"Denmark is like the hot guy who doesn't know he is hot"

This is the sappy, tourist post. 
Denmark is honestly a hidden gem. I have traveled to a lot of European cities but there is something that is entirely unique about Copenhagen. Paris, London, Barcelona, Rome...all know they have their beauty and they show it. Copenhagen is filled with this beauty you have to feel. Does that make sense? There is a just a cozy, humble charm about this city that I have never felt before. It doesn't try to appeal to tourists, it is there for it's people. Copenhagen doesn't have that snobby feel that other European cities have either. The inhabitants are content and open to foreigners. The Danish keep to themselves but are more than willing to help anyone out. They are kind, quiet, and absolutely beautiful. Everyone here looks like they popped out of magazine. As I said to a friend, Denmark is filled with popular blonde girls from high school but without the attitude. Everyone here enjoys life. I wouldn't say the Danes are bubbly people, they are just content with life and are able to find the humor in any situation. It is a lovely way of living.

Nyhavn

Copenhagen is also open to change. They keep the old but expand with the new. They aren't afraid to have an "erotica" museum or have a 7/11 convenience store, these quirky things just simply add to the charm of the city.


Being a very walkable city, I have had the chance to explore between classes (which I love as well). The other day I was able to stumble upon Nyhavn and the Queen's Royal Palace. When I came to class the other day some people were having a random community line dance going on in the square. Copenhagen is like going into a antique shop. It is filled with knick knacks and odds and ends but there is always a priceless item in between. 

The community line dance in Gammeltorv

Filled with quaint parks, 17th century architecture, great food, and lovely people Copenhagen is by far my favorite city in Europe.

Real stories, real people....the Real Copenhagen. Day 1. Part 2.

Hej, Tak, folkhojskole.....three words I know in Danish. Not bad for only being here for four days! I LOVE IT. I love my school, my folkhojskole, the people, the food, and AHH everything! Now, before I type this all out, I am going to say that this being my personal blog, I am going to tell the truth. The whole truth and nothing but the truth. If you are looking for a blog that shoots sparkles into your face and has unicorn and lollipop filled study abroad experiences then I suggest you look else where. There will be negative with the positive in my study abroad experience, so I will tell you all the negatives as well as the many positives. Just a surgeon general's warning before you read. :)


Wow, four days. I feel like I have been here for a month already. Well I guess I need to re-iterate those four days so hold on to your lug nuts because it's time for an overhaul.


I am going to start off where I left off with the other post. Leaving for the my home...Grundtvigs Folkhojskole. A folkhojskole is a small school where Danes go before they go to University. It's a free learning community where you take classes but don't receive grades. You learn on your own initiative. Thus Grundtvigs philoshopy.

Drop it like it's hot. Grundtvig.

Day 1 (This may sound negative at first, but it becomes positive. Keep in mind I hadn't slept when I had my first experience of Copenhagen. There is more positive than negative! No negative Nancies in this joint.)

NOT HERE.

After staying up for 30 hours we finally drive to the Grundtvigs Hojskole in Hillerod. A 30 minute bus drive somehow equals a hour and half train commute...doesn't make sense. Anyhow, we drive through windy pastures see beautiful farms, windmills, ponies, and more happiness until we reach the hojskole. Not what I expected. Okay, I'll admit I was imagining myself walking through the gates of Hogwarts, high fiving the Danes left and right but this just wasn't what I was expecting it to look like. It looks like an greenhouse converted into a building. Okay, I can deal with this. It's just 70s modern architecture not a 1000 year old school with a hat that can sort me into my room. No big deal. Next observation..... why are there old people walking around? Wooo they mistakenly took us to the elderly home. Ah I believe I saw Hogwart's gates over yonder...ah no that is Frederiksborg Castle. Common mistake. But then...where are the 60 young, strapping Danish lads I was promised? HMMM DIS?! Are you telling LIES?! O, they come next week you say? These people are here for a dancing camp. How quaint! Aw, I love little Europeans and their dancing. I wonder if they can do the Busch Garden's German dance!
TIKKA TOKKA


So I am not really a writer, so I am just going to awkwardly state that this is my transition away from my dialogue and back to my original writing style.


So the 15 of us get our keys to our rooms. Margaret ( a dear friend from Elon) and I are rooming together. We excitedly retrieve our keys from the retired Grundtvigs professor who slightly resembles the Doc from "Back to the Future" and drag our luggage into the elevator. I blame jet lag for this but Marge and I could not figure out how to go to the second floor..in a three floor elevator. We might as well been in that weird glass elevator that goes all directions in 'Charlie and the Chocolate Factory' because the buttons indicated that we had those choices. I present to you the options... K, K, O, 1, 2, 3, and the symbol of a bell. I'm sorry Grundtvigs, but I am not Sherlock Holmes and I do not enjoy trivial guessing games and riddles so please just take us to the floor above. Well after 4 tries, it granted us our wish. Thus after having the elevator doors close on my suitcase we FINALLY make it to our room door. What's behind it?! Do we have white wash walls with dark wood beams accented with timeless Danish antiques and sweet salvation in the form of a goose feather down bed?!


Oh.


(Back to my thought process)
Well at least we have beds! (and an oriental rug?) Bathroom, oo a shower would be lovely right now...I can be squeaky clean and then I can.... where is the shower? My eyes wander over the bathroom..toilet. check. sink. check...but where is the shower head? There is this odd spicket I suppose on the wall...but no shower curtain or stall. Why is there a squee gee on the floor? Wait.....no....no. This is more ghetto than JoJo's house on Cribs.  THE SHOWER STALL IS THE BATHROOM. THE SQUEE GEE IS USED TO GET THE WATER OFF THE FLOOR. Okay, yes I was being a diva but at the moment I couldn't process the simplicity of this actually revolutionary way of showering.


You see Danes like to be environmentally friendly and conserve resources as well as space. As we all should be! So after 4 days of using this shower I actually like it! Everything is in arms reach and only the floor gets wet which I can easily squee gee. Which is actually quite entertaining.


So I got over my little diva phase and learned to love it. I will explain more later but Copenhagen just gets better and better each day! I can't wait for the Danes to arrive, I can't wait to experience more of my classes, and I can't wait for the rest of my adventures. Peace and blessins.

Lovely Grundtvigs Folk School :)

Jet Lag: The Chronicles of a Dead Person

Hopped on a plane for DIS, with my dream and a cardigan... not going to go there Miley.

Well I left for Copenhagen from DC at 5:15 on Scandinavian Air. It was a great flight.  No turbulence, great service, and plane food that didn't taste like regurgitated bird food. Win/win situation.

Lose situation, Margaret and I got no sleep whatsoever. zippo. zilch. cerooooo. 

One of my weaknesses is that I cannot sleep unless I am lying horizontal. It is truly my Achille's heel. So I have been awake for the past 24 hours. DIS is holding us at their offices until our bus leaves at 5  for Hillerod. So I arrived in Copenhagen at 7:15 AM and have been here since. For the past couple of hours, we have been hanging out with other folkenhojskole people exploring the area around DIS. Lucky for us, DIS is located in the heart of Copenhagen so we have had a fun time exploring....until the torrential downpour. Being the handy, dandy explorer that I am, I had an umbrella on hand. Margaret....was not so lucky. 

So we arrived somewhat cute for our Danish compadres and now we look like drowned, sleep deprived cats. NOT A PRETTY IMAGE. We ended up stumbling in a restaurant called "Tight," owned by a French, Canadian, and Australian. Our Aussie friend treated us to a nice Danish meal. I ordered a $25 hamburger (ridiculous, thank you for being expensive Denmark)! However, it was the best hamburger I have EVER had, so it was worth the 130 kroners I paid for it. I wish I took a picture but I was too busy wringing my clothes out. 

After our yummy first dining experience in Denmark, we went walking and then kind of got lost and then found our way again. DIS is going be having some intense orientation sessions the next few days so hopefully I will get the hang of Copenhagen soon. So far, so good :)  Except for the jet lag. I am honestly seeing cross-eyed.

Packing..Why I am silently crying on the inside.

      I am not going to lie. This is the biggest dilemma I have faced in a while.
How..HOW do I pack four months of clothes and supplies into two suitcases? I have only packed half of my clothes into one large suitcase and I still have another half to get into it! Then I have shoes, supplies, toiletries, and the rest of my life to pack into another. This appears to be seemingly impossible.
I don't consider myself an overly fashionable person nor do I consider myself an over-packer, but the fact that many people seem to be taking one suitcase with a carry-on is the equivalent of telling me they are also building a rocket ship. I am in sheer awe of them. They deserve an award.
     I have 3 days to go till I board my Scandinavian Airlines flight from Washington to Copenhagen and I still haven't packed everything yet. I am getting heart palpitations just thinking about this task ahead of me.
     I will say I have tried the "space bag,"  but now it just appears that I have over-sized ziploc bags in my suitcase.

Half of my clothes in 'space bags'

The rest of the clothes that I have to fit into the other suitcase.
Eh.

     You know what, it will be okay. Somehow, someway everything will make it over there and if not, then my parents can ship it to DIS for me. No problemo. I have gotten everything else covered! I have my passport, visa, kroner (Danish currency), and everything else checked off the list. Now all I have to do is pack (ugh) and get on a plane!
     It's funny. It hasn't really dawned on me yet that I am going to go LIVE in another country. I have only moved once in my life and that was to somewhere that was 5 minutes away. This is going to be such a life experience and I cannot wait! Danish life here I come (just have to pack first.)

Denmark?

Recently the question I seem to be getting is, "why are you studying abroad in Denmark?" I can understand the perplexity of the situation. What IS in Denmark?
Well to be quite frank, I had the same question. The only thing I knew about Denmark before doing my research was that that they make good pastries, probably have a lot of Great Danes, and they have a royal family that I could possible marry into (thank youuuu 'Prince and Me.')

Unfortunately, I was wrong about all of those things.
A) Danish pastries actually come from Austria.
B) Great Danes come from Germany and fun fact! They are the state dog of Pennsylvania.

C) Denmark does have a royal family, but none of them are eligible bachelors.  

German.

"The Prince and Not Me."

        
After discovering that I all my pre-conceived notions of Denmark were in fact untrue, I decided to do a little more research. I therefore came upon some information that SEALED the deal for my study abroad destination.
A) Denmark is one of the safest countries in the world. (Who wants to get robbed while you're studying abroad? Not me.)
B) They make AWESOME bacon.
C) Vikings.
D) Tivoli Gardens. (Inspiration for Walt Disney World)
E) Christmas markets.
F) People with a sarcastic sense of humor.
AND SO MUCH MORE.....

I honestly can't wait to embark on this adventure. I don't know what to expect in the next four months, but DIS affords me the opportunity to study and travel in this amazing country. Two weeks and off to Copenhagen I go!