I still can’t believe I’m here sometimes. It’s absolutely crazy to think I’m half way around the world from everything I’ve ever known. I left for Copenhagen, Denmark a week and a half ago for a semester-long study abroad with the Danish Institute of Study Abroad (DIS) and (ba da da da da) I’m loving it!
So much has happened since I’ve arrived, and I hardly know where to start. Since I’m so behind, I will just talk about the highlights (which, I’m sure will take a long time- everything feels like a highlight).
This is my first time in Europe, and I really had no idea what to expect. This was my first time to leave North America and travel to an unknown place completely alone. I think it really creeped me out to hear all of the foreign tongues even in just the Chicago International airport terminals. The overseas airplane was the biggest plane I had ever been on, and I almost felt ashamed to talk because my American accent was so different from every one around me.
I was so nervous landing in London, my first time on European soil, but I was so excited. After a long route to my next terminal, I had some time to explore Heathrow’s stores with the British version of the Harry Potter books, Gucci clothing, and Chanel perfume. Unfortunately, I realized, though, my camera batteries had died, and I haven’t really been able to take pictures since coming.
Arriving in Copenhagen was exhilarating. I was so tired from the three different flights and 20 hours of traveling, but the adrenaline kept me going all day. It turns out that a lot of DIS students were on my flight, and we all met up and grabbed our luggage. I think the first thing I noticed was how modern the Copenhagen airport was. The second thing I noticed was the weather. SO beautiful. It was about 60 degrees Fahrenheit, and slightly overcast. Literally it feels like a November in Texas. I was actually cold! Texas was 90 degrees at that very moment! Hard to believe.
Once we got to the DIS centre, everything happened very quickly. We were checking in, picking up school supplies, getting transportation money, yadda, yadda, yadda. There were a lot of students and all of a sudden, my host family was there! What beautiful people, blond hair and blue eyes and cute accents! They were such nice people from the very start.
Riding back to my new home, it was so fun to see Copenhagen for the first time. The colorful buildings, beautiful architecture, Tivoli, everything I had seen in post cards. It was all here! I think, though, one of the first things I noticed was that every one just left their bike laying around on the side walks. In the US, most people put their bikes at least next to a bike rack, but here, bikes are propped next to random buildings, trees, or pretty much anywhere. I found out later, that many of the bikes here have built in locks so they don’t have to chain it to something- very handy! Also, my favorite part: there is a bike lane everywhere! In Austin we are lucky enough to have a bike lane in most parts of the city, but here, there is a bike lane in almost every single road, even in the suburbs. So the roads have three “layers” a sidewalk for pedestrians, a lane for cyclist, and a car lane. Each lane is complete with its own street light. So at every cross section for each direction there are three different lanes and lights. Really interesting! AND because of that, it’s really easy- probably the easiest- to get around by bike. So EVERYONE does it! So far, I’ve seen old ladies with their weekly groceries, CEO’s in their nice suits, models with huge stilettos, and even a whole family (the SUV bike) – tandem with a trailer in the back for the kids!
Getting to my new home, I was very excited to find it was cozy, welcoming, and stylish. All of the furniture is very modern looking and there was even an orchid in my room- my favorite flower! The evening was spent meeting my new family (Niels, Jette, and Linnea) over a good meal, and I finally crashed around ten o’ clock.What a long day!
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