One last time gang!

Well I am back in the United States and have been for a little over two weeks now.  My life is wonderful, but it is nothing like what it was in Copenhagen.

I returned back to Boston after being bumped from one flight and having my flight delayed by four hours care of an Iceland wind storm.  But through all of the traveling I did return home.  And the whirlwind of the holidays began.  There was decorating to do, last minute shopping to race through, gifts to be wrapped, a tree that needed ornaments and a feast that needed preparing.  Needless to say it was not a relaxing welcome home.  But it was full of excitement.  And the excitement began at the airport.  My mother being the jokester that she is wore a gold wig and carried a sign with my name on it to the airport.  She had said during a conversation a week or two earlier that I wouldn’t recognize her at the airport and she wondered if she would recognize me.  In order to be true to the statement she dressed up, gold wig and all.  That welcoming home set things off with a bang and I had a wonderful Christmas with my extended family.  The holiday was a combination of our traditions and a few new Danish traditions I had picked up along the way.  We had Ris Alamonde on Christmas Eve and Georg Jensen ornaments made our Christmas tree sparkle. 

But as the holidays seemed to quiet and I began working again things seemed incredibly different and I realized that they are.  And the list of what is different is long:

v     I now drive everywhere I go, I don’t walk or take the bus.

v     I don’t use my own bags or pay for bags at the grocery store, they are free and readily available.

v     I haven’t gone into the grocery stores here, I know they will be overwhelming.

v     I am no longer living in a city, I live in a small town in RI.

v     I am back to working forty hours a week.

v     I am not cooking for myself as often.

v     I am not living alone.

v     I have returned to old friends and family.

The list could go on and on, but the reality is that I have returned to a different life than I have been living.  The other day I realized what was bothering me; I realized that I am not living my life.  This realization came through a conversation with a family member.  She asked me, “So how was your trip?”.  And despite the thoughtfulness of her question, it was the wrong question to be asking.  My time in Denmark was not a trip, it was not a seven day vacation in the Caribbean.  What my time in Denmark was was my life not a trip; it was my home, it was my friends, a Danish family and my favorite café.  That life, my life as I had known it was in Copenhagen, walking streets, visiting my family, taking classes, making dinner with friends and exploring the city.  That is not my life back in RI.  The lives that I have lived were completely different and what I am struggling with is finding my place in a life I once had.  It has made me realize that I cannot sink into the old life and customs that I have, but that I must take aspects of my Copenhagen life and my RI life and forge them together to get who I am now, who I want to be and how I want to live.  Knowing that, however, does not make the task any easier.  I have decided that I need to be more active, more willing to pursue what I am interested in and different places, activities and people.  I want to keep the adventuresome personality that I had in Copenhagen and transfer it to my life back in the US.  I consider it sad that I have seen more of Denmark, maybe even more of Europe than I have New England and the US.  Strange I know.

The other thing that I have realized is just how the world is so small and so large all at once.  I have a great interest in traveling and living in other places for the remainder of my life.  And although this thought makes my parents nervous they also understand that my life is meant for adventure and challenges. 

My time overseas has taught me a lot about who I am as a person and who I want to be.  It has shown me that I truly can do anything, but that I must find my way to whatever my goal is.  No one handed me the opportunity to go to Denmark or all the wonderful experiences I had; I worked for them and pursued them with confidence.  My life is in my own hands and no one but I am responsible. 

For all of those who know me, please do not expect to see the same Alanna back on campus this spring.  Although I am the same person at heart there have been changes that those close to me have noticed.  For one I say thank you in Danish, “tak” and I burn a lot of candles.  I look forward to being back on the URI campus and shaking things up a bit.  See you all in a few weeks!

Hello Gang. Well its technically over. I am back in the United States. But before we go on with that I want to fill you in on what the last weeks were like in Copenhagen. Christmas time in Copenhagen is absolutely wonderful. The country begins its celebrations in late November and they seem to multiply by the day. There are Christmas lunches, Tuborg’s Christmas Beer, special snacks and treats, glogg (a warm red wine with almonds and raisins in the bottom) and the city was decorated from Christianhyvn to Tivoli. Tivoli looked absolutely amazing, there were Christmas trees everywhere, warm drinks were served at the market stands and the rides were still going. The town hall square, Radhuspladsen, had an enormous Christmas tree that was lit by Santa (Julmand) himself. The city was buzzing with Christmas spirit. But like always, it is a busy time for students with papers, exams, shopping and study sessions. Despite the craziness of work we all found time to get out and enjoy the festive season and a Tuborg Christmas Beverage (or two). We shopped almost every Christmas market and we tried traditional Danish treats such as deliciously sugared warm almonds, marzipan cookies, pepernodder cookies, and tons more. Trips to Tivoli were frequent whether to see the light show, the Saint Lucia Parade or for dinner. But there were also papers to be written and exams to study for. And the worst, besides the 40 page marketing paper was the Danish oral exam. Ugh. Talk about a difficult language. But we made it through and our final week was busier than ever. Not only were we taking our final exams and going out with friends, but we also had to pack up our rooms, visit with our families and say goodbye to Copenhagen. And some of that was easier than others. We all tried to spend as much time together, even if it was just running errands or for dinner. The last week was sad. We all knew that we would shortly return “home” to a place that was more foreign than the streets of Copenhagen. Everyday was spent carefully, revisiting favorite museums, having one last Wednesday adventure and planning meals that used a wide variety of refrigerator items. Packing was by far an awful task. Not only did it mean the labor, but it also meant seeing your room, your home, empty and lifeless. It was a realization that your time, my adventure, was up and that in a month someone else would be living there in my home. It wasn’t easy. So we all packed up together, it seemed to make it easier if you had someone to chat with during the process. A week turned into 4 days turned in 2 days turned into tomorrow. And during that time saying goodbye was difficult. The last night that I spent with my Danish family was bittersweet. We had a wonderful evening exchanging Christmas presents, eating dinner and chatting, but we all knew. We all knew that it was my last night under their roof for a while. That the following week they wouldn’t pick me up at the train station or have to rouse me from bed in the morning. The train ride back into the city, the night after my last stay was silent. I think my Danish mom realized that this was it and it was too strange to talk through. When we exited the train and were on street level my Mom gave me a hug and looked at me. She grabbed my elbow the way my grandmother does and said, “I can’t believe you won’t be a dinner next week. It’ll be so strange”. Wanting to doubt the inevitable I told Lene that she would see me soon, either in the US or back in her home. I have no doubt that I will see my Danish family again, however, I wonder how soon or where or what sort of relationship will continue. Saying goodbye to friends was incredibly difficult. We did it as best we could though, bringing each person to their cab in the morning, or having breakfast together before departure, or eating the last bits of their food. I know that I will stay in touch with many of them, however, it will never be the same. It isn’t like leaving for Christmas break at URI and knowing that in a months time all your friends will be back in the area. After Christmas break I will return to Gorham Hall on the URI campus, not Keops Kollegium in Norrboro. I will return to Becky, Alyssa, Sarah and Robbie not Meg, Alison, Audra, Alex, AD and Steve. I will drive a car instead of walking and taking the bus and my life will be drastically different. Before my return to the US many told me of reverse culture shock, a phenomenon that readjusting to your home country is more difficult than adjusting to a new place or country. I have a strong feeling that I am be a victim of such shock. Only time will truly tell though.

Hello all,

Sorry for not writing in a while, its the big push before the end of the semester here. Despite all of that I am taking a study break to tell you about having Thanksgiving in another country (remember that the Danes do not celebrate Thanksgiving).

For Thanksgiving week my little brother, Dominic, was able to come and visit me here in Denmark. The week that he was here was for sure one of my greatest weeks here. It was so nice to be sharing my experiences and new home with him. Plus he brought me tons of American food and candy!!! What a good brother! And he brought all of the fixings that I was having a hard time locating here in Denmark. He brought cans of cranberry sauce and gravy, french onions for the green bean casserole and velveeta cheese for a family recipe of macaroni and cheese (and no, I won’t give the recipe away). Receivng all of these cooking elements made planning for Thansgiving much easier, however, there were still challenges.

The challenges were abundant and most of us thought that the whole dinner was going to flop. When I told Dominic that we were making Thanksgiving dinner for thirty people he looked at me as if I was crazy. He asked, “Are we going to be eating at McDonald’s on Thanksgiving?”. I promised him that we wouldn’t and the best thing was that we didn’t have to.

As I mentioned a group of thirty of us here in Keops Kollegium banned together to make the Thanksgiving meal. The challenge wasn’t just the amount of people, but also that fact that we only had one oven with which to heat everything. Each person was responsible for making something, so Dominic and I made that secret family recipe macaroni and cheese and a green bean casserole. For having never made either dish on my own I was quite impressed and everyone said they were delicious.

The day off came and things here in Denmark were crazy. I had two papers due that day and classes were in session. I got home and instantly moved myself into the kitchen. There were hands galore willing to help and we decorated the common room and set the table. And then the heating of food began. We had three turkeys; two small chicken breasts and one proper Thanksgiving turkey that had been in the oven all day. We heated up carrots, macaroni, three types of stuffing, gravy, rolls, jams, pies and mash potatoes. You name it, we had it.

It was a different way of doing Thanksgiving. The meal was the same; there was too much food, we ate too much and there were leftovers. But it was the setting that was different. It was new friends, not old family and it was in a Danish kollegium. The food was harder to find and much of it was imported. But I am proud of each one of us that stuck it through the holiday. We all really came together to make the meal and then we all sat together to celebrate. And we didn’t forget what Thanksgiving was all about. We talked about what each of us was grateful for and how lucky we all are. I was grateful to have my brother with me in Denmark and to have met such amazing people in a wonderful place. My life, honestly, couldn’t get any better.

Love you all,

Alanna

Throughout my stay here and Denmark and during my travels I noticed a few universal things. Now some might read this and say that I am nothing more than a philosophy major spewing ideas, and that may be true, but I do think that what I am about to tell is worth something.

I my twenty-one years I have traveled a good bit. I have explored some of the US and I have zigzagged my way through parts of Europe. I have seen many different cultures and streets lined with locals, I have explored ruins and small cozy resturants. I have attempted to read Italian and German and driven the roads to my family’s homes. And throughout all of these travels and experiences a few things have become evident to me.

One of the major things is just how similar people are from place to place to place. The course of life is the same for most. We wake up in the morning, get ready for the day, go to work or school or take care of things, we eat meals, we go from one location to the other, we spend time with family and friends, we eat dinner, and we sleep. It isn’t that simple, but it isn’t that much more complicated. I guess what I mean is that life for most people is universal. Some of us have an easier life than others, some of us face large challenges, other coast through, but at the end of the day we are all working towards enjoying our life. Getting a glimpse into people’s lives made me think about my own life and how much different it could be if small changes occured. For example, I could have been born anywhere to any culture. (I know this isn’t technically possible because I was born from my American parents, but hypethetically speaking). I guess what I am getting at is our facticity, meaning the idea that you have no control over what family you are born into or what nationality you are, or what your economic status is or what country you live in. Its all random I guess, and I think I noticed this more over my travel time. I said to myself in a few different cities, “Well, I could have been born here and my life would have been completely different”. I guess it just made me think about my life and those around me in relation to the world. I am blabbing philosophy stuff now.

Another thing that I noticed that is universal is children and laughter. These two things make instant connections between people across cultures and language barriers. You can have a full conversation between these two mediums without truly understanding each other. Take children for example, everyone loves looking at a small newborn and adoring their recent entry into life. Babies don’t know the difference between me and her German aunt, to a young child there is no difference, no prejudice, no learned hatred only pure innocence and love. Its happened here, a small Danish child bumps into you by accident, looks up and goes to grab your hand or jacket. They just know that you are a person, which is what we all are at the end of the day. There are differences between all of us, but nothing that makes us so strange and different. In my reality we are all one big family, the only difficulty is that sometimes we don’t understand each other, but then again my family doesn’t always understand each other. I see it mostly through the eyes of children, but then again there is laughter too.
Laughter is the same in any language, it goes something like…”hahahahahahahaaaa”. Nothing German, Danish or French about that. You laugh with someone and there is an immediate connection and a smile. Your cohort in the humor might then try to talk with you and that doesn’t work, but the laughter is a connection that language can’t touch.

I guess what I am trying to get at is that the world is smaller and more connected through certain means than we sometimes think. I can communicate anywhere I go and I can feel like a part of one huge human family. Now, I know its a bit sappy and optimistic but if this trip has taught me anything its that your life is a part of something larger, part of a larger community than you could ever imagine.

Enough rambling for now. More action in my next post, not so much babble.

Miss you all and thanks for reading.

Ok friends,

As promised here is an update from the travel break. Sorry its late!

Just a reminder… Copenhagen is amazing. I love it. Its a bit dark and rainy now, but when the sun shines its great. Everyone here is getting ready for Christmas. Tivoli, the amusement park in the middle of the city, reopens this Wednesday for the Christmas season. It is supposed to be amazing, so I plan on using my season pass and going all the time. Pretty much Copenhagen is an amazing city; it isn’t too large, but it has more than enough to explore. I realized how much I love Copenhagen when I left for the three-week study break. Traveling from city to city to capital I never once found a place I would rather be living in for a semester. Speaking of my three-week travel break…some of you may know, others may not. Basically, I get three weeks off from school to what I wish. So I did like anyone would and I traveled around Europe!!! The first of the three weeks was spent with my business program with DIS (the program I am attending). Guess where we went???? London and Brussels!!!!!!! Can you believe it?

So…we had three days in London. We did a lot, but we also had two company visits during that time. We visited Charlton Athletic Football Club and British American Tobacco. Charlton Athletic was great, our host was a fantastic public speaker and he focused on the history of the club. Basically he turned all of us into Charlton Athletic fans, which was great because later that night we went to see a Charlton Athletic game. It was amazing, and totally different from Danish football games. In London, you aren’t allowed to bring alcohol to your seat in the stadium. You can drink out in the concession part of the stadium but not in your seat. I found that a bit strange. The Brits also have different chants than the Danes. They tell the referee or any player that he is a “wanker” if a bad call of play is had. The language at the game was much different. The trip to British American Tobacco was also good, but not nearly as compelling as that of Charlton. We did touristy stuff while in London as well. I went to Shakespeare’s Globe Theater which was great, nice to be somewhere that you have studied. We also visited Westminster Abbey, Big Ben, Tower Bridge, London Bridge and the Tower of London. We had traditional fish and chips in a pub and took the Tube (subway) around the city. It really reminded me of NYC just not as tall. One of the nights we were in London the entire group of DIS students went to the IceBar London. The IceBar is a bar made entirely out of ice, so the walls, the bar, benches, tables and numerous sculptures. Before you go in you head to the walk in closet where a staff member slides this huge parka over you, complete with a hood and gloves. You wouldn’t think that all of that garb is necessary, but whoa, it was cold. Even for this New England girl. The bar is operated by Absolut Vodka, so all the drinks are made with Absolut. Also, the glasses that you drink from are made of ice, so it stays nice and chilled. That was a totally fun night. The other highlight of London was going to see the musical Wicked. Wicked is the untold story of the witches of Oz. Its an amazing musical based off the book “Wicked” by Gregory Maguire. My friend Sean and I went and it is indescribable. Between the music, the sets and the theater the night was just fantastic.

Then we were off to Brussels. It too was amazing. My friend from URI, Jackie, is studying there this semester so we met up. It was so nice to see an old face. Brussels is an amazing city for food and drink. Their chocolate is amazing, the Belgium waffles go without description, the hot chocolate is fantastic, but the beer. Oh my. I’m not even a beer girl, but it is delicious in Brussels. They have fruit beers, so… cherry, apple, and raspberry. It was delicious and the other types of beer were also incredibly delectable. I also made a visit to the EU Parliament, which was interesting to see and learn about. Brussels is the center of the European Union so operations and office buildings are all there. By the way, I traveled almost this entire trip by train, which is the greatest way to travel Europe. I went through the Alps and saw small towns I would have never seen in a plane. Brussels was the end of DIS sponsored trip.

I left Brussels and met up with friends from Copenhagen in Berlin. Our hostel in Berlin was great, the Heart of Gold, which had a Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy theme. We did everything in Berlin (and in two days). There is so much history in Berlin, you feel like you are walking the paths of all those before you. We saw the Reichstag, the Brandenburger Tor, Potsdamer Platz, Checkpoint Charlie, the Holocaust Memorial and the Jewish Museum on our first day. I know, it’s a lot. I like everything on the whole. The Jewish Museum, however, is a strange place. The museum was originally designed to be empty and the architectural design was supposed to be self-explanatory. The architecture of the building is amazing. Then the museum decided to add exhibits to the building, which I believe, messed things up. The architecture focuses on the Holocaust specifically, whereas the exhibit focuses on Jewish history and has absolutely nothing on the Holocaust. It was curious. The thing I loved most in my first day in Berlin was the Holocaust Memorial. So the Holocaust Memorial is this huge area of tall dark gray rectangular blocks. Between the blocks are aisles so you can walk around each of them, down rows. There is nothing on the block and they vary in height. At the edges of the area they are smaller and in the middle they are the largest. Also the ground throughout the memorial is rolling. It’s interesting. A very different and modern idea for a memorial but I really liked it. When in Berlin we also went to the Pergamonmuseum which is home to the Ishtar Gate of Babylon (a beautiful blue), the Altar of Zeus and many other old world artifacts. Then we saw the longest remaining section of the Berlin Wall. It is covered in amazing murals about freedom and hope and remembrance. In West Germany we saw a bombed out church from WWII, the Kaiser-Wilhelm Gedachtnishkirche Church, which is partially intact. In Berlin I continued my cultural education and saw a master Russian pianist play Chopin in the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra House; the sound was amazing. They were an amazing two days full of adventure and good times.

After Berlin the ladies and I headed to Prague; which quickly became my favorite city. The thing that got me about Prague was that I didn’t get Prague, it has this aloof mysterious personality and I feel like you could only truly get Prague if you searched every basement and side alley. But we didn’t have time for that; the time we did have however was amazing. The first night in Prague we saw Swan Lake the ballet. It was fantastic and having never seen that ballet it was a perfect place to see it. After our amazing cultural night we went to the Old Town Square and had delicious dessert in an outdoor café under the heating lamps. Our other day in Prague we spent in the Prague Castle taking tours, eating goulash, getting locked in the dungeon and checking out shops. We walked across the Charles Bridge and spent time exploring the cities fantastically cheap markets.

Next on the trip around the world was Vienna, the home of music. The day we arrived the town was buzzing, as the next day was their Independence Day so there were food vendors near their government buildings and tons going on. The vendors were fantastic and for a snack us girls split 3 HUGE pretzels and then we each had dessert, either chocolate covered strawberries (my choice) of a cone with sugary cream and chocolate. Either way the food in Vienna is amazing. While in Vienna we toured the Hapsburg’s “humble hunting lodge”, aka a huge fortress and grounds that should be called “the most posh lodge ever”. The tour there was great, we learned a lot about the Hapsburg family, we watched a demonstration on how to make apple strudel and we walked the grounds. That same day we also went to MUMOK, the Museum of Modern Art and saw an amazing installation. And then came the highlight…we saw Carmen the Opera on our last night in town. It was amazing. I had no clue that some of the music from Carmen was from Carmen. The sets were great and the experience is just baffling to me. I saw Carmen in Vienna!!!! It’ll take a few more years before I can truly comprehend that. So Vienna was amazing as well. This is when my travel buddies left me. They had trips planned with the DIS program so they left for those and I continued on and met other friends in Zurich, Switzerland.

The nine-hour train ride from Vienna to Zurich was the best spent nine hours of my life. It was amazingly beautiful, those Alps, and I think all the other train passengers thought I was crazy because my head was glued to the window. And Zurich was simply beautiful. Expensive, but beautiful. Our first day there we went on a Heidiland tour which took us into the mountains to a small village and the Principality of Liechtenstein. It was a day full of beautiful views and small charming towns. The next morning Sara and I hiked to the top of Zurich, only it was foggy, so the views were a bit blocked. Still it was an amazing climb. We also went to the Kunsthaus Zurich Museum, which holds some of my favorite pieces of art by Monet, VanGogh, Picasso, Pollock and many others. I could have spent days in that museum alone, but instead we went on a ferry across the Zurich Lake and had hot chocolate in a small café before returning to the city center.

Then we were on to Venice. Venice is the most frustratingly fantastic city. It is frustrating because using a map to find your way is impossible and sometimes you turn a corner only to find that the road has ended, however, that is half the fun of Venice; finding your way from one bridge to another (there are 400 bridges so you should be able to find one that works for you). While there we crossed the Rialto Bridge and hung out in St. Mark’s Square and saw the beautiful mosaics in St. Mark’s Basillica. We went to the Guggenheim, had gelato and of course we went on a gondola ride. Classic Venice.

The rest of the week was spent in Italy, first in Florence and then in Rome. Florence was spectacular. Florence was an amazing city; it houses two of the world’s most popular museums – Galleria del Academia and the Uffizi. They house David and the Birth of Venus respectively. Those museums were simply amazing to visit. They are pieces of art that I have studied but now I have seen them, in person. It was great. One day while in Florence we climbed to the top of Florence at Piazza Michelangelo to a small church and heard the monks chant. After the monks chanting Sara and I stayed for mass, which of course was in Italian, but we got the gist of things. We also had delicious bruschetta in Florence at some hole in the wall restaurant.

After two days in Florence we were off again to Rome. Now I could write a book on Rome, but as this is already pages long I will spare the rest of your day. Rome is simply stunning. You read the tour books and know what you will be seeing, but you don’t know. The first night Sara and I were in Rome we decided to walk around aimlessly for a bit. While doing so we passed some apartments, the Pantheon, a few piazzas and then suddenly out of nowhere was the Roman Forum and the Colosseum. Just around the corner. It was simply striking. Walking the streets in Rome was relaxing and coming across ruins ever few blocks was surprising ever time. We also went to Vatican City where we visited the Sistine Chapel and St. Peter’s. The Sistine Chapel was more breathtaking than I thought it would have been. The detail and enormous size of the room is just overpowering. St. Peter’s is the same. There is so much going on that it is hard to be able to focus on just one thing. Sara and I went to mass at St. Peter’s which I feel is an experience in itself. Our time in Rome otherwise was amazing. We had real pasta, not the fake stuff we eat at home, but true Italian pasta. We went on an archeological tour of Palantine Hill and stomped through the Roman Forum more than once. It was amazing.

Sitting here now I truly can’t believe that I am living in Copenhagen and that I have traveled Europe. I think someone needs to pinch me to wake me up from this amazing dream. I hope this hasn’t bored you too much or made you at all jealous. I want these updates to keep you in my life so that all of you feel as if you are traveling with me. Trust me, you are all traveling Europe with me because you are in my daily thoughts.

I can’t wait to see you all in a month.

Know that I miss and love you all.

Alanna

Hey gang,

It seems like it has been forever and it has. Here is the thing. Last time I posted was the last time I was in Copenhagen until this week. You must be wondering what happened!!! I didn’t move out of Copenhagen or go volunteer in Africa or anything crazy like that. But I was doing crazy things. I had a three-week travel break from the semester here in Copenhagen and spent the three weeks backpacking through Europe.

Its really funny to type “backpacking through Europe”. If you had told me I would have been “backpacking through Europe” this fall I probably would have hit you because it is mean to tease. But it did actually happen and it was absolutely amazing. I saw things I have studied in art history classes and I traveled through the Alps. I can’t describe it. I have no words for those three weeks except: amazingly fantastic and unbelievably perfect. To anyone anywhere: go backpacking, it is worth every pound of clothing and souvenirs on your back. I am in the process of writing up a update on that whole trip and you will have it very soon. I hope by Thursday. It’ll be a long one though so watch out.

I figured I should talk a little more about my life here in Copenhagen for now. What the cultural differences are, how I have adjusted, what I miss from home, what I love about Denmark, things like that.

So first to the topic of adjusting!!!! It isn’t easy. The first few days I thought, “Oh my, what have I done? I was happy at home. Why did I leave? What was I thinking? I don’t speak the language, I don’t know anything. Oh no.” But day-by-day those feelings leave you and you gain a few different feelings and perspectives. The first for me was an intense excitement for being in a new place. You get to find the best falafel place, the bar you feel at home at, a cool trendy clothing store or your favorite way to walk to school. Another feeling I had was an intense respect for things that I love at home, like my family, friends and the microwave. It is true that you really don’t fully realize how great your life is until you switch it up. Now, however, I believe that my life is better than ever. I am in this new exciting city and I have the love and support of everyone except the microwave. I love it here in Denmark but it doesn’t mean that there weren’t some difficult adjustments.

One of the hardest things for me was that no one says “Bless you” after you sneeze. I know, its a silly thing to set you off balance, but it did. Its such a custom in the US to say “Bless you” or something after someone sneezes, that the silence was strange for me. The other thing that I found strange was the lack of a college community. I think I need to talk about this in more detail though. I have just learned about the Danish education system with my Danish Culture class and I feel the need to share the knowledge.

So the Danish school system is much different. When children enter school as a toddler their classmates and their teacher will stay with them until the end of 9th grade.  That entire time you would be with the same students.  The Danes believe that it creates a sense of community and comfort within the school.  Then after 9th grade some students continue on to 10th grade or they go straight to gymnasium, which is equivalent to our junior and senior year of high school.  Gymnasium is meant to prepare students for college.  After gymnasium students normally take time of before continuing on to the university.  They travel or work or live in another country.  This time in their lives, normally age 19-22, is a time to become independent and explore who you are as an individual.  At about age 22-24 Danes return to the school system and begin their university career.  The average age to graduate from the university is approximately age 28 or 29.  Another thing about their university education, which I may or may not have mentioned before.  Danish students are paid to go to university, meaning that they receive a monthly stipend from the government that should help them with living expenses so they can focus on their studies.  This stipend will last for 5 academic years before it is no longer offered.  When I told my Dad this he asked if I could stay in Denmark to finish my education…funny guy huh?  Not only is the structure of the education system different but so is the culture.  There are no college campuses here in Denmark.  University classrooms are spread throughout the city and there are hardly any places to meet with friends.  Danish students go to class and then usually go back to their apartments.  There is no sense of community like there is at URI.  Students sometimes live together in kollegiums, or dorms, however, the community in these is nothing like that of Hutchinson Hall on the Kingston campus.  This difference was also one of the difficult adjustments, not having a campus and social community. 

Despite the difficult adjustments there are also changes that I have made to my life that I love.   For example, each day here in Copenhagen I take public transportation in and out of the city.  I have only been in a car a few times here and I haven’t driven since arriving.  A lot of people would probably hate this difference, however, I love it.  In the morning I get on a quiet bus and relax on my way into school.  I have no worries about traffic or driving, I just get to sit back and relax.  Another thing I love about Copenhagen is the walking streets.  They have about six streets that are walking streets only lined with shops and restaurants.  There are always street performers entertaining the crowds and if not the window displays are enough enjoyment. 

Pretty much I couldn’t love Copenhagen more.  And I love Europe too.  I’ll update in a day or two with photos and information on my backpacking trek through Europa.  

Hello all,

By now you should be able to tell that I lie. I say that I will update weekly, however, I don’t think that has yet happened. Moving on to tonight, Friday the 13th of October. It was unlike anything else my live had ever shown me. Tonight Copenhagen had so much to offer. Firstly, it was the reopening night for Tivoli, the amusement park right down town. They have been closed for about two weeks now, but they reopen for this Halloween week and then again for Christmas. Halloween at Tivoli is amazing. They apparently ordered 12,000 pumpkins for the park. I only know this statistic because my friend’s aunt runs a dessert house in the park and she told us tonight. So Tivoli was open and it did have pumpkins everywhere. You could carve a pumpkin, just look at those around the park, you could play in mounds of hay and cover your friends in the itchy substance, or you could ride the new rides, and if you were in the brewing mood you could stir the witch’s potion. The whole park was transformed since I have last seen it. Here are some photos of what it looks like for this week:

The reopening of Tivoli, despite its grandness, was not the only thing going on. Tonight, October 13th was the Cultural Night for Copenhagen. Basically this means that the artistic community has opened its door free of charge to those with a pin. The pin only cost 70 Dkk or about $10. This pin would get you into museums and government buildings, however, there were performances in every square in Copenhagen (and there are a lot of squares).  After leaving Tivoli a few friends and I walked around the city to see what we wanted.  In Radhuspladsen, the Old Town Hall Square, a teambuilding company had a huge crane, a girl, and soda crates.  The idea was that while attached to the crane, she had to sit on a crate.  Then they passed her crate after crate that she had to add to what she was sitting on.  It was crazy.  We saw one young woman get up to 26 crates and then it wobbled out of control and it was over.  Cool to watch though.  A little further down in Gammeltorv there was a Native American band performing traditional music and dance.  I don’t know if they were really good, or if that square has wonderful acoustics but those sounds were probably the most beautiful I have heard in ages.  My friend Meg, Corey and I sat along the fountain for a while and listened.  It was amazing.  Also a good place to people watch because everyone was out and about.  The city was jam packed.  We moved on to another square and found mimes from the performing arts school here in Copenhagen.  There were four mime shows going on at once around the square so we stopped at each one.  Two of the performances were not up my alley, but the other two were great.  One of them had two girls in the bathroom in the morning getting ready.  Going to the bathroom, taking a shower, doing their hair and makeup, etc.  At one point the girl on the toilet was reading a book, seemed shocked by what she read and put the book down.  It was great.  The other one was fantastic.  It was a man and woman, but in each cycle of the show one of them was a robot.  So the girl  would go over to this plastic wrapped man and uncover him.  She found a manual and a remote.  After a while of reading she figured out certain commands.  After a while she finally got him to sit next to her and wrap his arm around her.  Every movement, however, was a robotic one, very stiff and unhuman.  She then figured out how to get him to kiss her, but when she felt the coldness that was there she got freaked out.  She then took the book and the remote and put herself in the plastic sleave.  At this point she would die and the man came to life.  The process continued back and forth.  It was an amazing skit about how you can’t buy love or affection.  Totally wonderful.  Below is a photo of the two performing the skit.  In this part the man is the robot and he is singing to his woman.  He, however, is stuck on repeat.  You can see that the woman holds the remote and is trying to get him to stop.  So funny!

I will write again soon.

Thanks for reading all.  Love ya,

Alanna

Ok, so here is the deal.  I haven’t been updating at the rate that things are happening.  I am way behind.  So I am going to try to give you all a feel for what is going on in the next few posts and I am going to try to do a few in the next day or so.  I am buckling down!

A few more brief observations.  Get ready for this one, its intense.  So the traffic lights here have red, yellow and green, but the yellow signals getting ready to go not getting ready to stop.  Can you imagine driving in this country without knowing that.  EEEKK!  A few other things: Copenhagen has tons of falaffel and shwarma resturants, Diet Coke is not called Diet Coke in Denmark it is Coca-Cola Light because they don’t want it to be perceived that drinkers of the product are dieting.  Also they have soft icecream here that is delicious, much thicker and creamier; an automatic addiction.

Moving on.  So you all know that I live in a kollegium right outside the city, but what you don’t know is that I also have a Danish Host Family.  Instead of living with a family I have opted to visit with a Danish family.  DIS sets it up for students who are living in a kollegium as an opportunity to become a part of the Danish community.  As soon as I heard of it I immediately signed up and it has been the best thing I have ever done.  My family lives an hour drive north of the city in Espergaede, a town by the sea.  The family is a family of four with 3 cats.  I have a Danish dad, Billne a Danish mom, Lene and two sisters Katrina and Malene.  Billne is retired but drives a taxi.  He always has wonderful stories after a night on the job.  Lene works at a major newspaper in Denmark, Politiken, in the Advertising Department.  Lene also does a lot of volunteer work with a theater in a town over called the Helsingor Theater.  Malene just recently turned 12 and she goes to school and is involved in the Helsingor Theater as well.  Katrina is 18 and is in gymnasium (high school) and teaches at the Helsingor Theater.  She is incredibly creative and full of energy.  Katrina has a boyfriend, Christopher, and he is often at the house for dinner.

My family and I figure out how often we want to get together, but normally I go to their house once a week.  I go home with Lene, as she works in downtown Copenhagen, and then its like any other night at home with your family.  We have dinner, talk about school and everything else, watch some tv and go to bed.  When I visit them I stay the night and then head back into the city in the morning.  Its an amazing aspect of my life here in Denmark.  The family is absolutely wonderful.  So interested in who I am, what I like, etc.  I feel completely comfortable with them and they have made that enviornment for me.  Its so nice to be in a Danish home every once and a while.

Their house should be a blog in and of itself.  Danish homes are incredibly cozy or “hyggelig”.  Hyggelig is the Danish word for when a home or meeting is warm and cozy.  Its a hard thing to explain, its a feeling more than anything.  Some Danes compare it to getting a hug from you mom and I would agree that it is close to comparable.  So back to their home and Danish homes in general.  Unlike American neighborhoods where the yards are open to sight, Danish homes normally have a wall of some sort to keep things private.  My family’s home is that way as it is surrounded by tall bushes in the front.  They have a swimming pool in their front yard and a shed in a grassy back yard.  The house has two sections that are connected by a small roofed in porch.  Let me say now, that everything in a Danish home is small and compact.  The Danes do not waste space at all.  The downstairs of the house has a fantastic kitchen and dinning room and then two connected living rooms.  It is incredibly hyggelig with huge couches, pillows and blankets.  There are also a lot of candles.  Meals are normally eaten with candles and candles are also scattered around the house for atmosphere.  Upstairs is two bedrooms and a bathroom.  It is small in comparrision to American homes, but it is beautiful and warm in its own way.

Dinner in Denmark is much different than dinner in the States.  I learned this the first night I had dinner with my Danish family.  First of all dinner was delicious.  Frikadeller (Danish Meatballs with Jam), potatoes and salad.  Despite the fact that it was delicious it was long.  Danish meals always include the entire family, or almost all of it, and it is an enjoyable event, not a quick thing.  Its fantastic, the whole family gathers, eats slowly and talks to each other.  It is an amazing bonding experience that most of the US is missing out on.

Anyway, my Danish family is absolutely wonderful.  They speak amazing english, they are funny and they have welcomed me into their home.  Its wonderful.

Well that is all for now, but check again soon because I will continue to update you all of my adventures!

Vi ses! (See you)!

I can’t believe it.  It has been a month now.  I have been living in Denmark for a month now.  Times goes really fast when you are having such a good time.  So much has happened in this past month that I can only imagine what the next three will be.  I haven’t keep any of you updated as to my adventures so I figure I should give you the highlights of some of them here and now.

The first week was full of adventures.  DIS took us tons of places and showed us the city inside and out.  I saw the Little Mermaid statue.  This is one of Denmark’s most popular tourist attractions.  Despite its popularity with tourists, it doesn’t seem to be as popular with locals.  The Mermaid has been painted, decapitated numerous times.  When we visited her she was perfectly fine.  Here she is:

That first week we also went to the Carlsberg Brewery.  The Danes are big on their beer.  It is the majority of what they drink when they go out or when they are in the streets.  (By the way…if I haven’t already mentioned this, the Danes can drink in public).  Carlsberg is a Danish beer which also produces Tuborg, probably the two most popular beers here.  The Carlsberg Company is an interesting one all around.  Their slogan is, “Probably the Best Beer in the World”, which is brilliant in one sense or another.  Also about 50% of the profits go to an arts fund for Denmark.  This is because 50% of the shares are owned by the Carlsberg Arts Fund which supports Danish art development.  For this reason there are amazing museums and parks full of art.  It makes you feel a bit better about drinking a Carlsberg.  The tour of the brewery was great.  Driving up to the factory it looked liked Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory, protected by a gate and with room upon room upon room.  Carlsberg threw us a party at the end of the tour.   We all had a great time.

Those trips were just the week.  The weekend was round two of exploration and adventure in Denmark.  On Saturday I went on a tour with 60 other students to Mon’s Klint (Mon’s Cliff) which is on the island of Mon south of Copenhagen.  Just a reminder Denmark is made up of 406 islands.  On the east side of Mon are the white cliffs and the rock beaches.  We met out guide and hiked through Klinte Forest to the top point of cliff.  We climbed to the highest point of the cliffs, Dronningestolen at 128 meters above sea level.  There was a tiny path that only one could crawl out onto in order to see the amazing view.  It is said that on a clear day you may be able to see all the way to Sweden.  I didn’t see Sweden, but that is only because once I looked down to the beach I crawled my way back down the cliff.  (I have a small fear of heights). Here is a photo of me on the top of the cliff: (a bit frightening)

After climbing all the way to the top of this cliff we then climbed all the way to the bottom to the beach.   Down on the beach the water was beautiful but so were the surrounding white cliffs.  After finding a few fossils of squid a group of us chilled and had lunch on the rocks.  It was an amazing day; what a way to experience Denmark.  Here are some of the other views from Mon’s Klint.

 Saturday’s adventure to Mon’s Klint was not the only one for the weekend.  On Sunday I went to Fredericksborg Castle.  It is one of the most magnificient castles I have ever seen.  It has an enormous grounds full of fountains, sculptured bushes and flower beds.  It is an amazing walk from the gardens to the castle.  Then, in true castle form a moat that might as well be a lake, surrounds the castle.  The grounds would have been enough to take in for the day but there was more…the whole castle.  The castle has had its hard times though, it has been burnt almost completely to the ground.  The only part of the main castle that survived the fire was the church which still has its original organ.  The new castle is a replication of the old and is full of historical paintings and artifacts.  You really can’t get a better Sunday than being able to walk through an old castle and its gardens.  Denmark rocks.  Here are pictures of its castle:

I have tons of other adventures to tell and will after I do some homework.  Remember I am in school too.

Alanna

So…I have been here for almost a week now and I love it. Despite the rain, which is constantly random, it is fantastic. I have started classes and begun to adjust.

First of all, I should tell you where I am living. I am living in Keops Kollegium. A kollegium is the equivalent of an American dormitory. Keops is a brand new kollegium, just opening up this year so it is absolutely beautiful. Most of the students who live here, will live here for the next four to five years while they study. It truely will become there home. The kollegium is a mix of American students, Danish students and a few international students. Its a really good mix. All the rooms are single rooms, so I do not have any roommates, but I do have others that live on my hallway. Danes and Americans alike. The room itself has a bedroom, a kitchenette and a full bathroom. Its more like an apartment than a dorm room; I even have my own mini-fridge and stove. This is a photo of my room when you enter it. I have a big window at the end of my room which gets the sunset in the evening.

Its really nice. Also, I don’t live in downtown Copenhagen, I live just a bus ride outside in a suburb called Norreboro.  It is a developing region that has an international feel.  Its great, there are all types of resturants and shops to puruse.

So each morning I take a 15 minute bus ride into downtown Copenhagen for classes.  Most of the classes are just DIS students, however, some of the classes are in partnership with universities in Copenhagen so the student population is a great mix of cultures.  I am taking five classes here in Denmark.  One of my professors is American and the other four are Danes.  The funny thing is that the Danish professors are also currently working in their field.  So unlike American universities the professors are part time in the classroom and then hold another job within their field.  That may not sound like a big difference, but I think it is.  I think it makes the professors more hands on and pratical to the world at hand.  Other than that classes are close to that of those in the States.  The one difference I have noticed is an increased emphasis on group work here.  Not sure what that says about the difference in cultures…I’ll let you decide that.  One of my classes is Kierkegaard and the Meaning of Life, which seems very intersting.  It should be great to study Kierkegaard in his home country and with the resources avaliable here.  My professor for that classes works at the Kierkegaard Center so we are learning as he learns, its great.  Below is a picture of a statue of Kierkegaard here in Copenhagen outside one of the national libraries:

Writing about classes reminds me of the homework I have ahead of me for the evening.  So on that note, I’ll write again soon.

Alanna