The Beginning

So I have successfully made it to Copenhagen! I am starting to get the hang of things around here, and I am hoping that the next four months will be like the first four days.

My host family, the Klausens are really great.  The dad, Klaus, is fully of energy and very funny, the mom, Annette, is really sweet.  All three of their actual kids are really great. Tanja, 24, does not live at home, but comes over frequently to eat dinner and just hang out. Tim, 20, was only around for a few hours before he headed off to school four hours away. Terese, 15, is the only one who lives at home, and  is funny! Of course, like any other 14 year old girl she loves Justin Bieber.  I have only met one of the three foster children they take care of about every 4 weeks or so. Andreas is 9 and full of energy. He does not speak much english, but he did manage to ask me if I knew about Cars the movie. The other two kids who stay with them, Sophia and Phillip, have not come over yet.

The Klausens house is super nice. It reminds me of something from IKEA, and it is amazing how clutter free the entire house is. I feel bad that I have brought so much with me.  I am currently staying in Tim's room for the next few weeks on the second floor until my room has completed its renovation. There was a terrible rain in June that flooded their basement, so Terese's room, along with mine was damaged.

The food has not been as bad as I thought it would be. The bread and pastries (we are not supposed to call them Danishes because the people here are not food!) are absolutely amazing.  The first thing I had here was a chocolate croissant and some fresh bread from a local bakery near the Klausen's house.  Needless to say I will be having one or two more before I head home! Klaus and Annette are great cooks and continue to amaze me with dinner each night. I have already tried more food in these last few days than I probably have in the last 2 years.

The DIS activities have been long and tiring, but completely worth it. I had to go through all the boring things to get to the most exciting day today. We had the opportunity to explore the city, get a free pastry, and meet new people.  There are so many cool places that I can't wait to go and explore more. I don't think any time here will be wasted. I feel as if I could just get lost in the gigantic city for hours and be completely content.  The public transportation here is amazing and even as a complete foreigner who can't speak a lick of Danish I can maneuver my way around the city just fine.  The only issue I have been coming across so far when it comes to getting around is the fact that everything is in the shape of a huge square. So you think you are walking somewhere new, but really you are just walking in the same box again and again. Everything looks the same. A ton of buildings are red, yellow, blue, or white. Needless to say it gets really confusing! I am still having a hard time figuring out where my actual classes are.

Probably my most favorite things about Copenhagen are how beautiful the city is, how easy the transportation is, and the best thing, HYGGE. This definitely my most favorite thing about this place and I wish that Americans would adapt this. Hygge doesn't have a literal translation that I know of, but it is something that the Danes do frequently. For the Klausens it means sitting down for dinner spending a ton of time just enjoying each others company, talking, laughing, and relaxing.  Usually after the meal you go and sit in another room and drink tea (or coffee), talk, light candles and completely set yourself away from all the other things going on in your life and just enjoy the people you are with.  To me it is the best thing I have experienced yet! It has been so nice to just sit and talk and get to know the family, along with some of their friends.  I really like how family oriented the Danes are, and how important it is to spend time together.  Supposedly hygge gets better and better when it starts to get cold and closer to Christmas time, which makes me really excited to see what is so different about it.

Classes start tomorrow! Thankfully there are only two classes on Monday and Thursdays with a huge gap in between the classes so I will be able to really explore the city each week when I don't have a ton of work to do during my free time. There are no classes on Wednesday, and my Tuesday and Friday classes are all really great too! I am hoping that I get lucky and don't have too much work to do this semester so I can enjoy everything else that is around me!

Even though I have only been here for four days, I have made some pretty dumb "American" mistakes, which include:
1. paying 53 kroner (about $11) for a pint of beer
2. tried to pay for a smoothie with Swedish kroner
3. missed my bus stop because I was not aware that you have to press a button to stop the bus at night

These are only a couple, but I am sure the list will continue to grow!