Sunday, May 23, 2010

Life after Denmark

Reverse culture shock does exist:
1. I have been reading the date backwards, unless the day of the week is larger then 12, then I get really confused before I realize what happened.
2. Despite the fact that it is almost summertime, I am more pale then I have ever been in my life, which means, according to Mom that wearing white makes me look terrible.
3. I attempted to play tennis. That attempt failed
4. Driving is exciting again, until I had to drive home from Elon in the dark and pouring rain
5. Despite the fact that I really need to diet and exercise after spending an exerciseless semester abroad, I can't help to indulge in all the foods I have not been able to eat for the past 4 months
6. I keep trying to find the bikes
7. It has been a week, and aside from looking forward to my 21st birthday, I am really only looking forward to a Keops reunion, whenever that will be

In other news I am a published scientist :)

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Winding Down

The bittersweet news is that I only have 5 days left in Copenhagen, and while finals and the cold weather are certainly pushing me to be happy about my departure on Sunday the fact is that I am going to be terribly upset on Sunday. All I can say is thank goodness my friend Jennifer was here this weekend to force me out of my studying hole and see the last few things in Copenhagen that I had yet to make time for. She was an amazing guest and we had a great time wandering around Copenhagen in the dreary weather and going to Tivoli. Unfortunately after she left it was time to buckle down and get studying for my 3 finals this week. As per usual I got one of the worst finals schedules ever, and I will be studying until Friday, but I thought I would take a break and decompress a little. In doing so I created some lists, of things I will miss about Copenhagen, things I probably will not miss about Copenhagen and things I am excited to come home to.



So thats all I can think of for now, I am sure I will be able to think of more as the night progresses.

Monday, May 3, 2010

Bornholm Bike Trip :)

A weekend full of biking makes you realize 2 things. First, The Tour de France now looks impossible (not that i actually thought I could do it before, but you get the point) and second, I never would have imagined how much someone's butt can hurt after biking. These 2 things aside I had an amazing time in Bornholm over the weekend. Bornholm is an island about a 6 hour boat ride away from Copenhagen, that is often called the Hawaii of Denmark. After boarding an overnight ferry at 11pm Thursday night we arrived on the island at 6am, exhausted for sure. Me and my friends grabbed a bite to eat, grabbed a nap, and then grabbed a bike for a loooooong day. The weather was not on our side in the least, in fact, there were 15mph winds blowing at us the entire time and it poured down rain when I had a flat tire. These things might make it sound like I did not have a good time, but in fact the exact opposite is true. I had an amazing day, despite how utterly tiring it was.


We had a fun picnic outside of a school, had some amazing home made ice cream, and traveled back to the mid 1800s in a little store. And also slept like rocks that night. Which was good because we were off on our travels again! We visited a blown glass workshop and then stopped at the cliffs and relaxed in the sun for a while


All in all it was an awesome weekend, with awesome people. I think my abs got just as good of a work out as my legs did I was laughing so hard. But you will not be seeing me biking around France any time soon!

Thursday, April 29, 2010

Tall Ship Sailing!

Last weekend I signed up for the DIS trip to go tall ship sailing. I could not have picked a better way to spend my weekend! It was perfect weather, and despite it being a little chilly on the boat, it was incredibly relaxing. As soon as we boarded the boat we were divided into teams so we could help with various tasks around the ship. We started off hoisting the sails and preparing to set sail, with the help of our ship dog! Everyone on the boat was awesome and we got to know each other pretty fast, before I knew it, it was time for lunch. All the meals were cooked in the tiny tiny kitchen the entire time, which was pretty impressive. Lunch was good, and after we cleaned up we headed to shore to go on a short hike. After about an hour we headed back to the boat and sailed towards port. My group was in charge of making the cake, and we almost added 2 liters of butter into the mixture, good thing our tour leader stopped us! We reached port at about 8pm and proceeded to eat dinner. Then we I went on a night walk with a few new friends as everyone else cleaned up. After an exhausting day, we went to bed on the boat, awaiting my 4am wake up call for night watch. Just about the only good part about the night watch was getting to see the sun rise a little bit, but it was really cold and I was really tired, so I was not too happy about having to wake up then. Thankfully I got to go back to sleep at 5am and slept like a rock. The next day was spent sailing again, and I got to climb the rigging all the way up to the top! That was kind of scary. Then my group was in charge of making lunch. That was quite a challenge in the tiny kitchen, but we only had to warm things up. We arrived back to the original port at about 4pm that day, cleaned the boat, and headed on our way. It was a very awesome experience that went by way too quickly.



In other news, I am a little bruised from the soccer match I had for one of my classes, against some asylum seekers we helped in the beginning of the semester. I have hardly ever played soccer, and pretty much suck at it but it was still really fun. I only fell twice, haha. Also, I am preparing to go to Bornholm, an island about an 8 hour boat ride from Copenhagen. Hopefully the weather holds up long enough for us to bike all over the island and see some of the finest sandy beaches in the world!

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Living in a Midsummer Night's Dream

I posted before that I feel like my life here in Denmark has been like a dream, and last night I got to experience dreaming on stage in the Royal Ballet Performance of A Midsummer Night's Dream. It is safe to say that I have been going through a little theatre withdrawal, and I felt slightly homesick because last night was also my school's greek week dance competition. Needless to say I think watching the Royal Ballet perform was an acceptable remedy to both of these problems.

Last night's trip to the theatre was also a mixture of really great luck. My friend Meg and I decided that Wednesday night would be a great night to attend the ballet and were going to head to the box office to get half off tickets after classes, but i woke up to an awesome email from DIS. Essentially the Volcanic eruptions finally paid off in my favor. DIS was supposed to sponsor some sort of conference this week, and as a part of that they bought ballet tickets for those who were planning on attending. However, due to the Volcano, DIS suddenly had 500 kroner tickets (100ish dollars) on their hands with no one to attend the show. DIS then turned to the students, offering the tickets for a mere 200 kroner (35ish dollars). Meg, Miriam and I jumped at the chance and got our tickets!

We arrived at the Royal Theatre about 45 minutes before show time and struggled a slightly to find our seats. Little did we know we did not have to walk very far, because our seats were in the 9th row! Not only were our seats amazing, but a women sitting close to us informed us that the Queen of Denmark would be in attendance!!!!!! I don't think I have ever been so excited for a ballet performance! Not only is Midsummer Night's Dream one of my favorite plays, but I was very excited to see it translated into a ballet. After the Queen arrived, to a standing audience of course, the ballet started and suddenly the stage was transformed into a beautiful Shakespearian world. The dancers seemed to float across their stage in their beautiful costumes, and their ability to convey a story without the use of words fascinated me. Act 1 came to a close much faster then expected, the ballerinas had successfully transformed my world into theirs. After intermission, Act 2 started and once again my world was transformed. The wedding scene, which is the first in the act was by far my favorite and I simply did not want it to end. Time flew by again and I found myself clapping for the curtain call. The ballet was over :( However, it is safe to say that last night was one of my favorite nights in Copenhagen, and as we clapped for the performers, I glanced over at the Queen, who was absolutely beaming at the performers, and so was I.

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Interlaken: The Final Stop




The final destination on Kelli and I's agenda was cozy Interlaken, Switzerland. The quaint Swiss town was absolutely adorable and was the perfect place to end our journey. After we checked in and got settled we wandered around the town and found the perfect place for dinner: Mexican! The only problem was, every thing in this town was about 30 dollars for a meal, so Kelli and I split a huge plate of guacamole for dinner, which was totally fine with me! The view from our hostel balcony was breathtaking as well, it overlooked almost the whole town. We went to bed early in order to prepare for our hang gliding adventure the next day!



At 9:00am sharp our new friends Bernie and Ed picked us up from our hostel. These 2 jokesters would be our pilots for our adventure in the air! We joked with them the entire way up the mountain, about how they "just bought the business at the bar 2 nights ago," all in attempts to put our nerves at ease. However, I think it was safe to say at this point that I was not hardly as nervous as I was excited. After a short hike up to the launch area I helped Ed assemble our glider, suited up, and had a little bit of a photo shoot! We also had to practice our launch, so that we could run in-sync down the hill. After 2 practice runs, and a good-bye to Kelli, we started our run! 3-2-1 step step run!!!!!! Suddenly I was in the air like a bird. There is simply nothing like this feeling, I wish I got to do that every day.


After landing safely we waited for Kelli's glider to land as well and headed back to the hostel. Hang gliding was by far my most favorite thing I got to do while traveling. And we still had the entire day ahead of us. We got McDonalds for lunch, completing our cycle! And wandered around the city. We found an awesome park where we could watch other hang gliders and para-gliders sail through the air. It was really cool to see what exactly we had done, but while sitting on the ground. Kelli and also found a place to make our own jewelry, and we both made bracelets to remember the best 2 weeks of spring break ever. I was happy to head home after Interlaken, traveling is exhausting, but I loved every moment.



Monday, April 19, 2010

Rome and All Day Field Study # 2

After Florence Kelli and I headed to Roma! After arriving mid morning and checking into our hostel we jumped onto the metro and headed downtown to see the city. First stop: Colosseum!



Stunning, such amazing history in this city. After the Colosseum Kelli and I visited the Palatine Hill, the Roman Forum, and then headed over to Trevi fountain to eat gelato and throw a coin in:



Then we sat on the Spanish steps and people watched, including watching the crazy people try to sell noise makers. Then we headed over to the Pantheon and finally got dinner at the same place Kelli visited with her family 6 years ago. Needless to say it was an exhausting day but I enjoyed being in Rome so much and could not wait to get up and see the Vatican the next day.

We spent the majority of the day walking through the Vatican museum, gazing at amazement at the Sistine Chapel, waiting in line to enter the beautiful Basilica, walking through the tombs of the Popes and hunting for the nearest McDonalds to continue our quest for it in each country.



After such a long day, we headed back to our hostel where we looked for a place to eat. When we were at the front desk, our friends Meg and Bridget were there and we were so excited to see them! We had no idea they were going to be in Rome at the same time as us, so we spent the evening, after a delicious last Italian dinner, catching up with them over gelato.

Now for Field Study number 2! Yesterday we went to the Odense Zoo and the Fjord Research center to see some Marine Mammals in action. We learned a lot about the training aspect for the animals and how it makes handling them in every day life much easier. We watched a sea lion feeding, watched the seals, watched a manatee feeding, saw the trainer do an exam on a lioness, and wandered around the zoo. I loved this zoo! Most of the exhibits were multi species and their training solutions were very different and innovative. They were also breeding most species in the zoo, including the Tapir, who recently had a baby, the manatees the lions and the tortoises. Then we headed over to the research center to watch a seal feeding and see trainers interact with porpoises. All in all it was a very educational weekend and I thoroughly enjoyed our Marine mammals field study.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

Fancy Florence and All Day Field Study #1

I think my favorite place over my 2 week vacation was Florence. Not only was it the place where we did not have to stay in a hostel, but I got to meet up with my little and other fellow DIS students! We arrived around dinner time in the pouring rain, and after lugging our suitcases across the city I enjoyed my first authentic Italian meal and then ate my first gelato! According to our Elon friends that live there, it was the best in the city. I don't doubt it! That gelato was sooo good.



After sleeping soundly in our friends apartment, Kelli, Kilby and I woke up to go meet our friends Maddy and Mike for a walking tour. While the walking tour was a little less then satisfactory, I did get to see parts of the city that I would probably have not seen. Then we went to a museum and got to see the David! Such an amazing statue in real life, I couldn't believe we got to see it, and not wait in line! After a quick lunch we walked around the city markets and we bought various leather goods and souvenirs. We had a home made meal that night and hung out and talked until pretty late.

Unfortunately that morning Kilby had to get up and leave really early, but Kelli and I also had to get up really early so we could climb the Dome of the massive church. We had to wait about an hour an a half in line but it was totally worth it. We got an amazing view of the painting on the inside of the dome, as well as an amazing view on the outside.



Kelli and I also sat in a beautiful park with Maddy and Mike and enjoyed being in Florence, then Kelli and I walked around and had some more gelato. This is a picture of us on the Ponta Vecchio where all the gold shops are lining the bridge.



For our last Florentine meal, Kelli and I took our host, Sarah, out for a nice dinner. I truly thought Florence was one of the most beautiful cities I have ever been too. I loved the architecture, which was green and white limestone and the general feeling of the city. But nevertheless I was excited to go to Rome the next morning!

Back to life in Denmark: Today was our Nordic Mythology field trip to see Viking like things. Aside from waiting an hour and a half in the freezing windy cold for the bus the field trip was ok. We saw some Viking ships and things, some areas where they live etc, we also got to see where viking ship burials took place and the place where the hall of Beowolf used to stand. Today was all in good fun, but I am way more excited to go to the zoo with my Biology of Marine Mammals class tomorrow!

Friday, April 16, 2010

Nice was Nice plus The Queen's Birthday!

As promised, today's post will be about my trip to Nice. Which was rather short, so I will include my Danish adventures for today! Nice was very beautiful, however, due to a sketchy hostel and a rainy day it was a little less interesting then I originally hoped. We arrived after being on the train literally all day (mostly unanticipated, thank you eurail for confusing me). Kelli and I then enjoyed all you can eat tapas, which was totally worth the wait! The next day we wandered through the town, found the beach and the flower market and hiked up the castle that led to a panoramic view of the entire city!



The hike up was a little rough, but totally worth it. We also go to see the waterfall at the top.



We also enjoyed more awesome food, including crepes and our McDonalds for France and did our typical souvenir shopping. This ended the first week of our travel break, and we headed to Florence in the morning.

However, this is not the end of this post. Today was the Queen's Birthday!!! According to most Danes that I talked to, only old people and children really care about this holiday, but, due to the United States lack of royalty I could not wait to visit the Queen in Amalienborg Palace. At noon sharp she came out with the royal family on her balcony and waved, while the band played, then she continued to parade around the city waving all the way down Strøget. This was such a cool experience! Not only did I vaguely get to see her wave from her palace, but we also got to see her closer in the parade through the streets. I think it is safe to say that between biking Wednesday, and today, I got a good amount of Danish culture this week! All I have to say is: I only have one month left! So keep it coming Denmark!!! Nordic Mythology Field Trip tomorrow!!!

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Barcelona! Just as Beautiful as it was 5 years ago!

We arrived in Barcelona after taking a high speed train from Madrid and proceeded to find our hostel, which was located right off of Las Ramblas! After checking in, we made our way to Plaza del Rei for a nice lunch, accompanied by our new friend Hannah, who was studying abroad in Istanbul (SOOO JEALOUS!) Then we headed to the Sagrada Familia which looks essentially the same as it did 5 years ago, but it was so fun to see Kelli's reactions to the towering church. The beautiful market was also the same, with the fruit displayed vibrantly in the front. After the Sagrada Familia we hiked our way through Barcelona to Parc Guell, the park that Gaudi designed that I did not have the chance to see when I was in Barcelona the last time. This place was fantastic! I probably could have spent an entire day walking around the park that overlooked the entire city. It was totally worth the hike all the way up a huge hill to get to this place. Not to mention the weather was perfect for it.


The next day we did the Fat Tire Bike Tour!!! Which has also not changed much, but I loved it just the same. Once again the weather was beautiful and we stopped along the beach for a quick lunch.



All in all, Barcelona was just as great as it was the last time around, and I am so glad I got to show Kelli one of my favorite cities.

This was the message painted on the wall in our hostel, and I think after this semester it is most definitely true:



Also!! On a Denmark note, after my 4 hour biology class this morning (which was surprisingly awesome) I went back to my visiting families house and had lunch. I also got to feel like a true dane and bike around their town which was too fun. I am totally going to take a bike down to Elon this summer, I forgot how nice riding is. Other then that I am just looking forward to the weekend when I will get to visit Roskilde and the vikings, and also the zoo!

Tuesday, April 13, 2010

Madrid!!!!

The first stop in my 2 week adventure was Madrid, Spain. The first day I was there Kelli was not with me, she arrived the day after, so I spent the first day with my friends Alex, Margot and Julie. We first made our way to the Parc de Retiro where we rented row boats, had some ice cream, and enjoyed the beautiful weather.



Then we headed to the Prado museum to see some fantastic artwork from Goya and the likes.
Kelli joined me the next day and we did a walking tour of the city where we had a crazy guy from texas as our tour guide. Then we went to the Regina Sophia museum where we got to see modern art like Picasso and Dali originals.



Madrid at night is so beautiful, and Kelli and I spent every night wandering around Plaza del Sol people watching, and posing with the bear, the symbol of the city.

We also went into the Spanish Royal Palace and visited the gardens. The insides of the Palace were so ornate it was fascinating. Since Spain was a catholic country they were not allowed to show their "pride." This being said, the outsides of their buildings were very boring. However, once you got in the inside the rooms were beautiful. Decorated from floor to ceiling with incredible paintings and furnishings. Not to mention the gardens which were huge and had peacocks! Naturally Kelli and I had to walk to see them.



Note the peacock in the back left of the picture! We were able to walk right up to them :) That night Kelli and I had the best hot chocolate in the world! Featured on the Travel Channel even! It was so thick you had to dip churros into it. So I think it is safe to say that after all the tapas, paella, and chocolate, sangria I think I ate well in Madrid. Despite rather loud hostelmates, we boarded the train early in the morning (in a station with a jungle inside!) and headed to Beautiful Barcelona!

Monday, April 12, 2010

Spring Break 2010!!!!! I am pretty sure my life is a dream

Madrid - Barcelona - Nice - Florence - Rome - Interlaken
The trip of a lifetime!
The past two weeks have been the most incredible experience in my life. I was pinching myself every day, I am not sure how I got so lucky to be here now, but I saw more things then I could have ever imagined and everything Kelli and I did ended up way better then expected. From seeing original Picasso artwork in Madrid to Hang gliding through the Swiss Alps I had the spring break of a lifetime. I have spent more time on trains then I have in my life, spent more time with one person then I ever have, enjoyed some incredible food (including McDonalds in every country we went to), flew through the air, saw Roman ruins, and laid on the beaches in the south of France. I did way too many things to include in one blog post, so the plan is to review a city a day so I can post lots of pics and include lots of details!! The bottom line: Spring Break 2010 = Awesome

Friday, March 26, 2010

Terry's Visit and Amsterdam recap/ Spring Break Here I Come!!!

After a very stressful week, with no time to blog, I am finally able to sit down and recap about the past 2 weeks. This week is very easy, full of about 20 pages worth of writing and trying to squeeze in those last skype dates before I leave without my computer for the next 2 weeks. But last week was incredibly eventful!

It started with Terry's arrival on Friday morning. After introducing him to all my friends at dinner and hanging out for a while, we went to sleep early in preparation for our big day Saturday. We headed out to Malmo, Sweden, it was much better the second time around! This was probably due to the amazing weather. We also did not really have a plan this time and ended up walking around the town and through a really nice park. We also had amazing timing and ended up jumping on a train back to Copenhagen right before it started to rain.

Sunday I had to wake super early for a field study in my Biology of Marine Mammals class to Esbjerg where there is a seal and porpoise research lab. Esbjerg was about a 4 hour bus ride away, and when we got there we started our dissections of stranded seals. I think for most people, the description of this is slightly graphic so I will skip it, but I thoroughly enjoyed it! Then we had a chance to walk through the small museum and visit with the seals they have. I also had the chance to go to the beach and touch a stingray! Overall this field study was a lot of fun, despite the fact that I was up at 4:45 and got home around 11.


Monday is now officially burger day. This really awesome restaurant has half price hamburgers, so of course we had to check it out. This is now our Monday night spot!

Tuesday Terry and I visited the Round Tower in between my classes, and it was the perfect day to do so. After walking up the winding ramp all the way to the top, we got the best view of Copenhagen possible. The Round Tower is the Empire State Building of New York, only much much smaller, but the view is the same. Then after my class we went to the State Museum for Art. there they had a very cool art exhibit on global warming, as well as some Danish art.

Wednesday was a huge day for Terry and I. First I had an exam, then we headed to Rosenborg Palace to see the castle and the kings gardens.


Then we headed to Fredriksborg Castle



After that we watched the St. Patrick's Day parade and then headed to a modern art museum called Louisiana. It was an exhausting day for sure, but I was very happy finally see all the Copenhagen things that I have not had the time to see. Thursday after class Terry and I headed to the airport to go to Amsterdam!!!!

We arrived in Amsterdam late, found our hostel, got some dinner and went to bed, although I am pretty sure I did not sleep very well. Sleeping in a room with 20 other strangers is something that takes a few nights to get used to. Friday we woke up early and headed to the Van Gogh Museum. Unfortunately it was a rather rainy day, but nevertheless we walked around a lot, grabbed a nice lunch and walked around some more. I kind of thought Amsterdam was overrated to be honest. The weather was not very good, so that might have had something to do with it, but the majority of the time we did not have very much to actually do. We ended the night with a tour of the red light district.

The next morning we headed to the Anne Frank House to meet up with my friends. This was probably my favorite part of Amsterdam. Then we jumped on a short walking tour, and grabbed lunch at an awesome Mexican restaurant (finally!), saw the flower market and hid from the rain. My friend Maddy knew some other people in Amsterdam, so we met up with them for dinner and they showed us around for a little while.

Sunday morning Terry left for home and I met up with my friends to hang out in Amsterdam for the rest of the day. We did a canal cruise, which was awesome since for the first time it had stopped raining and walked around enjoying the nice weather. Before we knew it, it was time to head back to the airport and I finally got back to my bed in Copenhagen late on Sunday night.



Officially my spring break has started! I am just finishing up packing and doing my laundry! I leave tomorrow afternoon and head to Madrid. I can hardly wait! Kelli and I are headed south and going to cover 4 countries, or 7 cities in 2 weeks! There will definitely be one long blog entry as soon as I get back!

Tuesday, March 16, 2010

The Half Way Point

I have been here 2 months and I have 2 months left, the half way point. This feeling is truly bittersweet. On the one hand I can't wait to get back home to see my family, and on the other hand I will be so disappointed to leave the amazing people I have met here and this beautiful place I have had the chance to call home. The past few days not only have I had the pleasure of hosting a friend from home, but the weather has been stunning. Finally the sun is out, although it still manages to hang around 35 degrees. Regardless the past few days have been spent wandering around the city with Terry basking in the sunlight. I finally went up the Round Tower and saw the best view in Copenhagen, I saw the Nyhavn not covered in snow (and the rest of the city for that matter) and have really despised being stuck in class. It is incredibly funny to see Terry making the same mistakes I did my first week in Copenhagen, I never realized how much I have come to understand this city and this culture. I think I have pulled him out of a bike lane at least 4 times. Its really hard to be away from home right now as Eric finishes up high school and starts baseball season and Erin performs on stage, but having Terry here is awesome. Tomorrow we are going to go to Louisiana (an art museum) and 2 of the castles in the city as well as the St. Patrick's Day parade. It is going to be such a busy day, and then we head to Amsterdam on Thursday! I have a feeling these next 2 months are going to be absolutely incredible :)

Tuesday, March 9, 2010

I Change Continents Everyday, No problem! Istanbul, Turkey

I have officially made it to the most eastern part of Europe possible, and also the most western part of Asia! For my long study tour with DIS, I headed to Istanbul with about 40 other students to learn/ experience Turkish culture. Istanbul is an absolutely incredible city, an amazing mixture of west and east and clearly a cultural capital of the world. The part that blew my mind was that "young" things in this city consisted of things older then the United States. Things started to get "old" when they became over 1,000 years old. I had such a busy week I am kind of glad to be home, despite the drastic temperature difference.

We arrived in Istanbul late on Sunday and had to take a bus into the city. Our guide for the week met us on our bus and showed us a few sights as we drove in. Istanbul is so incredible by night, we drove through the city walls, passed the Hagia Sophia and the Blue Mosque before arriving at our hotel in the center of the old section of the city. After settling in we took the train to the new section of the city, across the water, and up the huge hill to Taksim Square for dinner. We had a delicious 4 course, traditional Turkish meal complete with Turkish apple tea, and promptly went back to the hotel to fall asleep, I was so exhausted and full.

We woke up Monday morning and went to our first academic visit. We spoke with members of an organization who help immigrants, especially non-Muslim immigrants get assistance with their transition. People who are attempting to seek asylum in Turkey are not allowed to stay there if they are granted it, they must be taken to Australia, Canada or the US. So this group of people essentially help asylum seekers "get by" until they leave again. After that we had time on our own to wander around the pedestrian street and grab lunch. After lunch we headed to a campus of Bilgi University to have a lecture by Ayhan Kaya about issues surrounding Turkey joining the European Union, more specifically minority issues in Turkey. The issues surrounding the Kurds, Greeks and Armenians are unfortunate, however from our visits it sounds like Turkey is making some sort of effort to begin to include minorities despite the huge hurdles put in place in the past.

For dinner we had time on our own, however we had the option to meet with a group of young Armenian students who host the first radio station able to broadcast in Turkey in many language other then Turkey. We were able to discuss this radio station as well as some issues they have faced over tea. Then we all went out together to get dinner.

Tuesday morning we woke up and went to the Hagia Sophia! Originally built 1500 years ago as a church, then turned into a mosque and now used as a museum. This amazing building is not only huge but has one of the biggest domes in the world. I first learned about Istanbul and the Hagia Sophia in 11th grade and it certainly did not disappoint.



The insides were once covered with gold mosaic pieces, and there were many Christian mosaic portraits that were being uncovered after Muslims covered them up with plaster when it was turned into a Mosque. They also left the Muslim parts to the former Mosque so there is this interesting overlap of Muslim and Christian religion that is only visible in the Hagia Sophia.

After this we visited a Greek school home to only 50 students from 6th to 12th grades. It is very sad that the student population is shrinking due to Turkish oppression, but nonetheless the Head Master of the school was very nice and welcoming. We got a brief overview of the schools history and also a tour.

The rest of the afternoon we had on our own was spent at the Grand Bazar! Kind of over rated, but also huge, Maren and I walked around the winding streets for hours buying a few souvenirs and utilizing our bargaining skills. We were also yelled at in about 7 different languages as we wandered through the bazar ignoring all of the shop keepers enticing us into their shops in every language they knew.

The evening concluded in a restaurant on top of a hotel overlooking the entire city. Istanbul is such an incredible place at night. All the Mosques are lit creating a beautiful skyline. We had a short lecture by a Danish journalist who focuses on Turkish issues. Once again ate such a great meal I went home and fell asleep full and happy.

Wednesday was a very academic day. We spend the first half of the day at an office of a publisher called TESEV, who focuses on publishing information on Minority issues. After the lecture we went to lunch all together at a restaurant overlooking the Bosphorus. It was such an amazing day, and I am pretty sure the fish I ate had been caught about 10 minutes before it was grilled for me. Then we took a trip to the Egyptian Spice Bazar, which is a much smaller (better) version of the Grand Bazar. In order to fund a Mosque, bazars are built next to them so this Bazar was right next to a mosque as well. (The Grand Bazar funds the Blue Mosque). Finally we had to go over to a university and had a round table discussion with Turkish students about current issues. After our discussion we all went out to dinner together as well.

Unfortunately, My bed at the hotel was unbelievably hard and our room was really really hot, so we were left to leave the window open most night, which really sucks at about 4 am when the call to prayer is announced. Needless to say I felt the need to treat myself a little so Thursday not only did we visit the Blue Mosque and the Topkapi Palace, but I also spent a solid 2 hours at a Turkish Hammam or bath. After a good scrub and massage with my friend Ariel we headed to the Asian side of Istanbul, just to say we did.

Our final group dinner was at this amazing restaurant, once again overlooking the entire city. After another 4 course meal, our restaurant was turned into a mini night club and my entire class had a big dance party. Even my teacher joined in on the dance floor a few times. Me and a few friends had our last walk through the city on the way home (in the rain...) and I finally got a good nights sleep.

Friday morning we had a wrap up session and headed to the airport to go back to reality :(

Istanbul was an amazing city!

In other Copenhagen news, its still just as cold as it felt when I first arrived in January, I am almost half way through the program. Terry is here!!! And a bunch of us are headed to Amsterdam next weekend!!! I am sure to do a lot of sight seeing this week in an attempt to show Terry all the best parts of Copenhagen.

Tuesday, February 23, 2010

Berlin: Poor But Sexy



This weekend some of the coolest Keops girls and I hopped on a plane and headed to Berlin, an absolutely amazing city! After running around the airport in an attempt to determine where our plane actually was (all the way in the other direction of course) we finally landed in Berlin very late Friday night. Then we had to figure out Berlin's public transportation system and get to our hostel. Challenge number 2 was successful, with only a slight run in with an incredibly drunk man on the train. But our super cool hostel was right outside the train station and as soon as we got in we pretty much went to bed. It was incredibly late and we knew we had a big day of sightseeing ahead of us. I was elected chief navigator of our group, and the next morning, which was stunningly beautiful and warm, we headed into town to start our Fat Tire Bike Tour! I think it is safe to say I might be a Fat Tire Bike Tour groupie now, after having done their tours in 3 out of 4 cities they offer them. And I highly recommend doing them if you come across one! The are amazing!! Navigating the icy streets of Berlin was a little treacherous, but totally worth it as we made our way from Checkpoint Charlie, to the Berlin Wall, to Hitler's Bunker and everything in between. Bike tours are defiantly the best way to see the city. We stopped in a beer garden for some German sausages, and finished our tour in the late afternoon.



After our bike tour we went to an authentic German restaurant where I throughly enjoyed my traditional pork dish with some amazing sauerkraut. I absolutely enjoyed embracing my German heritage through food! Then we headed back to the hostel for a quick shower, only to return back into town for a little night life :)

The next day we woke up super early and headed back to the building that houses Parliament so we could go up into the dome (also the building pictured with the bike tour). The dome was reconstructed after the war, and is all glass with a double helix path way up to the top and back down. You can see the whole city from the top of the dome and it was once again an amazing day! Then we went to the East Side Gallery. This is an area of the wall that was left intact and artists come and paint on it every ten years. Some of the art that was shown was incredibly powerful, while other things were a little abstract.



As the trip started to wind down, we did some souvenir shopping, got McDonalds, which is way better in Germany just in case you were wondering, and also got a HUGE thing of ice cream. I was unaware of the size of the thing I was ordering until I got it, but it was fantastic. Even though I hardly made a dent in it.

So, overall verdict: Berlin is amazing. It is definitely shows that the city is millions of dollars in debt, considering that we utilized their public transportation system for free almost the whole time we were there, but it was totally worth the trip. The unofficial model of Berlin is Poor but Sexy and after last weekend I completely understand why!

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

My Super Awesome Visiting Family!!!

Since I live do not live in a host family, DIS offers students the opportunity to have a "visiting family" in order to get more involved with Danish culture. I finally got in touch with mine and was able to visit on Sunday. They were amazing! Karen and Ebbe, and they live in a town about 20 minutes outside of the center city called Herlev. I met them a the train station and they took me a tour around their town and we eventually made it to their local library. There we looked at a small art exhibit by local artists and there was also an exhibit on their town. It depicted the town about 80 years ago and how the town looks now. So much has changed! Learning all about how the farms got turned into cities was very cool, and also happened very quickly. This exhibit made me want to learn more about the history of my town. I also saw the tallest building in Denmark: The Herlev Hospital. I hate to say it does not compare with New York City. After that we continued to walk to their house where we had lunch consisting of traditional Danish foods. Finally!!! I had my first smørrebrød and several more after that! I had the herring, and the curried herring and it was all delicious. They also had me try some Snaps and we chatted about everything from traveling to American politics. After lunch we enjoyed some pastries and tea and some good conversation. They were just as curious to know about me and where I came from as I was about them.

After our pastries we continued to talk, I learned about their former DIS students, I met their cats and birds and also learned about their family. Around 7:30, their oldest daughter arrived with her husband. We then had some delicious steak and potatoes!! And finally we had ice cream for dessert! It was a fantastic day. I ended up back at Keops at around 11, full and exhausted.

Monday was an equally tiring day. I had class all day and then I met with my Hans Christian Anderson teacher because I am a class representative. This entails being a liaison between everyone in the class and the teacher, informing the teacher of things that people like, dislike, or need more information on. I really like this system and wish we did something similar in the United States. It allows for anonymity when informing the teacher of issues and also allowing the class to progress, just in case it needs some improvement. We went to a small cafe and had tea and Hans Christian Anderson cake. Fortunately this class has been good so far and we just had nice conversation.

Today was an easy day, my paper that was due next Monday got moved to next Thursday which is awesome considering I will be in Berlin this weekend most definitely not working on that. I also have no field studies tomorrow for once, so I will probably sleep in and then head to the library to work on some other papers and study for my exam Friday. I am so excited for this weekend it is unreal!

Saturday, February 13, 2010

One Looooong Week!

The week began with a small accident. Unfortunately, Kelli got hit by a bike, causing her to hit her head and bleed quite a lot. We found out the hard way that the Danish medical system is much different then ours, resulting in a different style of treatment. Rather unsatisfactory in my opinion and Kelli's as well, but Kelli is fine and 5 days later shows almost no injury at all!

Then Wednesday I had 2 field studies. The first one was incredible! With my Biology of Marine Mammals class we went to the zoological museum, which also doubles as a research center for the University of Copenhagen. They house over 10 million samples of animals, which is in the top 5 biggest collection of samples in the world. We began in the basement where we got to see the whale bones. The were enormous!!! I was fascinated, I probably could have stayed down there for hours. The whale heads were crazy big, we saw baleen whales and sperm whales and everything in between.



After that we went upstairs to another room that housed more marine mammals, the rest of the mammals as well as reptiles. There were shelves and shelves of bones as far as you could see. I saw an orca's scull as well as a hippo and many other incredibly interesting specimens. Once again, I could have spent hours in this room. It was probably the worlds biggest puzzle seeing as most everything was kept in pieces for easy storage instead of assembled.



After visiting all the bones, and also taking a quick peek at the exhibition area, which reminded me of the Natural History Museum, I had to run to my next field study for my Cross Cultural Encounters class (literally run...). This field study was slightly less exciting for me, but I did find it interesting. Essentially we got to hear from representatives from integration groups in Copenhagen. I was surprised to find that they have a lot of programs in the works to attempt to get immigrants integrated.

As if my day wasnt long enough as it was, I then went to the Global Climate Change Seminar. One of the things I look forward to every other week. This week our speaker discussed oceans and how they are important in mitigating in climate change. I learned an incredible amount and thought she was an amazing speaker. I am looking forward to the next seminar for sure. Finally, I came home and needed to write my first paper for my Hans Christian Andersen class. Which went well I hope! I had an amazing day Wednesday, but I am very excited to have this next Wednesday off.

Thursday was a long day as well. I had class all day and then had my very first wine tasting class. It was very cool, I had no idea you could learn so much about wine in 1 hour. I am beginning to get very intrigued in the art of drinking wine and look forward to my next class. Unfortunately I had to leave class early to attend a debate for my Cross Cultural Encounters class, which was crazzzzy. We had 2 people representing opposite political parties on immigration issues and the room got quite heated. I had no idea that you could have so many opinions about integration/immigration. I had never really seriously debated the details of people entering your country. I am certainly glad our teacher provided us with this rare glimpse into the world of Danish politics.

Then came Friday. Finally! I was so glad the week was over, and I was supposed to go see my visiting family for the first time. However, due to poor planning I somehow missed them at the train station :( Not to worry I have plans to see them tomorrow!

Saturday I slept in and got a chance to see Valentines Day which was soooo good. I kinda teared up a little towards the end, I felt very dumb, but I think anyone with a military family will understand where I am coming from, but I don't want to give away too much of the movie. Thats all for now. This week promises to be much slower and I can't wait to see my visiting family!!!

Sunday, February 7, 2010

Study Tour Update!

I got back from our Short Study Tour last night and am happy to report that all is well :) My study tour stopped in Odense, but was mostly in Århus, which is in Western Denmark. I had to wake up bright and early Thursday morning to catch the bus but managed to fall asleep on the bus. Since my core class is focusing on integration of immigrants that is what our short tour also focused on. Our first stop was in Odense where we met with representatives from the Ethnic Job Team, we spoke with 4 people who immigrated to Denmark and now help new immigrants find jobs in the area. Our next stop was a museum in Odense called the Brandts Museum, where we got a tour of the exhibit called I-Lands. This was a collection of art from different artists who had depicted an island in their work at some point. All of the pieces represented were made previous to the exhibit, not for the exhibit, which was really cool since they all seemed to work cohesively while maintaining some individuality. My favorite part of the exhibit was this piece made from moving boxes about a community on the island of St. Kilda. This exhibit made an incredibly strong statement about community vs. the individual. After this we had a delicious lunch at a resturant called the Ugly Duckling where we had a buffet of traditional Danish lunch. Our final visit of the day was a lecture by a well known researcher of Danish integration. The subject of the lecture was "Is Denmark really a racist/Islamophobic/xenophobic society?" While the lecturer had quite a few interesting things to say, he also said quite a few controversial things during his lecture, which lead to a lot of good discussion. After we arrived at our hotel the rest of the evening was on our own. We grabbed a small dinner at an italian restaurant and then joined the rest of our class at a small microbrewery where our teachers treated us to a round. It wasn't too long after that when I fell into bed out of exhaustion. Little did I know the next day would be just as jam packed as the first.

The next morning we woke up early again to go visit a school called Søndervangskolen. At this school, 85% of the students are of ethnicities other then Danish and while we were there we got to speak to a teacher as well as some students. Their English was amazing, and makes me feel terrible that I know only one language. Most of these children in the 9th grade now know 4. I also liked their teaching style here. They get one teacher in beginning in kindergarten and they have that same teacher all through to 9th grade. I think that is a really cool way of doing things, and I think I would be much more interested in teaching if that was the way the education system in the United States works. After visiting the school we went to a Turkish Bazaar where we got to eat lunch. I was not as much of a fan of this place. It was interesting but we spent a lot of time there when there was not that much to really see. I did buy some baked goods, that I didn't really like, and some candy that I did. The food was also very good, which is good considering in 3 weeks I will be headed to Turkey! Our final stop of the day was the worst ghetto in all of Denmark! Which looked like a normal apartment complex in the United States... Whoever said socialism is a bad idea should see Denmark. Here we had a lecture about their plans to rejuvenate the area and hopefully provide everyone that lives there with a job. After meeting with the housing association we met with a group called Youth 4 Youth. Essentially these people work with the kids in the area and provide them with entertainment to help keep them off the street. I really admired the work that they did, and wished I could volunteer for something like that. We had a group dinner at another delicious buffet and once again went to the same microbrewery to hang out. Once again I was so tired I went to bed not long after.

The final day, our only stop was at another modern art museum, where we got a tour. I really don't like modern art at all, however this museum was very interesting. It was mostly art to laugh at which was cool, instead of modern art that I can never figure out. We had one final meal together, another buffet! I think I gained like 5 pounds on this trip. Then we finally jumped on the bus to head back to Copenhagen.

Despite the long hours on the bus, and the lack of sleep I did have a good time on this trip. I am glad I got to know more people in my class and it was interesting to see so many different perspectives on immigration. I wish we would have been able to do a few more cultural things. Even though I went to the second largest city in Denmark, I don't feel like I saw anything but lecture halls. I am really glad to be back though. As soon as we pulled into Copenhagen I felt home. I had totally missed my Keops girls and we spent the better part of the rest of the night catching up with each other swapping stories from all of our study tours.

Today I got the chance to sleep in and then go see the Little Mermaid with a few of my friends, catch up on some grocery shopping and some homework. I also went to this fantastic bakery to top off my weekend full of food! I hope I will be able to see a little bit of the superbowl tonight, but I have a quiz tomorrow in one of my classes.

Unfortunately, I did not take very many pictures this weekend. Class rooms are not very exciting to look at. This week promises to be a busy week for sure, and I can't wait to go to Berlin!!!!!

Wednesday, February 3, 2010

Settled :)

I am happy to report, that not only have I settled into Copenhagen quite nicely, but I was able to sleep in today!!! I had pretty much forgotten what that has felt like. The past few days have involved nothing exciting, except snow and tons of it. Bus and other transportation delays all over the place. Thankfully none of which affected me! I am preparing to go on my short study tour to western Denmark to see Odense (again) and Århus (the second largest city in Denmark). Only this time from an immigrants perspective. I am not sure exactly what this trip entails but I am sure it will be exciting. I also heard from my visiting family today, who I hope to be able to see when I get back from my short study tour. Thats all for now I think. Julie and I are going to head into the city for a little while, at least until the sun sets or the weather gets bad, which ever one comes first.

Saturday, January 30, 2010

Hygge

I have not posted anything in a few days and it feels very weird! So the updating begins. Thursday was a typical day in class and so was Friday, except I did not have my Marine Biology class because my teacher is not here yet. So I got a nice long sleep in and then attended my Nordic Mythology class. After class I attempted to do laundry which I am pretty sure I washed my clothes with fabric softener and not actual detergent but thats ok. Then my friend Katherine came over and we hung out before we had our group dinner.

We decided as a Kollegium to go out to eat once a month and we decided to do that this Friday night. I was unaware that it was arctic blizzarding conditions when we went out however. I think this just made it that much more fun. Unfortunately, about 20 of us went out to eat so we had to split up, and my group ended up at this fantastic italian restaurant and I experienced my first Danish Hygge. Hygge is a very hard word to define in other cultures because it is a feeling, mostly of coziness, happiness, and comfort all rolled into one. This is how wikipedia defines it " Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is often associated with family and close friends" Anyways, the point was, good food, good friends and good conversation. I have surprised myself with how quickly I have been able to click with the people here. We ended up having such an awesome time, not only did we spend probably 3 hours in the restaurant, but afterwards when we finally got back we all continued to hang out until about 1:30 in the morning.

Then I had to wake up early this morning to go to Malmo, Sweden! It was awesome! We had no plan and no map and we pretty much just walked around (in the freezing cold...) and had a great time. Eight of us went, including our new Australian friend Tom. We walked forever though, and my ugg boots got soaked all the way through. My feet were soaking wet and freezing! It was totally worth it, and I bought an awesome pair of boots that were originally about 300 dollars and I bought them for 80. I am hoping these are more waterproof since I think my uggs are going to take a while to dry out.

Anyways, our dorm is throwing all the residence a party tonight! So I am going to go get ready for that. Pictures will be posted soon!!

Wednesday, January 27, 2010

The Worst Snow Storm in 30 years...



So today was the first Wednesday field study and we took a trip to Odense, where Hans Christian Anderson was born and where he lived for the first 14 years of his life. We boarded our double decker tour bus at 8:45 in the morning and was soon on our way. The bus ride was about 2 hours long due to the snow storm we were traveling in. Snow does not stop anything here, not even the bikes. The ride also took us over one of the worlds longest suspension bridges which was very scary. Also along the way we passed the island where they used to exile women who got pregnant out of wedlock. The most interesting part was that they exiled them up until the 1960s. After we finally made it to the quaint town of Odense, and marveled at the fact that even in the snow and bitter cold they still have market day, we made it to the museum dedicated to Hans Christian Anderson. It was a very small museum with a ton of information packed inside it. We even got to see the house that they think he was born in.


After the museum we walked around the town of Odense trying to find the 50+ statues that are dedicated to him and his works around the town. We also grabbed a bite to eat before getting on the bus. Unfortunately the bus ride took over 3 hours on the way back because the snow storm had worsened. Our bus driver was amazing though and we made it back to Copenhagen safe and sound. And personally with very good timing, because we were delivered to DIS right before the first discussion for the Climate Change Seminar was about to start.

This weeks program was entitled Reflections from the COP 15 and we had 4 speakers discuss their thoughts on the COP15. This was very interesting because I would have loved to be at the COP15 so it was very cool to hear about what it was like from their perspectives.

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

All those years of girl scouts coming in handy

Today I had a bit of a slow start, but my Biology of Marine Mammals had a guest lecture today which was quite interesting. She lectured essentially on the evolution of Marine Mammals which was very awesome. I am looking forward to that class getting started. After that class I came home to take a short nap and eat lunch when I discovered that I could stream the Australian Open from my computer!!!! Finally!! Unfortunately the first thing I got to stream was Nadal defaulting to Murray...

Then I had my Nordic Mythology class where we discussed Germanic origins and where the vikings came from. Very cool information. I am kind of upset I will not be going on that field study tomorrow. But I will be going to Odense for an all day field study to learn about the town where Hans Christian Anderson grew up!

After class we had a scavenger hunt around the area where we live, and thanks to my girl scout roots I was a very good navigator for our winning group! Our RA gave us a map and a few locations and I lead our group around our little town. We won tee-shirts that said I love Copenhagen.

Monday, January 25, 2010

Just a typical day in Copenhagen :)

Today was a beautiful day in Copenhagen. I had my Cross Cultural Encounters class at 8:30 which I was very exhausted for and then I had my European Storytelling class, which I am happy to say was leaps and bounds better then the first day, as I thought it would be. Then after my lunch break I had my Hans Christian Anderson class. Unfortunately the teacher was not able to make it to class today, but she had arranged for an actor who specialized in performing Anderson's work to entertain us. It was so cool! I knew Anderson had wrote a lot of stories, but I had no idea he also wrote poems, songs, and also plays. The actor sang and read chronologically through Anderson's life, to kind of give us an idea what he was thinking throughout his life. It was very interesting and awesome to have a personal performance like that.

After class it was so nice out that I didn't want to go home so instead of getting on the bus at my normal stop outside of DIS so I took a walk down Strøget towards the main bus and train station. I mostly window shopped and looked at the beautiful architecture. I thought about buying some flat boots but I could not find any that I liked. Everything is on sale here for 50-75% off, which means it is actually reasonable to buy. I also found the Urban Outfitters :D. But I didn't find anything interesting enough to spend as much money as they were asking and I eventually made my way back to the bus station.

I rode the bus back to Keops and took a short nap and then went to the grocery store with my friends Maren and Mike. I did not need anything and attempted not to buy anything, but of course I found a few things including some smoked halibut. I haven't quite figured out what I want to do with it yet but I am sure I will come up with something.

I just finished having dinner with our 7:30 dinner crew <3 including a newly joined Danish guy who is very nice and an Australian who just arrived today. I am glad I am finally starting to meet some Danish people and learn a little bit about their culture. I was also told today that the reason why I have not been able to watch any of the Australian Open is because it is banned here for some reason!!!! This is the first Grand Slam I have not watched any of since I don't even know! Uggggh I found a fault in Denmark. I have a little bit of reading to do for tomorrow so I think I am going to make some tea and do that quickly and then go to bed. I was up very late last night and it didn't go over well this morning.

Sunday, January 24, 2010

Ice Skating and Hot Cocoa

Last night a few of the girls and I went out to this dance club called Rust. It was so cool! There were 3 floors, we spent the majority of time on the bottom floor where they played 90s American music. On the middle floor they played tech-no music and we did not venture up to the top floor. I headed home fairly early because I was going ice skating today.

Ice skating was so much fun! The rink was out doors close to the Nyhavn we skated for about an hour and then got hot chocolate on a boat that sat in the harbor. I only fell once... but ice skating came back quite quickly. The only problem was that it was bitter cold.

Unfortunately thats all the updating I have for now. I have a lot of homework to get done before tomorrow morning.

Saturday, January 23, 2010

I could see Sweden today!



Just as a forewarning this will be a long post since I didn't get the chance to blog yesterday.

So, classes yesterday were good! My Biology of Marine Mammals teacher is not here yet, she is doing research on whales in Greenland (so amazing...) so we only had about 20 minutes of class while and intern went over our syllabus and then we were let out. Then I went back to my room to nap for a little while and eat lunch before my Nordic Mythology class, which was soooo cool. Then I went to the grocery store and market with my friend Mattie which was an interesting experience. We ended up buying a lot of groceries but then we realized we had to carry them all back to our dorm. That was interesting, a few grape tomatoes were lost in the process :(

After making a delicious supper all the Keops girls and I went to our welcome party for DIS. They rented out a night club for us. It was really really fun. We had a great time dancing, I really love all the girls in my group of friends. After our welcome party we tried to walk around the city a little bit more, but it was so cold we went home early. We also had to get up early so we could go see Kronborg!

For those who are not familiar Kronborg is the castle where Hamlet is set and it is located in this adorable town called Elsinore about an hours bus ride north of Copenhagen. Unfortunately today was bitter cold, but we walked through the streets of the town for a little while before we stopped to get lunch before our tour. We found the oldest bakery in Denmark and a really cool cheese store that I know my dad would have loved. I tried to find a Danish cheese to try but they were sold in huge chunks I couldn't really understand the signs they had.


Finally we went to Hamlets Castle. It was incredible!!! The king of Denmark decided to build a strong hold there so he could charge a tax on the boats that were going through the sound. I could seriously see Sweden! But back when the castle was built, in the 1400s, Denmark owned both sides of the sound. We started in the Church which was the only part remaining unharmed after a fire burnt most of the castle down in the 1630s. It was beautiful and very well preserved, apparently they still host weddings there. Then we went down under the castle where the prisons were. This was a very scary place for sure. For the worst offenders they had a triangular cell and depending on the severity of the crime they would be pushed back to the very apex of the triangle and given hardly enough room to stand. Finally we toured the castle, which was missing much of its original furniture and tapestries because the Swedes took them when the had control of the castle for a short period of time. But nevertheless the castle was still interesting and still had some tapestries. There were over 48, but only 7 remained in the castle, they were used for both decoration and for insulation so originally they had covered the walls. Thats all for now I think. I am exhausted and am going to nap before dinner.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

The Sun Was Shining Today!!!

Today was a perfect day! I could not have asked for a better first day of classes. My first class was my Cross Cultural Encounters class where I learned all about how the Danish government works and how they have at least 6 political parties!! That is so crazy to think about!! I am kind of jealous... Today was mostly an over view day, but I think I am really going to enjoy that class. Then I had my class called from Homer to Harry Potter. This class was not as great, but my teacher said we had to learn the theory before we could discuss the stories so I have high hopes that the class gets better. Then I had a lunch break, which will eventually be replaced by my Biology of Marine Mammals Lab, but for now I had lunch with Kelli, and a few new people. Then the best part of my day happened. We walked outside to go to my Hans Christian Anderson class and the sun was shining!! It was the first time I had seen the sun shine since I have been here. I kind of hope its not like again tomorrow because I want to walk across the ice over the harbor before it melts! Anyways, My HC Anderson class was very interesting too, I am intrigued to read all of his stories after I had to read The Shadow for class. It became clear to me after todays class that HC Anderson was a very brilliant writer, catering to both children and adults in the same stories.

I was kinda bummed today after I found out that 2 of my field studies overlap :( I am not sure what is going to happen about that yet, but both trips sound equally interesting and equally important. I hope they don't make me choose!

Kelli and I also went on and adventure to get our CPR numbers today. A CPR number is essentially a social security number and it allows us to use their health care system should we need to. We ended up getting slightly lost before we found the right building but everyone is so nice here all we had to do was stop and ask for directions. After we finally got our numbers we both bought our first Danish hot dogs. They are a huge deal here, and they have the coolest buns. They have a roll basically only the hole is drilled down through the middle and the hot dog is shoved down into the hole with the ketchup and the mustard. It was really good except for I ended up with a lot of mustard.

Finally, I had to go to a short meeting about getting my visiting family. I am excited to find out who they are so I can finally have a home cooked meal! And to learn more about Danish culture. The Keops girls and I also attempted ordering pizza to our Kollegium. I think we just ended up looking like a bunch of stupid Americans but thats ok, the pizza was delicious. Hopefully we will know better for next time. Well it was an incredibly long day once again. I have an early class again tomorrow which I am excited about so I am going to go to bed early.