blog post 30. jul 2010 by Robin

Pacifier Tree

When we got to Denmark, I was wowed by all the plant life -- we weren't in a desert! I know for a fact that I said more than once: Wow, it actually rains here! Everyone seems to bike, but nobody seems to use a helmet except for us. We only have Dad's single, a tandem, and a quad right now. Our quad attracted a crowd of onlookers while we applied for our super-IDs. Now it is fredag den 30. juli 2010, and we have been here over 24 hours, most of them spent awake in the sunlight that appears to be there 24/7, but it probably is there more like 18 hours a day (maybe it is on 24/7 under the solar simulators in the national energy lab my dad works in). Our possessions are unpacked, our computers are plugged in, our date-and-time preferences are set to Danish, and our Skype and MagicJack are working. Today we actually experienced that wonderful rain, which was not all that wonderful when you were out walking to and from the grocery store that's farther from us ("Super Best" is its name), but we did see some wonderful things on the route. First: The preschool and the pacifier tree that was near it. No, I'm not kidding. Somebody had strung pacifiers and bags with other infant items onto a tree by the preschool. Later, we saw the black sheep, which had just been shorn. I was very surprised to see a pasture in the middle of town. Maybe it was for the university. At the store, we bought fruits, vegetables, bread, jam, pickles, eggs, cheese, yogurt, milk, and this bottled yogurt beverage for me. (I am getting worried that I am lactose intolerant.) All of these you can buy in Denmark. What you cannot buy, with a few exceptions (like peanut butter), is legumes. At the bakery section, I had my special moment. I am very good at saying "Jeg taler ikke dansk", which sounds something like "Yai tailer ekay [rhymes with eBay] dansk", and means, "I don't speak Danish". It was my turn to say that, and I got it right! Later today, we will have an allowance and chores discussion. Goodbye, that's it from me until my next post.