Scandinavian chill

It has been almost a week since I last posted. Since then, things have changed here pretty significantly. I'm talking weather.

I took a screen shot of the weather forecast to make Eddie Escobio laugh last week.

 The current weather forecast is:

I wasn't kidding when I mentioned that it rains daily. It's also windy. So windy. With windchill, temps feel up to 10 degrees colder. It's been a QUICK transition to fall here We're learning to deal with it. Since my room is a little (lot) drafty, Bri borrowed an extra comforter from her Visiting Family for me (THANK YOU) & I came across a cozy fleece blanket sporting the logo for a fruity Carlsberg alcoholic drink.

Last Tuesday, we had a big scare in our house. There's a local bar that has drink deals every Tuesday, and a bunch of our house-mates were there on the 18th. One of the guys, trying to do the right thing, tried to break up a bar fight at the end of the night. He took one massive punch and fell, slammed his head against the cobblestone ground, and was knocked out cold. The people around him had the wherewithal to take him directly to the hospital. His skull is fractured and his brain bled for 2 full days before he was released from the hospital. We're so thankful that he's doing ok. In such a small house, everyone is very very close. It was nice seeing the support when all 25 of us showed up at the hospital to support him throughout the next days. Because he can't go out of the house at all for the time being, we all stayed in with him on Friday night (a rare occurrence) and watched Anchorman. It was a perfect hyggelig night with Ravnsborggade. 

Last Thursday, we had "Danish night" with the whole house. Ravnsborggade gathered and our SRA's cooked a traditional Danish meal for us. 

The meal included Danish meatballs of some sort, boiled potatoes, carrot salad, creamed cabbage, & rice. It was another hyggelig night with the whole crew. (Bri is considered the honorary housemate, so obviously was at the dinner)

On Saturday, I went with Bri and all of her housemates to the Frederiksberg Palace and Frederiksberg Gardens. It was a great afternoon. The weather wasn't perfect (it rarely is here), but it was so nice to spend time in nature. I really really miss being on a campus. Villanova is so beautiful. And though this city is charming, majestic, and really wonderful, it's not the same as living among the trees.

Frederiksberg Garden

Frederiksberg Garden

Frederiksberg Palace in the background

Academically, things are heating up a little. Because this is the last week of classes before a week long travel break, it's full of tests and papers. I'm obviously procrastinating by blogging in the precious cafe in the basement of my house. My Danish midterm is Thursday. Good thing I don't have class tomorrow.

I got to work at Mother's Help a few times this week, and I really love volunteering there.

I'm involved in a program here that has allowed me to work with 6 Danish members of MS Action Aid, a large scale non-profit in Denmark. Together with 3 friends and the 6 Danes, we are planning a 3-day "festival" event in November. The event, which will be in the bar in the basement of my building, is intended to raise awareness about and funds for an Action Aid project benefiting women in Kenya, and the planning just started to get really fun. Instead of doing a overly serious event about women leaders in East Africa, it is fleshing out to be this cultural, exciting, interesting, great event. I'm so excited to be doing volunteer work again, especially in this setting.

The end of this week brings about the start of an INSANE month. October is bound to be absurd. I leave Saturday night for 4 days in Athens followed by 4 days in Milan. Then I'll be in Copenhagen for 5 days. Then I'll spend 3 days in Barcelona and 2 days in London. Back to Copenhagen for 1 day. Then, 2 days in Paris followed directly by 5 days in London. That brings us to October 26th. Um... WHAT?!

Wish me luck, followers. Love to all 3.5 of you.

Comforting Realization

I just came to the extremely comforting realization that I'll be seeing tons of people I know and love dearly in the coming weeks across Europe.

1. Michael Promisel in Athens in 10 days (with DIS kids: Bri, Aimee, Casey, Dylan, and Ben)

2. Caroline Garger in Milan in 13 days (maybe meeting Rosa Altomare and Denis Whelan)

3. Marissa McNally and Deanna Puentes in Barcelona & London in 23 days

 (HUGE shoutout to these girls for coming from AMERICA to see me, Briana Bogue, Marissa Walton and some beautiful cities)

4. Olivia Davis, Sarah Moya, Hope Tennery, Rosa Altomare, Erin Digan, and Denis Whelan in Paris in 29 days

5. Mom & Dad in Copenhagen, Northern Italy, and Dublin in 7 weeks.

Ahhhh it's gonna be nice to have some Villanova (and UVA) love over here :)

Stockholm, Sweden

This weekend, I took a trip to Stockholm, Sweden with 9 friends (Briana, Vincent, Kelsey, Casey, Alia, David, Kalli, Courtney, and Jared). Stockholm is Sweden's capital, spread between 14 small islands

We arrived in Stockholm on Friday night and immediately found a bar/ restaurant where we got great food (swedish meatballs included!) and sat and drank beer and cider for the evening. At the end of a long school week, it was the perfect evening casually enjoying a few drinks with friends in a new city.

Our hostel was located in Gamla Stan, Old Town Stockholm. The historic section of the city, it has cobblestone streets, old squares, beautiful churches and architecture, and tons of sites. We started the day Saturday exploring Gamla Stan and the Old Town Stockholm. Sites we saw include...

-The Royal Palace & Changing of the Guards:

-The Vasa Museum: Pictured below, houses the only preserved 17th century ship in the world

Vasa Museum, Only preserved 17th century ship in the world

-Stockholm by Boat: Boat taxi around the sites of Stockholm:

-Tyska Kyrkan (Old German Church):

Proabably the highlight of the trip for me was seeing the city of Stockholm from above. The Ericsson Globe is currently the largest globe building in the universe. As a group, we boarded a glass  "bubble" that has a track along the outside of the globe. From the top of the Ericsson Globe, you can see all of Stockholm, through the lakes of Sweden, and to the Baltic Sea. It was incredible.

Because we devoted all day Saturday to seeing the city (and didn't stop moving for one second), we were able to hit the major sites. We had an especially nice chance to explore Djurgården, one of the many islands of Stockholm. We got to eat a beautiful authentic Swedish lunch in Djurgården and were able to venture off the beaten tourist track of Stockholm.

This boat reminded me of The Black Dog Tall Ships. I miss the island and The Dog.

One of the strangest experiences in Stockholm was buying alcohol. To put it simply, the experience was intense. Alcohol is fully controlled by the state and liquor has a tax of up to 70%. Needless to say, I bought wine. No hard liquor for me in Sweden.

Saturday night, we had a reservation at the original Ice Bar of Europe. The Ice Bar is exactly that: A bar made of ice. The walls are ice, chairs are ice, cups are ice, the bar is ice. You're given a cloak and gloves upon entering and a vey strong drink made with Absolut 100. (It was called something appropriate like Wolf's Paw). Ice bar was a hysterical experience. Freezing, funny, and a ton of fun.

Sunday before returning to Copenhagen, we spent more of the day exploring the more modern side of Sweden. Because of some issues with our hostel and inabilty to find anyone who worked there, we had to carry our luggage around throughout the day, which was a pain. We survived.

Generally, Stockholm is a wonderful city. It has a very cozy side as well as an urban-chic feel in its more developed centers. It was a perfect weekend trip with a great group of people.

It's great to be back in the familiarity of Copenhagen. Isn't it wonderful that Copenhagen has become "familiar". I've been here one month and it feels nice to be a part of this city.

I'll be hanging around Koobie (as we affectionately call Copenhagen/København) for the next few weeks. If anything eventful happens, it'll be here. My next travel is to Athens and Milan at the end of this month/ beginning of next. Until then, I'll be enjoying myself here and maybe focusing on classes... or something like that.

Until later... xox

We Are In the Room. Reflections.

As Bri puts it, "We have both feet over the ledge now. We are in the room."

I have no idea what either of those things mean, but I do know that it was in response to my comment that we've been here for 3 weeks, approximately 20% of the total time we'll be spending abroad. How absurd is that?

I fluctuate (by the hour?) between feeling that I've been here for years and feeling that I got here yesterday. I'm gonna go ahead and assume that's totally normal. When I was Skyping David the other day, he said he feels like he's been at 'nova for months already, so it sounds like I'm not alone.

Because the last few days since my short study tour have been (relatively) low key, I want to write a little bit about my house and how I've been feeling. (emotions, what?)

Some of the wonderful people I live with: Josh, Dorothy, Kyle, Bri, Me, Aimee, Ben, Connor, and Sarah

I live in Ravnsborggade, aptly named because it is located on a street called Ravnsborggade. It's a DIS Residential Community. Basically a dorm. There are 25 of us living here (a PERFECT size) and we share 2 kitchens and a large common room. I have my own bedroom on the third floor, which is where the common room and kitchen are located.

Look at all dem shoes

I'm lucky to have a huge skylight window in my room. It opens up to a (very steep) roof and a view of the street below. It's so nice to open it when the sun's out. 

My bed, desk, tapestry, night stand, some shelves... etc. I really have plenty of space for just one person. I'm very comfortable and loving having a single. Notice the picture of Minor Problem in a frame and the unhung, blurry photo of me and Colleen Francke on my desk.

I live only 1.8km from the very center of the city. On my bike, it's very very fast. I get to class in under 10 minutes. We live right near some of the lakes in an adorable, young neighborhood, so I really love the location. We got lucky as far as housing.

The last few days have been great as far as feeling like I'm part of the city. I really feel like I live here, recognize streets and places, and am starting to get really attached to this place.
That being said, though, I had a really rough time being away from Villanova during acappella auditions on Sunday!

Firstly, and most importantly:

WELCOME TO MINOR PROBLEM, 

Pat, Cedar, Adam, Dylan, Anika, and Jen!!!! 

It was almost physically painful knowing that Minor Problem was listening to a full day of auditions while I sat by my computer and waited to hear any news. I just wished so badly I could be there with them. I even Skyped with them at about 6pm during the day of auditions to get some of their feedback. The biggest comfort was knowing that I fully (like somewhere around approximately 200%) trust everyone in the group. I never had any concern about the decisions they'd make. Rather, it was a matter of being so far away from this group of people I feel so passionately about as they make a monumental decision. I just wanted to be near them. They were, as they always are, very accommodating as far as keeping me updated and letting me know what's going on, especially Nina. Thanks guys, I loved seeing your faces on Skype :)

And their work paid off fully: We have 6 new Problems that are officially part of the family. They even had their first rehearsal together yesterday and I heard it was great. And I can't wait to meet them and be back with the group in a few months.

Generally, I'm doing really well. I'm happy and I'm constantly aware that everything I'm doing is an incredible opportunity and I'm lucky. I'm visiting Stockholm, Sweden with about 10 friends for the weekend this weekend, so I'll probably blog again after that mini adventure.

Until then...xoxo

Short Study Tour

Opening points:

• It's starting to get cold here. For those of you who wondered, my North Face fleece is once again becoming a permanent fixture of my wardrobe for the next 4ish months. I'm not sorry.
• If you want me to send you a postcard, email me or facebook me your address. If you want to send me mail, my address is:

Mia Savoca

c/o DIS, Danish Institute for Study Abroad
Vestergade 7
DK- 1456 Copenhagen K
Denmark

I spent the last three days traveling through Western Denmark with my European Trends in Communication class on the first study tour of the semester.

Day 1 Highlights: (September 3)

Visit to TV2 Østjlland: We spent a few hours touring this regional news station and interviewing one of the reporters. This station is incredibly laid back. News in Denmark, generally, is a much more casual program than news in the US.

Visit to Designit in Århus: Designit is a strategic design consultancy based out of Denmark. One of the biggest in the world, they're a very casual, creative, new-age company. Hearing one of their design managers speak and touring the facility was amazing.

Visit to Århus: After touring Designit, we spent the rest of the evening exploring the city of Århus. Try this one on for size:

Århus is the second largest city in Denmark. Copenhagen, the largest, has just over 1 million inhabitants. Århus, 2nd largest, has only abut 250,000 inhabitants. 

For a little frame-of-reference: The US has about 10 cities with populations of 1 million or more. Denmark has a total population of about 5 million, whereas the US has a total population of about 314 million. Denmark has more pigs than it has people.

That being said, though, Århus is charming and quaint. A city lined along its canals, it has been nominated to be the European capital of culture in 2017 and has one of the largest yearly culture festivals in all of Europe. We were lucky enough to see some of the festival, including music and magic acts.

Day 2 Highlights: (September 4)

ARoS Museum:

The next day, we started the day at the world famous ARoS Museum. The museum is one of the largest  art museums in Northern Europe. It's most famous feature it the glass rainbow walkway that tops the entire building and overlooks the city.

Following the museum visit, we drove through more of the beautiful Danish countryside.

Before turning in for the night in Vejle, we played a few games of Kayak Polo (yes, that's water polo in a kayak... not easy).

Wetsuits and windbreakers were provided to shield from the crazy cold water. Good thing, because of course I fell out of my kayak in a particularly intense play.

Day 3 Highlights: (September 5)

Jelling Stones:

We visited Jelling, Denmark to see the famous ancient rune stones, the Jelling stones. Erected by the first historical kings of Denmark, these rune stones have fascinating historical context. The most impressive thing about Jelling, though, was the gorgeous Danish countryside visible from the ancient manmade mounds surrounding the stones. Photos below.

Aarstiderne:

Our final stop was to Aarstiderne. Aarstiderne was perhaps my favorite part of the trip. Aarstiderne is a company that has established a virtual supermarket that hand delivers pre-ordered fully organic fruits and vegetables to its customers. We toured their farmlands and grounds (gorgeous, located oceanside) and got a presentation about their extreme sustainability and organic production. The most impressive part about the company is their transparent philosophy and open lines of communication with their customers and between all levels of employees. It was run unlike any business I've ever seen.

On our visit and tour, they started by serving us a fully organic meal. It was beautiful and delicious. Easily the best meal I've had in Denmark and probably the healthiest.

What surprised me while I was away was how much I missed Copenhagen. I've been busy missing Villanova and home, so it came as a surprise to me that I'd miss Copenhagen while I was away, too.

I do understand that I'm grasping, right now, at any form of familiarity I can hold onto. As soon as I was establishing a routine in Copenhagen, BOOM I'm being whisked away to Western Denmark. But having this small chance to miss the city did make me realize that I'm becoming attached and the routine is starting to sink in. Definitely a good thing.

Generally, it was a lovely three days in Western Denmark, but I'm glad to be back in the city getting back into the swing of things.

Until later... xoxo

2 Weeks of Life in Denmark

I'm starting to realize that as I continue living here, the days will move by faster and all the things I do will start to meld together in a weird way. Even looking back on the past 4 days, I can't remember precisely which day I did which activity. So, as I continue to blog (for my ~6 readers, woo!), I imagine things will become more generalized and I'll be sharing the big highlights. Which is okay!

A few days ago (not entirely sure which day...), Aimee and I explored the Botanical Gardens of Copenhagen. They are decidedly incredibly beautiful and peaceful, and we intend to go back to do homework and picnic before the weather becomes dreary daily.

Botanical Gardens

 Side note: What they say about Denmark is true. It rains here. A lot. Usually at least once a day, often more. A lot of the time the rainfall is short (only lasts a small portion of the day), but sometimes the full day is consumed by intermittent showers. It's interesting. And dreary. It does, however, make you appreciate the sun like you couldn't imagine. We're all dreading what the Danes warn is coming: Extremely short days with very little sunshine, a lot of wind, and a lot of rainfall. The winter here is notoriously dreary. We'll be wishing we had a fireplace very very soon.

Botanical Gardens

Botanical Gardens

A part of living abroad has been continuing to learn how to cook for myself. This summer was an awesome step toward being self-sufficient as far as food and cleaning, so I'm continuing to learn. Many nights, Bri and I end up cooking together. We often eat with other people who live in either my house or her house. Some snapshots of some recent creations:

I've actually really been enjoying cooking for myself. It's a process, but it's nice to know that I'll be able to do a ton of basic cooking things by the end of the semester. If anyone has some great recipes, send them my way!

Living in a house with 25 twenty year olds has been a challenge from a cleanliness standpoint. We share a massive common room and 2 kitchens, each of which we try to keep clean. Anyone who has lived with or near me knows that I really like my living space generally cleanly, so learning to let the cleaning be a communal chore is an ongoing struggle. I'm doing well, though :) It helps that I have my own room and my own clean space to retreat to if the common rooms are disgusting.

Yesterday, I Bri and I biked the 7km to a nearby beach. The beach, called Amager Strandpark (Amager Beach Park) is a seaside public park with an artificial island and gorgeous views.

As seen above, the Middelgrunden wind farm is easily visible from Amager Strandpark. The windmills are massive & extremely impressive from the shore.

 The water is an incredible color.

Aimee, Dorothy, and Robin took the metro and met Bri and Me at the beach.

As Bri put it, "This is one of the places we have to put on our list to say goodbye to before we leave Denmark." Simply, it was beautiful, peaceful, exciting, and unexpected. It's lucky that though we live in a city, we are surrounded by a pure, natural, beautiful environment.

This week has been very exciting from a travel planning standpoint. I've booked many flights and travel plans are becoming very real. My updated schedule for the semester is as follows:

September 3-5: Århus & Vejle, Denmark (with European Trends In Communication class)
September 14-16: Stockhom, Sweden
September 29-October 3: Athens, Greece
October 3-8: Milan, Italy
October 13-15: Barcelona, Spain
October 15-17: London, England
October 20-26: London, England (with European Trends In Communication class)
November 9-18: Exploring Scandinavia (Norway, Sweden, Finland, Iceland, Denmark) with parents

Tomorrow, I'll embark on my first travel experience of the semester. With my European Trends in Communication class, I'll spend the next three days traveling to Western Denmark. We'll visit the second largest city in Denmark (Århus) and another city (Vejle). Some highlights of this short study tour include:

•TV2 Østjylland

One of the 8 regional TV2 stations in Denmark

•Designit Aarhus

A famous international strategic design consultancy. Most people recognize it by its logo above.

•M2 Film

Film and advertisement agency

•ARoS Museum

A famous art museum overlooking Århus

•Aarhus Kommune

Capital of Culture 2017, municipality of Jutland, Denmark

•Jelling Stones

Massive carved runestones from the 10th century in Jelling, Denmark

•Aarstiderne

A virtual supermarket company. One of the most massive Danish e-commerce companies.