Long time no blog..

Hey everyone! All of a sudden I only have 2.5 weeks left in Copenhagen. When did that happen? Oh yeah.. I did travel throughout various European countries for almost a month.. Speaking of that, I'll give a quick recap of my travels.
I left in the second week of March with my core class on migration and traveled to Bulgaria for a week. The trip is fully planned and paid-for by DIS as a part of our program tuition. All the academic programs went to different countries for their study tours, for example, the architecture class went to Norway and Sweden, the political science program went to London and Berlin, etc. I'm really glad that we were able to experience Eastern European culture, though, and see how it compares to Western Europe. During the day we often had lectures or tours, and then the evenings usually consisted of delicious dinners, lots of wine and good conversations. We spent two days in Sofia, the capitol city where the airport is, went to the European Commission office to talk to them about the country's recent accession to the EU, talked to experts on the Roma community, and then visited a Roma community ourselves and spoke to an NGO that works there. We then traveled to Rila, a rural town deep in the mountains, where we stayed at a large and well-renowned monastery, and learned about the importance of Eastern Orthodox Christianity to Bulgaria. We spent one morning hiking a mountain nearby, which was really refreshing. The last city we visited, which was also the sunniest and warmest, is Plovdiv. No more scarves or mittens at least! Here we went to an ethnography museum and a local mosque to learn more about their national identity. We also met up with some Bulgarian university students and had a splendid dinner one evening with them, complete with traditional Bulgarian dance entertainment.
After Bulgaria, I was set to travel to Istanbul on an overnight bus from Plovdiv, until my friend who I was supposed to travel with, got sick and flew home to the states! I was a little hesitant about going there alone, especially without speaking any of the language, but I had already booked a hostel and had a plane flight out of Istanbul 3 days later, so I ended up going forward with it. My travel story from Plovdiv to Istanbul is a fantastic and terrifying one, and only to be told in person. If you ask me, I will gladly enlighten you on this crazy day. Anyway, I eventually made it to Istanbul and met 4 American girls at the hostel who graciously let me explore the city with them for a few days because they were there for the same amount of time. I had lots of fun seeing the Hagia Sophia, the Blue Mosque, and going to the Grand Bazaar and Egyptian spice bazaar. One day we took a ferry to one of the Princess Islands and biked around there for the day.. it was incredibly beautiful!
From Istanbul, I flew to London, the same day that the G2o summit began. It was really exciting, with the protests and security vehicles around. I went to one of the protests- a peaceful one at Trafalger square- where there were anti-war and nuclear disarmament speeches and posters everywhere. My favorite part was the beautiful chalk art that various people were drawing on the sidewalks. What I really did in London, though, was find as many gluten-free delicacies as I could! I ate gf fish and chips one evening, got various cakes and brownies from little places, and ate my first restaurant gf wrap. I also saw some modern art, caught up on sleep that I didn't get in Istanbul, and chatted with various people at the hostel in the evenings. One evening I was sitting talking to three different guys from Scotland, Belgium, and France! The hostel was approximately a million times nicer than the one in Istanbul, so I really enjoyed being able to cook my own meals and actually have some privacy in my room.
Next I flew to Milan where I met up with Andrew!! It was so great to see him and have some good sibling bonding. We spent one night and day in Milan where we saw the fantastically enormous Duomo and ate some good Italian food before taking a train to the small town of Monselice, close to Padua. Here we got to experience small-town Italy and actually be some of the only tourists in the town. I really got to practice my Italian here. At night we ate at a pizza place where the only gluten-free menu items were seafood dishes! So that ended up being the most money I have ever spent on a meal! It was worth it though, and we made the most out of the meal by chatting and relaxing over some white wine for a while. The next stop was Venice! We were there on the weekend so there was a crazy amount of tourists there, but we still got to admire the canals and gondolas, and sample more pizza and gelato. After two days in Venice, Andrew flew back to Sweden and I had an morning and afternoon to kill before my next flight, so I bought picnic food at the grocery store near the hostel and went into the city of Venice and sat in a park, soaking up the warm sunshine (a little too much actually). I got some reading done and was pink but happy when I took the bus to the airport.
My last stop was Rome, where I realized I was out of money! And by out of money I don't just mean no euros in my pocket, which was also true, but I mean no dollars in my checking account. I sent a quick and desperate email home, but due to the time difference I had to spend one day in Rome peniless. My hostel was a little far from the city, but you could get there with a one euro bus ticket and another one euro metro pass. But I literally had nothing. So my food that day consisted of a bag of peanuts from the Venetian airport and some Bulgarian chocolate that I meant to take home with me... So I had no other options but to spend the day at my hostel. Oh, and across the street from the hostel was the beach. So I had to read and relax on the beach on a warm sunny day in Rome. Tragic, huh? Well don't feel too bad for me, because the next day I had some cash (thanks mom and dad) and went into Rome where I saw the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel, the Colosseum, the Roman Forum, and all that good stuff. This was the last full day of my travels, and though I really enjoyed seeing all the various cities, I was very ready to be back home in Copenhagen.
The day after my return to Copenhagen, I got to hang out with my beautiful sister for the afternoon! It was a very happy reunion! I even splurged on some tulips from a flower stand, only to realize that she probably wouldn't want to take them on another plane flight to Sweden later on that day. She had a 6 hour layover in Copenhagen before flying to see Andrew, so we went to the center city for a bit and then the beach where we exchanged stories and lots of laughs. I sadly said goodbye to her but looked forward to spending time with her four days later.

Now I've been back in Denmark for 3 weeks or so since travel break and I'm enjoying the springtime that has finally arrived! I've almost forgotten that I went about a month in Copenhagen without seeing the sun. Unfortunately, I've also developed a serious cold lately, leaving me stuffy, coughing, and tired. My rental bike was also stolen.. Despite these minor setbacks, I'm really thoroughly enjoying these last few weeks here. I have had so many papers and projects due lately, but that is soon coming to an end. Next week is the last week of classes and then I have a week of finals where there's lots of free time! I already have plans to go to the city's theme park, Tivoli, with friends to see a concert, enjoy more picnics in the city's parks, and spend some time with my roommate Signe before I leave. Oh I'm also going to Oslo, Norway tomorrow to see Eileen!! I'm really looking forward to that. Well I'll blog again soon, and I mean it. Happy May Day!

New Experiences in Denmark

I now have been in Copenhagen for a month and a half! Time is flying by, and I think it's time for me to write about my daily life here and enlighten everyone on Danish culture. After spending the past weekend in Berlin, I was on the train back from the Copenhagen airport toward the center of the city, and I really felt like I was returning home :-). I was excited to see Signe and tell her about my trip, drink some tea and relax in our living room, and actually get a good night's sleep in my warm and comfortable bed.
So in these past few weeks I have had some very interesting new experiences. Here are some of them:

First field study with my Environmental Problems and Policy class: We went to one of the main energy companies in Denmark, Dong Energy, and heard a speaker tell us about the future of alternative energy in the company. She mostly focused on the project regarding electric vehicles that Dong Energy is involved in. A contract has been signed with the company, Better Place, that will utilize excess wind energy provided by Denmark's many windmills that accumulates during the night when people are using much less energy, to charge cars overnight. She said that even if all the electricity for the cars was provided solely by coal-powered plants, the CO2 emission per car would be half of that of a traditional car. Denmark is especially suited for this electrical vehicle grid because the country is small so driving distances are never that far, making it not that difficult to charge the cars when needed. The fact that the country has the highest share of wind power doesn't hurt either.

Biking around Copenhagen! Speaking of environmentally-friendly transportation, I rode around the city for the first time by bike, and it was amazing! Such a different view of the city.. I have a transportation pass provided by DIS and usually take the public buses, but Signe graciously let me borrow her bike one afternoon. I biked into the center of the city to Studenterhuset, the student cafe/bar, where they were having Sunday afternoon swing dancing. It was a fantastic afternoon. I made it safe and sound, and started figuring out where its okay to bike when there aren't bike lanes. I'm really hoping to find a used bike to buy after the travel break so I can use that as my transportation for the rest of the semester, then sell it back.

Talk about Obama's campaign: Signe's sister, Maja, is running for a position on the council for the local municipality for the Socialdemokratiet party, the second largest party in the country. The power of the municipal governments is mostly in regulating the health sector, and this would be fitting for Maja because she is currently in medical school. So she invited me and another friend to hear a member of the Danish parliament speak about Obama's campaign and how their party can learn from his campaign tactics. It was very interesting, although completely in Danish. Luckily, he used some slides and I could recognize a few words on them, and Maja translated some of it for me by whispering to me during the talk. A good moment was when the speaker introduced me to everyone as the American, but he was speaking in Danish so I had no idea what he said. I just know that he pointed at me, so I smiled. The refreshments were intentionally American: Budweiser and popcorn.

First contact with the Danish police: This was a lovely surprise. I was alone in the apartment one morning after Signe had gone to work, and there was a knock on the door. I couldn't figure out who would be coming at this time, and I opened the door to see a Danish policewoman holding out her badge and speaking Danish to me. After switching over to English, she asked if I knew anything about the attempted murder that happened right across the street from my apartment a few days before. I did remember seeing two policemen and three men talking at the streetcorner, but I certainly didn't witness anything. I told her this, and she said thanks and took down my CPR # (like Social Security #) for her report. Nørrebro, the neighborhood I live in, is known for having more crime than other parts of Copenhagen, but I didn't expect to talk to the police during my stay!

Showering at the gym: A couple weeks ago I joined the gym near DIS that offers students a decent discount, and I have been working out there before and after classes. This is definitely an interesting place for interacting with Danes and that is one of the reasons I joined, but I was surprised by how much I would get to know them.. The locker room environment is far different from locker rooms that I am used to. Almost everyone who goes to the gym showers after so they can just continue with their day, and there is a big room in which to shower that doesn't have stalls or curtains. Just one big room with four or so showers. The women not only shower naked, but walk around without towels on! I was shocked to see two women deep in conversation about work while both standing there stark naked. This was a bit of a culture shock to me, but I knew that I would have to try it myself. So last week I went to the gym one day and brought my shower stuff, and succeeded in showering there. It ended up being a very simple task. Everyone else is so comfortable with the situation and they are really just concerned with their own process of getting ready, that I'm sure I was the only awkward and nervous one there. Also, I started trying the classes that the gym offers- I've done yoga and tae bo so far, and got my butt kicked. I'm excited to keep taking the classes though!

Going to church with Signe and her family: There is a very beautiful old church a few blocks down from my apartment that is known for holding modern services. It's a Lutheran church, which is the denomination that is supported by the state. So I went with Signe last weekend and met up with her mom, brother, his girlfriend, and their daughter. This was also all in Danish, so I can't say that it completely held my attention, but I really enjoyed trying to pronounce the words in the Danish hymns. Though I had no idea what I was singing about, Signe's mom said I had good pronunciation! One detail I think is important to include, is that the church holds rock concerts once a month, and during the service when my eyes were wandering, I noticed a disco ball hanging from a ceiling. I thought the contrast between the sophisticated architecture of the old church and the shiny silver disco ball was quite beautiful.

I also had the chance to go to Berlin this past weekend, but there is too much to write about that, so I'll save that for later. The only thing worth knowing about that at this moment is that I got to try my first croissant!!!! I worked at Aux Petits Delices, the French bakery near Eastern last semester, and sold many delicious-looking croissants to customers. Now, thanks to a grocery store in a Berlin train station, I have a box of six gluten-free croissants in my possession, and each has been, or will be, thoroughly enjoyed.

Meeting up with family and traveling to my second European country

Well, it's been a while since I've last blogged, mostly because I used to have too much free time and now I never seem to have enough of it! I got a gym membership so I go there frequently, and I often meet up with my DIS friends between and after classes. My school work has increased lately and I have a group project for every class at the moment! It seems that group work is more common here than in the states.
So last weekend I met up with my parents at the Copenhagen airport on Friday and together we flew to Stockholm, Sweden where Andrew was waiting for us to take the train together to Uppsala where he is studying for the semester. It's a small city, and Andrew seems to really like the size of it because he already knows his way around a bit. Copenhagen is much larger but that's one of the reasons why I love it. I can always seem to find some new place to explore! Anyway, we stayed at a really nice hotel which was about a ten minute walk from Andrew's nation, or apartment complex, where he lives. If you want to know more about what the nation is, ask him!
So we enjoyed a meal out together that night at an Indian restaurant, which consisted of lots of curry and rice and chicken and lamb and herbs..... mmmm. The place was a shelter from the biting cold of the city and left us warm, happy, and very very full.
On Saturday we walked to the nearby cathedral and spent a while admiring its beauty, in the architecture, paintings, and windows, and reading about its history. After a lunch with Andrew's friends at one of the nations, we traveled to Gamla Uppsala, or old Uppsala, where we saw the viking burial mounds (basically big hills covered in snow). The museum had artifacts that had been uncovered from the mounds so far, as well as facts and speculations about this ancient society.
We had dinner at a nearby pub and then spent the rest of the evening catching up at the hotel. We had an early rise the next morning to get to the airport to go back to Copenhagen.
The weather here in Copenhagen seemed balmy compared to the frigid cold of northern Sweden. My parents got to see two days of sunshine, which is practically more sunshine than I had seen in the past month here!
They were able to crash in the living room of Signe's and my apartment. We ate a fantastic Sunday brunch at the restaurant right across the street, then took a walk to the cemetary/park nearby. In the states (a phrase I find myself saying very often) our cemeteries tend to be very bleak and are very seldom used for anything other than visiting the graves of loved ones. Well here the cemeteries double as parks. There are wide paths, and a variety of trees and plants, so people are often going on walks, runs, or bike rides through the cemetery. I'm sure it will be even more beautiful and filled with color and life once springtime comes!
The graves are also different because many of them have square hedges around them and there is a lot of space for each plot. This cemetery, located in my neighborhood of Nørrebro, is also where the Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen and the philosopher Søren Kierkegaard are buried.
We also went to a museum that is free on Sundays, called the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek. The famous Danish beer, Carlsberg, is somehow connected to this because the owner helped fund the museum (or something like that) in the desire to support the arts in Denmark. The museum has a large collection of statues from all different places around the world and different eras. There were everything from statues from ancient Rome around and before the time of Jesus, relicas from 1500 BC Egypt, to modern French sculpture. It was a fascinating place!
On Monday I had classes and meetings so I sent mom and dad with a map and some directions on some sightseeing adventures. Unfortunately, there was a bus strike this weekend and that affected their travel at one point, as well as bad directions from strangers, causing them to get very, very lost. So it became a long and frustrating day for them, and I was unaware until they got home because they had no way of contacting me during the day! Luckily, Signe had decided earlier that she was going to make us all a traditional Danish dinner and my parents were more than appreciative of this. We had frikadeller (like fried meat balls), cold potato salad, and tomatoes and mozzarella cheese. Yum!
Tuesday I had the morning off because my class was cancelled, so that was great timing. We went to the most famous bakery in Copenhagen, Sankt Peder's Bageri, and mom and dad got pastries there, then we took a bus to a different bakery that sold gluten-free products, that I had been meaning to check out for a while. I got a piece of carrot cake which truly made my day! Everyone else takes baked goods for granted, but not me. When I am able to buy good gluten free bread or baked goods, I am so excited and appreciative. I always tell people that if there was a cure for Celiac Disease, I would never want it because it's a big part of who I am and I have no desire to change that. I would never appreciate food as much!
The last thing we did together before they left for the train station was to visit the Danish Resistance museum, which has artifacts that outline and explain the Danish involvement during WWII. Denmark was occupied by Germany for a few years because the Danish government let them be there. The Danish citizens eventually protested against their government's position in the war and there was an underground resistance movement, which is fascinating to read about!
Luckily they were able to make it back to the central station just fine, and now I'll see them again in May when I get home. Andrew, though, will hopefully come to Copenhagen and visit me here!

Copenhagen, I love you

Last semester, Katy introduced me to the movie Paris, je t'aime, which is a collection of 20 short stories about love in Paris. These include various couples, being present or former lovers, parents and children, and random acquaintances. In one of the clips, an American woman travels to Paris and falls in love with the city.
Today, I went to class in the morning and had a meeting afterwards, then I was headed back on the bus to my apartment. I was enjoying the relaxing bus ride back, and I had just pressed the stop button on the seat in front of me when I realized that I had never grabbed my keys when I left in the morning. While unpacking the day before from my weekend away, I had put my keychain on my desk and never remembered to put it in my bag. Not knowing what to do, I got off at my stop and walked over to the apartment door. After a few seconds I remembered that Signe's sister, two doors down from us, has a spare key. Unfortunately, this was further complicated by the fact that I somehow misplaced my cell phone this past weekend, presumably in the hotel. The phone had numbers for Signe, her sister Maja, and her brother who also has another spare key. I took my chances and pressed the button next to Maja's name at her apartment door, but there was no answer. I walked over to the bus stop and waited a few minutes for the next bus to take me to Radhusplads, the city square near DIS. Twenty minutes later, I was at DIS asking the housing department if they had a cell phone number for Signe. They only had her home number, which doesn't do much in the middle of her work day. After chatting with friends for a little while, I remembered that I could access my cell phone records online, so I studied my list of calls and made an educated guess as to what her number might be. I borrowed the housing department's phone and got right through to Signe, who was at work only a ten minute walk from DIS. I got directions and set off for Signe's workplace, Journalisten, and took a few wrong turns but eventually figured it out.
Signe gave me her keys and I left the building and stepped out on the Copenhagen cobblestone street. It was then, after a frustrating few hours had passed, that I stopped, took a deep breath, looked around and realized how incredibly beautiful the city was.
I am now starting to feel a connection with Copenhagen, even if it means simply recognizing a few words on an advertisement on the side of a bus, knowing the correct bus ettiquette, or a successful grocery shopping trip. I smiled like a fool on my way back to Radhusplads (which I can now pronounce) to take the bus home.
So, Copenhagen, I love you. I love the biting cold and all the clothing layers I need, the small park nearby where I go running, the various graffiti found throughout the city, the delectable roasted almonds for 25 kroner from the sidewalk stands, the convenience store where I get my hot cocoa/coffee in the morning, running to the bus stop, chatting with Signe after a long day, and so much more. This weekend I get to share the city with Eileen when she comes to visit for three days! I cannot wait. Two weeks later I get to show my parents around too! I am so fortunate :-).

Classes so far

My classes have only met three times each so far, but there is much to tell already about them. The academic program that I am studying with here at DIS is Migration and Identity, which deals with issues surrounding immigration in Europe. I am taking two classes that fall within this program: the core class, Cross Cultural Encounters in a European Context and Human Trafficking. The academic program is important partly because of the two different study tours with the group. There are about 40 students in my program, and it's mostly girls. I have some good friends within the program so far, so that will make the study tours more fun! Next weekend is the short study tour, and I'll go to western Denmark. I don't know too much about the trip so far, just that it lasts from Thursday morning to Sunday, and that we'll be staying at a hostel. In March I'll be traveling to Bulgaria for a week for the long study tour.
On Wednesdays, no one has classes and its a day for field studies, and this week I went on a trip to the US embassy for my Human Trafficking class where we listened to two speakers talk about how they combat trafficking in various ways, including ad campaigns that encourage people to report suspected trafficking, writing a report on the status of all countries and trafficking, etc. Some of what they said we already knew, but it was interesting to hear it from their perspective.
So immigration is a very appropriate subject to study in Denmark because they are known through Europe as having a strict immigration policy. After 9/11 especially, there was a rising nationalism in Denmark and the government elected in November of '01 made it difficult for anyone to immigrate to Denmark, and even to get asylum in the country. This becomes a serious problem when there are immigrants from Middle Eastern countries where there is conflict that are seeking asylum, or protection in Denmark, and they cannot meet the demands of the government to get asylum. Recent figures show that even the small country of Denmark has about 2,000 asylum seekers every year, and that larger European countries, Germany for example, receives about 20-25,000 every year. Last year, about 18% of asylum seekers in Denmark were granted asylum. On Thursday, we had a speaker in class who was a legal advisor working with asylum cases and she explained the complexity of the process and how many of the applicants end up living in centers for years and years due to discrepancies in certain laws. For instance, people may not be able to prove that they have individual risk of discrimination, torture, etc. in their home countries. To do this, papers are needed to prove it and some of the applicants don't even have proper ID so they cannot complete the process. But, because of the state of certain countries, asylum seekers won't be accepted by their home countries so Denmark cannot send them back home. Instead, these people live for years and years in centers where they are unable to work or become self-sufficient at all, and must just wait.
A semester-long project that we will be all participating in is helping the asylum seekers publish the next edition of NewTimes, a magazine that is produced by the asylum seekers in the Danish Red Cross asylum centers. They want to tell their stories, but the magazine is produced in English and many are not proficient in the language, so we are going to be interviewing them and helping them tell their stories in English. This Wednesday we will be going to meet those involved in New Times and be assigned to specific people and stories to write. I'm really looking forward to seeing how this project turns out. I'm sure I will learn a great deal more about the asylum process too. To see the website for New Times, visit http://newtimes.dk/.

Christianhavn and Vestvolden

This morning I am truly feeling adjusted to my new environment! I took the bus to DIS and left enough time to get coffee nearby before class started. There is a convenience store on the same street as DIS, Vestergade, and they give a discount to DIS students. About 50 kroner or $10 for a punch card for ten coffees/hot chocolates. Best deal in the city by far! To put it into perspective, coffees tend to go for about 20-25 kr. Any more complicated (and delicious) drink is even more! My Migration and Identity course was fascinating this morning and I was far more awake than last week.
Without planned activities this weekend from DIS, I was able to decide how to spend my time. Saturday, my friend Emily Manz, a fellow Woodstockian, and I decided to venture out to Christianhavn. We had heard about it from orientation leaders and wanted to check it out for ourselves. Also- I was craving a restaurant meal that I didn't have to prepare! Christianhavn is a fascinating area. During the sixties, the area which was former military barracks, was settled by hippies and became a self-governing community where the people do not pay rent or taxes. The community is known for selling marijuana, but the police have been entering Christiana many times recently and raiding the area. One of the restaurants within the community had a sign outside it reading something like, "One of the safest places in the country. Over 15oo police raids over the past year"! I asked my professor this morning how a place like this has been allowed to continue. He told me that it is one of those institutions that exist merely because of tradition. There is much public discourse over Christianhavn and whether or not the community should be allowed to remain in its current state or if its independence should be revoked and the citizens pay taxes.
When we were walking around the area, one of the things that stood out is that there is graffiti everywhere- on signs and all over buildings and structures. The graffiti is so interesting and beautiful in some places. There are also many various artistic expressions such as a hand carved out of a dead tree trunk. We looked around in a shop that had various hand-crafted items and everything was so creative and beautiful. After walking around this part of Christiana for a bit, we left through the arch that reads "You are now entering the EU," in search of a place to eat. On the way, we asked a woman walking on the street if she would kindly take our picture. She unexpectedly asked us if we wanted to come with her to the market, she pointed nearby and said "Come, come. Its so close. Come to the market withe me." We were wondering what she was actually talking about, and I was picturing a food market of some kind. She led us into a small courtyard where a man stood by a door with stairs leading down into some room. Without knowing at all what to expect, we followed her and found ourselves at a Danish yard sale/flea market. A number of men and women were behind tables with various clothing and knicknacks spread on each one. There were tables of Danish desserts and coffee which we were told to help ourselves to. After finding a few treasures and chatting with a man who had just gotten back from visiting his children in New York for the holidays, we left in search of a meal. We found a great cafe that had a menu in English and had some delicious food that included chai milkshakes! Sooo good. Figuring out the bill took quite a while, especially when we didn't realize that the tax was already included in the price of the food. One good thing about eating out in Denmark is that you don't tip waitstaff! We have been told that the waitstaff already receive enough pay so people do not tip.
The other part of Denmark that I got to see this weekend was some of the suburbs outside the city. Emily lives in the suburbs with a host family, but since I live in the city, this was my first experience in Denmark outside of Copenhagen. DIS sponsored an activities fair last week with various organizations sending representatives to try to recruit DIS students to join them. One of the clubs was a hiking club, so I went on a hike with them on Sunday to Vestvolden. For most of the trip, we were actually just walking alongside a path, so it wasn't exactly what I call hiking, but apparently this isn't the normal hiking trip with the club anyway. One of the reasons for the trip was to see some history. This structure held weapons during WWI to fight the Germans if they came, but they didn't. After 7 miles of walking, exhaustion set in and I had to fight to stay awake on the train on the way home!

Here is my long-awaited blog!

Well I've been here in Copenhagen for almost a week so I figured I'd start my blog. Also- I finally have my laptop working.. it turns out that it's much harder to find a power converter here than I thought.
Anyways, I arrived in Copenhagen Airport on Sunday and then had a couple days of orientation, and yesterday was the first day of classes. I was relieved to start classes because orientation was tiring and took up all my time!
So one of the highlights of my week was figuring out how to use the public transportation (at least the few buses that take me from home to near the school). I live in the part of the city called Nørreport, pronounced Neu-po, or something like that. I only have a ten minute commute to DIS where my classes are, and most other DIS students have a much longer commute so I'm fortunate to be so close. I just realized yesterday that I have been pronouncing my roommate's name wrong when I heard her pronounce it to someone else.. I have been pronouncing Signe like Sig-nee, but it turnes out that it's pronounced See-neu. She's been really great helping me with anything I need, showing me around the city, and most importantly, helping me grocery shop.
It turns out that I'm not exactly the cook that I thought I was.I was telling Andrew last night that I had this completely idealized view of what it would be like cooking my own meals! At home it seemed much easier with all the ingredients and recipes on hand, but now I look around at the food in the grocery store and I can't seem to think of anything to cook. I have been living off simple meals of sandwiches from the bread I brought from home, but that is almost gone. After my first grocery shopping trip here, I came home with tuna, mayonnaise (mostly because I could tell what they were), some delectable raspberry jam, peanut butter (not exactly a traditional Danish food), raisins, orange juice boxes (the word for orange is applesin!) and cocoa powder, which I thought was hot cocoa mix. Hm... not exactly the best ingredients for making a meal! Last night I emerged from a nicer grocery store that has a variety of organic foods and I got gluten free crackers, canned fruit, and a gluten-free baking mix. I'm sure I will eventually learn how to grocery shop for myself, but it may take a while! My roommate cooked me two great meals in the first two nights: steak, homemmade french fries, and salad, and then curry vegetables and chicken over rice. So mom, I miss your home-cooked meals already!
For classes, I am only taking four, and they are: Cross cultural encounters in a European context, which deals with issues of immigration, then Human Trafficking, Environmental Issues and Policy, and Danish Language 1, which begins in an hour from now. From what I can tell, the classes seem fascinating and I'm excited to get more involved with them. My main issue right now is figuring out how to be awake in my 830am classes...
The last thing I'll say in this post is that we had a scavenger hunt throughout the city of Copenhagen (pronounced Cue-bin-how) as a part of orientation on Tuesday. Here are some pictures from that:
This is the building for the Danish Parliament. One of the things that surprised us the most was that there is no security here.. at all. The buildings are so beautiful though.





This is where the prince of Denmark is going to live after renovations are completed. The queen lives in a building opposite this one, and our guide pointed out that these buildings are quite humble compared to those of most royalty. Lastly, there are a crazy amount of bikes in Copenhagen! There are bike lanes on the main roads and even stop lights for bikes!