazy shapes on the dance floor. I'll probably have problems with my bike for as long as I own one and I don't think I'll ever give myself a sensible amount of time to get somewhere but always leave with just enough time or late. I'll always enjoy learning and writing and I'll always be curious about the world and different cultures. I have a lot of other characteristics but if you know me, then you know what these are :)

I saw a rainbow earlier, it reminded me that things can be beautiful even when it's dark and rainy. I've been having difficulties, but with a really busy schedule and a visit from my boyfriend this week things will begin to look happy and bright. Thanks as ever, for all the support, I promise to write soon.