Insert Witty Title Here

Some random thoughts on my time here thus far.

- For a transportation system that is supposed to be fantastic, it has a lot of flaws.  Every single train was delayed today.  I''m not talking a minute or two either.  The first train I attempted to catch was canceled.  The next train was running 18 minutes late, and stopped in the middle of the tracks once I was on it for no apparent reason.  The third train I attempted to take today was 25 minutes late.  I ended up being late to my first class because of the trains.  And this makes me ponder, how exactly are Danes ever on time for anything?

- I have finally attended all of my classes! Today was the first day that we had The Spies Within: Espionage in the Cold War Period.  Apparently our professor got sick, and we now have two new professors to share their knowledge with us.  The book for the class is about 1,000 pages long (yuck) but after a slow start seems like it will be interesting.  We watched a documentary about the Cambridge Spies which was very interesting.  I was fascinated by the fact that many of the spies joined the communist movement because they thought it was the best way to stop the fascist movement in Germany. 

-Last night I went out to Kulorbar.  It was pretty awesome and a pretty good deal.   For 60kr ($11) you are given a mug at the door, and you get as many free refills of beer as you want. So as long as you get about 3 beers, it's significantly cheaper than anything else in this country.  Luckily, I was able to catch a train home this time. 

- Each morning I'm faced with a decision of how to get to the train station.  Should I walk, which takes about 15 minutes, or ride my bike, which takes about 5.  While it might seem like an easy decision, it's not.  What you might not comprehend is the effect riding a bike has on the elements.  As you zoom along on the bike, you are suddenly thrust into a wind tunnel, the rain hits your even harder, and the 25 degree weather all of a sudden feels like it's 0 degrees outside.  I have yet to make it to the train station without tears streaming from my eyes due to the wind and bitter cold.

-I FINALLY SAW A MULTI-LEVEL BIKE PARKING GARAGE! so exciting

-I also found corn at the grocery store which made me delighted because my father told me that Danes don't eat corn because they think it's horse food.  Now I'm just faced with the dilemma of figuring out how I cook frozen corn.  Surprisingly, Danish instructions don't help.  Google translate is my new best friend.

Feel free to comment and let me know how things are at home, or if you have any questions about things I haven't mentioned!

Some Fun (and not so fun) facts about Copenhagen

Here's just a little list of tid bit's I've come up with throughout my time here thus far.

Fun Facts:
hot dog stands are phenomenal here!
the weather is actually warmer than back home :)   (for now)
No class on Wednesday is a beautiful thing
Vikings are the source of many drinking rituals... In Denmark you say Skol instead of cheers; the reason for this is that Vikings actually used to drink out of skulls. When you say Skol, you are supposed to hold up your glass and then make eye contact with everyone at the table before you drink.  The reason for this is that if you are looking everyone in the eyes, no one can stab you in the back! Also, people clink glasses so that some liquid from your cup goes into the other person's cup, and vice versa.... the reason for this is so that you know that no one poisoned the glasses.   Very interesting paranoid Vikings.
There is an amazing crepe place on Stroget (pronounced stroll)... Stroget is also the longest walking street in all of Europe (and nicely located a block from DIS)
I saw my first Danish snow today!

Not so Fun Facts:
Just because the schedule says the train comes at 1:18 and 2:18 doesn't mean that it does
When there are no trains, you must take a taxi... the price of the taxi goes up a kroner every 2.5 seconds... they are very strict with their taxis here :(   but at least every taxi ride is an adventure!
I might have ruined a pair of boots going out tonight :(

Well that is all i've got to say, now it's time for bed...

Can't Believe it's been a week!

I know, I know.  You all (all 5 of you) rushed home from work yesterday to check what new and exciting things I had posted and then much to your dismay found that I had slacked off and not posted a single word.  Sadly, this is how it will usually be, for I feel my days of exploring and writing up my adventures will slow down after this week.  As I pointed out to Marcy, this past week she has known more about the every day happenings of my life than she has for the past 3 years. 

However, don't you fret.  I have one more exciting blog to post before they become fewer and farther between.  And because of my slacking, I have two days to fill you up on! Yesterday I finally went to explore the city of Roskilde.  It is only one train station away from me, and is full of history and stores! For those of you who don't know, Roskilde was one of the earliest permanent Viking settlements.  Justly so, Roskilde is the home of the Danish Viking Museum... and naturally I ventured there.  The museum I must admit was not that exciting, but apparently when the weather is better you can go out on a reconstructed viking ship for a ride! While I didn't get to do that yesterday, I did get to dress up like a Viking.  Once I have my camera cord I'll be sure to add pictures.

Along with the viking museum I also saw the Cathedral of Roskilde which is where all the kings of Denmark are buried.  The cathedral is right off of the walking street in Roskilde which is littered with shops and expensive restaurants.  How anyone can afford to eat out here is beyond my comprehension.  The prices for everything here are astronomical. After I returned from my hours spent in the freezing cold of Roskilde I came back to my room to thaw out.

Today I decided to make the journey to my gym.  It took my about an hour to get there which was unfortunate. The train barely runs on the weekend so despite the fact that I thought I timed my trip well, two friends and I ended up spending 25 minutes waiting for the train at the station.  Luckily it is a very short walk from the Norreport station to the gym.  Something cool about the gym i joined, is that occasionally they brings DJ's in liven the spirits of the poor souls forcing themselves to workout.  Another fun fact is that you can plug your iPod into the machine your on, and then your iPod can keep track of all your workout sessions, so whenever you plug it into the computer you can when you worked out, how long, how many calories your burned... and so on.  I was very amused by this for some reason.

Tonight some friends are coming over to watch the early football game because sadly we will be sleeping through most of the second one.  (YAY for my slingbox which makes this all possible, I don't know what I would do without it!) One of my friends is a Packers fan, so I might just have to root for the Bears to spite him.

Day Six: Finally getting to sleep in

It's a sad state of being when instead of waking up at 9 being extremely early, waking up at 9 is  sleeping extremely late. Yet for me, waking up at 9 has never felt so great. 
Instead of having to scamper to the train in the dark with my eyes still sealed shut from my slumber, I woke up after the sun rose and didn't have to get to the train until 1:50.  My first class was canceled today, which made all of this possible.
My class today was Leadership Across Cultures, we already have a group assignment to do, and next Wednesday I have my first field study for the class.  Something interesting about DIS's program is that they believe you need to get out of the classroom in order to fully comprehend what you are studying.  So on Wednesday's no one has class, instead on some Wednesday's students have field studies.  This coming Wednesday my partner and I need to go to a Danske Bank and talk to their employee's about their CEO and compile a report on the CEO through this and other research.  Along with this theory that learning is accomplished outside the classroom comes two study tours.  We have a short study tour in which I'm venturing to Northern Germany as well as other parts of Denmark in order to learn about the border region.  My long study tour takes me to Belgium and Amsterdam ( I don't think there is actually a reason for us to be going to Amsterdam, but our professor really wants to take us there)

After class today I walked to a nearby gym and got a membership, and then I went to the grocery store to buy some groceries. We're having a group dinner. (I'm in charge of the salad, I told them that is about all I'm good for :) After dinner we're going back into the city to the Discotek near school which is giving out free drinks to DIS students from 8-11.  YAYY

Day Five: I saw the sun, It opened up the eyes i saw the sun

Yeah, I know that the title to this post is not in fact the actual lyrics to the ace of base song, but that's what I thought today when I saw the sun for the first time since arriving in Denmark.

I started classes today and all of my professors are awesome.  Also, my first class for tomorrow was canceled so I can go out tonight and sleep in tomorrow.  Lovely! My first class is European Politics: The European Union.  My professor is awesome, from what I've heard he also has two livers, and our study tour to Belgium and Amsterdam will definitely be interesting.  My second class is Virtual World and Social Media which will be very different from classes I usually take.  My third class is Religion & Politics in Europe.  From what I've heard it's a very intriguing class.  Tomorrow I'll have leadership across cultures, and The Spies Within: tales of cold war espionage.

Tonight I'm going to a party in my kollegium, apparently it'll be huge, and hopefully a nice way to meet new people... I can hear the music two floors up from the party so that's a good sign.  Now that classes have started I have a feeling there won't be too much to inform you all of, however I'll be sure to keep in touch on a regular basis.  Now it's time to go out :)

Day Four: Free History, Free Coffee and Expensive Cheese

Today was awesome.  First of all, it was not raining outside when I woke up which was an automatic good start to the day.  Secondly, I got free Danish for breakfast. But most importantly I actually got to see the Center of Copenhagen and learn it's history.
I embarked on yet another scavenger hunt, except this time it was to historical sites throughout the city.  However, we first had to stop and retrieve our free danish from the Studenterhuset .

My first official stop was Amalienborg, which is the Royal Palace.  Think not of the white house or the palace in England... this palace is completely different.  The royal family moved there after their palace burnt down.  It was originally built to be mansions for the elite upper class in Denmark.  When the Palace was engulfed in flames the royal family moved and were never quite invited back to their original residence.  As they were residing in Amalienbord, a change occurred and the parliament was created.  It was the parliament that took over the land that used to house the Royal Palace.  Also interesting is that the palace is not gated, you can walk right up to it.  Almost as awesome as the palace and guards was the fact that DIS provided free coffee at this stop.  As we listened to a professor talk about the history of the palace and royal family we sipped on our free coffee.  In 1940 Denmark changed their constitution to allow a Queen to rise to power if the current royalty had no sons.  In 2004  they changed it again allowing a Princess to be next in line to the thrown if she is first born even if the King and Queen have a son.
The second stop was to Kongens Nytorv, which is the King's New Squre.  Oddly enough, the King's New Square is actually a circle, but a beautiful circle none-the-less.  From this circle we saw the Royal Ballet Theater (which we get 50% discounts at), the first mansion in Copenhagen, the most expensive hotel in Copenhagen, a department store that looked like a palace, and Nyhavn street which is the street with all the pretty colored houses off the canal.  However, despite these amazing sites nothing beat seeing the Queen's guard change.  As the Queen's guards processed through the streets along to the sounds of drums and trumpets with the occasional flute interlude here and there I watched in awe.
After there we strolled down Stroget (which is pronounced stroll) and made our way to our third stop, the parliament building.  All three branches of government work out of that building, and a fun fact for everyone is that the building (which if you remember is built where the old palace burnt down) is made out of granite stones sent from every county in the Country.  All the stones are labeled and the royal archives can tell you where each stone comes from.  Located near the parliament building is the old stock market building and all the important government departments.  Also located near the parliament building was more free coffee which I eagerly ordered in hopes of it warming up my hands.
The last stop was a local grocery store where we bough food (paid for by DIS) and when we got back together at the school, had a smorgasbord of authentic danish smorrebrod... thats right people I ate liver paste... and I didn't even hate it! I think that means I'm growing up :)

I finally took my bike out tonight with a few friends and explored Trekroner, the small town I live in.  I also found a cat that seems to live by the bike stands, I named it Simba, and it's adorable. 
I know this was a long post, but how else were you all supposed to learn your Danish history?!
Now I have to start my homework, which, despite the fact I got my books today and haven't started classes, has already seemed to pile up.

Til tomorrow, Lis

Day Three: The Quest for a 50kr picture

Day 3, and not only has it rained every single day, but I haven't seen the sun yet.  I woke up at 7 and it was still dark outside, and I came home from Copenhagen at 5 in the pitch black.  Despite the poor weather conditions, I'm having a blast exploring the city. 

The day got off to an exciting start on the train this morning when another DIS girl threw up on the way to DIS.  Luckily she found a bag in the nick of time, but the Dane sitting in our cabin looked absolutely horrified... not that I blame him.
Once in the city I figured out that I have turned into mapquest for most of the people I hang out with.  For some reason they tend to think I know where I'm going... I haven't led them astray yet though.  After finding Anneks B we were in for a boring 3 hour lecture.
After that we had 3 hours to roam the city.  We went to Studenthus which is a cafe/bar/lounge for students in the city and then our quest for the 50kr picture began.  While reading our orientation packets we discovered that students who submit pictures to DIS that they like can earn 50kr for each picture.  So when we left Studenthus we let our artistic sides shine.  Pictures of pigeons, pictures of street musicians, pictures of the architecture.  Sadly, none of our pictures were very good, so the quest shall continue.  We ventured to the King's Garden which is not very beautiful in the winter unfortunately, and then we headed back to DIS for our academic sessions.

I met my core professor who goes by Jakob and enjoyed listening to him speak about all the trips we will be taking and the trouble we will be getting into.  Jakob assured us that we will have ample time to hit the bars in Belgium, the coffee houses or coffee shops in Amsterdam (in his words if you want coffee go to a coffee house, if you want to get as stoned as you've ever been, go to a coffee shop), and the pubs in Germany. 

Tomorrow is the last day of orientation before classes begin!

A Day of Exploring... in other words, Orientation

Today was the first day of orientation... it's the best way to feel like a Freshman again; except instead of going on a scavenger hunt around F&M's small campus I was on a scavenger hunt through all of Copenhagen.

The day started with the opening ceremony which was your typical boring speakers spouting every single cliche about growing and finding yourself... and then the scavenger hunt began.  We had a ringer in our group who had already spent time at DIS so we finished 4 hours early and grabbed lunch and explored a bit. After the scavenger hunt we had an Immersion fair at which I got information about playing volleyball here and also joined the Hiking and Biking club (yay staying in shape)

The real adventure however was trying to find my way home.  A seemingly simple task that was complicated by the fact that my Kollegium (where i live) is in the middle of nowhere and most trains skip the stop.  After scouring through the transit book we figured it out.  However some other people weren't so lucky on their first try.

Though finding my way home seemed like it would be the biggest challenge, it paled in comparison to shopping at the grocery store.  Grocery shopping isn't as easy as it would seem when nothing is in English and milk is sold in ,5 , 1,5 , 3,5 and many other different types.  I bought the basic staples however.. eggs, deli & bread, grapes, milk, toilet paper, and a bottle of wine.

That's all for now,
Lis

First Day in Copenhagen

It's official... I'm actually in Copenhagen... well, Roskilde to be more precise.  I haven't actually seen the city of Copenhagen yet.  But I figured since I know you're all eagerly awaiting my first post I would oblige. 

The flight over was to be expected... small seats, bad food, no sleep. However they did show three movies, so I was amply entertained; mostly by Jaden Smith in Karate Kid (he's so adorable).  As we started to descend upon the Copenhagen airport (which is apparently spelled Kobenhavn with a line through the o) it seemed that I was about to land in the arctic tundra.  The looks were only minorly deceiving.  I arrived to snow on the ground and rain.  

After waiting at the airport for quite some time a bus took me to my Kollegium in Roskilde.  There were a few things I noticed.  

- A lot of wind turbines, and a lot of wind... So a pretty good combination.

-The fact that no one here drives... the roads were empty.

- McDonalds

-More IKEAs than could possibly be necessary

I just finished unpacking everything, and most of it is actually put away in some sort of comprehensive manner.  The room is quite small with no storage space.  Oh, and Mom, I only packed 13 pairs of shoes... not 15.  As I lay in my bed writing this post I'm sustaining myself on Chex-mix and gummy bears (until dinner at 6 30) and fighting the urge to pass out.  

I know none of that was interesting... but I wanted to have something written when you all got the link to the blog.  Next time I promise I will either be witty or actually have something interesting to write... but for now I'm too tired.
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I went out to dinner with the 50 American DIS students living on the RUC campus... naturally for our first danish meal we had pizza.  I'm starting to think I'll be able to survive on the food here.  Another great perk of Denmark is that I can legally drink... so along with the pizza buffet was a wine and beer buffet.  Needless to say the combination of jet-lag and beer is making me tired.  Orientation starts tomorrow.... it's the best way to make you feel like you're a freshman again.  I have to be at DIS by 11, but apparently I need to be at the train station at 9:45... I don't even want to think about what that means for my 8:30 classes...

Now it's time for bed (10 45 is the earliest I've gone to bed in a few years)