Bye murica, hola merrico!

(for english, scroll down)

Onsdag den 17. juli ankom Søren i Oakland. Jeg hentede ham og da vi kom tilbage til huset introducerede jeg ham for mine house mates og vi drak et par øl inden vi gik i seng. Dagen efter tog vi ind til byen og mødtes med Katrine, som er en pige fra min skole der skal overtage min praktikplads på Glide fra den 1.august. Jeg har hjulpet hende med at det praktiske så det var rigtig godt at møde hende og vise hende lidt af SF.

De efterfølgende dage legede vi turister i SF og om lørdagen havde jeg inviteret house mates og folk som jeg havde mødt i SF i løbet af de seks måneder på en lille farvel-øl i Dolores Park (og Søren og Katrine naturligvis). Det var en rigtig hyggelig dag, men også trist at skulle sige farvel til folk som hurtigt var blevet til rigtig gode venner.

Dagen efter fløj Søren og jeg fra Oakland til Las Vegas hvorfra vi tjekkede ind på det billigste hostel vi kunne finde. Varmen var ulidelig i forhold til SF, og vi havde reserveret en bil som vi hentede næste morgen. Turen gik til Grand Canyon, men ikke helt som vi havde forventet. Vi startede med at køre til et sted som hedder Skywalk hvor man kan gå ud på en glasbro over kløften og kigge direkte ned fra hvor man står. Men da vi kom derud og havde parkeret fandt vi ud af at man skulle tage en bus de resterende 2 miles som kostede over $40 og hvis man prøvede at vandre ville man blive hentet af vagter. Stedet var tilsyneladende ejet af indianere som åbenbart var grunden til det enorme bondefangeri.

Efter den skuffende overraskelse besluttede vi i stedet at køre til den primære del af GC, hvorfra man kan køre rundt til de forskellige udsigtspunkter. Det var mere opløftende og vi forlod parken mod øst for at komme i retning mod Bryce Canyon, Utah. På vej mod BC overnattede vi på et lille hostel og næste dag fik vi set både BC og Zion Canyon, som ligger på vej tilbage mod Vegas. Begge dele var helt utrolig smukt, og vi var super trætte efter at vandre og køre rundt i den ubeskrivelige natur. Efter ZC overnattede vi i en by der hedder St George hvor der ifølge Wikipedia bor 92,5 % mormoner. Jeg vidste i forvejen at Utah er der hvor mormonerne stammer fra, men ikke at man ville opleve steder som var så ekstreme – i natskuffen på motellet lå der både en bibel og en mormonbog.

På vej ud af Utah og i retning mod Vegas næste dag hørte vi satanisk dødsmetal og landede i Vegas ved 15tiden. Vi havde lige nogle timer inden vi skulle aflevere bilen og være i lufthavnen så vi tog ind og så et museum om atomprøvesprængninger. Det var meget lærerigt og dejligt at være et sted med aircondition (da vi kørte rundt i Vegas kom termometret op på 120° F som svarer til knap 49° C). Museet gav desuden et fint indtryk af hvordan USA’s regering havde forsøgt at forsvare atomprøvesprængningerne vha. kognitiv undertrykkelse og manipulation ved at sige, at det var for at beskytte demokratiet og folkets sikkerhed. Inden man forlod museet kom man igennem en afdeling hvor der var 9/11 memorial udstillinger og hvor man kunne donere til de faldnes pårørende – lidt mystisk og meget amerikansk.

Efter vi havde afleveret bilen valgte vi at vandre fra LV downtown til lufthavnen. Det var ret hårdt med al vores oppakning og varmen, men vi fik på denne måde også set den del af LV hvor der ikke ligger hoteller og kasinoer overalt. Flyveturen gik over Houston til Cancun, Mexico og det var en underlig følelse at forlade USA og træde ind i et nyt land efter disse seks måneder. Vi ankom i Cancun ved 14 tiden fredag, og vi tog med bussen ind til byen hvorfra vi mødtes med vores vært vi skulle bo hos via Couchsurfing. Hun hedder Vera og bor sammen med sin søster i udkanten af byen. Da vi var kommet ud til hendes hus lavede hun aftensmad til os – tacos rajas. Hun er utrolig sød og hjælpsom med alting, men da vi skulle sove blev vi mødt af en lille udfordring. Der er kakerlakker større end min tommelfinger og 10 cm lange firben inde i husene, så der begyndte ens indre prinsesse at komme frem.

Varmen i Cancun er anderledes fordi luften er så fugtig, så selv når man lige har været i bad og tørret sig, er man næsten drivvåd af sved med det samme igen. Dagen efter fulgte vi nogle af Veras mange råd til hvad vi kunne lave i byen, hun skulle nemlig selv arbejde længe i weekenden, så vi startede med at tage til Hotel zonen hvor der er rigtig lækre strande. Vi var trætte da vi endelig nåede frem til stranden, for det var utrolig svært at finde mad som er vegansk i denne by. Lørdag tog vi ud til en anden strand hvorfra vi overværede en havskildpadde svømme op på land og grave sig ned i sandet og lægge sine æg. Det er åbenbart sæson for det, og det var ret unikt at se lige foran os. Skildpadderne kommer tilbage til præcis samme strand hvor de selv blev født for at lægge sine æg og kan blive over 100 år gamle. Det var ret synd at denne skildpaddes sted var blevet til et turist/hotel område, men heldigvis hjælper hotellerne skildpaddeungerne med at komme tilbage i vandet når de er blevet født, så de ikke bliver drillet af ignorante turister eller spist af fugle og krabber.

På vej hjem i taxaen mistede jeg min danske telefon fordi den faldt ud af lommen. Jeg prøvede at ringe til den fra skype men ingen svarede, og Vera sagde at det nok ikke var muligt at få den igen da jeg ikke havde nummeret på taxaen. Det var ikke det største problem da det kun var min dumbphone og jeg stadig har min smartphone.

Søndag tog vi ind og købte busbilletter til på onsdag. Vi tager til Chichen Itza (som er en gammel mayaindianerby og et af de syv vidundere). Efter CI tager vi en overnatbus til Belize City. Søndag aften tog vi i byen i Cancun, og vi oplevede hvor ekstremt nattelivet er. Det er kun centreret om ét sted, og der er mest diskoteker med dansende strippere osv. Mandag tog vi til Isla Mujeres (kvindeøen) hvor der også var enormt lækre strande. Søren var uheldig at komme til at svømme med sin pung i lommen, og da vi opdagede det og lagde pengene til tørre var hans dankort væk. Vi gik tilbage til en bank hvor vi havde hævet penge for at se om det var der, og da den var lukket måtte vi spærre hans kort, så nu må vi bare bruge mit dankort. Færgen tilbage lagde til i en anden del af byen, og vi missede en bus som åbenbart var inkluderet i færgebilletten ind til centrum så vi besluttede at gå noget af vejen i stedet og så tage en offentlig bus. På gåturen så vi noget af den fattige del af Cancun. Der bor der folk i huse lavet af skrald, og gaderne har ikke gadelygter, så man følger sig en smule utryg. Det fik os til at tænke på hvordan byen virker iscenesat – de prøver at trække turisterne over i turistdelen af byen for at de ikke skal se den autentiske side, lidt på samme måde som jeg forestiller mig Nordkorea. De lokale i Cancun er samtidig rigtig venlige og hjælpsomme overfor turister.

I dag tager vi til Playa del Carmen som ligger lidt syd for Cancun, og vi glæder os til at komme til Chichen Itza i morgen og Belize City derefter.

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On Wednesday July 17th Søren arrived in Oakland. I picked him up and when we got back to the house I introduced him to my house mates and we had a few beers and went to bed. Next day we went into the town and met up with Katrine from my school that’s going to take over my internship at Glide from august 1^st. I’ve been helping her with some practical stuff so it was good to meet her and introduce her to some of SF.

The following days we walked around like tourists in SF and on Saturday I had invited house mates and people that I’d met in SF during the past six months on a go-away beer in Dolores Park (including Søren and Katrine of course). It was such a great day but also hard having to say bye to people that had become very good friends to me.

The next day Søren and I flew to Las Vegas from Oakland where we checked in at the cheapest hostel we could find. The heat was unbearable compared to SF and we had booked a car that we picked up the next morning. We drove to Grand Canyon but not quite as we expected. We first went to the place called Skywalk which is a glass bride from where you can see straight down into the Canyon. But as we had arrived and parked the car we found out that we had to take a bus the remaining 2 miles which was over $40 and if you started walking security would take you back, and cars were not allowed. Apparently the place was owned by Native Americans which were the reason for this terrible rip-off.

After the disappointing surprise we decided to go to the primary part of GC from where you can drive around to various viewpoints. This was more exciting and we left the park to the east to get to Bryce Canyon, Utah. On the way to BC we stayed at a little motel and the next day we saw both BC and Zion Canyon, which is on the way back to Vegas. Both were absolutely beautiful, and we were super tired after hiking and driving in the indescribable nature. After ZC we stayed at a motel in a town named St George that consists of 92.5% Mormons according to Wikipedia. I already knew that Utah is the place where Mormons origin, but not that it would be this extreme – in the drawer at the motel there was a Bible and a Mormon book.

On the way out of Utah towards Vegas the next day we listened to satanic death metal and arrived in Vegas around 3pm. We had a few hours before returning the car and going to the airport so we went to see a museum of nuclear test bombs. It was very learning and nice to be in a place with aircondition (while driving in Vegas the thermometer said 120° F which is almost 49° C). Besides, the museum gave us a good impression on how the US government had attempted to defend the nuclear test bombs using cognitive oppression and manipulation by saying that it was all about protecting the democracy and the security of the people. Before leaving the museum you were led through a 9/11 memorial exhibition where you can donate to the families of the fallen ones – a little strange and very American.

After returning the car we decided to hike from LV downtown to the airport. It was really hard with the entire luggage and the heat, but this way we got to see parts of LV that is not just about hotels and casinos. We flew to Cancun, Mexico via Houston and it was a strange feeling leaving the US and entering a new country after these six months. We arrived in Cancun around 2pm Friday and then took a bus downtown where we met with our host we could stay at from Couchsurfing. Her name is Vera and lives together with her sister in the outer part of the city. After our arrival she cooked dinner for us – tacos rajas. She is super nice and helpful with everything, but as we were going to bed we met a little challenge. There’s cockroaches bigger than my thumb and 10cm long lizards inside the houses, so our inner princesses came up.

The heat in Cancun is different because it’s so humid, so even after taking a shower and drying you’ll almost be wet right away from the sweat. The following day we followed some of Vera’s many recommendations of what to do in the city – she had to work herself in the weekend, so we went to the Hotel zone first and nice beaches. We were tired when we finally made it to the beach because it’s extremely difficult to find vegan food in this city. Saturday we went to a different beach from where we witnessed a sea turtle crawling up on the shore and digging into the sand to leave her eggs. Apparently now is the season for that, and it was really unique to experience right in front of us. The turtles come back to the exact same place where they were born themselves to leave their eggs and they can get more than a hundred years old. It was a shame that this turtle’s place had turned in to a tourist/hotel area, but fortunately the hotels help the baby turtles back to the sea once they’re born so they won’t be disturbed by ignorant tourists or eaten by birds and crabs.

On the way home in the taxi I lost my cell phone with my Danish number as it fell out of my pocket. I tried calling it from skype but no one answered, and Vera said that it might be impossible getting it back as I didn’t have the number of the taxi. It wasn’t the worst problem though as it was just my dumb phone and I still have my smart phone.

Sunday we bought bus tickets for Wednesday. We’re going to Chichen Itza first (which is an ancient maya indian village and one of the seven world wonders). After CI we’re taking an overnight bus to Belize City. Sunday night we went out in Cancun, and we experienced how extreme the night life is here. It’s only centered in one location, and it’s mostly discotheques with dancing strippers etc. Monday we went to Isla Mujeres (women’s island) where there were also beautiful beaches. Søren was unlucky and went swimming with his wallet in his swim shorts. When we took all the notes out to dry them, we realized his credit card was gone so we had to go back to the bank where we had used the ATM to see if it was there. It wasn't, so he blocked his card and now we have to live from my credit card only. The ferry back arrived in a different part of the city and we missed our bus from there to downtown which apparently was included in the ferry ticket, so we decided to walk for a bit and then taking the public bus. On the walk we saw some of the poor part of Cancun. People live in houses literally built of garbage and there’s no street light, so we felt a little uncomfortable. It made us think how the city seems a little set up – they attempt to keep tourists in the tourist part of town to not make them see the authentic side, some way how I imagine North Korea. At the same time locals in Cancun are super friendly and helpful to tourists.

Today we’re planning on going to Playa del Carmen which is a little south of Cancun, and we’re excited for the Chichen Itza trip tomorrow and Belize after that.

Praktikafslutning og Yosemite / Ending of internship and Yosemite

(for english, scroll down)
(Dette bliver sidste SF opdatering)
4th of July (Uafhængighedsdagen) blev fejret ved at tage i parken først og kigge på dansende mennesker og bagefter til Marina og kigge på fyrværkeri. Marina ligger ned til vandet med udsigt til Golden Gate Bridge og er ret turistet. Der var lidt for mange mennesker, men vi fik taget nogle gode billeder. Jeg var der med min house mate Pilar fra Colombia og hendes venner og fætter.
Om Fredagen (5.juli) var jeg til Art Murmur i Oakland sammen med Jessica (house mate). Det er en gadefestival med kunstudstillinger og live musik som er hver første fredag på måneden, og jeg har ville tage til det hver måned, men der er altid kommet noget i vejen for det, så nu lykkedes det endelig. Folk siger, at det har været meget bedre tidligere, men fordi der har været skyderier til arrangementet har de været nødt til at begynde at lukke tidligere på aftenen. Jeg synes dog stadig at det var et rigtig godt arrangement. Det var overskueligt og der var enormt flotte udstillinger fra forskellige dygtige kunstnere. Generelt er der rigtig mange dygtige kunstnere i Bay Area og SF Academy of Art er meget stort som tidligere nævnt.
Den sidste uge på Glide gik med at få afsluttet projekter og skrive en evaluering som jeg sendte ud til alle jeg har arbejdet med, som kort beskriver hvad jeg har beskæftiget mig med og lært i de sidste seks måneder. Om torsdagen sagde jeg farvel til deltagere og arrangører af Men in Progress, og der gik det rigtigt op for mig hvor stærkt et netværk vi havde startet op sammen. Om fredagen, min sidste dag på Glide, havde vi et lille pizzaparty til ære for mig i Walk-In Centret - det var hårdt at skulle sige farvel, men det var en rigtig fin afslutning på et helt fantastisk praktikophold. Jeg fik rigtig mange fine ord med på vejen, og min vejleder skrev og sendte min endelige vurdering til skolen og undertegnede.
Jeg gik derfra for sidste gang med en god følelse i kroppen - et afsluttet kapitel i mit liv som jeg altid vil tænke på med glæde, masser af ting jeg har lært som jeg kan bruge fremover, og inspirerende arbejde og kollegaer som har været en stor del af mit liv dette halve år. Jeg føler mig klar til at skulle videre nu, selvom det var hårdt at sige farvel.
Fredag aften var vi fire drenge fra huset (Sid, Jeremy, Michael og jeg) som lejede bil og pakkede til weekenden. Vi kørte afsted mod Yosemite lørdag morgen ved 4tiden. Vi havde læst, at campingpladserne enten har måneders venteliste, eller også er det først-til-mølle, så vi var fremme ved 8tiden for at få en plads. Efter vi havde sat telt op og pakket ud og spist morgenmad tog vi en lur for at være klar til at udforske stedet. Vi kørte et stykke tid, holdt ind ved forskellige udkigspunkter, bl.a. Tunnel View hvorfra man kan se både El Capitan og Half Dome som er de største og flotteste klipper. Efter at have dokumenteret og blive betaget af den storslåede og smukke udsigt kørte vi ned i dalen og hoppede i floden. Vandet var koldt og meget klart - man kunne fornemme at det var smeltet sne fra bjergene, og det var perfekt når man havde siddet i en varm bil og kørt på snoede veje et godt stykke tid. Når man svømmede imod strømmen skulle man arbejde ret hårdt for bare at blive på samme sted. Da jeg ville gå et stykke op ad floden for at få nogle ekstra gode billeder snublede jeg på de glatte sten, så hele kroppen kom under vandoverfladen undtagen min højre hånd og kameraet. Kameraet overlevede heldigvis på mirakuløs vis grundet mit fine stunt.
Efter at blive kølet godt af i floden kørte vi mere rundt i parken og holdt ind ved et souvenirsupermarked for at købe is - ja den er god nok, souvenirbod på størrelse med et supermarked, super amerikansk og frastødende. På vej tilbage til campingpladsen holdt vi ind og samlede brænde, og ved 19tiden kom vi tilbage og begyndte at forberede mad. Det var perfekt timing, for vi nåede lige at få det lagt på grillen inden det begyndte at blive mørkt. Det var fantastisk at forberede alting ude i naturen og tilberede det over bålet, vi spiste bagte kartofler, kylling (for kødspiserne), blandede grønsager, bønner og majskolber. Jeg havde desværre glemt mel til at lave snobrød, øv! Efter vi havde spist drak vi øl, vin og rom og dansede rundt om bålet til vi blev trætte og væltede i seng.
Næste dag vækkede Sid os med frisk kaffe fra bålet, og vi lavede morgenmad sammen og pakkede bilen og drog ud på nye eventyrer. Vi blev enige om at vandre til en sø oppe i bjergene. Efter de første 5 meter faldt jeg fordi jeg hoppede på en gren som knækkede under mig. Jeg havde en cola i den ene hånd og kameraet i den anden, og jeg slog min næse på en af delene, så vi måtte lige tilbage til bilen for at stoppe blodet inden vi kunne starte. Kameraet overlevede heldigvis også dette styrt! Da vi var halvvejs opdagede vi at gåturen var mere end dobbelt så lang som vi troede, så vi endte med at vandre omkring 20 km ialt, brugte et par timer ved søen og blive kølet ned inden vi vandrede tilbage. Trætte og tilfredse og med solbrændte skuldre begyndte vi at køre tilbage til SF, civilisation og mobildækning. Det var en fantastisk tur, og lækkert at være væk fra byen og tilbage i naturen i godt selskab. Yosemite var den sidste ting som jeg tænkte at jeg bare skal se inden jeg forlader California. Det gik op for mig hvor stor parken er, og at man sagtens kunne have brugt flere dage derude.
De næste dage står på pakning - jeg skal være ude af mit værelse i morgen, men har fået lov at stadig overnatte i huset mens Søren er her også. Han ankommer onsdag aften, så vi har lige nogle dage så han kan se byen inden vi rejser til Mellemamerika.
Jeg håber det bliver muligt at opdatere bloggen undervejs og lægge billeder ud, hvis vi kommer forbi steder med internet.

Håber alle har det rigtig godt !
Niels

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(This will be my last SF update)
4th of July was celebrated by first going to the park watching dancing people and then to the Marina to watch fireworks. Marina is close by the water and the view of Golden Gate Bridge, and is quite touristy. There was a little too many people, but we took some great pictures. I went there with my house mate Pilar from Colombia and her cousin and friends.
On Friday July 5th I went to Art Murmur in Oakland together with Jessica (house mate). It's a street festival with art galleries and live music which is held every first Friday of the month, and I've been wanting to go each time but something always came up, so now it finally worked out. People say it used to be way better but after there's been some shootings at the event they had to end it earlier in the night. I still think it was a great event though, it wasn't too big and the exhibits were really great. Generally, there's a lot of great artists in the Bay Area and the SF Academy of Art is really big as earlier mentioned.
I spent the final week at Glide ending projects and writing an evaluation report which I sent out to everybody that I've been working with and that briefly describes what I've been working on and learned in the past six months. On Thursday I said goodbye to participants and organizors of Men in Progress, and then I really realized what strong community we had built together. On Friday, my final day at Glide, we had a pizza party to celebrate me in the Walk-In Center - it was hard having to say goodbye, but it was a good ending on an absolutely fantastic internship. People expressed their gratuity of having me, and my supervisor wrote and sent my final statement to my school and I.
I left from Glide for the last time with a good feeling - an ended chapter of my life that I will always think of with joy, lots of things I've learnt that I can use in the future, and inspiring work and colleagues that have been a big part of my life these six months. I feel ready to move on now although it was hard saying goodbye.
Friday night four of us from the house (Sid, Jeremy, Michael and I) rent a car and packed for the weekend. We left for Yosemite on Saturday 4 am. We had read that either the camp grounds have months of wait lists or it's first come-first serve, so we arrived around 8am to get a spot. After putting up our tent and unpacking and having breakfast we had a nap to get ready to explore the area. We drove for a little while, pulled over at a few view points, eg. Tunnel View from where you can see both El Capitan and Half Dome which are the greatest and prettiest mountain rocks. After documenting and having been astonished by the amazing and beautiful view we drove to the valley and jumped in the river. The water was cold and very clear - you could sense that it was mainly melted snow from the mountains, and it was just perfect after having sat in a hot car and driven the curvy roads for a while. When you swam against the stream you had to work really hard to even stay at the same spot. As I was walking up the river a bit to get a better picture I tripped on the slippery rocks so that all of my body was under water except my right hand that held the camera. Luckily my camera survived as a result of my elegant stunt.
After being cooled down in the river we drove around the park a little more, pulled over at a souvenir supermarket to buy ice - yup, there was a souvenir shop on the size of a super market, super american and distasteful. On the way back to the camp ground we pulled over to collect firewood and we were back around 7pm to start cooking. It was perfect timing as we had just put everything over the fire as it was getting dark. It was amazing to prepare everything out in the nature and cook it over the fire, we had baked potatoes, chicken (for the meat eaters), mixed veggies, beans and corn. Sadly I had forgotten to bring the flour to make snobrød (bread on stick). After the dinner we had a little beer, wine and rum and danced around the bonfire until we got tired and crashed in the tent.
The next morning Sid woke us up with fresh coffee from the fire, and we cooked breakfast together and packed the car and went on new adventures. We agreed on doing a hike to a mountain lake, but after the first 20 feet I tripped because I was jumping on a stick that broke under me. I was holding a cola in the one hand and my camera in the other, and I hit my nose on either one of them, so we had to go back to the car and stop the bleeding before we could go. Fortunately my camera also survived this stunt! As we were half way in we realized that the hike was more than twice as long, so we ended up hiking about 12 miles total, spent a few hours by the lake and cooling down before hiking back. Exhausted, satisfied and with sun burned shoulders we headed back to SF, civilization and cell phone reception. It was an amazing trip, and great to be away from the city and back in nature with good friends. Yosemite was the last thing that I felt that I had to see before leaving California. I realized how big the park is and that we could easily have spent more days out there.
The next days will be about packing - I have to be out of my room tomorrow, but I'm able to still stay overnight in the house together with Søren when he arrives. He arrives on Wednesday night so we have a few days where he can see the city before traveling in Central America.
I hope I'll be able to update my blog on the way and upload pictures if we get to places with internet.

Hope everyone is doing great !
Niels

San Francisco Pride

(for english, scroll down)

Om lørdagen op til Skt Hans havde vi planlagt at holde ordentlig fest i baghaven med hekseafbrænding. Det blev samtidig Brunos afskedsfest da han desværre skulle forlade SF mandagen efter. Om fredagen inden havde vi været i Dolores Park og feste, og var kommet i snak med nogle tilfældige gutter, Joe og Joe (average) som jeg havde inviteret med til Skt Hans / afskedsfesten samt nogle vi havde mødt til andre fester. Der var mange mennesker og god stemning og fest til langt ud på natten, og den efterfølgende morgen stod den på oprydningsfest. Det foregik efter europæisk stil med at man medbringer drikkevarer til bordet og har så fri adgang til hvad man har lyst til. Jeg havde skaffet mjød som desværre ikke var helt så god som man kender den hjemmefra - denne var produceret i Denver.

Om onsdagen efter ankom Stefan igen til SF. Jeg hentede ham i lufthavnen, og torsdag og fredag tog han rundt med et par af mine house mates i byen mens jeg var på arbejde. Fredag var vi i parken, lørdag til Pink Saturday (optakt til Pride) sammen med house mates. Der var uoverskueligt mange mennesker alle steder i downtown og i parkerne, men rigtig god stemning. I starten festede vi foran rådhuset / civic center men tog bagefter til Dolores Park. Vi blev væk fra hinanden men fandt heldigvis hinanden igen senere på aftenen - mest heldigt for Stefan da han kun var iført shorts og sko, jeg havde hans pas og kreditkort og hans telefon virker ikke i USA.

Om søndagen var der Pride / gay parade hvor vi mest bare stod og kiggede på kæmpe parader der kom forbi på Market Street. Enormt mange folk/foreninger/firmaer var repræsenteret, og selveste SFPD (politiet) havde deres eget optog og kom kørende i veteranpolitibiler - det var en positiv overraskelse.

Om mandagen tog Stefan hjem og igår tirsdag fik jeg endelig lavet en aftale om at komme på besøg i fængslet for at overvære en survivor's impact class (hvor en kvindelig voldsoffer fortæller om sine oplevelser og traumer). Der var jeg så i dag onsdag, og var ret heldig med aftalen da min besøgstilladelse udløber efter i dag. Det var en virkelig god oplevelse, og lidt anderledes end jeg havde forventet. Kvinden som fortalte om sin oplevelse havde siden oprettet en forening som hedder 1000 mothers to prevent violence. Bagefter hendes fortælling kunne de indsatte stille spørgsmål, og der var mange der tydeligvis var berørt af hendes fortælling, og de udtrykte stor taknemmelighed for at hun ville komme og tale til dem. Da hun var gået skulle de indsatte arbejde i grupper om deres observationer mht. hvilken slags vold der var fundet sted og hvilken indvirkning det måtte have gjort på hende. Formålet var at opbygge empati, og indse hvor meget volden har indvirket på personen som ikke ses med det samme.

Nu har jeg halvanden uge tilbage på Glide eller 5 arbejdsdage. Jeg har næsten færdigskrevet en praktikevaluering som jeg vil sende ud til alle jeg har arbejdet med og som har været en del af min praktik. I morgen skal vi ud og fejre 4th of July og kigge på fyrværkeri (jeg ved ikke præcist hvad planen er).

Jeg har købt billet fra Panama City til Kbh sammen med Søren, så vi er hjemme den 24. august. Han lander i SF om 14 dage, så hvad der sker efter det og hvordan vi kommer til Panama må tiden vise på bedste eventyrmaner.

Herunder lidt billeder fra diverse.

Kh Niels

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On Saturdays around St. Hans (summer solstice) we had planned to throw a party in the backyard with witch burning. It was also Bruno's farewell party as he had to leave SF the following Monday, sadly. The night before we were in Dolores Park partying, and hung out with some random guys, Joe and Joe (average) which I had invited to the St. Hans / farewell party as well along with others we had met at another party. There were many people and we had a good party to the late night and the following morning we arranged for cleanup party. It was a European-style so that you bring some drinks to the table and that way have free access to what you want. I had bought mead which unfortunately was not quite as good as we know it from home - this was produced in Denver.

The following Wednesdays Stefan returned to SF. I picked him up at the airport and on Thursday and Friday he went around with a couple of my house mates in town while I was at work. Friday we were in the park and Saturday at Pink Saturday (prelude to Pride) with house mates. There were so many people everywhere in downtown and in the parks, but really good partying. In the beginning we partied in front of city hall / civic center but went to Dolores Park after. We got lost from each other but fortunately found each other again later in the evening - most fortunate for Stefan as he was only wearing shorts and shoes, I was holding his passport and credit card and his phone does not work in the United States.

Sunday was Pride where we watched the huge parades that passed on Market Street for the most time. So many people / organizations / companies were represented, and SFPD itself had their own parade and drove in veteran police cars - it was a great surprise.

Stefan went home on Monday and yesterday Tuesday, I finally made ​​an appointment to visit the jail for the survivor's impact class (where a female victim of violence talks about her experiences and trauma). I went there today, Wednesday, and was quite lucky with the arrangement when my visitors clearance expires after today. It was a really good experience and a little different than I expected. The woman who talked about her experience had since formed an association called 1,000 mothers to prevent violence. After hearing her story the inmates asked questions, and many of them were clearly moved by her story, and they expressed gratitude that she would come and talk to them. After she left the inmates worked in groups on their observations in terms of the kind of violence that had taken place and what impact it may have done to her. The purpose was to build empathy, and to realize how much of the impact of the violence is not seen immediately.

Now I only have one and a half weeks left at Glide. I almost finished writing an evaluation of the internship that I will send out to everyone I have worked with and has been a part of my internship. Tomorrow we are going to celebrate the 4th of July and watch the fireworks (I don't know exactly what the plan is).

I bought a ticket from Panama City to Copenhagen with Søren, so we'll be home on 24 August. He arrives in SF in 2 weeks, so what happens after that and how we get to Panama remains unknown - adventure time.

Below some pictures from random stuff.

Best, Niels