Weekend Update!

... with Jimmy Fallon and Tina Fey (or insert your favorite SNL duo here!)

OK, so I am not Tina Fey, but I had an AMAZING weekend with so many stories and pictures too! So if this entry is really long, I am sorry. I guess I will go day by day, feel free to skim...

Friday (wow, that seems like a long time ago) I had an awesome class in the morning, "The Impact of Epidemic Disease on European History." Yes, it is public health, my dad is so proud that he is slowly converting me to the dark side! The professor is great, he is kind of like a giant teddy bear. But more importantly, he really knows his stuff, and just seems so excited to teach us! He spent a lot of time asking us questions that we didn't have answers to in front us from the reading, but he was trying to make us use the inherent knowledge we already have and apply common sense to explain things like fluctuating world population and average life expectancies throughout history. This is completely different than any classes I have taken at Smith, and I am really excited to learn about it! (Yup, I'm a nerd, but I challenge you to sit through this class and not be excited too!)
On to less academic adventures... in the afternoon I had a few hours to kill, so I decided to explore more of my neighborhood, which is North of central Copenhagen. I jumped on my trusty bike (I think it needs a name, suggestions?:
and set off down a road I had never been on. After a lot of rambling, I came across a large area enclosed by a red brick wall. Based on a sign in Danish, I discovered it was an old cemetery and crematorium, and visiting hours were over. But there was this open door... so I went in... And I am so glad that I did. I have never been a huge fan of American cemeteries: rows upon rows of tombstones, I tend to get really depressed. But this place was completely different and was so amazingly beautiful. I can't even express it. There was absolutely nothing depressing in the air, it was so open and organized. It was kind of a cross between a park and a memorial. There is no way to do it justice with words, so here are pictures:

And this may be my favorite statue I found:



OK, maybe I spoke too soon, this one is really pretty too:

I know I only saw a tiny part of the whole cemetery, and now I really want to go back when it is actually supposed to be open, and maybe I can learn more about the history.

Well after that adventure, we had a canal boat tour, which only made me realize how many things I have yet to see in Copenhagen. So now I have a checklist. But it was lovely to see the city from a whole different perspective.
So after the boat ride, part of the Smithie group decided to treat ourselves to a nice dinner. I LOVE MY SMITHIES! Rachel, Ania, Cara, and I had so much fun. As much as I wanted to come here and challenge myself in a whole new environment, it is so nice to have friends that I can call up anytime. I love you girls! Thank you for being amazing!

Saturday
I love having time to relax at home! I decided to make soup to freeze so that whenever I am feeling especially lazy I have ready made Ginger-Carrot soup! By the way, La Dolce Vegan is possibly the best cookbook ever!
Well later that day, Rachel and I decided that we needed to make chocolate chip cookies for her host family while they were gone. And we were both alone at our respective homes, and that is just silly. So usually I am rather proud of my baking abilities, but baking here is NOTHING like baking at home. We ran into a few problems: butter doesn't come in sticks, it comes in spreadable containers, which isn't quite the same. Vanilla comes in powder, not liquid, brown sugar was impossible to find (but apparently it does exist. Chocolate chips, on the other hand, do not exist here, nor do normal cookie sheets. But all that just made it more exciting! And we did end up with cookies that were (more or less) what we were aiming for!

And later... well without going into details (I need to protect the innocent... and guilty?) let me impart a bit of wisdom I learned:
1. Australian bartenders are nice and will let you taste beers until you find one you like.
2. If a group of Danes start talking to you, apparently they will eventually start buying round of beers (and they buy the BIG ones, not like the little one I bought for myself), and they will not stop, even if you have three full beers sitting in front of you that you are clearly not about to drink. And then they will laugh at you.
3. Bars in Copenhagen close at 4:30am.
4. You know its a good night when you need to figure out the night bus schedule (which runs starting at 1am). You know its a GREAT night when you need to know when the morning bus starts (6am, just in case you were wondering).

Yeah. Saturday night was an definitely my first real adventure in cross-cultural interactions, and I had a great time :)

Sunday
After sleeping in for a good long time, Rachel and I decided to be tourist-y and went to the National Museum for the afternoon. If you haven't been, it should be on your To-Do list. We saw the whole history of Denmark, prehistoric until the present, which included lots of preserved bodies, artifacts, everything. But the best room was a room full of dollhouses, which we thought were really cool on their own...
And then we walked around the back... each and every house was full decorated and we could see a bunch of them. It just brought back great memories of the house my mom and I built when I was little. Mine was (ok, is) full of Playmobile, and it was (ok OK, IS) one of my favorite things.

After a fun filled museum trip, we met Ania and Cara to go to the soccer game! FCK (the Copenhagen team) vs. their rivals. Again, words really cannot describe the party/riot/crazy atmosphere surrounding the game and the entire city. Let's just say, nothing like this could happen in the US. But again, hopefully some of the pictures can capture what it was like to be there. (Oh, they ended up tying 1-1).


Wow, that is pretty much all I have to say. Oh, and I few more tidbits of wisdom:
1. If a police horse starts running and kicking at you (or really the guy next to you, but whatever), RUN AWAY!
2. Just ignore anything drunk fans from either side shout at you, its not like you can understand it.
3. Be very happy you have amazing friends who offer to carry you to the train station when you cannot walk. THANK YOU!

First Day of Classes

Why am I here again... oh right, to study. Today served to remind all of us that this is in fact a real semester, full of real classes, with real exams and papers, and will be followed by real grades. Well... real-ish at least. Yes, DIS is much more intense than the typical study abroad program, but it certainly is not Smith, or any other competitive US school. The classes are going to be interesting, but without the same work load I am so used to at home. Which is probably going to be a nice break. But don't think it is all fun and games; I already have a couple hundred pages of reading assigned, some of which is done... but not all...

Enough of that complaining, I am honestly excited about classes. Here is a brief breakdown of my schedule:

1. Human Health and Disease: A Clinical Approach
This is my core course, and it is taught at the hospital. It is taught by two doctors, one of whom specializes in Neurology (yay!). But even better, the second is a pediatrician, specializing in infectious diseases. He has also done a lot of work in developing countries, and was the head of the Danish Red Cross for many years. He is AMAZING! Class today was essentially him throwing questions at us about health problems around the world, and then commenting on our responses, whether they were right or wrong. I am so excited to learn from him all semester, I think it will be an incredibly valuable experience. Oh, did I mention we are going to practice putting IVs in each other?! Yup yup, should be fun :)
2. Danish Language and Culture
Pretty self-explanatory: We learn enough Danish to be able to hold a basic conversation with Danes on the street. They are also teaching us about Danish culture, which as of right now means we get to go to the FCK soccer game on Sunday! They are playing their biggest rivals, and we were warned about what colors to wear to avoid violence from either side...
3. Neurobiology and Religion
Haven't had the rest of these classes yet, but this one is taught at the University of Copenhagen with Danish students. I cannot wait for it, and I would really like to design a class like this at Smith. Would any of you take it?
4.The Social Context of HIV/AIDS in Africa
Also taught at the University, I have already done a bunch of reading for the first class, and I am so happy to have a really good Public Health course like this. I really love looking at medicine from this angle; I think this course is only going to make me want to do an MPH even more!
5. The Impact of Epidemic Disease on European History
Yay! And that is all I have to say so far
6. Literary London: Reading the City
The class only meets for a couple of weeks, we read a bunch of stuff set in London by authors from the area, then go to London for a long weekend! What could possibly be wrong with that?

So yeah, some real classes, but no labs?! That is just weird for me.

In other news, I had the most epic lunch ever today. A giant (and I mean GIANT) veggie sandwich... it may be the most delicious thing I have ever eaten. Full of Indian spices, eggplant, peppers, carrots, pine nuts, I don't even know what all was one it. Oh, and the restaurant gives DIS students a discount, so even better!

Remember all those classes I listed? Yeah, that means I need to go do reading now.
I love and miss you all!!

Welcome to Copenhagen

Well hi everyone!

I do feel kind of silly for starting a blog, but I thought this might be the best way to let everyone know how I am doing, and for me to keep track of major changes in my life. Why does my life need keeping track of, you might ask. I will tell you... I am in Copenhagen for the semester! And if that is not a major change, I don't know what is.

So a little background, I am studying with DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad) this fall, specifically the Medical Practice and Policy Program. I take a core course (taught at the most specialized and well-funded hospital in the country), plus Danish language, and a bunch of other really interesting and unique classes. Some are taught through DIS, but two are taught at the University of Copenhagen, meaning I will be having classes with Danes, not just Americans!

Anyway, I flew out of the good old USA last Friday, arrived Saturday, and have since been adjusting to a new apartment, new city, new country, and new life. And I am loving every minute of it! I am living with a young Danish couple (not actually a home-stay, since I am essentially just renting a room in their apartment) and their two cats. So far, it is working out perfectly. It is proving to be exactly the change that I needed.

The last few days have been crazy busy with orientation activities, but they are finally over, just in time for classes to start tomorrow! Yes, I am a dork, and I am really looking forward to my classes. I mean, since when can I get credit for going to hospitals, "learning" to suture, and talking to patients?? I think it will be incredible. And as for my other classes, I am very excited to not have any lab courses, and to have an opportunity to apply the basic science knowledge that I already have to new areas, say Neurobiology and Religious Faith? (I think that is the class I am most looking forward to. And if you haven't read "The God Delusion" you really really should. And "Why God Won't Go Away. Just do it, regardless of your beliefs, it will certainly make you look at them differently.)

I will try to write something frequently, just to let everyone know I am still alive and all. And I promise to post pictures, maybe some recipes I try, and other little tidbits over the coming four months!

I guess I don't have any profound insights to add yet, it is all still a little to overwhelming to start reflecting on the experience already. But these things I know:
1. Copenhagen is beautiful, friendly, and easy to navigate.
2. It is very hard to find vegan food here- at least it was until I discovered the wonders of the grocery store, Irma. But still, my roommates, when I told them I was vegan, didn't even know what it meant. Everyone here pretty much survives on meat, fish, and cheese. But I now have soy milk, tofu, and brown rice, so life is good.
3. Compartment syndrome is noooo fun... no fun at all.
4. I am going to have a hard time coming home after this.


And here are a few pictures to make you jealous...

The view from outside my apartment


Looking across the water from "The Black Diamond" (aka- The National Library)


Just a random street (Note the bikes, they are EVERYWHERE!)


The Stroget, the busiest shopping street in Copenhagen (No cars allowed!)


A man in a silver costume, compete with water squirting out his head and hands


My favorite fountain so far, The Crane Fountain


Just a pretty church steeple, I'm not sure which one.