Vin og Kaffe

During my stay in København with DIS I will venture on many "field studies." Field studies are essentially field trips that are pre-arranged by DIS and the faculty. In each class that I'm taking I'll go on about three or four field studies. They range from going to "kaffes," a closed prison, and museums.

Yesterday I went on my first field study with my Danish Language and Culture class. We met up at 6 o'clock at a small kaffe across the water for middag (the traditional "big" meal of the day, like dinner) . Of course while walking there it poured very heavily, but that's to be expected in København (it's one of the rainiest and most unpredictable places in the world). Once we reached the kaffe we sat down and ordered an array of drinks (either coffee, beer, wine, tea, or soda). Many students took advantage of the beer and wine option. I tried the red wine, but wasn't very fond of it. It was interesting drinking wine with my professor, but Danish professors differ greatly from American professors as I have come to find out. For one thing, in Denmark we address every professor by their first name (I don't even know the last names of my professors). In America it's really hit or miss with this topic. Sometimes we address professors by their first name, others prefer a more formal approach. Over all in Københvn everything is a bit less formal. There is more a feeling of equality amongst the professors and students.

While at the kaffe I enjoyed good conversation as well as amazing food! We had a choice of different sandwiches (chicken, salmon, or tuna). I ordered the salmon and when it came out, it was gigantic! The sandwiches are different here as well. They are a type of open-faced sandwiches called rugbrød, with lots of sauce, veggies, and meat. You also eat them with a fork. Very rarely do you ever bite into a meal. The rubrød was delicious and I practically devoured the entire meal. In the Danish culture it is usual to sit for a while after a meal and continue drinking and talking. It was enjoyable to sit at the kaffe afterwords and relax. Everything has been happening very quickly here and it was pleasant to take a little while to unwind.

While walking back to the Nørreport train station, a few other students and I got some ice-cream, which is quite a treat because desserts here are pretty expensive. But it was well worth it. On the walk there was the most beautiful rainbow over the water, it was perfect and a great way to end the day.

The First Week: Culture Shock!

Disclaimer: Sorry this is so long, I'm just catching up on the past week. I promise other posts won't be so long!

The meaning of my blog, as you can probably gather for yourselves is "My Danish Adventures!" I figured that was an appropriate title, and by having this blog, you can follow along on what I'm doing as well (including the ups and downs). Hopefully it will be interesting!
Also, a little technicality, I'll be posting "adventures" from other European countries, don't let the name fool you!

Anyway, I arrived on Sunday after a very short plane ride (at least it felt very short)! It's about an 8 hour flight and I believe it was a little under that (which makes sense because Scandinavian Airline's tag line is "The most punctual airline). It went by so quickly though. When I got to the gate there were lots of young adults and I assumed they were DIS students. I talked to a few of them while we were boarding the plane. I didn't realize how many were on that flight until I sat down in my seat. The entire economy class was practically DIS students! Unfortunately I was in a seat situated in the middle of the plane. But I was surrounded by two girls also going to DIS. Coincidentally enough, one person over was another Philly U student (this is very funny because there are only 3 of us in the program).

I was looking forward to getting in some shut-eye on the flight, but that didn't happen. I talked for a bit with the girl next to me, fidgeted with the movies, read a little, listened to music, and what not. Like I said, the flight went by very quickly. I wasn't quite ready to get off the plane actually. But of course I did. And then we went to orientation. We were all exhausted (we arrived at around 7 am, so 1 am home time). It began to rain while we were at orientation and continued throughout the day. Copenhagen is known for their unpredictable and rainy weather, so it was fitting that it happened right when we arrived.

I met my host family, Jimmy and Birthe Stauning. I won't go into detail now, but I am moving host families because of the cigarette smoke/smell. But they are very nice so I will keep in contact with them and visit occasionally.

The first day was uneventful for the most part because I was so exhausted. The past few days have been great though! I've been meeting some DIS students, going out to "discotechs," and traveling around Copenhagen. The public transportation is great here! It's very easy. I ride the train to school every day and I really enjoy the commute.

I haven't had much culture shock, but there are many obvious differences between American and Danish culture. For one thing, they bike EVERYWHERE and everyone owns a bike! It's great! Other differences are how environmentally aware Denmark is as a whole. They are very conservative when it comes to water and they have a great recycling program. Basically, when you buy water or cans, it's very pricey. But you can bring back the empty bottles and cans to the store and receive 1 krone for them. So, when you buy bottles and cans, it's like a deposit.


Denmark, while being one of the happiest places, is also one of the safest. I've learned it's because they are very trusting of one another. Women leave their babies in their buggies (they look like old-fashioned baby strollers) outside cafes and while they shop. Baby-snatching isn't a common thing here and apparently the babies "prefer the fresh air." One other reason that it's so safe is that no one is allowed to carry a weapon (not even a pocket knife or pepper-spray). There's a huge fine, so nobody does it! Other differences are that everything is very expensive! I'm going to have to be very money conscious while I'm here...

As for activities, I've been all over the place it feels like! On Monday we went to the city center (like a town hall) to eat Danish pancakes and here speakers such as the Lord Mayor (Overborgmester in Danish) Frank Jenson. It apparently is quite and honor to eat Danish pancakes in the city center and only few Danes have actually been inside the center. During the orientation/opening ceremony the DIS president spoke as well. The speeches were enticing and excellent, but the pancakes is what everyone showed up for. The pancakes were more like dessert crepes and were amazing! They were filled with chocolate and creme. It was an excellent way to orient everyone into the Danish culture. '

On Tuesday there were activities for us to do. One was a scavenger hunt around the city. During the scavenger hunt we were split into groups and then into sub-groups. It was pretty fun because I got to meet fellow DIS students and explore the city. While we were walking through the city we saw the changing of the guard as the Queens palace in the city. It was very entertaining. The Danish guards are very different from the English guard. They are allowed to talk, although they don't much. They don't stand like statues and are a bit more relaxed (which is an excellent representation of the Danish culture in general I have come to find out). They do wear the large fuzzy hats though.

Thursday we started classes and so far I like all of them. I am taking Danish Language and Culture, Cross Cultural Psychology, Gender and Sexuality in Scandinavia, and my core class Positive Psychology. Unfortunately I have class at 8:30 everyday. I'm not an early bird, but I guess I will have to learn to be one! Academics at DIS are very important in comparison to other study abroad programs, so we'll see how it goes juggling classes, traveling, and meeting people.

On Friday I went to the DIS discotech outing. They rented out on of the popular clubs for all of us to attend for free and free drinks (many American students took full advantage of that, of course). It was fun, but got a little crazy. (By the way, the drinking age here is 16 for buying alcohol, to go to bar/club you have to be 18).

Then Saturday I went to the Kronborg castle in the town Helsingør, on the edge of Denmark and a short ferry boat ride away from Sweden (you can see Sweden clearly from the coast). This is the castle that Shakespeare's Hamlet is roughly based off of, titled Elsinore. The castle is Renaissance castle and was built in the 1400s for Danish kings. It was rebuilt in the 1600s after an accidental fire caused it to burn down. During the tour of the castle I learned lots of fun facts. For example, the Danish Kings and Queens would host elaborate banquets with twenty courses or so. While eating, guests would get so full that they would have a servant come over with a feather to "tickle" their throat to assist them to throw up into a side bucket. This was done so that they could have more courses and enjoy the remainder of the meal. It's pretty disgusting, but it was what the royalty did back then (it obviously was a very different time). I also learned that at a time Denmark was one of the most powerful monarchies in England. They controlled both Sweden and Norway.

While I was there I learned that it was also used as a jail for prisoners. The lower level of the castle, which we toured last, is a creepy, dark, and scary dungeon area. Barely any light penetrates the cellar area. This is where murderers, adulterers, thieves and so on would be banished to. It's quite horrific.

That's about it! Well, I hope this wasn't too long... of course the next posts won't be this lengthy!
Godnat!