Week One in a Nutshell

One week in a foreign country feels like one month. I can't believe I arrived just a week ago this morning. Being in Denmark has been very interesting so far. I'm not in love with it, but I don't hate it either, and things slowly get better each day. The first few days, I hung out with two girls I knew before coming here. Leah, who is in my sorority at GW, and Viv, who I knew in high school through National Charity League. The three of us became a little gang I guess. But we've met some other really nice girls and formed a group for the time being. At first, you're just scrambling for anyone to share your nervousness and uneasiness with. It's funny, because Leah and I at the beginning of the week would compare notes each night on gchat and set goals for ourselves for the next day. The list usually looked like this:

1. Make friends
2. Figure out how to get back to our houses late at night (public transportation here is pretty amazing, but a little confusing to dissect at first)
3. Meet cute Danish boys (finding them is not hard, getting them to talk to you is a little different)
4. Make friends

It's hard sometimes to remember that we're going to be here until May, and not everything is going to be perfect and figured out in the first two days. But I've learned a lot already about Danish culture and how the U.S. differs both a lot and not so much from Europe. First of all, everything here is smaller. The cars, the groceries, the stores, the streets. There's no such thing as Costco, and even if there was, there would be no where to put all that stuff. I'm also starting to realize how everything in Denmark really is so cozy. Every cafe looks so inviting and warm and even just everyday life is focused a lot more on family and togetherness. Meals, at least breakfast and dinner, are always eaten together, which is definitely something I'm not completely used to. Especially eating breakfast together every morning. And this isn't a cereal and orange juice breakfast. It's a homemade bread every morning, sausage, cheese, jam, butter, tea, liver pate, cucumber breakfast. Danes are also very into candles, and most things that we would make from a box or a packet or powder, they make from scratch.

Example: Today we went for a walk near one of the frozen lakes with my family and their cousins, and when we came back, they wanted hot chocolate. But that didn't mean putting SwissMiss in a mug and heating it in the microwave with water. It meant buying chocolate bars with 70% cacao and melting them on the stove with milk, then whipping homemade whipped cream to put on top. So delicious. I realized yesterday when I woke up before everyone else and ate cereal (which they bought for me) by myself in the dark kitchen, how much more enjoyable it is to do meals the Danish way. Though I'm definitely not used to eating so much food, or rather, eating on such a regular schedule.

At the same though, Copenhagen, for me, hasn't been one of those old, beautiful European cities like Paris or Rome that you are instantly in awe with, which is slightly disappointing and intriguing at the same time. There is a Toys R Us down the street from my house, but there's also a queen of Denmark?? There is amusing juxtoposition here.

Here's a list of other interesting and bizarre things I learned about the Danes this week:

1. They go to the grocery store every time they need something, not just once a week. Growing up with a clockwork schedule of going to the store every Saturday and buying enough for the entire week if not longer, this is very different for me. I think my mom would go crazy if she had to go to the store every day to pick up this or that. But here, they don't see it as a burden. It's just part of life. There are also grocery stores on almost every block. Oh, and the milk cartons are tiny. I'm pretty sure my family would go through two a day. But you can't buy anything as big as a gallon here.

2. They don't say excuse me. Danes are very forward and blunt. They say what they mean and mean what they say. They also aren't as politically correct. Hi, how are you? is an actual question here, not just a greeting. I think we could take a hint from them on this point.

3. Probably the most alarming thing I learned this week: Danes put their babies outside to sleep. First of all, Danish babies have the most elaborate and cozy buggies that they are wheeled around in, no matter the weather. And until they're about 2 or 3 years old, they are bundled up in their buggy and put outside for naps. Even if the mother is doing some quick errands downtown or grabbing coffee with a friend, they will leave the baby OUTSIDE THE STORE to sleep, as long as they can glance at it through a window. Just goes to show how much more trustworthy of a place this is. And I've already witnessed this baby phenomenon several times this week. For crying out loud, it's 28 degrees outside and these babies are just sound asleep on the sidewalk! It's a very crazy concept to Americans I guess, but the Danes say they do it because the fresh air is good for them.

4. Danes aren't as friendly towards strangers. No one talks on the metro, no one makes eye contact, nothing. I think that they are friendly people in general, they just aren't going to go out of their way to strike up a conversation with you at random. Even when my hostdad's 20-year-old godson came over for dinner, I had to do pretty much all the talking (which isn't that unusual for me I guess...haha) and he just answered and didn't ask a lot of questions in return. I guess they just don't like the bullshit of small talk. But how else are you supposed to get to know someone?

Ok I guess this synopsis isn't really in a nutshell. Maybe I'll start writing more than once a week to avoid such long posts. I feel like there's so much to tell! I haven't even gotten to my night out on Friday or my trip to Elsinore and the Kronborg castle. Let's just say that drinking here is a totally different experience than in the states (as in way more enjoyable because you're not freaking out about getting caught and downing shots like you'll never get another chance), and Hamlet's castle is actually not that cool. I've posted some pictures on facebook, and next time I'll hopefully get around to posting some here of my house and room. Now I'm off to try and get some reading done before class tomorrow...it's hard to remember the study part of study abroad when you're having so many new experiences so fast.

Hej Hej! (bye bye in Danish)