blackgirl on mars: notes on a life in copenhagen (or how my alienation brings me closer to people).

Today I gave my grade 8's the assignment to go out and photograph the world around them as though it was the first time they were seeing it. After looking into the life of Gandhi and talking about protest and being heard, they decided that the way they wanted to make a statement is through photography. So as I was on my way to meet them, on this beautiful Spring day, I decided to join in on the fun: Istedgade is but a sliver of a street and is Copenhagen's "Red Light District" (the meatpacking district is right around the corner...) Here on Istedgade sex shops, heroin abusers and illegal gangsters share sidewalks with mothers pushing strollers and the hippest of the hippest eating sushi and drinking lattes. Istedgade runs right into the backside of the Main Station, ensuring that those who want alternate fixes can find the quickest and easiest way to them. Next weekend I'm off to Amsterdam with my 7th graders...easy how time creeps up on you. farvel, the lab

Hello, Sorry to bug you, but I was wondering if you have some time to respond to some questions i have about Denmark. I have been hopping over to your blog now and again since last year, but I seriously started to read your archive entries since I made the decision recently to try to move to Denmark. I am thinking about applying for the Danish Green Card and based on points I have a very good chance. I had done a lot of reading about DK before, but now that I am seriously considering the country for a move, things I didn't focus on before are really jumping out at me. One of your blog posts was especially interesting: Blackgirls on Istedgade I was shocked to see how recent the post was written. 2006! Therefore, this question may seem silly since it's only been 3 years (or less): Is the situation the same in Denmark? As someone coming over, is cleaning what one can expect to be doing for a good chunk of the early years, just to get by? Are the options to use one's educa...

the organist's daughter, by lab 2007 Black Girls on Istegade By Lesley-Ann Brown “It’s funny what people assume about you here in Denmark”, my friend Tracy confides as she takes the candy colored curlers out of her hair. It’s 10 at night, and I had just finished my shift at the restaurant. I was exhausted, but I needed a taste of Brooklyn before I went back to my loneliness and empty apartment. The moment Tracy opened her door and I laid eyes on her—with her curlers and bright pink bathrobe, I knew that I had rolled up to a place close to home. Tracy’s home on Istedegade was typical Brooklyn class—plush sofas in which you melted, an oversized television that fulfilled its entertainment purposes and an endless array of Black hair care products in her bathroom. Tracy wasn’t afraid of color, and this courage enraptured all that entered. Her apartment lacked the clinical minimalism that seems to dominate most Danish homes—and for that I was grateful. I sat comfortably in o...