Ordinary is boring

It is a really strange feeling to know I will be leaving here in only a few days. In some ways I am ready to go home but in other ways I am in no way ready to leave.  My feeling is more like being ready to go home from school for the summer; it feels incredibly strange not to know if I’ll ever come back here. Copenhagen really does feel like home after these four months, and while I’ll be pleased to go back to America and it’s endless supply of water fountains and free toilets it is sad to leave here. So through my own first hand experience I have compiled a list of what I think America is better at and what Denmark wins for.

Copenhagen

Adorable Danish accents. Not quite as charming as English, but they make sounds that I can’t even begin to imitate, and when they get excited they sound adorably hilarious.

Free waffle cones - The only thing they do not charge extra for in the entire country. Ice cream in Denmark comes in a waffle cone, there are no other inferior cone options. I will never be able to go back to other cones. 

No open container laws. This is amazing. I will go through serious and possibly very costly reverse culture shock due to this change. 

Lingering. Even if you buy only one coffee and the tables are completely full, you will not be rushed out. You get the bill only when you ask and you are expected to take time. Coffee is a beverage to be drank slowly and accompanied by lots of conversation, and it is a necessary end to most meals. Americans miss so much by rushing in and out of everywhere. 

Walkable places. In Copenhagen your own two feet are the best mode of transport, and the walking routes are much more pleasant than in most American cities. Cars don’t whip past. The city was built around people, not cars, and as a result walking is much less of a chore. 

People being interested in me. In Copenhagen I am a novelty. “Why are you here?!” they always ask with genuine excitement and interest. Then followed by a barrage of questions about New York city and Obama. I don’t tell them I have only been to NYC twice. The fact that it is possible to live 5 hours away and still be in the same state would just confuse them.

Rugbrød. I hated this stuff when I first got here, but now I love it. The flavor has really grown on me, and it keeps you full forever. One little sandwich made with this stuff is enough to keep me full all day.

Windmills. I like them. I think they are beautiful.

America

My car. I love the fact that you can get around by public transportation here, but I have spent so many hours at the various bus and train stops that even I will be excited to get my little car back. If I lived closer to the city, or went to school closer to where I live I think I would feel differently. But as it stands I will not miss hours spent waiting for buses that are late, or never come, and take an hour to go 15 km. 

Public bathrooms and free water. In Europe you pay for these life necessities. I still hate paying for water at restaurants. I don’t think I will ever get over this Americanism. But I now realize why Europeans are always drinking wine. It is simply cheaper than water. 

The American Dream. This gets a little deeper, but what I never realized is the sheer Americaness of the American dream. People here don’t have the same vision for life. In America it is trusted that hard work will pay off. The harder you work is directly correlated to how successful you are. In Denmark mediocrity is accepted - even valued. Don’t work so hard, you are no better than anyone else, and the government will take all your money anyways. The positives of this attitude however, are the 6 weeks of paid vacation for all workers and the title of happiest country in the world.

English. I can’t wait for when I understand everyone and they understand me. Never underestimate how valuable this is. 

Diversity. Everyone is the same here. Perhaps that is a bit of an exaggeration, but it is surprisingly accurate. Even Danes will admit this. Hair colors, skin colors, ways of dressing, body builds, and even views on life are so similar in Denmark.

Cheap things. Everything here is so expensive, especially food. I’ll probably go crazy buying “cheap” coffee and sandwiches. 

Anniversaries are celebrated in a similar fashion to birthdays in Denmark - with early morning songs. Today was host grandparents anniversary. We woke up bright and early and were standing outside their apartment at 7am. We got their attention by throwing pebbles at the window like an adolescent boyfriend. When they came and peered confusedly out the window there we were waving Danish flags and singing a special song. Well, they were singing songs, I was awkwardly waving the flag and pretending not to feel ridiculous. Then we went inside and they made us breakfast and talked in Danish because they can’t speak any English. I don’t really think they know what to do with me and my lack of Danish skills, so they just kept giving me chocolate milk and yogurt and trying not to make eye contact.

Proof I was surfing

Today is blog day. Mostly because I have homework I should be doing instead, and also it is raining. Sorry for disappearing for a month and than inundating you with posts, but I never claimed I was going to be good at the blogging thing.  

My friends from home and I have decided that instead of merely having a single day to celebrate the 21st anniversary of our birth we should all have a week - or at least half of a week.

Wednesday I kicked off the celebrations by going to a concert with Bailey. We saw Simple Plan - a Canadian band that was cool circa 7th grade. They were still good and played mostly their old songs which was good because I stopped listening to their new stuff around the time I got my braces off. Was in a cool venue that was pretty small so we got to get up close and personal. I got some of their sweat in my eye and even got to touch the lead singers sweaty armpit when he dove off the stage. It was more of a protective menover to cover my face so he didn’t slam into it when he decided it was a good idea to throw himself at us. But hey - I still got some armpit touches. Also we met some Dutch and Finish people after the concert and both sang to me in their native languages. I am becoming more and more cultured by the second

Thursday I kicked the day off like a true Dane when my host family woke me up in the morning by singing happy birthday to me in Danish. They even gave me some presents to open - I got a little lego box, a special little danish trinket and a travel coffee mug. It was very thoughtful of them - also I think Jesper gets confused when I use his travel mugs even though he told me I could. I had a birthday dinner with the family and Chloe that night. We had lasagna - which I think may be even better the Danish way than it is the American way. Also Siri made me a beautiful strawberry layer cake.

Friday was food with friends day. First Bailey and I went to the glass market downtown where they sell fancy food and got all the free samples. We do this rather often, but Friday is the best sample day. We got a bunch of different kinds of nuts, cheese, fruit, chocolate, and even some frozen Yogurt. After that we met up with Mary and Carolyn and went to the best bakery in Copenhagen for cake. The Prince had his wedding cake made there. I had a chocolate cake with raspberry and creme filling and pumpkin seeds in it. It was amazing.

Saturday I went rock climbing on the Sweedish coast. It was a trip I signed up for through DIS and they drove us there and provided a guide and the equipment. It was a small group so we got a lot of climbs in and it was nice to be outside and away from the city doing something active. It was a beautiful spot. The cliffs were right next to the water and so we had great views.

If you are curious how I spent my two weeks gallivanting around Europe I will tell you here. I’m sorry if it’s long, but I did a lot of things. If you are not curious that’s ok - I won’t blame you for not reading the longest post ever. Unless you are my mother or forgot to wish me happy birthday on facebook.

On to the spring break updates. Chloe and I started the week off with a trip to Kiev on the way to Greece. It was really cold there, and kind of dreary, but I’m glad I went. Almost no one spoke English and tackling the underground system was a challenge and a half because it was all in Ukrainian and not well marked at all. Also we met a few natives that showed us around the city the one night we were there, and we were actually the first Americans they had ever met. This hasn’t happened anywhere else, I didn’t realize how few Americans went to the Ukraine. We had time to see the city center and visit a 1000 year old monastery before we headed to Greece.

We went first to Santorini which was amazingly beautiful and a hugely different from Ukraine. We went to both the black and red beaches, and the red beach was my favorite. It was low season so the beaches were basically empty. We had the red beach almost to ourselves and it was probably my favorite place we saw. It was on the other side of the island and hidden behind these huge red cliffs. We also went wine tasting at a beautiful local winery on the top of a cliff that we were only lucky enough to find because a nice Greek man talked to us while we were going in the wrong direction and decided to take drive us there himself. Also one day we hiked from Fira the capital to Oia which was about 5km. The hike lead us through a few traditional villages and along the cliffs. It was really warm and really beautiful. In Oia we went down to the harbor to Amundi bay which had a really nice swimming spot where only a few people passed through. Another one of the days we took a boat tour that took us out to the island that had the volcano on it. After the boat tour we rode back up to the city from the port on Donkeys. The trip up is over 600 stairs and it took us about a half hour to walk down so getting up would probably have taken at least 1 and a half. The donkeys were basically taking over the steps to get down. Dozens of them everywhere, we almost got ran over a few times just trying to walk down. The people on Santorini were so nice and seemed to genuinely like us and always were so excited and proud to show off their home.

Then we spent 2 days in Athens. My first impressions of the city are that it was huge and reminded me more of the Caribbean and Bahamas than western Europe. It was a little dirtier and rough around the edges. The people were also really really pushy when selling their stuff. As we walked through the flea market streets we had things shoved into our hands and people pulling us into their stores. We got actually seated at restaurants if we so much as made eye contact with the sales people that were all standing outside. The historic sites were really cool of course. Also we met a magical dog that lead us to the acropolis. We were wandering around looking up at it and wondering how to get there when it showed up and started walking ahead of us leading us in the right general direction. Then we took a turn and it went the other way. We were lost for probably another 20 min and then we finally found the entrance and there was the dog waiting for us next to the ticket booth. I really do think it was a magic dog, or just really smart. We saw the acropolis, the Parthenon and all the big sites. Some of the ruins are just fenced off in the middle of the city which was so cool. You just round a corner and there is this ancient building with just a little fence around it.

After Greece I met a group in Portugal and I just have to say that it was amazing. Lisbon was beautiful, the people were kind, and the atmosphere was so laid back. We spent a day in Lisbon then for the rest of the week stayed at a surf lodge. It was a group of 27 students and 2 teachers. We took a bike tour and Lisbon and had 1 full day to ourselves where we saw the castle and wandered around. It was a beautiful warm day. At the surf lodge we had 2 2 hour surf lessons a day - and I think 6 lessons total. The instructors were both hilarious and very helpful. We also spent a day in Sintra which is the place where the royal family used to live outside of Lisbon. The castle was beautiful, much more colorful and attractive than any of the other castles I visited. I’m glad they took us there because it was really confusing to find. The royals in Portugal knew that their army was not good enough to defend them, so they just built the roads around their palace to be really confusing so that no one would be able to find them.

Friday Bailey, Chloe and I decided to take on Copenhagen night life again. We met a friend at an obnoxious fancy restaurant for her birthday and started off strong by shotgunning a beer in the bathroom. Proceeded to wander around, almost got our cans stolen by the crazy can collector man, watched the can collector man pee on the fountain, met some Scottish men who tried to share their vodka with us, and then went to a bar where we nearly got eaten by an alligator. All and all successful night

The next day I was treated to a 3 hour bike ride with the host family. I had to ride my host dads extra road bike which was wayyy to big for me, but it went really fast which was fun. I only crashed once and the injuries sustained were minor. Also almost ran over a dog, but I’m pretty sure its owner told me it wasn’t my fault in Danish. Danish skills (and also body language perception) is improving. We visited all the local sites including their local church (built by the same man that built the Sydney opera house), their local castle ruin (every European town has one), and their canoe club (also designed by the opera house man).

This week I have a giant pile of work to do, but then it’s spring break!!! 1 more paper and two tests to go. Chloe and I have a 3:40 flight on Frieday from Copenhagen to Kiev. We are spending the night there, hopefully seeing some ancient cathedrals and tombs, and then are flying through Athens to Santorini where we are meeting our friend from school who has been studying in Vienna. We are staying 4 days in Santorini, 2 in Athens and then I am meeting a DIS group in Portugal for a trip they organized. Needless to say focusing on exams is not going well at all.

Prague and the Lennon Wall. I was there. I have proof.

Tuesday night has become “weird American food night” here. Both of my host parents are busy Tuesday afternoons and I only have class until 9:45am. Also I made the mistake of bringing them a cook book as my welcome gift and they can’t make heads nor tails of it. The measurements completely baffel them. So now they talk loudly about tasting American food near me rather often. So I volunteered/was coerced into agreeing to this Tuesday night situation. But it is really fun to watch them try new things. I just find the cooking part slightly stressful.

For one, my cooking usually results in the kitchen looking like a bomb went off. I have no idea how it happens but I’ll look up half way through slicing an onion and the entire place will look like Pearl Harbor. My host family has mastered the art of cleaning while cooking. I don’t think I will ever reach this level of multitasking.

Also my host mom likes to watch me over my shoulder the whole time so she can “learn”. I don’t think she has realized yet that I have absolutely no idea what I’m doing. I attempt to fake it but I think she might catch on soon.

Today I made enchiladas. Now I know these are more of a Mexican creation but I have realized from my time here that we Americans eat a ton of “Mexican” food. Denmark is a bit further from Mexico so they don’t indulge nearly as much. Or ever really.

I had to make my own enchilada sauce because they don’t sell such things here. The recipe was titled “easy 10 minute enchilada sauce”. Perfect. Only my host mom was hovering so close that I got really nervous and somehow managed to burn half the spices. So the whole thing kinda tasted like burnt flour. But she was still watching me so I pretended everything was perfect and just added some extra onion and tried to use as little of it as possible on top of the enchiladas. I decided that she wouldn’t know the difference anyways, and I was correct. She tasted it, complimented it, and proceeded to put the extra that I was trying to find a way to subtly throw out into a tupperware to use for dinner tomorrow. 

The rest of the concoction was actually really good especially considering I measured absolutely nothing. It’s easier to eyeball everything than it is to weigh it. Everyone really seemed to like it, even Siri who is pretty skeptical of everything American except for our candy.

I made it back from Prague, and I have officially fallen in love with yet another European city. The architecture is mixed from all sorts of eras and they seemed to have successfully confined the ugly socialist buildings to the outskirts that only saw to and from the airport.

The first night we went to a brewery for dinner and had authentic Czech food. It is very meaty, salty, and heavy. Czech is apparently really famous for their beer and it was pretty good, and even better - really cheap. The sampler came with 8 little samples including a wheat beer, a dark beer, a light one, a monthly special (really good), dark cherry (ok), banana (kind of weird), coffee (pretty good),  and nettle (rather gross - tasted like a pine tree).

The next morning we walked across the Charles bridge and through the little quarter to the castle. The bridge and the little quarter were my favorite parts. The bridge is pedestrian only and there were little vendors setting up and musicians playing was we walked by. The streets are lined with cute shops alternating between the same souvenir shops and cute little more authentic stores.

We also saw the Lennon wall which was one of my favorite things. It was a symbol of hope for the Czech people during the communist era. They used to paint messages of hope on it and everyday it was painted over by the government just to be repainted by the people. I love that Prague has so much of this type of history and character. Then we walked to the old town square. The closer we got the more the shops seemed to be selling the same 4 things. Souvenirs, garnet, crystal, and Absinthe. After seeing about 300 absinthe stores we had to try some - for one its green and it was St. Patrick’s day.

We met up with the Vienna kids that night, found a few pubs, did some wandering, and made it to “the biggest music club in central Europe”. 5 floors all crawling with Italian men and American music. Beer in Czech is literally 1/5 of what it costs in Copenhagen so we took full advantage. Also spent at least an hour on the Charles Bridge talking to 3 hilarious Danish men (picture 45 year old gay men) we remembered from our flight over.

The next day we went to the Jewish quarter. It was really interesting - especially the old cemetery where all the Jews were buried from i think about 1400 to 1700. The grave stones are all crammed together and falling over, and the bodies are supposedly 6 - 8 layers deep. Also there was a sinagog that had the name of every Czech Jew killed in the holocaust written on the wall. Thousands and thousands of names - I think 85% of all Jews living in Czech were killed. I was surprised by how much seeing it effected me.

We spent the rest of the day wandering around the city. It is a small city - we walked everywhere and it is fun to just wander and get lost. It is relatively easy to find your way back to one of the central points even without a map, and the places just a few streets off the tourist track are so much more authentic and much cheaper.

Overall I loved the city and would love to go back and stay for a while.  Sorry the post is so long and if you’re still reading right now obviously you are either responsible for my existence or a really great friend. So, love you.

The view from the house in Totnes