The past 24 hours (give or take) have been a whirlwind. It actually just feels like a really long day (but not in a bad way). So overall my flights were fine. The only problem I would say would be the fact that I was only able to sleep 1 out of 8 hours on the plane ride over. (I dozed off a couple times later in the day once with my host family while we were at my new home for the next four months.) However, I am surprised that I don’t feel as exhausted as I thought I would. Although I know that once my head hits the pillow in a few minutes from now, that I am going to fall right asleep.
After arriving in Copenhagen, everything went smoother than I could have imagined. I walked through custom – no questions asked, which I was surprised about since I am staying for such a long period of time. (However, considering there were at least about 200 other students arriving at the same time as me, so they probably knew the routine). Then I collected my bags and exchanged some money with ease and was off to the buses to take us to our orientation site. That then quickly became a whirlwind of activities – including a short information session about the few days of orientation, getting my schedule and some paperwork that I need to fill out, meeting my host family (which I’ll come back to in a moment), and then standing in a really long line to get a stipend for my transportation for the first half of the semester (the wait was worth it though, cause that transportation pass is costs A LOT!).
So back to my host family…they came to the orientation site to pick me up around 10:30. (I actually knew who they were prior to them calling out my name to meet them.) They all seem very nice so far. It is interesting because they do speak Danish most of the time – so I feel a little left out of conversation, but then they always make sure to recap the conversation for me as long as it isn’t something trivial, which I appreciate. Although, it is definitely making me excited to start taking my Danish class at the university in hopes that I can begin to understand bits of what they are saying.
Anyways after they collected me at orientation we drove back to their home, which is about 30-40 minutes outside of the city (although we drove straight through the city on our way, so I have a little idea of where I am to go tomorrow). Once we arrived, I got a quick tour of their home; it is the perfect size. They seem to utilize every room and space available to them. Then for the remainder of the day we just relaxed in their family room, ate lunch, watched TV together for a long while, I read some of my new DIS materials as well, then ate dinner, watch some more TV, then I made my way upstairs to unpack my things (you all know I cannot ignore that chore for long).
It was nice to have a relaxing day today, however I am excited to get into the city tomorrow and hopefully meet up with some friends and meet some new people. I can already tell that I am going to have to make an extra effort to get to know other students in the program, but I have a feeling that once classes start everything will be fine, especially because I will start to get to know a select group of people a little better. It is interesting though because I know it will be interesting balancing time with my host family and my friends at DIS (although once again, and like always, I will figure it out).
So that was pretty much the extent of Day 1 in Copenhagen…and I know that it can only get better. Like I said I am really excited for tomorrow, to meet more people, be in the city and start to get a better feel for the area, and simply better acquainted with where I am. Well I am off to crash on my pillow. Night Night.
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