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Published: January 30th 2008
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Second Week 001
Walking into the HC Anderson Cemetary 1/28
So a lot has happened these last few days in Denmark....
Friday I made my first adventure into Copenhagen nightlife. I met a few friends for the DIS welcoming party at a club called Luxx. It was packed full of other American students and they gave us a free drink which was not that great, it is also the 3rd most expensive bar in Copenhagen so buying a second drink was not going to happen! We all kind of awkwardly stood around like a high school dance for a while until people started to warm up. However the scene was not for me and I started to sneak outta there with my friend Tom from URI and a few other people that live in his Kolleguim (which is like a dorm). Since we were only going down the street they thought it was a good idea to leave our coats at luxx so we didnt have to carry them around, which ended up later being a very bad idea. It's freezing in Copenhagen! so we are walking around looking for a reasonably priced bar and ended up hanging out in the city center near one of the fountains, you
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Can you see the faces? can drink in public so there are all sorts of Danes and other folks "enjoying" the bitter cold. Once we finally smartened up and decided to get our coats I had sucessfully lost my ticket for the coat check! This had apparently happened to a few other people because the coat lady was furious and had many not nice things to say to me and refused to let me have my coat, but it was ok I was just going to go back the next day and they said I could have it back then. Tom had two layers to his coat so he very kindly let me borrow one, so I was fine. After that episode we went to a nice comfy irish pub and I found a few other Americans that lived near me so I decided to stick with them for the rest of the night so I had someone to take the night bus with. The night bus only comes like once every hour so it's really important that you don't miss it! haha But we all made it home safe and sound and learned a few things about how to check your coat at a
club! ( I did get my coat back the next day btw)
Sunday I went off exploring on my own, I wanted to check out some of the sights in the town I live in. There is a really awesome cemetary/park by my house where HC Anderson is buried so I took a long walk in there and took a ton of pictures so I'll put those up on here. Then I went to a museum close to my school, there is free admission so it was a good way to save some money. I went in really wanting to learn more about Danish history but I spent too much time in the "people of the world" section so I had to rush through the Danish part, but I can go back anytime. Sunday, although it sounds like a laid back day, was actually a tough one. Walking around the city I realized that I dont really know enough about it to fully appreciate things as much as I should. A building is just a pretty building unitl you really know what kind of events went on there or what all the symbols and sculptures represent. I just dont
want to take for granted the sights that I get to see everyday, because when I do then this city is just another city and a lot of it's best features can be hidden. So I started to get kind of down, and I was pretty homesick by nightime, but things quickly brightened up and today was an AMAZING day and I think I really finally get why I'm here and how much I'm going to enjoy being here for the next 16 weeks!
Ok so you probably haven't heard but Denmark won the handball finals!! Handball is a HUGE sport overhere and it's really fun to watch. This was the first time that Denmark had ever even made it to the finals nevermind win the whole thing! So at around 5 today they had a big rally to greet the players. The thing about this sport is that it's not like anything at home, because yea we have the patriots and new england but besides the olympics nothing that really incorporates our whole country. Denmark is granted, very small, and the players are just normal guys that live in Copenhagen, so people have a personal relationship with them.
Anyway, just standing in this square surrounded by litterally thousand of Danes, really made me appreciate why I'm here. There were families, people singing, flags everywhere, there was just so much pride and so much positive energy coming from these people.
The way they live their lives here, and the way they interact with each other, it was an amazing thing to see. The people here are really what make Denmark so wonderful. The city is beautiful but there aren't many touristy things to see, it's a pretty normal city, and if you just spent a few days here you would probably not be that impressed. Living here is what makes the difference, being able to interact with the Danes and adopt their culture into my own life. They have this term "hygge" (sounds like hue-ga) it basically means to be comfortable and to have a good time. So at every corner there are candle-lit cafes, which arent like at home because they serve beer, but they arent like bars either because they are quite. You can just relax in a big comfy chair and enjoy a hearty beer and mindfull conversations. Danes are know for having 5 hour
Second Week 010
I dont know who's grave this is but thought the helment and sword was cool dinners, both at home and when they go out, they see the importance in spending time with family and friends everyday. They do a lot to make their homes comfortable, with again lots of candles and very soft lighting, and they dont have a lot of stuff, everything is very simple. There are hardly any cars here so everyone uses public transportation, I think it makes them more patient because no one seems in a rush, and my commute here is much more relaxed than at home, there is almost complete silence even when the bus is jam packed.
Continued on 1/30....
So like I said I finally get it, and I feel much more comforted in this new light, taking the time to really watch people here and understand them rather than focusing so much on the city. I think this will also have a huge impact on the rest of my travels in Europe, before I was planning on going to as many places as I could to see as much as I can, but I think I will be much more satisfied spending my travel break in one place, getting to know the culture there
the same as I'm doing here. I have been talking to some friends back at home who have traveled/lived in Europe to get a feel for where I might like to go, I'm def going to stay away from the more know touristy places, as I figure those places I'll probably be able to visit at least some time in my life and Ill probably want to relax outside rather than going to another city. So I still have a lot of planning and research to do!
I got some exciting news today! I don't know if everyone knows but I got hired for a new internship before I came here, so I will have a job when I come home in the summer. But I just talked to the coordinator of the program and she said that I can start working on my project now while in Denmark, so they will be able to pay me for 10hrs/week! Yay money!! I'm not sure exactly what I'll be doing or what my project will be but I'm sure I'll tell you all about it!
I don't have any classes today, but I sure have a lot of
Second Week 017
haha my friend randy likes turtles work to do! Miss you all, talk to you soon! <3
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Kris
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Enjoy
What a treat to start the day off with adventures in Denmark! Sounds like you have the right 'tude to really enjoy your time there. Love the pictures. Even the rats with wings. :) Awesome about the work. Bonus! I will eat your cake on Saturday! Miss you!