This past week in Denmark has been fairly uneventful for me. It was the first ‘normal’ week I have had in Denmark, so far. I had no field trips around Copenhagen, nor did I travel anywhere. I suppose this means I am getting somewhat spoiled by DIS, and all of the wonderful things we get to do while I am here. I had a wonderful relaxing weekend at home in Hillerød with my host family, and I finally had the chance to get caught-up on all of my reading and homework.
For a week where I feel I didn’t get that much accomplished, I certainly spent a lot of time looking forward to that the rest of my semester will look like. It is going to be pretty busy for me and my classmates, and should give me some great material to put on my blog. Here is a brief overview of what I have planned so far. Next weekend, I am taking the train over the sound to Sweden to try to do some shopping. It is starting to get cold here in northern Europe, and I am in definite need of some warmer cloths, especially a winter coat. We are going to Sweden because the taxes are lower than in Denmark, and the exchange rate is about 35% better when compared to the American dollar. The city of Malmö, Sweden is located just over the Øresund (the part of the ocean separating the Danish Islands from the Swedish mainland), less than 20 miles from central Copenhagen. I need to make it to Sweden this early in the year, because the very next weekend I will be leaving for my week-long trip to Lithuania. I will be going with the same class that took me to Germany, and we are going to be exploring different ethnic identities in this post-Soviet EU country. Needless to say, it is going to be moderately cold, about 50°F. Believe it or not, the Capital of Lithuania, Vilnius, is only 500 miles from Copenhagen, the same distance between Denver and Wichita, KS. After I get back from Lithuania, I will be back in Denmark for another three weeks. After that, DIS gives us two weeks to travel on our own or in groups. For the first week, I am going on a DIS guided tour of Russia. We will visit St. Petersburg, Novgorod, and Moscow. Russia is going to be even colder that Lithuania, probably around 30°F. Part of our trip will be taking a night-train from St. Petersburg to Moscow, which will defiantly be an interesting experience. After I get back from Russia, I will be departing for some independent travel in Sevilla, Spain. I am going to be spending a week exploring the city on my own, and hopefully speaking Spanish the whole time. The weather in Seville is going to be geaorious, especially when compared to Russia. It should be around 65° while I am there, which sounds fantastic. Needless to say, I am looking forward to all of my travels, and can’t wait to tell you all about them when I return.
As for what I did this week, I don’t have too much to report. I made all of my travel plans for Sevilla, which is a relief to have out of the way. I also went to see the Pedro Almodóvar film, which was released recently here in Denmark. It is fortunate that I understood the Spanish dialogue, because the film was subtitled in Danish. I enjoyed the film quite a bit, and would encourage you to see it when it comes out in the states, which will probably be sometime next year. Otherwise, it was a restful week here in Denmark. I should have some more interesting posts for you in the next few days, I just have to get them ready with pictures.
