Wake Me Up When December Ends

I was bored and wrote a tongue in cheek anti-Christmas song today. Those who know Wake Me Up When September Ends by Green Day will know how the tune goes.

Here comes that time of year again
Stress induced month of consumerism
Wake me up when December ends

Buy, buy then buy some more
Being spoilt brats from the age of four
Wake me up when December ends

Consumers go forth to many shops
Be quick before they go out of stock
The more expensive a gift is
The bigger a smile upon your child's face
Happiness is measured by the things you own
To be replaced next year when they are old
Wake me up when December ends

Jingle those bells again
Decorated houses since November began
Wake me up when December ends

Greedily stuff your face with sweets
Complain you're putting on weight then have another treat
Wake me up when December ends

Here comes some snow again
Falling from the sky
Hearing Christmas songs playing non stop
It's fucking cold and my ears bleed all the time
Sod all of your festivities
I'm neither pagan nor a christian
Wake me up when December ends

No glass of wines nor roast dinner for me
I can't see my friends and family
Wake Me up when December ends

I'm a lonely and a bitter man
Nowhere to go, I have no home
Wake me up when December ends

Everybody's with their family
Decorating their Christmas tree
Sitting around their fireplace
Together oh so merrily
But no not me, alone and wanting to see
Sun kissed sweethearts in their bikini
Wake me up when December ends
Wake me up when December ends
Wake me up when December ends

Merry sodding Christmas!

A Song of Solipsism

I once genuinely believed that nothing was real apart from me; everything was a figment of my imagination and reality was projected from my cortex, via super computers on board some alien mothership where my true self is. My current body was nothing but a vessel for my consciousness as it plays "Terry Desmond Donaldson: The Simulation Game". Thus I used to jokingly think of people as A.Is. I no longer think these childish and egotistical notions now, but I was thinking about it the other day and consequently started reading up about solipsism. It's an interesting philosophical theory that only ones mind is sure to exist; I can't proof that your mind exists nor can I proof to you that mine does, but we can analogue experiences and empathise which is an inference that you too have a consciousness. Before I rabble on too much, here's a song/poem I have started writing:

I think, therefore I exist
I can't think for others, so therefore they do not

I'm aware only of my own mind
My consciousness exists through space and time
Reality and this world will end in my death
Then if I am my own god,
Am I accountable for all the bloodshed?
My thoughts, my dreams, my ideas, my experiences are my own
My illness, my internal conflicts I suffer alone
I will die alone

I will awake with a cortical shunt plug in the back of my head
Nothing has been real - just a reality created from my cerebral cortex
Then would this new reality be real?
Or another figment of my imagination?
Reality and dreams entwined as time stands still
False awakenings ad infinitum
Only my consciousness to me is known
Existing alone

Then everything I have endured in this world would have been for nothing
But the fact I have felt loved should account for something
Thoughts, dreams, ideas and experiences are shared
We suffer through ilness's and conflicts together because we care
Compassion can be seen and felt
Through acts of kindness, graciousness, aid and help
Tears run down the cheeks of every boy and girl
Because of the horrors and sadness commited in this world
Through empathy I know these things are real
I reject solipsism
It's nothing but arrogant egocentricism

When my heart collapses
Earth will still be spinning on its axis
For when I finally die
There will still be day and night
My consciousness may not exist anymore
But there will still be peace and war
I'll be nothing but ashes blown across the ground
Whilst people will still be rushing around
Some will wallow in sadness and misery
Then they, and the rest, will continue to create Earth's history

Presently, it's still a work in progress and I'll probably edit it from time to time. 

The DNS Program

During our study weekend in November, we said farewell to our teammate, Milan, and we also learned more about the DNS program and what we'll be doing - which we ourselves had to research, work together and present. So I'm going to write an article summarising what I learnt (More like trying to recall what was presented. What kind of potential teacher doesn't take notes?), for those who are curious and wanting to know about what this program entails exactly.

Economy

I've touched upon this before in a previous post, but nevertheless I'll mention it again as it's an important core of the DNS program. Our team has our own economy separate from the school's. Save for our monthly 300dkk pocket money, the money we earn from our saving up period is put into the team economy and is shared amongst us evenly through monthly budgets. We have different monthly budgets that covers our transport, food, accommodation etc, as well as the program itself. For instance, next year, some of the money we earn will go towards purchasing buses for our trip to Africa. We have, so far, two economists on our team - Mykolas J who keeps track of our income and Ausrine who keeps a record of our expenses; we have to make sure to keep any receipts and produce them to Ausrine. The economy will remain like this for the duration of the next four years.

Saving up

This is the period that I'm currently in and will end in September 2015 when we start preparing our trip to Africa. We have saving up periods for a few months every year and as the name suggests, it's a period of time where we find a job, work and earn money for our team economy. Where we work and what we do is up to us, and it doesn't matter if we all don't earn the same amount as together we are responsible for collecting the funds and spending it in accordance with the programme; we all have the same budgets. Those who are regular readers of my blog posts may know that I am currently working at a school in order to earn money for my team.

Africa Preparations

Starting from September 2015, our preparations for the trip to Africa will be underway. It's during this time that we'll be: planning an itinerary, studying African cultures and traditions and the continent itself, looking into what we want to investigate whilst we are there and how we want to bring it to the public, learning Portuguese, purchasing buses, converting them into "homes" and learning how to repair them, and getting our visas and vaccinations. A lot of these preparations we can do prior to date we start, such as learning Portuguese for example. After two months of preparations, we'll then be heading to Africa.

Fighting With the Poor

When people usually think of somebody that is poor, they probably imagine somebody that is impoverished, homeless and without a penny to their name; somebody that struggles to survive by begging or they may think of those African children suffering on the tv adverts. Of course, it's certainly correct to say that such people are poor, but we debated whether uneducated people are also poor and whether those with mental disabilities are poor. One definition of the word poor describes a pitiable person - someone that deserves our pity and perhaps help. During the presentation, I think we all had mixed feelings on what makes somebody poor. In any case, we need to be empathetic with those we deem poor in order to fight with them to make changes/improvements in their lives and their communities.

Bringing "It" to the Public

This is what I had to present to the team along with Honza and Amy, and it was a struggle to find out what "IT" exactly is, as the different students we askef from other teams had different ideas on what "IT" is. Some answered that it is the "experience and the ideas" and one vaguely answered that it is the "problems". After much thinking and debating, we concluded that whatever "IT" is, it should be something that we find appropriate and important to share with anybody that we can reach out to. Whatever message we want to bring to the public is something we'll (hopefully) agree on before we start our investigations in Africa. Hopefully, we'll present a different angle about Africa - something that's new and unknown to the mass public; perhaps we'll uncover important information that is otherwise being buried under an abundance of donation adverts. I hope we'll do something mind blowing, eye opening, thought provoking and informative enough that we can raise consciousness and convince people to be more compassionate towards their fellow human beings.

European Field of Practice

During our second year, we'll choose and agree (a tedious and difficult task to carry out so I hear) upon a destination in Europe to live, work and study for 6 months. We'll be trying to balance a life of cultural understanding, work, studies and engaging with local people and carrying out investigations - much like what our trip to Africa will entail I guess. Although this time, obviously, we'll be learning about and understanding society in Europe and the problems people here face.

Studies

Throughout the DNS program, the majority of our time will be spent studying of course! There are many topics that the DNS program covers and some of the ones I recall (perhaps I'll edit it in due time to put down a full list. I really should take notes!) are: global politics, art, philosophy, history, languages, natural sciences and pedagogy. There'll be exams throughout the years too. Also there is a point system in which we get points for every essay we write, for every presentation we do, investigations we carry out etc, and we need to accumulate these points and get a certain amount (I think 5400?), before we pass and earn our bachelor degree.

So that's about the gist of this program. Our presentations were more thorough, but this was just to give the curious reader a summary. Soon, hopefully, I'll be able to add our 10 second videos that introduce each key area.

If this article piques your interest and you want to find out more, then visit the DNS website. We're still wanting people to join our 2015 team in September by the way, so if this is something that you may want to be apart of and experience, then get in touch and attend a prep weekend. Or feel free to drop by and say hi!

Free Love, Man

I find it frustrating that people always have to know one's marital status and the reason for why one may be single. What's with people's obsession over relationships anyway? The more I hear of such questions being asked, the more I realise that people are probably subconsciously pressured into pursuing a relationship and settling down. But it's not for me and here's an article why.

Personally, I find monogamous relationships constraining and inhibiting; marriage, I think, is such a primitive and man made concept that was introduced to humanity as a means to claim ownership over one another.
"Wow, your wife is beautiful mate!"
"Yep. And she's all mine." Sounds possessive, no? Just one example of words you can expect to hear from married couples regardless of the gender. Of course, people don't need to be married to display possessive behaviour. As a man who embraces liberty and freewill, I find such behaviours and attitudes to be oppressive.

The ring upon a finger is forever (well, until a couple may divorce anyway - in western marriage that is), a reminder that one must suppress any feelings they may harbour towards anyone else. And, of course, it happens. Well it's bound to happen. I know people like to romanticise love, but what these mawkish people feel and attempt to describe is nothing more than a brain hormone called oxytocin getting released as well as a dose of serotonin. Love is literally a chemical reaction. Boring, yes? Well I suppose it is if you don't find the inner workings of our human bodies fascinating. Oxytocin gets released when one partakes in sexual intercourse, cuddles and bonds - hence why it is known as the "bonding" hormone. This chemical also has an impact on our social behaviours too by the way. If you're curious about this wondrous hormone, then Google it. My point is is that you haven't found your current "soul mate" (that conveniently lives in close proximity and frequents the same bar as you), because fate has aligned the stars and planets for you and your partner to meet, you just simply became attracted to one another and bonded as a result of chemical reactions in your brain. And no one has any control when these hormones get released. So I call bullshit when people try to convince me (more likely they're trying to convince themselves actually), that they're so in love that they don't so much as look at another man or woman.

How many times have you "fallen in love" throughout your life? How many relationships have you been in? Funny how soul mates come and go, isn't it? Kinda negates the meaning if you've implied that more than one person has been your soul mate during your life. "But Terry, I was young and naive. I didn't mean it when I said it all those years ago. But now I've settled down, I've realised that now I have found my soul mate." Wow, I guess fate was toying around with you for shits and giggles. What's happened is you've gotten older so have been pressured by society to settle down and your current partner will have to do. You have matured, realised that you want a sense of security, a home and a family. Next step, claim him/her as yours by proposing before they escape! I've seen so many people rush into such rash decisions and now they're miserable. I also know people that have been with their partner for all their life, though, and still claim to be happy. I respect their commitment, I really do.

As I said at the start, marriage and monogamy seem primitive and outdated to me due to the fact they shame one into not acting out their desires, and they suppress any feelings of intimacy and platonic bonds they may have towards another human being. Of course, this will have negative impacts and one will probably be miserable, only ever receiving their sexual gratification through fantasising and masturbating. Of course, they could "cheat" on their partners - and many do! But society will look at them with contempt. You only have to watch the undesirables that appear on shows like Jeremy Kyle to see how people point their fucking fingers, mock, laugh and talk lowly of these cheaters and sluts. Pitchforking and lambasting at its finest. And so we are instilled to live a conventional life (from an early age too. It's bizarre seeing little girls pushing around toy babies pretending to be a parent), striding to settle down with just the one person, get a nice little home and car lest you be shamed!

I think it's unnatural though; polyamorous relationships seem so much natural for us humans. Just look at other species in nature too. Before monogamy and marriage became the norm, I'd wager we got on fine with establishing many relationships, whether sexual or platonic. We are one of two species that don't just have sex to procreate, but also because we find it most pleasurable and there's no reason why we can't passionately enjoy one another without having strings attached. Of course, having polyamory relationships would mean overcoming jealousy and envy, which are mental obstacles and is probably the root reason why it wouldn't be practical for most. But for those of us that can abstain from being jealous, why should we feel ashamed to enjoy casual relationships with more than one person? One can't help how they feel after all.

So I personally don't care for marriage nor do I actively seek out a relationship because it's the be all and end all in my life. With my current lifestyle, it's not really a viable option anyway. I'll take any intimacy, bond, sex or whatever when it comes and is consensual. And I won't feel ashamed either. It's fine if you want to married and stick with one man/woman, just don't expect that's what everybody wants. Some of us just want to embrace free love, maan. Hell, I'd wager if we all just had one big fucking orgy, there'd be a lot more smiles.

Here's a song for you to enjoy: Crass - Berketex Bride

The Lonely Vagabond

In my spare time here, I like draw, read, write, play the odd videogame and my ukulele. So, the other day I decided to compose a song using my uke about a lonely vagabond who's missing companionship and intimacy, especially from someone who is now just a fond memory. Such is a life of a traveller I'd imagine. Without further ado, here are the lyrics:

People often question why
The reasons for how I spend my time
I don't want a life of drudgery 
I reply
The vagabond life is for me
My backpack is my home
On the road I am happy
I'm happy to be alone
But sometimes I wish I could just spend another 10 minutes with you
Oh, I'd feel so jubilant!
If I could just spend some more time with you
Oh if only, if only, if only, if only
If only you were here to hold me

I'm off to see the world
And encounter so many of its people
You're the only one that stands out my mind
I've yet to meet your equal
I've shared many moments of intimacy
And have had many great experiences
But none greater than the ones I've shared with you!
Here I sit alone, reminiscing. What's a man to do?
Oh if only, if only, if only, if only
If only you could be here to hold me

I'm always walking along many paths
Maybe, just maybe, our paths will cross again

Once I'm feeling ready, I'll probably record myself playing it.

Working at Dagskolen-Nordjylland and Trip to Skagen

I had a very good night sleep following my arduous journey here at the Nordjylland day school. Jonna was already up by time I had awoken and she took me to the kitchen house after I showered for some breakfast. Concerned about my feet, Jonna gave me a big needle to pop the blisters which relieved me a little of the pain I still felt in them. Afterwards, I was taken to house nine where the teachers have a morning meeting everyday and was introduced to everyone. It was decided that I would be working with Lars - a 53 year old carpenter - helping him with the construction of a new meeting room. Initially, I was a little confused as I was under the impression that I'd be assisting teachers and gaining pedagogical experience, but I soon thought it was pretty cool to have experience in carpentry under my belt. It's still a very relevant profession and skill to have afterall!

So having been tasked with helping Lars with his project, I followed him to the building that was being worked on. Although I had to quickly change into old clothes first! Lars and Ole (the mechanic here and also a general handyman of the place, as well as a fantastic guitarist!) gave me a decent pair of work shoes and, also being concerned about my feet, Ole went and got me some pads to stick onto the blisters.

 Due to me still struggling to stand, Lars let me take it easy for the day. A student called John was also helping today and I helped him carry over large planks of wood and put down some ground insulation. Much like a typical 9-5 job, we have a short break at 10 and then lunch at 12:30. As it was Friday which meant that we only work for half a day, after lunch I was able to finally move in to my new room and put my feet up, although not before meeting with Gerda first.

Gerda met with me and we discussed my work timetable, what I'd be doing etc. She also told me a little about the place. Dagskolen-Nordjylland is made up of three separate institutions: care homes Nordlys, care homes Norden and the day school. Nordlys is where students aged 13 - 18 stay and Norden is home for the older students. The school has a few classrooms, a big kitchen and dining hall and a workshop - where some of the older students come to learn and work; for example, a student will help Ole in the garage do repairs and we have a couple of students (as well as myself), who help Lars with the building project. When we finish work after lunch, we have afternoon activities; on Monday we go swimming, Tuesday is teachers meeting, Wednesday we do something sport related and on Thursday we have a music session. Afterwards, I stay in Nordlys and help the pedagog of the day with driving and picking up the students, as well as doing any other activity or chore. On weekends, we may go out and do something (like ice skating or shopping), with the students otherwise I just relax and/or do my own thing.

That's been the gist of my work so far here at Dagskolen-Nordjylland. It's nice that everybody here as a more "take it easy" approach to work - an ethos I think that everybody should practice! This is a stress free place because of it, and there's generally a pleasant atmosphere. If I weren't enrolled in the DNS program, this would be an ideal job for me, for sure. Alot of my previous jobs have had me put under pressure to work fast at the cost of my fatigue and efficiency which made me unhappy in the process - something that I think a lot of people can relate to. All for profit. 

Another great aspect of this job is that I get to tag along on trips with the students. My third week of being here, Lars and Ole invited me along for a three day trip to Laeso. The initial plan was for me to sail with Lars on his boat and Ole would take the students there via ferry, but due to bad weather, we were forced to change our plans. So instead, it was decided that we would be going to Skagen - a coastal town on the most Northern point of Denmark.

Lars and Ole took the boat while I drove a couple of students there, following behind Shaun in his car. We parked by the harbour and took a walk around some of the town. It's quite a unique and quaint town due to the majority of buildings being a  distinctive yellow colour. Many tourists visit the town annually as it's also famous for it Skagen Painters - a group of Scandinavian artists, and so there are some galleries and museums. Due to the annual influx of tourists, prices are very high in Skagen making it an expensive place to visit and live; always an inadvertent negative effect of tourism, unfortunately. 

So after being giving tidbits of information on Skagen as we walked around, we stopped to grab a hot drink and breakfast which consisted of a bit of bread and a slice of cheese. Once we finished, we dropped by a supermarket to grab some food then headed back to the harbour to wait for the guys to arrive by boat.

We waited for around an hour before they eventually arrived. Once we put everything on the boat and chilled for a little while, we decided to go for a long bike ride. We rode around the harbour which is Denmark's main fishing port. Smelt like it too. We then rode around the town then heading onto the outskirts, stopping off at a junk yard where we watched a few cars get crushed. It was quite mesmerising watching a huge destructive machine crush once drivable vehicles into small cubes with ease. It's good to hear that these now forgotten cars, no doubt what was once somebody's pride and joy that got them from a to b, were being recycled.

Afterwards we rode back to boat and I prepared myself for a spot of canoeing with a student. Because it was fairly cold and the water even colder, I put on a wetsuit in the case the worst happens - I fall in and get hypothermia. The worst did not happen though and we paddled around the harbour with ease. Ole took one of students scuba diving once we got back and I was offered a chance to try as well. Having never experienced diving before, I was well up for it! It only daunted on me just how scary and dangerous it could be to go deep underwater once I had all the equipment on and thus felt a bit nervous. Ole and Lars instructed me on hand signals to use should something go wrong and I want to back up to the surface, which I put to good use!

Having never "breathed" underwater before, I forgot to, panicked and swam quickly to the surface much to the laughter of everyone. "Breathe in and out gently as you go under. It'll be ok. You have the scuba gear so be calm," I was told over and over again. Humans being underwater is unnatural and so it may take a couple of attempts for the brain to get the hang of breathing while submerged in water. And as soon as I got the hang if breathing and thus going deeper, I ran into another problem: water pressure. If you've been on a plane or even deep underwater yourself, you may have experienced some pain the ear or felt that it is blocked. Usually, you can easily equalise the pressure just by making your ears pop (by closing your nose and mouth and blowing for example), but I couldn't manage it for some reason. I guess my Eustachian Tube is blocked or something. Of course, this caused me some distress and once again I swam up to the surface. Ole was running low on oxygen in his tank by this point, so I only had a couple more attempts before calling it a day. I'm sure there'll be opportunities in the near future to have another go as Ole and Lars are frequent divers. I think I should probably get my ears checked out first though! Evening was now dawning and so we ate dinner and just relaxed for the remainder of the day.

On our second day, once again we went for a long bike ride, but this time we planned to go to the most northern point of Denmark. It was a quite a long ride and we stopped to view an old lighthouse on the way. Once we arrived at the beach, we parked our bikes and trekked along the shore, climbing up some abandoned bunkers that were used during the war. Eventually we arrived at the most northern point where the Baltic and Northern sea clash from either sides making quite a spectacular view. On the way back, I tried some naturally growing berries that grow on thorn bushes on the sand. I forgot the name of them. Cycling back to the harbour, we stopped off to look at an old beacon that was once used to guide (or destroy enemy ships by misleading them) ships before lighthouses were constructed.

After lunch, it was decided that we would head to Albaek and stay there for the night. Once again, I drove whilst Lars and Ole took the boat to Albaek's harbour. By time they arrived, it was time for dinner and in the evening, we chilled by the rocks gazing in to ocean. For our last day, we drove to the other side of the coast and walked through a forestry area and then onto a wide beach that is heavily populated during summer time. On cold windy days though, it's desolate.

And so after we packed our stuff, I drove us back to Dagskolen-Nordjylland and then picked the guys up from Frederikshavn harbour when they arrived. It was a fun trip we had. Twas a shame I didn't get to sail the boat or spend more time trying scuba diving, but as Lars is fond of the ocean, sailing and diving and is something that we frequently discuss, he said he'll take me sometime. I'll be here for a year so I'm sure he will and there'll be plenty more fun and activities too no doubt!

The Grim Reaper Prime Minister

I was motivated and spurred on to write an anti-war/anti-military poem after reading news about the barbaric killing of an humanitarian worker, Alan Henning, who was captured and taken hostage by ISIL, I guess to be used as a bargaining chip - such disregard for a human life to be treated like such an object. Despite pleas not to go ahead with air strikes, David Cameron and his British government did anyway at the price of a life; Alan was just an expendable life to them I guess. David Cameron gave predictable shallow responses to such a tragedy, avoiding responsibility that he played a part in Alan's death. Of course, those ISIL extremists carried out the murder and I agree that they are savage, barbaric and evil individuals for whose lives I shall never weep.

But let's not forget, these heinous war crimes are not so one sided. Anybody who is willing to carry out an order to kill fellow humans from an authoritative figure are no different from one another in my eyes. There are clear double standards when it comes to the act of killing, which, I think, is never justifiable, and these can be observed in the media and social network. "Kill them! Nuke them! Torture the sick bastards!" People cry, oblivious to their hypocrisies. It seems that we're a long way to putting these retaliations to a stop, isn't it? We haven't progressed much from our primitive ancestors it seems. No, we have bigger and more dangerous weapons capable of global destruction to fight with now instead of swords and shields.

As usual, during these conflicts and hostilities, it's the civilians - the people who choose not to have any part in these wars - it's them who suffer the most. If only militants could throw down their weapons and tell their leaders to fuck off. Here's my poem:

Once again I'm reading horrific news
Another hostage has been murdered and you have been interviewed.
"How brutal and savage," you say with utmost propriety,
After just ordering air strikes over Iraq, oh the irony! 
How many more innocent people will die?
Who will bring you to justice?
Also your hands are stained with the blood of the hostages
How can you claim any moral high ground?
Harbinger of death! Warmonger! Terrorist!
Fucking hypocrite!
You and those preceded you are responsible for thousands dead!
Safe in your secure home though, aren't you?
No one will drop a bomb over your head
No bullets will be fired at you; even so you'll be OK!
An expendable soldier will just stand in your way
Because, Mr. Grim Reaper, they'll do anything that you say
Have your suit dry cleaned, sit down and be comfortable
Your dirty work can be carried out by malleable people after all
For they are the scythe that you wield
That you grip tight, guide and use as a shield
The Grim Reaper cannot be killed
Thou kills
Savagery, brutality, barbarism, murder - words from Mr. Man of Justice
Justice. Justice? Justice?
Bullshit! Bullshit! Bullshit!
Justice is another excuse for war, isn't it?
A word you utter to rile up your country's devotees
Luckily, prime sinister, they can't see through your disguise
Your hollow words and your umpteenth lies
I can. You're death unmasked
You've struck fear in the eyes of many lives!
How many of those call you and your army terrorists, I wonder?
Families and homes that have been torn asunder
As you callously give out an order
Don't they too seek justice?
Aren't they too just retaliating?
Retaliating begets retaliation;
Which is a vicious cycle that we mere pawns are caught up in
But you are just one of many reapers though, aren't you face of Britain?
Playing a game of "who can take the most pawns" while you kings get to live on
And the reaper who wins will stand alone
Reap at the devastation from the comfort of their throne
So, heinous reaper, reap good and reap well
Accumulate wealth and stay in good health
At the expense of ours, but just worry about your greedy self
Remember though, we keep you employed- aren't we the fools?
In solidarity we can topple your business of killing
Then you'd have no power to kill at all
And what would us people and our world do without a grim reaper, I wonder?
Live longer.

Hitchhiking to Nordjylland

Before starting this new job, I was tasked with writing a letter to the headmaster - Gerda - at Nordjylland-Dagskolen, giving some details about myself. She was away for a couple of days and so I stayed at Tvind longer than anticipated. I took it easy and hung out with Diana (twisted Dee) a lot, and I also practiced a nice Romanian Gypsy song called Ederlezi along with Louis, Lucie and Laura. 2014 team had officially started their program so a "trial" was put on for them which was cool.

After a couple of days, Gerda had gotten back to us and said I was perfect for the job and it was decided that I would leave the following day, by way of the thumb! I was feeling pretty confident hitchhiking alone and prepared for the journey with Michael's help. Once I was told some hotspot locations, I wrote them down on cardboard, said my farewells to some of the 2014 lot and Mika, and off I trekked to Ulfborg.

My bag was slightly lighter than last time as I opted to leave behind my sleeping bag and mat (as well as a few clothes l left at Puning 5 for the clothes container), although in hindsight it probably wasn't the wisest decision. Still, it was easier for me to walk without becoming too exhausted which was nice seeing as it was about a 4km trek to my first hotspot. By time I reached a shop to purchase a cool drink, my feet already felt sore and blistered. I wasn't wearing the most suitable footwear it turned out, but I stubbornly refused myself to change into my sandals on the grounds that the shoes I was wearing were heavy and I didn't want my bag to become encumbered. Silly me.

Luckily, Camilla saw me and pulled over before I reached the hotspot. She offered to drive me just outside of Holstebro which I was grateful for! She stopped off beside some traffic lights before turning off and continuing her own journey. This was it. I was finally alone and in unfamiliar territory now. I saw what I thought was a pretty good spot to stand with my cardboard to Viborg in one hand, thumb out on the other with a big grin on my face, making sure to make eye contact with every driver that went past, lest they don't have sympathy for this poor stranded soul. The grin eventually turned into a frown as the umpteenth driver went past, quickly averting from my pitiful stare at them. A couple thought it would be oh-so-hilarious to slow down and drive off as I approached them. Wankers! 

My feet were now even more sore as I stood in feigned hope for somebody to stop. About an hour and half later, someone finally did! An old man offered to drive me, although not to Viborg unfortunately, but a little closer he said. Sod it I thought. This hotspot of mine clearly wasn't hot. Just a mere spot that everybody ignores. I jumped in his van and after almost 15 mins of silence, save for the obvious questions that every driver is bound to ask, he let me out in the middle of nowhere, but it's a main road to Viborg. Well, it was road 16 so it would do I thought. 

Once again I painfully stood with patience as vehicle after vehicle paid me no mind until a middle aged lady stopped and she put her window down and said something in Danish. "Er, Engelsk?" I asked. She then said to me in quite good English, "Do you like heavy metal music?" I think hell yeah was my answer to her. "Good. Get in then." 

She too was unable to drive me all the way to Viborg but offered to drive me at least 15km closer. It was a pleasant albeit brief drive with her. Her music taste is pretty cool and she has a good outlook in life for someone with a neurological disorder. She laughed and said she has electrical superpowers as she pointed at the battery pack that had been surgically inserted into her torso. She can't work so she enjoys her time going to gigs. 

True to her word, she dropped me off roughly 15km up the road. I stood only for a couple of minutes before the next person stopped and said he could take me to Viborg. Finally! This young chap was pretty cool too. His names Ben and he told me some stories of his travels with his girlfriend and his work on dairy farms. He told me that he often picks up hitchhikers as he finds that they are always interesting to converse with. Swell guy! He took me just outside of Viborg near a large roundabout. As soon as I got out, said goodbye, got my next cardboard ready, a car pulled over and I was offered a lift. To Aalborg too! Finally, lady luck was bestowing upon me her good fortune it seemed!

This gracious driver is a logistics person in the Danish military. He was built like a brick shithouse and was quite stern. Nach, he spoke of the recent conflicts happening around the world and stated bleakly that we are due another world war. He then quoted Einstein after I said it'll be our last: "I know not with what weapons world war III will be fought, but world war IV will be fought with sticks and stones." He then went on to talk about bunkers and cannibalism. The topics are all related, believe me. 

Once we finally reached Aalborg, he dropped me off at what he thought was a good strategic place to hitch a ride. It wasn't . Quite the contrary actually. I was still in the city, near the start of the E45 motorway and no could really pull over. Well, they didn't want to anyway. I tried walking to other nearby places where maybe someone would stop, but to no avail. Lady luck was bedding another man now - the promiscuous mare! 

A few hours went by and I was now having to sit as I found it too agonising to stand on my feet. I must've looked like a tramp sitting on the pavement with my hat on the floor, holding up a tatty bit of cardboard. I did get some looks from pedestrians. No one tossed me their change though! Tired, in pain and hungry I thought fuck waiting around any longer for a ride and texted Michael saying I may have to use public transport for the remainder of the journey. Wait just 30 more minutes he texted back with optimism. You can do it! So begrudgingly, I got up and limped to the middle of the road to try my luck. 

The sun was starting to set so I had to give up. I really was struggling to stand too. As so off I limped to find a bus/train station. I found a bus stop which is the next best thing I suppose. I asked some old man where I could get a train to Frederikshavn. Luckily, the next bus could take me to the nearest station. Awesome. I had to stand on the bus which was a struggle as I tried not to fall on the floor whilst trying to balance my sore feet into a comfortable position. The old man from the bus stand informed me when to get off and pointed out the station to me. I thanked him and slowly hobbled across the road to the station.

I paid 100dkk for a train ticket and got myself a much needed snack and drink too. I decided to have a look at my feet once I sat and waited for the next train. I had three big blisters on the bottom of each foot and redness all over. I rummaged through my trusty little first aid kit for a needle to do some surgery on my feet. I finally stopped being a stubborn tit and opted to swap my shoes for my sandals. It only took me all sodding day when the damage had already been done!

I had to wait 45mins or so for the train bound for Frederikshavn arrived. I was relieved to have a nice comfortable chair to sit on for the duration of my journey which took over an hour. I talked with Gerda on the phone once I got off the train and she arranged for Jonna to come and pick me up which was nice. On the way, she told me a little about the place that I would now be living at and working. It was about 10pm when by time I finally arrived at Nordjylland-Dagskolen. So much for it only going to take me 4 or 5 hours. Pfft!

Jonna had cooked some food earlier and said I could heat up the leftovers. I gratefully took her up on this offer and soon stuffed my mouth with pasta and mince. Delicious. There were problems with the student - Rasmas - who I'd be sharing a house with and so for my first night, I had to sleep in the staff house. I didn't mind. I was so tired I could've slept anywhere to be honest. Well, maybe not since I left my sleeping bag with Nadina. Yeah, I think it'll be a good idea to bring it everywhere from now on. Just in case I can't get to my destination sometime. Hitchhiking is a cool experience and all, but it relies on the goodwill of strangers of which there aren't enough of it seems.

To be continued soon.

Olympics at Tvind and 1st Study Weekend

We had arrived at Tvind during a busy time - the Olympics! It's an annual event at Tvind where different schools around Denmark come to participate and compete in a variety of sports and games. Having arrived fairly late in the evening before the games commenced, I chilled out and had an early night after speaking with some fellow students.

Because so many people were attending (I think around 600 someone said), a canvas gazebo had been set up for everyone to eat in. I had not initially been aware of this and had proceeded to have breakfast in the common hall before someone informed me about the gazebo besides the large kitchen; I must've been half asleep still to not have noticed!

After eating and drinking some coffee, I was told I would be helping with food production so off I went to the large kitchen. Burgers was on the menu and so I helped Romas and Annelies cut up some tomatoes then, like a production line, we prepared the burgers. It was very reminiscent of when I once worked in McDonalds, except here it was pretty fun and wasn't stressful. No managers there being power hungry twats to boot. Our goal up until afternoon was to make around 1000 burgers.

After we had finished, I decided to have a wander around with Gaile and perhaps participate in something. Although I'm not into sports as I don't find competitiveness appealing at all, axe throwing seemed like fun so I opted to have a go. And another. Then another. Damn, guess I succumbed to the human nature of competing!

After a few attempts of trying to knock some logs over with axes (only getting a measly 5 points!), Dariush asked if I could take over writing names and points down, so I obliged. After about 30 minutes or so, someone else took over and I after visiting the OL committee, I was tasked with litter picking. Fortunately, I bumped into Annelies who kindly offered to help and we got it done fairly quick!

I had a little time left before going back to food production at 5pm, so I watched a few people wall climb, then it was back to work. Loads of pizzas had been ordered as well as Chinese food, and we had been tasked with serving them. As soon as we prepared everything and the food arrived, people quickly came flocking! The pizzas were gone in no time. I then helped the others serve up some Chinese food, tucking into some myself.

After dinner, the first day of the olympics was over and as it was also our (DNS 2015) first study weekend, we had a meeting. It was good to finally see the team together. Since working in Munster, some more people had enrolled and I was finally introduced to them: Two Mykolas's, Kristiana, Migle, Janne and Milan (whom we had already been introduced to via skype some weeks back). After getting properly introduced to one another, Michael told us what the plans were for the rest of the weekend and then for the rest of the evening, I just hung out with various different people.

The following day I was once again tasked with helping out with food production and burgers was still on the menu, so 'twas a day of preparing another thousand or so them. At least I got to have first dibs on the burgers! I was going to take part in the marathon in the afternoon, but due to heavy rainfall, it got cancelled and so the day was cut slightly short than planned. 

Spirits were still high though as the closing ceremony commenced in the sports hall. Some music was being played and there were also good dance performances just before the headmaster announced the results. Tvind didn't do too well if I remmber correctly, but no mood was dampered as everyone seemed to really enjoy the couple of days. I missed out on a lot of it, but from the photos and a video I have seen, the atmosphere was really good! It's good that Tvind is accepting enough to host many "troubled" children there and let them participate in whatever they desire. I'd wager not many places would be so daring! 

So olympics was now over leaving us to get on with our study weekend. Michael went more in depth about our team economy and showed us how to fill out out our economy sheets. We also discussed issues we had in Munster and then we were told what jobs we would be doing. I would be going to work in a school in Nordjylland which was exciting to hear! This sounded much more up my street. 

Hitchhiking From Munster to Billund

If I got a quid for every time someone here said the word "super", I'd be super rich by now! Sorry, I got lost in an entirely irrelevant train of thought as I just overheard a conversation where someone uttered the word super. Again. Super interesting and super cool. It's said quite frequently here in tvind! Anyway, onwards with typing about me leaving Munster and my first hitchhiking experience.

So after Michael's departure back to tvind, taking with him all enthusiasm, optimism and just an overall positive vibe, we were back to our reluctant selves as more issues arose. I'd rather not go into details and turn this into yet another moan about work and our manager, so I'll just say the last straw came when Antonio and myself had a very heated argument that had escalated far too quickly for me to remember what was exactly shouted amidst all the profanities. I no longer wanted to stay, period, and for Antonio the feeling was mutual. Same for Honza too.

So it was time to leave and our only option was to hitchhike back to Denmark at least and maybe use public transport once we get close enough to tvind. Honza suggested we write several locations on different cardboards (pictures further down), so drivers could see straight away where we wanted to go. We decided that the key locations to hitch rides to were: Bremen, Hamburg, Flensburg, Kolding and then Holstebro - if things go accordingly anyway. I suspect that hitchhikers destinations are always subject to change depending on the drivers who stop to pick us up. After spending our last day preparing, planning, relaxing and packing, we had an early night as we were going to leave fairly early.

We left Puning 5 at around 7:30 so we could catch a bus to Munster then another one to the outskirts of Munster. Unfortunately, the second bus didn't quite take us where we wanted to be dropped off and thus we had to walk a few kilometres, which was exhausting as I had two bags with me and the large backpack on my back was straining my shoulder and neck muscles. I was relieved once we arrived at our desired petrol station on the (A1?) highway and got bought us both a cup of latte. Now it was time to play the patient waiting game.

For my first experience, it wasn't going particularly well; we kept being rejected by everyone that we asked for a lift off of, and after an hour or so of crossing my fingers in anticipation of the next person we asked, I became exasperated. After about an hour and half of being constantly declined of getting a lift, Honza came running to me with a smile upon his face. "Finally, we got a ride!" A man who drives a transport van had approached Honza offering a ride and was luckily heading to Bremen himself. We didn't converse with our driver much so it wasn't a particularly exciting ride, but I didn't care. After what seemed an eternity of waiting, it was nice to finally be out of the vicinity of Munster. Honza got a map up on his phone and he agreed to drop us off at a gas station on a highway close to Bremen.

Once again, we played the waiting game. I got my ukulele out as we sat with our cardboard sign stating we wanted to go to Hamburg. This time we waited for around an hour before two blokes around our age offered a lift and conveniently to Hamburg as that's where they were heading themselves. These guys were a lot more talkative than our previous driver and their company car was more comfortable to boot. They are work colleagues who travel around and build stages for concerts which sounds like a pretty cool job. After the driver dropped off his colleague in the city, he generously took us about another 15km north of Hamburg to another gas station on the highway for which we were very grateful for!

There was a cafe at this stop, so we opted for a quick refreshment and ate some lunch we had packed before sitting with our sign to Flensburg. Although I was getting some looks and smiles as I played my ukulele in hope that it would better our chances of getting approached by someone, none did. Eventually though, a Danish guy in military uniform approached us and asked where we were heading. I told him that although our next planned stop was at Flensburg, we would rather skip that place and cross the border into Denmark and he could perhaps drop us off close to Kolding. As it happened, they were heading 20 kilometres south from Kolding and although they are not allowed to pick up hitchhikers, "Fuck it. It's no problem," he said, which was delightful to hear! So we walked over to his military jeep, met with his comrade and off we went.

As a bloke who is anti-military, I was somewhat weary of riding with these two fellas, but I was just very grateful for a long ride that would mean us being a lot closer to our final destination. As I mentioned before, plans change and for the better in this case! And as it turned out, they were NATO soldiers which is the lesser of the two evils I suppose. Unlike the army, they don't just go into a war zone all guns blazing but rather try for a diplomatic approach first - from what I gathered anyway. Our driver was very talkative and him and Honza talked a lot about the current conflicts between Russia and Ukraine and politics in general. I mostly abstained from engaging in their conversations lest I let slip something that would offend our courteous and charitable drivers, who even gave me a cigarette, and they sling us out. There's a time and place for such debates and being on the highway on a tiresome journey, for me, was not it. Though, it was certainly interesting to hear his opinions. I remember the driver (also the guy mostly talking), talked of how he would eventually like to leave and pursue a job in protecting wildlife as he very much likes nature. All the best to the guy! 

We also found ourselves in somewhat funny situation 10 kilometres after we crossed the German/Danish border: there was a random police check going on and they signalled even us over (not so weird apparently, as this military jeep was a German one) to a stop amongst other cars. All went well and then our NATO driver said, "Thank fuck they didn't have sniffer dogs on them because of what we've got in our bags, we'd be in big trouble." Curiously, I asked him what he had in his bag that would be problematic for them. "Bags of weed," he replied with a sigh of relief and then laughter. Thank fuck indeed!

True to their word, they dropped us off about 20 kilometres from Kolding. They even gave us a parting cigarette! We said our farewells and off they went leaving us at a somewhat desolate gas station; very few vehicles seemed to be passing through this stop which left us rather pessimistic. The sun was starting to set by then and Honza was certain that no one was going to want to pick up two blokes in the evening. After waiting for quite sometime, it started to look like he was right and we had to either go on separately or find shelter and stay the night; both weren't too enticing for me, but I was ready to hitch hike alone if need be. I felt like a pro already!

Fortunately for us though, a middle aged Danish bloke offered us a ride after seeing us sitting and waiting for so long. He was heading to Billund and offered to drop us off at the airport. I then called Michael and asked if we could use public transport from Billund to Ulfborg and he said he'd pick us up instead. Awesome! This guy seemed quite nationalistic in his views but was pleasant to converse with. As Billund is the place from whence Lego was first produced, he gave us tidbits of information regarding Lego. None important enough for me to remember except that Lego is now currently the most profitable, erm, toy? Manufacture? Product? Whatever.

So we got off at the airport and thanked our driver for taking us there. We were very hungry after a long journey without eating much, thus we opted to get something to eat at the cafe in the airport. After eating much bloating meal, we waited for about an hour before Michael arrived and to take us, finally, to tvind.

For my first time hitchhiking, it was overall a good experience. Sure, waiting to be approached can be tedious and being declined a ride for the umpteenth time can be exasperating, but once you finally get into a strangers vehicle, one thinks that there are still many good charitable people out there that'll go the extra mile for a stranded man that just wants to get somewhere, and you can't help but smile and be pleased. Media has caused a mass hysteria regarding hitchhiking and often when a story is told of hitchhiking, you can bet your arse it'll be a negative one. Many a malleable person is now weary of stopping to pick up a stranger in fear of being raped or mugged (although, strangely, most are fine with getting in a taxi and taxi drivers certainly have no problems?!). So like most other anecdotes of hitchhiking (not stories that tabloids are likely to publish), this one too is a positive one. I look forward to many more hitchhiking experiences. It's super cool!

Living in Puning, Clothes Collecting and Singing

It was quite late in the evening once myself and Erwin finally arrived at my new temporary home in Puning, and we were immediately greeted by two girls from DNS 2014 team - Stef and Gita. They showed us around the house, which I took a liken to straight away! We are a little isolated, surrounded by agricultural fields, though not too far away from towns and a city - Munster. Anyway, the girls made us a cup of coffee and shortly after, Erwin left for his home in the Netherlands while the girls took me dumpster diving with them.

I had a rather restless sleep that night; perhaps nerves or excitement of starting a new job, and the fact it was bloody hot and a mosquito kept bugging me for my blood. I killed that fucking parasite the following morning.

I got up at around 7:30am (a time I currently set my alarm for now) and got myself into my finest work clothes, ate breakfast with the ladies just before my first meeting with my new manager - Antonio. He likes to have daily meetings at 8:30 to discuss any issues and hand out routes for clothes collection. My first impression of these meetings wasn't so good as I seemed to arrive at a time when Antonio had many issues with the girls! I would rather have had abstained from these first couple of meetings, but I guess it meant I could learn from the girl's mistakes and brace myself for future conflicts.

After the first long, drawn out meeting I finally set off with Stef. My initial excitement and enthusiasm I had for this job was quickly quelled not more than five minutes in to unloading heavy bags of clothes from the van into shipping containers. As sweat dripped off from my brow and I gasped for air, I murmured profanities about not wanting to do this for six sodding months. As a languid bloke, any work that requires physical exertion is not going to be my forte; I knew it was going to be hard, but I guess I had underestimated just how hard it was going to be. Being unfit and quite weak, suffice to say I don't think I'm cut out for this job! And I soon started to realise this over the next few days. At least I have an incentive to carry this out though; I just hope I can cope long term. For now, I find solace only in driving around the scenic countryside mountains and bustling towns lined with those traditional timber framed buildings on cobble stoned streets.

For those who are curious about what I do exactly, I collect second hand clothes from many containers dotted around Westfalen area in Germany for Humana. Also, due to many inconsiderate people, we also take trash that gets dumped in them, much to my exasperation. We bag them, compact them and stack them in the van. I usually collect between 1.5 - 2 tonnes per day as does Honza, and we unload them into shipping containers first thing in the morning, where they eventually get sent to second hand shop's in eastern European countries.

Speaking of Honza, he is a fellow 2015 DNSer who had arrived at Puning 5 a few days after me. Stef had left by the time he arrived and once Gita had spent a few days training him, she left too. Unfortunately, Humana only have enough budget to employ two clothes collectors when I think it would be more apt to have four.

When I'm not working, I usually read, practice playing my uke or draw. Usually, by the time I get home in the evening, it's not too long before I hit the sack. Sometimes I'm too knackered and I skip dinner and/or shower and just lay down instead. On Sundays, we have a team meeting via Skype. Our teachers had us do a task for our first meeting; me and Honza had to write and sing a song. So I spent around 30 minutes to write a song about dumpster diving to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine"*

On our days off, me and Honza went to Munster. First time, we walked around the city and took some pictures. Greta and Svetlana visited us one weekend as they were on their way back to Denmark, after travelling around Europe promoting DNS. We spent a couple of evenings in Munster; one we chilled in a shisha lounge and another we went to a club. I'm not much of a dancer so I sat as the guys danced. The girls also helped us with work one day for which I was very grateful for! Recently when we went to Munster, a past DNSer who was staying at Puning 5 also, called Agnes, took us around the city. It was a pleasant day and we had Chinese, took a dog that Agnes looks after for a very long walk, and met up with some of her friends in the evening.

Unfortunately, the pleasantries on our days off wasn't enough to take our minds off from the unpleasantness off our job. I can only speak for myself, but I find myself becoming miserable and I'm getting more and more reluctant to get up in the mornings. This is the sort of monotony I wanted to get away from when I was England. Is the incentive of going to Africa next year enough motivation for me? If I leave Munster, will many people back at tvind be disappointed with me? Will I be disappointed with myself for not finishing this? So much internal conflicts. When I had problems in past jobs, I just kept them bottled up and got on with it. Or quit. But now, it's not so simple as I'm here to save up for our team economy.

Due to mine and Honza's issues, our teacher Michael came and stayed with us for a few days. With him, he brought a positive vibe and motivation for us which is just what we needed I think. I'm not sure if it's a fact that I worked better and more efficiently, but I felt like I did due to his presence. And when he left, it was back to square one.

*To end this on a lighter note, I shall now transcribe my lyrics "An Ode To Dumpster Diving"© (sing to the tune of "You Are My Sunshine").

I like to dumpster dive, 
I like to dumpster dive,
When it's eleven o clock at night.
The bins may be empty,
Or we'll be lucky,
And the fruits will still be ripe.

We'll flip open all of the bin lids,
Scavenge anything that's nice.
We'll hold our noses
'Cos they may stink,
But at least we don't pay a dime.

Fruits and veggies,
Cakes and pastries
And about twenty cartons of milk.
Tubs of butter,
Plenty of cheese -
Tonight we shall have a feast!

People may say
That it's disgusting,
But so is wasted food!
So why not take,
What is chucked away
And let's go dumpster diving!

Mostly Work, Very Little Fun

Why do we humans need to exert ourselves with work so much? The world is overpopulated so there's enough to work to do for everyone, forever. Most days we exhaust ourselves with menial and tedious work as if the world would fall apart if we take our time. We force ourselves to get up when our bodies don't want to,  and why? What's the fucking rush?! Things will get done. They always do. Oh yeah, time is money and money is time. The world revolves around the necessary evil.

What's more, rushing and exertion tends to lead to being stressed and frustrated. Then people always question your mood. "Why so grouchy, cheer up," they say. And you murmur under your breath that they should go fuck themselves.

I don't know where I'm going with this. I'm in a negative train of thought. I don't know. My point is, is that we humans should take it more easy. I don't know about anyone else, but I don't want to be exhausted and stressed out in a time in my life when I should have a spring in my step, y'know?

To quote Rolf Potts once again, "...we end up spending the best part of one's life earning money to enjoy a questionable liberty during the least valuable part of it."

Earn, earn, earn. The meaning of life is too earn it.

Bah, perhaps people are right and I'm just fucking lazy?

Arrival in Tvind, Work and Dumpster Diving

Any nervousness or excitement I may have felt for my journey to tvind was quelled by tiredness. Yet again, my flight was 7:30 in the morning and that meant getting up at 1:30 to catch a coach to Heathrow aiport at 3:00am. I'm a person who finds it nigh on impossible to sleep while in transit, so I alleviated my boredom by listening to music and thinking about what lies ahead for me.

 Fortunately, I had no problems at the airport as I've flown enough times now to know what's acceptable and not acceptable to bring on a flight; `twas a breeze! I had a little time before boarding the plane so wanted to grab a cup of coffee or tea or something. Unfortunately, I only had some Euro coins on me and no sodding place accepts coins - only notes. So I sat down, cursing the stupid fucking system that allows shopkeepers to hand out change but then not accept them. Couldn't even exchange the bloody things! 

Flying was enjoyable as always. I always seem to get the window seat and like to look down at the land below. Viewing the agricultural fields and cities from around 30,000ft is, I find, breathtaking. I felt like a giant observing an ant colony. 

Billund airport is relatively small, and it took very little time to grab my backpack and wait outside for the bus to take me to Give train station. Not having any knowledge of Danish trains or the Danish language left me confused so I asked some lady for help, and she obliged. I only had Danish kroner notes and the ticket machines do not accept notes. If only they accepted Euro coins, eh! The kind lady offered to pay by card, but after rummaging through her bag, she found that she did not have it on her. She spoke to the driver and he told me to hop on board anyway. So luckily, I managed to hitch a ride on the train for free! The train journey was rather pleasant and the interior of the carriage was better than a 1st class carriage in England! After about an hour on the luxurious (and free) train to Holstebro, I hopped on another (not free) train to Ulfborg where Romas came and picked me up and drove us to the school.

It felt good to be back, although it was really quiet compared to my last visit; many students were out of the school working or travelling I guess. Michael came and met us in the common hall and we had a brief conversation before I was shown to my room. After having travelled quite a bit of distance, I fancied a cool shower and then relaxed for a bit before unpacking some of my stuff. It wasn't long before I started helping out with chores though!

During dinner, I reacquainted with Gaile who is also part of the 2015 team. It was good seeing and speaking with her again. Later that day, I also got introduced to another team member - Dariush - with whom I would share a room with during my stay at the school.

Life at tvind consists of doing a lot of work and thus during my stay, I was given the tasks of cutting grass, trimming the hedges, cleaning carpets and also doing general cleaning. I think I mentioned in a previous blog post that everybody at the school helps to maintain the place. Much like any job in general, we work after breakfast and finish at 5pm, where I used the free time to socialise and/or practice playing my ukulele. One evening, some of us went to paradise (the name of our little camp/bonfire site) to play our instruments and sing songs.

There's an activity that some students like to do in the evening and that's dumpster diving. I was interested in trying it myself so one evening I opted to join, as did Gaile. We drove to Ulfborg and stopped off at a couple of locations that usually wield good results for the divers. This time we were also quite fortunate. The shop's workers had chucked out perfectly good fruits, chocolate milk (we obtained maybe around 20 cartons of the stuff!), pastries and various other foodstuff. I ate a freshly dumped chocolate croissant and it tasted delicious - tasted no different than buying one from the shop. It's astonishing to see just how much perfectly good food gets wasted just because of the seemingly arbitrary date of expiry. Ah well, free food for us I guess.

Of course, since I was new there and partaking in the saving up period, Michael and Romas discussed what we would be doing and how the common economy works. They also informed me that I would be hitchhiking to Munster, Germany where I would work. Having no experience hitchhiking before, I admit I was quite nervous. I had assumed before that I would be hitchhiking with Honza, but since he wouldn't be arriving for another few days and they wanted me to go pronto, I would be going by myself.

Lady luck was on my side once again as a chap called Erwin - a friend of Annelies ( another 2015 DNSer), offered to drive me to Munster as its kinda on the way back to his home in Netherlands. Gladly, I accepted and breathed a sigh of relief. Although I know I am delaying the inevitable...

So I had one more days stay at the school and Dariush suggested that our team do something in the evening. We decided that the four of us (myself, Dariush, Gaile and Michael. Annelies went to Legoland) go down the beach for the sunset. It was a pleasant evening and we discussed various topics and hypothetical questions like how would we achieve world peace ( I would turn the world against me much like Lelouch from Code Geass ending), and also talked a bit about ourselves and our motivations, whilst drinking tea and eating cake.

The following morning was spent packing my stuff and relaxing. Us 2015 DNSers sat in the common hall and talked for a bit before saying our farewells and good lucks to one another. We departed at around 11am I think and what should have been about a 6 hour journey ended up being about a 9 hour journey due to a lot of traffic at the Danish/German border. We did stop a couple of times too!

Update on DNS Program

So I am practically ready for my departure to Denmark; at least I now have payed off the enrollment fee, booked the flight and coach tickets, and have also purchased some necessities (for which I like to thank my mother for!). All I have to do is pack everything which no doubt I shall do the day before I depart. 

For those who are still wondering what it is that I am doing, I am enrolling on a course that trains its students to become teachers. Although, not everyone necessarily wants to become a teacher; they may be enrolling just for the experience. As for me? Not sure. I guess it's mainly for the experience for now. As I elaborated in my previous blog post (which you can read here ), this isn't a conventional course where we study in classrooms and have teachers lecture us on topics. We will be doing a lot of travelling around Europe and Africa and it is up to us how we go about our studies; the teachers are more like facilitators who help manage us, challenge us and motivate us. 

I now know of the work I'll be doing during my "saving up period" (again, you can read about it on my previous blog post). I shall be working in Munster, Germany, driving a van, collecting clothes from bins and packing them in to a shipping container, with a chap who attended the same prep weekend as me called Honza. Sounds like hard work, but it'll be interesting working in a German city for some time. And we'll be working towards something worthwhile next year: driving a bus through Europe to western Africa for four months! So no doubt that'll keep us motivated. Speaking of the bus, seeing as I have a driving license, I think I'll be opting for a bus licence while I am abroad, which is a nice bonus and will also benefit me in the UK in the future.   

So, I just wanted to keep anyone who's interested about my travels updated. Suffice to say, I can't bloody wait! Not sure how long I'll be in Denmark for before we set off to Munster, but I'll certainly keep people posted when I have internet access. 

By the way, if this program sounds like something you may be interested in doing too, then be sure to give this website a thorough read for more information. I know we're starting to look for more people to join our team in 2015. Ciao for now.

DNS - A New Opportunity

For the first time since my voluntary work in India with Restless development last year, I once again have some sense of direction in my life - for the next four years at least! I have decided to take the opportunity to enroll at the DNS (Det Nodvendige Seminarium - which in English is translated as The Necessary Teacher Training College) school in Denmark. 

As the name implies, it's a college that trains its students in pedagogy although it does so in an alternative way. In conventional colleges and universities, there is a clear hierarchy; a distinction between students, teachers, presidents and so on. Of course, most of the studying is done in classrooms with lectures about specific topics, depending on what course you chose. These academic buildings have employees which take care of the cooking, cleaning, maintenance, gardening etc. I know I'm stating the obvious here, but I want to clarify the differences between these conventional schools and the alternative school I'm enrolling in.

 For starters, TVIND is not funded by the state. Rather, it is paid for by students, teachers and some certain individuals who live there with special needs. They have what they call a common economy and students, during their time on the course, have a number of months where they have a "saving up period," in which they go to work somewhere (in some city in Europe or at the school itself), earn the amount that is needed, and then the money they earn is put in to this common economy and distributed evenly amongst the team. The money covers everything in the school such as food, drink, heating and accommodation, as well as other expenses on the program itself such as transportation, rent etc. We do get our own pocket money from it too. I doubt everyone would like this system as the money they earn is not strictly theirs, but I endorse it. I like the fact that as long as you contribute something in the team, you get something out of it. There is no mentality of working harder than somebody else and deserving more for doing so. Ergo, you can not value or put a price on how hard somebody is working. As long as they are doing something, then they are entitled to eat well, drink and sleep comfortably the same as everybody else. Again, I know this economy isn't something that everybody would find agreeable, but I think it's partly due to the fact that we've come so accustomed to spending lavishly on wants rather than needs to satisfy our greed. Advertisements don't help.

Anyway,  another difference is a lack of hierarchy. Sure, there are headmasters that are in charge and there are teachers. But it really isn't noticeable. Students and teachers alike dress so casually and form friendships. Two of the evenings spent at the preparatory weekend there, we sat around a campfire singing songs, smoking shisha and talking with one another informally. And on my last evening, we debated about homophobia and other topics in the common hall. If Michal and Romas didn't clarify they are teachers, I wouldn't have been none the wiser. There really is a sense of equality there; they don't just advocate it, but they live it. And further evidence of this is the fact that everybody does their bit to maintain the place. Every morning after breakfast, everyone unanimously agrees to a task to carry out and spend roughly 45 minutes getting on it with it; it is the students who do most of the cleaning, the gardening, the painting and decorating, the cooking etc. Romas would probably hate me saying this, but in a sense, it really does feel like a commune. One whose community spends a lot of time travelling and studying though! 

Which brings me to the final notable differences: There's a lot of travelling involved. Sure, school teachers and lecturers do organise little field trips for their students, but for DNS students, it's like going on very long field trips! And what I find to be really exciting is the fact that we get to buy, refurbish and drive our own bus through Europe to African countries including the Sahara desert! So essentially, we'll be living in a bus that we stripped and built, then driving it ourselves to African communities to study, learn and live amongst. And that's just the first year! From what I learned from the prep weekend, it is us students that are in charge of our own studies  and how we go about them, and I suppose the teachers are, in a sense, more like facilitators who help, organise and challenge us, whilst keeping us motivated too.  

I'm not sure if I will become a teacher after I finish the course as I seem to never set anything in stone. For now, I can definitely say that I'm looking forward to the experience on what this course has to offer. I like to consider myself as a humanist and a humanitarian and would like to think one day, I will take up activism to try and make a positive change for the world, and this course really does seem to cater for such people (definitely not hippies, haha!).  Spending a few days at the school for the preparatory weekend was the first real step and now all I have got to do is save up for enrollment fee. Hopefully, I shall be flying back out there by August the latest and be part of the 2015 team. 

I just want to add, my dear reader, that if this program sounds like something that would interest you, then here's a link to the DNS website -  http://www.dns-tvind.dk/ You can find out much more information about the school itself and its program, and you can also apply from there (and maybe you can be part of my team!).