Lots of Differences....

Some things are similar to the US here, but most things are very different.

Absolute biggest difference: There's somewhere around 18 hours of daylight here! It starts getting light at about 4:30am, is completely light by 6am until 10pm and it's not completely dark until about 10:45pm or so. That's not the official sunrise and sunset times, but that's when it's light out. Needless to say it's wreaked havoc on my sleep schedule... add to insult to injury my window faces east. Forget about sleeping in!

Following are some of the other big differences:

1. There is no ice here; you can't even buy it at the grocery store or at gas stations. That's the number one thing I miss for sure (aside from people and Chief of course).

2. There's no AC anywhere. Although you wouldn't need it where I am, south of here I'm sure it's miserable. There's also not screens on windows which is a little annoying.

3. Deodorant isn't exactly considered a necessity

4. Almost everybody (at least 90% of the population according to statistics) owns a bike. There's at least one bike per car on the road, and every single street has a bike lane as well as a sidewalk.

5. Cars are tiny. Gas is expensive (about $3 per litre = about $12/gallon) and in Denmark there's a 25% value added tax as well as 60-63% of the market price to register your car. Adding to the expense, I have yet to see a place where parking is free.

6. Plastic bags aren't free. You have to pay for them almost everywhere. So when I see free ones, I grab a few. They don't last long when you're hauling them full of groceries long distances.

7. People are a lot more friendly than I was expecting. It's not unusual for a complete stranger to sit down next to you at a cafe and strike up a conversation.

8. The bills of currency are in different lengths which makes it easier to pick out which bill you want.

9. The coins are different colors, shapes and sizes.

10. Everything is VERY organized especially when it comes to waiting. There are little things where you pull a ticket and you wait until your number is called. They're everywhere, from the post office to the library to the train station. I'm surprised I haven't seen them in a grocery store yet.

11. It's not unusual for men to be pushing baby prams around especially if they're with their wife/significant other. I've also seen multiple guys out by themselves with their babies. Definitely not a common thing in the US. I think that's one of my favorite things I've seen as far as culture goes.

12. People aren't shouting into their cell phones or texting all the time in public.

13. Forget about Walmart or Target. Shops are small and are rarely open before 10am and almost always close at 5pm. It makes shopping more fun but sometimes I wish there was a one-stop shop, especially when the stores aren't close together.

14. I have yet to see more than one or two flavors of ice cream in a grocery store. I've seen it in small candy shops and 7-11s (yes, they have them here, just not as a gas station) but that's it and only in small containers or as popsicle type things. I should've bought the mini Ben and Jerry's at the 7-11 when I had the chance...

So there you have it. Some of the obvious differences I've experienced so far.

Med venlig hilsen / best wishes


Yes.. that's pretty much the extent of my Danish skills. I've finally learned how to pronounce my street name (Snogebaeksvej) and a couple others though which is a big accomplishment! I've got the bus stop announcements to thank for that.

Check back in a couple of days.. I've got some exciting things coming up!

I Made It!

I finally made it to Aarhus. I've been here for about 4 days now. I arrived in Copenhagen the morning of Tuesday the 20th. I spent the night there in a hostel which wasn't bad. I shared a room with 7 guys so you can imagine what the bathroom was like. But it was okay for a night. Copenhagen wasn't eventful. I was so tired all I did was walk around for about 2 hours and eat dinner. I took a train from the airport to the train station (picture at right); they have luggage lockers so I was able to leave my big suitcase there overnight.

The next morning I caught a train to Aarhus. The trip took about 3 hours and there wasn't much to look at. Just a lot of fields and countryside. The train goes underwater inbetween the islands which was kinda neat.

After I arrived at the train station I left my big bag in a luggage locker and then proceeded to attempt to get to the International Center to pick up my keys. Easier said than done. I ended up about 3 or 4km north of where I needed to be (got off at the wrong bus stop) and I wanted to die. I had my two carryons with me so I was lugging the backpack and small wheeled suitcase (grand total of about 40 lbs) around attempting to figure out where I was and how to get to where I needed to be. After about 3 hours I finally figured it out. Then it took another hour and half or so to figure out how to get to my apartment. In the end, I made it but I was exhausted!

The past 3 days have been spent shopping and exploring. I had to track down an internet cable (no wireless here) along with other necessities (shampoo, conditioner, food etc). I carry around a little notepad and jot down where things are; I'm sure people thing I'm either crazy or a journalist but it's the best way to figure it out. I've sortof figured the bus system out. There's a great website that allows you to type in your starting and ending address and it will tell you what bus to take, where to get off, etc. I use that a lot.

I can't speak Danish let alone pronouce anything, but people are really nice and helpful. Almost everybody speaks English which is helpful. I've met two of the people on my floor (Kenny and Rasmus) and they're super nice too. A lot of people are still out of town (classes don't start for another 5 weeks) so I'm mostly on my own. It's sortof fun to just wander around and do what I want though.

Check out my Flickr account for pictures of what I've seen so far!

18 hours and counting...

Less than 24 hours until I leave for Denmark. It still hasn't sunk in completely yet. I'll be arriving in Copenhagen Tuesday morning and I've booked a hostel there for the night. Then it'll be off to Arhus by train Wednesday morning.
I managed to pack everything into one suitcase to check plus two carry on bags. I'm having one small box shipped as well. Hopefully I didn't overpack! 6 months is a long time though and replacing a whole wardrobe would be expensive.

Check back Wednesday or Thursday for a new post as well as pictures!