Seeing the World Through Rose Colored (and heart shaped) Glasses

Happy Monday!

I am currently avoiding my last reading for tomorrow and instead updating this blog. The past few days have been really awesome - I finally adjusted. After a subconscious epiphany on Thursday morning, my outlook on life in Copenhagen has really changed for the better! All of my classes are really interesting, I started bonding with the people I live with, and I feel like I fit in while not conforming completely (it's about darn time!!!).

Friday night I went to a kind of sketchy bar with some friends and watched a drunken Danish girl dance with a big wooden statue. Hopefully, you can draw conclusions as to what happened. If not, I'll just tell you: The heavy-looking statue toppled over onto the Danish girl and she, with it on top of her, crashed to the floor. She was ok, but quickly left the buillding. I would too - it was pretty embarassing andeveryone was laughing at her. Saturday I went to the Sleigh Bells concert in Christiania (the part of Copenhagen that declared itself free from Danish law). It was a really awesome venue, but the show was pretty disappointing - they only played for about 30 minutes, and didn't jam or anything. I could have listened to their exact album for free in the comfort of my home, but, it was still a really fun time!

Sunday I hung out with my visiting family - I realized I neglected to update about them - my b! They are John and Bente (dad and mom), Lotte (she is 20), Jan (he is 19), Maria (she is 18) and Mette (she is 23). I've met all but Mette (she doesn't live in the house anymore). The family lives about 25 minutes southwest of Copenhagen, and the train ride is really beautiful. The first day, they made me a traditional Danish meal - pork patties, potatoes with some kind of brown sauce, and a really good (and super traditional) fruit pudding with cream dessert called Rød grød med fløde. It's really hard to say, and when I tried, they all laughed at me. However, it was really easy (and delicious!) to eat.

Yesterday,  John and Bente took me to Kalstrup Skov - a national park of sorts - that has interesting rocks (I wish I took a geology course so that didn't sound so dumb). I think it's a kind of limestone, but I"m probably making that up. Anyway, people have found fossils of squid and crab there, and since I told John and Bente I'm interested in evolution, they thought it would be fun to go hunting for fossils! However, all of the rocks were frozen, so we couldn't crack any open. Instead, we took a long walk around the land which was just as awesome - below are pictures! We also had a delicious stir fry for dinner - complete with chopsticks (I told them about how I went to Japan and had to use them). They are so adorable, and we've already got plans for the rest of my time in Copenhagen (including a dinner when my parents come to visit!).

Okay, that's all for tonight. I am so exhausted after completing 2 more applications for summer positions (3 down, just 2 more to go!). This weekend we go on our short study tour to western Denmark, so I'll make sure to update with lots and lots of pictures upon my return!

Some Cultural Notes

So I know I said I was only going to update once a week, but my last entry was far too long. I write the way I talk and I talk a LOT, so apologies for the longwindedness! Yesterday I was pretty sick, but I feel much better since my fever broke (being sick away from home is miserable enough, but being in another country is worse). However, I am fully functional and excited for life! haha. Anyway, I wanted to share with you all the cultural differences I've noticed in my first week.

1. There are a lot of babies. Like, a billion. Everywhere you look there is a baby. My Danish professor said that could be because of the sweet 1-year maternity leave they receive here. I just think the Danes like to procreate (though the birth rate is only about 1.6 babies per woman. Hey, I'm already learning something in class!) Though I've "seen" a lot of babies, I actually haven't seen very many because their parents keep them completely covered in huge strollers. It's actually really bizarre. However, the ones I have seen are super adorable and very bundled.

2. Public transit is really easy to figure out. Granted, the maps are in Danish, but all of the buses/trains have signs that state what stop is coming up, and they even announce it in Danish. However, I haven't mastered reading the timetables at bus stops yet. Those things are crazy.

3. People smoke a ton here. Bars have smoking sections inside, and they are always overflowing with Danes. Example of how much Danes like to smoke: There is a free concert going on around the corner from me, and 2/6 bandmembers were smoking while playing/singing. I wish I had my camera - it was definitely a sight to see! Their music was pretty awesome too.

4. I have no sense of direction. Okay, so this isn't a cultural thing, but I thought it was funny. I have gotten lost so many times I can't even count. From walking the complete wrong way from the train station to my apartment to walking by the kommune (where I got my CPR card which is equivalent to a social security card + medical benefits + library access) about 12x, I am totally inept at sensing my way home. However, this has made me really really good at asking for help.

No pictures today, but I promise some soon! I just need to stop forgetting my camera...

Liver Paste and Lots of Beer

This week has been totally insane. Orientation was extremely busy (and, kind of badly planned in my opinion), and I'm still adjusting to the time difference I think. Since there are about 700 people on my program, we were split into blue and green groups - I was green. This meant I got to sleep in and go to the Welcome Ceremony at 11am instead of 9am. (I was very greatful for this). During the ceremony, we were given tickets with different words on them, and afterwards, we were told to find our groups using the word-tickets. We then got 50 kroner each (about $10) and went on a scavenger hunt to find important academic places... my group decided to go to a pub and hang out and get to know each other instead! It was really cool to get to know new people, and I actually ended up meeting someone who has a friend at Mac. We get along super well and have been hanging out a lot this week (she's also in one of my classes).

Tuesday we were put into specific orientation groups and met with a DIS professor. We then went on another scavenger hunt in groups of 6, but this time around the city. We saw some beautiful landmarks, and ended up being lucky enough to see the grand changing of the guards at the Queen's Castle. It was really cool! Unfortunately, I forgot my camera so I couldn't take any pictures. We then had to go to a grocery store and pick up a list of items to bring back to our classroom (with money provided by DIS). We all reconvened and had a nice lunch of sandwiches and nutella. There was also liver paste, but I absolutely refused to try that... ew. That afternoon I met with my core course and had a broad introduction to academic policy/info about my study tour, and later that evening I went to a session about my visiting family.

Wednesday, my roommate and I were basically the only ones from my building of 27 to attend the 3-hour long information session... and yes, it lasted all 3 hours. The information was quite helpful, but they could have shortened it to an hour and a half... everyone looked exhausted, and I really wanted to go back to bed. I'm happy I went though, because I'm pretty sure I'm the only one who knows how to fill out my insurance form.

We started classes on Thursday - I had 2 classes on Thursday and 2 on Friday. My core course, Medical Practice and Policy, meets at an area hospital thats a 25 minute busride away.  We're taught by local doctors and learn some basic skills (CPR, suturing, etc). I'm pretty excited about it even though I don't want to go into medicine anymore. I have a long gap between my 2 classes, so I walked around a bit and took some pictures of my neighborhood (posted below!). I'm really excited about my History of European Ballet class - we get to see 4 Royal Danish Ballet shows! It's going to be so awesome.

Every night, my friends and housemates and I have been going out to different bars - drinking is rather exhausting and extremely expensive. Tuesday night and Thursday night were probably my favorites: Tuesday I went to a Danish bar called the Happy Pig. I ended up talking to a ton of Danes, and it was one of the cheaper bars I've been to (only about 4$ for a beer rather than 8$). Thursday, we went to the Kulor Bar. You pay 60 kroner (about 10 or 11 dollars) to get in and get a mug. From 10-1, you get all the beer you can drink, and they have a really awesome dance floor with amazing music. My roommate and our other friend (who oddly enough lives down the street and goes to St. Thomas - we bond over the TCs all the time!) left at about 3AM. Probably not the smartest idea when we had class the next day, but I definitely don't regret it!

Last night, DIS had a Welcome Party at a club that's literally around the corner from my door - we got free admission, free coatcheck, and all the beer or wine we could drink from 8PM-11PM. I met up with the other Mac people and we headed over together since we hadn't all seen each other yet. I had the time of my life dancing and talking (well, yelling because it was so loud) to other people.

I've been having a good time, but it's definitely been an adjustment. The social scene here is strikingly different than that at Mac - I feel like I'm at a frat party 24/7, and one that I don't know a soul at. While I've met a lot of really cool people, I haven't really made a strong connection with more than 1 or 2, and I'm getting a little bummed out. However, I keep telling myself that I'm obviously not going to a have a best friend after being here 6 days, and that's seemed to work thus far. It's just very hard to be so different (at least on the surface) from almost everyone around you. Don't let this make you think I'm not having a good time - I'm really loving it here and know that it will get easier as time goes on! :)

Tomorrow I'm meeting my visiting family and I couldn't be more excited to have a family away from home. More updates later - now for a few pictures of my neighborhood!

the square near my apartment

"the walking street"

Mac Kids in DK!

No Tears, No Fears... well, sorta

First of all, Copenhagen is awesome! Granted, I've barely seen anything, but I'm digging it so far. Second of all, I am exhausted. However, I'm really happy to be here, and also excited that my orientation doesn't start until 11AM tomorrow.

Going through security was really sad, and before I left JJ and my Dad, JJ said "no tears, no fears" - what he said when he studied abroad. While I didn't actually cry, I definitely teared up, and it got worse when I arrived at my gate: my flight was at leats 60% (if not more) DIS students, but they all seemed to know at least one other person, and I felt really alone and scared. However, I met some nice girls who also didn't know anyone, and we bonded over the fact that we were loners (haha).

The flight was long, but I was sandwiched between two boys from my program and we chatted, slept, and ate. After grabbing my luggage from a crowd surrounding the conveyorbelt that reminded me of lions feeding for the first time in weeks, I hopped on a bus that would take other students and myself to our respective housing options.

I arrived in my shared housing unit (basically like a dorm) called Skindergade 40 (pronounced skin-eh-gal) around 9AM, registered, and started unpacking. My roommate arrived a few minutes after me. Her name is Kait and she's from New Jersey but goes to Middlebury. She seems really sweet, and I'm excited to live with her! On my floor, there are 4 bedrooms: 3 doubles and 1 single. I share  a bathroom with my roommate and 2 other girls, and the 3 boys share a bathroom on the other side. We also have a common area and a kitchen that we all use.  Kait and I, along with one of our "RAs" and some of our housemates, went to a local bakery and grabbed some breakfast. I got a tebolle - basically a roll - with chocolate chips in it - yum!  After unpacking for what seemed like decades, I napped from about 1:15 til 3:45 and then walked around some more.

Tonight we have a house pizza party, and then tomorrow starts a busy and intense orientation to the program and the city. I'll update later in the week with pictures of my room and everything!