On Exam Week: Danish Edition and Eight Days

Well, it's that time of the semester again -- time for my Exam Week post!  Exam Week: Denmark Edition.

It's hard to believe it's already that time of the semester - four months has gone by so fast that it almost makes my head spin.  I've been in five countries, eight cities, and four airports in the last four months.  I've watched the days in Denmark go from never-ending summer nights (no seriously the sun didn't set until like 10 pm) to three hours of daylight (if you're lucky and it isn't overcast).  I've gone to the ballet at the Royal Theatre, a beer tasting at one of only seven Trappist breweries in the world, a party at the EU (although that was kind of a trainwreck because there were issues with wiring and food, whoops), and more.  And I've met some truly amazing people.

Yesterday, someone asked me what my favorite memory of this semester was.  It's a pretty close call.  The single greatest moment, potentially one of the greatest moments of my life, was right before Halloween.  We went to the Halloween village at Tivoli, and there is a ride at Tivoli called the Himmelskibet or Star-Flyer.  It's a really tall swing ride.

It looks kind of like that.

Anyway, it was dark, and we went up on the ride.  When we got to the top, I could see the entire city of Copenhagen, all lit up, and it felt like we were flying over it.  It was absolutely magical.

The other competitor for my favorite memory was sitting in Grand Place is Brussels on our long study tour.  It was our first day there, sunny and warm, and a bunch of groups were picnicking in the square.  We had some time to kill, so we found a Belgian specialty beer shop and a chocolate shop, and grabbed some drinks and chocolate and just sat in the square, enjoying the weather and the wonderful opportunity we had to take a trip with our core class.

It's been amazing to think how this semester has flown by, and while I am really excited to get home to my friends, family, and a phone plan that doesn't charge me 50 cents a text message or decide to sporadically not work, there will be some things I will really miss about Denmark and my time here.  I'm just going to have to work hard to bring the best parts of my time abroad home with me.

Now, I really need to stop procrastinating on working on my international law paper.  Except not really.  Who assigns a paper due Christmas Eve (Heidi, if you somehow find this, you are a wonderful professor and I love your class, but REALLY?)?  Eight days left to pack, study, write, Hobbit, and get in all the sightseeing I still haven't done.

For those my darling readers suffering through Exam Week out there: Good luck, stay sane, and remember that it will be fine (and if it's not, at least it's over).

Procras-Dane-ating,
Rachel Leigh

On the Season

I have been terrible about posting this past month.  I'm sorry, my darling readers.  Between Prague, papers, exams, classes, Thanksgiving, and other such craziness, there just hasn't been a lot of time for it.  Not an excuse, I know.

Happy December!  I had my first (and likely only) traditional Danish Julefrokost (Christmas lunch) yesterday with the other DIS students in my kollegium and our Danish SRA.  Why they call it "lunch" when it starts at like 7 pm is beyond me.  But the food was delicious and the boys did a great job (since the girls took care of Thanksgiving).  They brought a table out into the hallway and it was adorable.

I can't really talk about Julefrokost without talking about alcohol.  Little-known fact - the Danes drink pretty heavily.  Well, actually, if you read Scandinavia and the World (it's a comic), it's actually apparently a very well-known fact in Scandinavia.  But I had no idea before I came to this country.  Anyway, Christmas lunch involves Danish snaps and akvavit, both of which are really strong, and you're drinking all through the meal.  In a country where they release a Christmas and Easter specialty beer, I think it might be safe to say that the only thing the Danes love more than getting cozy with family and friends is an excuse to party.

Friday night my Danish class went to see Tornerose (Sleeping Beauty) at the Royal Theatre, which was absolutely wonderful.  It's hard to wrap my mind around the fact that I'm only here for two more weeks.  I still need to go see the Christmas lights at Tivoli.  And survive finals week.

Tis the season,
Rachel Leigh

On "Teach Me How to Hygge"

As it's getting into those infamous dark, cold Danish winter months (Happy November, by the way), and I've been here for two and a half months now, I think it's time.  And maybe also because of a shirt idea that I saw.  It's time, of course, to talk about hygge.

Hygge - it's a noun, it's a verb, it's an adjective.  You can hygge yourself or be hyggelig with friends.  Say it with me: "hygge."  Okay, so, because of the absurd number of Danish vowel sounds, let me help you out "Hoo-ga"...except force that first syllable out like you're also trying to say a y or an e at the same time.

My understanding isn't perfect, as I'm relatively certain it couldn't be if you didn't grow up in these Nordic winters, but I understand enough at this point to talk about it a bit.  And it's such a huge aspect of Danish culture that I would be doing my darling readers a disservice to not talk about it at least a little bit.

Hygge roughly translates to "cozy" in English, and most Northern European cultures have some versions of the same sort of spirit.  It's originally a Norwegian word, though the Norwegian version is more about personal well-being.  And apparently in German, the concept of Gemütlichkeit is pretty similar.

From what I can tell, hygge developed mostly as a reaction to the cold, dark winters.  The basic idea is to take comfort in being home or with close friends.  A hyggelig cafe is one with blankets and big comfy chairs.  And candles.  You cannot have hygge without candles.  One of the Danes that I live with explained that "Staying in with your grandma, drinking tea and watching old movies...that's hygge."  A nice piece of wienerbrød (the Danish word for a danish) and a hot cup of coffee as you curl up with friends - that's hygge.  The night I spent watching Disaster Preppers with my roommate from UR and the Danes who live on her hall -- okay,  probably not hyggelig, but close.

It's all about being warm and happy with the people and things you love as a way to fight off the impending Seasonal Affective Disorder, and it is fundamentally Danish.  And I think that's pretty damn cool.

Gettin' hyggelig with it,
Rachel Leigh

On Danish Kids (also, an update)

It's been ridiculous recently, sorry I haven't been posting.

As you may or may not know, I was in Brussels, the Hague, and Amsterdam all last week, so my internet access was unreliable at best.  Lessons I learned on that trip:

• Even most EU citizens are confused about what the EU does
• Sharing a room with 11 other people is detrimental to my ability to sleep
• A man with a faucet on his head isn't normal, but in Amsterdam it is

Also, I learned that somehow, in spite of being like one-tenth its size, Copenhagen Kastrup Airport is substantially more confusing than Amsterdam-Schipol Airport.  But that's another story for another day.  And by "another day," I mean we're never going to discuss it again.

Today, we took a tour of the Danish Parliament, the Folketing.  Admittedly, I'd done this before, but it was kind of cool to get one from a prominent Parliamentarian and we ended up talking about our impressions of Denmark - namely Danish attitudes towards children.

Which is what I thought I'd talk to you all about today.  The Danes have a very different idea about children and childhood than we have in the States.  Children are given a lot of freedom - I've seen 6 or 7 year olds riding the Metro alone or in small groups, and apparently in a kindergarten class one of my friends is working with, the students are given a lot more free choice about what they're going to do with their time.

The stereotypical example is that Danish mothers will often leave baby carriages (with the babies inside) outside of stores and cafes while they go inside, because the likelihood that your child will get kidnapped in Copenhagen is unfathomably small.

But I just think the level of independence and choice they give children is really interesting.  We structure the lives of children so much to help and protect them, but from what I can see, Danish kids seem to do pretty well on their own.

Pedagogically? yours,
Rachel Leigh

On Study Abroad Problems

Oh my lovely, lovely readers.  I have encountered a number of #studyabroadproblems (kind of like firstworldproblems, in that they're soaked in privilege and kind of ridiculous, but specific to experiences of culture shock or differences spurred by being in another country) since I've been here, some of which I've told you about, and some of which I haven't.

The first is the fact that the Danes swear almost entirely in English.  In between the words I don't understand, the j's that sound like "y," and the d's that are definitely actually the letter L, you'll here good old American f-bombs.  Or my European Politics professor who likes to start class by yelling "Shut up, you assholes!"  According to my Danish professor, it comes down to the fact that, kind of like "Merde!" sounds less harsh to an English speaker than its English equivalent, cursing in English to the Danes is almost not like cursing at all -- god forbid someone actually use a Danish curse word or she would be horribly offended.  It's just really hard to get used to not understanding entire conversations except when an English swear is snuck in.

The other is just that junk food and junk drinks (like soda, which you all know is an addiction of mine) are super expensive here and also the closest place to get them is like a fifteen minute walk and yes I am so lazy that that is too much effort.

To make up for my whining, here are some pictures from Denmark!

 

Still-not-Danishly Yours,
Rachel Leigh

On European Politics and "Bad Words"

Greetings again from across the Atlantic!  After spending the last week gallivanting around southern Denmark and Schleswig-Holstein in Germany, going to lectures taught by former VCU professors who now work in a Belgian think tank, a Fatboy Slim concert, and getting a winter coat, I finally have the chance to sit down and write a little bit.

We had a couple meetings with officials from both the Danish and German governments, which was really eye-opening in a lot of ways.  We met with a woman in the Danish parliament (called the Folketing), and it was truly refreshing to hear a politician who wasn't so afraid to give a direct answer when asked for their position on something -- even something as conflicted as whether Denmark should join the Euro zone (spoiler alert: they totally should, the currency is already tied to the Euro so it's stupid not to).

But because most of European Union and European domestic politics come down to a culture of consensus, I thought the coolest thing was that the word "compromise" and "lobby" weren't bad words.  They weren't things to be afraid of.  Lobbying - pitching the facts and rubbing elbows to make the right friends to assert your political agenda - is just a necessary part of getting things done in a system that isn't strictly majority based.  And they recognize the difference between compromise and rolling over and playing dead.  Especially within the EU, compromising and giving up a little bit of what you want allows you to influence the direction the discussions and decisions take, so maybe you might lose one thing you wanted, but ultimately you come out with the things that were really important.

When the system is less driven by conflict and campaigning, it doesn't become such a bad thing to make some sacrifices for the good of the greater cause.  And that, to me, is cool.

You know what isn't cool, though?  How expensive soda is here.  I'm superthirsty right now and I don't want to walk all the way to Netto for a five dollar can of soda.  Rawr.

Politically yours,
Rachel Leigh

On Danish Transportation

At a Phillies game that I went to before I left the states (because I'm originally from the land of the Phightin' Phils and because my best friend's family is awesome), they made this announcement to "Stick around until the 7th inning to hear why our fans LOVE SEPTA!"  To which I called shenanigans, because no one loves SEPTA (SouthEastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority).  At best, people tolerate SEPTA because it kind of gets you where you need to go sometimes.

But public transportation here in Copenhagen is top notch.  I am obsessed with how simple the Metro system is (two lines, which go pretty much exactly the same places except for like 5 stops), then there are busses and the S-train, which is the regional train that takes you out to the outerlying neighborhoods of Greater Copenhagen.  And everything runs pretty consistently so you never have to wait more than like 10 minutes.  It's awesome.

But this evening, my lovely American roommate and I managed to get completely lost because we got on the right bus going the wrong way.  We were off in search of food: fun fact, they pretty much force you to go into the city from our little suburb-type neighborhood by just not having food anywhere around here.  So we hop on the 33 bus, which runs between our neighborhood and the City Centre.

...And, apparently, the outer reaches of Vestamager, which is two zones past what our school-provided transportation passes cover.  And the fine for getting caught on public transportation without a pass or with an insufficient pass is 750 kr (or about 125 USD).  So, thank god, we just pulled the "stupid, confused Americans couldn't understand the Danish bus schedule and accidentally got on the wrong bus" card and the bus driver was pretty understanding and took us home.

Today's lesson: Don't stray from the path.  Accept the role you have and don't try and adventure, because otherwise you will end up in Zone 4 which is nothing but houses anyway and you could get in lots of trouble.

Confusedly yours,
Rachel Leigh

On Those Fashionable Danes

I wanted to do a post dedicated to dressing like a Dane...but in all honesty, we're still trying to figure it out, really.  They told us during Orientation that the Danes don't wear colors, but that's not entirely true.

Yes, there are a lot of neutrals (grey, black, navy blue, dark brown, white).  But there are also a lot of Danes that wear colors, especially the kids.  As far as I can tell, you can still blend in pretty well in blue, red, and dark purple.  They also tend to have really bright shoes and umbrellas, which makes me laugh.  The point is, though, you may want to leave the neon lodge clothes at home, unless you WANT to stick out as an American.

The biggest thing is dressing for the weather -- it rains a lot and gets cold inexplicably, so layers are absolutely necessary...and rain boots are probably a good choice.  Also, the Danes walk or ride bikes everywhere (because there's a 200% tax on cars), so comfortable shoes are non-negotiable.  If you're going to wear heels, make sure they're not going to get caught in the cobblestone sidewalks.

If I notice anything else relevant, I'll make sure to post it.

Too colorful for Denmark,
Rachel Leigh

On Denmark (Part 1)

Greetings for (surprisingly) sunny and (unseasonably) warm Copenhagen!  Fun fact, while Copenhagen is usually about 15 degrees colder than Richmond, it has actually consistently been warmer here (at least during the day) the entire time I've been here.  The day we arrived was the hottest day Denmark had in two years.  Just throwin' some knowledge your way.

This post comes at the end of my first day of classes (by which I mean my first class, because most of my classes are tomorrow...also it's only 11:30 and I've already been to class, commuted home, and done my reading for tomorrow).

Things I love so far:

• Everything is easily accessible by Metro
• The people really ARE the happiest people on Earth, and it just exudes from the attitudes at certain places

Things I'm still not used to:

• Not understanding half the signs I read (though I'm picking up on some (Udgang=Exit) and I start Danish tomorrow)
• The Danes are REALLY quiet people.  I can already start to pick out the Americans on the Metro...just follow the loud ones.

The biggest thing, though, is that I'm still recovering from jetlag.  How am I supposed to get past this terrible jetlag when they keep rushing me around from place to place and not leaving me enough time to sleep?  My body can only handle so much sleep deprivation.

More to come (especially once I upload some of the photos of things I find bizarre).

Tusind tak,
Rachel Leigh