Michael is my host dad and he is absolutely amazing. My friends hear me talk about him the most because he speaks English fluently, so we engage in a lot of deep conversations. We talk about Obama (he absolutely loves Obama; he has two t-shirts of him, one with his face plastered on it, the other one that says "I heart Obama" just like the I heart NY t-shirts). We also engage in conversations about Danish culture (comparing and contrasting it to America, specifically on the topic of food and dining out. Being a New Yorker, I'd rather go to a good restaurant for dinner than cook it myself, but in Denmark its the other way around). We also talk about Danish politics. I really think I got put with the perfect family. We both love to eat ( I must've wrote that in my letter), and Michael and Christina make great meals. Last Saturday, their close friends came over for dinner, and Kathrine and I helped Michael make the meal. And what did we make? We made Thai food. From scratch. And it it was absolutely delicious!! I'm telling you, it tasted like what you would order in a Thai restaurant. And then on Sunday, Michael made me bagels from scratch since he knows I love them because they are a huge part of my Saturday morning routine when I'm in the city. Then later in the afternoon Christina made homemade cinnamon rolls! I'm seriously going to gain a good 30 pounds from all the food! But Christina says that that won't happen because I'll just bike everywhere. Oh, and right now, Michael is making HOMEMADE ICE CREAM! Clearly they know the way to my heart is through food.
I titled this post Michael, because I've really formed a close relationship with him. Don't get me wrong, I love my host mom and host siblings, but since Michael iis fluent in English, I end up talking to him the most. He's great. He took me to school my first two days during orientation so that I could learn the train system and wouldn't get lost, and when he's working from home or leaves to go to work after I do for school, he'll drive me to the train station. Today he was working from home, and since I had to leave really early to go to my practicum in Albertslund, he drove me to the station. He also said that since it's far (its 45 mins from our house, but is kind of a pain to get to because I either take a train and a bus and then walk, or take two trains and a bus) he might be able to drive me to my practicum in the future. So he is extremely nice and so sweet! I love the in-depth conversations that we have and I really value his opinion and perspective. He offers so much insight into Danish society--politics, culture, racism and immigration issues--that I have learned so much in such a short amount of time. At home it's just me and my mom, which I absolutely love and wouldn't change that for the world, but it's really nice to have a "dad" for the next 4 months of my life. I really cherish the relationship that we are building, and I know its one that I will carry with me for a lifetime.
Thursday, January 29, 2009
Sunday, January 25, 2009
Exploring Copenhagen
So on Wednesday DIS created a scavenger hunt, which was a great way for us to explore the city. We saw the royal palace area, the new opera house, the famous street Nyuhen (?) which is the one with all the different color buildings along a canal docked with tons of boats (it's the cover picture of the DIS catalog, and is in almost every picture of Copenhagen), various churches around the city, and we went on the harbor bus (like a ferry taxi). It was a great way to become familiar with the streets of Copenhagen. I took tons of pictures, but right now I can't figure out how to add them to this blog. One way only allows me to post one at a time, which is a pain in the ass. Thursday was our first official day of class, but because I'm in the psych program here, we had our orientation. In DIS, there are two tracks/main courses in the PCD program (Psychology and Child Development): multicultural and special needs (I'm in multicultural). One course is the theory course, while the other is the practicum, which is one day a week where we work in a danish school setting for about 5-6 hours (I did this last semester at Skidmore where I worked in the ECC with the 3 year olds, so I'm really excited to compare and contrast Danish and American children, as well as the educational systems). So I'm working with 3-6 year olds in an integrated bornheave ( which is like an integrated kindergarten and preschool. Preschool is 0-3 year olds in Denmark, and kindergarten is 3-6, so the school I'm working at has kids 0-6 yrs old). However, the site is a good 45 mins from my house, which sucks, especially because there are tons of schools in Roskilde where I'm living. But apparently they match you up with what you wrote on your questionnaire about the practicum, and I guess this I closest school to my preferences (though I dont really remember what I wrote in the questionnaire). In addition, I'm working with 3-6 yr olds, which I put as my first choice, which I'm not regretting a bit because they dont learn English until they're 8, so I wont be able to verbally communicate with the children. Great. I should've worked with teenagers. So the hardest part will be learning how to use other forms of communication (pointing and miming), I'm sure that's going to be sooo much fun.
Thursday night I went out with my new friend Kylie (she lives in a suburb of Roskilde, called Om, literally in the middle of no where) and Daniel. We wanted to check out this place underneath DIS called Australian Bar because on Tuesday and Thursdays they have a 10DKK (DKK-Danish Kroner, the currency here) bar special, which is 2 dollars per beer or shot (actually a little less than that because the exchange rate is going up, yay!) sooo cheap so we had to try it! It was like any other bar. Yet we got there before Danial did (Christina dropped me off at the train station to pick up Kylie's bag, because Kylie was sleeping over my house since the bus to her town stops running at 9:30pm), and we had heard stories that if you accept a beer from a Dane that means you plan on going home with him at night. So Kylie and I were a little nervous about talking to the Danish guys at the bar because we weren't sure what the signs were (like did talking to a guy mean that you were interested in him?). So we're at the bar, and these two guys start talking to us. One guy comments on my dimples, but he didn't know the English word for them so he said "I like the grand canyons in your cheeks" haha. Then when he realized how short I was he was like 'oh you're so cute, like a smurf". Yeah, no. His friend started talking to us about basketball (because obviously its popular in America) and he told us about his dreams to come to America and play in the NBA and he was so close to doing that, but then he got arrested and went to prison. Okay... So I jokingly asked if he had killed someone, and he responded with a straight face and a serious tone, "no, but I almost did." Needless to say, we walked away. Later we played pool with some other Danish guys, who said that I looked like I was related to Obama. Note to Danes: NOT ALL BROWN PEOPLE ARE RELATED NOR DO WE ALL LOOK ALIKE! :-).
Friday I had my counseling psychology class, which will be broken up into 3 sections, each section taught by a different teacher. We are going to be learning about different counseling theories and therapies and then practicing them on each other, which is what I've been waiting to do foreverrr so I'm very excited. The teachers seem great. Friday night DIS threw a welcoming party for us at Club Luux, very nice inside and Kyllie slept over again, which we've decided is what she will do when we go out, so she know has pjs and a toothbrush here for her so she doesnt have to bring tons of stuff everytime. The club was nice and the party was pretty good, though they played mostly American music, which was good for dancing, but its still a little weird. Danes don't really listen to "Danish music". Most Danish singers since in English, which is kind of bizarre and they also listen to a lot of American music. I mean a lot. The radio stations that my host brother listens to play american music, Michael has a collection of American music: Van Morrison, Bob Marley, Lenny Kravitz, Joni Mitchell, etc. So so far when I've gone out at night, the places have played a majority of American music. It's good for me because I can dance to music that I know, but it's still a little strange that I'm halfway across the world and at times it doesn't feel like I've really left America.
Thursday night I went out with my new friend Kylie (she lives in a suburb of Roskilde, called Om, literally in the middle of no where) and Daniel. We wanted to check out this place underneath DIS called Australian Bar because on Tuesday and Thursdays they have a 10DKK (DKK-Danish Kroner, the currency here) bar special, which is 2 dollars per beer or shot (actually a little less than that because the exchange rate is going up, yay!) sooo cheap so we had to try it! It was like any other bar. Yet we got there before Danial did (Christina dropped me off at the train station to pick up Kylie's bag, because Kylie was sleeping over my house since the bus to her town stops running at 9:30pm), and we had heard stories that if you accept a beer from a Dane that means you plan on going home with him at night. So Kylie and I were a little nervous about talking to the Danish guys at the bar because we weren't sure what the signs were (like did talking to a guy mean that you were interested in him?). So we're at the bar, and these two guys start talking to us. One guy comments on my dimples, but he didn't know the English word for them so he said "I like the grand canyons in your cheeks" haha. Then when he realized how short I was he was like 'oh you're so cute, like a smurf". Yeah, no. His friend started talking to us about basketball (because obviously its popular in America) and he told us about his dreams to come to America and play in the NBA and he was so close to doing that, but then he got arrested and went to prison. Okay... So I jokingly asked if he had killed someone, and he responded with a straight face and a serious tone, "no, but I almost did." Needless to say, we walked away. Later we played pool with some other Danish guys, who said that I looked like I was related to Obama. Note to Danes: NOT ALL BROWN PEOPLE ARE RELATED NOR DO WE ALL LOOK ALIKE! :-).
Friday I had my counseling psychology class, which will be broken up into 3 sections, each section taught by a different teacher. We are going to be learning about different counseling theories and therapies and then practicing them on each other, which is what I've been waiting to do foreverrr so I'm very excited. The teachers seem great. Friday night DIS threw a welcoming party for us at Club Luux, very nice inside and Kyllie slept over again, which we've decided is what she will do when we go out, so she know has pjs and a toothbrush here for her so she doesnt have to bring tons of stuff everytime. The club was nice and the party was pretty good, though they played mostly American music, which was good for dancing, but its still a little weird. Danes don't really listen to "Danish music". Most Danish singers since in English, which is kind of bizarre and they also listen to a lot of American music. I mean a lot. The radio stations that my host brother listens to play american music, Michael has a collection of American music: Van Morrison, Bob Marley, Lenny Kravitz, Joni Mitchell, etc. So so far when I've gone out at night, the places have played a majority of American music. It's good for me because I can dance to music that I know, but it's still a little strange that I'm halfway across the world and at times it doesn't feel like I've really left America.
Saturday, January 24, 2009
Icicles
It's been a while since I last posted, so let's work our way backward.
The good thing about Denmark is that its not as cold as everyone makes it out to be (I'm referring to guidebooks here). Or perhaps its because I currently go to school in Saratoga Springs, which has made me immune to cold weather, so that now when its 26 degrees outside, it's no big deal. So most days (and I haven't been here for a week yet, so when I say "most days" I really mean the past 6 days) its been 30-36 degrees everyday, which is pretty warm (again, compared to Saratoga). It's also a different kind of cold. It's not that bone chilling cold like upstate New York, instead its just chilly, like a damp cold. Yet I wasn't prepared for the damn wind. Nor did I realize how hard it was going to be for me to get back into bike riding (biking is huge here; in the city, everyone rides a bike, and you have to watch out for them just as much as you have to watch out for cars). Like take yesterday for example. I bought a bike from a student who was here last semester (I signed up for a Sweden bike and canoe trip in April, so my goal is to improve my biking skills by then!) so I was going to try riding it to the train station yesterday. I knew this was a going to be a little difficult because the seat is a little too high for my short legs :(. Michael said that it was only a 5 minute bike ride, but me forgetting that he is a Dane and thus an expert at bike riding, plus the fact that I haven't ridden a bike in 10 years AND the fact that its 5 minutes by car, lead to me not leaving enough time to get to the train station on time via bike. This is what happened: I started biking up the small hill (any hill = ridiculously difficult for me on a bike I've realized), got winded and tired after two minutes (mind you, I'm only halfway up the block, its 10:29 by now and my train arrives at 10:39), I try riding a little more, realize that I'm about to die, so I give up and walk my bike the rest of the way until I reach the corner. The corner comes, and the street I'm supposed to take is closed to bikes. Panic. I call Michael, he tells me to go left, so I go left. Nothing looks familiar to me, leading me to conclude that I'm lost. Panic again. It's 10:35 by now. I'm not making that damn train (it's also my first day of classes and everything starts on time at DIS so I really didn't want to be late). I call Michael again in a state of panic, he tells me to continue going straight. I do, but I can't ride the bike because there are too many damn people on the street. At this point I just want to throw the bike down in the street and leave it there I'm so annoyed. I park it, and decide to walk/run the rest of the way to the train (it's 10:44 at this point) thinking that hopefully there will be another train before 11:00 (Michael printed me out my own train schedule and according to that the next one wasn't supposed to leave till 11:05 and get into the city at 11:35 giving me five mins to get to class on time). So I try walking/running to the train, but this giant gust of wind decides to blow right in my face and my body, making it twice as hard to walk down the street (apparently Copenhagen is ridiculously winding, something the guidebooks forgot to mention, thanks). I finally make it to the damn strain station at 10:55 and to my surprise there was an express train at 10:57, so I was in luck! Lesson learned: I suck at biking. Christina (host mother) is taking me on a "biking lesson" tomorrow to the train station and around Roskilde. Hopefully I won't suck at life and will somehow manage to ride the whole way to the station tomorrow.
Just to paint a better picture of the strong wind: I almost got knocked down to the ground by the wind later that day, it literally pushed me into the street. Damn wind.
The good thing about Denmark is that its not as cold as everyone makes it out to be (I'm referring to guidebooks here). Or perhaps its because I currently go to school in Saratoga Springs, which has made me immune to cold weather, so that now when its 26 degrees outside, it's no big deal. So most days (and I haven't been here for a week yet, so when I say "most days" I really mean the past 6 days) its been 30-36 degrees everyday, which is pretty warm (again, compared to Saratoga). It's also a different kind of cold. It's not that bone chilling cold like upstate New York, instead its just chilly, like a damp cold. Yet I wasn't prepared for the damn wind. Nor did I realize how hard it was going to be for me to get back into bike riding (biking is huge here; in the city, everyone rides a bike, and you have to watch out for them just as much as you have to watch out for cars). Like take yesterday for example. I bought a bike from a student who was here last semester (I signed up for a Sweden bike and canoe trip in April, so my goal is to improve my biking skills by then!) so I was going to try riding it to the train station yesterday. I knew this was a going to be a little difficult because the seat is a little too high for my short legs :(. Michael said that it was only a 5 minute bike ride, but me forgetting that he is a Dane and thus an expert at bike riding, plus the fact that I haven't ridden a bike in 10 years AND the fact that its 5 minutes by car, lead to me not leaving enough time to get to the train station on time via bike. This is what happened: I started biking up the small hill (any hill = ridiculously difficult for me on a bike I've realized), got winded and tired after two minutes (mind you, I'm only halfway up the block, its 10:29 by now and my train arrives at 10:39), I try riding a little more, realize that I'm about to die, so I give up and walk my bike the rest of the way until I reach the corner. The corner comes, and the street I'm supposed to take is closed to bikes. Panic. I call Michael, he tells me to go left, so I go left. Nothing looks familiar to me, leading me to conclude that I'm lost. Panic again. It's 10:35 by now. I'm not making that damn train (it's also my first day of classes and everything starts on time at DIS so I really didn't want to be late). I call Michael again in a state of panic, he tells me to continue going straight. I do, but I can't ride the bike because there are too many damn people on the street. At this point I just want to throw the bike down in the street and leave it there I'm so annoyed. I park it, and decide to walk/run the rest of the way to the train (it's 10:44 at this point) thinking that hopefully there will be another train before 11:00 (Michael printed me out my own train schedule and according to that the next one wasn't supposed to leave till 11:05 and get into the city at 11:35 giving me five mins to get to class on time). So I try walking/running to the train, but this giant gust of wind decides to blow right in my face and my body, making it twice as hard to walk down the street (apparently Copenhagen is ridiculously winding, something the guidebooks forgot to mention, thanks). I finally make it to the damn strain station at 10:55 and to my surprise there was an express train at 10:57, so I was in luck! Lesson learned: I suck at biking. Christina (host mother) is taking me on a "biking lesson" tomorrow to the train station and around Roskilde. Hopefully I won't suck at life and will somehow manage to ride the whole way to the station tomorrow.
Just to paint a better picture of the strong wind: I almost got knocked down to the ground by the wind later that day, it literally pushed me into the street. Damn wind.
Monday, January 19, 2009
Live Your Life
So I just sang along to T.I. and Rihanna's song "Live Your Life" with my host brother, and we're currently watching Pimp My Ride on MTV. Am I really in Denmark or am I still in America? August (my host brother) said that the this one danish radio channel plays only American songs, all the hits. And his friend's father said that there is a store in Roskilde (the town I live in) that sells American food for Americans. So I guess you're never really far from America. They love us everywhere.
I had a wonderful conversation with my host dad Michael today about Obama. (Sidenote: Michael took me to school today so that I wouldn't get lost, and picked me up from school after my day was over. So sweet!) He was explaining to me why Obama is so symbolic for Denmar, and Europe in general, and why Europeans care so much about American politics. I already know about the superpower that is the U.S. and the fact that our presence is felt (probably forced in recent years) around the world due to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic recession, but it's amazing the impact America has on a tiny country like Denmark. Michael told me that in Denmark and Europe (specifically the other Scandinavian countries and France) immigration is a huge problem. I mean this in the sense that it is very difficult to immigrate to Denmark and if you are not Danish you are looked down upon and experience racism (to express this clearer, I read that in Denmark, a child can be considered special needs just because he/she doesn't speak English. That's ridiculous!). Racism and immigration have become a prominent issues in Europe. Thus, as Michael explained, having an American president that is Black speaks volumes in terms of the symbolism it means for the rest of the world; it sets a message and a model for how Europe should deal with and talk about race. So on Election night, when America showed citizens crying on tv and people around the world cheering in large crowds, Danish tv showed Danes crying for joy that Obama one. So you can only imagine how many people here are excited about the inauguration. Michael is coming home early from work tomorrow to watch it (since we are 6 hours ahead coverage starts at 4pm here). Today, while I was in an electronics store buying a converter, the cashier/worker said to me "are you excited for tomorrow" and stupidly I replied "for what?" (with a confused look on my face cuz I'm an idiot) and he replied, "for the inauguration!". So a lot of people here are excited, which in turn has made me even more proud of our country for chosing correctly! Although I'm bummed that I won't be at home to watch the inauguration (though skidmore does have class) DIS has set up a big screen tv for us to watch it, so I really won't be missing too much, and it will be interesting to watch it from an international perspective. I can't wait!
Oh p.s. Michael also said: Obama really has reinvented the meaning of hope and change.
p.p.s. my host brother August does not like Single Ladies by Beyonce. I might have to kill him.
I had a wonderful conversation with my host dad Michael today about Obama. (Sidenote: Michael took me to school today so that I wouldn't get lost, and picked me up from school after my day was over. So sweet!) He was explaining to me why Obama is so symbolic for Denmar, and Europe in general, and why Europeans care so much about American politics. I already know about the superpower that is the U.S. and the fact that our presence is felt (probably forced in recent years) around the world due to the war in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic recession, but it's amazing the impact America has on a tiny country like Denmark. Michael told me that in Denmark and Europe (specifically the other Scandinavian countries and France) immigration is a huge problem. I mean this in the sense that it is very difficult to immigrate to Denmark and if you are not Danish you are looked down upon and experience racism (to express this clearer, I read that in Denmark, a child can be considered special needs just because he/she doesn't speak English. That's ridiculous!). Racism and immigration have become a prominent issues in Europe. Thus, as Michael explained, having an American president that is Black speaks volumes in terms of the symbolism it means for the rest of the world; it sets a message and a model for how Europe should deal with and talk about race. So on Election night, when America showed citizens crying on tv and people around the world cheering in large crowds, Danish tv showed Danes crying for joy that Obama one. So you can only imagine how many people here are excited about the inauguration. Michael is coming home early from work tomorrow to watch it (since we are 6 hours ahead coverage starts at 4pm here). Today, while I was in an electronics store buying a converter, the cashier/worker said to me "are you excited for tomorrow" and stupidly I replied "for what?" (with a confused look on my face cuz I'm an idiot) and he replied, "for the inauguration!". So a lot of people here are excited, which in turn has made me even more proud of our country for chosing correctly! Although I'm bummed that I won't be at home to watch the inauguration (though skidmore does have class) DIS has set up a big screen tv for us to watch it, so I really won't be missing too much, and it will be interesting to watch it from an international perspective. I can't wait!
Oh p.s. Michael also said: Obama really has reinvented the meaning of hope and change.
p.p.s. my host brother August does not like Single Ladies by Beyonce. I might have to kill him.
Sunday, January 18, 2009
Welcome to Copenhagen!
So I have finally arrived in Copenhagen, yaayy!!! That is to say, I arrived, jet-lagged and sleep deprived (I think I got about 40 mins of sleep on the plane...awesome). After being bussed to the University of Copenhagen and given a million packets, my host family picked me up around 12:30pm. First of all, they are super nice (which I already knew because we had been emailing back and forth). My room is on the first floor of their house (soo cute!) and it looks like its cut out from an IKEA magazine (my favorite!) My host sister Kathrine made me a "Welcome Leah" sign with flowers! I have a plasma screen tv in my room and beautiful fresh tulips :-). The room is a nice size and the bedd is comfy (I passed out and took a 2 hr nap). Did I mention I have wireless in my room? Yeah, they're pretty high tech :-). After taking a much-needed nap, I woke up to a homemade cake that my host sister and host mother made! Banana bread with chocolate icing (really nutella, yummm) in the shape of a heart! I gave them their gifts earlier, which I think they liked a lot (with lots of "oos" and "ahhs" they awkwardly thanked me with handshakes). I talked to my mother on skype and she got to meet my host family which was pretty cool. So far so good. I'm excited I chose a homestay. My family has already said that they have all these things they want to do with me AND each of the kid's teachers want me to come to their school and give a talk or something, haha. Christina (my host mother) has also invited me to come visit her school and work with the kids there, which is awesome, and they know a teacher that is originally from Chicago who really wants to meet me. I got the impression from my host dad that the teacher would like to take me under his wing (since I am a psych major with an interest in kids). So im excited for all the possiblities that await!
Friday, January 16, 2009
Less than 2 days?!
So it's hard to believe that in less than 48 hours I will be on a plane heading to Copenhagen, but it's true! I'm really excited. A little nervous, but that's mainly because I get packing anxiety and cannot pack a suitcase for my life (that's what mom is for!), so I'm freaking out about how to pack for 4 months and how to fit my life into one or two suitcases!!
I've decided to give this blog thing a try. Mainly because I have never ever been able to keep a written journal, and since this is such an important experience in my life, I really wanted to be able to document it. So I'm writing this blog for me, but hope that my friends will check it out once in a while if they have time (you know, for shits and giggles :-D).
I've decided to give this blog thing a try. Mainly because I have never ever been able to keep a written journal, and since this is such an important experience in my life, I really wanted to be able to document it. So I'm writing this blog for me, but hope that my friends will check it out once in a while if they have time (you know, for shits and giggles :-D).
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