Hey Fuji Film Friday, its been a minute. Since I last posted a polaroid update I’ve been pretty busy: I’ve stepped foot in four different countries, lost my phone, and taken over 5,000 photos. I feel like I’ve lived five lifetimes in the last two weeks and all I have to show for it are these modest polaroids (literally, when my phone was stolen I also lost 20,000 of my digital photos). In all seriousness, I have spent as much money on these polaroids as I would on round trip flight to Paris, but ultimately I have no regrets- take a look at the past few weeks below!
The first stop on my European tour was Amsterdam (technically it was just a 30 hour layover, but that still counts!). How am I managing all this traveling while still being enrolled in school, may you ask? Well, its partially because of the DIS calendar and partially because my friends and I are determined to cram in every adventure possible. In the fall DIS has two week-long study breaks; one of those weeks is spent with your core course (like when I went to Ireland), while the other week is free to travel, catch up on work, or just relax. I chose to pack in the travels with Silke, my friend from my core course, and Grace, her flatmate.
After our day-long tour of Amsterdam we touched down in Marrakech, Morocco, on the morning of Sunday, October 27. The first day was a blur— we were only running on two hours of sleep but we managed to explore the sooks in the Medina, join a three hour food tour, and consume enough tea to last us weeks! I also managed to have my phone pickpocketed, but thats a different story. What a day!
Day two in Morocco: we slept in and ate a delicious brunch at our Riad before heading out to explore the city. What was at the top on our list? The Yves Saint Laurent Museum, of course! This exhibit is one of two museums in the world dedicated to Yves Saint Laurant, located just outside of the Medina in Marrakech. It is built next to the Majorelle Garden (Saint Laurent’s residence in Morocco), and displays the lifelong works of Yves Saint Laurent and Pierre Bergé.
For our third day we decided to get out of the city and tour the Atlas Mountains, a mountain range in the Maghreb about an hour away from Marrakech. On our way there we stopped at a local market, said hi to some camels, and ate lunch in a tiny town. We hiked through the mountains and watched the sky turn from blue to a dark purple haze. Being out in nature, especially in the Agafay Desert at sunset, was profoundly beautiful. The landscape moved me to tears.
It was during our final day in Morocco that we really grasped the meaning of bargaining— I watched with pride as Silke bargained a purse from 350 dirham down to 50 dirham! I also bought a purse, a belt, a ring, and too many other things to mention. A trip to Morocco is not complete without visiting a traditional Hammam, so we closed out our trip with a relaxing afternoon at the spa. And then, perhaps this is even more authentic than the Hammam, we made the thirty minute walk back to our Riad through the Medina without directions. We’re basically locals now!
I flew home to Copenhagen from Marrakech on Thursday for just one night before heading back to the airport, this time en route to Estonia. The freezing climate of northern Europe was seriously unwelcome after spending a week in Africa, but I rallied to explore Tallinn’s Old Town (mostly because I would reward myself with coffee or cake every few hours). I was only in Tallinn for just over 36 hours to visit family friends, but we still managed to eat two dinners, visit the photography museum, and hang out in a secret speakeasy.
My polaroid and I took a bit of a break after the intense travel week to settle back into a routine. Just as the Copenhagen weather took a turn for the worst, the Christmas Markets opened up! Specially, the Nyhavn Christmas Market (allegedly the best one in town) opened its doors on November 8, giving way to infinite hats, scarves, and delicious Gløgg (mulled wine). Cynthia and I were the first in line— is anyone surprised?
Now that its mid-November, the Scandinavian winter is starting to take root. The sun sets before 4 P.M., it is cold, and almost always cloudy or rainy. So you can imagine how exciting it is when the sun comes out; I had to take advantage of the vitamin D on Thursday and take a photo walk around town!
You know what they say, something about how all-good-things-have-to-come-to-an-end and nothing-gold-can-stay. On Tuesday, November 12, those cliches finally caught up to me: my wonderful core course, led by the incredible Dorte, officially came to an end. Because of all the time we spent in Ireland and Sweden, this class ends earlier than my other ones. Tuesday was truly the end of an era— we all did a final group hug and tearfully promised to see each other before we left for home. The class was fascinating, made up of lovely people, and full of awesome field studies, but what really made it phenomenal was my teacher, Dorte (pictured above). Dorte believed in me, challenged me, and made me a better scholar and person. She prioritized kindness and facilitated an authentic, focused environment for learning; she has changed the way I visualize New Media, and I can’t wait to utilize the skills I’ve learned from her at my home university.
240 Days in Denmark 