what's that polkadot of light on the horizon? could that be -- maybe? -- is it? -- hope? one of the ten emails i've sent out over the past couple weeks has yieled a tentatively-positive possible result: at the very least, a telephone interview. this time i'm going to prepare for it, dammit. i will be the most elegant, eloquent, confident candidate they ever spoke to in copenhagen. oh yeah baby. wish me luck.

the falafel i obtained yesterday ended up being one of the best i've had here, and that signaled a change of luck. anne called, invited me chez elle for dinner with her host family. i read 150 pages of njal's saga first, which i have to get done by tuesday. it's a terrfic, gory read, full of vendettas and fueds and wisdom, with some religion and sex thrown into the mix. hey, it passes the ms. test. my only worry, as i told anne later when she met me at alburtsland, was that all this masculinity might be warping me. roots, godfather, and viking sagas all have very specific ideas about what "men" are and should do; ideas that i think i might need a gender studies class, if not a heated lecture from (swat)becca, to get out of my mind.

anne's host-mother surprised me by suggesting, as soon as i offered her the marzipan cake i'd brought, that we partake right away. so, in a pleasant inversion, we started with tea and dessert. i met anne's three host-brothers, all high-pitched, light-haired, and under the age of ten. warm veggie food, danish cartoons and improv comedy, get shorty, and fresh baked rolls this morning. i'm now prepped and ready to make a dent in the two papers i have due this week.