Here I am in Copenhagen, Denmark for four months. I'll be using this blog to chronicle my adventures, experiences, travels, and emotions while I'm abroad. Enjoy!

Tuesday, December 11, 2012

Christmastime in CPH


Photo cred to Becca Rubin


Christmas in Copenhagen is beyond magical.

I can't help but feel that my time here is dwindling. I'm taking major comfort in the fact that my excitement to go home is building literally daily. I've been spending my last days in Copenhagen enjoying all the city has to offer and spending time with the people I'll hate to say goodbye to.

Last Friday, I finally took a real visit to the world famous Tivoli Gardens. Tivoli is one of the best winter wonderlands I've had the privilege to see. It's a theme park in the heart of Copenhagen, but considered more of a dream-land because of its incredible decorations.


Tivoli

Tivoli

Tivoli

Tivoli

Tivoli

Tivoli

Tivoli

Reindeer at Tivoli



Also, my house had a huge Christmas party last Saturday. It was a huge hit. We even had a "photo booth" where we hung wrapping paper on the wall to make a Christmasy photo shoot area.

 Ravnsborggade 11 Christmas Party
Our Ravnsborggade family. Gonna miss these kids way too much.

 Ravnsborggade 11 Christmas Party

Me and Aim


Me, Emily, and Aimee

I've been trying to spend my final days here doing everything I want to do one last time before I leave. We've been having lots of family dinners, going out together, and just spending time in the city.

Dinner with the Skindergade family

 On Saturday, I got to Skpe into Minor Problem's (my accappella group) winter concert. It was surprisingly emotional to watch their incredible performance. Bri, Aimee, Dylan, and Emily watched with me, which was awesome. It honestly made me so excited to go home to my beautiful acappella family.

Likewise, Sunday afternoon, I skyped into the performance of AVE (Auditioned Vocal Ensemble), a choir that I helped David start last semester. Their performance was gorgeous. Likewise, I'm so excited to go back to AVE.

To say I have mixed feelings about leaving Copenhagen and going home is a massive understatement. I miss my family and my friends, though. I'll be home soon, America. Until then, I'll be taking one more final on Friday and kissing this winter wonderland goodbye.





Wednesday, December 5, 2012

Vienna, Austria & Less Than 10 Days Left

It's safe to say that as my time in Copenhagen comes closer and closer to it's finale, I get worse and worse at blogging. Sorry for the long breaks between posts!

First, HAPPY BIRTHDAY to my lovely cousin Leigh!! Love you so much!

Next, last weekend I went to Vienna, Austria with Emily, Aimee, and Casey from my house and met up with Caroline, Sarah, and Olivia, three of my best friends at school. It was a perfect weekend. We had the most beautiful hostel that ever existed, it was a great group, and Vienna is an absolutely gorgeous winter wonderland. We spent the entire weekend at Christmas markets and I have zero complaints. It was a wonderful final trip of the semester.








This week is a little hard for me because it marks the start of all the holiday acappella concerts I'll be missing at Villanova. The Spires and Supernovas perform tonight, Minor Problem and Sirens on Saturday, Haveners and Vocal Minority next Tuesday, and NBT next Saturday, the night of my return. It's this time of year that I really wish I was there to support my friends and, more than anything, I wish I was there to be with Minor Problem, at the very least to see this concert I know they've been working so hard on. I'll be back soon, though. Right now it's just a matter of showing my support from afar and waiting patiently to see the videos! All my acappella friends: You are amazing. Good luck at all of your concerts, I'm sending love to all of you!!

At this point, I only have about 9 days left in Copenhagen. That is simultaneously SO sad and scary, but also so exciting. I can't wait to be home. I'll be spending my last days here: 

1) Finishing the millions of papers I have had to write (ONLY ONE LEFT)
2) Exploring the tiny Christmas markets throughout the city
3) Seeing all the places I haven't gotten to see enough of yet (Namely: Tivoli Gardens)
and
4) Spending time with the wonderful people I've come to know and love.

I have a few finals next week, one more paper to write, and only 9 days standing between me and the good old US of A. My mom has decided she's glad I'm visiting Villanova as soon as I return home because then she won't have to deal with my inevitable mourning period following my departure from Copenhagen. ;) But really, it's been too long, home. Can't wait to see you all.

Thursday, November 29, 2012

16 Days Left

Well, I just took my European Trends in Communication final exam... Let's just say it's a good thing my other grades in the class are decent.

It's so strange to say I only have 16 days left here in Denmark. I'm simultaneously SO excited to be back in America and dreading leaving this abroad experience.

There are three 10(ish)-page papers, one 15 minute presentation, and one more final exam standing in the way of me and the end of this whirlwind semester.

Up next:

Vienna tomorrow night to see the world-famous Christmas market!!

Monday, November 26, 2012

Weekend in Andover

I spent the weekend in Andover, England (near Winchester, southwest of London) visiting some very dear friends of mine.

South African (or Australian...) flowers I brought for Liz

George's room (my temporary bedroom) repping America and England :)

I've known the Slinger family (Nick, Liz, William, and George) since I was about 7 years old and they were living near us in America. Seeing them was phenomenal. I spent the weekend lounging on the couch with tea in hand, being fed, sleeping in an amazing bed, and being "mom-ed" by people I love dearly. I couldn't have asked for a better weekend. We visited the pub Will is working in, I visited George at his University, explored Winchester, had a Thanksgiving dinner, tried Yorkshire pudding, and just had a lovely weekend together. I couldn't be happier.

[Little hiccup in my plan: I was meant to leave London, connect in Frankfurt, Germany, and return to Copenhagen at 10pm Sunday night. My flight from London was delayed 3 times (once for weather, once for a medical emergency on board, and lastly for a faulty engine), forcing me to stay overnight in Germany on Lufthansa's dime. Thanks to Mama Savoca calling the airline, I got put on a 7am flight back to CPH, where I went directly from the airport to my Danish final exam. Whoops! Hope that went alright...]

I'm in Copenhagen for the rest of the weekdays, then I'm off to the Vienna christmas markets for my final trip of the semester this weekend!! I'm going with Casey, Aimee, and Em from my house, and we'll be meeting Caroline Garger, Sarah Moya, and Olivia Davis in Austria!!

Things We Take For Granted in America

Things We Take For Granted in America & at Villanova
-By Mia and Bri, in no particular order

1. Target & CVS (all-inclusive stores)
2. Driving cars
3. Prolonged sunlight
4. Normal sized shrimp (they're tiny in DK)
5. Affordable coffee
6. Our pets
7. Understanding what's happening on TV & radio
8. Openness/ overt friendliness/ smiling as you walk by someone on the street
9. Eavesdropping while people watching (only possible in languages you understand)
10. Affordable nail polish
11. Sporty men
12. People wearing colorful clothing
13. Wifi/ cell phone service
14. Being in the same time zone as friends and family
15. Normal, functional toilet flushers
16. Degrees Fahrenheit
17. Living with people who clean up after themselves
18. Nature
19. "Free" gym membership
20. Sweatpants
21. American professors
22. Street signs
23. Having a job & making money

Sunday, November 18, 2012

Parents, Pasta, Prosecco, and Pizza.

So, I've spent the last 9 days with my PARENTS!! It was an amazing, beautiful, painful, surprising, and fulfilling 9 days.


First, I really surprised myself with my reaction to their arrival. I'd been anticipating my parents' visit for  literally 3 months when they got to Copenhagen last Friday. I, of course, prepared myself to be excited, thrilled to see them, happy to share my temporary city with them, and ready for a good dose of loving. What I failed to prepare myself for, though, was how hard it would be for me to have a little "slice of home". I'm here to tell you (mom, that one was for you) that having that little reminder of home prompted this bizarre realization of what I'm missing in America. So, already as soon as they got here, I was this weird bundle of conflicting emotions that I didn't know how to handle.

We spent the first weekend together exploring Copenhagen. They experienced the bizarre food of this city, their passion for beer, and the crazy language. We took a Canal Tour around the city's canals and the (admittedly disappointing but world-famous) Hans Christian Andersen Little Mermaid statue, we visited the Amalienborg Palace, saw Nyhavn, Christiania, and drank a lot of Prosecco in our hygge hotel. What struck my parents most, not surprisingly, was the weather in Copenhagen. Most people think I exaggerate the cold, rain, and the darkness here. I finally have people who can vouch for me now!! They witnessed the winds on the canal and how they can make 40 degrees feel like 25. They saw that CPH rarely goes a full day without rain and often goes days without prolonged sunshine. While of course I wish they got to see sunny Copenhagen, since it's magic increases by about 1000%, I'm definitely glad they saw I'm not crazy and actually do deal with the sun setting at 3:30pm every day.

Nyhavn


Our hygge hotel!


On Saturday night, we were all out to dinner and Bri tagged along. Bri planned to stay in Copenhagen throughout the travel break. During dinner, though, my Dad blurted out, "Bri, why don't you come to Italy with us!?" Of course at first we didn't take him seriously. But... long story short, by late Saturday night we had booked plane tickets and Bri was Italy-bound with us!! In hindsight, I'm so grateful that she came along. It was the perfect reminder that I do love it here in Copenhagen and will be totally fine for the rest of the semester after my parents leave.

We also took a day trip to Malmo, Sweden on Sunday. The city is ADORABLE. It was a really beautiful day. 

On Monday, we made our way to Italy. My Dad speaks fluent Italian (a HUGE plus) so to say he was excited is a massive understatement. We flew into Rome and drove directly to Perugia, (not before waiting three hours to collect our checked baggage because of an airport employee strike). Perugia is in the country a few hours North of Rome and is totally stunning. We stayed in the most amazing hotel: It is an authentic 13th century medieval castle that has been transformed into a modern hotel. It is breathtaking. The amazing views from the castle are below.





Perugia is actually famous for its chocolate, so naturally, we toured its massive chocolate factory. We got free samples and an incredible tour of the factory that produces the famous Baci (which means kisses in Italian) chocolates among other things. It was one of the highlights of the trip.



In the countryside, we also stopped in the towns of Deruta (famous for its ceramics) and Assisi. They are both gorgeous. Deruta is a sleepy little town with lots of charm and Assisi is on a hill featuring the world-famous Basilica of San Francesco d'Assisi

Deruta

On the road to Assisi

Assisi

We arrived in Rome on Tuesday evening and checked into the Hotel Villa San Pio. I will take this moment to mention that while in Italy, we drank an absurd amount of Prosecco and ate an incredible amount of the best food I've had in my life. I took an embarrassing amount of photos of the food and cappuccino  as did everyone else, and ate myself into oblivion. I'll leave it at that.

Wednesday, we had the chance to see Il Papa (the Pope) speak at his weekly address to the public. He's surprisingly small and frail (although, I shouldn't be surprised since he IS 82 years old). He spoke about St. Augustine and Veritas, Unitas, Caritas nearly the entire time, perfect for us Villanovans. Unfortunately, he spoke in Italian. Thanks to Dad for translating.


We spent our days in Italy seeing the sites (Again, since we have already seen most of them in past visits), spending time with our good family friends, eating great food (I had shrimp almost every single day), drinking good wine, and enjoying each others' company. We took the amazing Scavi tour underneath St. Peter's Basilica, saw the colosseum, Spanish Steps, saw a mediocre opera, explored Piazza Navona, Campo Di Fiori, sampled limoncellos, and explored the city. The Tiber river was at the highest levels it has ever reached and hit a pretty destructive point, so we got to witness that craziness. Also, Italy is in a massive financial depression and we were a party to widespread strikes.


Our fish!!



The highlight of the trip for me was on the last day before we left. Mom, Dad, me, Bri, our friend Beth, and her two friends ventured into the countryside to the equivalent of an Italian "country club" to learn how to make fresh pizza and focaccia. It was an INCREDIBLE day.

We learned to make the dough, used a brick oven, combined amazing fresh ingredients, and spent the day laughing with each other on this beautiful piece of land. We had a wonderful time and it was my favorite part of the whole trip.







Olive Tree

On Saturday, we all said a teary goodbye at the airport before going our separate ways. It's not too long now before I go home to spend the winter in our new home in Northport, but I'll miss my parents until then and I'm so grateful for all the technology that lets me talk to them every day.

I'm here to tell ya,
my parents are the most amazing parents in the whole universe. Everyone says that, but obviously I'm the only one who is actually right. Though I was strangely emotional, sometimes distant, and not always able to be totally happy-go-lucky to be with them this past week, they are just so awesome. They saw that I was having a weird reaction to their arrival and did not hesitate to invite one of my best friends to spend our vacation with us, knowing it would help me. They were absurdly generous throughout the week, both to me and Bri, and they did everything they could to make sure we had a happy, exciting, amazing vacation. So Mom and Dad, THANK YOU. I couldn't have asked for a better week. Love you so much and can't wait to see you next month!!

Wednesday, November 7, 2012

Things Are Happening

FAST blog post!!!

1. I stayed up all night last night (ok, I took an hour nap at 3am) with about 5 other students and 1 Dane SRA to watch the election. It was great fun. The Danes love American politics more than Americans love American politics, so it was definitely an experience being in Denmark for this election.

Fun fact: Given the chance to vote in the US presidential election, 89% of Danes would vote for Obama and only 4% for Mitt Romney.

Also, yesterday was my Mom's birthday!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY MOM!!!


2. My Danish oral exam is tomorrow. D-E-A-D.

3. MY PARENTS ARE VISITING ON FRIDAY!!!!

We will be spending 3 days in Copenhagen followed by 6 days in Umbria and Rome, Italy

I couldn't be more excited!!