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 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