Enter week two of my Danish class. Most of us have given up actually learning the language at this point. We've picked up the basics but grammer is rediculously hard and writing it is even harder. But it's still fun!
Sunday night some of the students had a BBQ at their house so I went to that with Elliot and Alex and we met everybody there. It was great fun and there was a huge mix of us there. Ireland, Japan, Italy, Spain, USA, Australia, Austria, England.. you get the point. BBQs here definitely aren't what they are in the States. Hamburgers and hot dogs don't cut it. You have to marinate the meat and make skewers and all sorts of other food. And of course, beer.
Monday night about 20 of us went out for dinner. It was a spur of the moment thing and we pretty much took over this little Italian restaurant. It was so much fun though! The food was amazing and it wasn't too expensive either. I didn't take any pictures but some other people did so hopefully I'll get copies.
Last night there was International Night at Studenterhus Aarhus and that was fabulous as well. Studenterhus Aarhus basically organizes tons of events for students and there's a huge place where we can all go hang out. There's a full working bar, table soccer.. it's really fun. Every Tuesday night there's international night so a lot of international students end up going to hang out with everybody. Last night was just a casual get together, but next week they're having a movie night and I think Karaoke is coming up soon as well. They also organize trips for us. Next weekend there's a trip to Legoland and in about a month there's a trip to Skagen on the very Northern part of Denmark that I can't wait to go on.
Today I went to Bazar Vest with two other girls from America, Nikki and Lacey. It's basically an indoor farmers market geared toward Middle Eastern people. We had falafals which were absolutely amazing and we all bought a lot of really fresh produce for not a lot of money. I spent about 75kr (about $15) and got 2 huge mangos, 5 kiwis, grapes, a huge thing of blueberries and 3 huge peaches. Pictures have been posted on Flickr.
Big news of the day: I leave for Barcelona in a week! There's a big group of exchange students going (I'm not sure what the total head count is) and we're going to stay for a week. Round trip flight cost about $100 and the hostels will cost about $35 a night. Definitely couldn't travel that cheaply in the States! I am rediculously excited and I'm really glad that there's a TON of stuff going on this weekend so the next week should go quickly!
Look for another update after this weekend :)
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Sunday, August 8, 2010
Jeg hedder Michelle. Jeg kommer fra United States.
Sorry it's been a while... things have been crazy here! Learning Dansk is a lot harder than I expected. The written language is different from the way you speak it which complicates things. My language class is FABULOUS though. We have a great teacher and there's 16 of us from 12 different countries. We've learned a lot but we have a lot of fun at the same time. I know the very basics such as jeg hedder (my name is) and jeg kommer fra (I come from) plus how to ask if somebody has a girlfriend... that will be useful! I can count (sortof) in Dansk as well.
I've met a ton of people from Germany, Poland, England, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain... I could go on forever! There's only about 10 of us from the States but that's okay; all the exchange students speak English and they like to teach us their language too which is awesome.
There's a lot of exchange students who live at my Kollegium which makes things even more fun. We had a BBQ here Thursday which was really fun. A ton of people showed up including people from other Kollegiums. Friday one of the guys from the States threw a house party American style at his place. There had to be at least 200 people there, some Danish, lots of exchange students.. it was awesome. There was even beer pong!
Last night a girl from the States and I went out to a bar downtown with some Danish boys she knows. It was a blast even though they kept speaking in Danish and we had no idea what they were saying. They thought our accents were strange and it was entertaining listening to them try to imitate us. They were really nice to let us come over to their place and pregame and then let us tag along to the bar with them. I had soooo much fun! Danish music is better than American music by far. Everyone likes to dance, not sit at tables and hang out.. I definitely wasn't complaining! We left a little past 3am.. places are open really late and most people stay out until about 6am and just catch the first bus home. The boys stayed there but Nikki and I took a taxi home. It'll take some getting used to partying that late!
The weather here has been great. Only two days so far that it rained really hard for a long time. Usually it rains early in the morning for a little while and there's occasional pop-up showers but they don't last long. It's perfect weather for jeans and a t-shirt but you definitely don't go anywhere without a waterproof jacket or umbrella. I've gotten used to not having ice but I still miss it. I don't really miss drinks from home.. I've figured out where I can buy Diet Coke (Coke Light) and beer is actually really good. There's a huge variety of flavors including pear and apple.. definitely nothing like Bud Light or Coors. Lots of walking is involved though so I haven't gained any weight yet!
More to come in a couple days
I've met a ton of people from Germany, Poland, England, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Japan, Canada, Italy, Spain... I could go on forever! There's only about 10 of us from the States but that's okay; all the exchange students speak English and they like to teach us their language too which is awesome.
There's a lot of exchange students who live at my Kollegium which makes things even more fun. We had a BBQ here Thursday which was really fun. A ton of people showed up including people from other Kollegiums. Friday one of the guys from the States threw a house party American style at his place. There had to be at least 200 people there, some Danish, lots of exchange students.. it was awesome. There was even beer pong!
Last night a girl from the States and I went out to a bar downtown with some Danish boys she knows. It was a blast even though they kept speaking in Danish and we had no idea what they were saying. They thought our accents were strange and it was entertaining listening to them try to imitate us. They were really nice to let us come over to their place and pregame and then let us tag along to the bar with them. I had soooo much fun! Danish music is better than American music by far. Everyone likes to dance, not sit at tables and hang out.. I definitely wasn't complaining! We left a little past 3am.. places are open really late and most people stay out until about 6am and just catch the first bus home. The boys stayed there but Nikki and I took a taxi home. It'll take some getting used to partying that late!
The weather here has been great. Only two days so far that it rained really hard for a long time. Usually it rains early in the morning for a little while and there's occasional pop-up showers but they don't last long. It's perfect weather for jeans and a t-shirt but you definitely don't go anywhere without a waterproof jacket or umbrella. I've gotten used to not having ice but I still miss it. I don't really miss drinks from home.. I've figured out where I can buy Diet Coke (Coke Light) and beer is actually really good. There's a huge variety of flavors including pear and apple.. definitely nothing like Bud Light or Coors. Lots of walking is involved though so I haven't gained any weight yet!
More to come in a couple days
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
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!
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!
Sunday, July 25, 2010
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!
Sunday, July 18, 2010
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!
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!
Thursday, May 13, 2010
9 weeks
9 weeks until I leave Kansas City for Copenhagen! I'm still not sure exactly how I'm going to get from Copenhagen to Aarhus but I think I'm going to take a train. There's trains that run every half hour or so from Copenhagen and it's not horribly expensive. That way I can see some of the country, plus I'm sure flying from Kansas City to Atlanta and then to Copenhagen will make me sick of sitting on a plane.
I got my Danish residence permit today. It's a sticker that goes in my passport. I can also work for 15 hours a week, but from what I understand, it's really difficult to get a job in Denmark if you don't speak Danish. My application got to New York on Monday afternoon and they mailed everything back and it came to Kansas City this morning. I was expecting it to take at least a month, not one day. At least I don't have to worry about not having my passport. I like their efficiency!
Let the countdown begin...
I got my Danish residence permit today. It's a sticker that goes in my passport. I can also work for 15 hours a week, but from what I understand, it's really difficult to get a job in Denmark if you don't speak Danish. My application got to New York on Monday afternoon and they mailed everything back and it came to Kansas City this morning. I was expecting it to take at least a month, not one day. At least I don't have to worry about not having my passport. I like their efficiency!
Let the countdown begin...
Thursday, May 6, 2010
Waiting Game
Just a quick update:
I mailed in my completed application for student residence today, much more expensive than I had planned on (about $230), but it'll make me a Danish resident! Now I just have to play the waiting game.. to the tune of about 2 months. I'll be in big trouble if it doesn't come before I leave July 19; I had to mail in my original passport.
I got my housing assignment earlier this week; it's in a student living complex (Vilhelm Kiers Kollegium) about 3km from campus, which isn't that bad at all. It's within walking distance (about 10 mins) from grocery stores, about 20 mins from a mall, and about 30 mins from campus. Rent is approximately $430 or DKK 2356 a month. I'll have my own room and bathroom and share a kitchen and tv/entertainment room with 14 other people on my floor. There's a total of 630 apartments in the complex, about 30 per building, and each building has 2 floors.
Thought I'd share a link to an episode of Oprah I watched a couple months ago. For the past 30 years, Danes have consistently been among of the happiest people in the world, and Oprah chose to profile them in her "Lives of Women Around the World" to find out why. I remember watching it, and telling myself someday I'd live in Denmark. Who knew it would actually happen!
There's also a neat video of Oprah touring a typical home in Copenhagen (link on page 2 of the article)
http://www.oprah.com/world/Inside-the-Lives-of-Women-Around-the-World/1
Less than 3 months to go!
I mailed in my completed application for student residence today, much more expensive than I had planned on (about $230), but it'll make me a Danish resident! Now I just have to play the waiting game.. to the tune of about 2 months. I'll be in big trouble if it doesn't come before I leave July 19; I had to mail in my original passport.
I got my housing assignment earlier this week; it's in a student living complex (Vilhelm Kiers Kollegium) about 3km from campus, which isn't that bad at all. It's within walking distance (about 10 mins) from grocery stores, about 20 mins from a mall, and about 30 mins from campus. Rent is approximately $430 or DKK 2356 a month. I'll have my own room and bathroom and share a kitchen and tv/entertainment room with 14 other people on my floor. There's a total of 630 apartments in the complex, about 30 per building, and each building has 2 floors.
Thought I'd share a link to an episode of Oprah I watched a couple months ago. For the past 30 years, Danes have consistently been among of the happiest people in the world, and Oprah chose to profile them in her "Lives of Women Around the World" to find out why. I remember watching it, and telling myself someday I'd live in Denmark. Who knew it would actually happen!
There's also a neat video of Oprah touring a typical home in Copenhagen (link on page 2 of the article)
http://www.oprah.com/world/Inside-the-Lives-of-Women-Around-the-World/1
Less than 3 months to go!
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