Two Fridays ago was my first encounter with my new school, Roskilde University, also known as RUC. Now, RUC is in a far away land outside of the city where apparently this magical music festival happens. It's really not very far, but I love to exaggerate. It takes about 20 minutes from the city center. Anyway, I really wanted to get off on the right foot with school to ensure the fruition of a great relationship. Obviously, I planned ahead. I made myself directions as I always do. I left basically an hour early to make sure I get there with plenty of time to spare. You'd think I learned from the whole apartment incident to actually read the directions I made myself, right? Of course not right. On my first journey to this new university I didn't bother to find the paper with the directions in my backpack. Instead, I successfully navigate the bus to the station to the platform to the train to the stop and VOILÀ! I'm at the school and I'm even early. Painless. RUC is pretty impressed by me at this point. So, I find the building and I go straight to the classroom. On the projector is a powerpoint with a big "Velkommen ISG!" Which means "Welcome ISG (Society and Globalisation)" in Danish. I'm definitely in the right place. I pick a seat towards the center of a row in the middle of the hall. After about 20 minutes the "welcome day" finally begins. And it's in Danish. I mean like TOTAL DANISH. And I'm stuck sitting there, in the middle of a row with people on both sides of me, wondering if the program I'm enrolled in is taught in a language of which I know not one word. After two full hours of making up dialogue in my head to match their Danish selves, we finally have a break. I let go of my anger and work up the courage to ask one of the professors if I'm in the right place. "Oh, English is in the room directly below us." OHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH. Okay. Mmhm. Yeah. Sure. Turns out I'm a floor above where I need to be. Of course I am. And which room did I write down on my trust sheet of directions I failed to look at? The English room.
In short, the answer is no. I learned nothing from my old man in his underwear experience.
However, since then RUC and I have gotten along rather well. Let me elaborate. After the first actual Global Studies department lecture, we were served complementary wine and the professors hung around to chat with us. Definition cool, I know, but it gets better. Last Friday was our department's "kick off" party.
Here are the reasons it was awesome:
1. What kind of university department has an actual kick off party? Mine.
2. They put up a large circus-like tent outside to make sure the party happened regardless of Denmark's notoriously fickle weather, so we felt exclusive like we we're in fashion week.
3. They hired a band. And not an old people band, but a hip band.
4. They brought in beer on tap along with giant vats of chips, hummus, weird guacamole cheese sauce, and sausages.
5. This is the absolute best reason. The professors poured the beer on tap and served the students to get to know us better. Alright, if that's how you want to get to know me, by all means, please keep pouring.
RUC knows what's up.
Some shots of the campus. I'm proud to call it my university and call myself a nothing because mascots are socially constructed western hegemonic devices and we don't have that here.
can you talk more about me...please?
ReplyDeleteOh, how I miss you! I think about you while running to soundtracks. And not old people soundtracks, but hip ones :)
ReplyDeletePlease talk about more about your dad,
Love ya,
Kylie G's mom