Copenhagen - Part 2

Thursday – February 8, 2007

I slept 30 minutes too long this morning, and walked in right at 9am when the meeting on the Program Managers' Meeting (PMM) was starting. They have already done some of the groundwork. Apparently, there is a contract with a hotel, and they have sent out letters of invitation. They also have worked up a draft of the proposed program.

As I found myself wondering what I was needed for, it became apparent that the admin staff really wanted direction. They know what needs to be done, but they need someone to tell them who does what. For instance, who is the point person for receiving acceptances from the invitations? Who follows up with getting their flight information, etc? Who decides what will go into the welcome packet and be responsible for putting it all together? The questions went on and on. If I had access to the internal network drive (it's coming, I am told) then I could help answer these questions.

The thing that amazed me the most was the complete disinterest by the admin staff regarding the technical issues of immunization being talked about at the meeting. Once we had the logistics barrage completed, the admin people left. I cannot imagine not caring about the technical side of things. It helps me to understand what is going on when I absorb the technical aspects of immunization. I have learned so much in the time I have worked at GID, and I learned it by being interested and listening. No learning is a waste of time. Am I silly for thinking that?

Next, we had a long staff meeting. The only thing I can compare it to is a division meeting at CDC. We saw a presentation on the European Immunization Week which apparently isn't focused so much on immunizing children as it is raising awareness among hard-to-reach populations that immunization is important. We then had a free ranging discussion where the hottest topic was reorganization and office space. People here at the new offices. Mostly this is due to a lack of privacy and bad acoustics that amplify every sound that anyone makes. That everyone is in an open cubicle also irritates people. I personally like the openness of the office, although they do need to do something about the sound so that it doesn't carry so bad. The all glass walls let in a lot of natural light, which I love, especially having an interior office in Atlanta where my only 'natural' light comes from a sunlamp.

It was an interesting study in management styles to be in this meeting. It almost had the feeling of a pure democracy rather than a top-down organization. There was little direction to the conversation, and Nedrit didn't seem to want to steer it in any one direction. She's very open to others opinions and feelings, but there was little sense of resolution at the end.

Louie was wiped out, and so was I, at the end of the day. As a result, we dropped plans to get together that evening for his last night in town. He will be off to one of the former Soviet republics that borders China tomorrow.

Friday – February 9, 2007

It was bitterly cold today! I am not sure that the temperature was any colder, but the wind rushing in from the sea sure made it feel like I was in the arctic. I had to lean into the wind for my walk to and from work. I didn't get frost bite, but it took a good 10 minutes for my cheeks to thaw once I got into the office.
Friday was more laid back than the rest of the week. We had more meetings on the PMM (this is how I will refer to the Program Managers' Meeting) content. It was interesting to watch the disagreements as to what needed to be included and what did not. The order of presentation was also a lively topic of debate, as was the length of time for various speakers. What I found interesting was that they aren't starting this meeting until Monday afternoon on April 23. Why they won't start in the morning is something I do not know, but I am sure they have good reasons. I also discovered that it has been several years since a meeting like this has been held.

We also had a social for the afternoon, around 4pm. It consisted of wine, beer, cheese, and cake. It was a pretty good time, but I left around 4:30pm because I wanted to look into finding a toothbrush charger. Apparently, some thought I left because I felt neglected and came looking for me! I assured them this was not the case, and that I had errands I wanted to run before stores closed. They tend to all be closed by 6pm here. Only 7-11 is open 24 hours a day.

Luckily, I did not find a toothbrush charger since upon moving over my suitcase, I discovered my actual charger on the floor. I had packed it after all! I suppose in my initial delirium on Tuesday, I had taken it out and forgotten about it.
Friday night, I decided to go out. I printed out a map of "Gay Copenhagen" to take with me, and I am glad I did. The train station is about a 10 minute walk from the hotel, and it takes you into the heart of downtown. I thought I had paid for a ticket with my credit card, but upon leaving the station in Norreport, I was told by a police officer that the message on what I thought was a ticket was not valid. The transaction had not worked! The fine for not paying is 600 kr, which is over $100. After showing my passport and telling them where I was staying, they let me go and told me to buy a ticket from the kiosk. The only problem was that the kiosk only accepts coins, and I did not have 19 kr in coins. I only had a 100kr bill, and the machine would not take bills.

The result was that I left the station unmolested, and bought a hot dog from the vendor outside the station. Hot dog vendors are a staple in Copenhagen, and it was good because I got change. I made a mental note to never be without coins. It is strange how they have coins for everything under 20 kr, and then the next denomination is 100kr bill. There is also a 500kr bill. But it means you walk around with a pocket full of change most of the time, which is different for me. I usually hate having change in my pocket when I am home.

Another thing I have noticed is that people live here with an assumption of honesty. People don't lock up their bikes for the most part, and no one steals them. Although I have heard that if you leave a nice bike downtown for any period, it will be stolen. The train station works on an honor system, and it is enforced by undercover cops as well as uniformed police that do spot checks. It would be easy, however, to ride without paying. The penalty is high, but you could attempt it. They have no turnstiles or other things you see in the US.
I was starving when I got to Norreport, even with the hotdog. I went int the wrong direction. I was pretty frustrated when I figured it out (randomly changing street names is not just a US phenomenon), so I ended up eating at a McDonalds. I know, that is horrible, but with my tendency to get lost, I did not want to chance not eating at all.

I went to some of the gay bars here, which was interesting. Not speaking Danish was a real hindrance, although I did get hit on by a British guy teaching at one of the universities. After wandering to a couple of these small bars, I decided to head home. The train at Hellerup would not open, so I was taken to a far out suburb and had to take another train back to Hellerup. Hellerup is a suburb of Copenhagen kind of like Decatur is a suburb of Atlanta.

I got a snack, as well as something to drink, at the local 7-11 on my way back to the hotel. It was great to go in at 1:30am and get a small snack and drink.

Saturday – February 10, 2007

I managed to sleep in late this morning, skipping breakfast. The maid tried to come in, and backed out when she saw I was still in bed. I did not rouse myself until 2pm, when I signed online. I had a message from Prejen who is this guy I have talked to online. He has a husband, and they like to befriend visitors. I was cautious, but went with it. He thought I was coming downtown, and when I told him I had just woken up, he was saying he could just come to me, and please provide the address. I was not quite ready for that, so I ignored that message. Finally, he got back and suggested dinner, which I agreed to.

I went downtown around 4pm to see some of the sites before the sun went down. I took another wrong turn and ended up at the main train station. I did find the main shopping strip which is somewhat famous. It is made up of several streets connected together in a continuous pedestrian strip. It has the feel of a tourist trap, but was interesting. I literally ran into the Hard Rock Café here, so I bought a T-shirt. I don't know why I did not think of Copenhagen having a Hard Rock before seeing it, but I didn't.
I found the place for dinner early. It was called BOIZ, and they seated me early. I did not know if Prejen had made reservations or not, but sat down and had some beer and nachos. They arrived at 7pm, as we'd agreed. Turns out, Prejen had made reservations, so I joined their table. Prejen's husband Rene had just gotten off work, so he was a bit tired.

They were able to explain the menu to me. While most people speak English here, most things are written in Danish. You will find the occasional English phrase in odd places, like 'Sale!' at a store. There was one phrase I had to ask the meaning of, because it seemed dirty to me: slutspurt. Turns out that slutspurt is a term to indicate a last chance sale.

I ordered the Cornish hen, which was good. We split a bottle of wine. The first part of the evening was watching the Danish equivalent of Star Search and American Idol. The contestants had to write and sing their own songs. The news was at BOIZ to film the festivities, so I made the late night Danish news. The big winner, who will go on to represent Denmark in the European competition, was a drag queen! Her song was called "Drama Queen" and is actually pretty catchy as a tune. Still, the votes came in and it was the Drag Queen (called "DQ") who won! BOIZ erupted when the winner was announced, and I was amazed that a drag queen won the whole thing. That would certainly not happen in the US at this time.

After the big win by the drag queen, it was time for another drag queen to take the stage at BOIZ. She was from the UK and is called Miss Thunderpussy (www.missthunderpussy.co.uk). She was hilarious, and apparently my drag queen counterpart since her entire performance is centered around taking popular songs and making them dirty. For Cher's Believe, the lyrics became: Do you believe in having things up your bum? I can feel something inside myself, But I don't think it's large enough, Oh no!

After the show, I said goodbye to Rene and Prejen, who invited me over to their home for a real Danish meal. I accepted, hugged them, and then took the train back to the hotel. I stopped again at the 7-11 to stock up on drinks (they have peach tea here!!!) before going back to the hotel and to bed.

Sunday, February 11, 2007

I slept in again this morning, but when the maid knocked, I got up, threw on some clothes, and went down to breakfast so she could clean. I came back upstairs and read most of the day, and napped. I wrongly assumed that nothing was open on Sundays, only to discover later in the afternoon that certain things had been open. It was OK because I wasn't in the mood to bundle up for the outdoors.

For dinner, I went next door to Sticks n Sushi, which was pretty good. I also picked up a laundry bag from the front desk. Laundry here is highway robbery. A week's worth of clothes is going to cost about $140 to clean! Unfortunately, I don't see an alternative…but jeez, this will take a huge chunk out of my per diem!