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 :)