Week 1.... Cloudless Sky's in Denmark

What a beautiful week this has turned out to be in so many ways! The flight to Denmark was long, but overall pretty nice. A Swedish guy sat next to me for the flight from Neward to Stockholm. He was just finishing a several week visit to the US which he set up and traveled by himself. It was interesting to hear what he had to say comparing the two countries. Hearing from someone who was just finishing a similar experience definitely made me feel more at ease about the journey I was about to embark on. So, after talking about cultural experiences, the Swedish and Danish relationships, European geography, and even similar interests we shared with martial arts, I tried to drift off to sleep in hopes of fighting this jet lag I knew would come too soon. Unfortunately though, sleep did not happen, but sooner than I knew it, our plane was landing in Stockholm, Sweden. It was about 8:30am on the east coast in the US when we landed. I had met up with my very first friend whom I must mention because if it weren't for him we would have ended up in the wrong passport check line (thanks dan!). Of course, apparently it was tradition to buy beers when we arrived there (why i'm not sure), but seeing that it was still morning as far as I was concerned and I don't really drink much, I figured I'd just get my butt kicked by some CA, MN kids in ''bullshit'' sober... figures. By the time we reached Copenhagen it was 10:30am (of course Europen time). The skies were blue with few clouds, unlike Sweden where it was raining. Customs went fine, we exchanged money and met up with more DIS students. The group I had found on this flight was pretty good. All 5 of us American students were very different which made the time we had even better. We hung around with each other for most of that day until the end of orientation when we were picked up by our families. Then I had to actually go somewhere on my own! I will admitt I was pretty nervous.. what was I getting myself into?

My family... Farum, Copenhagen... I live with a mother and father who have two children. Charlotte is 13 and Pernille is 21, but she lives on her own about 25 min from us by car. The houses here in DK are much smaller than those in the US and their lifestyles are very different. Sometimes we have breakfast together in the mornings, but because we are all leaving at different times, it does not always work as planned. My host mother runs a daycare out of her house, so each morning about 3-4 toddlers come over for the day. Her kids are between 0 and 3 years older. In a later post I will talk about the different possibilities for childcare in DK, because their school system is very different from ours, so different you will be very surprised! The train station is 15 min from the house by foot or 5 by bike. Then there is a 40-45 min commute for me to the city of Copenhagen. The DIS building is not far from where the train drops me off, but then again what is considered far in DK is probably unheard of for most Americans. People in Denmark walk.... a lot, period. There is no question about it, at the end of the day your legs will be killing you. Biking is very popular though. Think of NYC and imagine 6 bikes for every taxi cab you see and you might be able to imagine how many bikers are in DK. It is hard to think about being in another place without really being there. Were my thoughts about this experience different then what I am actually experiencing now? For the most part, yes. The people are very different here in Denmark and even though i had heard and read much about the culture, it is very different to see it firsthand. There is a big language difference even though almost all Danes speak english. Sometimes I walk through the streets listening to their language... Danish seems more than just a language though, for the Danes to me it looks more like a way of life. Perhaps that is hard to understand without being here. I guess in a way I feel like it is not just the fact that they are from DK and I am from the US that seperates us, but rather the language. As much as i try to relate to them, there is always a barrier up, a wall that separates us because I do not understand everything they do. For example, the danish language does not have a word for excuse me, so you'll find many times that the Danes will tend to just push past you if you are not walking fast enough. Is it rude? Perhaps to an outsider it. I am always still very surprised, but I have found myself almost falling into doing the same thing, which let me tell you feels so weird! I usually just remind myself that they speak english too so will understand me when i say ''excuse me''. Although, the last thing you want when you are in another country is to stand out.

This week has been jam packed with so many tours. I feel like I never really have time to relax much. Yesterday (Saturday) we went on a canal tour which was pretty sweet. Many of the sights we had seen while on the walking tours, but seeing things from the water was pretty cool too. Copenhagen is really a neat place. Sometimes I feel like rushing and trying to see as much as i can as soon as possible, but i do have a year to spend here. Talking to my family and friends at home is hard sometimes because I just want so bad to tell them everything in great detail about what i am seeing.

Saturday night I rode the train and bus for 3 hours. I'd like to say it was because I was trying to get somewhere and that was the only way, but that would be a lie. No, I don't really enjoy riding the trains and buses either, in fact now I hate riding them even more than I used to! I caught the last train back to Farum, but fell asleep and woke up just as it was pulling away from my stop.... figures. So i took it all the way back to Vestergade (45 min) and hopped on the night bus which takes and hour and 15 min to get home. I must say though, everything is an experience. I was able to speak with an older couple while on the train ride back. We talked a little about politics and New Orleans. On the night bus some random drunk guy, who seemed homeless to me excitingly told me his political views on the US government, but half way through the story started to confuse things. In the end I wasnt quite sure what his views actually were either. BUT, there is one thing you learn while anywhere in Europe... i'm just going to say it simply... be careful what you say about your political views. It is interesting to hear what the Danes and other Europeans have to say though. Everyone in the EU wants to talk about politics when they get drunk, so chances are if you are out, you'll hear about it.

The city is so beautiful during the day and so lively as well. The building are all different colors and there are many side streets full shops where cars do not drive. Sometimes during lunch we'll sit in the Gammel trov by the fountain and eat. Everyone is outside on nice days and the first week was filled with bright sunny cloudless sky's. For Denmark that is really luck since almost everyday it rains. We have really been fortunate!


Okay well, I'm closing for this week... a lot of that was rambling on, but hopefully once I get the internet hooked up in my house I will be able to right more... and tell more about differences between the US and Europe!