Settling In

Whew! It's been a while since my last post, so I think it's time for an update. I've been in Copenhagen for about 9 days now, and I'm beginning to feel less like a tourist and more like a resident, though I'm still in this weird no-man's-land where I'm not quite either.

Classes started last Thursday, and I'm so excited about them. I know people don't typically study abroad for the classes, but I'm learning things here that I can't learn back at Olin. I'm taking five classes:

1. Sustainable Development in Northern Europe - dissecting what "sustainable" and "development" mean, and then examining the issue through the lenses of policy, economics (somewhat), culture, and technology. This is my core course, which means that I have a short study tour and a long study tour as part of the class. The short study tour is in two weeks, and we'll be going to the island of AEro for three days, in between the island that Copenhagen is on (Zealand) and the mainland part of the country (Jutland). The long study tour will go to Oslo and a nearby mountainous region in Norway for six days. 
2. Waste Management Systems in Northern Europe - just what it sounds like. We'll be considering how Europe manages its waste and looking at various aspects of the various technologies and methods available.
3. Renewable Energy Systems - again, what it sounds like. I'm really excited for this class, because I've always wanted to be able to argue knowledgeably for the use of renewable energy, and with this class, I'll be able to. 
4. Sustainable by Design - a class studying green architecture, with a focus on Danish architecture. This will be a nice continuation of my self study from last semester, but this time I will have someone who knows her stuff teaching me. 
5. 20th and 21st Century Danish Architecture - an art history type of architecture class that involves looking at buildings. I'm a fan. :)

I've already watched a handful of short documentaries for a few of my classes, including Trashed (would highly recommend if you want to know where your trash goes),  The Lightbulb Conspiracy (incredible short film about planned obsolescence and the culture of waste in the developed world - every engineer and designer needs to watch this), and Home (about what humans have done to planet Earth and what we need to do to save it).

But enough about courses. I am already so in love with this city. The architecture is gorgeous, there are bike lanes everywhere, public transportation is incredible, and the coffee shops can't be beat. I rented a bike for the whole semester; I've only ridden it home from the shop so far, but I'm itching to experience the city by bike. I think when I'm done writing this post I'll go do some errands with it.

I did my first real bit of exploring today after class, walking from the DIS "campus" downtown to Rosenborg castle, the Kastellet, back through Amalienborg, to Kongens Nytorv where I took the Metro back to Sundby - all told about 3.5 miles. I went by myself, and I never felt unsafe at any point, which I don't think I could say about Boston.

I happened upon Rosenborg castle, where a drill team was practicing, walked through the gardens for a bit - they're going to be gorgeous in the spring - and meandered along a street near the Statens Museum. I found a collection of yellow houses led me to an old fashioned windmill, which happened to be the Kastellet, a fortification from the 1640s.

Rosenborg Castle

Then I walked back through Amalienborg, the residence of the Danish royal family and also a traffic circle. Fun fact - the royal family is able to go out in public without being mobbed. As long as they aren't in official outfits, the city residents respect their privacy, allowing them to take the kids to kindergarten and go for runs along the waterfront. While walking through Amalienborg, a group of Danish students asked to interview me about the differences between the US and Denmark.

Half of Amalienborg Castle - four separate buildings around a plaza

After taking a panorama of the area (below) I decided to head towards the metro, by means of Nyhavn (you can't be near this canal without taking a picture. At least, I can't be). I went into the Magasin in Kongens Nytorv looking for my brand of makeup remover. Magasin is a crazy, terrigyinf, gigantic department store. Think Macy's but WAY bigger with more vendor stations within it. It was everything I could do to not buy all the boots, despite the sale.

Nyhavn

Then, feeling hungry, I got on the Metro to go home. The Metro in Copenhagen is so cool. It's entirely automated, so people can sit in the very front of the car and look ahead. And, unlike the T, it tells you when the next train is coming. It's a very efficient system.

From the stop in Sundby, it's a 10ish minute walk back to the kollegium through a quaint neighborhood of very small houses on tiny plots of land. It's so unlike any neighborhood I've seen in the US. The street is barely wide enough for one car, so forget about trying to pass. Each house has its own character, and some have chickens. Then I cross the street and climb six flights of stairs and I'm back at home sweet home.

Suffice it to say it was a fun day. I'm looking forward to watching the city transition from winter to spring - if it's this gorgeous in winter, I can't imagine what it will be like with leaves and flowers.

Thanks for sticking with me through this novel! Please comment with anything you want me to talk about in the next post.  Additionally, follow me on Instagram for sporadic pictures of my adventures: meggolidr. I'll also be posting pictures to Facebook less often. For my friends and family back home, the best way to reach me is through Facebook Messenger, or What's App with the number +45 50 11 87 66.

I Made It!

Hej!

I'm all settled in to my room in Socialt. It's pretty large, and has plenty of storage. This is pretty much the whole thing:

I'm standing in the small hallway with the wardrobe on the left, and bathroom on the right. The bathroom is pretty funky - the shower head is attached to the sink, so I shower in the sink area. It took some doing, but I finally figured out how it works. It's a pretty efficient use of space, but I think I need to get a squeegee to help the floor dry faster. 

I landed yesterday at noon local time, after taking off from Logan at 8:35 EST the day before. The plane took off and landed early, giving me a longer layover in Iceland. The customs process could not have been easier. I had to give my passport to a customs agent at KEF, but once we got to Copenhagen I didn't need it again. I don't know if that was a DIS thing or if it's Schengen related. Both of my flights were at least half DIS students, which was fun. I met another student whose birthday is March 2nd! I don't know what we'll do, but we're definitely going to celebrate. 

The rest of yesterday was waiting for the DIS bus to take me to Socialt, unpacking, and grocery shopping - Carly, we went to Netto - then I crashed at 9.

Today we had brunch, made by our wonderful SRA Anja, then went on a scavenger hunt around our neighborhood. This was my group, Julia, Oskar, and Alex, standing outside of Socialt: 

After the scavenger hunt, Alex, Julia, Anthony, Annie and I went to Christianshavn and Christiania. This city is so beautiful - I can't wait to see it as it turns into Spring and Summer. 

Orientation officially starts tomorrow and goes through Wednesday, then classes start on Thursday. More on that later!

T-10 Days!

I can't believe it. Somehow, I leave for Copenhagen in 10 days. I just got my housing assignment this morning, and it's getting very real.

I'll be living in a Kollegium, which is a Danish dorm. Unlike in the US, universities in Denmark do not have their own dorms. Instead, students can choose to live in Kollegiums with students from other schools, as well as exchange students (holla!). I will be living in the Socialt Kollegium, which is what it sounds like - the Social College. I know, I know, it's difficult to picture me in a place with "social" in the name, but study abroad is all about new experiences. I think this will be good for me. I'll get to meet Danes and hopefully learn some Danish, and I will be pushed to interact with the people I live with. I will have my own room and bathroom, but will share a kitchen and lounge space with the 15 other people on my floor. There are 6 other DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad, the program I'm participating in) students in Socialt, one on each floor. With the exception of one, we all go to school in New England. I don't know if that's by design or coincidence.

Socialt is a 20 minute bike ride from downtown Copenhagen, or about a half hour bus ride. There are 112 residents, 16 per floor on 7 floors, each with its own kitchen and common area. There's also a laundry facility that I can use for FREE(!), a cinema, a fitness room, a music room, a SAUNA(!!), and plenty of bike storage. You can read more about Socialt here.

I registered for classes a couple months ago, and I could not be more excited for them. I'll be taking five courses, each for three credits. They are Renewable Energy Systems, Waste Management Systems, Sustainable Development in Northern Europe, Sustainable by Design, and 20th and 21st Century Danish Architecture. Sustainable Development is my core course, which means there are two weeks of travel associated with the course - a short study trip for I believe four days, location TBA, and a long study tour for six days, where I will be going to Norway. Sustainable by Design is a green architecture course, so I'm particularly looking forward to that one. :)

Now I need to figure out how to bring a semester's worth of clothes and things in two suitcases... Wish me luck!