Last Post? Could Be...

Well, if that isn't the buzz-kill of all buzz-kills. Anyways, today marks the descent into finals period (just finished my Economics of Globalization), and I'm down from six research papers left to one, and this semester is officially coming to a crashing end. It's sad really. I realized the other day that I've now spent roughly a fifth of my life living in Europe (almost four years...), but I still don't come close to identifying myself as "European." Maybe its because the first bit was when I was so young. But you'd think, seeing as my first conscious memories are of Ireland, that I'd feel a little more tied to this wonderful continent. A side note, even though I've lived in Europe for four years, I've never actually lived on the continent. Ireland and Sjæland are both islands... But whatever, I'm sure very few of you care about nit-picky details like that. Another random thing...because of the climate conference, we have all sorts of people from all over the world here now, and this morning on the train I was eavesdropping on a conversation being held entirely in Spanish. It almost made my head explode, because mentally I was translating from Spanish to Danish, going through English like an overpaid middleman. I found that my Danish was actually better than my Spanish, which I find troubling, and when I got off the train I had a non-disease related headache...

Anyways, I apologize for the slightly rambling beginning. If you can't tell, I'm starting to get a little nostalgic about my time here. Ten days from now, I will be sitting on an airplane, probably already out over the Atlantic, jetting home. It's difficult to comprehend. I keep saying things like "I'm ready" and "Man, it'll be great to be back in the States!" But I remain unconvinced that I am. I've grown closer to my host family, the Wredstrøms, than I could have possibly imagined, and I know that I'll miss them terribly once I leave this little slice of dark paradise. They've been a rock for me, equally amazing when I was on the highest of highs, loving Denmark and the experience on the whole, as when I dipped down to the lowest of lows following my grandfather's passing and the awful bout of homesickness that followed.

Honestly, if I hadn't been placed with the Wredstrøms, my experience would have been entirely different here. I must admit that I've had a much harder time making good friends here than I expected. Partly it stems from leaving the comfort zone that is Williams. Williams is honestly the first place I've ever felt accepted and as though I fit in to the community. Leaving that was very challenging, and I never really came out of my shell in my interactions with the Americans who are also here. It also stems from being so far away from the city. I don't blame my lack of interaction with Americans entirely on that; if I'd felt a little more motivation, there were certainly ways I could have spent more evenings in the city. But not having the amazing network of people I've grown so close with over the last two years easily accessible has been by far the biggest challenge I've faced over here. However, the Wredstrøms have made an American friend group a luxury that I could afford to give up. They managed to fill the role of family and friends at the same time.

Anyways, a couple of updates. I did in fact go to Sweden last weekend. That brought my country count to eight for the semester (Denmark, Sweden, Greece, Hungary, Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium, and the United Kingdom), and now I've visited 12 countries in Europe in my lifetime (add Ireland, France, Spain, and Austria). Carsten and Ingrid took me over on the ferry from Helsingør, Denmark to Helsingbor, Sweden. It was about a 30 minute drive and a 20 minute ferry ride. We had a great afternoon. Before we even left Denmark, we stopped in Fredensborg to see the house that the crown prince lives in. It's weird to be able to walk right up to his door (more or less) and see only two guards on the entire premises. Try getting that close to the White House... I bet you can't... Then we went to Kronborg castle, which earns its fame from being the home of Prince Hamlet in Shakespeare's play. (Elsinore is the British bastardization of Helsingør.) Once we crossed the sound, we started by walking through the main street of Helsingbor, stopping to have a coffee at a little cafe (it was actually Espresso House, which I think is New York based). Then we went off to a shopping center so Carsten and Ingrid could do a little Christmas shopping. The prices are so much lower in Sweden that it would be foolish not to. There's actually an interesting product flow between the two countries. Because Sweden has very high alcohol taxes, alcohol moves from Denmark to Sweden. Because everything else is cheaper in Sweden, all other goods flow the opposite direction. We also stopped at a little fishing village on the Swedish coast before heading back across Østersund to Denmark. It was a fun day.

Anyways, not much more to report on. Another fun evening with the Grams and Wredstrøms last Sunday. I've done tons of work over the last couple of weeks. I actually think that the last two weeks have been more intense than any two week period I've faced at Williams. I might have to talk with Dean McKeon about the whole five classes issue. This weekend I need to start packing. Still not sure where I'll be next Saturday night, but Sunday morning I'll be on a plane headed to the United States of Awesome!

Three things I know: 1) There are certainly things I know that I am going to LOVE having back (Pudge, anyone?) 2) I'm going to miss this kingdom of islands by the sea. It's a truly amazing place. 3) The Wredstrøms rock, and have been my, well, rock, the entire time, and I will miss them a ton when I head back to the states.

If I get my act together and give you one more blog post next week (sandwiched within working on my 18 to 25 page international law final paper), then it will probably center on my upcoming trip to Tivoli on Friday, as well as whatever else we do this weekend.

That's all for now, thanks for reading.