A Week of Firsts

Abbie
Jan 21, 2018
3 min read

[some of which include first time city biking, first time grocery shopping while in a country with a different language, and first time getting lost down Danish streets]

I don't even know where to start when trying to talk about my first week here in Copenhagen and at DIS - all I know is it has truly exceeded all expectations I've been dreaming about for so many months. I have had 2 full days of classes and otherwise have been doing lots of walking & biking around the city to try and get my bearings straight.

My housing - an Residential Community (RC) - is in a very trendy location of Copenhagen and only 10 or 15 minutes away from school. Right from the start all of my floor mates (hey Alyssa, Emily, Rachel, & Olivia) clicked so well. We have even branded ourselves S-Club -- for the weird reason that our first floor rooms are called "S rooms" here. Having this group of girls to cook meals with, explore with, and count on as we are adjusting this first week has been so amazing and I really believe made the transition easier.

We've made friends with some other people in our building as well and have been able to take trips around Copenhagen. On Friday afternoon we saw the Little Mermaid Statue, explored the Kastellet Copenhagen, passed the cutest coffee shop, & mastered the bus system.

Besides these pretty parks located all over the city, the walk alone to school has seemed out a fairy tale. We are located right near the Tivoli Amusement park (2 weeks till it opens!) and only 20 minutes from Nyhavn.

Some general//random notes because there is just too much to write:

1. Being able to ride your bike to the grocery store, pick up food, and ride back with it in your basket has to be my favorite small tidbit about Danish life so far. As a floor we've already made pasta together, had fajitas and guac, and I'm planning on cooking them up a traditional North Dakota dish of tater tot hot dish.

2. There is no way to distinguish if a door is push or pull - it all has the same handle. So if you see a girl struggling to open up a door around the city it's 100% me.

3. Coffee here is so dang expensive but also ridiculously good. So that's going to be a problem for me to deal with another day.

4. Danish babies here wear full jumpsuit coats/snow pants and it is the cutest thing. There are also dogs everywhere and everyone on my floor is a dog person - so obviously we were meant to live together.

5. Danish hot dogs (7-Eleven and street vendors) are unreal.

6. I was told that Danish people can seem very cold, no one smiles at you in the store or on public transportation. I was told they often seem "pissed off". But as soon as you ask for directions, or offer to take a photo, etc. they turn into the warmest, kindest people ever. Every single person here - from the cashiers to the students helping me find my class - has been so kind and fun to talk with, even if it's just for a few minutes! These small interactions have helped make this big foreign place seem smaller and all the more welcoming.

7. Two more pictures to end the post - first being the glass market. This outdoor food market/farmers market was amazing and I could have easily spent hours wandering around and looking at all the options. I will for sure be coming back here for many meals to come. Second - the queens church near the palace. As you know now from my posts about the churches in Austria I love seeing churches! I've been to a few here in Copenhagen so far but there are many more on my list.