Family Hellesen

Goodbye Moss family! I'm officially joining my new host family in just 12 days! I've heard from the Hellesens, who reside in a suburb of Copenhagen called Glostrup, and who are welcoming me into their family for the semester. From our first few emails they seem great... really warm and fun!

Here is what I know: Lars and Helle, my host mother and father, are a warehouse manager and an accountant. Kenny, my older host brother, no longer lives at home (and I think I might be staying in what once was his room). Then there is Kasper, my 13-year-old host brother, and Mira, my 12-year-old  host sister (yay!). According to an email they sent, the whole family is very active and are avid soccer players/fans, and Mira rides horses and enjoys baking. They have two dogs whom they take on many walks. I know that I am saying it quite a bit, but I am so, so excited (especially about having younger host siblings)! I've also seen the house on Google Earth and it looks like it is in a really pretty neighborhood. 

The only downside to the location is that it is pretty far outside of Copenhagen. The shortest possible commute is about 50 minutes (and can be an hour depending on the time of day), which will be a long trip to make to and from school every day. However, it will be nice to get to experience life outside the city, and when I was in London over the summer, I loved my morning trip to work. It was a great time to decompress and reflect. Also, I used Google Maps to check out a bike route to school, and if it is correct, riding my bike would only take 38 minutes! I'm hoping that means that in nice weather I will be able to bike instead of using the bus/train every day. 

The next 12 days will be filled with last minute preparations and packing. Best wishes to everyone for a safe and happy new year. I'm sure I'll post again once before I go, but a post or two from now I will actually be in Denmark. 

Love,

Sara

ABCs of CPH

The following are a selection of  "definitions" from DIS's ABCs of CPH (Copenhagen) meant to introduce American students to the Danes and Danish culture before we arrive. Many of these made me laugh out loud. I can't wait to see which I experience as true.

Bacon
 Pork, pork. Pork! Many Danes consider bacon the ‘herb of the pig’ – hotdogs are wrapped in bacon (you can never have enough pork), pâté is topped off with bacon, and soup is served with dried rashes of bacon.

Bikes
 Danes are obsessed with bikes and no distance seems too far to bike. Danes have a tendency to describe distances in bike minutes instead of miles or kilometers. Furthermore, Danes are most likely the only people in the world who would ever notice what kind of bike you are riding, the width of the tires, the design of the saddle etc. Copenhagen is the world’s most bike friendly city. There are bike paths along all major roads and it is often quicker to get around by bike than it is on public transport or by car.

Blondes
 Yes, Copenhagen is full of ridiculously attractive blondes.

Boys Danish guys are used to very independent women. The concept of chivalry is more or less non-existant in Denmark. Forget everything about macho men, the concept is considered to be ridiculous. Danish guys will expect girls to be a bit cold at first.

Fashion
 There is no such thing as bad weather, just bad clothes. So regardless of heavy showers or blizzards everything goes on as normal, including biking around the city. In spite of the need of practical outfits it is still important for Danes to look fashionable and many Danish designers make limited editions of rain coats and rubber boots every fall.
 Danes tend to be well dressed.

Friends
 Danes tend to have a close circle of friends that they have known for ages. Danes don’t believe in superficial friendships and it can thus be hard to make friends with Danes. It is, however, not impossible and as soon as you have made a Danish friend you are guaranteed a friend for life.

Humor
 Danish humor is often seen as extremely rude and very often also offensive. Danes love jokes about everything that include bodily fluids. Include both and you will make the Danes laugh.

Mmm….
 One of the most common Danish conversation fillers. The use of mmm… does not nescessarily mean that the Danish person is uninterested.

Music Scene
 Copenhagen has a rich and varied music scene, by many characterized as one of the best in Northern Europe. The indie scene and the electro scene excel and give you the opportunity for some very unique cultural experiences.

Please 
Danish does not have a word for please.
 See political correctness

Political Correctness
 Unknown phenomenon to Danes.

Pork
 The main element in any Danish meal. There are five times as many pigs in Denmark as there are people.
 See food and bacon

Questions
 You will most likely have a lot of questions about Danish culture, customs and traditions. Never feel afraid to ask if something puzzles you. Danes are very helpful – you just have to ask.

Queuing
 The first thing Danes do upon entering a bank/pharmacy/post office is to look for a line to queue in. Danes just love to queue.  

Salt 
Danes love their salt and use it at all occasions; in the bacon, on the roads in wintertime, even in the candy. Danes just can’t get enough salt.

Small Talk
 Doesn’t really exist in Denmark. Danes do, however, love to talk about the weather.

Wienerbrød
 Danish pastry – highly addictive!

Women
 Sorry guys; but to be quite frank Danish women wear the pants in this country. Many American guys get the impression that Danish girls are made of Teflon – it seems like all attemps to strike up a conversation slide right off.

It's official!

Okay, okay... it's official: I am now totally and completely excited! Since arriving home for winter break, I have taken the time to let the fact that in three weeks I will be arriving in Copenhagen sink in. I've been doing lots and lots of reading about Denmark and about DIS (my program). Some things I've been learning have been adding to my excitement, and other things are making me a tad bit nervous. For example:

Exciting things about Denmark:
The DIS website boasts that:

• Denmark is a modern democracy and the world’s oldest existing monarchy, making for a charming blend of tradition and modernity. 
• A free market economy and a social welfare system with relatively low social inequality contributes to the low crime rate.
• Denmark ranks top internationally in terms of trust and confidence between citizens
• Denmark is the second-most peaceful country in the world, trailing only New Zealand
• Denmark is the most egalitarian nation in the world in terms of income differentials
• Wind energy is Denmark's third largest industry, producing 40% of the world’s power-generating wind mills (and is sustainable in many, many other ways)

There are SO many things that I can't wait to explore and experience: 

• Life with a host family
• Meeting the Danes and (hopefully) making Danish friends
• Biking everywhere (weather permitting), and living in a city where everyone does the same
• Taking awesome psychology classes (I'll post my schedule later)
• The food, street art, the architecture, and getting to master another foreign city
• Understanding the Danish way of life and the ways it differs from an American lifestyle
• The proximity to the rest of Europe=endless opportunities for adventures

I've been receiving emails from DIS confirming my course registration, check-in/arrival procedures, and information about signing up for my bicycle. It's all very promising. However, there are also some things that make me a bit nervous...

Nerve-racking things about Denmark: 

The DIS "ABCs of CPH" and various other guidebooks/websites talk about the following things that require adjustment for many students upon arrival:

• There will be less than 7 hours of daylight on my first day in Copenhagen. The sun won't come up until 8:30am and will set around 4pm... yikes!  
• Danish is a difficult language to learn (for example, it includes unpronounceable vowels: Æ, Ø & Å). Luckily, many/most Danes also speak English and are very willing to help if you ask.
  
• Winter is known to be mild, but dark, rainy and windy. This can apparently impact everyone (even the Danes)'s mood.
• The Danes are known as very blunt and therefore may come across as rude (though that is not at all their intention, or how other Danes see it). They don't believe in small-talk. If this is true, this will be a big change from the US where I love having silly little conversations with a stranger in line at the grocery store or while waiting for a bus. 

• And of course there are the typical things that require adjustment: 
• Learning to navigate a foreign city with many modes of transportation
• Making sure to keep to cultural ideas of manners (i.e. promptness is very important, there are very specific components of table manners) 
• Hoping that I mesh with my host family
• Worrying about balancing my classes, time exploring Copenhagen, and time traveling elsewhere in Europe 
• Wanting to really meet and become integrated in Danish life and culture 
• Hoping that I make friends (both Danes and Americans) 

Luckily, even though there is an extensive list of things that are contributing to some pre-departure anxiety, the main thing I feel is excited! I know there will be challenges (i.e. cold/windy weather and little sunlight) and things that require learning and adjustment (life with a new family, learning to navigate public transit, learning to speak basic Danish), but I really am looking forward to experiencing something different from what I am used to. I have to keep reminding myself that the challenges are what will make the experience interesting and worthwhile.

More soon!

The beginning...

So it's the day before the last final of my Junior year at Dickinson. Saturday I will pack up all my stuff, move it home, and settle in for winter break. Yes, the break will be wonderful (no early morning classes, delicious home-cooked meals, catching up with old friends), but I honestly have mixed feelings about everything that's happening. There are positive things: One month from today, at exactly this time, I will be sitting on a plane en route to Copenhagen, Denmark to participate in a semester-long study abroad program with the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS). People keep asking me if I am excited, and while the answer is yes (definitely yes!) it still doesn't actually feel real.

I think more than anything else, my feelings of excitement are overshadowed by my sadness about saying goodbye to many of my friends at school. One of my best friends, Evan, is also coming to DIS, and I literally could not be more excited to get to experience this with him, but saying goodbye to my other friends is proving to be difficult. The next time we see each other will be 9 months from now, at which point we'll be seniors. I have other friends who are seniors this year and will have graduated and moved on by the time I return. It seems that my time at Dickinson has gone by progressively faster with each semester and tonight I find myself sitting here in the library wondering, How did I get here? 

I predict that over the next 4 weeks I will experience an increasing amount of excitement about the trip, and the truth is that when I think or talk about any specific aspect of the program, I already feel it. But tonight (while attempting to study for my statistics exam), I'll allow myself to enjoy spending time with my friends (even though it's meant 3am bedtimes all week) and to be a bit sad about saying goodbye.

Alright, factorial ANOVAs, t-Tests, and correlations... here I come! And then Saturday... home! And I might as well say it: 32 days... COPENHAGEN!