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.

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.