Sorry for the lack of contact from Denmark, these last few days have been busy, and I still have a little jetlag. I slept wonderfully last night, but I was tired all day. Somehow, though, I am feeling pretty good this evening, so I thought it would be a good idea to really start blogging.
Of all the things I did today, I would have to say that my crowning achievement was getting to and from Copenhagen without any mistakes. On Monday, my host father escorted me into the city so I would know where to catch the bus that takes be to the S-Tog (Train). These trains run all over the Copenhagen area to bring those who live outside of the city-center to and from Copenhagen. They are very easy to navigate and understand, and so coming back to Hillerød station in the afternoon was no problem. However, I failed to write down the name of the bus-station by my house, or the numbers of any of the routs that stopped there. So I guessed, got on the wrong bus, and ended up walking for about thirty minuets through Hillerød with a huge bag of books. It was probably a good experience for me, as it demonstrated that my knowledge of the general layout of Hillerød is good, just not my memory of the bus number. So this morning I wrote down the station and all the routs that stopped there. I got on the right bus, at the right time, and even remembered to push the STOP button in time to get off the bus in the right spot. I arrive right where I wanted to, and so feel pretty good about it.
Right now, DIS is still in ‘Orientation Phase,’ which means lot of introductory meetings and lectures about Danish culture and very basic language. We are learning about how to live in the city and get around. Thankfully, classes start on Thursday, and I will soon be busy with homework and traveling Europe. I am very excited about my classes, as they all seem so interesting, and I think I really am going to learn a lot about Denmark, Europe, and human culture in general.
This afternoon it has been a little chilly and rainy, which is what I expected when I first got here. However, since Sunday it has been beautiful, with no clouds or rain or even wind. Now, it seems, those days are over, and the winter is about to begin.
I have been enjoying my time with my host family as well. Last night we had chicken mole in home-made tortillas, with Mexican rice and beans. My host father used to live in Mexico City, and so makes very good Mexican food. After dinner I watched television with my host-brother. We watched the last half of a Danish program called The Prisoners in the Fort, which is a reality-tv show which is kind of like a mix between Fear Factor and Survivor. Two families competed in a variety of tasks, the last of which was grabbing as many gold coins as possible before tiger were released into the fort. After that, we watched a subtitled-version of several Disney shows, including The Suite Life of Zach and Cody. TV here is a mix of mostly Danish shows for adults, along with Danish and English shows for children. They are generally subtitled, because that makes them more authentic, although the cartoons are dubbed in Danish because you can’t tell that the words don’t match up to the characters mouths’.
I have a lot more I want to bog about from Denmark, but I figured I ought to spread it out a bit. I will write more later, about what I am doing, and also about what life here in Denmark is like for an American student.
