I was surprisingly jealous watching all my friends do their Danish homework. I didn't really think I'd be so sad not taking it, but I was beginning to regret it. I e-mailed the registrar back, she sent out an e-mail on Monday to everyone on the wait list for Danish classes. None of the times were really desirable and I didn't think I'd care, so I didn't bother responding. So today, I sent her a nice e-mail asking if one of the four spots in two sections were open and she gave me the last one in a Danish section from 4:25 to 5:45 on Mondays and Thursdays. It sucks because I'll miss dinner but I'm excited.
Hopefully it'll go okay today, considering I have it in ten minutes and don't have any of the books yet.
Thursday, January 31, 2008
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
First week of classes
As of today, we finished the first week of classes. We actually get every Wednesday reserved for field studies. Most schools in Denmark and also in the Netherlands have off on Wednesday, so lots of museums and things like that are discounted or free for students on Wednesdays.
I love my classes. And the two I didn't love, I dropped, haha. So now I have a decent schedule. I tried to add a section of Danish, but there wasn't an opening in a class that fit.
Mondays and Thursdays:
Gender, Body and Sexuality in Scandinavia
Biomedical Ethics
Lost in Translation
Tuesdays and Fridays:
Health Care in Scandinavia
Russia: Past and Present (only Tuesday)
Turkey at the Crossroads (only Friday)
We have a three week break in March, so I'm taking the Russia and Turkey classes as prep courses for trips there during the break.
I'm really going to enjoy all my classes. Some of them have a little work, but they're all things I'm interested in. I'm especially excited about the Gender, Body and Sexuality class. The teacher is bringing in a former prostitute to talk to us and we're going to the Museum Erotica in Copenhagen's red light district. It's starting to hit me that I'm not in Maryland and I'm not going to be for a really long time, haha.
Tonight, we went out and explored Hillerød. We took the bus to the Mexican Cantina and completely invaded the place since there were 13 of us. Then we went down the pedestrian street to Fox and Hounds, where we eventually left Craig and Brian to watch the Newcastle - Arsenal game. I kind of love living in a smaller town like this. It makes me feel lucky, because some people just live right in Copenhagen by DIS and classes and everything, but I have at least two different places to explore. And the commute isn't too bad, either. It was weird at first not being able to roll out of bed to classes, but the train ride is really pretty and when I'm not doing my homework, it's nice just to sit and think.
I love my classes. And the two I didn't love, I dropped, haha. So now I have a decent schedule. I tried to add a section of Danish, but there wasn't an opening in a class that fit.
Mondays and Thursdays:
Gender, Body and Sexuality in Scandinavia
Biomedical Ethics
Lost in Translation
Tuesdays and Fridays:
Health Care in Scandinavia
Russia: Past and Present (only Tuesday)
Turkey at the Crossroads (only Friday)
We have a three week break in March, so I'm taking the Russia and Turkey classes as prep courses for trips there during the break.
I'm really going to enjoy all my classes. Some of them have a little work, but they're all things I'm interested in. I'm especially excited about the Gender, Body and Sexuality class. The teacher is bringing in a former prostitute to talk to us and we're going to the Museum Erotica in Copenhagen's red light district. It's starting to hit me that I'm not in Maryland and I'm not going to be for a really long time, haha.
Tonight, we went out and explored Hillerød. We took the bus to the Mexican Cantina and completely invaded the place since there were 13 of us. Then we went down the pedestrian street to Fox and Hounds, where we eventually left Craig and Brian to watch the Newcastle - Arsenal game. I kind of love living in a smaller town like this. It makes me feel lucky, because some people just live right in Copenhagen by DIS and classes and everything, but I have at least two different places to explore. And the commute isn't too bad, either. It was weird at first not being able to roll out of bed to classes, but the train ride is really pretty and when I'm not doing my homework, it's nice just to sit and think.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
First week in Denmark!
I've been in Denmark one week as of today. It's been a very busy week, which is why this is the first entry.
I love the housing I chose. I live in the Grundtvigs Folkhøjskole in Hillerød, Denmark. By bus and train, it's an hour away from Copenhagen. It's annoying to have such a long commute since I'm used to rolling out of bed and walking to classes, but I'm learning to appreciate the time to think and relax that the train ride gives me.
The højskole is an interesting place. It's more or less a place for students ages 18-24 who speak Danish to pass the time while they figure out what to do with their lives. This particular one is actually oriented toward journalism and art. They take classes, but not for grades or a degree. Some of them have already gotten a degree, some of them are taking breaks before or during university. They live here for different amounts of time. Most of the Danes have been here for a few weeks, but some have been here for a year. There's a meal plan and everyone has kitchen duty at some point. We were all warned that Danes are really reserved, but the Danes here really want to get to know us. There are 64 Danish students and 14 Americans. The Danes are also kind enough to forgive us when we can't pronounce their names.
They include us in a lot of their activities. We can't take any of their classes because they're all in Danish, but we eat dinner with them every night and brunch on the weekends. Yesterday, they had a Viking Day. They did workshops all day in Danish, but they invited us to their dinner and party afterwards. It was pretty fantastic. They moved the tables to the outer edges of the room and put buckets in the middle of the floor for us to throw all the bones into. We even drank mead.
Today I went to Helsingør, where Hamlet's castle is, with Lincoln, Amanda and Carrie. Because we live so far away, we had to buy transportation passes for all zones, which pretty much means we have an unlimited pass to travel anywhere. So we took the bus and train up and toured the castle and maritime museum. It was windy and cold, but we walked all the way around the castle. It was absolutely beautiful; the sun was shining, the waves were crashing against the shore and the Danish flag was waving. You can even see Sweden from there, it's amazing how close it actually is.
I am so happy here.
I love the housing I chose. I live in the Grundtvigs Folkhøjskole in Hillerød, Denmark. By bus and train, it's an hour away from Copenhagen. It's annoying to have such a long commute since I'm used to rolling out of bed and walking to classes, but I'm learning to appreciate the time to think and relax that the train ride gives me.
The højskole is an interesting place. It's more or less a place for students ages 18-24 who speak Danish to pass the time while they figure out what to do with their lives. This particular one is actually oriented toward journalism and art. They take classes, but not for grades or a degree. Some of them have already gotten a degree, some of them are taking breaks before or during university. They live here for different amounts of time. Most of the Danes have been here for a few weeks, but some have been here for a year. There's a meal plan and everyone has kitchen duty at some point. We were all warned that Danes are really reserved, but the Danes here really want to get to know us. There are 64 Danish students and 14 Americans. The Danes are also kind enough to forgive us when we can't pronounce their names.
They include us in a lot of their activities. We can't take any of their classes because they're all in Danish, but we eat dinner with them every night and brunch on the weekends. Yesterday, they had a Viking Day. They did workshops all day in Danish, but they invited us to their dinner and party afterwards. It was pretty fantastic. They moved the tables to the outer edges of the room and put buckets in the middle of the floor for us to throw all the bones into. We even drank mead.
Today I went to Helsingør, where Hamlet's castle is, with Lincoln, Amanda and Carrie. Because we live so far away, we had to buy transportation passes for all zones, which pretty much means we have an unlimited pass to travel anywhere. So we took the bus and train up and toured the castle and maritime museum. It was windy and cold, but we walked all the way around the castle. It was absolutely beautiful; the sun was shining, the waves were crashing against the shore and the Danish flag was waving. You can even see Sweden from there, it's amazing how close it actually is.
I am so happy here.
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