Blogs from Roskilde, Region Sjælland, Denmark, Europe - page 3

Things in Svanholm have been a bit boring lately as most of the teenagers have gone to Ireland for a week with school. Lucky for them, they will be there for St.Patty´s Day which should be pretty fun. I also got some crappy news from the Roskilde Festival which told me that they have had far too many requests for volunteer work and I will have to apply for 2010 if I want to volunteer. But, the guys came up with a better idea. Instead of volunteering for 24 hours, we will pick bottles at the festival for a few hours each day. One fellow from Svanholm did that 8 hours a day for the entire festival and saved up enough money for a 3 week vacation to Turkey. I´m not sure if that shows you ... read more

Six months from home, The last few weeks have been full of fun and festivities. We had a wedding last weekend between two of the members at Svanholm and it was quite the party. Free beer and wine, delicious pork and beer, dancing and music. Lots of fun. This weekend was also quite the party I was invited by the boys to another event at their Gymnasium (a Danish High School is called a Gymnasium). They forgot to ask the party coordinator if I was allowed to attend so we figured out an alternative means of getting in (climbing like monkeys through an open window). Again, we had lots of fun and found ourselves stumbling home at 6 in the morning from Skibby to Svanholm (about 3 km). The past two days I´ve spent in recovery ... read more

Now that the basement in Svanholm is almost finished Im finally starting to get some alternative types of work. I spent my Monday working behind a tractor in a field in a giant machine with a few other Svanholmers as we sorted between vegetables and rocks. It sounds bad but it was actually fairly enjoyable. We had a radio hooked up inside the machine and the two folks I was working with spoke great English and asked me almost everything you could want to know about Canada. Time went by fast. For the past 3 days Ive been working in a room that is covered almost top to bottom in dust. Anybody who tries to light a cigarette in this place would likely have their body picked up somewhere in Sweden. The room has an ogger ... read more

I haven't written in the blog for the last few weeks but the reasoning for that is fairly simple...things haven't really changed all that much. Besides the Christmas festivites here at Svanholm (Christmas trees, small parties, a large Christmas festival - similar to the farmers market back home) things are still the same. I work from 8-3 and learn Danish and hang out here. Then to Copenhagen and Roskilde on the weekends. At the moment it isn't really a nice time to go touring around Europe so I'm having loads of fun just staying here and partying with the Svanholm gang. We spend our weekdays planning for the weekend and I practice my Danish little by little. My understanding of Danish is getting quite decent but speaking is still difficult. Writing Danish...forget it. Give me at ... read more

Just writing this message in response to a few questions. SO! First I should point out that the idea to get an apartment in Copenhagen is simply an idea, not something that I am seriously considering. Remember, when you're in a foreign country things work at a snails pace, especially when the country you are staying in has a government that is leaning against increased immigration (ie, Denmark, Sweden, France, Germany, Italy...etc.) So first of all you have to apply for a work visa or some type of extension. If you're an electronic engineer or a doctor you can get a job almost immediately, your visa will be given immediately as well. If you want to go to school here and are willing to pay around 11,000 dollars per year for tuition, getting a student visa ... read more