Operation Genève Scavenger

Mission: Explore parts of Geneva we've never seen

Mission Master Planner: Remi Holden

Mission Agents: Ronda, Jennie, Sarah, Emily and Kira

Tasks were given by clue and tasks ensured that hilarity would ensue. Mission accomplished. Check out the slideshow powerpoint for a closer look at the shenanigans.

Geneva Scavenger Hunt Haiku:
Mission Accomplished
Geneva explored and loved
Dwight got to boogie

What I've learned about Danes...

I spent this weekend getting back to my roots - my Danish roots that is. I flew into Copenhagen on Friday evening and flew back on Sunday night. These are a few of my observations about the Danes, my ancestors from whence I come, that I gathered this weekend:

1. All Danes are beautiful. Even their "dog form" Great Danes are beautiful. Thus my point.


2. Danes love bikes. They have pictures of bikes all over Copenhagen. There are pictures of bikes on signs, pictures of bikes on the streets, and pictures of bikes that light up on traffic signals. Bikes. are. everywhere. Like I said, Danes love bikes.



3. A Dane must have started the convenience store 7-11 because there are as many 7-11s in Copenhagen as there are Starbucks in Seattle. Yeah.. it's a lot.


4. And since Carlsberg, THE Danish beer, claims to be "probably the best beer in the world," I therefore must assume that it is brewed by probably the best people in the world. The Danes.



All in all, we had a really good weekend... we even trained it over to Sweden for Saturday night! Because.. you know... why not?!?

Ice Cream means delicious in Esperanto

Ice cream in every language can be translated to mean delicious.

OK maybe that's not true, but couldn't it be true??

Yesterday it was so hot in the classroom that we decided to head downtown in commuter traffic to get an ice cream cone before dinner. Totally worth it. Totally delicious.

Thank you to the Romans and Chinese for first deciding to make cream and yummy flavors cold together.

The ice cream was delicious!


Ice Cream Haiku:
One-Hour ride on bus
Crammed in stinky tight spaces
The ice cream, worth it!

UMF Global - Week 1

This week in the Global Program: GRANT PROPOSALS!

We will be taking our research, the project and its data, to the next level by preparing ourselves for the next step – getting money to continue our work. My head is spinning with possibilities, so the task at hand is to sift through all of these to discover what it is I’m really interested in pursuing. This could turn into something that’s for real, or something that ends when I graduate the program. Who knows! Time will tell and that’s really what will be going on in the next 3 weeks!

On a lighter note, it appears as though Dwight’s operation was successful. If anything, I was successful in gluing my hand to Dwight for a moment and spilling the super glue all over my other hand. So there’s that. Dwight will remain in his bandages for 24 hours to ensure a secure hold. Plus.. I just kinda like his current look!

(Video coming soon!)

Sign Dwight's cast!

The UMF-Global crew has taken it upon themselves to begin signing Dwight's cast for his broken neck/decapitated head.

Please sign his cast virtually by leaving your note on-line.

Comments thus far have included: Stay head strong!, Don't jump head first!, Don't hang your head!, Keep your chin up!...

Please leave a message!

Yodel-lei-he-hoo!!

Since Dwight lost his head, I thought I would do the same in a symbolic way - take part in dangerous hijinks in a canyon in the Alps!

We went Canyoning on Saturday in Interlaken, Switzerland. This town is your picturesque Swiss town looking exactly the way you'd expect a Swiss town to look. The architecture, the random cows walking through the streets with huge cowbells on their necks and of course the mountains! Even though this is my 3rd time in Switzerland it was my first time getting up close and personal with the Alps.

If Dwight hadn't already lost his head, he would have on this trip! We rapelled down a 150-foot cliff face, jumped off several cliffs including a 30-foot high drop, slid down several rock faces, and took a zip line into a river pool of water that, being glacial water, was very chilly!!

It was intense but so much fun!

A bonus to the trip was that Sarah, Emily and I were in a smaller group with 3 siblings, Christina, Thomas and Alex, that we had gotten to know the night before at the hostel. They are an adventure sports family and were kicking my butt the entire canyoning trip - but then again who wouldn't be able to???

Check out the photos.. My helmet says "Shocker" mwahahaha!



Canyoning Haiku:
30-foot drop? Yes!
Sharp rocks, flowing water? Yes!!
Bruising? Butt of course!!!

Dwight K. Schrute - Bobblehead and travel companion

Dwight K. Schrute of Scranton, Pennsylvania lost his head on Friday July 16th while roaming the streets of Interloken, Switzerland.

While Dwight wanted us all to know that he spent his time selling paper for Dunder Mifflin and working on the beet farm with his cousin Mose, he also spent time traveling.

Since 2006 when Dwight left his position as a volunteer sheriff's department deputy, he has spent his time keeping the citizens of the world safe. In his words, "My talents were wasted in Scranton. I like to protect those abroad because that's where real crime can be found." He got his wish. Dwight was found in two pieces in his current protectee's purse, Kira Christensen. Dwight was last seen alive giving a karate demonstration to the hot-tempered Jolly Green Giant.

Regluing will take place in Geneva, Switzerland at the John Knox Center as soon as some glue can be found.

Any comments you'd like to leave for Dwight won't be noticed or appreciated by him, but you are welcome to do so anyway.

And the travels begin!

I had a classic airport moment today.. or yesterday, I guess.

Please take a moment to picture me, my backpack, my purse and Dwight running from one side of the Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport (MSP) to the other in a frantic attempt to make the connecting flight to Amsterdam. (Are you picturing this??)

As I come running around the corner at my gate - in full sprint - I trip over my own feet and fall.. total spread eagle on the floor. Awesome. Then the flight attendant started yelling at me to run, pull out my boarding pass and my passport and get on the plane so I wouldn't miss it. They closed the door to the plane a minute later.

However, I feel like this victorious moment was not quite the beautiful and glorious victory it could have been. I won the most important battle, getting on the plane, however my totally sweaty look was not attractive nor comfortable and the whooping cough I got from the dead sprint through the Caribou Coffee country of MSP made me the most hated woman on the plane.

Classic. It's like I was in a movie or something (with Tina Fey playing me!)

Classic Airport Moment Haiku:
Busy airport halls
She runs like a maimed gazelle
And falls like a goat.