i sent my mother a hurried email during a class break saying hi, still alive, fine, bye, and she returned one instructing me at length to take things less seriously. after being initially taken aback i realized she must have tapped into babblebook.
in any event, i woke up this morning feeling much better without any reason for the change. had enough time for a leisurely shower and meal before heading down to my very first class, Criminal Justice in Scandinavia. the prof, who we are supposed to call by her first name, is a lawyer in her early thirties (although it's impossible to tell danish women's ages as they look uniformly sternly beautiful from 21 to 50). this position at DIS, which she's held for five years or so, is a supplement to her position as an instructor at the police academy. you all are easy, she says, because you're academics; you want to learn. cops, who are three years in the force before they get to me, are quite a challenge.
the class covers a nearly-daunting amount of reading and argument is a key component. you can believe anything you want to about gun control, drugs, prisons, or the death penalty, she said. just be ready to defend anything you say.

my next class was more low-key, taught by another danish woman, this one small and birdlike with adorable silver spectacles, a draped scarf, and a tendency to bow every now again as she paces. she lectured for an hour with barely a glance at her notes on the state of jews in europe right now in three areas: eastern post-red countries, western never-red countries, and germany which for many reasons is a special case. listening, i felt compelled to visit berlin for the first time. ideally i'd visit berlin in the 1920s, but you have to take what you can get. (incidentally that's pretty much anywhere [albeit present-time, i'm afraid] so where should i go? i've been to france, italy, and holland already. am curious about spain, greece, and brussels. it's apparently cheap to get to london and i only spent 15 conscious hours there. suggestions?)

afterwards met up with heather and drea, both similarly excited for their classes, and embarked on phase one of a mysterious venture i'll go into depth about here when or if it's successful. came home to make more french fries -- or should perhaps say fewer french fries as i learned from my mistake -- and eat corn from the can and yogurt from the carton. not bad, all told. my film class tomorrow starts at 8:45. isn't that monsterous? who can watch films that early? flipping through the syllabus i nearly collapsed in shock: in addition to classics (discreet charm of bourgeoisie, au revoir les enfants etc.) we're watching diva. now, that may or may not be the p.o.s. liz brought over. but just the thought set me to rolling on the floor.