2 Weeks In

Well tomorrow will mark 2 weeks out of the US! So far my time here has been extremely busy. From sight seeing to school work I certainly have little to no free time. 

Classes started last Thursday, so I am already a week into classes. My first class was Danish Language and Culture. Let me tell you, Danish is not an easy language - from the weird sounds, not pronouncing half the words, to having three extra letters: å,æ,ø! So far I can introduce myself and say 'my name is' - Jeg hedder Marianna (pronounced kind of like 'yai hether Marianna'). We already had a field study for that class this past Monday where my whole Danish class went to Café Dalle Valle for a buffet style Danish dinner. It was fun to get to know some other people better and to try other Danish food that I haven't had yet. 

Smørrebrød, the famous Danish meal.
Also famous for being extremely hard to pronounce.
I got this meal over the weekend with my friends.

On Friday, I have Danish Design and my Graphic Design Studio. Danish Design seems like it will be a very interesting and enjoyable class. We are learning all about famous Danish Designers who have influenced the world, such as Arne Jacobsen who's total environment design of the SAS Hotel (which I can see from my school) is extremely famous - as are his Egg Chairs. Yesterday for a field study our class went to the Danish Design Museum and got to explore some of the designers that we have recently learned about and got to see some of their works. 

Me at the Danish Design Museum.

In my Graphic Design class they wasted no time putting us to work. I already have a group presentation tomorrow! Groups were assigned a different museum or site that we will be visiting during our core course week (2nd week in Feb.) when we go to western Denmark. My group has to research and present on the Brandts Museum in Odense. So pretty much that has been keeping me extremely busy. 

I have also been able to do a little bit of sight seeing. Yesterday after the Design Museum I went with a group of people to see the Little Mermaid, which people say is a must see in Copenhagen. It is inspired by Hans Christian Andersen's (a Dane) novel, you guessed it, The Little Mermaid! 

                    

                     The Little Mermaid

    Nyhanvn, my version of the pic
 I used on my first blog post

I have also been exploring little coffee shops around my school trying to find the best coffee for the lowest price. I'll keep you all updated on my finds. 

Latte from a little coffee shop I found in
Nørreport, near my school

One thing that never ceases to amaze me is how many people bike! Even though Copenhagen is a city there is very little traffic due to the large amount of bikers - even in the dark, cold, rainy mornings. I almost get run over by a cyclist everyday because I always forget to look for them.

                   

                     A typical morning walk to school

         

           Street full of bikes

I have also been exploring around my neighborhood and I found a great little lake to run around. On my first run last week I stumbled upon the sunset. It was the first time I really got to see the sun, so I really enjoyed basking in it the rest of my run.

Sunset over Damhusengen

I also added a link to my Instagram if you would like to see the pictures I post on there! Top left of the page, just click on the Instagram logo. 

More later!
-M

København!

Well I made it! After a nice long flight from JFK to Oslo and a connection to Copenhagen I arrived at the airport at ~2pm here. I had a quick orientation and then met my host family at 4pm. So far I've met the mother Annette, her daughter Terese (18) and her son Tim (23), and another DIS student Anneke. Everyone is really nice and I know I'm going to have a great time. 

Today Anne and I went into Copenhagen with Terese and while she worked we walked around. We visited the Rundetaarn (the round tower, the oldest observatory in Europe. It once served as a school, observatory and library) which gave us a spectacular view of the city. We also went to an indoor market which was filled with different foods to buy. We both got coffee there because the jet lag is still kicking in around early afternoon! 

It's pretty challenging to tell what is cheap and what's expensive. My coffee was 35kr which is about $5.50, so that's like the price of my normal Starbucks drink. 

More pictures and stuff coming later! 

-M

København her jeg kommer!

(Copenhagen here I come!)

(Hope google translate did that translation correctly)

As am leaving for Copenhagen, Denmark today, January 16th, I thought some of my family and friends would like to keep up with my adventures while I am abroad for the next four months. I will update this blog periodically and I would love for you all to tag along. 

Tonight I will be flying out of JFK at 9:30pm to Oslo and then on to Copenhagen! I should arrive in Copenhagen at 13:40 over there, so 7:40am EST. 

Currently I am a little worried the weight limit of 20kg (~44lbs) on my suitcase has been reached, if not over.. More on that when I get to the airport. Hopefully they'll let it slide if it's close. It's hard to pack for 4 months and all the different weather I may encounter and I don't even have THAT many clothes!

Keep checking back for more updates!

-M