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...

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!

It's official!

Hello all,

I found out today that I have officially been accepted to Aarhus! Should be a few more weeks until I find out where I'm living.

Did you know that health care in Denmark is free? Technically I'll be a Danish resident for the time I spend there, and because I'm an exchange student, I'm covered under the Danish Health Security Act. That means that all health care is free. All I have to do is pick the general practitioner that I want to see when I get my Danish CPR number (similar to a social security number), and then I'm good to go. The insurance also covers me if I go on holiday to other countries in Europe, although I may have to pay upfront, I'll be reimbursed. How cool is that?!

Next step: apply for Danish residence

Just Getting Started

So I found out about 2 weeks ago that I was accepted to study abroad in Aarhus, Denmark this fall. I'll be leaving the US sometime around July 23 and will be in Denmark through December 21 or so. The goal is to be able to come home for Christmas

For those not familiar with Aarhus, it's the second largest city in Denmark, with approximately 1.2 million people living within the city and its metropolitan area. It's a port city surrounded by forest located on the Jutland peninsula. Aarhus is approximately a 3.5 hour drive from Copenhagen. You can also take a train, or drive part of the way and take a ferry. A flight from Copenhagen to Aarhus is about 45 minutes.

Aarhus is the oldest big city in Scandinavia, was originally a Viking settlement, and dates to before 770AD. There's a lot to do there, and I'm excited to be able to explore the city.

I'll be attending the University of Aarhus, which has more than 37,000 students and has about 1000 foreign students every semester. There's 8 individual faculties, which are similar to colleges here. I'm doing an exchange program, which means the tuition and housing costs will be comparable to what they are at K-State. I don't have an exact class schedule yet, but will probably be taking three or four classes in various subjects, hopefully including a Biology class. I also haven't heard back about where I'll be living. That will probably take a couple weeks.

The whole process is time consuming, includes a lot of paperwork, and definitely isn't easy. Next on my to-do list is complete my academic approval form, which is signed off by department heads before I leave so classes I take will transfer to K-State. Then I need to start the visa process, contact the Danish embassy to apply to live in Denmark since I'll be there more than 3 months, figure out how I can get prescription medicines and allergy shots while I'm there, figure out if I'll have a cell phone, then start figuring out what all I need to buy. Lots to do, but I know it will be more than worth it!