Christmas in August!

Well... the day finally arrived. We were beginning to doubt it would ever happen... but it finally did... OUR STUFF FROM THE STATES ARRIVED!!! We shipped over from the States our winter clothes, a few electronics, and our books (no, not all of them... Joel limited himself to 6 boxes and I shipped 2). The shipment was to arrive July 2nd. But, it didn't. We tracked our shipment down in Hamburg where it was held hostage until we wired a German company "release" money (our American company takes no responsibility for this). Once they received their money and we harassed them repeatedly on the phone they trucked our stuff to our flat in Frederiksberg. It arrived last Friday.

As you can see from the pictures, they condensed our 17 small boxes into two large boxes -- and that is how they left them on our door step!

We had to empty the two larger boxes outside because they were WAY too heavy to move on their own.

The problem was that we did not have anything that would cut through the larger boxes and we could not lift the smaller boxes out of the larger boxes... So, I got the largest kitchen knife we own and Joel sawed away at the boxes.

After numerous trips our three flights of stairs, our stuff was in our apartment! Joel took a taxi to work with his 6 boxes and I am slowly taking my books into my office (a backpack full each day). And, the best news, everything arrived with no damage! Joel's computer works beautifully (we did forget to pack a keyboard) and all the parts are functional. Our clothes smell like they were packed on a hot ship all summer, but I am hoping that will fade now that they are out of the boxes and in our closets.

It was a HUGE hassle to get our stuff, but now that it is here, we are VERY happy!

Yet another birthday...

It's time for another birthday--this time, my mom. So:

HAPPY BIRTHDAY!

We're looking forward to celebrating with you in Copenhagen!

So far behind in my updates!

Well, we have much to catch you up on...

We are very happy here in Copenhagen. Actually, our new address locates us in Frederiksberg, which is a part of larger Copenhagen. We are just west of the city center. In trying to describe the area, the City Centre (where we used to live) is similar to Times Square and Frederiksberg is like New York City's Upper West Side. It is a quiet area full of very nice houses and cute little flats. The windows all have boxes full of flowers and the yards are nicely manicured. There are many cafes and restaurants as well as gourmet shops and boutiques. And, my office is located in Frederiksberg -- a short 10 minute bus ride or a less-short 30 minute walk from our flat. The former summer home for the Danish monarchs, now a beautiful park with several ponds, is located less than 20 meters from my office building. One of our guide books describes Frederiksberg as "quiet and refined." That describes our experience quite well.

In other news, we had a wonderful time visiting with our new pastor, his wife Natalie, and another couple from the church when they had us over for dinner last week. While the congregation meets in a church in Copenhagen the pastor lives in a house in Hellerup, a beautiful "suburb" to the north of Copenhagen. The pastor lives in the top floor of the house and then the basement and ground floor serve as church offices and meeting rooms. The house and grounds are beautiful. As if turns out, the church bought the house in the 1970s when Hellerup was not as nice. Then, in the years following, several embassies and large corporations purchased and refurbished houses in the same area and Hellerup is now a very affluent and beautiful area to live. It is also very convenient to get to --just a short ride on the S-tog (train). It was really nice to meet the other couple from church. They are both Americans and musicians. He (I am not sure I should include their names...) plays the flute for the Copenhagen Ballet and Opera and she is a singer. They've lived here for over 7 years. We also really enjoyed getting to know our Pastor and his wife, Natalie a bit better. As it turns out, Pastor Rimmer and I were both at UNC at the same time. He did his BS (in biology!) at UNC while I was there doing my Master's work. And, their first church was in York, Pennsylvania, near where I went to college. In fact, Natalie took classes at Millersville University, my alma mater for her Masters in Education. Very small world...

Natalie fixed an incredible meal including broccoli salad -- one of my favorites! She also made a traditional Danish dessert. I forgot the name of it so I won't blog about it too much right now, but I plan to get the recipe and fix it for all who visit! It was YUMMY!

More to come...

Guess who's 27 years old today!!!

That's right... it's Baby Boy Ronnie... although at 27 I guess he isn't really a baby boy anymore! But, he will always be our baby brother!

Happy Birthday Ron!

This is a picture of Ron and his girlfriend, Lori in Austin, Texas.

Check out Ron's homepage at www.ronremke.com

Happy Birthday!

Well, today is a very special day. Today is Rochelle, Mom, and Grandma Toben's birthday!!!

So... Happy Birthday to 3 very special Ladies!

Lots and Lots of Lemonade!

Well, we all know the phrase... and we usually hear it when we least want to hear it... but that is what we are doing: making lemonade. First, a few updates:

Joel's calculator arrived (see picture)! We now have access to his account. We are still waiting for the pin numbers to use of Danish debit and credit cards, but we can at least now access Joel's account (I am still waiting for my calculator).

And, I thought I would include a few pictures of my office at the Copenhagen Business School, including the infamous stairwell and the deceptively simple keypad (do you see the laser that is supposed to read your security card?).

My office is quite nice with a large desk, a work table with two pink chairs, two huge bookshelves, a white board, and huge windows that let in a lot of light! The funny thing is that I look right into an apartment building and my secretaries warned me that every once in a while you will catch someone running around their apartment naked!

I've only met a few of my coworkers, but everyone is really nice and friendly. I am part of the research Center for Corporate Values and Responsibility, which has very high expectations for research and publications. That said, they work collaboratively and do a lot to help and encourage each other (paper workshops etc.). I already feel mentored and encouraged (if not a bit intimidated by the reputations of my colleagues!).

So, our other news is that we still do not have water in our apartment. A water leak somewhere in the building flooded the bar on the ground floor Monday of last week. They cut the hot water temporarily but then turned it back on after about 2 days. The flooding continued and destroyed the bar's fuse box. So, about half our electric outlets didn't work for about 2 days. Then, Thursday morning (without any warning) all the water went out and it is still out. After several hours with the plumber and the owner of the bar, we decided that the water leak is coming from the first floor flat (2nd floor by American standards). Unfortunately, the owner of the first floor flat won't grant the plumber access to the flat to fix the leak. Until they fix the leak, the water will remain off. This isn't good news. Both our landlord and the owner of the bar have contacted lawyers trying to force the first flat owner to grant access. I am not sure how this will turn out, but I think we are going to have to break down and get a hotel tomorrow if the water is not back on. We are doing our best with bottled water and "borrowing" bathrooms at various shops and restaurants. That said, showers are pretty important and we just may need to do something. Hopefully we will know more tomorrow. Actually, I hope we have water tomorrow!

So... our big news. We are moving! The noise in our current apartment is too much. Even after everything we've done to block out the noise, we often cannot sleep until after 5 am when the bars close. So, after lots of thinking and praying we decided to take another apartment. The challenge was locating another apartment. Flats in Copenhagen, like other large cities, are very hard to find. We had lots of help from our coworkers and we dedicated several days to looking. We finally located an apartment. It is much smaller -- MUCH SMALLER and there is no washer, dryer, nor dishwasher. But, it is in a much more residential area of the city. It is about DKK 1000 cheaper than our current apartment and very near a laundromat, grocery store, and other shopping. It is also close enough for me to walk or bike to work. It is also very near the Metro, which is good for Joel. The apartment is also furnished. Our landlord lives in Copenhagen and is really nice. In fact, he allowed us to sign a 6 month lease in case we decide the apartment is a bit too small. This is our new address:

Duevej 120a, 2

2000 Frederiksberg

Denmark

Here are some pictures that our landlord took. And, yes, the bathroom is that small.

Today's blog is brought to you by the letter S...

...and, "S" stands for SECURITY. It occurred to me as I sat locked in the hallway of my building at work that "security" has created a lot of challenges this week. First example: our Danish bank account. Joel and I went to open a bank account. We planned to open the account with money wired from our American bank. Easy, right? Wrong. Opening the account was easy... show some id, sign a few papers, and we have an account! Yea! Using the account, apparently, is the tricky part. To no surprise everything is handled online. No problem. We were told that we could access our account and arrange for the money wire online as soon as we received our "calculators." To explain: instead of using just a password to access our bank account online, we use a password to access our account but then the website gives us a number that we type into our calculator. When we hit enter on our calculator it gives us another number that we have to type on the website. If all goes well, we then have access to our account. No problem... except we haven't received our calculators. They are "in the mail."


Another challenge... all credit cards in Denmark have pin numbers. This is similar to the American debit card, but all cards, even credit cards have pin numbers. The problem is that our American credit cards do not have pin numbers, which means we cannot use them at most stores in Denmark. The pin number is supposed to provide additional security and prevent the use of stolen credit cards. No problem. We just used our American debit card to access cash at ATMs and paid for groceries etc. with cash... until our debit card stopped working (on a Friday, of course). As it turns out, our bank, in an effort to protect us from fraudulent use of our debit card, deactivated our debit card when it noticed a number of withdraws in Copenhagen. It was for our security. By the way, I have a debit card for my Danish bank account (that still has no money in it because I don't have my calculator and can't transfer our funds) as well as two Danish credit cards that come with our account, but of course, I can't use them because I don't have a pin number. The pin, apparently, is in the mail.


I realized all this while sitting on the steps of a stairwell in my office building. It was a little after 5 when I decided to go down stairs to check my mail. I knew that I needed my passcard to enter the building after 5, but I didn't know I would need it to operate the elevator or unlock EVERY door in the building. So, I was in the stairwell with just my office key, feeling very secure, and wondering how on earth I was going to get back in my office. The good news is that it only took 35 minutes for a co-worker to hear my pounding and open the door. As it turns out he is very nice and loaned me a book I needed.


On another good note, the bar below us is closed for another night! There is a water leak in our building and they had to cut the water. Now, the bad news is that we didn't have hot water for 48 hours... but we did sleep! Now, we have hot water, but several of our electric outlets don't work (including the fridge) and we can't figure out why (the building hallway lights don't work either). So... a little good... a little not so good... but all is well and secure in Copenhagen.

Life at the Center for Subjectivity Research

Howdy! This is Joel. A number of folks have asked what it is that I do, exactly, at the Center for Subjectivity Research here in Copenhagen. I'll attempt to (briefly) answer that question and show a few pictures of the Center itself. First, here's a shot of Copenhagen's sparkling new Metro, which I ride to work each day.

I have about a five minute walk to the Metro station from our flat, an eight minute ride to my stop, and then another five minute walk to my office. Not a bad commute! And here's what I see when I get to campus:

It's a very sleek, clean and angular campus. It's quite different from Purdue and Southern Illinois University, aesthetically speaking. The facilities are very new and really top-notch. I certainly can't complain. I have a bright office and a brand-new computer.

My colleagues are exceedingly friendly and do very interesting research. The Center's secretary, Pia, has been helping me adjust. She's a funny and spirited woman who laughs easily. Dan Zahavi, the director of the Center, is a well-respected figure. I've been a fan of his philosophical writings for a number of years so it's really a treat to be working with him. There's more than just philosophy happening here, though. The Center has affiliations with the Faculties of Humanities, Theology, and Health Sciences at the University of Copenhagen, so that perhaps gives a sense of the rich interdisciplinary work that goes on. (In addition to Dan, the two other members of the "scientific board" behind the Center do work in theology and psychiatry, respectively). The Center itself is sequestered away at the top of a building on the edge of campus. It's very quiet. I get the impression that we occupy a pretty privileged position in the University hierarchy in that we're well-funded and essentially get to do what we want, with little outside interference. I quite like that arrangement.

So what sort of work goes on at the Danish National Research Foundation: Center for Subjectivity Research, exactly?

I don't have a neat definition of "subjectivity", I'm afraid. It's a term that shows up in all sorts of philosophical discussions but it's rarely defined with any precision. That said, here's a shot at some clarity: "Subjectivity", as I use the term, has to do with the various features of our experiential life as conscious, world-engaged subjects. In other words, it has to do with different aspects of our experience of "self". My own research deals primarily with the nature of consciousness--clearly a central feature of human subjectivity and selfhood. I'm inclined to think that any consideration of consciousness as such has to include questions about embodiment (how bodily structures shape different forms of consciousness), perception (how things in the world present themselves in our experience of them), agency (or how bodily action affects the content of conscious states), intersubjectivity (how we relate to and understand other conscious subjects), and lots of other things like reflection, emotion, affectivity, preconscious drives, instincts, forms of empathy, language-use, etc. In other words, "subjectivity" seems to encompass the entire range of different types of conscious experience that, individually and collectively, make up our sense of being a "self". But I don't confine myself to abstract philosophical discussion. I try to make things a bit more concrete by drawing upon empirical research taken from various cognitive sciences including neuroscience, cognitive and developmental psychology, artificial intelligence, linguistics, and things of that sort. Additionally, I tend to draw heavily upon theories of mind found in Eastern philosophy, including Hinduism, Buddhism and Daoism. To sum up: my research is an interdisciplinary and cross-cultural investigation into the relationship between mind and world. Not that complicated, really...

Since I'm starting to bore myself, I'll end on an egocentric note by posting a random shot of me standing on a bridge in a lovely park near our flat.

Our church in Copenhagen

We visited one of three (that I know of) English speaking churches in Copenhagen. The church is just a 20 minute walk from our house. The church is the International Church of Copenhagen -- the ICC (http://www.internationalchurch.dk/homepage.aspx). The church is a ministry of the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America, but they made it very clear through their service that they are there to minister to Christians from all denominations. And, while the service was rather traditional, they also attempted to incorporate worship traditions from other denominations and parts of the world. For example, while we sang a hymn in preparation for prayer we were invited to walk to the alter to light a candle. We also sang traditional hymns, songs that were new to us, and songs that I call "oldie, Sunday-night" hymns. They even had this sort of "participatory prayer" where a woman prayed aloud (in a beautiful British accent) following the model of the Lord's prayer and after each part the congregation sang the very familiar song "Lord, listen to your children praying..." As part of the prayer each week the congregation prays for three countries as well as individual members of the congregation. It felt deeply international and very personal at the same time. Another powerful moment occurred later in the service when we each said the Lord's prayer together in each of our native tongues. When I read that in the bulletin I thought it would be chaotic and distracting, but it wasn't. It was really moving to hear most of us praying the Lord's prayer (with a variety of accents) but then to hear some different languages too. It was almost comforting -- knowing that God is truly God of all the earth and its many languages!

The congregation meets at a beautiful church, Sct. Andreas Church -- it was truly moving to worship in such a grand sanctuary. The pastor is a rather young guy (we think about our age) with a very friendly wife and two very cute young sons. They are actually from North Carolina (he is a UNC grad -- we were there at the same time!) and he went to seminary at Gettysberg. His wife began her masters at Millersville University (where I did my undergraduate!). Small world!

I really enjoyed his message (you may be able to hear it on their website) and the music and prayers were beautiful. I really enjoyed the organ music (see it in the picture). At the end of the service the pastor invited visitors to stand and introduce themselves. There were probably 20 families or individuals visiting! Some are just visiting as tourists; some are here for the summer. Two gentlemen are here for the summer, teaching at the CBS! After the introduction we all walked upstairs for a coffee fellowship. There we met several of the "regulars" including several congregants who work at the embassy. Now we have some connections in case we run into trouble!

All in all I am really glad we found the church (thanks to Joel's father, Silas!) and look forward to going back.