I See the Sea!

Ok, I already talked a little about Rome, so I'll move on to Cinque Terre..., where we ventured after Rome...

CT is a collection of 5 small towns along the northern Italian coast, known for their quintessential beauty and excellent hiking along the sea cliffs.Cinque Terre, even with blurry photos, is absolutely spectacular.  When you get off the platform in town, there is a huge, sweeping view of cliffs with the sparking Mediterranean before you.  It is simply stunning. (No seriously, go google image this place…NOW.  I’ll still be here when you get back, and the story will be much, MUCH better). We stayed in Riomagiorre, the first town.  I booked an 8 room dorm in a hostel, but it wound up being a private room in an apartment style set up…AND the owners were American, to boot!

We checked out the town the first day (I bought a few disposable cameras), went grocery shopping, and made one of the most memorable meals of my life.  An old standby I call “Kaitie and Daddy” pasta, named for the one dish we always make together: penne, pancetta, cream sauce, broccoli, pine nuts, parmesan cheese, and—what CT is known for—pesto.  ALL was fresh.  ALL was delicious, complete with a bottle of wine and our own private terrace.  We had a great view of the town and the sea, and could hear the waves crashing in the distance.  An American mom/daughter joined us, and we had a wonderful conversation for a couple hours, then drowsily crashed into bed.  

After letting ourselves sleep off Rome, we hiked the famous Cinque Terre paths from one colorful city to the next—it was a little overcast, but still beautiful.  And SO. MANY. STEPS.  We took the route from Monterosso to Vernaza, and were alternately trudging along  just to get it over with and stopping to catch our breath and look behind us at the amazing view.  The path itself was beautiful—if treacherous.  There were vineyards terraced into the cliffs that have probably been there for hundreds of years, sweet smelling lemon groves (complete with a little old man selling homemade lemoncello), and knarled olive trees.  It was totally and completely Mediterranean.  We packed lunches and ate our PBnJ on a cliff with an uninterrupted view of the sea and Monterosso.  Stunning.

Vernazza was a hard town to beat, and was certainly the most colorful.  We walked through the old monestary (CT was originally just a collection of monestaries that were connected) and then grabbed gelato (surprise?) and basked in the sun along the water. It was…perfect.  : )

The next two towns we just skimmed over via train—it was beginning to rain and two of the paths were closed due to a previous landslide.  We made it back to the hostel, did some laundry at a local laundromat, and met some more great people—from Italy, Australia, New Zealand, and America.  So fun!  After cleaning up we ate at a local restaurant, met some other American students, and continued on our way home.  Walking down the street, tired and ready for a good night’s sleep, we suddenly heard “Koompen-hauuunnnn,” the Danish way of pronouncing Copenhagem, and naturally a honing signal for anyone living in there. We turned around to find another DIS student sprinting towards us….come to find out there were several groups of DIS kids milling around there.  We had a drink with the guys, caught up on Kopenhavn-ish things, and went home to pack and get some sleep. 

The next day began the marathon that was France.  Our trains were something as follows: Riomagiorre to La Spezia, La Spezia to Genoa, Genoa to Nice, Nice to Marseille, Marseille to Cassis.  If you have ever encountered the faulty Italian train system, you can understand why we were nervous.  Luckily, it all ran very smoothly.  It was also raining the second half of the day—leaving the gorgeous Italian coast for the clear morning light, and tunnels/fields for the rainy afternoon.  The trains themselves were fine, and we met some fun people along the way.

 

 CT Highlights:

-THE dinner

-“Me time” while hiking

-Meeting and getting to know great people in the hostel and while walking around the towns

-Realizing my bankcard would only let me withdraw 50 euro at a time.  Hello unnecessary fees.

-Attempting to resurrect my horrific Spanish skills in order to talk with a man in our train compartment.  Didn’t really work.  Laughter did.

-Train to Nice: reaching into the overhead rack to grab my pack, while the train went around a sharp and sudden curve.  Finding myself literally lying on top of the people next to me as my head dove towards the window with a resounding thud.  One thought I was drunk.   One thought I had a concussion.  I thought I was going to die.

-Listening to four complete strangers talk for 3 hours, in Italian, without stopping. Whoa.

-Being hit on incessantly by a French man, “You American?  Oh I LOVE Americans…oh you are my favorite oh my honey my baby.”  …nej tak. 

-Literally running from one platform to another in Nice, stepping on the train as it started to pull away

I'm BACK!

Yes, I do realize that it’s been far too long since I’ve written, BUT I have a good excuse!  Midterms, and THREE WEEKS OF TRAVELING!

The past (well, how long has it been since I’ve written?) few weeks (?) have been a complete and total whirlwind—some of it seems so real, but some was also such a fairytale dream.  DIS midterms went well, nothing too major, and I even got an A on my Danish oral exam (generally because of my fabulous host family).  With that, I packed up everything in my backpack and hit the road for a few weeks!

Week 1: Study tour to London/Oxford, England.  I was really not expecting to like London, and I couldn’t tell you exactly why.  But—to my great surprise—I found myself falling head over heels in love with it, and I can’t quite describe that either.  Even in the rain, it somehow felt just as it should be, and “my city.”  We did have generally good weather though, and loved just walking around and taking it all in.  The second night we were walking around Covent Garden, and randomly decided to buy spur of the moment tickets to “Wicked,” about two hours before show time.  BEST decision of the trip—the show was amazing, and it was fun to do something so spontaneous with friends!  We all bonded over the typical tourist spots, but also eye opening visits to, notably, Edelman (huge PR firm), TNS World Panel (market research analysis firm), and The Telegraph (newspaper). ..aka…I’m meant to live and work here.  : )   So many more good things to say about London…I’ll come back to this one later.

 

Roman Holiday

Rome wasn't built in a day, but it can definately be seen in two!

After an...interesting night in the Standstead Airport, we woke up at 4am to get through security and onto our 6am flight. All went very smoothly and we slept like babys on the plane and even was able to--enflight--book a bus ticket to town. (We flew into Ciampano, which is about 40 minutes outside of the city). Bus tickets in hand, we made it to the station and promptly booked train reservations to Cinque Terre and the Italian portion of what is going to be a verrrryyyy long journey to Marseille. The hostel was really close by so we stopped in, dropped luggage, and were on our way!

Highlights:
Day 1:
-Roman Forum, Colleseium, Pantheon, Trevi Fountain, Spanish Steps.
-The Forum was JUST my type of place, if a little overrun with tourists (though expectedly so). The ruins were incredible, but the gardens and general lanscape/ambiance was so perfect. It's hard to imagine what everything must have been like back in the day, but for now, it still eminates beauty, grandeur, and power.
-The fountain and steps were... just "eh." It didn't help that it was raining for most of this part, and FULL of people. Cool, but the feeling was kind of lost.
-Dinner: A very classy outdoor cafe on our street...delicious gnocci with REAL pesto...so so so good. Followed by gelato that was...uninspired. Still, when in Rome...! Also, there was a dad and his two teenage sons sitting near us at dinner. Eavesdropping, as any good traveller does, I picked up that they were speaking DANISH! I could make out a little of their conversation, which was thrilling and comforting, in a very weird way. It was a great little confidence boost. :)
-Our hostel...oh our hostel. Rome was the most difficult place to find a hostel, simply because there were so many. We stayed at the Freedom Traveller, and it was...well...it was a bed to sleep in. The sheets seemed very clean, which is I guess the important part. Everything else was really dingy and very old. The shower basically dripped water, so that was...amusing?

Day 2:
-Vatican museum and Sistene Chapel, St. Peters, Vatican City, Pantheon
-The first two just had TOO much to take in. It was all very beautiful, but I was pretty much just following along with what Claire said (she's really into art/art history). I had very little preconceptions of all things Vatican, so I was consistently surprised!
-We met up with Claire's friend Callegee who is studying in Rome. She went to the sights with us and took us to a famous gelatto place for... LUNCH! Haha in trying to save money we opted for a huge gelatto for 1.5 euro. Perfect.
-ST. PETERS IS AMAZING! I've loved seeing great cathedrals since I've been in Europe, and reading Pillars of the Earth recently has only added to that. But St. Peters is easily the most stunning cathedral in the world, as I suppose it should be. Words or pictures can't decribe the very holy beauty that you are hit with when walking in. It is simply stunning.
-My feet feel like they're going to fall to pieces at any given moment.

Right now it's about 5:00 and we're sitting in the lobby with FREE INTERNET (ok, at least this place has that going for it) and are debating dinner plans and what to do for the evening. I know it's suspensefull, but you'll just have to wait for my next internet portal to find out what went on. It'll more than like likely be, "I ate. I went to bed." or something along those lines. Daylight savings was today and I'm SO tired. :(

BUT! I am proud of us for having gotten this far on our own, and everything seems to be going smoothly. Tired feet aside, I've walked miles already in terms of knowledge of myself and traveling confidence. Not bad for a few days work.

Vi ses. :)

I la la la la looovvvveeeeee london!

Soo...right now I'm sitting here in London's Standstead airport, on a friend's computer, waiting for my flight to ROME...in 9 hours. Haha. I've never slept in the airport before but hey there's a first time for everything..!

It's hard to describe the past week without using the word whirlwind. We were in London Sunday through Thursday, and Thursday/Friday was spent in Oxford. I am not a huge fan of big, metropolitan cities, but found myself falling SO in love with London. It helped that we had fabulous weather, but even on the one rainy day it just felt like I fit here. Hard to describe, but it was really a wonderful feeling and so refreshingly unexpected. I <3 London!

I'll update more about the trip later, when I'm home in CPH and have my own computer and some more time to write. For now, rest assured that I'm safe and sound and just enthralled with Europe. I'm already trying to figure out when/how I can get back here!

Highlights:
-London eye, in the rain. Sick joke.
-AMAZING hotel with the best shower in the world.
-Fish and chips...multiple times.
-Bonding with new people from the CMM program.
-Navigating the Tube, and succeeding.
-Spontaneously buying tickets to an extra broadway show...WICKED. No but really, it was wicked. (haha...bad pun).
-Packing for 3 weeks in a backpack. OMG.

I'll write more later! Wish me luck!! :)

so much. so so much.

too much to type.  the short (or not so short) version:

-same-old-same-old school.  still loving international advertising.  tuesdays and fridays are perfect days.

-researched advertising/marketing internships again.  applied.  keep your fingers crossed!

-went out on the town friday night/morning.  ventured to moose.  loved it (props, caroline).  met a fun, very good looking danish guy (!).  talked for hours.  excellent night.

-got work done on saturday.  cleaned (haha, reference previous post).

-mikro FINALLY went into labor on saturday afternoon around 4:00...didn't actually have the first puppy until around noon on sunday.  sunday was spent huddling around mikro and just watching her.  nerve wracking.

-puppy #1 (Limbo): breached...aka came out feet first.  gitte literally had to pull it out.

-puppy #2 (Mambo): three hours later.  head first, but the head was too big.  thought it wouldn't survive.  lots of phone calls to the vet to determine how to get this poor puppy out.  30 minutes of labor later, we have a puppy!  

-  ^  ...i'm never having kids.  that sealed the deal.  

-booked travel break, minus the hostel in prague.  final plans are as follows:

March 22-27: London/Oxford with CMM program.  

March 28-30: Rome, Italy

March 30-April 1: Cinque Terre, Italy

April 1-5: Cassis, France

April 6-8: Interlaken, Switzerland

April 8-10: Munich, Germany

April 11-12: Prague, Czech Republic

April 13: Travel home.

-EURail passes purchased, itinerary made.  so much train travel.  sick.  only bringing a backpack, and not even a hikers one or anything.  did anyone ever think i was capable of backpacking for three weeks...!?  certainly not me.  should prove for some good learning experiences, and of course some epic stories.

-package received from mom (LOVE YOU!!!!!!!!!) with goodies from home and additional things for travel.

-term paper for HCAnderson class.  nej tak, but it came out better than i thought.

-midterm for advertising on friday.  ja tak (er..hopefully).

aannndd....that brings us up to speed.  more or less.  i'll probably write something while traveling, if i can.  

vi ses!

X-Factor obsession. Whoops.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAqDY9Ms8MM

Claus, the love of my life.  When I move back to Denmark, we’re getting married.  Then he’s taking voice lessons.  In that order.   Jeg elsker dig, Claus. 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVnU2Uudp9w

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VLkboHLoESA

Mohamed Ali.  This 15 year old is UNBELIEVEABLE.   He gets my vote every week.  : )

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ksLOemJrVU4

Lucas.  Wannabe emo 15 year old, but still pretty good.  This song was his best, and it was stuck in my head FOREVER.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ko6T2Qg9-xg

Asian Sensation.  I saved the best for last.  No description needed…just watch.

Mama mia, here I go again...

It was looking like it might be a pretty under-the-weather weekend.  My good friends were out of town in –gasp- Berlin, I was (am) still sick, and the family had planned some sort of sporting day with the neighbors on Saturday.  If you know me at all, you know that sports are NOT my thing.  At all.  Like I said, things seemed a little downcast.

But as it turns out, quiet and “normal” was exactly what I needed.  Friday night I came home, grabbed a glass of red wine as usual, and settled in with the family to watch X-Factor, the “American Idol” of Denmark.  I am pretty much obsessed with this show, and Friday didn’t disappoint: it was ABBA night.  I’ve had “Does Your Mother Know” and “Knowing Me Knowing You” stuck in my head since.  Whoops.

Saturday commenced the weekend as I’ve come to love: waking up around 8:30 (on a weekend?!  Who knew I had it in me?) to Gitte’s delicious homemade breakfast: fresh, hot bread with jams, cheese, and chocolate—yes, for breakfast, and it’s dark and wafer thin, so no, it’s not very unhealthy.  After breakfast and tea it was homework time for several hours, then a quick lunch of breakfast leftovers and off to the “sport day.”

Like I said, I am pretty much the antithesis of whatever “jock” girl you knew in high school.  Anything involving coordination is really not my strong suit…and…well…most sports require at least some.  One of our neighbors, Jan, works at an elementary school and was able to use the gym for a few hours.  We (the family and Caroline’s friend, Katrina), Jan, and another set of neighbors (Paul, Rounhil, and their baby Noah) met at the school and just…played!  At first I have to say I was pretty weary of the whole sports thing, but we wound up playing just fun made up games—the kind you play in PE class as a kid.  Handball, soccer, badminton, dodgeball, volleyball. Everyone made mistakes, everyone was good at some things and bad at others, but mainly everyone laughed.  At themselves, at one another, it didn’t matter.  Sports aside, I had a really great time just being energetic and having fun with friends and family.  We even packed hot tea and cake, and at risk of using the word incorrectly, I found the afternoon to be pretty hyggelit.

Sunday began with the same weekend breakfast routine—again, delicious—and more homework.  It was very rainy all day, but cozy because of it.  Gitte went on her run, I took Mikro on a walk by the pond, and we all made our weekend lunch tradition: smorrebrod.  This week I tried the fried slice of cod roe, and unfortunately…nej tak.  But hey, at least I tried it!  After lunch I read more of my book (Pillars of the Earth…SO good and somewhat relevant to my time in Europe!) and sent a few e-mails.  Mom called :) and we had a nice chat, and around 4 it was tea time.  Tea/coffee and some sort of small snack are usually served, and Sunday it was American pancakes!  I’ve tried my hand at Danish pancakes (crepes), but we thought we’d switch it up and try the American version.  And so, with the help of foodnetwork.com, I whipped up some American goodies and melted sordbaer jam for syrup…and OMG they were so good.  And the family liked them too! 

And then…time to clean.  In addition to typical Sunday cleaning (my room, laundry, etc.), we decided to clean out the kitchen cabinets.  And by clean out I mean SCRUB.  With ABBA singing away in the background (really, I can’t get enough), we scoured a few cabinets and called it a day.  Dinner and a Danish movie later it was time for bed, where I now sit typing this blog.

In lit classes we were always taught to analyze, not summarize.  And though the above is really just a summary of my very low-key weekend, it says a lot.  I—finally—feel at home.  Knowing a routine and holding my own without fear of doing the wrong thing or saying something strange.  Feeling free to add my own input or not say anything at all.  Finally understanding this place is home now.  I’m not just a visitor or a guest, but a part of a family.  While we were cleaning Gitte said as a joke, “Oh my.  Come to Denmark to clean!”  I’ve offered to help clean in the past and she always tells me that nothing is really expected because of my busy days and long commute.  But I have to say, the simple act of rocking out to 70’s Scandinavia music and scrubbing a cabinet has the stunning ability to make me feel normal again.  Weird to describe normal that way, yes, but it’s true.   It’s my Carlin family dancing to the Rolling Stones while cleaning up dinner.  It’s my Elon family singing Katy Perry while getting ready in the apartment.  It’s ABBA.  And mama mia, I am home. 

So was it relaxed?  Yes.  Was it exciting?  No.  But was it needed?  Definitely.  I count this weekend as one of the best yet.

Jeg hedder Kaitlin og jeg komma fra USA og Danmark. :) 

Pictures from the first 6 weeks

At the top of Koldinghus castle.  It was SO foggy, but I managed to capture the flag (ha, no pun).

I <3  DK.

The Stone Age burial mound/stone formation in Allerod, about 10 min. from home.

Me in front of the Brandenburg Gate, Berlin, Germany.  Riiiight before I realized the wallet was gone, so I was still in a great mood at this point...

LOTS of snow in Allerod!  This is looking right from my driveway.

Friends and I in Arhus...it was very cold and snowy, but we had a great night!

Nyhavn ("Newhoun")...THE postcard picture area

Berlin...?

There’s been a lot going on in the past weeks, mostly travel.  I’ll try to make an abridged version, but some stories are just too good to pass…

2 Weekends Ago: Malmo, Sweden.  Only a 30-minute train ride away, Malmo promised a new area to explore and—importantly—cheap shopping (I know, priorities).  Several friends and I decided to make a day of it, and we happened to go on a beautifully sunny day.  Malmo was indeed beautiful and the exchange rate was in our favor, so it was a great day overall, if a little cold.  A minor snafu came when ALL trains back to Copenhagen were cancelled from central station…One awful bus ride, train (finally!), and THREE HOURS later, we were home!  It was an adventure to say the least!

Last Weekend: Berlin, Germany.  Several of us were starting to get the travel itch, and booked a bus to Berlin.  It was a very promising trip as we had all heard great things about the city and the bus (including ferry) was very fast and inexpensive.  And then…it came to the trip itself…

As it turns out, everything bad that ever happened in Berlin for the past 100 years or so has happened on November 9^th.  That should have been an omen, as the 9^th is my birthday.  Let me just list the things that went wrong:

-Woke up late, no time to shower/eat breakfast.  Out the door in 5 minutes at 5:00 am (those who know me well understand that this is NOT my strong suit…so I was feeling very blahhh on the way there)

-Left my boarding pass at home, had to RUN to DIS to print out a new one.  Thank God for 24h. computers and printers

-At a bar/café the first night, I left my wallet…including EVERY form of ID, including passport, and around 50 Euro. 

-Didn’t realize I had lost said wallet until noon the following day, thanks to some spare cash in my coat.  FREAKED OUT when I realized where I had left it and had no way of getting to it until 5:00 that evening.  (**Eventually, I DID get it back.  Thank you, Gypsy Bar**).

-Was accosted by a very high, very drunk German man in the subway circa 10am.  He looked exactly like Todd (the creepy brother) from “Wedding Crashers,” and we had a very interesting conversation while he kept his hand on my leg.  He asked for my water and I obliged, then we helped him find the right train.  Most terrifying/amusing 10 minutes of my life.

-“Light snow” was the weather forecast, and it must have been just a figure of speech.  With only one pair of leather boots as shoes, my feet were freezing and soaked by the end of our travels.

Ok, all that aside, I really did have a good (if stressful) time in Berlin.  I didn’t enjoy the city so much; it’s HUGE with not much of a city center.  We were able to see most of the highlights via a wonderful guided walking tour with an Aussie tour guide!  Sites included: The Brandenburg Gate, The Holocaust Memorial, Checkpoint Charlie, the Berlin Wall, and several other major attractions.  We also stumbled across the MECCA of chocolate stores and did some…shopping and taste testing.  Delish.   The exchange rate for the Euro is so much better than the Danish Krone and Germany itself is cheap, so we enjoyed traditional German fare (including Weiner schnitzel and bratwurst!), amazing Spanish tapas, and excellent beer.  It was nice to eat out and not have to worry too much about the menu price!

 Another cool attraction: EGYPT!  When I was younger I was obsessed with Ancient Egypt, and we went into a museum housing an amazing collection of Egyptian artifacts—including the very famous bust of Queen Nefertiti (!!!).  We also visited the Berliner Dom Cathedral.  It was a spectacular structure and beautifully decorated.  I’m reading “The Pillars of the Earth” right now, and it makes for an interesting connection to what I’ve seen in Europe. 

Though it was an adventure and a very valuable (literally) learning experience, I have to say that Berlin in itself is definitely not my city.  It was way, WAY bigger than it seems and lacks the medieval, historical charm of Copenhagen.  Getting back on our clean and reliable S-Tog in CPH and knowing we were finally home was a huge sigh of relief.  The S-Tog ride alone made me realize how different the two cities are:  Berlin is a very diverse city—rich, poor, and multiethnic.  Copenhagen is extremely homogenous.  It feels like most of the people you are surrounded by are middle-upper class, comfortable, and “Nordic” looking.  It just makes me wonder what spring break will be like!

Break from Travel break?

One of the reasons I chose the DIS program is the AMAZING travel opportunity I have for spring break: 3 WEEKS OF EUROPEAN TRAVEL!!!  Week one is a study tour with my CMM class, visiting sites in London and Oxford.  The next two weeks will be with my friend Claire, on a whirlwind trip through Europe!  Currently, the rough sketch is as follows...

London to Rome (Friday night flight 3/27)

Rome: Saturday-Monday (3/28-30)

Rome - Cinque Terre (Monday evening? 3/30)

Cinque Terre: Tuesday/Wednesday ( 3/31-4/1)

Cinque Terre-Vienna Wednesday night train (4/1)

Vienna: Thursday/Friday (4/2-3)

Vienna-Munich Friday night (4/3)

Munich: Saturday-Sunday (4/4-5)

Munich-Interlaken Sunday night or Monday morning (4/5 or 4/6)

Interlaken: Monday-Tuesday (4/6-7)

Fam. friends near Marseilles: Wednesday-Thursday (4/8-9)

Paris: Friday-Saturday-Sunday (4/10-12)

It seems like a lot, but I think i'll be the best!  We're doing a Eurorail pass and trying to do as much overnight traveling as possible.  

Anyone who's done this before, please feel free to comment with suggestions or tips!  I would SO appreciate any advice!  

Cultural musings

“Jeg komma fra U.S.A.”

I come from the USA, one the key phrases I’ve had to learn in the past few weeks of Danish class.  Actually, it’s one of the only phrases I can say fairly well in Danish, and I suppose that’s a good thing.  But here nearly everyone speaks English very well, and it’s considered “cool” to imitate American language.

Which brings me to something I’ve neglected to mention in my blog…and one of the funniest things to happen over the past several weeks:  FIFTY NIFTY.

One night at dinner, my host family and I were talking about regional differences between the states.  They asked how many states we had and there was a little debate over 50 or 51.  I brought up a song that most all American school kids learn to remember the states, “Fifty Nifty.” I sang it once or twice, and then they just had to find it on YouTube.  Caroline was SO excited about this new American song and proceeded to learn it in about 24 hours.  Over the next week, all we heard was “Fifty Nifty.”  I’ve never been so American.  And then, there was the geography…

Once the song was learned, it was time to learn how to point to each of the states in tune to the music.  Somehow Caroline again learned them all in just over 24 hours.  Incredible.  I can assure you that I would not be able to do that with Danish towns (no states here).  Who knew that a song typically sung by 10 year olds would take so well in Denmark!  Nathalie then picked it up and ohhhmyyyygooooossshhhh we’ve heard fifty nifty probably over 50 times. 

I digress.  Regardless of our language, we have so many cultural similarities.  Once again, post dinner conversations have been so enlightening.  We confessed to one another what DIS had warned us about regarding our differences in language, manners of speech, nudity (!), and humor.  But neither one of us has encountered any problems in these areas!  They may be true in rare and extreme cases, but generally I feel very at home here and they enjoy getting to know another family member, albeit a temporary one.

Last night the topic was Danish Jante Law. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jante_Law gives the “10 commandments” of this unwritten law, but it is really not so harsh in contemporary Danish thinking (if it is remembered at all).  Generally, janteloven refers to a humble state of mind.  It puts everyone on an equal level and unifies playing ground.  Similar to their somewhat socialist society, janteloven brings the Danes closer together as one, while simultaneously making them more homogenous.  There is a strong level of national pride here, but in a very humble way.  Take the Carlsberg slogan, “Probably the best beer in the world.”  It would be so much easier to just confidently state that it IS the best beer, but Danish culture humbles it down to “probably.” 

Beer aside, I really like this mindset.  I like the equality; I like the fact that it neutralizes everyone.  Like mom always said, there will always be someone better than you and someone worse than you.  Janteloven indirectly champions this. 

Further proof that Mom’s are always right, even halfway around the world.

 

 

**Sidenote…I’m going to Berlin next weekend!  And hopefully Ireland soon!  CAN’T WAIT!**

You broke the planter?!

Study Tour with CMM (Communication and Mass Media).  Thursday through Saturday.

 

Thursday:  Up at 5:00.  Out the door by 6:09.  On the bus at Frue Plads by 7:20.  Depart for Arhus, the second biggest city in Denmark and located in Central/Northern Jutland (the mainland of Denmark).  Make friends on bus.  Arrive Arhus 11:30.  Lecture at Danish School of Journalism.  Professor looks like a Ken doll but is actually quite interesting besides.  Good overview of Danish media and how it works (most journalists are not actually educated in journalism at all.  Who knew?).  Head to lunch at F-A-N-C-Y restaurant.  Delicious fish with lemon, potatoes, fresh bread, and cucumber salad.   Go to Midjuske Media, small local paper in Arhus.  Meet editor.  Find out for the 1385176 time that day that papers are dying and online media is growing.  Depressed, feel like media was possibly a poor choice of profession in the midst of an economic downturn.  Whoops.  Arrive at Danhostel Arhus.  IN THE MIDDLE OF A FOREST.  Decent hostel, but oh-so-scary location.  Quick shower and wardrobe change.  Head downtown for dinner.  Bus drives in circles, about 4 times.  Walk through pedestrian shopping area (SO cute) with friends to find restaurant.  Eat delicious meal at Corner Café on a (surprise!) corner by the water.  Observe snowfall.  Walk through said snow to Irish pub.  WAY too crowded.  Go to “Sherlock Holmes” pub.  Realize it’s called that because figuring out why you’re there in the first place is a complete mystery.  Head back into snow to find new pub.  Go BACK to Corner Café to ask cute waiter Tore where to go in this town.  Take directions to Bridegewater—GREAT idea!  Order a beer (in Danish) and hang out with new friends from DIS and two more new friends from South Africa and Niger.  “Where are you going tonight?...I’ll come visit you in US.  On holiday!”  Help Meg politely decline and get the heck out of there.  Navigate public transportation back to forest.  Walk through dark, rainy, foggy forest…kinda sketch.  Go to bed.

 

Friday:  Hej hej Arhus.  Hej Kolding.  Hej rain.  Picture perfect town in southern/central Jutland.  Like a postcard.  Tour Kolding castle—not anything like Fredricksburg castle. SO old and crumbly.  Walk to top of tower, can’t see a thing because we’re in a cloud (!). Walk downtown.  Find a store with hundreds of boots.  ALL DIS girls go crazy.  Jesse returns with a hot spot for lunch.  Enter Afghan restaurant with pizza slices bigger than your head.  Eat excellent lunch for crazy low price.  Walk back to bus.  Arrive Odense, second biggest city in Denmark and located on Funnen, the middle island.  Tour TV2.  TV2!!!!  The most watched channel in Denmark and the channel that broke media monopoly in 1988.  SWEET.  Talk with a producer for a while, check out some sets and meet director.  Tour main news desk.  Stay and watch 4:00 news, IN the newsroom.  Wave, on camera.  ON CAMERA.  LIVE.  So cool.  Take more pictures.  Hej hej, TV2.  Hej, Danhostel Odense.  Great location and nice rooms.  Well done!  Chill out, shower, go to dinner.  Eat wonderful Danish food at The Ugly Duckling.  Walk around.  Realize nothing is going on in Odense and we are oh-so-sleepy.  Return to hotel, hang out with friends, go to bed.  Wake up to roommates coming back and bird calls…?  Jury’s still out on that one. 

 

Saturday:  Wake up.  Breakfast in hotel. Still addicted to Pickwick strawberry tea.  Take walking tour of Odense.  Neglected to mention earlier this is the birthplace/hometown of Hans Christian Anderson (The Ugly Duckling, The Little Mermaid, Thumbelina, The Emperors New Clothes, The Princess and the Pea…).  The influence is everywhere from park benches to shops to cobblestones.  See whole new side to Odense.  Fall in love.  THIS is what you think of when you think Denmark.  Holy shit.  SO adorable.  Take 2736836 pictures.  Take note of rain (again).  Doesn’t matter, still in love.  Love?  Tour guide notes that this is a very popular place to get married?  Love?  What?  Take yet another picture to document said spot.  Any takers??  ; )   Tour Danish media museum, made even more riveting by the fact that we can’t read Danish.  Duck out with Claire and head to local art shop.  Purchase ahhddoorrraaablllleee artistic interpretations of HC Anderson fairy tales on small square postcards; plan to frame when home.  Eat lunch at Mona Lisa—foccacia sandwiches.  Realize I am really becoming Danish when I immediately crave a small piece of chocolate after a meal.  Damnit.  Get back on bus.  Sleep.  Arrive home.  CPH, home!  Walk, train, bus, walk, home.  So happy.  So tired.  Wine, dinner, bed.  

City Center

Ok…sorry for the lack of postings this week.  When I started the blog I figured I’d write a little each day, and that has not been the case…so far.  I wind up making little mental notes in my head all day long about cultural observations and social commentary, but then of course forget to actually comment on it when I get home every night.  From now on I’ll try to actually write down some of those things each day and, of course, a highlights section.

For today: Not much to say about the past week.  More of the same—getting to know my routines, making new ones, and just soaking up what’s around me.  For now I’ll tell you a little bit about where I spend most of my day in the city center.

Somehow I missed the memo that DIS truly is SMACK in the middle of Copenhagen (literally a block from the “Times Square” of Denmark, called “City Hall Square”), but it’s such a comfortable city that you don’t really realize it.  Yes, there is the hustle and bustle that accompanies any city, but it’s more personal here.  It’s cozy.  Hygge, even.  The Danes have this feeling down to a science, and I LOVE IT.

A good example is my daily commute:  I take the train from Allerod to Norreport station every morning.  Not only are the trains immaculately clean with upholstered seats, but it is so quiet you could literally hear a pin drop.  Not an awkward quiet either, just calm.  I usually listen to my iPod or read a book (I’ve gone through four books already…I’m out of my Amercian stash :(      ).  Locals do generally the same thing, or read the daily papers provided for free at the train stops (which are actually quite good by journalistic standards).

On my walk to school from the Norreport train station, I take Fiolstraede, a pedestrian street lined with small shops, restaurants, bookstores, cafes…and bookstorecafés (those are my favorite).  In the morning, it’s bleary eyed commuters walking silently to their destination.  Quiet, stillness, and yet…friendliness. 

Coming home (in the dark at 4:30 pm) the shops are all open, many with candle lanterns or even GIANT 3 or 4 foot pillar candles in front of their shops.  Everyone is briskly walking, but chatting with their friends, looking in shop windows, or enjoying the hygge ambiance of the cafes.  I can’t really describe how much I adore this street.  I’ve come to know the subtle changes in the cobblestones, how to avoid the Amnesty people on the corner, and where to go to enjoy a latte and good book.  Walking down the street, I’ve started feel anonymous and yet part of all of it—moving to an emic perspective from an etic one.  My anthropology professors would be so proud.  : )

Via the side street where I bought my boots, Rosengarden, there comes Kultorvet, another square I walk by if I want to shop or take the long route.  It’s not the most charming square, but it’s a fun place to people watch and see the neighborhood come together.  This is also where Tiger is located—the mecca of Dollar Stores.  It’s a two story place with all the essentials—a little like Target, actually.  However it’s more like the little dollar section in the front of Target:  everything very low priced, a little on the cheaply made side, but really cute and oh-so-appropriate for a poor American college student.  I’ve been there about 4 times for school supplies, band aids, and a coffee mug to make tea in at DIS. Tiger=fabulous.

DIS is located on Vestergade, half a block from another favorite spot, Gammeltorv.  This means “Old Square” and connected to it is Nytorv, or “New Square.”  Gammeltorv is not immaculate, but is—again—that perfect Danish mix of being old and spectacularly, historically beautiful without being ostentatious or pretentious. Perfect.  Separating Gammeltorv and Nytorv is Stroget, the famous pedestrian street.  In the square there is the requisite “fresh” vendor, selling fruit and a HUGE assortment of flowers.  Stroget shops spill their wares on racks into the streets, and most all of the doors are propped open.  You get the feeling that apart from the 7-11 on every corner and the pulsing music heard faintly from the local H&M, things haven’t really changed much.  This could easily be what people saw and felt hundreds of years ago.  The timelessness of Europe is, to me at least, wonderful.  America feels so very young.

But now it is time for this young person to go to bed in this very old city.  My host family taught me how to decorate candles with cutouts from cocktail napkins, and my latest creations are burning away next to me as I snuggle into bed.  (Might I add that Danish duvets are amazingly fluffy and snuggly…America doesn’t know what it’s missing).  

For now, that’s all.  Vi ses!

Week One...Down.

One week in…

This past week has been SO full of ups and downs, I’m not even sure where to begin.  I’ve been more emotionally shaken than I ever thought possible, and out of left field at that.  I’ve been unsure of myself and my surroundings.  I’ve gotten lost, found my way, laughed till I cried and cried till I laughed.  I’ve been wind blown and wet.  I’ve been COLD. But above all, I’ve challenged myself in a way that I was not at all prepared for, and for that I am incredibly thankful.

When people back home asked me why I chose to study abroad in Copenhagen—in the middle of winter—I didn’t have much of an answer.  I’d nervously laugh, smile, and repeat for their sake as much as mine: The program came with great recommendations, the location seemed cool (honestly, when will I EVER go to Copenhagen again…?!), and the people are “the happiest in the world.”  Though these all seem like good answers on paper, I’d be lying if I said that I was 110% ready to just up and move to another country.  In reality, I was scared s**tless on the plane and wondering why the hell I was doing this in the first place.

The first few days were not kind either—I had a very unique first day (missed the bus, forgot my train pass, was yelled at by the police and charged 750 DKK ($150) for it, lost the PIN # for my phone, cried…all day), and was having a hard time coping with the social re-adjustment.  I have never, EVER in my life been homesick, and feeling that emotion was very strange and sad.  I come from an unbelievable group of friends and “family” at Elon and the first few days I felt incredibly lost without them.  “Lonely” is not a feeling I have ever really ascribed to myself. 

But in fact, it was what I felt the first few days.  Once I accepted it, got it out of my system and reminded myself that it was only the first week, I felt a little better.  I talked to more people.   I put myself out there.  I—dare I say it—smiled.  Laughed.  Enjoyed the remarkably beautiful city where I’m so privileged to go to school.  Walked around the perfect, quaint town that I live in.  Appreciated the beauty found in such a small area: fields, forests, and lakes by my house and renaissance era cathedrals and cobblestone streets filled with history in the city. 

And wouldn’t you know?  The sun started to shine.  The wind stopped blowing.  I caught my breath and realized…I’M IN FREAKING DENMARK.  THIS. IS. AWESOME.  It might have been difficult the first few days, but it can’t always be bad.  Though I was initially shaken, I’m still the smiling, outgoing, Kaitlin that loves to live and laugh.  I have a feeling I can do both here.   :) 

Highlights of the past week:

-BONDING WITH FAMILY.  Oh, they are so great.  SO great.  They welcomed me with open arms from day 1, and I truly feel like I am slowly becoming a part of the family.  We’ve been shopping (realized I am VERY American…), played with the dogs, made decorative candles, eaten wonderful meals, and had great conversation.  This is just what I needed. 

-Finding my way to St. Peters, home of the best wiernerbrod ever and only 2 minutes from school

-Learning the ins and outs of water/energy conservation

-Wandering around aimlessly after school…just getting acquainted with the neighborhood.  Exploring.

-Going into the city alone on my class-less Friday and shopping for hours.  Walking down Stroget, the world’s longest pedestrian-only shopping street, in search of leather boots.  **I literally have not met a local wearing anything other than boots or black sneakers.

-Trying on countless pairs of said boots, only to find the PERFECT pair on the way home.  Soft, supple, brown Italian leather.  Beautiful construction.  MAJOR splurge.  Well, they say if the shoe fits…

-Wearing said boots with an all-black outfit, Carlsberg in my hand, and finally feeling very Danish on a way to a club with friends on Friday night.  Having to crash on a friend’s floor in the city because the trains and busses stop running around 12.

-Boots are made for walking…and I do. A LOT.

-Switching classes around.  Currently: News Media in Transition, International Advertising, Danish Language 1 (oh heyyyy GPA drop…), and Hans Christian Anderson and the Danish Golden Age.  Pretty sweet set up, if I do say so myself.

-Taking a walking tour of the city on a sunny day.  Being caught in the harbor in the perfect late-afternoon light.

-Finally finding that place you see on Copenhagen postcards, the one of the pretty buildings in the harbor.  It’s called Nyhavn (New-houn) and is even better than you’re imagining it.

-Visiting a GIANT cathedral from the middle ages in the town of Roskile, about an hour away by bus.  Meeting other DIS people on the trip.  Seeing old viking boats.  Playing dress up...as a viking.

-Hygge (hugh-glee): The Danish feeling of coziness.  Often accompanied by tea, good conversation, and lots of candles.  Experienced every evening.  LOVE. 

And the best highlight:

-Realizing that I can do this.  I am going to have a great semester, day by day.  I expect to be challenged again, and I expect to encounter missteps and frustrations.  But I also expect life-changing experiences that I will carry with me forever.  I expect to form solid relationships with my new family and friends.  I expect to be see things that I never will again, and I expect to take some home with me.  I am a daughter, sister, friend, and Elon student living in a brand new country for the next four and a half months.  I’ll do my best to live up to our school’s favorite saying:

Explore. Dream. Discover.

Vi ses,

Kaitlin  :) 

Warning: LONG post about arrival day. whoops!

Well, it is currently 3 AM here in Denmark, and I have been laying awake for the past two hours.  I figured maybe a more constructive use of my time would be to post a quick update of the past (24?  48?) not-sure-how-many hours.  I am using a Macbook computer, which the internet at home doesn’t seem to recognize.  I’ll actually post the blog when I get internet access at school later tomorrow (today?), and I have a feeling most of my posts will follow this pattern of technology…Though hopefully I won’t be writing too many more at 3 AM.

 

**NOTE: This will be an abnormally long blog post…mainly for Mom and Dad who I can’t talk to for long periods on the phone, but I know will want to know alllllll the details of the first day or two.

 

OK…Left Richmond at 1:30, had a very rough flight to Newark—thank goodness it was only an hour.  The plane was very small and I was sitting right next to the propeller, which made my whole body vibrate the entire time.  It was also very loud and I was sitting next to a woman who was just…not nice.  Not sure how to describe her other than…not nice.  I came down with a sinus infection the day before leaving the States, and it was this flight that gave me the most trouble with pressure.  My face hurt when we arrived and I couldn’t really hear much.  Kind of funny, in hindsight.

 

In the Newark terminal, I wound up meeting a handful of other DIS students.  We bonded over our nervous excitement and also our sudden change of terminal to halfway across the airport, haha.  It was good to finally put a real face to people I had been talking to on Facebook.  Our flight boarded exactly at 5:00 and we took off exactly at 5:30/40.  I thankfully had an aisle exit row seat (thanks Dad!) and only one other person in my row, next to the window, with an empty seat between us.  It turns out Emily was a DIS student too, and it was great to talk to someone else on the plane. 

 

We landed in Copenhagen, earlier than the intenerary said, and went through the line of customs/passport checks.  Then down to baggage claim where DIS had a cute little kiosk set up to check us in.  Emily and I each grabbed a free baggage cart and (thankfully) retrieved our not-lost luggage.  We made a quick currency exchange and went into the main lobby area of the airport…only to run smack into about 100 other DIS students checking in at the second DIS kiosk.  I have to say, DIS has been absolutely wonderful at making sure that we know what we’re doing, when we’re doing it, and having lots of people on hand to help even first time travelers like myself.

 

A $10 Starbucks coffee later (whoops…not used to the exchange rate yet) I met up with other Elon students in the mass of kids mulling around the airport.  SO GOOD to see somewhat familiar faces!  Once the busses arrived, we navigated the masses of students to throw our luggage on and board the bus that would take us to our first part of Orientation, held at the Univeristy of Copenhagen (held there simply for space-issues).  Our bus got lost on the way…we weren’t sure if this was supposed to be some kind of omen??...but we arrived, stashed our stuff in a room, and went to the main cafeteria style room where DIS had set up check in.

 

Going through a series of booths, I received a messenger bag with all necessary paperwork, my transportation money, and a form to receive a PicCell phone.  I sat down with some people through my flight and we navigated through all the information together.  DIS had set up lots of water and fresh fruit for us, and you could also purchase a sandwich.  Everything was very organized, but it was clearly up to us to figure everything out.

 

Those staying with host families had a brief orientation in a lecture hall that was much different than what I’m used to at Elon.  My Elon friends can picture an ampitheater setting very similar to Yeager auditorium, but twice as big!  Then we just…sat…and waited for the director to call our names when our family came.  This was around 11:30, to give you a time reference. 

 

Gitte and Nathalie picked me up, and were so soo nice!  They both gave me a big hug and we set off through the now growing crowd in the cafeteria-room to find my luggage, get it in the car, and head off.

 

As we drove through the city, Gitte would give me a brief overview of the major points of interest.  The words for them sound NOTHING like they look in English…AHHH! We parked and walked my route from the train stop to school, and then I led the way back home.  Not too hard!  It was cold and overcast and VERY windy, but my area of school is very beautiful and postcard-esque.  I’ll take lots of pictures the next few days!

 

We drove home, and met my other sister Caroline.  She is very sweet and welcoming, if a little shy?  Nathalie gave me a tour of their home and I started to unpack while Gitte made lunch.

 

Lunch was what I gather is a traditional smorrebrod (can’t make the funny “o”’ with a slash through it)—a piece of dark break, with an assortment of toppings.  We had fish sticks (“fish fingers”…so cute!), hard boiled eggs that they cut in half and top with mayo, red cabbage, raw onion, and PICKLED HERRING (Becca, I REALLY hope you’re reading this…).  The fish was slightly rubbery and sweet, nothing like the fish that I’m used to but also nothing like I thought it would taste like.  It wasn’t my favorite, but overall not bad!  We also had this type of pork which was SO much better than any pork I’ve had stateside.  It looked kind of like really big brown lumps in an egg shape, but was really some kind of breaded and friend pork.  DELICIOUS!  The juice with lunch was a condensed juice in a carton that you water down…Mine was some kind of berry that I’ve never had before, but very good!

 

And then…I crashed.  Hard core.  I went up to my room, washed my face, and fell RIGHT asleep.  I had set my phone alarm for two hours, and it felt like I could have slept for days and days.  When I got up, I went downstairs and began to look through all of the paperwork that DIS had given me, and Gitte explained the bus/train schedule that I’ll be using.  Caroline and I tried to set up my internet, but it was near impossible.  We’re going to have the “neighbor boy” try and figure it out soon and I realllllly hope it works out!

 

In the meantime, I was able to borrow their laptop to send a quick email home to mom and dad.  I was suddenly very overwhelmed with emotions I can’t even put to name.  I’ve been waiting for all of this to seem real, and while it still isn’t, I got a large dose of that feeling all at once.  It was very overwhelming…again I’m not quite sure how to put it. 

 

I continued looking through papers and quizzed the girls a lot on how to pronounce everything under the sun.  The American English language is very lazy…we pronounce everything in our mouth, while the Danes use more of their throat—creating swallowed vowels and “soft” letters.  Even names their names are different than they look:

 

“Caroline:” care-o-lean

 

“Nathalie:” nah-tal-ee-ugh

 

“Gitte:” Ge (as in “geese”)-t-eh/ah (impossible to write phonetically).

 

Soon it was dinner, which was a DELICIOUS lasagne.  It was full of vegetables and soooo good.  Like a typical lasagne here, but with much less Italian flavor and more…I don’t know.  Just VERY good!!!

 

We had such a great dinnertime conversation.  I talked about regional differnces in the States, where I live and go to school, and Gitte pulled out a big atlas so we could locate everything.  They got a kick out of how we call Michigan the mitten, for whwat it’s shaped like, and how Florida is like the little finger sticking out.  Again, I’m not sure how to describe the conversation but it was so welcoming, warm, and natural.  We joked and laughed and just…talked.  It was absolutely wonderful.  :)

 

And then…came catch phrase.  Easily one of my favorite board games, made even better because I was playing with my family who speaks English as a second language and they didn’t know some of the words.  We laughed…SO hard.  It was really a great great end to the evening, full of fun and laughter.  It really did just feel like home.  Gitte had to get on her glasses and use a light to read the words which we all laughed about, Nathalie was just hysterical with her facial expressions, and caroline is probally the best catch phrase player I know…ahh she’s so good.  I wasn’t sure the things they would/wouldn’t know, so it was just funny to see the language divide manifest itself.  At one point the word was luggage and Caroline was trying to get Nathalie to guess it, and she said “umm…ok!  Kaitlin brought a lot of this…” and Nathalie looked confused and then goes… “Deodorant…?”.  HAHA they couldn’t believe I brought so much and I think thought I was a little strange for it—told you!  Gitte said she also looked online and could tell they sell high and dry in the states, so I hope they don’t think I wimped out.  I just couldn’t find it online or in any stores!

 

While they watched a Danish sitcom, similar to a crime/action type plot (think 24 without all the time melodrama) I skyped with Ian and a few friends.  Then I went downstairs and watched some with them, then hit the hay.  And…here I am now.  That pretty much covers my first day, plus or minus a few things, but that’s basically it!

 

Love you lots and I’ll keep you posted!!

 

Kaitlin  :)