December 2011
27 posts
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Reverse Culture Shock
I’ve been back for almost a week now, and the transition was actually easier than I thought. The worst part has been the jet lag, which I seem to be almost over at this point. But of course, there have been a few instances in which I’ve been kind of confused or overwhelmed by American culture. I waited until yesterday to brave the loudness of the mall, and American money is kind of...
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England, Part 2
Our second day in London was my favorite. In the morning, we went to Camden market, where I had never been before. It’s basically this huge market full of hippies and punk rockers and really cheap Chinese and Indian food. I wished I could have spent all my money there. It was seriously such a cool place. When it’s warm out it must be a pretty happening place.
The afternoon was just...
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England, Part 1
When I left Denmark on the 18th, I was sad to leave, but also really excited to go to England! Lisa and I met up there, where we were staying with our friend Lucy for the first few days. Lucy conveniently lives pretty close to some cool things, so for the first couple of days she gave us a tour. We went to Windsor Castle briefly, and also to Oxford, where Lucy goes to school. It was awesome to get...
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Home
I just wanted to let everyone know that I am finally home and will finish updating about my travels after Christmas. I hope everyone is having a great holiday season!
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London!
I haven’t had time to update, and probably won’t until I am back in the states, but I’m having a fantastic time in London. I’ve been here before, but it’s a city I would be happy to visit over and over again. Pictures and stories when I get home. I can’t believe I’m going to be back in Massachusetts in 2 days.
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Vi ses, Danmark.
Today was my last full day in Denmark. I can’t believe it at all. This semester flew by, even if there were times where it felt like time was only inching along. It is so hard to believe that tomorrow morning I’m leaving a place that I now consider my home. I will never forget this experience and the things that it taught me. Yesterday at our closing ceremony, someone mentioned that...
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Dyrehaven, Christmas markets and more.
Wednesday ended up being my final day of adventuring due to studying for my last final and a train worker strike, so I’m really glad I got to do all of the things I was excited about by then. My first stop was to Klampenborg, where I met up with some of my friends to go to Dyrehaven (the deer park). It’s basically this huge fenced in forest full of deer. When we first got there we were...
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Castles & Cupcakes
Ok, I guess it was really only one castle and one cupcake, but you get the point. Tuesday’s adventure was to Kronborg castle in Helsingør, also known as the castle from Shakespeare’s Hamlet. It wasn’t the best day to go because it was ridiculously windy and rainy, but when you have a limited number of days left in Denmark and all of them are forecasted to be rainy, you take what...
mormonmissionarypositions asked: what resources did you use to help you learn danish? im going to go to denmark at the end of the summer for 10 months :)
drenchedpostage asked: have you been to christiana? the 'free' city? and what have you heard from the danish about roskilde? i know its an awesome festival so planning on going!
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Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek
Today I started checking off things on my Copenhagen bucket list by going to the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek because it’s free on Sundays. Of course, as soon as I got off the train I realized I forgot my camera, which was really disappointing because the indoor garden was gorgeous. (I just Googled to find this picture.)
I’m a little museumed out at this point because Europe is so full of...
vasqueze asked: I've realized that Denmark is a very expensive country. How did you do it to afford such a trip? Scholarships? Loans? Savings?
Anonymous asked: Thank you so much for your blog- it has really made me excited for the Spring semester at DIS. I'm also signed up for the Child Diversity and Development: Special Needs section and thought your perspective on the classes was really great. If there is any advice you have for a CDD student coming in the spring I would love to know! Also good luck with finals and everything :)
vasqueze asked: How far do you have to travel to get to class? Do you have to purchase a bike to get around?
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DIS Top 3
DIS is a program that has a lot of great qualities, and definitely has a lot of improvements to be made. But here are the few of the things I’ve really enjoyed about DIS.
1. Field Studies/Study Tours. I have learned so much from going to different places (and different countries, for that matter) and hearing from people that are working in the fields I am studying. There is only so much...
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Random Observation #14: Toilets
All of the toilets here have two functions: half flush and full flush. So much water saved just by pushing the right button. I don’t know if newer toilets in the U.S. have this option, but if they don’t, they should.
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Big news...
I’m the blogger of the semester at DIS! Last night all of the bloggers (you should read their blogs too) got together and had a fantastic dinner to celebrate the semester, and it was announced that I had the blog of the semester. Thanks so much for reading- this blog would be nothing without everyone who reads, comments, and asks questions. But don’t worry. I’m not done just yet....
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Dansk
Here comes the long awaited post about Danish. I’ve been avoiding it because there’s so much to say about Danish, and at this point there’s a lot that I can write in Danish. Danish is kind of a ridiculous language. As my host dad, Peter, continually points out, I’m not going to have any use for it after I leave Denmark. It sounds weird and is really hard to speak and...
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Vi elsker FCK!
Last night I went to a Danish soccer (football) game! It was FC København vs. AGF (Aarhus). All of the Danish Language classes had the opportunity to go and have a cultural experience, and it was a lot of fun. I wasn’t sure what to expect, though, because the Danes are so reserved, and usually sports games are very loud. It turned out that they don’t really do loud, even while...
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Prospective Students, this is for you!
I have a lot of free time during finals, so I’d like to answer any questions from readers during that week. If you are a prospective student and want to know more about something or if you just read this blog and have a question, send it in!
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15 Days
That’s how much longer I’m in Denmark. I honestly cannot believe how quickly my time has gone. The second half of the semester went by so fast because of all of the traveling and homework, and I’m kind of in shock. As much as I’m excited to go home for Christmas with my family, be in a less expensive country, and see my friends, I will be very sad to leave Denmark. I feel...
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Random Observation #13: Wedding Rings
Danish people wear them on their right hand! Apparently it’s a cultural thing related to some history about the bible, and there are a few other countries that do the same. Interesting.
November 2011
38 posts
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Random Observation #12: Swearing
It is completely acceptable for Danes to swear in English. I think because it’s in a different language it doesn’t mean as much. So it’s not uncommon to hear “shit” and “fuck” in a conversation with a Dane, even if it is a child talking in front of their parents. I don’t know how they feel about swearing in Danish because I have no idea what it...
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Klub Gadstrup
For my Adolescence in Northern Europe class we had to go to a school or after school club to get to know a little more about adolescents in Denmark. I chose to go to the evening club in the town where I live because it’s so close by and is actually where both Gustav and Ulrikke go after school. I was a little bit nervous to go on my own and talk to a bunch of Danish kids, but the whole point...
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TV Glad
I’m a little behind on blogging because I have so much to blog about and not enough time to do it in. So this is from last Wednesday’s field study.
My last Children With Special Needs field study was to TV Glad, which is a TV station that employs people with disabilities. There are people with special needs doing everything, from running the camera, to being on the sound crew, to...
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Random Observation #11: Answering the Phone
Living in Denmark has left me wondering why Americans answer the phone with “Hello?” Where is that going to get you? It just results in the other person wondering who they’re talking to and having to ask for someone, even if the person they were trying to call is the one who answered. In Denmark, you answer the phone by saying who it is. It would make a lot more sense for me to...
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Olso
I spent this weekend adventuring in Oslo and celebrating Thanksgiving. On Thursday I got up really early to get to the airport, and was on my way by 9:30. Much to my surprise, I left the clouds behind in Copenhagen and was welcomed to Oslo by sunshine. I loved flying in over Norway because I could see all of the trees and mountains, which I’ve sadly been living without in Copenhagen. I think...
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En Nat i Biografen
The other night I went to the movies to see Drive with my buddy network! I was excited that I was finally able to attend one of our events, since most of the others were scheduled at times I was busy. Also, I was just excited to go to the movies. Going to a movie costs about $15-$20 in Denmark, so it was kind of out of the question on my own, and my buddy network gave me a great opportunity for a...
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Oslo Bound
I’m off to Oslo for the weekend, but expect some blogging when I get back. Happy Thanksgiving to all the Americans out there!
Anonymous asked: If you're here in january, it will get A LOT colder. I like reading about your experiences in Denmark :)
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Winter
All of the seasons change a little sooner than I’m used to in Denmark, and when I got back from the travel break, it was definitely winter. It’s dark when I wake up, dark when I get home on some days, I can see my breath almost all the time, and most mornings there’s frost on the cars and the grass. I’ve adjusted pretty quickly though, since it probably won’t get too...
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Cousins in Copenhagen
My cousin Ally is here! It’s pretty exciting because we don’t see each other all that often, and it’s fun to show her around Copenhagen. She’s only here until Tuesday, so we’re trying to squeeze a lot into a few days, but it’s been really fun because I’ve done a few things that I hadn’t done before. Yesterday we walked around the city and saw a lot...
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Random Observation #10: Healthcare
I think I might have mentioned before that healthcare is awesome in Denmark. Everyone gets it, although there is an advantage to having a job that provides extra insurance. If you get extra insurance from your employer, you can then use private hospitals and get faster treatment. I also recently learned that even though doctors offices are only open until three or four in the afternoon, you can...
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wannabegradstudent asked: Hi! I am currently planning a trip to Italy in January (Rome, Venice, and maybe a day trip to Pisa) and would be so grateful if you gave some travel tips! I know that you listed some of the hostels that you stayed in so I will not ask much about that. How did you travel around Italy? (train, plane, bus) Any recommendations about getting to and from the airports? And what were the names of the...
Anonymous asked: I have been religiously following your blog since I'm going to DIS next semester and love all your posts and pictures! I was wondering when you planned all your break travel plans and the names of all the hostels you stayed at. I'm hoping to go to Italy and Amsterdam while we have our travel break and would love to know where you stayed (and how you felt about it).
rayybayy asked: I love your blog! i went to Italy last year, and i loved it! :) Keep posting!
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Rome
Our final destination for the travel break was Rome. We had a lot to do in only two days, but we managed to squeeze most of it in while still having a good time. We arrived at night, and started nice and early the next day with the Colosseum and the Forum. The Colosseum was amazing from the inside, and walking around the Forum was really cool. I think I could have spent most of the day wandering...
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Florence
Florence was the first place we traveled to that didn’t involve waking up really early or arriving in the dead of night. It was great. And our hostel was one of the best of the trip- it looked like a hotel, was right down the street from the duomo, and the staff were so helpful. We relaxed on our first night, and then the next day headed out to see the city. Ally was staying with her friend,...
