two field studies in a row today left me drained, achy, and desperate to be where i now am, hugging a computer with one arm and a diet coke with the other. the first one was at kua, which it turns out is only a ten-minute walk from my dorm. not knowing that, of course, i took a bus to central station and another back to the university. once back at the university i was like, “hey, wait a minute — i know that building –” yeah. jeg er slow.
the study itself was really interesting. a norse philologist showed us well-kept icelandic manuscripts, some of them nearly a thousand years old. they’re handwritten on dried calfskin: the recipe, as it were, calling for roughly one calf per eight pages.
and then i walked home, orienteering towards a familiar windy church steeple.
my next field study was less enthralling. a very thoughtful christiania resident took us around the hippie haven, pausing for long intervals while we stood there, fidgeting. he didn’t say much that i didn’t already know, except to outline the details of the free state’s economic structure and make it clear that none of the revenue is derived from the hash market. apparenly that takes in about $100 million per year; you’d never know it from the scruffy vendors. “they drive home from here in their mercedes,” he said, shrugging with disdain.
heather emailed me from across the computer lab saying, “i thought i could hear you laughing” [at krissy, who just got pictures of our hair-chopping extravaganza back.] nice to know i’m recognizable, i suppose.