COMRAD COPENHAGEN

After a week in Copenhagen I'm starting to show signs and traces from alcoholism, cigarettes and other bad habits. Sorry Jef, I promiss it's only a fase. But I'm back, and I'm with friends, all though I haven't hunted down all of them yet. These last few days I've been wandering thru this little scandinavian city, and it is striking how fast the paste is. Everbody is in a hurry, either looking down in the pavemnt or talking in overpriced cellphones. Another thing I've forgotten about the Danes, is how they dress. Every single one of them look like a million bucks. The girls are also in a whole other league, all thoug they look kind of similar. Anyway. i'm sitting in my old school, surrounded with fresh students. Nervous faces, voices. That was me two years ago. Wierd. Tonight is my good friend Alexandra's birthday party. If I don't make it, tell my wife hello.

I LEAVE NEW YORK

I'm racing across Manhatten in a classic New York yellow taxi, with a halfcrazed middleeastern driver driven by the extra bucks promissed if I got on my flight back to Europe on time. From JFK International airport to Newark Airport in under 40 minuts, passing police cars, and risking speedtickets, only to arrive at the destination on time with a passenger holding a insufficient mastercard. It was safe to say he wasn't as pleased with this pale european foreigner.

There I am, 10 meters from the check in, and the guy won't give me my bags. Cursing, pleading and briebing with cigaretts will only get you so far, this transporter had his mind set on the mighty dollar. He even offered me his phone if I wanted to call the police. Luckely the bank was still open for another fifteen minuts back in Seattle. I called my roommate Jef and he transfered the despretly needed cabfare. Thank you. The cabdriver who quickley turned into my bestfriend helped me run over my bags to the checkin, and with only a couple of minuts to spare the airline approved my late bags. The taxidriver gave me his hand and gave off a "pleasure doing business with you" before he ran back to his suprisingly well airconditioned yellow office. I ran off to the gate with a big smile on my face. I was going home.

Sitting in my seat, with gravity vertigo, I started to think about the last few days in New York. The city that you see every day on the tv had finally turned into something touchable. From the first time I stepped out of the subway and saw time square to my frantic escape four days later the city had me. The people, the drive, ambition, skylicking buildings and culture overfloaded me like a missisippi boathouse, or a thailand beachhouse if I may. I saw the view from the empire state observation deck, chinatown, wall street, ellis island, statue of liberty, harlem, trump building, central park, and all the other sites that stands out on the map.

I lived in a hostel in Harlem with a bunch of other travlers. Nice people with stories from all over the world. Beeing almost the only white person living on the block I at first suspected to be treated as an outsider, but the people in Harlem was authentic, friendly and outgoing. "This scene would be very different ten years ago" a harlemresidents told us as he passed us sitting outside the hostel having some beers. Nicholas, a new yorker living at the hostel, said the only reason that we weren't arrested was the colour of our skin. Harlem is still a place where people are beeing treated as a criminals only because of their skincolor.

My stay in the USA was almost six months long. I really feel that I have returned to Europe with more knowledge, confidence and hope. I've learned a lot about past and present American culture, myself, and why this is the country everybody loves to hate, and hates to love. The best and the worst sides of society. If you fall for the anti american propaganda you are missing a big piece of the picture. How can you judge a country that is so diverse and vast. It's like reading the last pages of the bible and think you know all about the christian masterplan. In my case it feels like Ive only finished a chapter of this great book of the united western states. I hope one day I can continue where I left off. This book is a pageturner.

NEW YORK NEXT

Got admitted to Middlesex University in London. The school starts 1st of September. I'm leaving Seattle and it feels weird even writing that. It's been great. I'm going to miss it. My plane leaves for New York next Monday, where I will stay a couple of days before I catch a plane back home to Copenhagen. I hope to take a trip to Norway before I head for my new hometown London. I'm just starting to realize how much I miss my friends and my mother, It's been so long. Can't wait.

New York will be an interesting stay, haven't really gotten accommodations yet, but I'll figure something out. Empire state building, Central Park, Wall Street, hoping to catch a concert, have gotten a lot of tips from my friends who's been there before. I'm leaving in three days, it's freaking me out. My butterflies are high on crack amphetamine.

STEAL THIS

The first thing that I found odd in America after living here for a while, was the mistrust the Americans had for their government and their governments ability to handle "sensitive" information like your social security number. Every American is afraid to get their identity stolen by giving out their social security number. To prove some kind of point here is my social security number. Please take away all that is precious to me.

Once upon a time I was struck down with a half-full bottle of Pakistani wine on a dark street in Oslo one not so sober night. Pure blind violence which I managed to get away from with only a couple of cuts and a blue shiner. I have never seen the two guys before, and I bet I will never see them again. After the incident I was trapped between two thoughts, one; should I live my life worrying about violent sixteen year old immigrants armed with cheap booze, or should I in spite of what happened to me live my life as I used to, without fear. Should I worry about what can happen, or should I see the world for what it is in the moment. I chose to live without restraints or fear.

So the whole identity fraud scare, that in some cases are very real, and cost some unlucky people a lot of money, doesn't happen that often. It's more like winning the lottery or getting eaten by a shark. If the Americans had a little faith in their government (all though they have all the reasons not to) perhaps we could free the world from too much bureaucracy.

NEW BEIJING

With the fastest growing economy in the world, clocking over 10 % growth, communistic china is the spectacle everybody loves to hate and hates to admire. Openness towards western influences hasn't only boosted their economy, it has also recharged the art scene. The capitol Beijing stand today as one of the most important cultural scenes in the world.

With bands like P.K 14, Joyside, Hedgehog and Carsick cars (picture), Time magazine has called Beijing one of the top 5 cities in the world of music. The performance art, painting , sculpting, film, poetry and rock n roll, once thought of as spiritual pollution has turned into a spiritual revolution.

The more I read about Beijing and its 20 million inhabitants,the more I want to go there. It seems like a place where history is being written as we speak. If it survives the Olympics this is the place to go.

I GOT TWO; FUCK AND YOU

The answer is Die hard II, not Die Hard. Showdown at Boxcar in Ballard, quiz, pitchers and flavoured cigarettes, fun night out with my friend Ryan and a couple of other pop quiz prodigy's. The free pitcher and beers from last time made the night fairly cheap. Met some fun people and got buzzed, all in all a nice Tuesday night.

MOUNT RAINER

Yesterday I was 7000 feet up in the air right next to the highest mountain in Washington State; Mount Rainer. Nice sky, snow and thin air made not smoking my lungs off as much as I used to a good decision. Me and Jef started driving before noon, and we were not back until eleven at night. Great view. A nice way to start my vacation.

GRADUATION

This Summers upward bound program ended this Friday with a field trip to a park on Lake Washington. Signing yearbooks, hanging out and eating burgers. During these last six weeks I've gotten a bit attached to my job, or should I say, the students. This is a first. I have never really cared about my work in the past. But this time I did. These kids were great. They might be giants. I am going to miss them. I never miss anybody.

This Thursday we had a banquette at school to give away prices to some of the most outstanding kids. Me and my new guitar hero DeAndre played Say it Ain't So by Weezer and we rocked. This kid has really made an impact on me. Great guy, with a lot of talent.

At the banquet, all of the parents had brought their own food so we could eat different dishes from every corner of the world. That night I also bumped into a old friend from drama. Great night.

Now I am officially on break. Tonight I'm going out to meet Jenn on Capitol Hill for a couple of drinks. Tomorrow I will concur Mount Rainer.