An Odd Occurence

Some one was telling me that I should do photojournalism. I'd never thought of that before and to be frank I wasn't quite sure what exactly it was. I've always thought that a picture could say more than words written by the most talented writer. A picture could be interpreted so many ways and in reality words can only say so much. So why not? I love to take pictures of random people and scenes - things that really tell a story, not just a group of people smiling in front of a building or sign.

And so a little bit of research was done through the most unreliable site on the Internet; Wikipedia. Come to find out that the first nationally organized group of newspaper photographs was in Denmark. The Danish Union of Press Photographers was founded in 1912 in Copenhagen by just 6 photographers. Today the DUPP has 800 members.

Though is just a small little something of nothing important it was the irony that I found most odd. It seems that now that I have become exposed to Denmark in the most superficial way that it pops up everywhere. There are so many things to Denmark that people just don't know about. I guess the major one is the Lego. We think of it as an all American play toy, but in fact the Lego was made in Denmark. The original Lego land is not in California, but in Denmark. It is such a small country that we tend to think that it has nothing to offer the world like a larger country, say America, would.

It just goes to prove that small countries are as capable of doing as much, if not more than any larger country. It also goes to show that sometimes odd occurrences aren't really that odd, but just a sign that you are doing the right thing.

San Francisco - Day 3

Weather is one of thoes mysterious things in this world. In one place it is so predictable and in another you think you know what the weather will be like and it turns out to be the complete opposite. Day 3 was one of thoes days. Day 1 and Day 2 saw high temperatures of 90's and maybe 100's. Day 3 say temperatures of 50's..... Is that not odd or what.

We woke up refreshed and hit China Town. I thought China Town was culturally enriching, but I don't think my fellow travelers would agree with me. The Chinnese lead very different lives compared to Americans. Their standards and ways of living is very unappealing to us. They pack their stores with tons of stuff, their restaurants would probably pose as health hazards, and their markets would send any American running the other way. The extreme cultural difference makes us think that they are unclean and don't care or what not, but in a sense I don't think that is true at all. They probably don't know any different so why should they live up to our standards. Why should we not live to theirs?

I think what I loved about China Town the most was the market. The center of every way of life centers around food becuase you can't have life without it. One walk through their market is enough for us to go running to the nearest Albertson's and up on arrival throw ourselves upon the ground thanking the lord that civilization still existed. There is nothing like walking down the sidewalk and seeing fish heads in a box, fish swimming in buckets, and chickens complete with their heads hanging in the window. It's and enlightening experience.

(Chicken just waiting for the pickin')

(Fish head soup anyone?)

(Crowds around the markets. It was unbelieveable!)

After spending the morning in China Town we scaddled over to the most visible landmark in the city. Now your probably thinking it's the Golden Gate Bridge, but I have to say that it was probably the least visible landmark in the city. What I'm talkig 'bout is Coit Towner. This collosal mass of a tower stands tall on Telegraph Hill. If you dare to look through the tons of photos I took you can get a great view of Coit Tower at ever angle. The information in the book said that the tower was built in honor of firefighters and is suppose to look like a fire hose. Personally, I didn't see it AT all.

We went for the lost look after Coit Towner. We began to wonder around the area just north of Cow Hollow. I'm not sure what the original attraction was to this area but we ended up seeing Daniel Steel's mansion and a few other nice houses inaddition to postcard row.

(Daniel Steel's Mansion)

Postcard Row was wonderful. By then we were dog tired. Our feet were hurting and we had no desire to go anywhere if it included walking up a hill. Postcard Row is a row of victory houses called the Painted Ladies. Each house has a unique style and eara of painting. To me they all looked victorian but I suppose one was more gothic then the other and so on. The striking difference between the victorians and the city is wonderful. There is a park infront of the houses called Alamo Square. It was a great park but you had to walk up a hill to see the houses with the city in the background. My travel buddies ditched me so I got to walk up the hill to get the great photos while they sat down on a bench. Once walking up this hill I waited for the Chinese tourist to snap their photos then I snapped mine.

We wound down at a Catalan restaurant called B 44. Normally allies are places to avoid, but this restaruant was well worth the venture. The add in one of the tourist books boasted B 44 as a place "Where the locals go for Catalan cuisine in a modern atmosphere, specilaixing in paella and other Spanish dishes." Boy where they right. Each of us tried a different paella dish along with great tapas and dessert. We even had a little fun with our leftovers on the table.

I highly encourage playing with your food. Its fun!

Where in the world is Jennifer Moore?

For all anyone knows I've dropped off the very ends of our planet and have probably already been sucked in by a black hole. I am here to assure you that I am very much alive and living fat, dumb, and happy in the retirement state of Florida. Maintaining a blog page is much more difficult than a person could know (that is, unless of course, you have one). So much time and effort gets put into the entries for the readers. So much as been happening that words seem a very poor way to convey them. This is where I should say pictures come into play, but I really don't have many pictures to show you. Okay... I don't have any pictures to show you.

For now I am visiting my Aunt Lisa in Orlando, FL. She recently purchased a beautiful condo that any guest could very easily mistake for a house. I pride myself is saying I am the first official guest to check in, but we won't dwell on my bragging rights. The condo has been tastefully decorated throughout its three bedrooms and two baths. Now matter how spectacularly decorated the interior may be, it is the exterior that is to die for. As most may know since the beginning of time our (well, my) dear Aunt Lisa as rented apartments. If there is an apartment complex in the vicinity of her work chances are she has called it home. Most apartments come with amenities such as common areas, laundry mats, a communal swimming hole, and a gym. I am here to tell you that here any guest has access to a personal pool and a fabulous jacuzzi tub in the guest bathroom. As for the common area the living room is a great space to sit in front of the boob-tub for an hour or you can curl up in a chair by the fireplace. Sure there are some electrical issues and the occasional kitty toy lying around, but it is just freshly inhabited after a brief dry spell. Any guest would be lucky to book a room here. Not only are you free to make yourself at home, but your favorite pop will be stocked in the fridge and all your meals will be cooked perfectly for you. Enought about the home - how about what I've been doing? Now that your all excited about hearing about me I'm going to tell you that I really haven't been doing too much. Aunt Lisa and I decided and a nice time indulging at home was in order. So far we have done some small shopping, cooked some fabulous oriental dishes (I can now make crab ragoons!), and have taken total advantage of the personal pool that we don't have to share.

After a week of stay at Aunt Lisa's condo, I will make my way about an hour south of here to a very small and remote town called Dade City. Here I will book residence with Papa Fred and Debbie. The first thing to be said about Dade City is the location. I'm in love with it. It has that kinda small town feeling by not. It even has a Winn Dixie (hey... I haven't seen one of thoes in ages)! I love the trees and the river and just the access to the great outdoors that it provides. There is nothing like waking up in a house way up in the trees. A few years back their dream was realised when they embarked on the building of their dream home. I am pleased to say that Papa Fred and Debbie are NOT leaving their plot of land and beautiful home anytime soon. Standing three stories tall this house in a fabulous walk in the woods. Complete with two bedrooms, two baths, a giant personal office, four outdoor decks, a kitchen any chef would be proud to cook in, and a fireplace that scales two stories, this home away from home is a great way to enjoy a Florida summer. Never will you be bored for it has to offer any resident or guest alike a pool table, dart board, jacuzzi, outdoor dinning for a hundred (okay, maybe not that many), and an amazing view of the nature. You can even go kayaking along the river conveniently located ajacent to the home. What exactly I will be doing here I don't know because, as I type but not necessarily as you read, I am sitting on the computer in Orlando, FL.

After my tree top stay in Dade City I'm going to assume that my journey will wind me a little further south to the St. Petersburg/Tampa area. The POA kind of stops after a week. I will be arriving home (which is going to be Chattanooga, TN) on the 23rd of this month. From there I will be chillin' with gramps for a few days until I embark on the adventure of a life time.

Oh, did I mention that I got my SAT scores back?? Probably not so here they are: Critical Reading 560 , Math 530 , and Writing 610 (a 10 on my essay)! That, for you mathematically challenged people (yes, dad, I'm looking, no, starring, at you) is a grand total of 1700. Not too bad for my first try as a sophomore.

Livin' in the Panhandle

You never are able to realize just what it was you missed about a place until you've left and then returned. I saw rain today! Can you believe that. Well it might seem a little on the 'duh' side, but living in the desert has really given me an appreciation for the rain. And I even heard some thunder!!! There are natural growing trees here and wildly running grass everywhere. With all that is so familiar and yet so foreign you, or I guess I, can't help but to feel at home.

Uniquely all the homes in Florida seem to be the same but different. All the contradictory characteristics of an area are enticing. Homes in Florida seem to all have rod iron columns on their front porch or at least rod iron railing leading up to their door. Hanging over each window is a shutter like awning with a scalloped trim usually made of a tin or a vinyl. The landscaping consists of at least one Palm tree and other tropical plants or its just one huge over grown mess. Homes are all one story because they have to be at least 50 years old or they are new construction with 2 stories. One of the most diverse and uniquely similar aspects is the colour. Typically we tend to paint our homes a neutral colour so as to present a clean looking home that doesn't stand out, but this isn't always so in Florida. Colours such as salmon, peach, terracotta, pale blue, pink, and even the occasional lime green often blanket the exteriors of homes.

Even with these vividly worded images, when you step back beauty of the home goes unnoticed. It's just an old decaying home on 4th St. that's painted an obnoxiously bright peach colour. The roof tiles in old Spanish style are falling off and the garden that was once manicured to perfection has grown wild.

The things that make us leave home, make us return.

San Francisco - Day 2

And now... the long awaited update on San Francisco.

Day 2 was a jammed pack day. It was the first full day in San Francisco and we were rearing to go. Little did we know that by the evening we'd be wishing we hadn't done so much. We had heard from a lady we sat next to the day before at a sushi bar that every Saturday there is a big farmer's market down at the Ferry Building. Even though we had no reason to buy any produce or the likes, we all settled on going. The morning was crisp but it soon turned hot. Upon arriving at the ferry building we all just kinda melted. Who would have thought it would be so hot. Besides the heat, the farmer's market was incredible. There were people everywhere selling crafts, produce, food, and everything inbetween. Not only were the people and boths nice to look at but so was the building. The Ferry Building was an old pier or something along thoes lines. The day was clear and the view incredible. The building sported a tower with a clock and uniform wings on either side.

After waiting a long time for the rail car to come and pick us up, we made our way from the Ferry Building to Fisherman's Warf. In my travels I'v been to every tourist play imaginable. It's there and chances are I've been there. But never, and I mean never, have I ever been to a more tourist oriented place as Fisherman's Warf. Peir 39 (Fisherman's Warf) was converted into a shopping center complete with a Merri-Go-Round and more restaurants than City Walk at Universal. On the up side we got a good view of Alcatraz, the south side of the city, and the seals. I'm not sure what the big deal is about the seals, but the guide books thought they were pretty darn important.

We quickly left this tourist attraction after scoring only 4 postcards and ice cream. Venturing off we made our way along a more fishy area of the Warf then a tour of the Boudin Sourbough Bread Factory which was facinating. By this point we had no idea what in the world we wanted to do. That morning all we had planned to do we had just done. Streching our energy out we decided to go see Lombard Street (the zig-zag one for you uncultured people). I don't thing we would have made the venture had we realized how big of a hill Hyde Street (street we took to get to Lombard) was. All in all, Lombard street was pretty cool and I scored an awesome picture of the bridge while walking up Hyde Street. Oh, and did I mention that the Ghiradeli Square was a total bust. I don't recomend it at all. Just ignore what all the travel books say.

By this time we were tired and hungry. On our way to Fisherman's Warf we drove down Columbus Ave which was sprinkled heavily with cute shops, sidewalk cafes, and restraunts. It was also home to the City Lights book store. We settled on this location for the end of the day. I would have to say that if I could afford to live anywhere in San Francisco, this would be the area. Russian Hill, Telgraph Hill, and North Beach has lots to offer. It houses plenty of nice areas to walk around and a few nice parks to lounge in. Apparences are very clean and there are enough buss routes to get you anywhere. We dined at the Rose Pistol that night and I don't think I have had ever had better sea food. It was to die for.

We made it back to our hotel at around 10 I'm sure and crashed hard. Over all, Day 2 was a good day.

The Bech Family

I've now moved onto a new stage in the long, drawn out AFS process. A few days ago I recieved my family! Now that I know a bit more about my family it seems more appropriate to write about them. Of course I don't have all the answers to the questions I have, the information that I do have is enough to sedate me for a while.

I will be moving to a family of five plus a dog and two cats. The family memebers are Heidi (mother), Mogens (father), Christoffer (17 year old son), Casper (14 year old son), Camilla (12 year old daughter), Molly (dog), Frida (cat), and Bertha (cat). Heidi wears the pants in the family where as Mogens is the playful father figure. From my understanding if you want something that mom will probably say no to, go to Mogens. Christoffer attends a trade school to be a carpenter. He's not extremely social and doesn't speaks english. Casper is the jokester in the family. He enjoys making people laugh and also speaks some english. Camilla is the girlly-girl. She likes to talk a lot and play around with make-up with her friends. She, to my understanding, speaks just a little english. The family appears to be a very nature-loving, outdoorsie type of family. Their summer holidays are spent canooing and kayaking in addition to cycling. Every few years they take a backpacking/camping trip to Norway and enjoy going to Legoland becuase it is fairly close to home.

The Bech family lives in the rural village of Rugsted where there are only 20 or so houses with lots of fields and farming land in between. Heidi and Mogens run a private kindergarden out of their home. In 2005 and new law was inacted in Denmark which allowed private persons and organizations to run kindergardens the same as municiple kindergardens. In their kindergarden they over see 22 children. There is a separate building for the children in addition to a nice play ground and lots of activities. They have a website for their business which can be viewed here. The site is in Danish, but if you just start clicking around your bound to find some pictures of the area, the children, and some of the adults.

The home in which I am to live in was an old farm but is now just a single family home. In some of the pictures from their business site you can see the house in the background. There is an upstairs and a downstairs. Upstairs is an area just for the children. Each of the three children have their own room and there is an extra room for me. A neat little feature that I think is nice is that there is a small living room upstairs for the children. Like a common room I would guess. Downstairs is the kitchen, two living rooms, the master bedroom, and a bathroom. The family usually spends lots of time downstairs, but when friends come over usually retreat to their rooms.

All in all, what I know of the family so far is wonderful. I found out by reading some of the descriptions of the pictures Heidi sent that they have hosted before. I have yet to ask about this. Now I struggle with the daunting task of attempting to kid myself into believing I'll be able to speak their seemingly impossible language...

San Francisco - Day 1

I've pretty much grown up in small towns. For thoes of you who beg to differ with this statement, its only because I remember very little of the 'big' towns for them to count. Life pretty much happened in Oak Harbor, WA and Ridgecrest, CA. These towns consist of around 25,000 people and Wal-Mart. Going to a big city is somewhat of a treat. I've been to Seattle, they have a very nice airport. I've been to Los Angles, its a bit to dirty and mexican for me. I've been to San Diego (and am there now), its small and I've done a lot of what there is to do. I've been to New York, their Macy's is huge and they sell scarves in their train station. Never before have I been to such a large city and thoroughly enjoyed it all or remembered it all for that matter. San Francisco has fit the bill. I must say that I love that city. There is so much to do and so much to see. It is fairly clean (Seattle is the cleanest city I've even been to), and the shopping is just short of fabulous. I really liked using public transportation; crazies and all.

Day one was a surprise day. We didn't originally plan to see or do anything. As it turns out not only did we leave San Diego, arrive in San Francisco, and take a tour of our hotel - the Hilton on O'Ferrell - but we also gained our barrings, walked around the Financial distric, and did a walking tour of Union Square. Our first stop was an Irish pub just down the street from the Hilton. It's sign read 'It's Time for a Pint.' After a weary day of travel, that sounded nice. We were hungry. Even though alcohol has some food value, food has no alcohol value. To counter balance this unfortunate tale, we settled on an order of fish and chips, two pints of a local ale, and a Roy Rogers (can't drink just yet).

(sign that entised us to enter the Irish Pub)

Our first real sight to see or rather do was to ride the glass elevators at the Westin St. Francis Hotel. After some very confusing looks and many wrong turns, we finally realized that the actual elevators of the hotel were the glass elevators. Luckily we weren't the only tourists in the hotel seeing as we shared our elevator with a young couple who also came to see the views. The elevator shoots you up like a bat outta hell to the 40-somthing floor where you are given a brief view of the spralling city below. Of course all 5 of us agreed that just one look up wasn't enough. On our third time down a few of the hotel's temperary residents joined us. We decided that the third time was the charm, and proceded to the exit which was a one of the rotating, turny doors.

(view of the city from the glass elevator)

Our stop was Union Square itself. The National Geographic Travelers book of San Francisco describes this site as follows: "Across Powell Street Un9ion Square Park, a central place to rendezvous with friends or just to rest your weary feet and do some people watching. Once a san bank, the 2.6-acre park was set aside as open space in Jasper O'Farrell's 1847 plan of the city. Named when pro-Union rallies were held here just before the Civil War, the park has provided a soapbox for public expression since the 1930's labor demonstration. In 1958 beatniks in sandals and beards paraded here to a bongo-drum beat on the 'Squaresville Tour', designed to express wry annoyance at having become tourist attractions in North Beach. In 1987 a group of gay activist called the Sisters of Perpetual Indulgence protested Pope John Paul II's visit. The park's Dewey Monument honors Adm. George Dewey for his 1898 vicotry in Manila Bay during the Spanish-American war. Atop its 97-foot Corinthian column stands Robert Aitken's 1903 bronze figure of 'Victory'. Beneath the park is a pioneer underground parking garage built in 1942."

(Union Square Park with monument in center)

Lucky you I won't be writting much out of the book. I just found that interesting. Unfortunately we veared off of the recomended walking tour (not really) after getting a great view of the man on Macy's. Anna doubed this man as David Beckam, this of course, was after a bit of red wine.

(man sporting his underwear on the front of Macy's)

Regaining the trail we viewed the beautiful stain glass dome in the postmodern Neiman Marcus. This 2.600 piece stain glass dome depicts a ship which is the emblem of Paris, France. It was preserved from the 1909 City of Paris store.

(stain glass dome of the Neiman Marcus)

We then continued up Maiden Lane. Though now it is a nice, quiet pedestrian only shopping street, it once was lined with women beckoning from windows, naked from the waist up. They would charge passing men a dime to fondle one breat, or two for fifteen.

(present-day Maiden Lane)

We concluded our day with a nice (and long) evening at the Cityscape restaurant 35 floors north of our 9th floor room. We enjoys drinks all around along with a few bowls of mixed spicy bar nuts, a bowl of lobster bisque, pecan cheese cake, and apple pie crunch.

Melting in Sunny San Diego

As many of you might know, or just might not, I'm on the first leg of my summer holiday. So far, in the short six full days I have been here, many things have occurred. Saturday saw 12 hours of non-stop site-seeing at Seaworld San Diego! Seaworld offers an awesome contribution of the families of the men and women currently serving in our nations military. Any military personal can enter free along with up to 4 or 5 (I think) military dependents. This saves you around 60 big ones per person. It's a small tribute considering your just every other person once your person crosses into the park. A real contribution to the military community would be a discount on all purchasable items in the park. Unfortunately we still have to pay 5 bucks for a bottled water.

Sunday saw a few hours out and about in Balboa Park. Balboa Park is a wonderful area in down-town San Diego. Almost all of the architecture in the park is very Spanish influenced and just stunning. Unfortunately I forget to bring my camera with me and have yet to purchase another one. Pictures will be at a minimum until then. Any who, the park is filled with many museums for all ages along with a Japanese tea garden, the organ pavilion, the International Cottages, a botanical garden, miles of relaxing trails, an archery course, and tons of square lawnage for the ultimate picnic. My mom, Anna-Marie (the crazy roomie), and I took a tour through the International Cottages which was highlighting the Philippines and also viewed an exhibit on Georgia O'Keeffe and other female artists. Anna was telling us that images of both male and female reproductive organs could be found hidden in Mrs. O'Keeffe's art. I, personally, only saw colourful flowers...

Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday saw fits of boredom and frustrating attempts at learning a little Danish. So far I can confidently ask any random by passer if they are tired or if they have any luggage. I suppose that might come in handy somewhere along some small, thin line. Wednesday I was able to get out and walk around Coronado for an hour or more. Coronado, for those of you who aren't familiar with San Diego geography, is a very trendy/touristy island right across San Diego Bay. For the small population reading my boring blog you might have heard of the Hotel Del, which is the focal point of Coronado. It's also known as North Island to the military community. Backtracking a little, the crazy roomie and I went to get a spa pedicure Tuesday at Fashion Nails off of Orange Ave on Coronado. Fashion Nails is the typical Vietnamese run hall way packed with people sporting naked feet and hands (I guess typically our hands are always naked....).

For now, I continue to read an extremely condensed concentration of US History, stumble along in my attempt to learn Danish, and lounge around. Tomorrow, I sleep in San Francisco.....

Goodbye Burroughs High School

Congratulations to me! I am now, officially, over with school. Finals are complete, school is complete, my sophomore year is complete. You are now reading the blog page of a proud junior in High School. I now have, as of today 5 June 2008, only 54 days until I go to Denmark. Unfortunately I must leave my dear friends that I have made here in the desert. I send out my farewell to all of them.

I now have a visa to live in Denmark. I don't have it on my person, but the sticker is stuck to page 8 of my passport, sitting in some foreboding place in New York just waiting to hop into my wallet. And I can't honestly wait for it to do the hopping either.

Oh, and today is Constitution Day and Father's Day in Denmark. On 5 June 1849 the first consitution was inacted in Denmark. Father's Day is actually something that was 'brought over' from America.

Under the Dannebrog They Stand - Part 3

Something a bit more concerning me; the education system. In the states we are accustomed to the pre-school, elementary school, middle school, high school, and university education scale. In Denmark the scale is very similar starting with pre-school, primary education (Folkeskole), secondary education, higher education, then adult education. Only the Folkeskole (“public school”) is compulsory. Essentially there are only 9 years (7-16) of mandatory schooling before entering the work force. About 82% of young people take further education addition to this. The 82% have the option of attending a number of types of secondary education schools.

The young person has the option of attending Gymnasium, Higher Preparatory Examination, Higher Commercial Examination Programme, Higher Technical Examination Programme, Vocational Education, or Basic Social and Health Education. The Danish Gymnasium offers a 3-year general academically-oriented upper secondary programme which builds on the 9th-10th form of the Folkeskole and leads to the upper secondary school exit examination. This can be equated with high school in the U.S.. The Higher Preparatory Examination is a 2-year general upper secondary programme building on to the 10th form of the Folkeskole and leading to the higher preparatory examination, which qualifies for admission to higher education, subject to the special entrance regulation applying to the individual high education programmes. The Higher Commercial Examination Programme is a business-oriented education in Denmark. In Denmark, the Higher Technical Examination Programme is a 3-year vocationally oriented general upper secondary programme which builds on the 9th-10th form of the Folkeskole. Vocational Secondary Education in Denmark takes place at special state-funded vocational schools, most of which are either technical schools or business colleges.

As it will apply to me, I’ll be attending Secondary Education in Denmark (in Danish: ungdomsuddannelse, “youth education”). This usually takes two to four years and is attended by students between the ages of 15 to 20. I'll most likely be attending a Gymnasium.

UPDATE FROM THE OUTSIDE WORLD: Some of the other exchange students going to Denmark have recieved their families which means they are starting to place us. Let's everyone keep our fingers crossed that I get my family soon. Untill then I'm studying my you know what off for finals which are th 3rd, 4th, and 5th and for my SATs on the 7th.