New Years Eve in Copenhagen

I had probably the best New Years of my life this year. You know how New Year is usually a massive let down? Yeah, totally. This year, however, was just perfect. Dinner made with care by wonderful people, games, my first ever sips of Jagermeister,  champagne, fireworks, New Years hugs, TIRAMASU, music and living room warmth. It was just the perfect amount of everything.

 

And...this guy. The only person I'd ever want to start this year with.

the beginning of the beginning

This week, my PhD 'began' so to speak. More meetings, discussion groups, a whole day of intense classes about health and populations, and my very first supervisory meeting. Suffice to say it was overwhelming, completely and utterly, and I came away from it feeling like I had such a huge mountain to climb. 

Luckily I then went straight to the library, made a Word document of everything we discussed, printed a lot of papers, loaned a lot of books, and Leo made me the most incredible 'goals' Excel sheet because he is eternally my saviour. So I left the library feeling a lot more together.

It's good to have goals to work towards.

I've been pretty busy, with meetings, workshops, training, and copious amounts of time spent trying to locate journal articles, printing, and the ubiquitous signs of beginning life someplace new. I'm so glad that I have my bank, social security number and phone number taken care of from when I lived in the UK before, because those are things I don't greatly enjoy taking care of.

On Thursday night we had a 'formal' dinner for all the postgraduates of my college. It was a very nice occasion, the guys mostly wore black tie which was quite hilarious. It's such a change, everything is so effortless, casual, laidback and so so understated in CPH, whereas here dressing for dinner, for example, is a must. Here, it's the exact opposite, but at least my college is the most laid back in that sense, they're quite accepting and easy-going in relative terms.

Today I'm off to buy a USB stick with 64GB memory (backups are a must), and go see a movie called Still the Enemy Within about the miners' strike up north where I am now. I'm pretty excited.

Oh oh oh, and I am now a member of the Ceili Band here at the University! I have a million tunes to learn but I'm pretty chuffed! Coming soon to a ceili dance near you, a flute no one can really hear!

1st week in Durham

Today is the 8th day I've been in Durham. It feels really strange to be writing that. It's been a very busy week; a lot of training sessions, inductions, coffee at the department (more on that later), and generally finding my feet, both in terms of who exactly I'm supposed to hang out with in my free time and, say, how the library works.

On Wednesday last we had our Matriculation ceremony. Basically, we went to the cathedral, speeches were given, and later we had to sign a book promising to be good students and not to plagiarise. Forever the cynic, I could probably have done without the procession and tradition of the matriculation ceremony, but it was nice to hear nice and encouraging things from those in charge. Usually you don't get the well wishes until graduation and they're kicking you out the door.

Everything here is done very officially, we all have a college, and do everything through the college. The fairly upper class formality of it all is a little awkward, but hey, it's their show, so they can do what they like. Since I'm being accommodated in my college for the time being (and it's pretty cosy, actually), I get all my meals provided, have access to a kitchen to make tea, and even have a library in my building. It's all very straightforward, and only a 10 minute walk from the university.

I'm feeling very lost without my bicycle, I haven't managed to find one here yet, and although it's just a short walk to everything, including the town, I'd much prefer to be cycling there than walking. Hopefully this week will bring good things. A meeting with my supervisors, a walking trip or some dance classes (depending on the weather), and basically all the time in the world to study, write, and eat. It's surreal.

I woke up on Monday morning and it was Autumn. Umbrellas and boots for everyone. Today it didn't rain, at least, but I could definitely start wearing my gloves, it's that nippy. It feels very strange being here, but judging by all the lost, lonely faces you see on a daily basis, in the cafeteria, on the paths to and from college, the only thing worse than being in a new place alone is being 18, living away from home for the first time, and being in a new place alone. So, there's that.

Here are a couple of snaps, I need to make it a habit:

From the Matriculation ceremony, with a ghost walking by. That poster on the wall was terrific.

The cosiest apartment I've ever seen on one of the oldest streets.

Copenhagen. Never forget.

6 days

6 days into PhD life, it's Friday night, sitting on my bed with crackers, tea (Yorkshire), and a tv show. Some things never change. It's been the longest, weirdest, most tiring, confusing yet familiar, and most emotional week I've had in a very long time. Everything seems so attainable yet so very far away.

I feel very lucky.

Trip to Croatia | Split & Zagreb

We docked in Split in the evening, and walked a couple of kilometers to our Airbnb place for the night. After a serious mooch around every corner of the apartment (it was MASSIVE!) we walked into the touristy part of the city. I bought some lavender 'essential oil' that was actually just watered down. I have been had, my friends. We got some seafood and saw the sights. Split is a pleasant old trading town with a colourful history. A large Roman palace was built which was home to various Roman emperors. The streets are all paved with this very soft smooth rock that seemed very popular in the entire coastal region.

There are a surprising number of 'Leo' signs in the world. We take pictures of them all, naturally.

The tower reminds me of the temple in Salt Lake City. Absolutely terrifying.

We made the most inspired choice in the morning. Weeks and weeks ago we booked bus tickets, for a lengthy journey all the way up Croatia from Split to Zagreb. And, at the last possible moment, we changed our mind, and took the train. I paid, and thought nothing of it, because there's nothing more preferable than a train journey over sitting on a sweaty, cramped bus with your luggage at your feet for 6 hours.

We had an entire compartment to ourselves (Harry Potter style!) and happily passed the 5 or so hours. At each station house along the way there were finely dressed station masters with their red flags, standing to attention. In a heavily automated and efficient world (the UK, Denmark), you miss the human element. Of course, it's very cost effective to have a machine with a light do the job of a human, but it's good for the soul, for the sense of togetherness culture is supposed to foster, to see honest decent human beings wearing their uniforms with pride and doing a job that pays a decent salary. It just makes sense.

Zagreb is an absolutely charming city. Beautiful old buildings with a modern touch, well dressed and good looking people everywhere, a million different cafes to try, I would definitely recommend a visit. We arrived just as Autumn was arriving, the most perfect time of year to do anything in my opinion.

Our trip was coloured by trains (I love train journeys), mushrooms (a trip to the fungi museum proved very informative), and a lovely afternoon spent in the Ethnography museum (I am an ethnography enthusiast, after all). We got fancy barista-made coffee, had excellent organic burgers in a little joint that could have been in Hoxton, and even went to the cheapest cinema in the world (€3 per person!) on an ill-fated trip to see Lucy (we left early). A perfectly relaxing urban end to a perfectly delightful visit to Croatia.

And before you know it, we're back in Copenhagen, and it's raining. 

All good things must come to an end.

Trip to Croatia | Southern Dalmatian Islands | Korčula & Mljet

We arrived in Korčula bright and early after our even brighter and earlier catamaran journey over to the island. I knew right away that this was going to be a good place. We found our accommodation (and the cat, Marco, that lived there), dropped off our stuff and headed to explore the town. Man, it was hot out.

Our first day there basically consisted of  a lot of swimming, reading our books in coffee shops, and walking around the town at night enjoying the holiday atmosphere. In fact, that's what almost every day consisted of.

We had a gorgeous second day of hanging out: swimming, reading our books, drinking coffee, and then it was time to get on another (very packed!) boat and head to the island of Mljet, which was meant to be the longest stay of the holiday. 

We arrived in the evening and the place seemed nice enough. We had major issues with our room, but finally got settled, ate the remainder of our boat snacks and went down to the bar, where I had the first Amaretto of my life (Leo had a Jameson, if I remember correctly).

It felt like it rained more than not during our stay. Neither of us were impressed with the island. If you are equipped for hiking (we had limited space in our hand luggage so didn't bring anything for such activities), have kids, or are an Australian on a cruise around the islands you might enjoy Mljet. We found it to be a rip off, everything costing 20% more than anywhere else in Croatia, poor quality food, the hotel (the only one on the island) was incredibly poor (UHT milk and instant coffee for breakfast), overall my advice would be to go elsewhere. There was good swimming to be had, at least. And swim we did, every day. The water is so clear in Croatia that as soon as you duck under you're exposed to this fascinating world of fish and crabs.

We cut our trip to the island short by one day, because to be honest one week in and we were bored out of our minds. We got one of the speed boats back to Korčula. A terrifying experience, but the fastest way, and it was quite an adrenalin rush once I got over the fact that I wasn't going to be ejected.

And then we were back, for two more days, in Korčula. It honestly felt like there had been a permanent cloud over Mljet, rain every day and occasional thunder storms. But back in Korčula everything was peachy.

We wrote a lot of postcards to send to various countries, and Leo honestly spent a solid afternoon drafting all of his messages and making sure there would be enough space on the cards to write the intended message. Our different ways of tackling tasks are always amusing to me.