Beauty and a Beat...

The past few days have continued to be fabulous and full of a  lot of sunshine and a LOT of laughing. I know I keep saying it, but the city has come alive and it feels so, so, so good to be outside experiencing things in a completely different way.

For example, the Danes have found new ways to be stylish (or at least ways that I haven't gotten to see before). Sunglasses and sexy spring boots have made their grand debut! "Summer jackets" are showing up in store windows. After one of the coldest winter's on record, we're all excited for spring.

Yesterday I had a very special Friday adventure with my friend Becca. We started by going to the DIS Spring event to get free crepes and coffee, but unfortunately we were not the only ones who heard about it! When we arrived it was PACKED, but as another student pointed out, no college kid is going to pass up free food in a city where everything is so expensive. Waiting on line was a test of patience and character (as tons of other students butted their way into the front, bypassing those of us who had been waiting for quite some time). But still, we had a good laugh about it as it happened, and bonded in solidarity with some of the other students who were also hungrily waiting.

my crepe=chocolate and strawberries 

After finally reaching the front of the line, we ordered, thanked the crepe-makers profusely and happily strolled out of the courtyard celebration to find a seat on a bench... it was totally worth the wait. :-)

We decided to head to Nyhavn, the harbor, to sit along the waterfront and watch the sun go down. The photo doesn't capture the light and beauty at all, but hopefully you get the idea.

The view form where we sat, letting our feet dangle over the edge of the canal wall

We had some awesome conversations as we continued our stroll. I really appreciate our friendship for many reasons, one being that our discussions always make me think in new ways. We popped into a few shops before heading to try and make dinner (which ended up being an ordeal). Finally, after much effort, we threw together a reasonably hearty salad (the only bummer was that the avocado we bought was far too hard to use) and settled into a lounge area at DIS to eat, chat, discuss work, and watch a show on my computer.

After dinner we rushed off to the train station to catch the 9:14pm train home to my place where Becca was coming to spend the night. We got in just in time for her to meet Lars and Helle, but they then went to bed. It was a reasonably late night for us, but we woke up feeling ready to hang out with Mira who was given the opportunity to pick any activity she wanted for the three of us to do together. To our total delight she picked... JUST DANCE!

Time of My Life (David Cook).... this is one of my favorite songs to do with Mira because it is VERY interactive. Both dance partners are constantly dancing with one another, which is hilarious and very fun.

The basic premise of the game is that you hold your Wii controller in one hand and follow the movements of your character on the screen. The characters' glove hand is the only thing that you technically you need to follow. However the Wii is very smart and tracks where you are and where/how much you move so you cannot simply move your one hand around and get points for it (and oh yes, there are points). Also, that would just not be at all fun.

the real fun comes from jumping, spinning, twirling, punching, thrusting, and hopping around like a monkey!

Time of My Life (David Cook), and yes, I am supposed to be on the floor for this part of the song

Becca had never played before and I have only played a handful of times with Mira. We took turns: Mira and I would dance, then Mira and Becca, then Becca and I. The three of us were laughing so hard that I had to sit down at times to avoid collapsing. Highlights of our performances included: Time of My Life, What Makes you Beautiful, Call Me Maybe, Beauty and a Beat, Good Feeling, Oops I Did it Again, and many more!

Beauty and a Beat (Justin Bebier)

We were both pretty miserable at the beginning, but after our third or forth song, we had MUCH improved. Regardless of how well we danced, I can tell you I haven't laughed as hard as I did this morning in a lonnng time.

Oops I Did it Again (Britney Spears) 

I am hoping that I will have the time to put together a minute long video clip because these stills do not do our craziness justice!

Me enjoying fro yo... look in the background:
there is a man biking with an adult woman (his wife?),
shopping bags, and dog in the front cart 

We finished the day by going back into the city where we got frozen yogurt and then did homework at DIS. The whole 24 hours was phenomenal. Mira and I can't wait to have Becca over to play Just Dance again soon.

I'll end by saying that I had strange feelings going into the start of April, but that life continues to teach me just how powerful friendships are. My friends and family in Denmark and back home make my life so meaningful and I am incredibly grateful today and every day. Now I am going to go look at photos with the Hellesens, but I hope to have cool stories from my visit to a national park tomorrow. Vi ses!

p.s. Several weeks ago, my childhood best friend, Alex (the one who is playing pro basketball in DK) hosted her family in CPH. One evening the five of us went out for dinner! It was fantastic to see them and begin trying to catch up on the 5+ years since the last time we'd been together. Earlier this week, Lisa (Alex's mom) sent me a picture from our dinner out, which I am posting below here. I am also including a photo of a Segway tour that I took this afternoon. The Chilis attempted a Segway tour while visiting the city, but were frozen out of it. I think that had they been given those giant boxing glove mittens perhaps they could have made it!

Chilis + 1 Moss

Segway tour in action! Note the awesome red oven-mits that everyone is wearing