vivi torontali

Not caught up? Read episodes 1-15 here.

It’s hard to write an episode when all my time is taken up by blog-worthy events. I’ve barely had any time to hygge this past week from all the working and socializing, but when I have a minute to relax I take full advantage by engaging with my art. I reached a new milestone in my table runner, having completed a section that took me an entire month. It’s a shame there’s three more of the same pattern left to do, and that’s still not the end. I’ve also completed the linework and a basic 3D model of my Mount Taranaki illustration. I look like such an iPad kid drawing on the train, in Danish class, or in any situation where my brain is busy but my hands aren’t. There is an application for a gallery exhibition that I’ve been preparing myself to do. It requires samples of finished artwork, which is why I’ve been working extra hard on Taranaki lately. Once that drawing is done, my plan is to move onto Mount Kilimanjaro, the summit of which my godparents just reached the other day. Good job, I’m very proud and also very jealous.

Another artist opportunity I was given this past week is to decorate the background of the café’s giant Princess Leia poster using broken shards of blue china plates to create a mosaic. The poster has a lot of empty grey space in the background. My boss– a man full of crazy, brilliant, and creative ideas– wants to add something of our own to the largest and most distinct piece of art in the entire café. I hope that by next episode I’ll have a progress update since the ceramics will be delivered soon. 

I’ve been trying to be an asset to the café in more than just making food and drinks. One of my epic fails from this past week was my wrists giving out from carrying two brunch plates. On a wooden board, we pile on little ceramics with butter, jam, yogurt, eggs, and the like, and it makes the board quite heavy. Normally it isn’t a problem, but when customers change their table without our knowledge, it becomes impossible to find them. My wrists gave out carrying these boards looking for the customer like a lost puppy, and a yogurt cup fell to the ground and shattered. Because of that, I offered a suggestion to change the way we identify tables and orders. Instead of asking guests where they are sitting (they don’t even know half the time), we could give them a number to take with them wherever they go. If other food institutions figured it out, so can we. It looks like my idea will be implemented, though it’s hard to say exactly when.

I finally received my first paycheck the other day, it’s the most money I’ve made in over a year. Also, in the last episode I mentioned that my dad received a work van. He got it from a coworker that angrily quit one day, but unfortunately for us he was allowed to return to work and got his van back. It was a good three days while my dad had a van to drive around, though. My mom is still looking for a job, but she’s been working very hard to clear our neighborhood of trash. Back in Lexington she would pick trash all over town because she cares about future generations and the cleanliness of her community (I know, crazy). I remember how much she looked forward to moving to a clean, trash-free area since Denmark is known as one of the most eco-friendly countries in the world. To her unpleasant surprise, our apartment complex and surrounding bike paths are filled with litter. The sky has been bright blue and the air has been crisp and chilly every day this past week, so my mom picked multiple large trash bags filled to the brim with litter. Every time she thought she was done, she’d find another plastic bag in a bush and fill that one with trash as well. While it’s a negative culture shock, she’s adding so much value to our community, whether or not other tenants notice her hard work. Everyone please say “thank you, Kati!” in the comments.

Even though it feels like I’ve been working 24/7, a lot of my week has also been taken up by fun social time. I’ve been getting to know the Frederiksberg municipality of Copenhagen since both my friend and my boyfriend have lived there for many years. Frederiksberg is located very close to the city center, where the famous Palads movie theatre is located. It’s a beautiful building painted pink and orange right by the Vesterport train station. I was able to see Conjuring: Last Rites there. Maybe it’s because I’ve seen every other Conjuring movie while surrounded by other stimuli, but being immersed in a horror movie visually and sonically is a whole different experience. One jumpscare can make the entire theatre jump in their seats, myself included. I don’t normally require depth to be entertained by a film, what matters is that the plot makes sense, the score is well-composed, and the sound design is well-executed– this movie excelled in all three.

Another marvel of Frederiksberg is the Copenhagen Zoo. This zoo features flamingos, pandas, polar bears, kangaroos, penguins, the list goes on. If there’s an animal that seems out of place in Denmark, it’s featured in the Copenhagen Zoo. There’s also a tower that overlooks Frederiksberg Slot and features views of the entire flat city. I was proud to be able to identify most of the major buildings and landmarks– it feels so much like home now. Though, at one point some seagulls decided to hunt like a pack of velociraptors for some churros I had bought, and let’s just say that was the most cardio training I’ve done in a long time.

While a new city can sometimes feel immense and isolating, I am excited to be able to see some old friends. During my time in New Zealand I befriended many Europeans, some of which are Danish. My camping besties told me they’re coming to visit me in October! I was ecstatic to hear because we’ve been planning a meetup for some time, but we’re all so broke that it was hard to make it work. Come October I will be unofficially employed (short-term contract, no pay) as a tour guide, a host, and a shepherd for the flock of New Zealand exchange students that are now in Copenhagen. 

I mentioned in Episode 14: Science and art that I had intended to buy the Buff Duo plushie as a way to celebrate the milestone of finishing the Duolingo Danish course. Well, it arrived and is now proudly displayed on my shelf along with a Danish flag. Even though I get winded running away from a flock of seagulls, my Danish skills are as strong as this owl’s six-pack. 

Lastly, let me tell you about my pet spider. His name is Pokey (after pók, the Hungarian word for spider), and he has been chilling outside my window for the past couple of weeks. I used to be terrified of spiders until about a year ago, and now I’m fascinated by them. He doesn’t do much. In fact, he sleeps longer than I do– some days I wake up at six in the morning and get jealous that he’s still asleep, waiting for his food to come to him. My sister, on the other hand, hates spiders like no other. She’s on the flight here as I’m writing this, so we’ll see how she handles the substantial amount of them in this area. Anyway, as a last addition to this episode, please enjoy this time-lapse video of Pokey rebuilding his web after a storm damaged it. Play it with sound on, I put extra effort into adding elevator music over it for dramatic effect.