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

fruit bowl in the kitchen I was re-visiting previous posts and realized that I hadn't completely updated you with the state of affairs on Mars. Well, I mentioned in a previous post that I was moving out of my apartment on Amager and about to move in with my friend from Brooklyn, Paulette. Well, I ended up moving to Vesterbro- as also mentioned before. Vesterbro is the neighborhood I first moved to when I moved to Copenhagen, so coming back here is a trip. Walking down its streets takes me back to the days when I Kai was just a baby. I began my journey into motherhood here - and with Kai growing up so fast, the memories are quite welcome. Vesterbro is an interesting neighborhood to say the least. The other morning I awoke the the sound of a john arguing with a prostitute about money. Sigh. Last night as I walked down Istedgade in the rain, I passed a group of men in front of the fixing room (for the heroin users) playing music and dancing. I also passed a young lady standi...

Last night was a blast. I got blanked by my son to go to the Jungle Brothers concert because he "had an exam" -- that was my Absolutely Fabulous moment with him. Of course I swelled with pride when he told me that - my baby is responsible and mature! Not that I think having a few hours of pure New York City hip hop would have hurt anybody - but I get it! And these things have reasons for happening, of course. Ms. Paulette hanging out with her former schoolmates there are two members of the jungle brothers in this picture. can you find them?  trippy picture...indeed. Like when my friend Paulette jumps in and saves the day and says, "I know those guys. I went to high school with them!" And then I called my old friend V - whom I haven't seen in ages. And we danced. And had fun. And it was a great concert! And then they pulled Paulette up on stage- and we ended up chilling.  The Jungle Brothers were all there, looking good, gave a GREAT concer...

my old block when i first moved to Vesterbro... I'm loving being back in Vesterbro - a vibrant, diverse neighborhood that is more of a match for where I am in life right now. It's quite inspiring and reminds me of the big city vibe that a small city like Copenhagen can sometimes have.  I live right off of Istedgade - close to the Central Station. I usually refer to Istedgade as the crack of Copenhagen's ass - you'll find all kinds of illicit goings-on here - from prostitutes to drug users to the johns of course. But that is not all this part of Copenhagen has to offer. Luckily for me there are no shortage of greengrocers who have okra, cassava, plantain and scotch bonnet peppers for sale. This is all in the midst of a bustling street that includes young parents, hipsters and students.  Vesterbro has changed much since I lived here some years ago - but perhaps it's because it's the same neighborhood I first moved to when I first got here that I feel the c...