Distortion

Yesterday was beautiful. The sky was a piercing blue and the sun felt like a kiss on my skin. It has been such a long winter in Cleveland and such cold, rainy weather here that "his" rays almost, for a split second felt unfamiliar. Luckily, all I had to do for the day was to conduct a nurse interview, which ended up being more of listening and taking notes. It was great because for the first time since I have been here (minus our hospital visits in Western Denmark), I was able to see what one area of nursing is really like in Denmark. It's completely different here. Period. I visited two Primary Care nurses with my group, which was so great because next week, Primary care is the clinical rotation that I signed up for. Partly because of the care focus and partly because I want to ride my bike to people's homes:)

My group took the Metro to Vanlose where the headquarters for the region is located. It is at the headquarters that the nurses meet each morning to discuss their patient load for the day and to gather all supplies for traveling. This aspect is key, as the nurses do not return to the headquarters until the end of the day.

In this role the nurse is very independent and having a lot of experience is really key because you must be able to trust yourself. I really can appreciate this aspect of Primary Care nursing in Denmark because the more an more experience I have gained, the more confidence I have and the more I know that I really can do this. If one day I decide to travel and live in Denmark, I think that I would want to be a primary care nurse. There are cons, such as the idea of biking 10 kilometers a day in blizzard weather and literally having to walk you bike and having a very limited amount of time with each individual patient, but the pros are being able to go into a persons private home where they feel most comfortable and giving them something they cannot give themselves.

After the interview it was so beautiful outside (a little breezy, but sunny) that I decided to take time for myself and lay out on a blanket (in shorts and a t-shirt because, like I said..it was breezy:) and read my most favorite book. It was so nice to be surrounded by Danes and them not even know that I wasn't "one of them." Actually, it's funny because so often here people think that I am Danish and Swedish. The only thing that gives it away is my teeth, because dental care here is not a priority like it is to have braces in the States. It cracks me up every time someone keeps talking to me in Danish and then I smile and they go, "oh sorry, I thought you were Danish." All of my kitchen mates who are Danish swear that my Dad is Danish and my mom is Swedish or something. Oh, us Americans and our beautiful teeth:)

A cool event called Distortion which lasts for 5 days is a huge Copenhagen event where the night life moves outdoors. This means that literally 10,000 people fill the streets each day and night for a week and dance and drink and barbecue and listen to music. Yesterday Jess, Em, Mark, Tayler and I went to check it out. It was so nice because we just sat on the bridge wall and drank apple cider (thanks again Jess:) and watch the people walk by. I love to people watch. If I could get paid for it...ugh, that would be so great. I just think that people are so interesting.

We walked around through the streets listening to music and just soaking everything is. We went to this one part where a HUGE pillow fight had just ended and me being so excited just runs into it not realizing that I was running into a fountain. Needless to say, my shoes were soaked and I had tons of feathers stuck to me. The pictures of my faces are priceless. The energy on the streets is just so vibrant and it's hard to not feel like you're a part of the community. I get so engrossed with this city and its people (see pictures above).

Ok, enough talking. It's time for a nap. Tonight is the Eric Pyrdz concert at Vega, so I need to be rested. I can't sleep in tomorrow because Em, Tayler and I are going to see the ballet at the new Opera House. Before I go, I would also like to add that the peanut butter in the US has nothing on Denmark's peanut butter. I have gladly been sitting here eating a few spoonfuls of it right now:)

Hej Hej!