Hejhej Denmark, Hello America

I have a few hours before I leave for home! So right now, I’m pretty much passing some time until 3pm when my taxi picks me up to drop me off to the train station.

I am the last one out of my friends to leave and the most commonly used phrase the past two days was “Wow, I can’t believe it has already been four months!” This phrase pretty much perfectly explains my emotions right now. On Friday, DIS had a closing ceremony for us, but I, along with everyone, could still vividly remember the craziness and anticipation of the opening ceremony. Its been a whirlwind, and this has definitely been the “best semester of my life.” I never expected to love Copenhagen so much or to enjoy studying abroad as much as I did, but man, was I wrong. I was doing last minute gift shopping yesterday and caught myself thinking, “This is the last time I’ll be walking down Stroget,” “This is my last time seeing street performers in Copenhagen,”This is my last time I’ll see this building” “This is my last time…This is my last time.” It was even more sad saying goodbye to people, because we will all go to our respective corners of the States, and I know a good amount of the people I met, I won’t see again. It’s much different than college at home, because when I say bye at the end of the semester, I know I’ll run into them next semester..but not here. The people I have met here have been amazing and without them my time in Copenhagen would not have been the same or as much fun. I hope to keep in touch with some of them and meet up for a few reunions=)

On a happier note, I am GOING HOME. After more than 4 months, I am leaving my “home away from home” and I couldn’t be more excited! Family (and also,my brother flies in a few days after me!), friends, food, and sleep are among the top things I am looking forward to! Ive had a great semester here, but now, I am ready to have a great semester back at home!

And now to discuss the future of this blogs life: I do plan on continuing blogging. I still have to blog about my travel break, which is 5 more blog posts and about Berlin when I went over the summer. And I am planning on doing one more wrap up Copenhagen/study abroad blog. But after that, it will mainly be about random things I have done, seen, want to do, etc. Pretty much everything. Thank you to everyone who read my previous blog posts and also to those who commented, and I hope you continue reading! Lots of love.

The begginning of the end

There are only a few days left and I am desperately cramming everything I want/need to do before I do (yes, schoolwork is on the list somewhere). I am currently sitting in the library studying for my last exam and working on my 10-12 page Art History paper during my “study breaks.” I happened to look out the window and it is..SNOWING! I wasn’t expecting to see snowfall in Copenhagen since everyone told me that it rarely snows in Copenhagen but its quite a beautiful surprise=)

I am 5 days, one final exam, one final paper, one christmas market, one closing ceremony,possibly some climate conference events, a few nights out, one overnight train ride, and two plane rides away from being HOME!

Happy December!

Sunrise: 8:16 A.M

Sunset: 3:42 P.M.

Just saying..

December 1. It crept up so fast. I still find it unreal and wonder where all this time has gone. Copenhagen has been my “home away from home” and for some reason I find it weird to be going back…so soon. I know over the summer I was like “4 months! Wow, that is so long”  And now, its  ”4 months? Thats it?” I’ve become accustomed to the sun rising at 8am and setting at 4pm. The rain every day. The feeling of excitement when the sun is shining. St. Peders Bakery. Going to get a delicious falafal from Stroget.  Being with the friends I have made here and carrying out my everyday routine. All the little things that make Copenhagen home. When the weather is gloomy and gray, the Danes have a way to remain happy with the concept of “hygge-”  the coziness and warmth that it entails-it is unique to Denmark, but I am sure I will be talking about it when I go back home.  Time is flying but I am proud and more than happy with everything I have done, seen, and experienced. Being in a new country, not knowing anyone (except my “random” roommate, ironic I know =). Experiencing, living, and adopting the ways of a different culture, learning and taking classes that I know I wouldn’t have had the chance otherwise, and of course travelling. I’ve seen and fell in love with more places than I expected-Copenhagen being the first.

This past week was our Thanksgiving/Fall break. I spent the first two days with my host mom where we spent some time in Roskilde, which is an old Viking town and it also has a church where all the Kings and Queens are buried. The next day, we went up to Elsinore to see Hamlet’s castle, and also got a beautiful view of the coast of Sweden! Thursday was Thanksgiving, and  two girls on my floor were making a traditional Thanksgiving dinner for my Danish RA and his friend. They invited me to join, and it was exciting and fun to introduce a part of American culture to the Danes for once=). Black Friday is not celebrated here, obviously, so my friends and I decided to go up to Malmø, Sweden to do some shopping. It was a beautiful little town, and I’m glad I can check that off the list!

But anyway, that was a sidenote. Happy December! Denmark sure knows how to get into the holiday spirit. Christmas lights are shining, markets are opening, and my favorite..the christmas goodies are out! Yes, there are a few sweets that are only available during Christmas time in Denmark.

Æbleskiver. My favorite! Look like "donut holes" and are usually eaten with jam or powdered sugar.

Pebernødder. Translate to "pepper nuts," they are small biscuits and are very addictive! I also love this.

Gløgg. Haven't tried this but it is hot red wine with spices, nuts, and raisins.

My host mom made Risalamande which is a rice pudding commonly eaten with a cherry sauce.

A place to call home

So I’ve been back “home” for about a little over a week.  I apologize that I haven’t been able to update my blog about my travel break, I promise I’ll get around to it..eventually. The past week has been pretty routine and not too exciting. haha I had a few papers/projects due last week so my week included meeting up with group members and getting everything done. Saturday, I volunteered for a Thanksgiving Dinner for Danish families. Now, I know what you’re thinking, Thanksgiving? in Denmark? Do they even celebrate that? No, they don’t. haha American companies held this event for Danish families and it was a pretty big event. There were about 400 people that attended, and I volunteered to help out with the little kids. Arts and crafts, face painting, keeping them occupied, and the like haha. It was adorable seeing blonde little babies run around chit chatting in Danish and overall I had a great time. Oh yes, the event was sponsored by Coca Cola, so EVERYTHING was Coca Cola. Tshirts, drinks of course, decorations, prizes, you name it and I bet it had Coca Cola on it. The kids were non stop drinking coke, and we were all anticipating very hyper and crazy kids.

We have a few days off for “Thanksgiving break” or “Fall break”, whatever you decide to call it. And then after that break, I have a short three weeks left. EEK! I am slowly but surely making progress on my to do list, and there are just a few important things that I need to get done!

Christmas lights have already been up in some places and the Christmas/Winter Spirit is in the air. Many Christmas markets will open this week, and I am excited to experience the holiday spirit and festivities in Denmark since I have heard so many good things about it! The weather hasnt been too horribly cold, around 50, but just dark and gloomy haha. Days of sunshine are rare and random, but everyone is definitely 10 times happier when the sun is out =)

Well thats it for my rambling:)

Mini Eurotrip

The past two weeks was our travel break. It was a great time! And thankfully everything ran very smoothly:)

Details and stories to come later. So stay tuned!

Small snippet of Danish music

Recently, I have realized that my playlist includes some Danish music. Yes, it is in Danish..and no, I do not understand it. Except for a few lines here and there (Yay!) American music is very popular here, and mostly everything I hear when I go out and in peoples car is American but to those who are interested, I included two Danish songs. A mellow and a more club-like song:

Nik og Jay (Nick and Jay)-Kommer Igen-mellow song

Joey Moe-Yo Yo ( faster and clubby)

Slow motion, please?

First, two things that may not seem important but they are (well at least to me..)

1) I was just rereading my Scotland post I realized it was poorly written with horrible grammar..so I apologize for that. My excuse is that I kept coming back to it every few days and adding a few sentences here and there, and I suppose thats why it did not come out that well! Sorry I’ll try my best to never write like that again!

2) WordPress has some crazy HTML format that I do not understand and therefore the post before this came out in two different fonts, don’t know how that happened, haha so I hope that doesn’t happen for this one either!

Now onto the post.

So, I can’t believe how fast this semester is going. It’s already been over a two months..which means only two more months left! Recently I made a “What to do before I leave” list, and yes.. it was LONG! So after my travel break I WILL accomplish all of it..it’s my goal! Time is dwindling down but I’m sure I can plan my schedule to fit it all in.

Last weekend, my friends and I had tickets to watch the Royal Danish Ballet to see a performace of Giselle, and it was AMAZING! The ballerinas were so talented and the sets and costumes were equally as beautiful. Also, last weekend was Daylight Savings, and as my Biotech teacher said when she emailed us-

“Don’t forget to change your clocks, otherwise you’ll miss class. It’s winter!”

Yes, It is getting closer to winter time..and the dark and gloominess is slowly starting to creep up. The sun rises around 7 and then sets around 4:30…and I know that the days will only get shorter. The Danes embrace this concept and call this “cold, dark” period as hygge. The closest translation to English is “cozy.” There are lots of candles lit, blankets, and just enjoying the company of others. I went to see my host mom this past weekend, and we lit lots of candles, ate, and chatted. It was a great “cozy” feeling.

I’ve often been asked or told “wow, you must be homesick” and honestly, I’m really not. Of course, I miss my parents and my friends, but being around people (who are in the same boat as me) and trying to keep myself busy definitely helps! It makes me a little sad to know that I’ll be leaving Copenhagen- a place where I feel like I find a new thing on every corner I turn, but I know that this IS “a once in a lifetime opportunity”-not to be so cliche. I’ll be home soon enough, back to College park (yay!) but for now, I’m here, and I want to take advantage it!

This was part two of the “work week” for me, and I finally finished my last exam and am ready for the weekend/vacation! This is the first time that I am travelling for a long period of time without my family-either doing all the booking myself to planning sights and things to do, so its quite a different experience/task I am undertaking! Wish us luck, I hope it all works out well! =)