Home

So I’ve been in the U.S. for a few days now, and had a significant amount of Mexican and Thai food (with some bubble tea thrown in). Many non-European foods are still to come, but besides my ever-lingering jetlag (I’m still falling asleep on the couch around 10pm and waking up at 5am) I’m feeling fairly settled. It’s been weird to come back because as soon as it sunk in that I was actually in the U.S., it was hard for me to believe I was ever in Denmark. At times part of me believes that someone magically implanted all this information about Denmark into my head just to mess with me. Of course, whenever I think of hygge or my host family or delicious pastries, I do feel a pang of nostalgia, and I’m certainly already scheming of ways I can return to Europe sometime soon. For now, though, I’m enjoying the holiday season stateside (American Christmas pales in comparison to Danish holiday traditions) and trying to prepare myself for returning to Carleton (i.e. semi-real life). Last night I saw the Muppet movie with one of my friends and my sister (I highly recommend it) and I’m feeling generally pretty culturally acclimated. Of course, I’m still amazed by America’s cheap prices and shiny city lights and I definitely miss my quiet little Danish commute, complete with daily castle viewing. Still, it is so good to be home and enjoy such delicacies as the baby-sized burrito:

GOOD STUFF let me tell you. Anyhoozle, I think I’ll be wrapping this up (my LAST blog post) because today I’m going to pick out a Christmas tree for the second time this season.

Yes you read that right–I won’t be continuing this blog any longer, mostly because my life at home is not nearly as interesting as my life in Copenhagen, and I’m not sure anybody wants to read about how I sat around and watched TV then took my dog for a walk. Still, I have really enjoyed blogging about all the food that I encountered on my travels these past four months, and it’s possible I may continue that in one fashion or another. If it actually happens (read: it would be a Christmas miracle if I managed to do anything productive over this break) I’ll be sure to post a link here.

In any case, I guess this is hej hej for now. Thanks for reading about my adventures–I hope you didn’t mind my lazy food ramblings too much. And for all you DIS prospectives/future students out there (or anybody else who’s curious I suppose), please continue to feel free to ask me any questions about my experience in Denmark. I really truly enjoyed this semester, and I would highly recommend DIS to anybody who’s considering it!

Once a List-maker, Always a List-Maker

So, this will probably be my LAST BLOG POST before my return to Seattle. Crazy, scary, exciting? Yes, yes, yes. The past few days I have been re-reading my earlier blogs, and it’s so funny to think back to my first couple of days here, when I was so unsure of how my semester would unfold. Since then, I have experienced so many wonderful things (and tasted so many delicious foods), I cannot hope to sum it all up in one final reflective statement. List-maker that I am, however, I will attempt to do so in a few different statements. Probably fighting a losing battle, but it’s the best I got.

This Semester I Learned:

• To actually enjoy tea.
• How to speak Danish (not really) and understand it (just listen for key words)
• How much I really do LOVE eating.
• The procrastination fairy exists all over the world.
• How to eat with a knife and fork and not look like a 3 year old (now I eat more like a 9 year old).
• To love candles (never mind the fire hazard).
• How to make proper smørrebrød
• How to use Danish kroner (though I may have forgotten how American money works…)
• What I’ll probably do for my career/life (kind of important)
• How much I love Europe (and how to travel around it by myself)
• The importance of hygge

Jeg vil savner (I will miss): 

• My favoritest host family (and my bestest host dog!) <3
• Wienerbrød
• Home-cooked Danish food
• Danish 7/11s
• My commute (and seeing Frederiksborg Castle every day!)
• Candles/hygge
• Tea, cookies, and candy every night
• Danish fashion and shopping (so many sweaters!)
• DIS friends–Why won’t you all just move to Minnesota?
• Being a short  plane ride away from anywhere in Europe
• Hearing Danish everywhere I go
• Being a short walk away from hundreds of years of history and culture

I’m looking forward to:

• Eating Mexican/Thai/Indian/Japanese/Chinese/Vietnamese/all non-European food
• “Cheap” not being defined as under 100 kr.
• SLEEPING ALL DAY EVERY DAY
• Seeing my sister and my doggy!
• Driving my car!
• SO MUCH BUBBLE TEA
• Being able to understand people around me
• Seeing Carleton people again! (and returning to Carleton academics…)
• Giving everybody all their European gifts
• Regressing to my baggy sweatpants self (but also bringing a little Danish fashion back home)

Obviously all those lists could go on forever, but that’s a brief summary for you. If you couldn’t tell, I’m pretty conflicted about all this–on the one hand, there’s so much to look forward to about going home, but there’s also so much that will be missing in my life once I leave Denmark. Luckily, I still have one more day to see a couple last friends, eat my last morsels of Danish food, and have one last hyggeligt dinner with my host family (or rather, Charlotte and Cille). Above all, it’s my host family that has really made this experience as great as it was, and I can’t thank them enough for everything they’ve done for me. This has truly been an amazing semester, and I am SO glad I chose to come to DIS.

 

I Have Not Forgotten You!

Sorry about the lack of updates this week… surprisingly little has happened since I got back from Milan, and then now that things are happening, I haven’t had much time to post a blog about it! A larger post will be coming this weekend once I get some free time (I’m going to a baptism with my family on Saturday!) but here’s some tidbits to get you through your Friday.

• Lack of homework- for some reason this has been a really laid-back week (probably because I turned everything in before long study tour) so I have had very little work, to the point of feeling like I’m forgetting things! That said, next week I have a midterm and a paper due (neither of which I have started on), so I probably should have been using my free time a bit more productively…

• Giant snegl – at Sankt Peder’s Bageri (my favorite bakery–delicious, great student discounts, and close to DIS!) on Wednesdays they have large snegls (technically that is Danish for snail in case you Google it and get confused, but it’s also a swirly pastry, kind of like a cinnamon roll) for very cheap (10 kr.). I heard about this MARVELOUSNESS from Allie, and decided to check it out this Wednesday. I got one with glaze, and it was just heavenly. I’m not sure what I’m going to do when I return to Carleton and I can’t get any more motivational pastries!

• Field Study – I had a field study for my Positive Psychology class on Wednesday. We were supposed to walk around Copenhagen and observe Danes and see why they are so happy. At first we were nervous about interviewing random people on the street, but we got some pretty good answers from some nice people, including a window washer who first thought we were asking why he was washing the windows (he said “well… to keep them clean…” and we had to rephrase ). It actually turned out to be pretty fun (though it was super cold and windy out!) and I also got a delicious raspberry muffin from Paludan Cafe while we did some people watching there. Yummy!

• CAKE- On Wednesday night at dinner my host mom mentioned baking a cake the next day… but the whole family was like “why not tonight?” She was debating whether to do it, and then she looked at me and said “Well, I know I don’t need to ask your opinion” (because she knew I always want cake–she knows me so well!). So she baked a yummy yummy cinnamon sugar cake… I didn’t catch the name of it, but it’s a buttery cake (similar taste to a pound or coffee cake but more bread-like) with a cinnamon sugary crust topping. SO GOOD.  I really had to restrain myself from eating like half of it that night.

• Movie Theater- Last night Nanna, Cille, and I went to the movies! We saw Footlo0se (the new one… for some reason it was released a day earlier in Denmark–it comes out in the U.S. today I believe), which was a typical American bland/predictable movie, but the experience was really fun. First off, I ended up bringing my bag even though I didn’t really need any of its contents since I wasn’t paying. But it turned out to be a good decision because we went to the candy store around the corner (instead of the theater snack counter because it’s so expensive) and bought candy and soda to sneak into the theater, and used my bag to hide it all. Some things are the same everywhere! The movie theater itself was SO nice, with (assigned!) seats that were essentially squishy red armchairs for everybody. My host family keeps being surprised when I say things are nicer here, because I guess people in Denmark assume everything is nicer in the U.S., just because it’s bigger. Definitely not true.

• Kultur Natten- Tonight is “Culture Night” in Copenhagen, which means that all kinds of stores, businesses (basically everything) is open late with special free events and activities for those who buy a Kultur Kit. DIS is having an American Halloween event, so there will be pumpkin carving and a haunted house that a couple of my friends are volunteering in. It ought to be really fun (though I haven’t been able to read the huge program because everything is in Danish) and I’m excited to participate in such a big local event.

And finally, for your listening pleasure, here’s a music video by Medina, a really popular Danish singer:

P.S. Today was the first frost in Copenhagen! Days are getting shorter (and colder), and winter is quickly (much more than I expected) coming upon us. For some reason I failed to pack much clothing between early fall and mid-winter weather, so I’ve been using some interesting layering strategies to cope with the icy wind without breaking out my winter coat in mid-October (though everybody else in Copenhagen has). I’ve been shopping for a light jacket this week, but haven’t found the right one yet… so if anybody in/near Copenhagen has any suggestions, I’m all ears!

I Scream for Ice Cream

Blog update, as promised.

First off, my field studies on Wednesday! They were both even better than I expected. First I went to the Davids Samling Museum with my Turkey at the Crossroads class. It looked pretty small from the outside—if I hadn’t known what we were going to see I wouldn’t have even thought it was a museum—but it had a surprisingly large collection on the inside. The museum was created by a fund made by a really rich guy—C.L. David, who died in 1960—so it’s basically about what he was interested in. We split into two groups and got a guided tour, which was nice because we got to learn a lot more about the history of the museum and the art that we would’ve if we’d been browsing on our own—not least of which because most of the explanatory placards were in Danish. We looked at their Islamic art collection, some of which was from Turkey/the Ottoman Empire, but it basically from anywhere Muslims lived (i.e. much of Europe, the Middle East, and northern Africa). My personal favorite exhibit was their collection of miniatures—apparently the largest collection in the world that is open to the public. The paintings were, well, miniature, and the details in them were just amazing. The tiny figures had facial expressions and complicated patterns on their clothing. Our tour guide informed us that some of the details were done using a brush with only one hair—crazy! After the tour, Allie and I went back and spent some more time looking at the exhibit because it was just so amazing. I think most of our class definitely plans on going back to the museum sometime, especially because entrance is free!

After seeing the museum, Allie and I went off to find a library (Københavns Hovedbibliotek) that Lauren, a girl in our Positive Psychology class, had told her about. I think it might be a new favorite study place. It was really nice inside, and a lot closer to DIS than the Black Diamond(and there was free wifi). Plus there were a lot more places to sit, including some funky desk armchairs that I will have to try out next time.  I ate my lunch and we chatted for a while about various things, and then I left for my Danish Language and Culture field study while Allie got to working on our Positive Psychology paper that was due Friday.

I met my Danish class near Christianshavn metro station, and found them all already buzzing with anticipation for our tour of Christiania. Most of my class had never been there (I went there briefly for my Buddy Network dinner) and we were all excited to see the [in]famous Copenhagen landmark for ourselves. Our Danish teacher had told us we would have a very special guide that she likes because he not only has lived in Christiania for 20 years, but he does not do tours very often so he is still very excited and interested in talking about his home. She also warned us that he was very much a Christianian, so to speak, and would be “very representative” of Christiania culture. Indeed, the first thing Joker (yes that was his actual name) did when he met up with us, about 10 min. late, was take out a small tin of pot and start packing a pipe.

He actually ended up being a great tour guide, though, because he had a lot of personal knowledge about the history of Christiania and could really articulate what it was all about. I’ll only give you a brief overview, since I don’t want to spread incorrect information (you can read more on Wikipedia). Basically, Christiania was founded in the 1970′s as a place where people could be free from the rules of society and just be themselves. Joker explained that they started out without any rules, but over the years they’ve had to develop a few: no hard drugs, no violence, no guns (or bulletproof clothing), no (private) cars, and no private property (buying and selling real estate).  The rules are not always able to be enforced, especially since the government has had problems with Christiania a few times over its forty years (Christiania had its 40th birthday last Monday, and was celebrating all this week). Joker said the private cars rule has especially been difficult recently because, as he put it, many people put so much money into their cars that they feel they ought to be able to drive them where they like. Joker also cleared up a popular rumor about Christiania: they do pay their bills (water, electricity, etc.), they just do it collectively. Apparently to live in Christiania, all you need to do is pay a monthly fee, and then you pay for however you want to build your dwelling (materials, labor, etc.) Because there is no buying or selling of property, you cannot “own” a house, you merely live in it.

One of my favorite stories Joker told us was the story of how he came to live in Christiania. When he was first living there, he had no intention of staying–he just wanted a job. So he went to a cafe and asked the man he assumed was the owner for a job, and received a set of keys. After he was working there for a couple of weeks, the man he thought was the owner came to him and asked him for a job. He was really confused, but he just gave him a job and kept working there for about a year. Then somebody else came and took it from him, which he assumed was because they were in charge. It was only a few years later that he found out he had ‘owned’ the cafe for that year. Apparently the man he’d thought was the owner had given him the cafe (by giving him the keys), and thus then had to ask him for a job. The next person that came along was just becoming the next ‘owner.’ Anyway, after finding out that he’d owned a cafe for a year without knowing it, Joker decided he had to stay in Christiania.

Joker also had a really interesting take on drug use, which surprised me a little bit because of the first impression he’d made. He said that he believed in the legalization of marijuana so that it will not be “cool” for young people to smoke it. He pointed out that places where marijuana has been legalized, only the “losers” smoke, and young people are too busy living their lives to bother. He thought it was unfortunate when teens get caught up in smoking rather than getting an education and growing up, and end up reaching their thirties without having done anything with their lives, or developed the skills to start doing something.

Here are a few pictures of Christiania. Unfortunately pictures are not allowed on Pusher Street, where they sell pot openly, because although people are open about it in Christiania, it is still illegal according to the Danish government, and police do regular raids of Christiania to try to put a stop to it. Apparently there used to be a lot of kids helping the “pushers” on Pusher Street because it was an easy way to earn a lot of money. The adults in Christiania wanted to find a way to change that, but they knew that forbidding it would only make the kids more likely to do it. So instead they built an indoor skate park to give the kids something better to do, and now the average age on Pusher street has increased by about ten years. Joker said it was a great example of Christiania’s creative/collective decision-making at work. Of course, they aren’t always able to find such a perfect solution, but it’s cool that they tried to find an effective solution rather than the expected response that would probably happen if a government had been involved.

And now for the pictures…

this store has all the building materials you need to make a house, and according to Joker they'll even order something for you if they don't have what you need

some guys were brewing beer outside on this huge scaffold structure, maybe a special birthday brew?

the Christiania flag represents the 3 dots of the i's in its name--the flags were all over for the birthday celebration

The "Put and Take"--exactly what it sounds like. Joker was about to put down some flowers, but then a guy came over and was like "oh I want those" and took them from him

there was lots of graffiti and murals on the walls of buildings

the cafe Joker owned for a year

this was a "children's area".. there was a little beach and some play structures around the corner

a cool house; unfortunately I didn't hear the story Joker told about it because I was in the back of the group, but for some reason the chimney is in the shape of a frog/dragon

Gray Hall is where they have all their town meetings, and sometimes have concerts. According to Joker, a lot of famous people come there, and Bob Dylan actually requested to do a concert there.

After all the walking, I was exhausted so I went home and took a nap, then spent most of the evening working on homework. Thursday we had our first quiz in Danish, and it seemed to go pretty well. After class I still had two essays to finish for the next day, so I went home and worked on them. I was so worried about finishing everything that I actually got done early–about 9:15pm, and got to relax fo the rest of the night. Søren was out of town on business and Charlotte was at work, so Nanna made us pasta salad for dinner and she, Cille, and I had a cozy dinner in the living room in front of the TV watching Friends.

Friday morning I woke up bright and early, exhausted but excited for my last day of class before Milan. I ended up being able to grab some leftover pasta salad for my lunch instead of making a sandwich, and made it on an earlier bus so I could get to DIS with time to print out my paper before class. Even though I was out of the house before 7am (usually a bad sign) I could already tell it was going to be a great day. In the main DIS building I ran into many of my classmates, also printing out their papers and commiserating about their tough homework weeks. I found Allie and we went together to class, where we were the first ones by several minutes. It felt really good to finally turn in my paper, since we’d been working on it for about two weeks, and then at the end of class we got a really interesting presentation about The Last Supper, which we will get to see in Milan! Apparently the painting has gained a ton of popularity since The DaVinci Code (my host mom was shocked when I told her I hadn’t read it) and now it’s very difficult to get tickets to see the painting, so I’m really excited to get the opportunity (and for free!).

My day continued to increase in excellence as I ran into several of my friends when sitting in DIS between classes, and then decided not to get a pastry during lunchtime, despite my nagging hunger, so as to save money for Milan. Turns out, it was a perfect decision because in my last (and favorite) class of the day, Adolescence in Northern Europe, my teacher bought us ice cream! Most of the class was spent talking about our upcoming learning labs, an assignment in which we will go to a Danish school and direct our own project or research through our visit. We were turning in research proposals that day (my second paper of the week) and figuring out which schools we wanted to go to. I was really excited because I got into a group with my friends Lacey and Red to go to the “Free” Gymnasium (a Danish high school) which is an alternative school where the kids are really self-directed and on an equal level with teachers. We get to visit our sites in October and November, and I’m really excited to get to talk to some real Danish adolescents (aside from my host siblings). The best part of the class was when my teacher asked if we wanted to spend some of our class budget (she is very into an alternative education style, and encourages us to do what we want and is always asking us what we want to learn) on a walk through Strøget (the walking street) to observe some people or to get a treat. Of course, we all got really excited and asked if we could get ice cream. She said yes (and mentioned baking a cake at the end of the semester!), so at the end of class we all trouped down to a nearby ice cream stand. We each got to spend 35 kr. (about $7!) so we could get 3 scoops each. I was at the back of the line, so I planned my order out very carefully and got Lemoncello, Vanilla, and Kinder Surprise with whipped cream and strawberry jam (very typical Danish toppings for ice cream cone) in a waffle cone. It was SO GOOD. I made the perfect order, and it was a gorgeous sunny day–perfect for ice cream. Red, Lacey and I then walked to the train station together eating our ice cream, and managed to extend our discussion of the particulars of ice cream all the way to the station.

When I got home we had a yummy dinner and then Charlotte suggested we go out into the town because it was a special celebration night in Hillerød. We started walking and then Nanna joined us later on her bike. All the stores were open until 9:15pm–very special in Denmark–and there were sales everywhere. We walked through the “big” mall (about the size of a medium to small one in the U.S.), and Nanna ended up getting a dress and a coat. It was fun to be out around so many people, and the atmosphere was very spirited. In the square there was live music playing, and it seemed like everybody in Hillerød was out, both young and old. Charlotte and I stopped in the “Candy Bus” (Sweet Factory-style portable candy store) to get some candy to bring back to Cille, who had decided to stay home. That night we watched a Danish sketch comedy show and then Terminator 2, but I started falling asleep on the couch before the end of the movie and decided it was time for bed.

Today has been very relaxed–I was in my PJ’s until about noon–and the day has been gorgeous (record breaking temperatures for October). Søren’s parents came over for a bit and we sat outside and enjoyed some yummy raisin cake his mom made. Then Cille and I played about ten rounds of UNO, and now I am sitting outside updating you all on this week. Tomorrow I will pack for Milan, and then after dinner Søren will drive me over to the train station so I can go to Allie’s house, where I’m going to spend the night. We have to be at the airport waaaay early Monday morning, earlier than my bus runs, so Allie and I will go together. I’m super excited to go to Milan, where I will be sans laptop, and enjoying beautiful summery weather (by Copenhagen standards).

So long until next week!

I Dream of Pastries…

By popular demand (i.e. my dad made a comment ) I am writing another blog post today. Hooray! And yes there is another title about food… I did mean the warning that I gave in my “About” section about pastry rants. Many exciting things happened today including receiving our schedule for our long study tour in Milan(!), but I will be good and start where I left off last.

On Sunday my host family and I went to Holte, a town/suburb just a few train stops into town (I only know where things are based on their S-Tog stops) to see the World Biking Championships! Biking is not usually my thing, and I know nothing about bike racing, but how many people can say that they watched world championships of anything live? Well, now I can! It was actually even cooler than I expected to see the biking in person, because you really cannot tell how fast they are going on TV. Really fast. We arrived after they had been biking for about three hours already (the race lasted about five-seven), and the bicyclists were speeding up. Crazy! I cannot imagine being in shape like that. I was originally going to take some pictures but they were going so fast that even Søren’s pictures with his nice SLR came out blurry, so I figured I’d better go for a video instead, as proof that I was actually there. Unfortunately, wordpress will not allow me to upload said videos without a $60 program, so they will not be posted here. Here are a couple pictures of the fans, though.

building near where we were standing... lots of danish flags

a bunch of happy Italians were singing and generally being merry

Success! I uploaded my video onto Youtube just so I could share with you all how fast these bicyclists were going!

After about an hour of watching, we decided to head home to watch the final on TV because there was no way we could get close enough to the finish line to see it. It was a really hot day, and I was unprepared (again) wearing long pants and two layers of shirts. Luckily on the long walk back to the car we stopped at a gas station for ice cream! I got a Ben & Jerry’s (surprisingly popular here) peanut butter and cookie dough ice cream bar. Normally I wouldn’t have gone for the American choice, but peanut butter + cookie dough = my heaven so there was no other reasonable choice.

Later that night I got interviewed by a friend of my host mom’s colleague’s daughter (or something like that–neither of us can quite remember the connection) who was doing an article on being a foreign student in Denmark for a class. I was excited to get a chance to help someone out and also to reflect on my experience here so far. The interview was very simple, as my interviewer’s English was very good, and it ended up being a really nice conversation. She asked me a few questions I was unprepared for (like what I would want to bring to the Danes from the U.S.) and a lot of my answers were about food (unsurprisingly–I really think I might have a problem). She said she will send me the article when she’s done, which I’m kind of excited about. I’m curious to see how a Dane will interpret an American’s interpretations of Danishness (if that made any sense). Plus it’ll be fun just to read about myself.

As I’ve mentioned a couple times, this week is a MONSTER week homework-wise. I still think it does not compare to Carleton craziness, mostly because I am not involved in an insane number of extra-curriculars here. The procrastination fairy is apparently no stranger to Denmark though because my free time has not lead to greater productivity. Still, as always, these things must get done somehow, and so far I have done a presentation (Monday) and a midterm (today). Only two papers, a quiz, and a write-up left between me and MILANO.

Despite all the work, this week has actually been pretty good so far. Monday evening I had my Applied Psychology class, in which I was presenting about person-centered therapy. This may sound cheesy, but after my presentation and class discussions, I am even more sure about what I want to do with my life. A lot of people don’t like person-centered therapy because there are no specific techniques involved; it’s more focused on generally creating a positive relationship between the therapist and the client –if that sounds like general therapy, that’s because a lot of generalized therapy technique has been based on person-centered therapy. Anyway, after discussing it with the class, it just made sense to me and I just got this feeling like I want to do this! I mean I’m not that sure about my whole life path, but it was kind of a revelation moment for me, one of those times that makes me so appreciative to be here in Denmark doing what I’m doing. Carleton doesn’t have any classes similar to Applied Psych, so when I signed up for it I was really excited to get the opportunity to try out different therapies and get a feeling for what it’s like to counsel someone. Even though the class only meets once a week, it’s definitely the class I’ve learned the most from so far, and it really has confirmed my interest in being a therapist in the future.

Of late I’ve been reading a ton of other study abroad blogs from all my friends who are on different programs, and I have been wondering just a little if I made the right choice going to DIS. It was really good to have an experience confirming that I’m definitely doing the right program for me and that I’m really gaining some valuable insights that will stay with me long after I’ve left Denmark.

Side note: on Monday afternoon I decided my upcoming presentation required a motivational pastry (what situation doesn’t?) so I headed on over to Sankt Peders Bageri (my new favorite) for a treat. This time I decided to try their Fransk horn, partially because it looked scrumptious but mostly because I knew what it was called. It was flaky and delicious, and even came with a burnt sugar tuile. Unfortunately my appetite got the better of me and I did not think to take a picture of it in all its magnificence. I promise I will start making more of an effort to take pictures of all the great food I’m enjoying!

And now the moment I have been waiting for… our schedule for Milan! This morning in Positive Psychology we got a presentation from one of the DIS interns, Hannah, on our activities for our Milan trip next week. You can learn more by clicking the link up there but basically each core class goes on study tours in order to see how some of the concepts we’ve learned about can be applied in different real-life contexts and in different countries! We had our short study tour just a few weeks ago and next week we will be gone for our long one. I won’t bore you with all the details now (since I’ll be describing them post-real experience at the end of next week) but here are a couple of the highlights of our trip:

• Seeing DaVinci’s Last Supper
• wine tasting
• going to a jazz club
• visiting Lake Como (look out George Clooney!)

I’m super excited–so much so that I’m having trouble focusing on my homework. (Not that I was doing a great job before… ) DIS treated us to some great meals and places to stay on our short tour, so I can’t wait to see what they have in store for us in Italy! As a bonus, the weather report is showing 80 degrees and sunny all week, so I will have to break out my limited warm weather clothing selection–a great break from 50-60 degrees and cloudy in Copenhagen.

Another food note: Tonight for dinner we had Brændende kærlighed (literally “Burning Love” in Danish), which is basically mashed potatoes topped with bacon (a bit more like ham here) and carmelized onions. NOM. Not exactly the lightest or healthiest meal, but it was scrumptious. The mashed potatoes were super smooth, almost whipped and the bacon was obviously heavenly. And then, as if it could not get any better, we got American brownies that Charlotte had made for dessert. Yum yum yum (I had three of them ). Danes do not usually have brownies, and Nanna thought they were a bit too heavy, even though they were far from the densest brownies I’ve had. I’m not sure Danes could handle the intensity of store-bought American brownies.

Alas, there is no rest for the weary, and tomorrow I will have two field studies in addition to all the paper writing I will be doing. Fortunately, I think they will both be really fun. First I’m going with my Turkey at the Crossroads class to the David Samlings Museum where we will get a tour of an Islamic art exhibition. Then I’m going to Christiania with my Danish class, which will be really cool because Christiania is celebrating their 40th birthday all week long.  I’m hoping that after walking around all day I’ll have no problem sitting down and getting some serious work done–we’ll see what happens. I just keep telling myself that if I make it  through September, then I get to go to Italy. All in all, I think it’s a fair trade-off.

All About the Food

Speaking of food (when am I not?) I forgot to mention a yummy treat my host mom made this week. They were like two layer cookies with frosting on top and raspberry jam in between. NOMS. I think I had like four huge pieces.

Then Thursday night, Charlotte was working so it was just me, Søren and the girls for dinner. They told me we were having “mexican pancakes” which, as I suspected, turned out to be tortillas. It was sort of an odd meal, because it was simultaneously familiar (my family at home has make-your-own-tacos/quesadillas pretty frequently) yet also very Danish. The possible ‘pancake’ toppings included both the usual ground beef, red peppers, lettuce, tomatoes, and some very Danish choices–cucumbers, ketchup, or “crème fraiche” dressing (like ranch). We also had ‘nachos’ but there wasn’t enough cheese so it was more like flavored tortilla chips with a touch of cheese. It was all yummy, but still odd.

Continuing on the food theme, yesterday afternoon I had my first Fransk hotdog! As I believe I mentioned before, there are hotdog stands all over Copenhagen, offering several varieties of ‘hotdog’ for 25-40kr (about $5-$8, a very reasonable price by Danish standards). Fransk hotdogs are hot dogs stuck in a long hollow baguette with a really yummy mayo-ish dressing. Here’s a picture. I had been eyeing them for a while since the pictures look really good, and finally decided to get one as an afternoon snack for my train ride home. It was even more delicious than I had hoped. The bread was fresh, the hotdog was crispy on the outside, and the dressing was very tasty. Yum! My mouth is watering just thinking about it.

I got a few weird looks on the train as I ate my hotdog but it was totally worth it. Since it was rush hour on a Friday, the train was pretty full, and after a couple of stops a family with small children (about 6-8 years old) sat across from me. The kids were ADORABLE. The little girl was starting a little embroidery kit, with a lot of help from her mom. And the little boy had a HUGE cucumber, at least half as tall as he was, that he was just munching on. After a few minutes his chin was turning green from all the juice dribbling down his front. One of my favorite things about my commute is the people-watching opportunities, especially when there are families. I can never understand what they’re saying, obviously, but children seem to be the same everywhere, and it’s funny to see their unabashed curiosity in contrast to the reserved and quiet adult Danes on the train.

Friday night I got to have another cozy night with my host parents (the girls were both out). After dinner, we didn’t have any sweets in the house so Charlotte suggested that we go see the new Netto that had opened up, basically a re-furbished version of the old one in the same spot. Søren had not heard about any new Netto, so Charlotte made fun of him pretty profusely, suggesting that it was very sad he didn’t get an invite. So then Charlotte and I headed out with Maggie to go see the new Netto and bring back some candy. When we got there, though, it turned out that it was so new that it was still under construction,and not yet even close to opening. So we went up the street to Fakta instead, trying to come up with a plausible story to tell Søren about the “fancy new Netto.” Charlotte couldn’t believe she’d made fun of Søren that much and then turned out to be wrong, and we were laughing the whole way to Fakta and home again. It was one of those situations that you just knew would become an inside joke, and it was very fun to experience that with my host family.

That night we enjoyed our goodies from Fakta (two kinds of cookies, Snickers bars, licorice, and hard candies) with tea in front of the TV. Among other things, we watched a Danish singing competition where all sorts of famous Danish singers (from rap to opera) are paired with regular folks with singing talent to sing one of the famous singer’s signature songs. There seem to be a lot of shows that involve collaboration between all kinds of Danish singers, which never happens in the U.S. to my knowledge. I think it may have to do with the size of Denmark, and the small number of famous Danish singers, but it seems like a really nice idea.

Other exciting news from this week:

-Over Thanksgiving weekend (at DIS we have school on Thanksgiving but then we get a three day weekend) I’m going to Amsterdam with Allie! We bought our tickets this week, so it’s totally official. I think that will probably be my final travel planning for the semester because I do want to spend plenty of time at home with my host family. They are already making plans for having Thanksgiving dinner this year, which is so sweet since it’s not their holiday. I will have to show them some American traditional foods, though I’m glad my host mom is an adventurous cook because my skills are somewhat lacking.

-Tomorrow I am going to be interviewed about my experience as a foreign exchange student! Charlotte’s work colleague’s daughter’s high school buddy is apparently doing a project and needed to interview a foreign exchange student, so Charlotte told her colleague that they had one at their house. I am kind of excited because I’ve never been interviewed like this before, and I think it will be fun to discuss my experiences so far. Plus I am happy to be able to help someone out.

The more time I spend here, the more I realize that I’m going to miss it so much when I go back to the U.S. How will I survive without rugbrød with remoulade and real wienerbrød and even leverpostej? Yes those are all foods… to me location is always about food. But I’ll also miss the quiet trains and almost getting hit by bikes every day and all the weird Danish/British television shows that would never be allowed in the U.S. And of course my wonderful host family and my host dog Maggie (she is so excited every time I come home or come out of my room in the morning!). I know I still have three more months here, but by the time I’m actually leaving it’ll only be even harder. Just a few weeks ago I couldn’t believe I was going to stay here for four whole months, and now I don’t know how I’ll leave at the end of the semester!

Don’t Call Me Achmel

Time to hear about the rest of my weekend, and my first few days of my fourth (!) week here. This weekend, my host mom’s sister and her wife were visiting from Århus, which was super fun. When I got back from my study tour, I was exhausted but very happy to be part of hyggeligt family time. I was also very excited for dinner, because I figured it would be special since we had guests. Indeed, the table was being fully set and everything looked put together, but I couldn’t figure out what we were having. Bowls of chopped apples, oranges, bananas, bell peppers, coconut, peanuts, and other ingredients were all being put together. At first I assumed that the fruit must be for some kind of fruit salad (though I didn’t understand why it was separated) or possibly for a dessert. But the bowls were being put on the table as if they were a part of dinner. Then I caught a glimpse of what was cooking in the pot–some kind of meat stew. Now I was really confused. Eventually I found out that my suspicions were true, and that we were going to put all those things on top of the meat (with rice)–an Indonesian recipe. I often get pretty creative with my flavor combinations (teriyaki sauce with scrambled eggs anyone?) but this was a bit much even for me. In the spirit of my study abroad experience, though, I decided to go for it. I chose bell peppers, apples, oranges, and peanuts to start because they seemed least clashing. In fact, it turned out to be pretty good! My favorite part was that we got to use chopsticks, which felt very homey because I always use them when I eat Asian food at home, which is quite often.

After dinner we decided to play a family game while eating the other apple cake Nanna, Charlotte, and I made a couple weeks ago. Everybody chose Trivial Pursuit, but they were nice enough to play the kid’s version, play in teams, and translate all the questions into English so I sort of had a chance. My host aunts turned out to be really funny and silly, and having more people in the house made it even more lively. Game night was super hyggeligt, but afterwards I was super tired so I clambered into bed without even unpacking.

The next morning I got out of bed leisurely at 9:30 and joined a yummy breakfast of rolls and wienerbrød. Always the best way to start a day. It was a quiet Sunday, so I spent most of the rest of the morning updating my blog, unpacking my stuff, and doing some much-needed laundry. Around noonish, we had a quick lunch of sandwiches before heading out on a walk to finally see the Baroque Gardens at Frederiksborg. It was a beautiful day–almost too much so. I had gotten used to dressing for gray windy weather, and I got way overheated in the warm sunshine on our walk to the castle. The gardens were just as beautiful as promised, and I took a ton of pictures.

first time in the baroque gardens

monograms in the baroque garden--they apparently had to change them when Prince Joachim got divorced

view of the castle from gardens

On our way back, we walked through town and stopped in the square where the race had started two weeks before. Everyone was lining up at the ice cream stand, and through a general consensus we joined them. It was my first time having soft is, which is like American soft-serve but creamier and denser (kind of like frozen custard). Just before we ordered, we saw a young girl, not more than 4 years old, getting her ice cream. She went for the works–large waffle cone with rainbow sprinkles and a lollipop. As she walked away she stopped for a second, waved her little arms and said “YEAH,” very definitively. It was her quiet certainty that made it so adorable. She knew her ice cream was going to be awesome.

When I got my own ice cream cone, I had to agree with the little girl. Mine was covered in what I originally thought were nuts, but turned out to be toffee candy pieces. Even though I got a small, it was huge and the sides were sagging over the edges of my waffle cone. I ate it a bit too fast so I felt just a tad sick, but in a good, childish decadence sort of way. Just because I could.

enjoying soft is with the family in the square

That evening I spent mostly catching up on homework since I obviously hadn’t done any during my study tour. In the morning I got to have a relaxed quiet breakfast with Charlotte before beginning yet another week of classes. Monday was a pretty relaxed day as always. Applied psych was fun–our teacher had us actually run around the classroom to wake us up. She’s not afraid to make us do funny things, which is nice in an evening class, especially on a Monday. The thing that surprised me was how dark it was when I was on my way home! On the bus just the week before, the sun was setting but there was still a lot of light out. This week, it was almost completely dark at that same time. Then when my alarm went off this morning I thought it was the middle of the night because it was so dark outside. Unfortunately, it was 6am and I had to get up. It seems while I was away in western Denmark the days have been getting much shorter. It’s making me realize just how far into the semester we already are and just how dark it’s going to be soon. Of course, the days are still relatively long at the moment, but I’m going to have to start savoring that daylight before it goes away on me.

Today was actually a pretty good day, even though it was very long–I was away from home for thirteen hours! First off, this morning in Positive Psych we found out that our class was in the local paper in Bornholm. The politician we talked to last week for our field study, Peter, also had a journalist following him that day and she included us in her article. The funniest part was that she used a quote from Colin, who had jokingly mentioned his original impression of Denmark as a “socialist wonderland.” We couldn’t believe that had ended up in an actual newspaper, even if it was only local. This may sound cheesy, but the more jokes our class shares, the more we feel like a connected group rather than just a bunch of random students. In any case, it was a nice way to begin the morning, especially because I was running low on energy after staying up late completing my reading last night.

After psych, Allie and I had our first Turkey class! We did class introductions, went over the syllabus, and got to hear a little about Turkey and the places we’re going to visit. It made me even more excited for the trip because now we have an idea of where we’re going to be staying and the kinds of academic and touristy visits we’re going to have. Basically, it’s gonna be AWESOME.

At lunchtime I met briefly with a girl who I might travel with during the first week of travel break, before going to Turkey. There’s been a whole group of DIS students working out travel plans together and we were the only two with just the first week free. Tomorrow I’m also going to be meeting with the bigger group to see where our plans might mesh and hopefully get a little closer to booking flights, since prices are rising pretty quickly.

In my afternoon classes I must admit I was a bit less attentive than usual because sleep deprivation was getting to me and I was a little slap happy. In particular during my last class (Adolescence in Northern Europe), Lacey and I were both a little over the edge at the end of the day, and got a bit silly when discussing a case study. We were supposed to be talking about a troubled kid called Achmed, but we got distracted trying to figure out whether his named was pronounced Achmed or Achmel, as Danes would pronounce it. We got into a fit of the giggles and just could not stop. Eventually I managed to get serious in time for all-class discussion, but I definitely lost it a couple more times before the end of class.

After class I had the usual awkward bit of free time before my next commitment, an International Cooking Club class I signed up for over the summer. At first I had just planned on sitting at DIS and getting some work done, but the buildings close at 5pm and apparently if you get locked in, it’s game over and even security can’t help you. My class was at 6:30pm, so I decided to do a bit of window shopping along Strøget, the walking street near DIS. My “window shopping” soon turned into real shopping as I was enticed by a few different sweaters and some scarves, and wandered through some shops. I stayed strong and managed not to buy anything though, because everything is so expensive that I want to find the perfect clothes before I buy something. My wallet was opened along my walk, though. I ran across a bakery with all kinds of pastries prominently displayed in the window, and decided that I had to check it out. I have definitely been neglecting my pastry sampling duties since I’ve been here, so I decided it was definitely worth the 16kr.

When I went in, I thought it would be a great chance to practice my Danish because we just learned about how to order food in our last class. The guy at the counter called my number, which I totally understood (go me!) but I think I looked a bit confused because he took me by surprise. At that point he definitely knew I was American (though he probably knew beforehand because of my huge backpack, sloppy clothes, and prolonged squinting at the pastry names). He repeated the number in English and asked me what I wanted in English, so at that point I felt silly trying to order in Danish. Next time I will have to go in prepared and make sure I look like I know what I’m doing so that they won’t immediately start speaking to me in English. In any case, my french horn (or Fransk horn) tasted just as good ordered in English so I was mostly satisfied.

After my pastry I did a bit more shopping. I went into H&M for the first time since being here, and immediately wanted to buy everything. I may return sometime tomorrow to buy a certain sweater I had my eye on, but I told myself that I would take a day to sleep on it as well as to keep track of my money spending situation.

I got to the building for my cooking class without any issues, which was kind of exciting because it was in Svanemøllen, a train stop I pass every day but had never gotten off at before. When I got there I ran into another DIS student looking for the same class, so we searched for the door together. It turned out to be much more difficult than we’d anticipated, and we ended up walking around/through the building a couple times before finally locating the kitchen, where someone let us in. We were basically cooking in the kitchen for an elementary school home-ec class so it wasn’t exactly high-tec but it was small and cute. Since there were four of us there on time, we got to get started on the first recipe, zucchini soup. People who know me could tell you that I’m much more of an eater than a cook, and I mostly see cooking as a means to a delicious meal, rather than an end in itself. I signed up for this cooking class to get some new recipes and techniques and ideas because when left to myself I tend to not so much cook as fry eggs and caramelize onions. The group cooking ended up being pretty fun tonight because we got to chat a lot while the food was on the stove or in the oven. I hadn’t met any of the other people I was cooking with, and it was nice to see some new faces this far into the semester. In addition to the soup, we roasted a chicken and made (somewhat haphazardly) rice with black eyed peas (yes it is a food not just a music group) and coconut milk. All the food was really good, and we were especially proud of our chicken.

our chicken!

Along the way there was some trouble with knives, since we didn’t find the adult-sized knives until after we’d cooked most of the meal. We also had unnecessary problems with the rice, because we turned the stove too low so it wasn’t really cooking for about 20 minutes. Still, the meal was very hyggeligt and it was definitely a nice way to spend a Tuesday night, even though I was really tired. We also all got to take home some leftovers, which I’m looking forward to enjoying tomorrow.

When I finally got home tonight I was originally going to go to bed immediately but then I had to write this post and I also finally got a chance to skype with my parents. It was nice to see them (and my dog) and to personally tell them some of the stories I’ve been blogging about. They also got to update me on the state of the house (a never-ending process) and their recent trip to Seattle and bubble tea. Apparently they also saw a baby llama, which is just ridiculously adorable and I am jealous. Now it is WAY past my bedtime though and I have to be well-rested for fun times at Tivoli with Allie tomorrow!

Later alligator.

Fun For The Whole Family

Today was my first official run in Denmark and, well, ever. I got an official shirt and everything yesterday with a number, safety pins to attach it, and a chip for my shoe to track my time/placement. I’d agreed to do this race the very first day I was here, when I probably would have agreed to anything. Two days before, when discussing whether to bring my running shoes to Denmark, I specifically told my mom, “I don’t run. I’m not a runner. That won’t change. I won’t magically want to run when I get to Denmark.” I was pretty sure I wasn’t going to buy a gym membership or anything, so I saw no reason I would need my shoes. Little did I know, two-days-in-the-future me would agree to participate in a five kilometer race with all the women from my host dad’s side of the family. And when I say all, I mean ALL. Here’s a picture of everybody who ran today:

This includes me, Charlotte, Søren’s cousin and her daughter, Søren’s aunt, his mother, and his sister and her daughter, and his sister-in-law and her daughters. And of course all the menfolk from this crew sat in the sunshine and drank beer (not the little boys obviously) and cheered us on at the end. It was really fun to be with such a big family group since my family never has get-togethers this big, and certainly not just for a race. Frankly it’s hard for me to imagine my family ever joining together over an athletic event at all, but that’s another issue entirely.

This morning we biked over to the site, which was pleasant but a bit of a struggle bus. I haven’t ridden a bike in forever–probably the only time in the past six years was our bike tour in Vietnam. I think my host parents were a bit worried for me because my starts were pretty wobbly, especially because the bike was a bit too tall for me, and we were biking along the street. I made it successfully there and back, even after the race, so I’m quite proud of myself, even if I looked pretty silly doing it.

The race itself was quite arduous, being five kilometers, or about 3 miles, especially since I am terribly out of shape and haven’t gone running since who knows when. Needless to say I walked much of the way… I like to say that I was just taking the time to “enjoy the scenery”, which was actually quite pretty. We were running around Frederiksborg Castle and it was a gorgeous sunny day as we ran through the forest by the castle and past the Baroque Gardens, which were as beautiful as people had said. Luckily most of our group were not real runners either, so we stayed together most of the way. I was happy as can be when the race ended, and proud of myself for finishing.

Upon reaching the finish line, we got fruit, water, and goody bags. In the goody bags we got there were magazines, herbal tea, blister medicine, a huge bar of marzipan (very popular here), and a tick remover that claimed to be “for the whole family.” I don’t know what ticks have to do running but it was pretty funny.

When I got home from the race, I took a shower then a much needed nap. After dinner (pita bread with chicken and veggies; kind of like make your own pita taco, except with ketchup–I think Danes really like ketchup), Nanna and I took a walk to 7-11 with Maggie to get milk. It’s nice when I get to spend time alone with the girls because we’re all usually busy with homework or activities, plus they’re less confident with English than their parents. Earlier this week Cille and I walked Maggie alone and I got to talk to her about her school and everything. So tonight it was nice to chat with Nanna about her job at Sunset Boulevard (a fast-food sandwich place kind of like Subway). You should know that 7-11s are very different here than in the U.S. They’re everywhere here, and they usually have a case of pastries, lots of candies, a small selection of groceries, and even DVDs. So they’re more like a tiny grocery store than a convenience store as we know them in the U.S. Supposedly, they’re also one of the main places you may get pickpocketed though, so so far I’ve been avoiding them.

After the walk, we had American pancakes for dessert. It was a bit of a surprise to me, because although we’d been talking about having pancakes I’d always assumed it’d be for breakfast, like in the U.S. I think Danish pancakes are usually thin, like crepes, but Søren made a special effort to make them fluffier American ones. We had them with the maple syrup I’d given them as gift, with Nesquik that Charlotte had gotten in her goody bag. They were very surprised when I told them that we usually had pancakes with bacon and eggs at breakfast in the U.S. Breakfast here is usually toast or rolls with butter and jam and cheese, and maybe some wienerbrød. Nanna and Cille really enjoyed the maple syrup, which made me happy because it was kind of like my main present to the family.

So I’m officially at the two week mark. Doing this race really made me remember my first day here (since that’s when I agreed to do it) and how excited but nervous and unsure I felt. Now living here seems quite normal, almost weirdly so. I’m getting to know some Danish TV shows and I’m getting better at using my knife and fork in the proper way. Danes eat with their fork in their left hand and their knife in the right hand all the time, and they scoop things onto their fork with their knife. As someone who rarely uses a knife normally if I can avoid it, it was quite an adjustment, and my first few days here I felt very childish having such struggles with my silverware. After two weeks, though, I’m actually able to do it correctly. Maybe by the time I leave I’ll have permanently changed my eating utensil use.

Skyping with Zach in about ten minutes, so time to wrap up.

Three more days and then my short study tour!

THIS IS A MONSTER POST.

Okay so, yes, I have gotten behind on my blogging a bit these past few days. So much has happened, but I have not been the most responsible student, and thus my evenings have been filled with last-minute readings instead of updating all my fabulous readers (Mom? Dad?) on my Copenhagen exploits. Tomorrow is Wednesday, which means I have a field study and no classes, so I will finally be recounting the events of last weekend and the beginning of this week.

Saturday morning I woke up feeling somewhat groggy and phlegmy (my cold was in full force that day) but excited for my first weekend morning with my host family. For breakfast, we had fresh rolls with butter and jam, and–you guessed it–wienerbrød (aka delicious danish pastries). I had two–one  that looked like what Americans call “danishes,” filled with custard, and another more buttery, flaky one with a bit of cream in it. Both were scrumptious–I can taste them even now… The (second) best part of breakfast was the fact that I got to wander in in my pajamas at 9am (sleeping in for me here; I often have to get up at 6am to leave the house by 7:10). After breakfast, everyone but Nanna and her boyfriend (who had stayed out late partying the night before, and were unable to make it out of bed) got ready to visit Frederiksborg Slot (“slot” means castle in Danish), the castle that I had only seen from the outside.

The inside of the castle filled with all kinds of little details, especially on the ceilings (Kendall knows how much I like to walk around looking up instead of where I’m going). Cille knew her way around very well because she has gone there many times for school. It’s so weird to think of going to see a castle on school field trips. We Pacific NW kids just got to see the salmon hatchery.

one of my many ceiling pics

Unfortunately it was pretty dark in a lot of the rooms, so it was hard to get good pictures with my little point-and-shoot camera. It was amazing to see, though, and I probably could’ve spent several more hours looking at all the little intricate carvings, paintings, and tapestries. Almost all of the little explanation placards were in Danish, so I didn’t know what most things were, but Cille and Charlotte (who had taken kids there when she’d worked at a kindergarten) explained certain special things to me, like which paintings followed you wherever you went.

me in the castle; it was a dark room so not a great picture

the King's old elevator; servants had to use a manual crank to move it from floor to floor

picture of courtyard area from a window

Unfortunately it was raining and gross outside that day, so we didn’t get to see the Baroque Gardens, but I’m sure I will be back. We had also originally planned to go walking around outside some more, but because the weather was so bad we decided to stay inside and make apple cake (!) instead. We took a trip to the grocery store first to get ingredients and then when we got home Charlotte started me on chopping apples. There were a LOT of apples. Butter and sugar were whipped together and added to the normal dry baking ingredients, with 9 eggs. NUMMY. Then we layered apples with the batter in large trays (we made two cakes) and added spices (one had cinnamon and sugar, the other had cardamom and sugar). Needless to say the apple cake was delicious. While we were waiting for it to bake, and then while we were eating it, Charlotte, Nanna, and I watched Burlesque, an American movie with Christina Aguilera and Cher, if you haven’t heard of it. The whole afternoon was very hyggeligt (cozy), especially because of the bad weather outside. I was still feeling a bit sicky though so I went to bed earlyish (like 11pm).

The next day I woke up feeling much better, though I still had a persistently runny nose, and again got to enjoy breakfast (leftovers from the day before) in my pajamas. This time, it was everybody but Cille, who was at a friend’s house, who piled into the car to drive to the Louisiana (the modern art museum, not the U.S. state). They were having an exhibit on architecture and the ways people live, which is not exactly my area of interest, but they had some really interesting buildings and some fun models that you could walk through. There were also some American things (including Burning Man festival) that were exhibited which was fun to see because it was so familiar. It was also weird to know more about those things than my host family, and it made me sort of proud of crazy American-ness. Being in a museum also felt sort of homey, especially when we got to the sculptures, which took me right back to my grandparents’ backyard where all my grandpa’s larger sculptures are sitting. A particularly cool room had mirrors everywhere and lots of little colored lights reflected. Only two people were allowed at a time, and you stood on a little platform surrounded by water.

me and Charlotte in the lights/mirror room

After wandering through most of the museum, we went outside, where it had turned into a very nice day. The lawn was gorgeous, and my host family pointed out Sweden to me across the water.

Sweden!

funny outdoor sculpture

After the Lousiana, we stopped at home to pick up Cille before heading over to lunch at Søren’s parents’ house, which is just a couple of blocks away. This was the most traditional Danish lunch I have had, with smørrebrød and all the important toppings, including leverpostej (which I actually quite enjoy), hard-boiled eggs, fried fish, and aspic (“sky” in Danish), which I did not try. Lunch felt very much like how lunch at grandparents’ houses should feel, and it reminded me of visiting my dad’s parents. After lunch we sat out in the sun room, where they had a really cool old coffee grinder, and had tea and red currant pie. Yes, I started drinking tea this weekend. (For those who don’t know, I generally do not drink tea, and am famous for describing it to my sister as “like water, only gross.” But when I got sick tea seemed very appealing and I am offered it so often here that I’m trying to go along, at least while I’m here.) Still no coffee though, which my host family finds just as funny as my real family does.

Sunday evening we went to Frederiksborg Church (which I hadn’t seen the day before because it had been closed for a wedding) for a free concert called “Retro Rock II.” It consisted of sixties and seventies rock music (including Led Zeppelin and Pink Floyd) arranged for a violin and an organ. It was fun to experience some more not exactly American, but familiar things, especially in such a funny context. The church was so fancy, and full of older adults, listening to very pretty rock music. I took some pictures, but we found out afterwards that I wasn’t supposed to, so I won’t post them here (but check my Facebook if you want to see). Overall, the weekend was very cozy and full of familiar family-ish activities but with my host family instead of my home family.

Monday morning was relaxing because I didn’t have class until 11:40am, though I had stayed up somewhat late the night before catching up on all the reading I had ignored all weekend. Hence the lack of blog post. In Danish class, we went to Netto and had to find the Danish names for certain grocery items. It was nice to get out of the classroom, even though it was raining once again, and it’s another reflection of how useful it is to have the location to support the subjects you’re learning about. After class, I had a few hours to waste until my Monday evening class, Applied Psych, at 4:25, so I decided to do a little exploring on my own. Allie had told me about how easy it was to get to Black Diamond, the Royal Library, so I decided I might as well try and find it and maybe get some homework done. It was a chilly day, but by that time it had stopped raining, so walking wasn’t unpleasant. On the way, I finally pulled out my camera and started taking some pictures of the city.

The Black Diamond was very pretty inside, with all the modern looking Danish design elements. Not very squishy/cozy though, which is probably okay because then I won’t be tempted to fall asleep. I tried to study by the window for a while, but I kept getting distracted by the pretty water outside, so I moved upstairs to get my reading done. I think people could tell I was American, because they kept looking at me as I walked by with my fatty backpack. Before class, I also walked over to find Tiger, a cute little everything store with school supplies, to get some folders. I am starting to get the hang of using my Danish coins, and finding my way around without having my map out all the time, which is very exciting.

My Applied Psych class was good, although having an evening class is definitely going to be a struggle. The teacher seems aware of this though, and encouraged us to bring snacks and do stretches before class and during our breaks. We got divided up into groups for our main group project for the class, and I got my first choice–person-centered therapy. Unfortunately, I think it falls on one of the same week when all my other papers, projects, and tests, will happen (right before long study tour) so that could be a problem, but not one I’m worrying about right now. I’m really excited for this class, though, because it will give me an opportunity to further evaluate whether I want to be a therapist, and explore some of the different options I could have if I chose that route. Getting home that late at night was also somewhat difficult (the class ends at 7:05) because although the train is still running at regular intervals, starting at 7pm my bus only goes every hour. I had to wait about a half hour in the cold for the bus, and I think I will try to improve my timing next time.

Today (Tuesday), was relatively uneventful. It’s getting harder and harder to wake up at 6am, as my jetlag wears off and the mere excitement of being in Copenhagen is no longer enough to make me pop up with energy after only 6 hours of sleep. I took a nice nap on the train this morning, though, and even had some half-dreams. After our morning class, Allie and I went to Baressa (a coffee chain) again and did some reading and chatted. Then we headed back to DIS where she went to class and I met Jenn for lunch, when we went out to a delicious schwarma place that was probably the cheapest meal I have had yet. Still not cheap by American standards, but reasonable (and super yummy!). It was difficult to sit through my last couple classes, but now I get two relatively low-stress days (field study tomorrow and only Danish class on Thursday) to catch up on my work and hopefully my sleep. Tomorrow will be an early morning–have to arrive at DIS at 8am!–but hopefully fun since we are visiting an efterskole. Later I am joining my Danish class for a café night, that Nanna and Cille are coming to as well, since we were encouraged to invite our host siblings and other young Danes that we knew. Hopefully it will be a great day, and lots of fun (of course, free food is always a good thing).

My computer is on its last moments battery-wise, so I must wrap this up. I will try to post a bit more regularly (and stay on top of my hw ).

Vi ses!

Maps: Early and Often

Remember what I said about having mostly figured out my way around Copenhagen? Well apparently I lied. I got pretty lost twice yesterday, enough to be about 20 min. late to two sessions in a row. Luckily, I didn’t miss any crucial information, and there were plenty of other lost students wandering around and coming in late. I did remember my lunch, though, and was able to enjoy it by a fountain near DIS with some other students in my group for the day (people with host families). When I came home, my day improved even more. After a delicious dinner of spaghetti and meat sauce (I will have to get the recipe before I come home because it was truly scrumptious), the whole family (except Charlotte, my host mom, who was at work) went for a long walk into the town so they could show me what was around. We went and got ice cream! I had vanilla and hazelnut and it was very tasty. My first Danish dessert (besides candy). Then we walked over to Frederiksborg Castle, which Hillerød is famous for. It’s very pretty and I had no idea it was so easy to walk to from the house. I will definitely have to go back, because we did not go inside, nor did we see the Baroque Gardens, which are apparently very beautiful. When we got back, I watched tv with my family, something I have begun to do every night (I am falling into a routine already!). We ended up discussing differences between Denmark and the U.S., like the fact that in America we use gallons, which they had never heard of. Apparently gas prices are about twice as expensive in Denmark–one of the reasons why people don’t drive very often. They have also been asking me how to say certain words in English. Charlotte was particularly tickled by the word “yarn.” Tonight at dinner she brought it up again, and Cille said that it sounded Chinese (I think because the way they pronounce it, it sounds similar to “young”). I have also been trying to ask about Danish words, and trying to pronounce them. Usually we can all have a good laugh about my attempts.  Tomorrow I begin Danish class (!) so I’m sure they will be curious about what I’m learning.

Today was much less eventful than the past couple days. I hesitate to say this again, but this time I really do think that this time I am getting a little more comfortable making my way around. I’ve finally figured out which street to take from the train station to get to DIS, and today I manged to not get seriously lost. Granted, I was walking around with others the whole day because today was the Urban Awareness Experience or something like that. We were put into groups and given a map with stops we had to visit, where DIS staff were waiting to tell us about the location. Like an educational scavenger hunt. We visited Christiansborg Palace  (the building that houses the Parliament and other government branches), Rosenborg Castle (old castle that housed two different kings and their families), a gorgeous old church, and Amalienborg Palace, where we saw the changing of the guard! Our little tour also included a stop to get free wienerbrød, or Danish pastry. I chose one with custard in the middle and it was super yummy. It’s going to be tough not to start spending all my money on pastries. We also had to go to Netto (a cheap grocery store) to buy groceries and bring them back to make Danish lunch. After that session, we had a brief break, so I went with another girl from my scavenger hunt group to Tiger, a cheapish chain that sells reasonably priced office supplies, among other household items. Kind of like Fireworks, only smaller, cheaper, and more practical and less artsy. Maybe a much smaller version of a lovechild between Fireworks and Bed, Bath, & Beyond. You get the picture. I got a notebook for school and an adorable set of mini highlighters shaped like a hand. On the way to our next session (Psychology program orientation) I put my new mantra into action: Use maps early and often. No more getting lost for me (I hope–maybe I just jinxed myself).

The psychology program is HUGE this semester. I knew it was the biggest, but I didn’t realize there would be 112 students (out of 800-1000). At the orientation, we got some clarifications and information, and it was nice to see who else we’d be going on our main study tours with. Overall, it wasn’t bad, except for the nerve-wracking name games. My class (about 30 people) played the one where you have to say your name and the names of all the people who have gone before you. Of course, I was sitting on the wrong side of the class, as always, and had to name about 2/3 of the students. Luckily, since it was such a big group, it actually was somewhat easier in a weird way, because the names had been rehearsed so many times before me. Plus, most people were doing pretty badly, so nobody had to feel bad about messing up. I usually really don’t like those games, but I have to say, I did learn the names of the people in our class.

On the way home, Allie (who is in my core psych class as well as my Turkey study tour class, and comes from Carleton) and I were both headed home at the same time, so we took the train together. She goes the same direction as me, and only gets off one stop sooner, so we chatted most of the ride, which did not make the Danes on the train very happy. I do believe I caught several typical Danish glares because we were talking too loud. The trains are very quiet in Denmark, and while you are allowed to talk, it’s much quieter than Americans are used to, and people usually do not talk constantly, or laugh as loudly as Americans do in public.

As I said before, classes start tomorrow, but luckily I only have my Danish class, so I will finally be able to sleep in and have a leisurely morning. Hooray! Charlotte is making bread for tomorrow and she says we will have a nice breakfast. This weekend we are also planning a couple of excursions so my family can show me around this area a little more. It seems we may go into Copenhagen on one day, and the other perhaps go up north a bit and maybe see the Louisiana (the modern art museum not the US state). On Friday there is also a Psych social with dancing and snacks and then maybe I will hang out in town for a little bit. My first weekend in Denmark is looking quite packed, but very fun.

My computer is running out of batteries, and I can’t think of a good way to wrap up this post, so until next time. :]

Hej hej!