The fact that it is my last day in Copenhagen is RIDICULOUS. Time flies. But that just means that it's time to reflect upon my experiences here! But first I'll update on what I've been up to.

Wednesday was indeed a beautiful day so we did the Harbor Jump.  Oh and it was the fourth of July so the extremely patriotic people got flags and waved them around.  Most of the Danes were very nice and a few started clapping for us and singing the national anthem (Why the know our national anthem is beyond me. The only other one I know is the first two lines of Canada's).  But some of the people I was with were quite obnoxious about it and for the most part I wanted us to put the flags away. lol I'm clearly patriotic.

The harbor water here is so clean that you can swim in it.  The harbor jump is just a wooden block in the water that's 5 meters high out of the harbor.  It sure felt like a long fall though! I jumped twice and then my butt was killing me from hitting the water lol.

Later on there was a barbecue at someone's kollegium and I went for a bit.  It was kind of nice to just be around other Americans and know they weren't judging me for being American.  We listened to patriotic music and ate hot dogs wrapped in bacon.  But I went back pretty early to write my paper and because I was still feeling a little sick.  So I got a nice night of sleep (6 hours is pretty good right?) and felt better on Thursday.

Thursday during class we had our group presentations! Ours went pretty well, so then we just had an individual paper to do.  After class we took the S-train to the Carlsberg Brewery! It was an adventure getting there and on the way we kept finding random stuff such as these ropes, hammocks in which people were laying, and springy metal table thingys.

 The tour was fun and we got 2 free beers.  Oh the statue of the Little Mermaid's little sister was also there.

 The horses that pull the barrels of barley or some other important job. He tried to eat me.

 The largest beer collection in the WORLD.

After the tour we went home and I finally finished my paper, under other people's pressure that we had to go out for one last time because we're not going to tonight.  We went out and it was probably one of the most fun nights we've had, ending with McDonald's lol.

Today we had our last class and Gitte brought us Danishes and coffee. Rhubarb danishes are delicious.  After, I had just allotted the entire afternoon to shopping for myself and everyone else.  It was more difficult than I intended and I ended up getting home around 4 when I started shopping at 12.  I also had churros with chocolate on them for lunch. Mmmm healthy. My walking around also consisted of me depressingly thinking about how this could be my last time seeing that building and the Stroget and everything else.

Tonight the plan is to have one last bike ride, return our bikes, and have a dorm dinner at the Cafe that we went to the second night here. Then packing and hanging out and leaving in the morning!

Ok so here are some of my observations and reflections on some of my experiences and stuff.  First, Denmark is one of the most trusting countries.  Parents leave strollers with their babies in them outside of stores.  A lot of the city is under construction because they're like changing the metro and making it bigger.  So a lot of the streets and sidewalks are just covered by wooden boards.  I honestly witnessed a stroller outside a store on the boards but next to the store and a truck come down the street and drive across the boards, shaking the entire stroller and no one did anything about it.  At the finals for the world cup, we were sitting next to a family with 2 kids.  The parents just let the young little boy run around as long as he was within eyesight.  He would just walk up to people and sit on them or start talking to them in nonsense.  It was crazy.

Everyone sits in cafes and socializes, something that I had to get used to.  We had to ask for the check, which felt rude to me, but it was nice the few times that I did want to sit and talk with my friends.  The Danes may seem rude, but it is their culture.  If you are in their way, they just either take a hold of your shoulder and move you or place their hand on your back and push you forward.  It took me by surprise the first few times, but now I'm kind of used to it.  There is no exchange of words.

The street acts here are cool and I must say, I saw the same few multiple times.  Those people are dedicated.  Also, people say the Danes are not affectionate, but I have seen many examples of love and affection.  A couple was biking next to each other and the girl kind of leaned over far enough so that the boy could kiss her on the cheek.  First, awwww. Second, how the heck do you do that and not crash?  I've seen boys riding bikes with girls on their handlebars.  People say that it is so easy to get divorced here (it takes about a day and costs 500 kroner) that no one is in love, but I disagree. That may be true to a point, but the older couples that are married are in love.  I see them strolling around after work holding hands and just being adorable.  There are always couples in Cafes sitting together and just enjoying a cup of coffee.  Whoever said they are not affectionate was blind.

Finally, I think everyone here is so nice.  I haven't had any experiences of people being outright rude to me or felt hated because I am American.  The cashiers and people in line behind me are always patient as I try and figure out the money.  I think they very much appreciate when I even just say 'Tak' instead of Thank You.  I know I would.  As I said, the Danes started congratulating us on the 4th of July (however, we passed some Middle Easterner lookingish folks on their motorcycle, who started screaming 'F*ck America, F%ck USA' and even turned around to pass us again).  As I was telling Mommy on the phone, however, I could never live here and experience the same amount of happiness that these people do.  They are a very tribal country and even if I spoke Danish fluently and became a citizen of Denmark, I would never belong.  This is sad, but I can't disagree or change anything about it.  My time here has been wonderful, but it would not always be so happy if I lived here.

Final points: They are really smart with their food and pricing.  Vegetables and healthy food are pretty cheap and someone just said they imposed a higher tax on foods that have a certain amount of fat count. That's amazingly smart.  As my teacher was saying in class today, we should take some of their ideas, but they are still not a perfect society, they could benefit from some of our rules and stuff as well. But no one's perfect and things are always changing so much that I doubt any society will ever be perfect.

Ahh, enough reminiscing, I'm going to go and enjoy my last night here in Copenhagen.  I'll see everyone so soon!!!!

Happy 4th of July!

Still so much to do.  This week has been a bit more calm though because we actually have work so it's not all just fun and games and exploring Europe.

Monday after class, we explored the Botanical Gardens which is just across from our dorm.  I think it belongs to the University of Copenhagen? It's beautiful with flowers everywhere and a pond with all sorts of wildlife in it. 

One of my favorite things to do now is take my work to a cafe and just sit there for hours doing work as I did on Monday night.  Then we hung out here all night.  It felt like freshman year again, hanging out in the dorms just having a good time.

Tuesday was busy as well.  I rented a bike!  I have to return it on Friday.

 
 After class, we biked over to Christiania where the church of our Savior is and you can climb the tower and it gives you such an incredible overlook of the entire city.  Afterwards, we somehow ended up on Stroget shopping. 

 The view from the top was amazing! you could see Sweden!

After dinner, I wrote some of a paper, but then everyone wanted to go out so I did.  Did more homework when I got back though.  Today is supposed to be one of the most beautiful days yet.  We're planning to do the Harbor Jump!

PS - Two girls in my dorm have gotten sick I think from just lack of sleep and exhaustion and I believe I'm starting to.  Don't worry I'm drinking my Emergen-C like crazy! I'm just trying to hold it off until Saturday so I can come home and get you all sick.

Ahh, so much to do, so little time.

The playfield Institute was in Fife, and it was a beautiful drive.  Our bus driver, Graham, said being a bus driver was his side job, he was a tour guide (yes, this means he was not the best driver).  But he was awesome.  On the way he pointed out the park in which golf was invented, the birthplace of Sean Connery and Alexander Graham Bell, the bridge that was voted best in the world, oh and the best place to hit tourists as you round a corner.

At the Playfield Institute we had a talk about interventions that are being conducted to try and make the Scottish people more happy.  We then learned Chi Quong and did a few other things.  After that we had another half hour or so drive to Elie for kayaking in the North Sea! Elie was BEAUTIFUL.  Just like a small town out of an old British movie or something.

We were given wet suits so even though it started pouring while we were out there, I barely felt a thing (besides the fact that I couldn't see due to the whole glasses thing).  I got stuck in a 2-person kayak, but the other kid had been canoeing before so it worked out well. 

Thursday morning we went to Edinburgh Castle! It was really foggy, but the view was still amazing.

The inside of the castle had mostly been renovated to re-enactments of the royal family with creepy wax people so I didn't take too many pictures of that, but it was still amazing.

After the castle, we went to the National Museum of Scotland.  I could get lost in there, actually, I did get lost in there.  It starts on the basement floor with beginnings and early people.  Old bones and artifacts, and theories about how Scotland came to be where it is. Up on the 6th floor, is from about the 1950's to now.  Each floor has multiple wings for technology, animals, and everything in between.  The 7th floor is a rooftop overlook.  I don't even like museums, but I was in there for almost two hours.  Mommy could wander through for a week and not see everything and fill up 6 memory cards with pictures.

For lunch we went to the Elephant House! It's a big deal because that's the cafe where JK Rowling used to go to write Harry Potter! Also exciting because I had a bacon, brie and mango chutney sandwich and it was one of the most delicious things I've ever had.

After a few hours of wandering and shopping (and a run in with 2 scottish girls who rubbed self-tanning lotion on a girl in my class's face and yelled at us) we had the Scotch Whisky tour! It was awesome learning about the 4 different areas that make different kinds of Whisky.  We got to see the largest collection of Whisky ever.  Unfortunately, it didn't make me like whisky any more than I already hadn't.  After our last dinner together as a class, I stayed in because I was exhausted and had to be up at 6:30 on Friday.

Friday! We got up and it was beautiful and sunny.  We ate breakfast and then were about to begin our hike up to Arthur's seat.  Of course, it started raining.  The weather changes in the blink of an eye in Scotland.  Most of our class hiked it anyway and it was well worth it.  It was beautiful.

 On the way up.

 At the top.

Cold and wet, but having a great time!

And that means it was very slippery on the way down, but no worries I had my knee brace on!
After that we went to the airport. Oh, funny story. I didn't take my knee brace off before I walked through the metal detector so obviously it went off.  I thought they would just be like oh, take the brace off and walk through again. BUT NO. they were all, excuse me we need to pat you down, don't mind me I'm just going to stick my hands down your pants and wave you over with a little mini metal detector.  Then they like scanned my knees? It was weird. And my class was just standing there laughing at me.  After that whole ordeal, I went to get my carry on and there's a worker standing there holding my laptop, out of its case, being like who's is this? I was like uh, mine? And she told me it had been selected for a random scan.  Um, isn't that what you do when it goes through the machine that the carry-ons go through? Obviously it was fine, but still, Edinburgh airport, you are annoying.

Finally, back to Copenhagen! I was gone for 5 days and I missed it so much.  The people in Scotland were mean, honked as soon as their lights changed if you were still crossing the street, and were not as pretty as the Danes (sorry if anyone's Scottish).

The first new thing when we got to Copenhagen was the open top truckish type cars driving through the streets at random intervals, with screaming teenagers, boys and girls, hanging out the top with blasting music and lots of honking.  Apparently, that is how they celebrate high school graduation.  And it lasts for days.  I still heard them this morning (Sunday) carrying on through the streets.

Saturday we went to Sweden for the day! Malmo was adorable.  We didn't go into much of the modern area, so the areas we were in were quaint and beautiful.  We walked through the town and the Lilla Torg, through a park, saw a windmill and the twisted torso, and found the beach.

It was a full day and then we came back and went out to celebrate our last Saturday here!

This morning was another full day.  We finally did the walking tour of Copenhagen! This took us by Rosenborg castle, the Gelfion fountain, a few churches, and the Little Mermaid! As it was a beautiful Sunday afternoon it was very crowded, but I managed to get a few good pictures!

 We ended up cutting the tour a little short because it took us down to a different area of the city, but there weren't many big attractions there.  I would like to get to go down to explore, but think the week is going to be very busy!
We went up the round tower (I don't know what it used to be used for) but it has a beautiful overlook of the city when you get to the top!

Brittany, Jill, and I at the top.

Finally, we came back and made dinner.  But that was not the end of the day! Tonight was the Finals of the Euro Cup and although Denmark was eliminated the first day I was here, they obviously still have huge gatherings in the park with flat screens showing the game.  Interestingly, the first game they were all wearing red and had their faces painted.  They stood and jumped and cheered.  For this game, they brought blankets and wore their normal clothes (we termed their fashion chicemo for chic but black and emo) and sat down and watched the game in a more calm setting.  Espana won woohoo!

Plans for this week: art museums, the church of our savior, souvenir shopping, the harbor jump, tour of the carlsberg brewery, clubbing, oh and class and homework. So much to do, so little time!

So that's why I haven't posted in so long.  It's been crazy and I'm so sad that it's ending soon. And now I'm exhausted and going to bed.

'Ello Loves!

I'm coming home with a Scottish accent. lol JK. Coming to Scotland was fine.  The alcohol selection in the airport was crazy. For example, I almost bought this bottle of vodka:

haha just kidding.  We had a really small plane (Gen, you would've cried) so we got to take a bus out to the plane and board by going up the stairs. So cool!

One of the dumbest things that I've observed is that Europeans pay for water. A bottle of water was 20 kroner on the plane! So dumb.

 Scotland!

When we got to our hotel (the University of Edinburgh turns their dorms into a hotel in the summer? It's pretty cool.) we had to check in but immediately leave for our walking tour of Edinburgh.  We took a bus there so we got to see some of the city on the way there. SO BEAUTIFUL. It's exactly how the British tv shows depict the United Kingdom and that general area.  Small, old, stone houses, lots of hills, and of course, accents.  Our tour guide, Kit, had a great Scottish accent.  They say 'a wee bit' and she called us 'loves'.  Even though I was tired and super hungry, the tour was amazing.  Kit went through the entire history of Scotland, and man, it is depressing. It was interesting though, which is weird because I normally find history super boring.  Kit also asked who among us were Harry Potter fans and there were a few, so she pointed out the Cafe where JK Rowling used to sit and write Harry Potter, the school that Hogwarts is based off of, and a few tombstones that she got names in the book from.

So cute.

The school Hogwarts is based off of.

 They have Telephone booths!!

After, we finally got to sit down and have our first Scottish meal.  We then had the rest of the evening on our own.

Today the first thing on the agenda was a talk with an anthropologist with a focus on positive psychology.  It was boring and I was basically sleeping (but only because we had already talked about a lot of the stuff in class).  After lunch we went to a Buddhist Temple and learned about meditation.  It's relevant because it's been shown that meditation can help people relax, be open to new experiences, and be more positive and happy.

Pretending to meditate lol.

From there we went to the Real Mary King's Cross, a guided historical tour which shows you how life was for the Scotts in different points in time.  The road that we "walked" down was eventually covered by a whole new level because it was unsanitary and gross.  Those people had such sad lives and there was nothing they could do about it.  Dinner was on our own tonight so two other girls and I found a restaurant, Biblos, that had fish and chips (and a 30% discount).  It was ok, but the crepe we shared for dessert was the best thing ever.  Although the day started off sunny and almost even hot, it was pouring for the majority of it so we came home early and decided to have a night in.

Up tomorrow: The playfield Institute (i'm not sure what it is) and kayaking lessons.  There's a high chance of thunder-storms woohoo!

Last night we went to the bonfire and sat and drank.  That was about it for the celebrations though.  Apparently some places to a witch burning ceremony and fireworks, but there was just a bonfire outside our area.  Throughout the night we could hear fireworks from all directions.

We were fancying some dessert after the bonfire so we went to Cafe 22 (the same place I went with some people on Monday night when they got dinner but I just got a drink).  Unfortunately, the kitchen was closed so we could only get cake.  I got rhubarb cake though and it was delicious! Not quite the same as Mommy's rhubarb pie but still very good.

After, we wandered around and were thinking about just going to a bar, but some people wanted to go somewhere they could dance.  Somehow a conversation got started with some Danes standing on a corner (sketchy, I know) and they said they were headed to their favorite club and they could take us.  The cover was ONLY 100 kroner! and open bar! what a deal! NOT. We walked with them to the bar and some of the girls went in, but me and 2 other girls decided that was not worth it (Turns out it was actually 150 and an extra 20 because you had to check your coat).

This morning I wanted to go to the Botanical Gardens, maybe do the walking tour, and climb to the top of the round tower next to the Studenterheusen.  But, it was cold, windy, and rainy.  So instead it turned into a lazy day.  We went to a cute little cafe, Baresso Coffee, and did homework for a few hours.  Other than that, I really didn't do anything.  I'm just resting up for Scotland! If I make it there that is, we have to find our own way to the airport.  Yikes. We'll see I guess!

Hi!
I'm never just sitting around, but I feel like I haven't done that much in the past 2 days.  Then again every day feels about as long as a week back home. Thursday night we ended up going to the Studenterheusen (Student House) which serves discounted coffee and croissants by day, but discounted beer and shots by night.  There was a live band and people socializing and dancing.  I, however, have never seen people publicly dance like they were in this situation.  There was a crowd of people standing near the stage, but then in the open area back further, there were 3 or 4 couples partner dancing like a jazzy jitter-buggy type of style? ish? It was so much fun to watch.  I'm not sure how it started, but eventually one of the danish girls (with dark hair, blue eyes and a round face, ugh gorgeous) started teaching my friend a few of the steps.  I joined in (carefully, obviously, no worries mommy) and she even complimented me! The rest of the night was casual with the fantastic find of a hot dog stand (those french ones again) open around midnight and the Australian Bar which has no cover for DIS students.

Friday morning was going to be the day for the walking tour around some of the sites of Copenhagen including the Little Mermaid statue, but it was the first very rainy day.  We'll have to reschedule it for a different day.  After dinner we went to Tivoli Garden, an amusement park and generally awesome area.  It was an extra 200 kroner for ride bracelets so my friend, Jill, and I decided against it.  Instead we went and tasted some delicious Danish desserts.

Jill and I were going to go on one ride so we asked a family when they got off one if they would recommend it.  The mom asked her daughter what her favorite ride was and she looked at me and went "DEMON" and laughed.  Apparently that's the really big one with loops and everything (we ended up going on it later with my 'steal someone's bracelet' trick).  Then the little boy with the family pulled me sleeve and looked at me with his gorgeous blue eyes and started going off about something in Danish.  I don't think there's been any time that I wished I understood Danish more than right then.  He was just so cute and adorable.

Later there was a free concert in the Garden. It was still quite chilly so I got a hot chocolate with rum. Yum!

This morning I got up early and walked around one of the water areas that I hadn't explored yet.  It still amazes me how, even though these crazy Danes bike to work every day, there are still so many people out running.  We went for a historic bike ride around Copenhagen at 11.  Food for thought: Would you sign up for a 2 1/2 hour bike ride that is supposedly about 9 miles in Copenhagen where bikers have their own traffic lights if you couldn't ride a bike? Idiots.  We had to wait for 4 people who were trying to figure out how to ride.  They ended up giving up and didn't come on the tour. So dumb.  Other than that the tour was fun.  We went to a lot of sites that I had already seen on either the Canal tour or the walking tour, but it was fun to navigate the city on a bike.  Just one more thing making me look Danish. Oh yea.

 What a sexy knee brace.

 Out tourguide didn't stop in super cool places sometimes, but I wanted a picture of myself in this cool hall by the Parliament building so I did a selfie while riding. Talent.

We didn't see the actual changing of the guards, but we passed these cool guys either on their way to duty or just getting off duty.

After the tour we went to lunch and I took pictures of my food as usual.  We then spent some time walking down Stroget again and actually going in the stores.  Seeing 200 as a price on something makes me want to make that face like 'Oh, let's pretend I never looked at that' when it's really less than $40.  I need to go back soon, but not until my last week here because I leave for Scotland on Monday! And nothing's open on Sundays here.

Tonight is the celebration for Midsummer's Eve! There's going to be bonfires and drinking and hopefully no rain.

PS-my teacher, Gitte, isn't sure if we're going to have Internet access in Scotland. I guess you'll all have to wait anxiously for my next post.

Oops, I'm bad at this. No, this just means I've been busy exploring and doing crazy things!

Ok, so Tuesday morning I got up and did work out by the water across from our housing, Gammeltofsgade.  On our way to class we found a small coffee shop, coffeelicious, with the open front and got coffee.  After class we came back and waited up for some people so we could go on a canal tour down at Nyhavn.  It was beautiful! We saw so many things: the black diamond, the theatre, the Queen's royal ship, the islands, the Little Mermaid, a submarine from WWII, and many other things.

Afterwards, everyone was raving about the hot dogs they had gotten for lunch and convinced me to get one.  I don't regret a thing. Holy crap, it was the best hot dog I've ever had.  I think it's sausage and when you order you say "with everything" which includes onion, pickles, mustard, ketchup, and a few other unidentifiable (but delicious) things.

Tuesday night there was a special at Kuler's Bar, no cover for DIS students if you got there before 11. Well, we were wandering around for awhile and couldn't find it so we didn't get the free cover, but there was free beer until 1 a.m.!! I got my money's worth in beer.

On Wednesday, my friend Charne and I found the student union (which has discounted coffee and croissants THANK GOD) and did work outside.  I love being able to just sit down at a table and do work outside in the sunshine. It's amazing.  Later I was also just wandering around with two of the girls who live on my floor, but it was still awesome.

For dinner, DIS was giving us a free meal at a restaurant, Riz Raz.  It was alright, but afterwards we got gelatto which made everything better.

We were all pretty tired from Kuler's bar so we just went to the water and hung out and drank.

Today we did the same kind of thing in the morning, except at a fountain in the middle of a square. So beautiful.  After class I went down to the water to do homework.  The Danes are so funny.  You can sit next to one on a bench for an hour and not exchange a word.  But then one man came up and said Hej.  I said Hej back and then he started talking to me in fluent Danish.  I was super flattered that he couldn't tell straight off that I was American (A woman in the bank also started talking to me in Danish, I must be acquiring their style and fitting in. lol JK).  Once he figured that out though, he told me that he was actually conducting a study on how the Danes like their privacy and to not talk to strangers.  He was seeing if sitting by the water on a beautiful day increased positivity and their willingness to talk.  So far, he hadn't had much luck and unfortunately, I didn't count because I'm American.  But it was a very interesting interaction.

Tonight we're going to try to find a Danish Jazz Bar that a local advised a kid to go to for some real Danish interactions.

Ok, overview of the past 2 days. Lord, it's only been 1 full day?!

Once the shuttle finally showed up, I took it to the DIS building and we went in and had orientation. Blah, blah, blah, here's your bus pass and books, phone and food stipend.  Problem: My bus pass had a picture of a girl. It wasn't me. So apparently that's my fault and I had to go fix it. Then we had another meeting with the rules of DIS. Blah, blah, blah, no alcohol past 10 on the weekdays and 11 on the weekends, stay with buddies, emergency phone numbers. Then we had to split up into groups so we could finally go to our housing. Apparently in Denmark the ground floor is 0, so living on floor 2 actually means floor 3, as in I had to carry my suitcases up 3 flights of stairs after 3 hours of sleep and a long day of being nice and getting to know everyone.  Ok, unpack. My single room is really nice and I have a pet spider (I'm not kidding).  We had a floor dinner with pizza, thank goodness because I did not feel like figuring out shopping and cooking.

After dinner, the RA's were going to take us on a walking tour to the school.  It's about a 15 minutes walk and they said the buses take too long with traffic and everything so I'm glad I can just walk everyday.  Then they showed us where the classrooms were? I'm not sure, there was another stop but I was pretty delirious.  THEN, there was the huge soccer game between Denmark and Germany.  Some of us decided to walk to the Spring Garden where they had a huge screen to view the game.  I can't even explain the experience.  Hoards of people just all walking through the streets in the same direction, with painted faces and beer in hand.  Unfortunately, you couldn't take beer into the garden so one of the RA's who was trying to get rid of her 6-pack gave me one.  The inside was even better.  Collective groans when Denmark missed and cheers when Germany missed.  Then Denmark scored. Scored, not won.  Streamers were popped in the air and fireworks went up.  Everyone was chanting. It was insane.

Maria and I in the Garden.

When Denmark scored.

Then I just couldn't even pay attention anymore because I was so tired. Mind you, those pictures were taken at about 9:30 or 10 pm.  I had been on a plane 9 hours ago and all of that had happened.  It's going to take a while to get used to the light, but I love it!

Which brings us to today! I woke up and it was bright and sunny! It was beautiful! Then I looked at my phone...it was 4:15.  I left with a group of people (once we were actually supposed to be awake) and we had an adventure buying coffee. It is so lucky that everyone speaks English here or else everyone would be lost. I at least tried to learn some of the Danish, but no one else did.  We then had opening ceremonies and the "Copenhagen Amazing Race".  We broke up into groups, were given a map and told checkpoints that we had to find.  We went to the Spring Gardens again, which is were the Royal Family stayed back when it was the country side, the actual place where the Royal Family stays (the prince was home!), Nyhavn (the long stretch of canals), and the Parliament building.

 Anyone recognize this from a movie?!

 Ugh, so pretty it makes me wanna puke.
We also walked down Stroget, the longest walking street with shops and everything in Europe? Or maybe just Denmark. I dunno it's a big deal lol.

As we were walking to the Parliament building, there were cops stopping people from crossing a drive and stopping traffic.  A black car with the royal crown on the back then drove out with a lady with white hair in the back seat. The Queen perhaps??? I thought not because at her palace they told us she was away, but other people said they heard that it was.  Who knows.  We then found an outdoor restaurant and had lunch.

After all of that I had class! Blah, blah, blah. Then I went and got my bus pass fixed. Then I had my first grocery shopping adventure! I remembered to bring my reusable bag, but forgot that everything wasn't going to be in English. Needless to say, we were (once again) the dumb Americans.  I'm getting better with the kroner, though.

After going back and making dinner I tried to do some homework. Then some other people hadn't eaten dinner yet, so me and a few people who had already eaten decided to go with just to sit and have a drink while they ate.  We finished dinner at 11:20 and it had only just gotten dark.  So we came back and I figured I'd write this and do my online class. Only we found a party in my kitchen with my RA and her Danish friends because she had just finished a huge exam (and passed!) and is getting ready to go on vacation for 2 months.  Now, think back to what we were told yesterday.  No drinking in the dorms after 10 on weekdays.  Not like I care, so we joined in! They knew all the popular American songs and convinced us all to dance on the kitchen chairs and sing with them.  I can still hear them having a great time in there (I live 11 rooms down from the kitchen). lol.

So that was my first full day in Denmark.  38 hours ago I was still on a plane! I'm exhausted and sometimes it hits me, but I think this is mostly going to be 3 weeks of just pure adrenaline.

ps - the Danes dress too fashionably for me. I can't even handle it.