Wednesday, January 31, 2007
Pictures
Walking around from Radhuspladsen Square to Amager. Click on picture to view the photo gallery.
Walking around from Rosenborg Slot to DIS. Click on picture to view the photo gallery.
Snowfall around Orsends, and then the neighborhood that Mogens and Birte Been live in. Click on picture to view the photo gallery.
Rain Today
I don't have any classes on Wednesday, so I slept in today. Actually, I don't have class until noon on Mondays and Thursdays, so I can sleep in those days too. My schedule is very strenuous. :)
I took the subway into central Copenhagen today to get my CPR number. This is like a social security number, and you need it for the library and for health care. I had to go the the Copenhagen folkeregister (or something like that). Then you take a number, and wait until a person is available. She asked me which doctor I would like to use, male or female. Turns out there is a 60-year old male doctor 500 meters from Oresunds on Amagerbro Blvd. Thats who I'm signed up with now.
Taking a number is very common in many places. I stopped at the post office today, and it was the same thing. Take a number and wait until it is called. A post card stamp to the US cost 8.25 kroner ($1.38). That was more expensive than I was guessing.
Took a trip to Netto today as well. I guess that is the cheapest grocery store. Bought bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, chips. Sandwich materials. There wasn't much selection in this supermarket, so I might try going to a different one next time. I bought some butter-like stuff...not sure if there is real butter available. Butter is the kind of thing that doesn't have nice pictures or see-through packaging so you can see what you are getting. I managed to get through the checkout without speaking English. :) Not that I spoke any Danish either.
My new shoes are amazing. Might be the best shoes I've owned. I've done a lot of walking since being here, and my feet are never sore wearing these shoes. Well, I guess they did get a little sore yesterday, but that was after walking for 3 hours in the afternoon. The shoes are waterproof too, which is great. Walking around in the rain or in the slushy snow doesn't mean cold, wet feet. Copenhagen usually has a number of puddles at intersections or on sidewalks that you need to manuever, so the waterproof shoes is a very good thing.
Food is very expensive. I bought a muffin yesterday for 6 DKK ($1). Rolls and related things at the bakeries in town are usually about 7-10 DKK ($1-1.50). Eating at McDonalds is going to be about 50-60 DKK ($8-10). To eat any sort of meal at a fast food type place is usually at least 40 kroner. At an actual restuarant, probably much more.
The pizzeria and burger/fries place in our kollegium is quite cheap I guess. Austin got a pizza yesterday for 33 kroner (about $5.50). It was cheese-only, so maybe that is cheaper. Still, not too bad. I think you can get a burger/fries down there for 40-45 kroner. The ice cream is expensive though...I bought a Nestle ice cream bar that ended up being 14 kroner ($1.30).
The subway system runs similar to how MnDOT runs the light rail at home, on the honor system. They don't check your pass or ticket when you get on the train. You are expected to have paid the correct fare. Occasionally there will be an officer that walks down the train as it goes between stations and asks to see your ticket. It is a 600 kroner fine if you don't have the correct one ($100). I wasn't checked at all the first 6 days here, but have been checked twice in the last two days.
The subways run with no driver or any staff on board. All automated. There is a big window at the front of the train, so you can sit up there and watch as you zoom through the tunnels.
I think I'll be working in the IT department here for my work study, doing stuff in the computer labs. They assigned me to IT at a meeting on Monday, and I'm still waiting for them to send me an email about the training session.
It looks like there might be some difficulties with volunteering at the school. I talked with Julie on the phone last night, and the English classes are Monday, Tuesday, and Thurday afternoons. I have class Monday/Thursday afternoon, and I don't get done on Tuesday afternoons until 1:30pm. Apparently the other DIS volunteer has the same problem. Julie was a little disappointed that DIS didn't pay closer attention to when people had free spots in their schedule. I meet with her next Wednesday, so we'll see if we can work something out.
I took the subway into central Copenhagen today to get my CPR number. This is like a social security number, and you need it for the library and for health care. I had to go the the Copenhagen folkeregister (or something like that). Then you take a number, and wait until a person is available. She asked me which doctor I would like to use, male or female. Turns out there is a 60-year old male doctor 500 meters from Oresunds on Amagerbro Blvd. Thats who I'm signed up with now.
Taking a number is very common in many places. I stopped at the post office today, and it was the same thing. Take a number and wait until it is called. A post card stamp to the US cost 8.25 kroner ($1.38). That was more expensive than I was guessing.
Took a trip to Netto today as well. I guess that is the cheapest grocery store. Bought bread, meat, cheese, lettuce, chips. Sandwich materials. There wasn't much selection in this supermarket, so I might try going to a different one next time. I bought some butter-like stuff...not sure if there is real butter available. Butter is the kind of thing that doesn't have nice pictures or see-through packaging so you can see what you are getting. I managed to get through the checkout without speaking English. :) Not that I spoke any Danish either.
My new shoes are amazing. Might be the best shoes I've owned. I've done a lot of walking since being here, and my feet are never sore wearing these shoes. Well, I guess they did get a little sore yesterday, but that was after walking for 3 hours in the afternoon. The shoes are waterproof too, which is great. Walking around in the rain or in the slushy snow doesn't mean cold, wet feet. Copenhagen usually has a number of puddles at intersections or on sidewalks that you need to manuever, so the waterproof shoes is a very good thing.
Food is very expensive. I bought a muffin yesterday for 6 DKK ($1). Rolls and related things at the bakeries in town are usually about 7-10 DKK ($1-1.50). Eating at McDonalds is going to be about 50-60 DKK ($8-10). To eat any sort of meal at a fast food type place is usually at least 40 kroner. At an actual restuarant, probably much more.
The pizzeria and burger/fries place in our kollegium is quite cheap I guess. Austin got a pizza yesterday for 33 kroner (about $5.50). It was cheese-only, so maybe that is cheaper. Still, not too bad. I think you can get a burger/fries down there for 40-45 kroner. The ice cream is expensive though...I bought a Nestle ice cream bar that ended up being 14 kroner ($1.30).
The subway system runs similar to how MnDOT runs the light rail at home, on the honor system. They don't check your pass or ticket when you get on the train. You are expected to have paid the correct fare. Occasionally there will be an officer that walks down the train as it goes between stations and asks to see your ticket. It is a 600 kroner fine if you don't have the correct one ($100). I wasn't checked at all the first 6 days here, but have been checked twice in the last two days.
The subways run with no driver or any staff on board. All automated. There is a big window at the front of the train, so you can sit up there and watch as you zoom through the tunnels.
I think I'll be working in the IT department here for my work study, doing stuff in the computer labs. They assigned me to IT at a meeting on Monday, and I'm still waiting for them to send me an email about the training session.
It looks like there might be some difficulties with volunteering at the school. I talked with Julie on the phone last night, and the English classes are Monday, Tuesday, and Thurday afternoons. I have class Monday/Thursday afternoon, and I don't get done on Tuesday afternoons until 1:30pm. Apparently the other DIS volunteer has the same problem. Julie was a little disappointed that DIS didn't pay closer attention to when people had free spots in their schedule. I meet with her next Wednesday, so we'll see if we can work something out.
Saturday, January 27, 2007
Classes yesterday
Some things from my classes yesterday.
Business class
The professor is the director of the Danish Brewers and Soft Drink Association. He helps beer and soft drink companies with their Danish and EU business strategies. He was formerly an executive with Scandanavian Airlines, and was a Danish diplomat to the EU in Brussels for 8 years. This class sounds like it will be very interesting, and he has a lot of first-hand experiences to bring into it.
One interesting comment he had about Norway. Norway has a very good economy (because of oil and natural gas), and hasn't joined the EU because they don't want to lose soveriegnty and the final say over economic matters, etc. However, it was hurting them to be outside the EU economic system, so they did join the common market because they really had no choice. In order to do this, they had to accept all of the EU economic policies anyways. So, by not giving up the final say in matters, they actually give up even more because they don't have any say at all. Norway actually loses soveriegnty by not being in the EU, rather than being in it. Follow that? :)
History class
I really liked this professor. He seems very knowledgable, and he gives a good lecture. The class is 20th century European History, and he spent basically the whole period explaining what the class was about. Discussed what fits into this time period (1871 unification of Germany to 1989 fall of Berlin wall). He said we really can't tell at this point if the period has ended, but he thinks it has. Maybe a better ending date would be 1982 with the first personal computer he said.
How to define Europe? Common heritage/background in Christianity. Compared to the other nearby cultures, Europe is similar. Historically large muslim areas to south and east.
Danish Politics and Society class
The professor was just in the Danish parliment for the last 12 years, so he has a lot of first hand knowledge too. Denmark has 6 political parties. The US Democrats would fit about in the center as far as Danish politics is concerned. The US Republicans would be far far to the right of any Danish political parties.
The Social Democrats (left of center) had been in power since the 1920s I think, but lost power in 2001 to Venstre (right of center). Venstre governs the country with the Conservative People's Party, but together they have under 50% of the legislature. So Denmark has a ruling group that doesn't even have a majority. Denmark's politics are full of comprimise as a result (rather than conflict). The system is set up so you need a majority to remove a ruling group from power, rather than a majority for them to get power.
About 75% of Danish vocabulary comes from German words. The grammar is completely different from German though, and has Angelo-Saxon roots I guess. So the grammar has more similarities to English than German. He said Norwegian was really just a dialect of Danish.
Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes have a lot of stereotypes of each other I think. Not all positive stereotypes either. :) I figured Scandanavia was Scandanavia, but I don't think anybody here would believe that for one second. While the rest of us might see a lot of similarities, they see a lot of differences. Perhaps both are right.
Business class
The professor is the director of the Danish Brewers and Soft Drink Association. He helps beer and soft drink companies with their Danish and EU business strategies. He was formerly an executive with Scandanavian Airlines, and was a Danish diplomat to the EU in Brussels for 8 years. This class sounds like it will be very interesting, and he has a lot of first-hand experiences to bring into it.
One interesting comment he had about Norway. Norway has a very good economy (because of oil and natural gas), and hasn't joined the EU because they don't want to lose soveriegnty and the final say over economic matters, etc. However, it was hurting them to be outside the EU economic system, so they did join the common market because they really had no choice. In order to do this, they had to accept all of the EU economic policies anyways. So, by not giving up the final say in matters, they actually give up even more because they don't have any say at all. Norway actually loses soveriegnty by not being in the EU, rather than being in it. Follow that? :)
History class
I really liked this professor. He seems very knowledgable, and he gives a good lecture. The class is 20th century European History, and he spent basically the whole period explaining what the class was about. Discussed what fits into this time period (1871 unification of Germany to 1989 fall of Berlin wall). He said we really can't tell at this point if the period has ended, but he thinks it has. Maybe a better ending date would be 1982 with the first personal computer he said.
How to define Europe? Common heritage/background in Christianity. Compared to the other nearby cultures, Europe is similar. Historically large muslim areas to south and east.
Danish Politics and Society class
The professor was just in the Danish parliment for the last 12 years, so he has a lot of first hand knowledge too. Denmark has 6 political parties. The US Democrats would fit about in the center as far as Danish politics is concerned. The US Republicans would be far far to the right of any Danish political parties.
The Social Democrats (left of center) had been in power since the 1920s I think, but lost power in 2001 to Venstre (right of center). Venstre governs the country with the Conservative People's Party, but together they have under 50% of the legislature. So Denmark has a ruling group that doesn't even have a majority. Denmark's politics are full of comprimise as a result (rather than conflict). The system is set up so you need a majority to remove a ruling group from power, rather than a majority for them to get power.
About 75% of Danish vocabulary comes from German words. The grammar is completely different from German though, and has Angelo-Saxon roots I guess. So the grammar has more similarities to English than German. He said Norwegian was really just a dialect of Danish.
Danes, Norwegians, and Swedes have a lot of stereotypes of each other I think. Not all positive stereotypes either. :) I figured Scandanavia was Scandanavia, but I don't think anybody here would believe that for one second. While the rest of us might see a lot of similarities, they see a lot of differences. Perhaps both are right.
Mogens and Birte Been
I went to go visit Mogens and Birte Been this afternoon. They came to pick me up at 2pm, and then we drove to their home. They live in Bagsværd, which is about 15 km northwest of the center of Copenhagen. They are their own municipality, although I think it is considered part of "Greater Copenhagen". Click here to see their house. They live very close to a large lake. You can zoom out to get an idea of how far it is away from Copenhagen. It is quite close. I guess about a 20 minute ride on the S-train. Or 15 minute car ride.
They both have degrees in electrical engineering from what I understand. Mainly doing work with power electronics. Mogens worked for Phillips for a long time, in the lighting department. Now he does consulting work. He just got back from Serbia for a week, where he was giving advice to a steel girdar manufacturing company (on quality issues, etc). Been Business Development. Birte stopped her regular job a few years ago too, and now owns a small business too. She does work with acoustics and noise reduction in industrial areas, offices, etc.
They have 3 sons. 17, 21, and 25. The youngest just started gymnasium, and is in a rock band. The 21 year old is in the service, doing firefighting type work. The oldest will graduate this year with a Masters doing work in digital image processing.
They were very nice, and we talked for a long time. Mogens is big into kayaking and biking. He also is president of the local theatre association. We had a snack when I got there, and then took a walk around their neighborhood. I got to eat dinner with them too, which was very good. Pork chops, rice, and peas. Their house is not wood at all. Brick, and the walls are more of a cement/plaster/etc. Not sheetrock. Hardwood, brick, or tile floors with big rugs on them. Very cozy furnishings. The lighting is all hung really low, so you can easily see what is on the table, but the higher areas of the room are dimmer. Makes a nice effect in the room. Their main living/dining room has huge windows going outside, so they have lots of natural light as well.
I guess I should be thoughtful what I write in my blog. The whole world can read it. :)
Mogens commented that my accent sounds different than that of George Bush. I thought that was interesting that he noticed that.
Cars have a 180% tax in Denmark. The reason is to provide a disincentive for buying a car (and using public transportation or a bike instead), but they said that was just a convienant reason. Actually the big tax is a large revenue generator to pay for transportation costs, and thats why it sticks around. Same tax on motorcyles too. A Harley might cost 400,000 DKK I think he said. Some younger people are buying homes in southern Sweden now, because they can get a bigger apartment and buy a car cheaply. The bridge costs 235 DKK to cross though. $40. Cheaper if you do it daily. Train ride much cheaper.
They both have degrees in electrical engineering from what I understand. Mainly doing work with power electronics. Mogens worked for Phillips for a long time, in the lighting department. Now he does consulting work. He just got back from Serbia for a week, where he was giving advice to a steel girdar manufacturing company (on quality issues, etc). Been Business Development. Birte stopped her regular job a few years ago too, and now owns a small business too. She does work with acoustics and noise reduction in industrial areas, offices, etc.
They have 3 sons. 17, 21, and 25. The youngest just started gymnasium, and is in a rock band. The 21 year old is in the service, doing firefighting type work. The oldest will graduate this year with a Masters doing work in digital image processing.
They were very nice, and we talked for a long time. Mogens is big into kayaking and biking. He also is president of the local theatre association. We had a snack when I got there, and then took a walk around their neighborhood. I got to eat dinner with them too, which was very good. Pork chops, rice, and peas. Their house is not wood at all. Brick, and the walls are more of a cement/plaster/etc. Not sheetrock. Hardwood, brick, or tile floors with big rugs on them. Very cozy furnishings. The lighting is all hung really low, so you can easily see what is on the table, but the higher areas of the room are dimmer. Makes a nice effect in the room. Their main living/dining room has huge windows going outside, so they have lots of natural light as well.
I guess I should be thoughtful what I write in my blog. The whole world can read it. :)
Mogens commented that my accent sounds different than that of George Bush. I thought that was interesting that he noticed that.
Cars have a 180% tax in Denmark. The reason is to provide a disincentive for buying a car (and using public transportation or a bike instead), but they said that was just a convienant reason. Actually the big tax is a large revenue generator to pay for transportation costs, and thats why it sticks around. Same tax on motorcyles too. A Harley might cost 400,000 DKK I think he said. Some younger people are buying homes in southern Sweden now, because they can get a bigger apartment and buy a car cheaply. The bridge costs 235 DKK to cross though. $40. Cheaper if you do it daily. Train ride much cheaper.
Kvickly Supermarket
Took a walk down to Kvickly Supermarket today. Probably 6-7 blocks away, along Amager Boulevard (kind of the main street for Amager). Our guidebook says it is somewhat like a Super Walmart. I don't think I'd put it quite that way, but it did have a very large selection similar to a Super Walmart. The focus was mostly on food though, and then clothes/electronics/etc were added on to that.
Bought a shaver, headset for making phone calls, and two loafs of bread for DKK 491.90. About $82. The MOMS tax (25% valued added tax) was DKK 98.38 of that. So $16.39 of the $82 was tax.
The exchange rate is about $1 = 6 DKK. So I'm getting very good at dividing by 6 to get the cost in dollars. Yet another reason why your kids should learn those multiplication tables Mom. :)
Bought a shaver, headset for making phone calls, and two loafs of bread for DKK 491.90. About $82. The MOMS tax (25% valued added tax) was DKK 98.38 of that. So $16.39 of the $82 was tax.
The exchange rate is about $1 = 6 DKK. So I'm getting very good at dividing by 6 to get the cost in dollars. Yet another reason why your kids should learn those multiplication tables Mom. :)
Answering some questions
Some stuff that people asked me about in emails.
My camera is a Canon Powershot SD800. I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off on the camera (at Carlsberg Brewery), and it kept flashing and making glares on the beer bottles. So thats why there is a movie in that gallery...I figured the movie wouldn't make a flash.
I'm finding food to eat just fine. Haven't made much use of the kitchen yet though...still need to run into a Danish person in there and ask them the rules, etc. I think we have space in the cupboards and fridge we can use, but I want to make sure I don't take someone else's space...
The Amagerbro shopping area is huge...much bigger than it looks on the outside. Most stuff is pretty expensive I think. Lots of clothes and shoe stores. Everything is UDSALG UDSALG UDSALG (sale sale sale). 50% 50% 50%. I guess Denmark stores have two big sales a year. One at the end of January, and one at the end of August. We have sales for every holiday, and even a few extra holidays if the stores can create them. :)
In general, everybody speaks English (and quite well). They aren't annoyed when you start speaking in English, for the most part. I think most people are happy for a chance to practice.
Living in Copenhagen is very cool. I can get anywhere I want by walking or the easy public transportation. I haven't lived in a big city before, but this is very nice. No long driving commute to get places, and no traffic jams. Just a nice, green, walk to the subway (with a bakery on the way), and then a short subway ride into downtown Copenhagen.
A bit intimidating going someplace new, because you want to make sure you know how to get back. I have my address in my wallet, just in case. :)
People do have accents on their English. Some are much better than others. I ate at a bagel shop in Copenhagen, and the guy running it spoke perfect English with hardly an accent. Other people aren't as good, but you can certainly understand them. If anything, they will say the vowels just a little bit differently, or change the length of them just a little bit. So you can still hear the word, but the tone of it seems a little off.
My camera is a Canon Powershot SD800. I couldn't figure out how to turn the flash off on the camera (at Carlsberg Brewery), and it kept flashing and making glares on the beer bottles. So thats why there is a movie in that gallery...I figured the movie wouldn't make a flash.
I'm finding food to eat just fine. Haven't made much use of the kitchen yet though...still need to run into a Danish person in there and ask them the rules, etc. I think we have space in the cupboards and fridge we can use, but I want to make sure I don't take someone else's space...
The Amagerbro shopping area is huge...much bigger than it looks on the outside. Most stuff is pretty expensive I think. Lots of clothes and shoe stores. Everything is UDSALG UDSALG UDSALG (sale sale sale). 50% 50% 50%. I guess Denmark stores have two big sales a year. One at the end of January, and one at the end of August. We have sales for every holiday, and even a few extra holidays if the stores can create them. :)
In general, everybody speaks English (and quite well). They aren't annoyed when you start speaking in English, for the most part. I think most people are happy for a chance to practice.
Living in Copenhagen is very cool. I can get anywhere I want by walking or the easy public transportation. I haven't lived in a big city before, but this is very nice. No long driving commute to get places, and no traffic jams. Just a nice, green, walk to the subway (with a bakery on the way), and then a short subway ride into downtown Copenhagen.
A bit intimidating going someplace new, because you want to make sure you know how to get back. I have my address in my wallet, just in case. :)
People do have accents on their English. Some are much better than others. I ate at a bagel shop in Copenhagen, and the guy running it spoke perfect English with hardly an accent. Other people aren't as good, but you can certainly understand them. If anything, they will say the vowels just a little bit differently, or change the length of them just a little bit. So you can still hear the word, but the tone of it seems a little off.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Some pictures
Pictures from the Amager neighborhood near where I live. With captions. Click on the picture above to view all of them in this album.
Tour of Carlsberg Brewery. This was part of the DIS orientation activities. Click on the picture above to view all of them in this album.
Bus tour of Copenhagen as part of DIS orientation activities. Click on the picture above to view all of them in this album.
Thursday, January 25, 2007
Observations from walk home
Just a few things I've noticed walking around Copenhagen:
- People tend to wear more "stylish" clothes in general. Everyone certainly wants to look nice. Coats in particular are different from what I'd see walking around Gustavus. I'm sure my coat stands out a bit. Most people wear tighter fitting, "New York" coats I guess. Conservative and nothing flashy. The younger and middle age people would fit in just fine with their attire at home though.
- The older people typically have long coats, below the knee, from what I've seen. And bigger hats. Younger people either don't wear a hat, or have a stocking cap.
- Kids walking around are always in boots and a snowsuit. Babies are almost always in a stroller. Their moms leave the strollers outside (with the baby inside) when the go in someplace to shop. The baby is bundled up very warmly it looks like, but the fact that they leave them outside unattended is kind of different. Everyone leaves their bike around town too, with no lock or anything. I guess theft isn't a concern.
- 7-Eleven is a very large chain here. I think I know where about 8 of them are just on my way to school. They are usually small, at the corner of a building. It isn't a gas station (haven't seen any of those anywhere near where I live or in Copenhagen). It is the convenience store part of a 7-Eleven at home. I think they are pretty expensive though. 19 kroner for about a 16oz orange juice ($3). Bottled water and other drinks are about the same price.
- I know of two McDonalds downtown Copenhagen, and a Burger King. There is a Dominoes Pizza about 2 blocks from where I live.
- Certainly many more stores that are not familiar to me though. Downtown Copenhagen has many small, local shops I think. Cheap supermarkets include Netto, Fotex.
- Everything is clean. The streets don't have trash or bubble gum. Many of the ones I walk on are cobblestone, and trash would certainly get stuck in the cracks. There isn't any though. I do see people smoking, but no cigarette butts in the cobblestones either. There are no homeless people. No "hoodlums" on street corners. Everything is very organized and efficient.
First Classes
Today was the first day of class. I had my Kierkagaard philosophy class first. It is offered through Copenhagen University, so I guess we are registered with KU if we are taking the class. Typical Danish university courses like this one are only graded on the final paper. You go to class, do the readings, and then write a long final paper. This is read and graded by someone other than the teacher of the class. Then the teacher consults with the grader, and they make minor adjustments as needed. Our Kierkagaard class won't operate exactly like that, as DIS is kind of a mix between US/Danish styles. 40% of the grade will be the final paper, and graded by a different professor. The 10% participation and 50% small papers are graded by the professor teaching the class, which is like the US system.
My other class today was Danish. The teacher is originally from Odense, where Hans Christian Andersen was born. She is a French major, and came to the US for a year when she was 16. I guess she teaches Spanish at DIS too. Quite a few languages. My Danish class is 50% language and 50% culture I guess. She wants us to keep a little journal of cultural differences we notice, so I guess writing it here is as good as anywhere else.
My other class today was Danish. The teacher is originally from Odense, where Hans Christian Andersen was born. She is a French major, and came to the US for a year when she was 16. I guess she teaches Spanish at DIS too. Quite a few languages. My Danish class is 50% language and 50% culture I guess. She wants us to keep a little journal of cultural differences we notice, so I guess writing it here is as good as anywhere else.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
A few days in Denmark
The first few days here have been filled with orientation activities. Monday was jet-lagged. We walked through snow with a Danish "leader" to the opening ceremony. About a 30 minute walk. It was held at the Klytotek, which is owned by the Carlsberg Foundation. A big museum I think. After, a group of us from Øresundskollegiet (where I'm living) ate at a pub. We had no clue what we were ordering. Ended up getting a two-course meal, with fish-type appetizers and then a steak-type main course, covered in onions and with rye bread. The steak was good, although I didn't have much of an appetite from jetlag. Probably won't be going back there, because I think it ended up being $20 when all was said and done. Wandered around Copenhagen trying to find where our tour bus was leaving and we ended up missing the first set of busses. Caught the second though. The DIS director led our bus... he said it was so we could get our "Japanese tourist" sightseeing over and done with. There was a reporter from Politiken riding with us, writing a story on DIS. That is the newspaper that published those muslim cartoons last year that caused the uproar. She left early because there was a 60-car pileup south of town from the slippery roads.
On Tuesday we had "Survival Danish" from 9am-noon. Vowels are a big part of the language, and they have three extra ones. These seem like mostly variations on the "o" sounds, but much more from the gut and cut off quickly. Spoken Danish seems to vary significantly from written words. It is hard to tell (at least at this point) what a word should sound like from how it is spelled. I think if you just skip half the letters and smash everything else together...
In the afternoon yesterday we had a variety of other orientation sessions that focused on the DIS library, DIS security, the study tours, etc. These were probably longer than they needed to be. This afternoon we had an orientation to the business program (after Danish again in the morning).
I paid 18 kroner for a slice of pizza today for lunch...and I thought this was relatively inexpensive. 18 kroner is about $3. At home, I could get a whole pizza for about twice that...
Downtown Copenhagen is very pretty. Many walking-only streets, and the rest don't have much car traffic (nor room for car traffic). Bikes are very prevalent, and most roads have dedicated bike paths running alongside them. The bikes seems to have the right-of-way over everyone else, and they would certainly run you over if you don't get out of their way. Cars will wait for pedestrians and bikes. Everyone waits at the stoplights for the walk signal, even if no cars are coming. I haven't seen any Dane jaywalk yet. I stood at an intersection today waiting to cross a tiny little road with no traffic. Everyone was waiting for the light, even though the street probably took 4 steps to cross.
School is very easy to get to from Øresundskollegiet. I have been taking the metro thus far, because it is easy to understand and hard to get lost riding on. :) The metro station is only a few blocks away. I guess the bus stop is a little closer and a little faster (since we only have to go a short way), but haven't tried it out yet. Someday. Only need to ride 3 stops on the metro, and then a nice short walk to DIS.
Haven't yet met the Danes on my floor. Actually I think most of them aren't around. I think most classes for them don't start until Feb8 or so. Eventually...
I talked with the Danish "visiting family", Birte & Mogens Been, on the phone the other day and am going to go see them Saturday afternoon. They're going to pick me up at Øresunds.
The two supermarkets I've walked into have little barriers (like at Menards) when you walk in, so you can't walk back out through that entrance, but have to walk past the cashiers. I haven't quite figured out how you are supposed to do that if you aren't buying anything. The closed cashiers have barriers down as well. The only way I can figure is to wait in line until it is possible to sneak through without completely shoving someone out of the way. One time I did walk back out through the walk-in barrier. It is a wierd feeling to be in a store and not sure how to get out. :)
Pictures coming someday.
On Tuesday we had "Survival Danish" from 9am-noon. Vowels are a big part of the language, and they have three extra ones. These seem like mostly variations on the "o" sounds, but much more from the gut and cut off quickly. Spoken Danish seems to vary significantly from written words. It is hard to tell (at least at this point) what a word should sound like from how it is spelled. I think if you just skip half the letters and smash everything else together...
In the afternoon yesterday we had a variety of other orientation sessions that focused on the DIS library, DIS security, the study tours, etc. These were probably longer than they needed to be. This afternoon we had an orientation to the business program (after Danish again in the morning).
I paid 18 kroner for a slice of pizza today for lunch...and I thought this was relatively inexpensive. 18 kroner is about $3. At home, I could get a whole pizza for about twice that...
Downtown Copenhagen is very pretty. Many walking-only streets, and the rest don't have much car traffic (nor room for car traffic). Bikes are very prevalent, and most roads have dedicated bike paths running alongside them. The bikes seems to have the right-of-way over everyone else, and they would certainly run you over if you don't get out of their way. Cars will wait for pedestrians and bikes. Everyone waits at the stoplights for the walk signal, even if no cars are coming. I haven't seen any Dane jaywalk yet. I stood at an intersection today waiting to cross a tiny little road with no traffic. Everyone was waiting for the light, even though the street probably took 4 steps to cross.
School is very easy to get to from Øresundskollegiet. I have been taking the metro thus far, because it is easy to understand and hard to get lost riding on. :) The metro station is only a few blocks away. I guess the bus stop is a little closer and a little faster (since we only have to go a short way), but haven't tried it out yet. Someday. Only need to ride 3 stops on the metro, and then a nice short walk to DIS.
Haven't yet met the Danes on my floor. Actually I think most of them aren't around. I think most classes for them don't start until Feb8 or so. Eventually...
I talked with the Danish "visiting family", Birte & Mogens Been, on the phone the other day and am going to go see them Saturday afternoon. They're going to pick me up at Øresunds.
The two supermarkets I've walked into have little barriers (like at Menards) when you walk in, so you can't walk back out through that entrance, but have to walk past the cashiers. I haven't quite figured out how you are supposed to do that if you aren't buying anything. The closed cashiers have barriers down as well. The only way I can figure is to wait in line until it is possible to sneak through without completely shoving someone out of the way. One time I did walk back out through the walk-in barrier. It is a wierd feeling to be in a store and not sure how to get out. :)
Pictures coming someday.
Monday, January 22, 2007
Arrival
Arrived in Copenhagen airport Sunday afternoon, after a 8 hour flight from Chicago. I was very impressed by the Scandanavian Airlines service. Our plane was a large one, 2-4-2 seat arrangement, with about 40 rows I think. Each seat back had a TV screen, so you could choose which show you wanted to watch. I ended up watching a couple of English detective mysteries that were pretty good. The TV screen also had a channel where you could view cameras outside the plane. One faced forward, and the other down. These were pretty useless for most of the flight, since only clouds were visible. It was cool watching takeoff and landing from the front of the plane. The sunrise over the clouds was pretty as well.
We had two meals: salmon and pasta early in the flight, and then hot rolls and yogurt about an hour before landing. Very good. Even brought us a hot wash cloth after they woke everyone up.
After arrival in Copenhagen, DIS was there with a bus to transport our luggage. We went to KUA (University of Copenhagen, Amager), which is close to the airport. Got a bag full of information, and then had an orientation information session in a lecture hall there. DIS loaded us back up into the busses and took us to the kollegium.
My kollegium is a very large one in Amager (close to KUA). DIS has a paid representative here (a Danish student, Joel), who helps us out if needed. He gave us our room keys, and then a tour of the kollegium. This place has everything from a dark room, to laundry, to a bar in the basement, to a bike-fixup-shop. I think it is about 6 stories. I'm on the second. We have two seperate rooms, with a shared bathroom. The bathroom is a little different than home. The toilet has half-flush and full-flush options. The shower consists of a shower curtain to close off half the bathroom, and then a hand-held shower by the sink. Not the type of setup where you would spend 20 minutes in the shower, but then again maybe that is the point.
Austin (my roommate) and I grabbed something from the bakery a few blocks away this morning, and an orange juice from 7-11. It is snowing. A very light, fluffy snow that makes your whole face wet when a flake lands there. DIS opening ceremony is today. Joel's friend is walking the people from our kollegium over there.
I'll take pictures someday.
We had two meals: salmon and pasta early in the flight, and then hot rolls and yogurt about an hour before landing. Very good. Even brought us a hot wash cloth after they woke everyone up.
After arrival in Copenhagen, DIS was there with a bus to transport our luggage. We went to KUA (University of Copenhagen, Amager), which is close to the airport. Got a bag full of information, and then had an orientation information session in a lecture hall there. DIS loaded us back up into the busses and took us to the kollegium.
My kollegium is a very large one in Amager (close to KUA). DIS has a paid representative here (a Danish student, Joel), who helps us out if needed. He gave us our room keys, and then a tour of the kollegium. This place has everything from a dark room, to laundry, to a bar in the basement, to a bike-fixup-shop. I think it is about 6 stories. I'm on the second. We have two seperate rooms, with a shared bathroom. The bathroom is a little different than home. The toilet has half-flush and full-flush options. The shower consists of a shower curtain to close off half the bathroom, and then a hand-held shower by the sink. Not the type of setup where you would spend 20 minutes in the shower, but then again maybe that is the point.
Austin (my roommate) and I grabbed something from the bakery a few blocks away this morning, and an orange juice from 7-11. It is snowing. A very light, fluffy snow that makes your whole face wet when a flake lands there. DIS opening ceremony is today. Joel's friend is walking the people from our kollegium over there.
I'll take pictures someday.
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