Oh, Happy Danes!

The following short clip (sent to us by an American pal) is interesting, if for no other reason than the fleeting reference to the happy Danes at the end—including a shot of the ice skating rink at City Center in Copenhagen. Several of you have now had your picture taken next to this rink (or garden, for those of you who visited in the warmer months). Ron probably remembers it as that large circle of ice next to the tiny little stand where he was able to buy several of the bestest, most awesomest hotdogs in the history of the whole world:

http://cosmos.bcst.yahoo.com/ver/251.7/popup/index.php?cl=6462881

Robyn and I can attest that we are now happier people having lived in Denmark. Of course, we’ve developed eating disorders and various body-image pathologies trying to fit in with these ultra-thin, ultra-fashionable, ultra-hip Danes. But we’re happier. Just hungrier.

Little touches of home

So, did you vote?

While I am sure most of you in the States are a bit sick of the election, it is hot news over here. Everyone is following the election -- even my students. They are really interested in the results. The crazy thing is that the Danes know a lot about the election process in the States. My students, for example, understand the difference between a primary and a caucus. Clinton and Obama are the clear favorites (at least with the press and the Danes we know). They really like Clinton because of her husband. But, my students are facinated with Obama's "star" quality. What I find surprising is the degree to which most Danes truly hate president Bush. In fact, I had one colleague tell me that most Europeans don't hold American's responsible for our government's actions, but that she lost a lot of respect for American's when we re-elected president Bush.

It has been interesting to watch the election via international news media. It is a nice reminder that we are not the only country in the world, although we have a large impact on many countries.

On another note, American football is not widely supported here in Copenhagen, although interest is growing. As we mentioned in an earlier blog, a cable television station shows Sunday Night football (with Danish commentary). The Superbowl was a big-ish deal here (several bars stayed open all night to show the full game). And, they even showed the Pro-bowl. The best part about the televised games is the commentary. There are about 5 different Danish guys who provide commentary for the game. Because there are no commercials on the cable channel, the commentators have to "fill" all the commercial time in the US feed. We obviously can't follow the commentary, but it is hilarious to watch. Even the set is funny. They really go out of their way to make their set authentic. They even ate Thanksgiving Dinner (with lots of wine) when they aired the Cowboy's Thanksgiving Day game. To fully appreicate their efforts, I took a few pictures of their Pro-Bowl set. Enjoy!

Nice pineapples and Hawaiian shirts!

Check out this guy's sunglasses... trust me... you don't need them in the winter in Copenhagen!