Throw off the bowlines, sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. -Mark Twain
Category: Erasmus Mundus
An international master’s degree program I participated in from 2014-2017. The program name was Erasmus Mundus Master’s in Journalism, Media, and Globalization. Think that’s a mouthful? You should see the title of my thesis.
You’ll probably notice I haven’t blogged in a while, and as bad as I feel about not sharing fun travel stories and photos with you, it was for a very good reason, which was…
On the other side of the globe, while my friends from uni were preparing for their undergrad graduation ceremony, I was taking part in a European “tradition” that up until that week I’d never heard of: Eurovision.
Georgia’s star Nina Sublatti performing in Eurovision 2015. Photo: Telegraph
Eurovision Song Contest is a euro-centric singing competition in which each participating country sends their best contender(s) to perform a piece of pop music for a huge international audience. It’s a bit like the Olympics, except instead of totally ripped athletes you have an assortment of sexy pop stars, performers in crazy costumes, and even a drag queen, and instead of competing in intense sporting events to win gold medals, they sing a song of their choice, from the serious to the silly, the completely bizarre to the downright tacky, for the honor of having their country host the competition next year. And instead of a panel of judges deciding who’s the best, the audience gets to vote, American Idol-style. The catch? You’re not allowed to vote for your own country. Continue reading “Eurovision 2015: Some more weird European culture”→
We ain’t got no place to go So let’s go to the punk rock show! Darlin’ take me by the hand We’re gonna see a punk rock band There’s no use in TV shows Radios or rodeos I wanna get into the crowd I wanna hear it play real loud!
-MXPX, “Punk Rawk Show”
Of all the artists and all the concert venues in the world, the American punk rock band Against Me! performed at Fonden Voxhall in Aarhus last week. As part of their European tour, this band, which is huge among rockers and punkers in the U.S., stopped by li’l ole Aarhus to play for a crowd of less than 100 people on a weekday night.
Laura Grace of Against Me! at Fonden Voxhall. Yeah, we were close enough to feel her spit. Photo by Daphne Henning
Move over, Friday bars and freshman initiation rituals. You can have your Christmas dinners (julefrokost) and licorice-flavored ice cream. Without a doubt, the most insane Danish tradition I’ve come across yet is Kapsejlads, the annual Aarhus university boat race at the university park.
I’ve never seen the university park this crowded in my entire life. (Sorry for the poor quality – until I buy a new camera, you’ll have to deal with my crappy phone pics.)
In its most basic definition, Kapsejlads is a regatta, a boat race in which the different academic faculties compete against each other. In reality, it’s an excuse to drink. All. Day. Long.