NOV 11-17

THE BIG COUNTDOWN

I have been so busy that I have not done a proper countdown of my remaining days, so I decided to do that now. I have 26 days left in Copenhagen. I strangely don’t even have time to reflect or feel nostalgic. It’s been a constant routine of hopping on a plane, kicking my carry on to the side for the next trip, then frantically getting to work to meet the deadline.

I was in London this past weekend to visit my friend Johann. We had not seen each other for about 5 years, and the last time I saw him was in California. And this time, I got to visit his home in London for the first time. I was absolutely floored by their hospitality. He came all the way to pick me up at the airport (about an hour and a half away, oops), then made me dinner. He is SUCH an intense tea brewer, I mean their entire family is SUCH a big tea drinker. He had 3 different flask looking glasses where he brewed his tea and measured the temperature of the water with a thermostat. He said depending on when the tea leaves are harvested, the temperature of the water changes. He also set a timer for 1 minute to brew the tea, then continued to explain the chemical molecules that engender the flavor of green tea. I was actually very impressed and very happy that someone else was brewing tea for me. I am a huge tea drinker, but I drink my tea way too fast to remake tea every ten minutes.

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I also got to spend a fair amount of time with his mom (mainly because Johann couldn’t wake up early, so most mornings were spent with his mom). His mom is incredibly humorous and personable. It felt like I was just hanging out with an older sister. On Saturday, she drove me to H-Mart, a Korean grocery store that my family also frequently visits, so I could take some Korean snacks back to Copenhagen with me. She made dukkbokki or spicy rice cakes for one of the meals to satisfy my Korean food cravings. It was comforting to feel this generosity through food, more than other things.

My weekend in London was slow and spontaneous. We would stroll for a bit, then stopped whenever we pleased. My favorite stop was at a Korean 7-11-esque market after a big lunch to grab shikhae or traditional sweet Korean rice beverage.

Honestly, this weekend went by too fast. It’s also bittersweet knowing that I won’t be seeing Johann for at least 2 years, but hopefully earlier if possible. My core course officially ends tomorrow after I take my final. Then I will be leaving for Barcelona. It’s my last trip before officially going home. Ahhhhhhhhhhh!

Another badum! list:

• it’s esme’s 22nd birthday today! We made apple crumple to surprise her hehee
• started Brooklyn 99 with Johann. I will be binge watching this after I finish my exam
• Barcelona is much warmer than Cope, which makes me very very excited
• all the Christmas lights are making me feel vvvvv festive and hygge
• had a long long conversation with Johann about a lot of things on the bus. It was probably the highlight of my trip
• goooooooooood oolong tea that Johann’s mom shared with me heh

*The title is in reference to Donnie Trumpet and The Social Experiment’s song Slip Slide and I guess I don’t want to slip slide in many aspects. I think there’s a lot to unpack, but not enough time.

Until next time,

Eileen