The Copenhagen Puzzle

     The battle... in the past I always look back at these moments in hindsight through a romantic lense. I played up how the struggles were what made the victory of succeeding in a foreign country so sweet. This time around, in the name of interesting writing and authenticity, I want to be more honest about it and blog about the process as it’s happening. With that said being on the edge of a society is both intriguing and scary. The intrigue comes from going out socializing seeing the people and the culture. When you’re out and you’re identified by the locals as being more than a tourist people become fascinated by you.  A friend once called this effect - holding the traveler card. Already, so many times, I’ve been asked – “why would you come to Denmark?... we’re so small.” My answer is the freedom, the creativity I see in people, and the intrigue of the newness of everything. Locals like this answer it endures you to them. For me that “newness” is a kind of drug, it’s enthralling and exciting. Again on this trip there were times when I felt like I didn’t need much sleep or to eat as much as I would usually. My body was literally being fed on experience. Now where the fear factor comes into play is the question – can I actually make it? Everyone I have met here says getting a job without speaking Danish is extremely difficult.

    The natural comparison point is my arrival in Amsterdam seven years ago. Then, same as here, there was a learning curve that needed to be met.  Similar to Denmark Dutch people speak English, but they expect to speak Dutch in all service related exchanges in their own country. I struggled mightily at first in Amsterdam working a number of dishwashing jobs in the office buildings of ABN Ambro. Eventually it all worked out though when I got a sweet job as a creative copy writer for an Advertising company called: Media Republic. That opportunity came around through a combination of sheer luck and meeting Dutch people around the city who pointed me in the right directions.

      In Copenhagen I’ve met a lot of people and my social life even in a week is diverse and fun. Already, I have the opportunity to write for the local English weekly News paper; potentially a job this summer to work at the Roskilde festival, and the chance to help a bunch of young people re-establish a famous music venue and club called the Stengade. However, the real issues still remain -even if hidden under the guise of good times and fun – finding a permanent place to stay and finding a real job.  When I think about this fear sets in; the kind of fear that paralyses you and makes you want to sit and watch TV and waste time idly. The fear I’ve felt before when I’ve literally eclipsed all my recourses. That point hasn’t come yet, and won’t for a little while, however in the name of maturity – with my birthday a mere 8 days away – I want to avoid that if I can.  I’ll need to put some muscle to my hustle. As it has been in the past with other cities Copenhagen is like a puzzle with things to be learned. All I can do is start to see the picture as a whole as I continue to lay pieces down. Key though is I have to act even though everything hasn't yet been revealed...

Dutch don't Invent they Re-invent

    In an ill fated attempt, probably a blue print for disaster, I feel impelled to try to describe a few of my thoughts about the Amsterdam Dutch. What I consider their central characteristic is an innate ability to reference other cultures and reinterpret and reinvent these cultures. What I mean is that I have never seen a place where there’s such a smorgasbord of language, cultural imagery, media, and fashion mashed together. Maybe this trend came from the time when Amsterdam was the hub of world trade – the so called golden age of Amsterdam. Or, maybe it’s just the fact that this small but densely populated country has so many big brooding neighbours around it. Regardless, the result is an inspiring dialectic of culture which synthesises into something originally Dutch. Now before I confuse everyone, including myself, it’s time for some examples of what I mean.

  

     Dutch fashion is an fascinating mixture of genres. It has a formality to it, with guys often wearing blazers and girls wearing proper classy looking skirts, but usually this formality is mixed with something else. Maybe, that girl dressed in a formal looking long black coat and skirt, finishes her look off with a funky scarf and a pair of Adidas trainers. Or, a guy rocking a blazer has a funny band or film oriented t-shirt under it instead of a shirt.  What I’m saying is for people under 40 there’s almost always a mix of clothing genres together. A Dutch friend of mind once said about Amsterdamer’s love of wearing a blazer and a hoody together. “We like to keep it business in the front and street in the back.” I always liked that expression. To be fair though, fashion is just on the surface, what I’m grasping at here reaches deeper. 

     When it comes to consumption of media the Amsterdamer’s are voracious. The sheer amount and variety of music, film and art they are familiar with is impressive. Several years back I remember being at a friend’s birthday party in Amsterdam. When everyone got drunk, two Dutch guys decided to show me their prowess at English by rapping some songs - acapella. Now they didn’t choose any of the standards, say Dr. Dre, snoop, or 50 cent. No, they started rapping word for word the intellectual rap of the Roots, and Gang Starr. Honestly, the fact they even heard of these groups let alone could repeat their difficult lyrics word for word baffled me. The same can be said of Amsterdamer's knowledge of North American film, music and television. It’s shocking how good it is. The other night in a night club called the Melkweg twenty something’s were singing 90’s songs word for word. This little country has so many different cultural influences and they soak them up like a sponge in a bath tub.  

    The reason why Dutch media is so intriguing and successful is that it has the innate, and often ironic, context of so many other countries cultural imagery. This imagery is then just refined, synthesized and mixed to create something original. The Dutch magic is that this new cultural product still has recognizable features to the original genres. So really it’s something people know, but is intriguing because it’s also different at the same time. Amsterdam is such a media hub, because they have taken and embraced the role of media re-inventors. In essence they say: “we’ll take your imagery and mash into something new that you will find interesting.” In the present postmodern information era we live in this is path forward for media production. Again, like they have been many times before, the Dutch are on the cutting edge,

The Amsterdam Way

    So I've been back in Amsterdam a few days. Some quick impressions. The stats are true - people here are happier. The reason is simple, unhappiness comes from being forced to act, behave, and maybe even consciously think in a way that does not match your internal world. Here in Amsterdam there's so few road blocks to let the real you out. The gift that the Dutch give to each other is, if not agreeing with a view point or position, they always at least accept it as valid. Further, most people here are fit, active and know the importance of taking time for oneself and their friends.

    My experience with Dutch friendship has been a really good one. What I found in the two and half years I lived here previously is that though it takes longer to become friends – the friendship is much deeper. So far in my stay I have enjoyed an unprecedented amount of hospitality. Not only did my best Dutch friend pick me up from the airport, he also said: “here use my flat for a few days I'll just stay at my girlfriends house.” Beyond gestures, I've also found it exceedingly easy to be candid with my Dutch friends. There's no judgement. They are just interested, as I am too, in mining into who they and their friends really are. In my mind's eye, that's the most important thing we can do – be ourselves and expect the same from others. We're all in this together and that pathos always comes through when I'm here in Amsterdam...

     Being back on a bicycle, my second Amsterdam legs, has been brilliant too. It took a moment to get my skills back, as I initially leapt on to my friend's bike, like a wild west hero getting on his trusted horse, only to give myself a little knock on the soft bits. Given a minute though I was on my perch looking over the city amongst the locals. First thing I did was ride away from the chaotic and tourist oriented areas near Dam Square. I rode along the Amstel River past the Amstel Hotel to where I use to live in Amsterdam East. If images of bridge upon bridge, unique architecture complete with wonderful,ornate Dutch window frames, interconnected brick buildings, and of coarse seeing, the real locals, the amazingly attractive Dutch people is something you'd enjoy - a ride out of the centre is a must. Next, I did a quick circuit of some of the cities lovely parks: vondel, wester and ooster parks. Though the weather was a bit brisk still groups of friends sat on the grass talking to one another with bottles of wine. My ride concluded with a trip along one of the major canal circles the Heren gracht where I use to work. Nothing could be further apart than the opulent, prosperous and serene Heren Gracht and the crowded and seedy areas around Dam Square and the Red Light District. This is a different Amsterdam than nearly every tourist sees. In reality, I'm lucky to be back now – but more so I'm lucky to have had a real experience living here previous. Every street brings back a memory and a recognition of what I only could call the Amsterdam way.More on that in a future blog...

Streets, sounds, chatter of London...

    So a week has come and gone in London. Brilliant times... so many observances of difference both in terms of unique Englishisms as well as from the swell of London’s cosmopolitan life style. My life has taken on the exuberance and speed I like. Maybe its evidence that my mind is slightly ADHD as I love the pace of the action – people here act, think, and react fast. One’s wits always have to be ready conversationally and for the litany and sheerness of action occurring both in the pubs and on the streets.  I couldn’t help but think during a long walk last week through central London and seeing so many baby prams how lucky these wide eyed kids are. Their early subjectivity is being moulded in this molten furnace room of life. That’s a life advantage.

      Going out in London is more fun than anywhere I’ve been. There’s always ample opportunity to chat to interesting people, to chat to girls... I once said – per capita the most interesting people in the world are living in London. Everyone has come here to look for that allusive something. Even the English people usually aren’t from London...  Out on Bricklane in East London Wednesday I could see the grittiness of the streets. Chavs mixed with hipsters to form a bi polar street dynamic. Then on Friday I was out in Clapham Junction - very different vibe there. A lot more gentrified English, it was younger, posher, people wore shirts and proper shoes. I've done a night out in Primrose Hill - the beautiful oasis like escape from the grit of nearby Camden. There’s a place for everyone to go out here...  all demographics are caterd too. The secret is investigating the different areas then finding your own niche.

     Conversations in London are flippant, funny, and range across the gamete of topics. Out with some English friends on Saturday, I love how rhetoric is rewarded. The rant is appreciated. People, for the sheer fun of language, are willing to follow a topic right down the proverbial rabbit hole. The fun is in the word play and the artistic feeling of creating an amusing antidote. I saw topics swell and twist in morphed form for ten, twenty minutes on Saturday night, then often comeback for a punch line an hour later. Now, I know why my talking style doesn’t quite match my home city of Edmonton – my time here in the past changed it. It feels like, I’m rediscovering things. The feeling is as if I’m watching an old movie I loved previously ten years on. There’s recognition of everything, it isn’t new. However, the second viewing still brings forth new insights. The love affair between me and London is still passionate and going strong.

Death of Delusion, Birth of an Artist

Odd and hilarious times. Right now, I’m in the basement of a hostel having slept – after a shut in – in the laundry room. So my comment of the day - I have incontrovertible evidence that love is a sham... My dear readers for the sake of privacy and personal boundaries I can’t fully divulge the intricacies of this story, but I will say... I just tried the most romantic move of my 33 year life. EPIC FAIL! I told someone I’ve known a long time that they were perfectly imperfect in my eyes- a position after much thought I arrived at - and that I wanted to meet them in Trafalager Square at 3 pm. No show... I waited. I have to say, this moment is changing. I always believed that if I really tried, I would always be able to make what I want happen. I couldn’t, I can’t... I’m just a guy walking alone in a dark, dank, and for the most part scary world. Reality is not about connection and coming together. The truth is it was always a game and it always will be. So now there is comfort in knowing I’m alone again. I want to be alone without a concern for how I am regarded. I want to just write my thoughts with no care how they are perceived... I want to be authentic. Without fear maybe art can be created... after yesterday, I know no fear anymore.

First Moments Back in London...

    Sitting in the hostel I’m staying at in London. All twisted up from no sleep after my flight, but really loving it. This is the stimulation I like – the streets of London teaming with movement, people, edge...

    When I took the train in to central London from Gatwick Airport memories flooded back to me. I’ve been in this city so many times at numerous different stages of my life. There was the historic first time here when I wandered the streets after partying the whole night previous in Brighton -everything a blurry impression. Then there was my first official move here penniless after leveraging everything on a trip into continental Europe. I stayed all over the place. Carried food in my pack... and was on the edge till I got a bartending job in Primrose Hill then a nice little gig in the offices of HMV on Oxford Street. Every stay another adventure and story – whether it was Christmas in Acton on Knights Ave with my best friend from Canada Shane; the month waiting for my Dutch visa in posh Hampton Court/ Richmond. or a couple blurry stays for a week or so with my first travel friend Adam in, ironically, a place called  Canada Water, near Canary Wharf...  

     How’s this story going to unfold?... probably with sleep at some point, but not before I meet an old mate for lunch and some pints. I’m meeting my roommate Trevor from when I lived in Edinburgh ten years previous! Serious, I already love this. Life in motion is life lived...  Not to mention it’s the best to reconnect with people you have history with. At the end of the day that’s what it’s about!

Fortune Favours the Brave – and the prepared!

    
I sit here with another expedition on the launching pad. I have a ticket purchased for London on the 19^th of this month. It has been four and half years since I left my last extended travel behind me. Things have changed... time has moulded me and refined my perspective for this trip.  Previously, I felt that I had just the past and the present fuelling my actions... my thought was that this allowed the future to unfold without expectations. This time, I’m incorporating a new aspect – a plan for the future.  Reality will not hold me back from taking as much as I can from my life. I’ve discovered in the last year that I have only one thing to fear; myself, and regret for not doing things that I think will make me happy.

       I believe steadfast that fortune does favour the brave. The result is not always what you want, but something is always to be gleamed from taking chances. I’ve been on both sides of the coin. As an example for the positive, I was offered 1000 pounds per week to tend a shop, and basically get well fed to do nothing, at the Royal Bank of Scotland through the night. I replied to the offer– “ a thousand in the hand – or are you going to tax that?” Final offer – 1250 per week – no tax! It was life changing. I ended up earning more than 10,000 Canadian dollars in a month. Adversely, I’ll never forget laying on my back in Kensington Gardens my backpack under my head, my visa maxed out, all accounts -Canadian and foreign - empty, and 3 pound 50 in my pocket staring up at the, ironically..., clear, blue London sky. I laid there for hours paralysed by the weight of reality. What I learned from those moments was that when you’re high in life you can exalt in it – literally soaking in the shimmering brilliance of being alive!  While in contrast, and even more importantly, when you are low – you have the chance and the necessity to learn.  Both moments inherently are positive.  

      Previously, I always felt the future would work itself out. I still do in some ways – but this time, I’m equipping myself differently. I don’t just want to be a leaf blowing in the wind allowing chance and the vaccinations of the moment to purely direct me. I need direction. I want to commit to an idea for my future. Without all three aspects – past, present, and future working together the result will be confusion and uncertainty. Right now I feel they’re coming together. That fusion is giving me confidence.  I’m optimistic and excited! Backing me is my past wealth of travels and adventures, the impending present and excitement of living in Europe again, and the future plan of graduate school.  I’ve never felt so ready for an expedition.