Fire Season

The past few days in Copenhagen have been crazy and filled with a ridiculous mixture of schoolwork and fun. I saw the ballet "Giselle," and went clubbing in Copenhagen's up-and-coming meatpacking district. I saw Muse in concert, went to the Icebar, and sang karaoke. I also managed to write a midterm essay, take three exams, create two powerpoint presentations, and outline a research paper. It has been quite hectic, but thankfully, things are really great.

Daylight Saving Time in the EU occurs a week earlier than it does in the United States. The sun sets at around 4:30 p.m. So I wake up in the dark, go to school in the dark, come home from school in the dark on some days, and obviously go to sleep in the dark. Cue seasonal affective disorder?

And so tomorrow night, I fly out to London for a few days, followed by a trip to Rome and a week in Russia. The madness of midterms means that fall travel break is here. So two weeks sans classes means two weeks of travel, fun, and games.

Icebar

We love karaoke!

Muse in concert at Parken

Allie and me during Muse!

In the Islands

It seems like I have more and more to blog about, and less and less time to do so. Things have been hectic, with schoolwork, reading, and travel-related activities. Though I'm quite in denial, I do have work, I do have tests, and I do care. Well kind of. I want to do well in my classes, but I also want to see Denmark, experience different cultures, and travel. Luckily I have been finding the balance, and will hopefully maintain it.

I went to Malmo, a town in Sweden that is very close to Copenhagen. It is an easy day trip, you don't need your passport, and it only costs about $24 round trip. Not to mention that I totally can just run off to Sweden for a day. I went with my friends Deborah and Lisa, and we shared a nice day together. We went shopping at H&M, had lunch at a random coffee shop, and spent time walking around and seeing the city. We chanced upon a gay pride parade, with plenty of 90s music blasting from floats filled with dancing people in sparkly outfits.

On a separate occasion, Lisa, Deborah, and I cooked a lovely dinner together, throwing together our random ingredients with the hopes of creating something delicious. It worked.

This afternoon I'll attend an AQUA concert (yes, the masterminds behind the "Barbie Girl" song), and then hear the live announcement of which city gets to host the 2016 Olympics. Then it is Sukkot, the festival of booths. Then off to Estonia and Finland until next Friday afternoon. Have a great week!

I Bought a Toothbrush, Some Toothpaste

I cannot tell a lie. Doing laundry here was a bit of a nightmare. One of the driers in my building does not work, but it was not labeled and it let you pay for use anyway. That was annoying. But there is of course one saving grace - great detergent.

On a separate note, I'm off to western Denmark for a long weekend. It is integrated with my program, so I will not be missing any classes. It should be really interesting to see what the countryside is like - the places that we are visiting are supposed to be very rural, and nothing like Copenhagen.

Plays it As it Lays

It seemed like the line at the coffee shop would never end. After my friend and I finally got our orders, we rushed to the building where out next class was to meet. We climbed up the narrow spiral staircase that dates back to the 18th century, and huffed and puffed as we reached the fourth floor. The classroom door was closed. And outside? A newborn baby.

My professor for "Health Beyond Borders," Amy, recently had a baby. Though she is entitled to 14 weeks of maternity leave, she still opts to teach our class (and take those stairs since there are no elevators in the building). Last time her husband (who was entitled to two weeks off from work for paternity leave) had the baby, but today her daughter joined us. The baby was a bit cranky so Amy spent most of the class outside the class room, but it was not the end of the world. We still went through class with the help of the program assistant, and even formed groups for our major semester project.

Amy opened the class by saying that even though the situation may seem unusual. In America, I doubt that we would often see a baby in a class room, except in extenuating circumstances or a planned visit. But in Denmark, the importance of family and children makes it completely acceptable, and even normal.

Times Mirror Square

Americans love a lot of things - football games, hot dogs, people with accents. But we also have a very traditional concept of lifetime milestones. You graduate high school, go right to college, finish in four years, and hopefully spend a semester or year abroad, so you have the opportunity to do some traveling on Mom and Dad's dime. After graduation, it is time to get a job or continue to graduate school. Everyone should have a plan, an agenda.

But for Danish students, it is very different. Last night, I attended an orientation for Danish students who are planning on studying abroad in the United States. I learned a great deal about the Danish idea of being a "young adult," and got to see the differences between the life of young Danish students and my own higher education experiences.

The typical Dane becomes independent at the age of 18. If you still live under the roof of your parents, chances are you will be paying them rent. Many people work part-time while in school, and it is not unusual at all to take gap time for travel and exploration. But, once you get to uni (as they call it), you specialize immediately. There is no general education or liberal arts curriculum. You go for a specific topic, and spend an average of three years completing your undergraduate work.

I always thought that studying abroad we a mostly American idea - send your kids to Europe so that the can drink even though they are under 21, and let them have some adventure time before they need to get serious and move into the rest of their adult lives. But Danish people study abroad as well.

The group that I met last night was a large delegation to Barnard College, uptown from my home university, NYU. They are coming to the States for a variety of reasons - more advanced classes, the opportunity to see New York and explore a different continent, to decide if they want to pursue a higher degree overseas. They study abroad for many of the same reasons we do - we just think it is strange that they would be so eager to come spend a few months in America, of all places. For us, Europe is exotic, a far-off land with sexy accents, chicer fashion, and a much richer cultural history. We romanticize what lays across the Atlantic Ocean, and create a fantasy about diving into a world of jetsetters and magically becoming more fashionable and classy.

But it works in reverse to a certain degree. Europeans also have ideas of stereotypes that may exist in our country. I met a Danish fellow who asked what my favorite line dance was, since he has been to a bar outside of Chicago that had line dancing on Tuesday nights. One of the girls who is going to Barnard looked at me very seriously and asked, "All I know about Americans is from America's Next Top Model. Is that really bad?"

Maybe it is kind of bad. But we're no better. As one of the speakers at the orientation said that the whole purpose of studying abroad is to expand your cultural horizons and to prepare yourself for the global world that we live in today. This is when I realize that Europeans are real people too, and this is when Europeans realize that I'm not a cowboy, nor am I particularly rowdy at sporting events. Networking with international students is a way of noting and learning to explain the differences and similarities between different groups of people, and fostering understanding and knowledge, rather than furthering ignorance, when addressing the international community. This is really proving to be an excellent opportunity to get to know people who not like me, and yet really not so different after all.

Run, River

My first weekend (not to mention my first full week) in Copenhagen is drawing to a close on this breezy, sunny Sunday evening. I spent my weekend socializing, touring the city, and exploring what it is to live like a Dane.

On Friday afternoon I went on a boat tour of the canals. I felt like a huge tourist, but I have to admit that the view of the city from the water, glowing softly in afternoon sunlight was really lovely. We saw a lot of tourist sites, including the famous Little Mermaid statue. Which, by the way, was not as large as you would think. It is actually tiny. And you can basically walk up to it and touch is (or decapitate it like has happened before). There were a bunch of spots on the tour where I had already been, and a lot more that I did not even know existed. I got a lot of good ideas for future photo ops and excursions for when I feel like being a tourist again.

The rest of my weekend involved exploring Copenhagen nightlife. DIS (the program that I'm on) rented out a club for a big "end-of-orientation" party. It was surprisingly entertaining. They played Michael Jackson songs, and bad music from the '90s. People were blasting music in the streets, but the most popular selections were by ABBA. A lot of the people wandering about were American, and very obvious about it ("OMG in America they totally don't have places like Viking Bar!"). And yet there was such a charm about it. Blasting old Swedish pop music is really endearing. And the '90s throwbacks weren't too awful. There were plenty of Danes. Maybe next time we'll go places that are a bit less touristy. All in good time.

Today was a very quiet day. Most things are closed on Sundays in Copenhagen, thanks to old laws that mandate which businesses can open and close at what times. It was quiet and much like a New York Sunday, though I could not go shopping and spend my hard-earned money. Even though there was not a lot to do, it was the kind of quiet day, perfect for walking and wandering, that you need every so often.

Rock of Ages

Even though I'm still pretty sure that this is vacation and that I am certainly not going to school, classes have surprised me with a sneak attack. They started bright and early this morning (8:30 a.m.?!). However, the first day went remarkably smoothly. I reached each class on time, and had no difficulty finding the buildings. The topics (Healthcare in Northern Europe and Health Beyond Borders) are similar enough that they compliment each other nicely, and there are several people in both classes.

The actual buildings where classes are held are very old. The classrooms feel like sitting in a building in colonial Williamsburg or in old Philadelphia. The glossy paint coats the floor squeak when you slide your chair back, the windows with thick glass panes seem to be painted shut as the result of restoration and maintenance, and the stairwell up to the fourth floor is twisting and rickety - it felt like going down a slide and one misstep could have sent you down on your back. And yet there is something so charming about these less than state-of-the-art facilities. It is part of the charm of studying abroad and of being in a medieval city - stuff is old.

Where I Was From

The past few days have been a whirlwind, but I am thrilled to say that I have been in Copenhagen for a solid two and a half days. After a smooth flight to Reykjavik then to Copenhagen, after registration and orientation sessions and introductions, and after a short bus ride, I arrived in my new home, the Keops Kollegium. I'm living in a single room, with my own bathroom and a kitchenette. (I'll post pictures once I am completely unpacked and settled). There is a decently large group of Americans living here, and we're already forming our own community in our building.

Copenhagen is gorgeous. It is a mix of medieval and modern. Winding cobblestone streets are lined with stores like Gucci, Chanel, and H&M. Modern glass buildings are across the way from old row houses. Pedestrians battle bicyclists and cars and buses on the roads (and bicyclists tend to win). This city is a different world.

These past few days have been full of typical orientation activities - opening ceremonies, guides to living in Europe and with Danes, and a scavenger hunt designed to help jump start the process of getting to know a brand new city. I have spent plenty of time getting lost, trying to read maps, and trying to make sense of completely foreign street names. I still can't pronounce the street that I live on, but maybe our Danish survival lessons will help that matter.

The overall atmosphere at DIS right now is just like freshman year. Fall is in the air, with crisp breezes and warm sunlight bouncing off the old bricks. Everyone is trying desperately to make friends and find excitement. We all talk about where we're from, where we go to school, and what classes we're taking. We speak with excitement of the adventures just around the corner, and exchange numbers so we can meet up later. Everyone is a little bit lost but trying their hardest not to be. But soon enough everyone will have settled in, found a routine, and find their own place in Copenhagen.