Velkommen til Danmark

Mira (my host sister) made me
a welcome sign (in addition to
pictures hung on the walls of my room)!

I'M HERE! It's now 5:30pm in Copenhagen and I am safely and comfortably settling into my wonderful home with my fantastic host family! I honestly could not have asked for a nicer, more welcoming, good-humored, enthusiastic group of people to call my family for the next four months. I'll save the information about them for a little later, but I will try to get through my journey to Denmark before dinner.

My first flight was uneventful. I watched TV, played suduko, and attempted to listen to my Danish language CD. I arrived in Boston on time, exited the plane, and promptly started off to terminal B. I arrived in a small and quiet part of the airport, and found myself wandering down a very, very long and deserted hallway, up two flights of stairs (no elevator) and then into a slightly more crowded area. Still, something didn't feel quite right. This was an international departure. How could the terminal be so small and empty? Why weren't there any other DIS students? I looked at my ticket again: Gate 8B. Hmm...

A thought occurred to me; what if Gate 8B wasn't the same thing as terminal B. Yet there was nothing on my ticket indicating anything different. I decided to ask a security officer. Turns out that my suspicion had been warranted... my flight was an international departure leaving from the international terminal: E! Lesson learned.

I looked at my watch: boarding was supposed to happen in 30 minutes. The race was on. I approached an info desk and was sent to find (and wait for) a shuttle. Into the international terminal  (which was basically across the street.... how weird?!). I found another student my age looking equally lost (there were virtually no signs) and guessed he was a DIS student. I was right. We ventured through security again and found our gate (yes, Gate 8B) no problem. I had a very mediocre smoothie, called Mom and Dad to say goodbye, and got ready to board.

Mattie enjoying her smoothie in the
beautiful Iceland airport (note the
wooden floors)

The plane trip to Iceland was not too comfortable. I had a middle seat and was unable to get settled. However, I made a nice friend, Mattie, who attends a small school in Washington State (although she is originally from Minnesota). We chatted and had some interesting conversations, but when she settled in to sleep, I was left tossing and turning. Eventually, at around 1:30am my time (6:30am Iceland time), we landed. It was snowing like crazy and what seemed like hundreds of giant snow plows were driving all across the tarmac (tarmat....hehe). We got off the plane and enjoyed the small, but beautiful and clean, Iceland airport. It was pretty much empty except for the passengers on our flight (80% of which were DIS students).

 Mattie and I went to the only little food place and got breakfast sandwiches (which were absolutely delicious!) and then sat at these beautiful little wooden tables watching the ground-crew de-ice the plane, load on our luggage, and clear snow. It was actually incredibly beautiful with the snow falling in the morning darkness (even at 7:30 when we boarded it was stick pitch black). 

On line to board the plane two of my trip highlights happened both having to do with cultural differences. Right in front of me this gorgeous little Scandinavian boy who was as pale and blond as could be was carrying a baby doll. Not only was he a boy carrying a doll, but he was a white boy, carrying and cradling a black doll, which I suddenly realized was something I had never seen before. It really made me smile.

Then, a group of five or six older Chinese women (complete with fanny packs) were playing peek-a-boo with another little Scandinavian boy who was laughing and seeming to have the time of his life! There were no words exchanged... neither party spoke the same language, but everyone involved was having a great time.

I slept much better on the second flight (thanks to Dad, I had an exit row AND a window seat). Unfortunately, the two other people in my row were middle aged Danish men who were not amused by my inability to work the TV screen that was stowed under my seat or by my need to get up in the middle of the flight to use the bathroom. Oh well, at least I got 2.5 hours of sleep.

Copenhagen airport sign from
the plane

Then the moment had arrived! We got our first glimpse of Denmark and shortly thereafter, began our final decent into Copenhagen! I tried to take in the moment, but we were on the ground and at the gate in no time. Went to collect my bags and sailed through the area where customs was supposed to be, but did not talk to anyone or show any documentation or have to get my passport stamped or anything... so strange!

 I found my way with a stream of DIS students to the Hilton Hotel (attached to the airport) where we were sorted by our housing type. As a student with a host family, I was directed to put my luggage in a giant closet and then proceed up the staircase to check in. I got a packet of information with my ID card, my transportation pass, and orientation info. I signed up for a cell phone service and then sat down to wait for my host family to arrive. I was exhausted. I was starving. I was incredibly sweaty (and probably smelly). But mostly, I was excited.

[Just as a funny story to share, I overheard a girl telling
someone the following story: "Oh my god, that was so awkward!
I was just introduced to my host family and I gave
them hugs and thanked them, but it wasn't my host family!
They called me Natalie and I didn't know how to
tell them that they had the wrong girl!"]

About 20 minutes later a familiar face appeared at the top of the stairs. I wasn't sure, but I thought that Lars (host Dad) and Kasper (host brother) were checking in with the DIS representative! I will leave you there (because I neeeeed to sleep), but let me just say that my family is more than I ever could have asked for. I've had a fabulous evening (complete with a dog walk/tour of the neighborhood with my host dad, a 2 hour dinner, tons of interesting convos, some hilarious cultural comparisons with Kasper, and even learning some Danish from Mira)!

Tomorrow orientation begins, which means I go in to central Copenhagen! I'll take pictures, but will definitely spend some time in my next post showing you around my new house and introducing you to my new family. Sorry if this post is disjointed/not a high caliber of writing... I didn't finish it before dinner and I am now running on about 4 hours of sleep in the past 36 hours... yikes!

Godnat!
Sara