Head Over Heels Over Bike Peddles

Sunday, August 18 - Wednesday, August 21

Copenhagen, Denmark

Wow, it's okay been half a week and I don't even know where to start! I almost ran over a tourist, I found out Brenda Song (AKA London Tipton from The Suite Life of Zack and Cody) is dating McCaulay Culkin (AKA that kid from Home Alone), my roommate dropped a cutting board out the window, we met a famous Danish skateboarder... It's been a wild time. But I'm getting a little ahead of myself. 

That blue square is the cutting board that leaped out our window

My parents dropped me off at the Clarion Hotel, near the Copenhagen Airport on Sunday, to meet up with DIS representatives. If I hadn't been so completely absorbed with surviving the small talk of the day, I might've taken a picture, because they had quite an operation set up. I'd like to imagine this is what a much more humanely-managed Elis Island might've looked like. I walked in, and right away was greeted by some very friendly DIS alumni who stickered both me and my bags to color code which bus I would get on. The idea is that everyone meets at this hotel, and they shuttle students to their respective housing locations. I was on the red sticker bus if you were curious. Then I walked past the treats and water they had set out (although later I would circle back for a granola bar and water) and placed my bags in the red sticker area, and then headed over to get my registration papers. I got a student ID, metro pass, and Danish SIM card that I could choose to activate. (I did not activate mine, I chose to stay on my US T-mobile plan that has international coverage if somewhat reduced data functionality.) 

I had just sat down next to a group of other students when I got a text from Dad that HE HAD MY PASSPORT! I had forgotten I'd asked him to carry it and left it in his pocket... I seriously about died. My brain was thinking, "Small talk and NOW THIS?! What's next?!" Thank goodness my parents caught that one. I'm sure it was just the universe's way of reminding me to be grateful to my parents. I'm technically an adult. But at that moment I knew I was still wearing training wheels. Jimmy Jam lept to the rescue and ran back over to give me my passport and one last hug. I then proceeded to paste on my sparkly I-love-meeting-new-people smile and told about 12 different strangers that yes, I go to a tiny liberal arts college in Minnesota. And oh you don't know where Minneapolis is? No problem, we're about two hours north of the Iowa border! I make light of this situation, but actually, it was a little rattling to me that all of a sudden, having grown up and gone to school in Minnesota, that a lot of people don't actually know that much about my state. It hadn't really occurred to me that people wouldn't know where Minneapolis was or had maybe never heard of my school because they both play such a large role in my life. But, I learned you can always trust football to have your back because people had heard of the Minnesota Vikings! Oh, Dad, you'd be proud. The amount of football spirit and knowledge I have BS-ed in the past week is truly outstanding. 

My passport and I, reunited!

My bus came after about an hour and a half, and I was the second girl to arrive at my LLC. My apartment takes up the 3rd floor and has a kitchen, a common room, two double rooms, a triple room (mine!) and a DISGUSTING excuse for a bathroom. There are 6 other women that live with me, Anna, Ava, Carter, Julia, Annika, and Alison. I've only known them for a few days, but in study abroad time, that makes us old, old friends at this point. They are all very nice and I'm looking forward to living with them! There are three or four other flats of students in the building, and we've gone out with the floors above and below us a few times. Our building is a 20min walk or 6min bike ride to school, and a block away from the meatpacking district, that has lots of fun restaurants and bars. 

My corner of the triple bedroom (you might just be hiding in one of my photos!)

The kitchen

The table area, with Carter, Julia, Ava, and Annika

Our common room

We're all still learning the little quirks of our house. Like how if we're not careful, our dish drying rack could tip backward and send your cutting board out the window. That our bedroom door is prone to closing by itself, either because of the wind, or we have a ghost. That if you don't put the key in the lock EXACTLY parallel to the ground, it will not open. And sometimes it doesn't even follow that rule and your only hope is to try it 12 times until it finally decides to turn. But we're getting there! 

I miss my friends and family back home a lot. And there are moments of complete cultural confusion, like yesterday when I did not understand that the meal I'd ordered included a drink and the man behind the counter got quite frustrated with me. And there are moments when my introvert-self can't handle meeting one more person or attending one more orientation meeting. (Again, I don't usually spend extended amounts of time with people who don't know that the Honey Crisp Apple is the pride of the U of M, or that "our state fair is a great state fair!") Those moments are growing pains. They are hard, but part of the experience and the process. And despite those moments, I am so in love with my new city! 

I have a bike for the semester, and wow, it's such a rush trying to keep up with all the locals. Copenhagen is one of the most bikeable cities in the world! And here I am, just trying to keep up! It's really flat, and everything is pretty close. And I love my bike. I walked with the bike rental guy, and he points to one bike and says, "How about that one?" And I looked at this bike, it's curvy city frame, it's bold aqua paint (one of my favorite colors), the black basket on the front, and I said, "YES! I love it!" and bike dude said, "Oh good, I've been trying to get rid of this garish color all day." Bike dude and I have slightly different tastes. I paid a little extra to get a helmet and a phone holder. Because I am not dying on a bike and I am not going to stop every 3 blocks to check google maps. I've been riding all over, and now my butt is sore! Oh, the pain of progress! (I do not currently have a pic of my beautiful bike, but I will share one when I do. Here's a drawing I made  instead)

My masterpiece

We toured the DIS campus and got to know the area a little better. It's all fairly centered around Gammeltorv Square and fountain. The area is full of student bars, little restaurants, and thrift shops. The DIS campus isn't a campus really, but a bunch of buildings in that neighborhood. And ya, I'm going to get SUPER lost. And I can't even pronounce the street names, so I can't ask for directions. DIS has its own library, and common rooms, and collaborative spaces. 

Julia and I on the fountain

We had our opening ceremony on Monday. The director of the program, Malene Torp, and she talked all about taking advantage of this time to enjoy the city and use all of Europe as our classroom. DIS and I think the Danish school system as well (although I can't be certain) is really intentional about experiential learning. I have more field trips in this one semester than all the rest of my school combined! I read in one of my guidebooks that "The cost of living and various forms of tax in Denmark are high, no question about that. But, on the other hand, the Danish state's social safety nets are generous and plentiful. These safety nets are part of the reason that Copenhageners are so willing to take risks and innovate" (Austin Sailsbury). I love that idea, that your basic needs are cared for so that the whole country is free to create and innovate. I'm not really covered by that safety net, as a foreigner, but DIS takes that same mentality and applies it to their curriculum. One of my professors in another orientation today, said that we are all here to learn and grow and take risks and innovate, and she hopes we remember that that's what important this semester. 

The Opening Ceremony

And that idea seems to extend beyond the guidebooks or classrooms. I was in a museum last week, and what really caught my attention was the way the rules were listed. You couldn't bring in a bag, but the sign told you there were free lockers available downstairs. And you couldn't bring in a large stroller, but they had smaller, museum-ready strollers for you to use, a place for you to park your stroller, and lock for it, and a rain cover. I saw that sign and I was like, huh. They have these rules you need to follow but they are going to make it convenient for you so that both parties can focus on the art, and not stress about the semantics. I thought that was really cool. And I think it's even cooler that some of that ideology has bled over into my classes! 

Our opening ceremony continued with a talk from David Possen, a Kierkegaard philosophy and psychology professor. And he talked about how he knew we were all feeling some anxiety about our semester, but that Kierkegaard would say that anxiety is good, it means we're alive and motivated. He told us the Danish have a word, "resfeber", that means "travel fever". The symptoms include restless feet, racing of the heart, and an odd mix of anxiety and anticipation. And the paradoxical thing about resfeber, is that the more you travel, the more it will plague you, but the only cure, is to keep traveling. And that resfeber is a good manifestation of anxiety. And then something about love, and he hopes we fall in love with the city... I don't quite remember all of it and Kierkegaard is complicated. But it was fantastic. I felt like I was at a TED talk, and that feeling was only intensified by the fact that in between each talk, they brought out members of the Royal Danish Opera to perform a piece... WHAT?! It was so good and so random, but also it felt super wholistic? Like, "Welcome, we will put you at ease with the best music Denmark has to offer, to feed your soul. And now we will talk about academics. Now more music. Now our great Danish philosopher. And now, some final soul food. Go on your way and enjoy the semester!" It was a lot to take in. Also, we had some pretty dumb orientation meetings too, but darn, this one was good. 

What else? I've explored a few coffee shops, and yes, a Starbucks too. I walked over to Nyhavn, and on my way, somehow found myself in a shopping district, surrounded by Louis Vuitton and Hugo Boss and Cartier. As if Copenhagen wasn't expensive enough! I've explored the Netto grocery store across the street, and the Flying Tiger down the road. I convinced the entire floor below us to go look at that old Nazi graffiti that my family and I had already found and on the way there, stopped to play on this stone dragon. 

Anna, Julia, Alison, and Carter at a coffee shop

A girl and the only friend she can count on to go with her everywhere, the Starbucks Mermaid

Nyhavn

And it was Carter's birthday last night, and I'm not going to lie. It was a wild night. I'd tell you about it, but I don't think I want it documented online. Just know that when I told a friend back home about it, they said, and I quote, "Why are you never this bad-ass when we go out together?!" and take that as you will. Go forth and make up a story about this night, your imagination can probably do it justice. Oh, but I will tell you, we ran into the famous Danish skateboarder at a punk bar called Floss. We didn't know who he was at the time, but Annika ran into the same group of guys the next day, and they traded Instagrams, and ya, he's got a ton of followers and is sponsored by Adidas. Not too shabby. Mom, I promise we all made it back last night and everyone is safe and sound. 

A little peak

And with that, I'll leave you until next time! Classes start tomorrow and I expect the adventures will continue!! 

Cristiana