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.