Getting to know your neighbors

the above is a rare look at the convergence spaces, as recording equipment is normally prohibited.  Radhildegade, where i have been staying is the largest accommodation, and probably the most international.

It’s getting crowded here. Over the last night we have probably tripled our numbers at the convergence space. We are well over a thousand. Our room in the back of the two story building is reaching it’s max. We sleep elbow to elbow, literally. Sometimes i can hardly get to my sleeping bag without stepping on random feet, hair, or arms. If I stretch out my legs they push against an unknown body. It’s a great way to get to know your international neighbors, though when we sleep it is always dark in the room and so I only get to know voices and accents, or other noises like the mysterious snorer in the back of the room who keeps people awake with the endless forest of trees he cuts in his dreams, or the young couple with the air mattress having quiet 4am sex cloaked by the darkness of the room. If i saw them in daylight, i would not recognize the people who roll against at night.

Last night when a few police arrived at the gate around midnight and an alarm passed by voice through building we woke and wondered what to do. Two nights ago there had been a large raid with several hundred police, so we wondered if it was happening again. I spent a few minutes searching futily for my flashlight and then gave up and laid back down (note to self — be more prepared). The germans all got up and put their clothes on, saying that it really sucks to be raided and have to get up naked with the police around you with their flashlights. When the police left without incident we laughed. Only the europeans slept naked and had to jump up in alarm to get dressed. Getting to know your neighbors.

At dawn I take a jog, and head to the city center to meet up with the crew of First Nations folks I have been doing action prep for. Everything is expensive here. In danish Kronens, take any item and add 3 or 4 dollars to the price. If it then is more than 10 dollars value, add another four, and so on. A cup of Coffee or a bus fare, 4 dollars. A two egg breakfast, 16. Stopping at a cafe to use internet may cost you one of the above, but to make a phone call costs almost as much anyway. Fortunately when my timing is right, i do well by the vegan cooking of the anarchist kitchens here at the convergence centers, each kitchen hailing from different european country. Without such regularity we might forget to eat at all.

-logan