Thursday, August 13, 2009

i'm not ready to leave..

as of tomorrow, friday the 14th, at 7:03pm, i will no longer be a resident of copenhagen, denmark. i will embark on my journey to berlin with christian and nick, and then onto brussles and amsterdam with christian. we will be gone a total of one week, and it's not long enough. only a few days in each places, but hey, i'll take what i can get.

two weeks have gone by again, and i have been busier than ever. spending hours and days in the shop are finally over and i finally have my chair, my pride and joy for this trip. it is all done, finished, complete. the exhibition started yesterday, and there was an amazing turn out of people from all over the place: friends, family, students, teachers, etc. the furniture chairs were deff. the star of the show over the textiles and architecture projects, i hate to say it, but it's the truth. i'm really proud of everyone and way happy of how all the chairs turned out. it just felt nice to not have to stress and worry about everything that i've been stressing about for the past two weeks. now it's just fun times from here on out.

it's such a.. unspeakable feeling of the way i feel about leaving europe right now. i've spent so many hours and days with my friends that i've made here, and it just is difficult to explain how sad i am to leave them. of course we will all be going back to the states, but some of my closest friends live far away from me: colorado and new york. i guess it just gives me more reason to go visit them when i get back, but it'll be weird not seeing them at 7am, and then at wee hours of the night out on the streets of copenhagen. it's going to be a big change going back to the states after this experience, but i'll be okay. i'm ready in a sense to be back to my friends and family and my life in chicago, but i don't want to leave this and leave my friends behind here in denmark. but i guess i have to, the money is running out, school is about to start soon, and everyone else is leaving anyways. this will probs be one of my last posts in europe, unless i get time to update while i'm traveling, but i probs won't get a chance to. so for a final good bye, this is me, kimberly, signing off from europe, over and out.

kim.

Sunday, August 2, 2009

tak tak.

so yeah, it has been awhile since i've updated last, and quite a bit has gone on. so i'll do my best to remember everything that has happened over the past.. two weeks pretty much.

after we got back from the study tour, it was right back to work. in the past 16 days, i've been in class, whether in lecture, studio, or shop, probs about 15 of those days. we spent a couple days in lecture to talk about how we were going to design and sketch out our ideas for our chairs. my material is veneer, which is very thin strips of wood (maple is what i will be using), that are glued to each other, bent over a mould, clamped into shape, put in an oven, and eventually is able to hold shape of the design of your mould.

the next week was spent in the studio sketching, and changing our designs, and sketching more, and prototyping, and making models, and changing our designs again and again and again. i started with a very simple design on monday, re-did it a bagillion times over the week, and friday late night i eventually ended up back with a very similar design as the one i had on monday. funny how that works out after a full week of so many models and designs, yet i go back to the beginning.

so after i finally had my design, i took my drawings to the shop this past week to start on making my mould for my chair. little did i know, that the first two days of work in the shop, my design would change, yet again. by wednesday, i was finally able to start working on my mould, finished it on thursday, and by friday i had veneered two of my three pieces to my chair. saturday i finished the third and final piece, so starting tomorrow i will be able to cut, copy, paste, connect and hopefully make my first of three chairs. it's been so exciting that i'm actually designing, making and doing something that i have a real passion for and i can't wait to it to finally become my own design and my own chair(s).

other than school, i have been able to do a little exploring and having a little fun while i am here in copenhagen as well. not sure it will be in order of events, but i will be doing the best i can at recalling some of the highlights over the past two weeks. one of my favorite thing to do has been attending two of the local soccer (football) teams' games here in copenhagen. the f.c. kobenhavn team won their first game 7-1 and tied 1-1 in their second game. it was nonetheless exciting both of the games because a lot of my friends showed up and we made it very enjoyable.

another thing that i have been enjoying here in copenhagen has been all of the museums. just last week some friends and i went to 'louisiana' which is a modern art museum, and was absolutely amazing. just today sara, christian, and i went to the 'ny carlsbery glyptotek' which is a greek, egyptian, etruscan, and roman sculpture and art. we got in for free, spent a few hours there, and then planned on going to the harbour to lay out and go swimming, but unfortunately, the one and only time i get wear my bathing costume, it rains. so instead, we came back to my place to eat dinner and play video games.

last week the fam and i (christian, dobie, brekke, allegra, santi, and i) went to king's garden and just laid out for a couple hours in the park, walked around stroget, found out that the museum erotica was closed for good, so instead we went to the round tower. it is comparable to the sears tower in chicago, other than it was really only about 7-8 stories high. it did, however, give us the best few of the city.. i was able to see where i live, where school is, where the soccer stadium is, and just about everywhere else i have been in the city. deff. worth the $5 we paid to get in.

last sunday, christian and i went to his host families house (winnie and johnnie) in copenhagen, a little outside of the city, where they hosted us for a traditional danish dinner. we got dressed up, went out to their place at 3pm, and was there until 8pm. we had tea, coffee, and some danishes/croissants for three hours, and then had dinner for two hours. the food was amazing, as well as the hospitality, and they offered to have us back again so we could meet their two daughters and their families. also, another fun thing that we did the other weekend after the host family dinner was to go to tivoli, which is an amusement park with a garden walk, live music, a food pavilion, carnival games, and just an overall beautiful place to be, especially at night. someplace i would like to go back to if we have the time.

i just recently ate at an organic restaurant, and have tried many new and interesting food since i've been here. but i have been making my own dinners, which consist of pasta, sandwiches, panini's, lots of veggies, and mac and cheese (thanks to my parents care package they sent me). so not a lot has changed in my diet other than trying some new danish foods. other than that, i've lately been spending my days at parks, reading books, being with friends, and just enjoying the time we have here while we have the days left. i have made so many new good friends here, i'm going to be sad to leave them all. :[

i have about twelve more days in copenhagen, and then after that, christian and i are off on our european tour for a week, and then after that, i will be back in the states. it's so crazy to think that i've been in europe for about five weeks now, and i only have three left, which will fly by so quickly because i will be finishing my chair(s) this week, presenting them next week, and then traveling the week after that and before i know it, i'll be back in chicago. and as soon as i'm back in chicago, i'll be right back to work, school, and the flow of things. i can't wait though, i've missed some things about the city, but i've also really enjoyed my time here in copenhagen. it will deff. be a change of culture to get used to once i'm back in chicago, such as skyscrapers, the sunlight and weather, not being seven hours ahead, money, and just the atmosphere and environment overall. i'm sure it'll take some time getting used to, but i'll make it happen. plus, i've been using the metric system, military time, and a lot of other european things that i'll have to break apart from once i get back to the states.

so far this has been an experience has been one that i will never forget, and there has been so much to remember and reflect upon. i have the pictures to show it and the memories in my head, but words cannot express how much i have learned and enjoyed while being here. i should end it here, as i have much more to do in the next few weeks, so i should get some rest. goodnight all.

kim.

ps.. you are what i look most forward to.