fishers, surfers and casters

Now Copenhagen is a beautiful place, and the people   are generally nice. Helpful, yes. Polite, yes. Friendly, oh my God no. Melbourne, and to an even greater extent regional Victoria, is full of people who may be crass, lack gentility, but by God they’re friendly. If someone is standing alone on a street corner somewhere in Vic holding a map, within minutes there will be three four locals offering to help. Up here among the Danes, you need to be yelling out “Excuse me please” in a tone befitting “Help I’m being eaten alive!” in order to get any sort of reaction. You will get the information you need, you may even get a smile (if you are overly grateful). But you will leave the conversation with some of your life energy drained.

A new friend made at the conference who is living in Copenhagen but is originally from Makedonia, heard my confession that I don’t care much for the Danes’ lack of openness, and responded by saying she was friendly with her colleagues, but it took her two whole years to actually make a friend in the city.

Yesterday I sat all day in a doctoral colloquium, where seven of us PhD students presented our wares to two mentors, who were critical and kind to all of us. I think I did okay. I was told that my writing style can be dogmatic at times, ignoring nuances and questions in some of the assertions I make. in my oral presentation I had made it clear to them I wasn’t as closed in my thinking that my writing had led them to believe. I thought that was an extremely important criticism, one that I’ve often wondered about. So when I get a chance I’ll do a re-read of some paragraphs and see how I can soften the tone a little. But I had some great conversations with students, made completely stupid Aussie jokes and made new friends. Ended up at the pub until late. That was cool – feeling a little more at home now.

Before then my old mate Allan met me for dinner, and took me around Copenhagen, bought me a beer in a really kitsch bar. Allan saved Denmark from the wrath of ill prejudice. Thanks mate, so good to see you.