Saturday, May 26, 2007

International Food, (drink) Day

Have you ever had an Afghani nut? How about a Romanian dessert? Either had I, until Friday's "Intercultural Snack-evening."
Now, you have all been here in Sønderborg for 6 months or longer, but have you had a taste of Denmark, yet?

And what is the taste of your country???

Make a traditional snack and drink from your place of the world, and bring it to our Intercultural Snack -evening for your fellow exchange students to taste -and have a taste of their country, too.
The first thing I thought of was to make Swedish Pancakes with Lingon, but upon authorization from the international director she asked that I bring something "American," since I am the only American representative. First of all... it is nearly impossible to find corn and turkey, the only two real "American" foods I could think of. So what did I end up making? Hot Dogs, Peanuts, COOOOLD BEER! The traditional pastime of a day at the ballpark, nothing is more American than that.

I did however do something that I am not proud of... I bought a case of... gulp... Budweiser. It was the only American import beer available in the distant land of Denmark. That isn't an acceptable excuse, and in retrospect I should have forgone the idea of having an American beer rather than serving that sad excuse for a beer. I hope I didn't anger the beer gods back home, and rest assured the first thing I will do upon my return home will be to crack open a Milwaukee brewed Miller product.

I will also take this moment to propose a new Man-Law:
"A man must always carry a six pack of Miller Lite when traveling overseas in the event that there are no Miller products available" - Man Law



Friday, May 25, 2007

Bank Update: Currency Edition


That is the value of the USD vs. Danish Krone (affectionately known as the Copey) since I have been here. Notice the slight downturn, and by downturn I mean constant decline, which amounts to a 5% decrease in my purchasing power parity. Add to that the high price of living expenses here, and a man with no income could have a problem surviving here. Keep in mind the minimum wage is approx $14/hr. here, so they have no problem surviving. Heck, Danish students receive weekly checks from the government to pay for their living expenses (aka beer for a Dane).

I won't frighten you with actual balance of my account, but rest assured it will be good/(necessary?) to get back home to start working again!

Thursday, May 24, 2007

They're here: Cicadas resurface after 17-year hibernation



So the "buzz" is that the cicadas are back... perfect timing for me to miss this once and a 17 year phenomenon! Prepare for the famine of 2007 as the "locusts" swarm and destroy everything in their paths like Swedes in a ship. Anticipate six weeks of constant buzzing as 1.5 million cicadas per acre emerge from their 17 year slumber.

I have prepared a recipe for those that survive the rapture:

Cicada Stir-Fry:


  • minced onion, coriander (cilantro), fresh gingerroot
  • sliced carrots, chopped cauliflower and/or broccoli
  • water chestnuts and/or other vegetables of your choice
  • bean sprouts and snow peas
  • blanched, teneral cicadas
In a wok or other suitable pan, heat a couple tablespoons of vegetable oil. Add ingredients in the order listed above when those in the most recent addition are partially cooked. Serve over whole-grain (“brown”) rice and add soy sauce to taste.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

Whats White and Red and Red All Over?

Distance from Equator: 3,500 miles
Time in the sun: 2 hours
Being Swedish: Priceless (and a mean burn!)

Monday, May 21, 2007

¡Suerte y al toro! (pertaining to jokes)

This is a tale of a joke that didn't work so well across cultural boundaries:

Ben to a Spaniard: "Have you seen that new pirate movie?"
Spaniard: ???
Ben: "Yeah, it's rated ArrrrrrrrR!"
Spaniard: ???
...twenty minutes of explanation...
Spaniard: "So that is the sound a pirate makes?"

Michael Moore on Sweden

Filmmaker Michael Moore has attacked the Swedish government for opening up the health service to more private sector involvement.

"I am very sorry to hear that they are selling out public healthcare. Everything that is good about public healthcare has its origins in Scandinavia," he said, adding that he thought the Swedish public would vote the centre -right Alliance government out as a result.
I accept your apology Mr. Moore...