3.27.10 – X FACTOR!

Today I woke up gradually by watching some TV online in bed before actually pulling myself up out of bed. Once up, I walked into the center of my town, Hillerod, to get a few things for my trip to Czech Republic – snacks and random things. I decided to walk because my transportation pass was expired (as of yesterday) and it made me think more about using my temporary cards (which only had 10 uses on it). It was good though because I needed to walk to wake myself up and get moving. After my errands into town, I started to lie out some clothes and things in an attempt to start packing. Overall, the majority of the day was spent just relaxing around home – ate lunch with host family, watched some TV, talked to mom, etc.

The big event for the day though occurred in the evening. At around 5:00, we (my host parent, Caroline, and me) headed into town to go to the live finale of X FACTOR! X Factor is pretty much the Danish American Idol. It was held in town at the soccer (football) stadium. Before the show started they had some performers go on singing one song each, then finally the show began! It was absolutely crazy. It was interspersed with the 3 finalists singing as well as well-known Danish musicians. I didn’t recognize anyone who was singing, except the contestants. I had watched a couple of the shows on the TV with my host family prior to the finale, so it was fun to be there in person and actually see them perform. It is kind of funny though because since all of these talents shows are comparable, it didn’t really matter that I couldn’t understand what anyone was saying (it was all in Danish). However, they do sing some songs in English, so I could at least understand that much. It was just a lot of fun and is definitely a Danish experience that I will remember!

PS - I actually have to run to head to the Czech Republic :P but I promise I will add photos from the show when I get back.

3.22-26.10 – Midterms…Enough Said

This week was filled with mind numbing schoolwork. I will spare you all the details, but overall it was a tough week. Monday and Tuesday weren’t too bad, however my attempts at trying to get work done and studying for events later in the week had only limited success. I then had my first midterm on Wednesday morning; it was for my leadership class. It was completely written and involved analyzing a case study. Fortunately, we were able to use our laptop, Internet, class notes, and what our professor considered “resources available to good leaders”. I think I explained myself rather well, although I am a little unsure about how I will do because this is actually the first written assignment I had submitted for that class. After my midterm, my marketing group had a short meeting with our professor about our big report we are working on for the semester. It wasn’t bad at all, except for the fact that he was asking us about questions in our report and we had yet to talk about as a group. Additionally, none of us were in them mindset to think about the report since we had much more pressing assignments going on. Following that I headed home because I had a lot of studying to do for my history midterm – my biggest concern for the week. For my midterm, we were covering three centuries of development in Copenhagen in addition to recognizing different architectural styles. My last minute studying seemed to be pretty successful because I felt like I knew everything on the midterm, which was the following day (Thursday). I was simply disappointed because I ran out of time. Again, I will just have to see how everything goes when the grade comes. I have a feeling though that he might be rather lenient in the grading because there was simply SO much on the test.

The rest of Thursday was spent wasting my time in DIS. Once again I had intentions to work on my Danish paper and study for my Danish oral midterm. However, it was even harder on Thursday because everyone was getting really excited for the travel break and for many people, it was their last day of classes. I also don’t have that much enthusiasm for studying Danish. I actually spent the rest of my day relaxing and trying to clear my head from the events of the week.

Random Note: On Thursday evening, I actually watched the second Twilight movie with my host family (they recently purchased it). It was a movie I promised myself I would not waste my money on to see in theaters although I was intrigued to see it. I had read the books and had heard that the second movie was better than the first. All in all, the acting was a little better, but the movie as a whole still ranked poorly in my book. I am more than biased though because the second book/plot line was my least favorite in the series.

On Friday, I woke up earlier than expected because I was very anxious to get the day over with because that would mean that I would be on break! Since I was up early and still had work that I needed to get done, I went into DIS early. Once there, I finished my paper and managed to refresh my memory for my Danish midterm. I was definitely ready to get my oral midterm over with though. I was to the point in studying where random phases were popping into my head – in Danish, French, and English. It was crazy! I think the midterm went okay though, but the best part about it was that it was my last assignment for the week. Therefore, I was pretty much done! I did have my last class after that but I had definitely checked out. I did feel bad for the professor in that class though because there were all of eight of us in a class that normally has about 30 students. Additionally, we had a guest lecturer in class, which made the situation even worse. Anyways, once the class was over I took my time heading home. It was a beautiful day in Copenhagen, so I decided to take a longer walk to a train station a little farther away.

Once home, I simply wound down from the week by doing several little thing that were on my To Do list, watched some TV, and simply relaxed. At around 8:00, I went over to the hojskole down the street to meet up with a few of my friends to officially celebrate being on break! We were going to hangout a little and then go out in our town, however we all started to crash pretty quickly since we all had long weeks. In the end, we mostly hung around and chatted a lot, which was actually really nice. (We did manage to celebrate though with several drinks.) Overall, it was a nice way to end a very long week.

3.19-21.10 – Gearing Up for Midterms

The week finished up easily without any big surprises. I have found the end of the weeks more difficult though because I start to lose my motivation because the weekends come so quickly after Wednesdays. The biggest challenge I completed last week was beginning my visa application for London. It is going to be interesting getting it from Copenhagen, but overall, I think it may actually be easier and less time consuming to complete it here. This is primarily due to the fact that I have easier access to the British Embassy than I would at home. While I have begun to collect all of this information, the majority of it will be completed right after I get back from my two weeks travel break. This makes it all the more important that I get all of my documents and information together now since I don’t have much time to get it all organized when I return.

Friday was relatively low key. I began my day by getting more passport photos taken. I went to a different photo booth this time though because I needed them to be in color this time. They are definitely better than the first set, however still not very good (however I think by nature passport photos aren’t supposed to make you look good). I then had my two classes, which were rather uneventful. Primarily, I was simply interested in getting my classes completed so that I could go back home because I was planning on Skyping with a several of people that evening. I had planned to talk to my mom and Tory (who was getting ready to head off to Jamaica!). I also unexpected got a short chance to talk to Natalie a little bit. I am definitely getting jealous that all of my friends at Elon are off on their Spring Break and I still have another week to suffer through. I definitely need to try to figure out how to motive myself to get through all of the work I have coming up next week.

Friday evening wasn’t too eventful, although I did manage to catch up with some of my friends from the hojskole. I met them at the 7-Eleven, where we proceeded to get several pints of ice cream. We then headed back to the hojskole to watch a couple of movies for the evening. It was really nice to simply be able to relax and hangout with some friends. This is one of my favorite things to do at home, and I hadn’t got a chance to do it yet – watching movies and eating ice cream…I really couldn’t complain.

I then took my time getting up on Saturday. I did manage a meager attempt to be productive and get some homework done. However, the most exciting part of my day was when I got a chance to go for a run. It was a little rainy outside, but I still managed to meander my way through the park around the castle. I was probably out for about 45 minutes. While my body did go through a little bit of a shock still adjusting to my attempts to renew my physical exercise, I overall was really excited that I got myself out and moving. In the evening, I then went with my host family to my host dad’s parents’ house for dinner. It was my “host grandmother’s” birthday. Unfortunately, I was not feeling that well when we left – I had a slight headache and my stomach hurt, which forced me to have no appetite for anything. I was a little comforted though because my host sister was feeling tired and was mirroring some of my actions. Since I still wasn’t feeling well when we got home, I simply climbed into bed, watched some Bones episodes, and got to bed at a decent hour.

Sunday mimicked Saturday in that I took my time waking up, watched some more Bones episodes, completed more homework (although I am still lacking motivation to get work done = not a good thing), went for another run (although it was a little more difficult this time, since my muscles were a little sore from my run the day before), showered, did some laundry, and had dinner at home with my host family and my host mom’s parents. I had a couple of other random tasks in there as well, however the day consisted primarily of relaxing and trying to mentality prepare myself for the week ahead without overwhelming myself. It is going to be a mediocre week in that I have a considerable amount of assignments (1 written assignment, 1 paper, 2 tests 1 oral exam), however it is all relatively manageable because it is spread out throughout the week. Everything is also individual work, which is a nice change ☺ and easier to coordinate with my time. I know it will pose some additional challenges because I am definitely feeling the need for time off as well as simply getting excited for my travel break! I guess it is simply time to let the week begin (as well as get it over with ☺).

3.17.10 – St. Patrick’s Day in Copenhagen

Today was a very productive day; this is becoming a trend for my Wednesdays. I got up relatively early because I planned to complete my history assignment in the morning, which consisted of walking around one of the neighborhoods that surround Copenhagen, Vesterbro. I kept debating doing it this morning though because it wasn’t the nicest of days outside and it looked like it might rain, however I persevered and decided to get it over with. It was actually relatively enjoyable – except for the lousy weather (which was only cloudy; the rain held off!)

For the assignments, I was given a walking map around Vesterbro, which would allow me to familiarize myself with the area in the past and the present. Vesterbro is one of the working-class districts of Copenhagen and developed during industrialization. The area originally consisted of many tenement houses with little breathing room. Since then, it has undergone several urban renewal projects, however it still maintains evidence of its history. Many younger working-class families continue to live in the area as well as an emerging immigrant population. Throughout the walking tour, I was introduced to 16 different sights in Vesterbro including churches, renewed tenement housing, a mini model of Medieval Copenhagen, schools, the local YMCA, one of the rare parks in the area, and presence of old factories to name a few things. It was definitely informative and interesting to see how the history in the area has evolved while also being maintained. I had never been over to this area of Copenhagen, so I also enjoyed getting to explore a new area.

After my trip around Vesterbro, I walked back to the main station and continued to DIS. I had about an hour and a half before my afternoon field study and needed a place to warm up and eat my lunch. Then at around 12:30, I ran into some people who were also getting ready to head over to our field study – a business visit to Norrebro Brygghus, a local brewpub. This was quite fitting considering it is St. Partick’s Day. The “business” aspect of the business consisted of a gentlemen (who was the original drafter of the business plan) telling us about the history and concept behind the restaurant and brewery. It was interesting because they chose to use an “American” twist on the idea of how they develop and produce their beer. Additionally, they are a very small producer in the rather large beer production in Denmark. Since we were visiting a brewery, we were given the chance to “sample” some of the products. Throughout the presentation, we were given four different beers to try – they were all pretty good in their own way.(In the picture, one of those glasses was for water, and they are "smaller" than a regular size beer - just letting you know). It was also interesting because the gentleman would tell us about the inspiration and brewing concept behind each beer that we tried. I feel like I am learning quite a lot about beer during this trip (additionally my business core class is now focusing on the beer industry as our primary topic). As you can guess, this “business” visit was a good start to everyone’s St. Patrick’s Day celebrations.

After the visit, I went with some of my friends to a restaurant for an afternoon bite to eat (as well as something to absorb some of the alcohol we had just consumed). Following that I made my way back home for the rest of the evening. I didn’t have any plans to do anything for St. Patrick’s Day, and additionally, I have a cold that I am trying to get over. I did have a lot of energy though once I got home, so I decided to go for a run – which may or may not help my cold. It was really good to run though, since I hadn’t gone running for such a long time and needed to do something to release some energy.

The rest of the evening was spent doing some homework and relaxing. I did attempt to get to bed early, since I have felt exhausted recently, however I just don’t feel quite as tired when I actually crawl into bed. Instead, I end up reading for longer than I should and not getting enough sleep. I really need to kick this habit over the next few days; it may also help me get rid of this cold too.

3.16.10 – A Play in Danish

Today, I was able to catch up on some much needed sleep after a busy couple of days. I took my time waking up, took a nice morning shower, and began my day. First, I had to stop at the post office to send in my (dreadful) passport photos. It was the first time I was free when the post office was actually open. It was a pretty simple process; the post office is right next to the train station so it was also convenient. On the train ride into town, I wrote some much deserved thank you emails to family and friends for various birthday gifts.

Once in town, I had my two classes: Danish – I got my first test back to day, and I had done very well. Leadership – not too exciting, but I am finally beginning to like my teacher for the class, and it finally feels like we are making progress in the information we are learning and applying.

After classes, I headed straight home because I needed to be ready for a very important event for the evening…My host sister, Caroline, was having a play/musical at her school and I was invited to attend. It was a rather small affair with a cast of about 20 students. There was a lot of solo singing parts; Caroline had one of them. She seemed very nervous (although she had no reason to be), but she did very well. Obviously, it was in Danish, so I have a very limited idea of what the play was about. In general, it took place in a café, and there were several different couples that you followed throughout moments in their relationships. I am going to have to ask Caroline to explain more of it to me tomorrow. I did still enjoy it though.

After the play, we stopped and got pizza to bring home for dinner. For the rest of the evening, I am just planning on relaxing and maybe trying to get some homework done (although I don’t really see that happening). I am still a little tired though, so I will also try to go to bed early. Ta ta for now.

3.15.10 – ITS MY BIRTHDAY

I AM 21! – Whoa! While clearly the highlight of today was the fact that it is my birthday, however I first need to address the stresses of the day, which detracted from the happy occasion – at least for the first part of the day.

On this lovely Monday morning, my classes began earlier than usual at 8:00AM because in my business class we were presenting our analyses of the different businesses and industries we researched. To be able to fit in all the presentations, we had to start early – we actually ended up running over time as well. In addition to the presentation, we also had the large group paper (the one I worked on for most of my time on Sunday) due during class. I think the presentation went well, so it wasn’t too bad of a start to the day.

I then had my history class to sit through before I could hit the books again during my five hours break. Class was okay, but I simply was not focused because I was worrying about another group project that I had due in my marketing class later as well as a marketing midterm (which I had yet to study for, due to my concentration on my other project). You should already be able to tell what I did during my break. I had to write my section of the group paper (only a draft was due though, so not quite as big a deal), meet with said group to piece together the draft, and attempt to study for my marketing midterm. I succeed with the first two goals, however the last was a little more illusive. I simply didn’t have any more energy to devote to anything productive to be able to study. I also have a hard time studying marketing because when looking at the material, it all seems like common sense (there are simply terms labeling what different things are – the hard part is remembering all those terms). Needless to say, I don’t think I did that well on my midterm, however you never know, and I might do better than what I am currently imagining.

Once all the annoying classes, projects, papers, and tests were over, I finally got to start the celebration part of my day. I planned to meet up with Sofie, my host sister, at Lyngby – another train station off my usual line. From there, we would meet up with the rest of the family for a birthday dinner at a local sushi restaurant. We found each other just fine, which was very helpful because my phone had actually died earlier in the day, and it would have been difficult to contact each other otherwise. We had a little bit of time before our table was going to be ready, so we headed over to the shop where Charlotte – my host mom – works. I hadn’t been there before so it was nice to see. It is simply a clothing store located in a mall area. After a quick hello we headed over to the restaurant.

Clearly I couldn’t order much because I could read much on the menu, however I eat pretty much any kind of sushi, so it didn’t really matter. We ended up ordering 4 different trays – 2 were the rolled sushi and 2 were cooked sticks. It was a lot to eat, but it was all very good, and collectively we finished all but one piece. Also at dinner, my host family gave me a present, which were a shirt and a scarf (which I am wearing as I write this). I was surprised because (1) I wasn’t expecting anything from them and (2) they were colorful (a rarity to see in Denmark.

After dinner we all piled in the car to head home. On our way, we stopped for some ice cream to have with some coffee as a dessert once we got home. While we were waiting for the coffee to brew, I took the liberty to open a couple of the packages I had received from family back home. I opened a box from my Aunt Rena and Uncle Jack, who sent me some o my favorite chocolates. I also unwrapped a package from my dad and Bob, which included a couple cards, a hat, several boxes of granola bars, and a battery powered hamster (which I still don’t quite understand). We then all sat down in the family room where my host family serenaded me with the Danish birthday song. We also had the previously mentioned ice cream and coffee, which was really good. I haven’t had ice cream for a while, however I resisted from eating too much all on my own. We then just watched some TV and relaxed for the evening.

At about 10:00, I made my way up to my computer, so that I could hopefully catch some people on Skype. Fortunately, I was able to talk to Tory and my mom. I actually waited to open the package from my mom until I talked to her. It was fun cause I think the best part of opening presents is doing so when the other person is there. Then they have a chance to explain and comment where needed. After all of my presents, I have quite a lot of food to consume, including granola bars, 4 jars of peanut butter (this will not be a problem), and several bags of candy. I feel like I am always eating; I just recently finished all the fudge my Nonno sent me (I’m not complaining about it though ☺).

After Skyping, I then got ready for bed and read for a little bit before falling asleep. It was definitely a good birthday. Thank you again to everyone for the cards, gifts, kind thoughts, and awesome birthday wishes! We will have to honor my birthday though again WITH A DRINK when I get home.

3.13-14.10 – A Weekend that Definitely Did Not Feel Like a Weekend

This weekend went by like a blur. On Saturday, I clearly slept in and took my time getting ready, which entailed staying in bed until about 12:30. My host family was then off to do a few things for the day for which they invited me, however I decided to stay home and rest. Additionally, I did have some schoolwork to focus on since I have three different things due on Monday in addition to a midterm. Once I got my mind focused I began some of my less tasking projects, like readings and worksheets for class.

Once I felt like I deserved a break I went to run a short errand. I believe I have mentioned in previous posts that I have decided to participate in an internship program located in London for this coming summer. One of the things I needed to do was get four passport photos taken and mailed to the internship coordinator in London. I was told that the easiest place to get these pictures taken was at these little photo booths that are housed in the train stations, so I made my way over there. Now, I had actually tried to take these photos before, however the machine only took change in certain amounts (5, 10, and 20 kroner coins) of which I didn’t have enough of last time I tried. However, I made sure to “save up” my change because I knew I had to get these taken. It was actually very easy to have them taken and worked out really well; unfortunately, these are probably the worst passport photos I have ever taken emphasized by the fact that they are in black in white. I just hope they aren’t used for anything too important and that I never have to see that photo again.

Since this errand took all of about 10 minutes and the bus wasn’t coming back to the station for another half hour, I decided to simply walk home. It is only about a 25 minutes walk from the station, and I figured the fresh air and walk could do me some good – especially since I was still a little groggy from my weird sleep hours. On the way, I did splurge though and buy this small pastry cake at the grocery store. I figured this could also be in honor of my birthday (my means of rationalizing a purchase I shouldn’t have made and didn’t need to eat). It was definitely worth it though to have something sweet. I then spent the rest of my day talking to a few people on Skype, working more on my projects, showering, drove Sofie to the train station (my second time driving in Copenhagen; it isn’t any different just kind of weird since I am not used to driving around anymore), and homework that were due for Monday, and watching some episodes of Bones online (I am in the midst of season four, and there are some really good/weird cases in these episodes).

Sunday was probably the day, which confused my perception of the weekend so much. I had to get up at a decent hour because I had a group meeting for once of my projects. We were meeting at noon, which meant I had to leave the house at 10:30 to get there in time. All in all, it was simply a very time consuming and cumbersome meeting. We were attempting to put everyone’s written sections together, finalize the paper and PowerPoint, and basically get everyone on the same page. After four hours of working, it seemed a little more pulled together but there were still things that needed to be finished, which was going to have to wait for later since my brain was exhausted, people needed to finish their respective sections before the paper was fully together, and I had a “football” match to go to.

As part of my Danish class – and all Danish classes, we were given tickets to the big game of the season (the Copenhagen team verses the other Danish team – apparently a big rivalry). It was actually my first soccer game that I have ever attending. It was rather interesting because soccer isn’t that exciting (at least to me) because not much happens for a while. However, we did see some players take some bad hits and falls, which added interest. Probably the most interesting part of the game was the manners of the fans. From where we were sitting, we had a good view of the opponent’s fans (and couldn’t really seen our own). The restrictions of the sorts of things fans can bring with them must not be very limited because occasionally fans would light flares, which would blaze in the stand (a couple were thrown down onto the field as well). Additionally, there is constant chanting; it isn’t in relation to watch is happening on the pitch, it is just continuous cheering. Overall, it ended up being a good match – 2:0 Copenhagen team won with one goal being scored in the last seconds of the game.

After the game, I followed the crowd of people to the train station and headed home (fortunately I caught a good train and only had to wait about 10 minutes for the bus). Once home, I then had to go back to doing homework – primarily getting the group paper finished for my class that was starting at 8:00AM the next morning. I eventually did get it completed; however by that time I knew I wasn’t going to get much sleep since I was going to have to leave the house at 6:30 the next morning.

3.12.10 – Finally Friday

Today was a pretty relaxed day consisting of my couple classes, heading home to relax a little, and then going out in honor of my birthday with a few of my friends in Copenhagen. Classes were rather uneventful, however in my leadership class we did get some feedback on our group presentations that we did earlier in the week. Overall, he said that all the groups did a good job. He didn’t have specific grades or anything, but it seems like we all did will if he was to put a letter to it. After classes, I simply headed home to relax a little for the evening by watching some TV, playing on the computer, having dinner with Charlotte and Caroline, etc.

By far the best part of the day was the very end. I am had planned with a couple of my friends from classes to meet up and go out in the city in honor of my birthday. We all met up after some difficulties at the train station in the city and then began wandering around the streets of Copenhagen in search of a bar. We eventually ended up at a place called “Wall Street”; it was a pretty low-key place but we were still able to have a good time. There was a jukebox there of which we spent the first have of the night frustrated with because it took forever to play the songs that we had requested – there must have been a relatively long queue. By the end of the night they did eventually get played though. I also had a few drinks with a couple of my friends – after all I am turning 21, but nothing too overwhelming since I was going to have to manage to get myself home, plus I don’t like to drink that much anyway. All and all it was a pretty mellow evening, however I still was able to have fun and definitely enjoyed celebrating with my friends here. Although I have been told that I will have to make it truly official and celebrate when I get back to the US. After all turning 21 doesn’t really have the same effect in Copenhagen as it does back home.

At about 2:30 Tatiana and I caught the night bus home from the station to make our way home. It consisted of about and hour and a half bus ride, however I was able to get dropped off right at my door. I then crashed into my bed for a good mornings sleep at about 4AM ☺ - totally worth it.

3.8-11.10 – Group Meetings

This week has been pretty uneventful, however I feel the need to catalog its events. Overall, it could be characterized by group meetings. Monday consisted of 3 classes and a group meeting. The group meeting was rather short, due to the fact that all my other groups members appeared to have their minds elsewhere, and the primary focus was on how to divide the work up appropriately. Nevertheless the project was due the following day, so we needed to at least understand where we were all coming from.

Tuesday was interesting to say the least. I did get to sleep in a little, however birds are starting to chirp at 5:00am and waking me up in the process. Once I got up I headed into the city for my classes. Danish class was out of character because we had a substitute professor – my actual teacher and his wife just had a new baby boy before my trip to London and he is taking a short “paternity leave”. This new teacher is much more intense and speaks in Danish for most of the class. I can usually understand about half of what she says, but the fact that as a class we cannot figure out what she is asking or saying caused some minor setbacks. Overall, I don’t think this teaching style it bad; it is just completely different from what we are used to. She is only here I believe for this week though, so that class should go back to normal soon enough. I then had my leadership class, in which we gave the presentation/group project that I mentioned above. There are actually six different groups in the class and all of us were given the same assignment and prompt. Additionally, all the groups presented on Tuesday. Needless to say, the presentations got a little repetitive. Overall, I would say that our group’s presentation was average. We should get feedback on them on Friday, and I am interested to hear what our professor has to say. Following that class, I had another short group meeting (different group) to divide up sections of another project where we have a draft due on Monday. It was productive for what we needed to complete. This short, yet busy afternoon, ended with a surprise though. I received a package in the mail from Tory and Natalie! I was told to wait until my birthday (Monday) to open it, but it made my day all the same.

Wednesday was my highly productive day of the week. I took my time getting up, but then once awake I got right down to some homework, as well as some information that needed to be completed for my London Internship program this summer. I then had to go into the city around 4:00 because I had a group meeting (yet another group) to talk about a project that is due on Monday as well. I guess it was productive, yet again by dividing up sections so that it would be easier to work on separately. It is sort of annoying though, that I have about an hour-long commute for an hour-long meeting, and then have to turn around and head home. In all of my commuting though, I was able to complete all the necessary forms I needed to send in the next day for my internship.

Thursday mirrored the events of Monday. Consisting of my morning classes, getting some work done at DIS during my 5 hour break in between (which I was able to draft my section of one of the reports due on Monday), and my last class of the day. During that class, we were given time to meet with our groups to talk about our rough draft report due on Monday. Our group had a general idea of what we were doing, but we still talked about a few things regardless.

As you can tell this week is definitely overwhelmed by the planning for group projects. One of which is now complete and the other two will be done by Monday. All of this coordination was even more difficult because everyone had two or three projects they were juggling too. Additionally, a decent amount of people are traveling this weekend on their own or with classes, which put additional pressure on getting work complete during the week. I am sure everything will come together just fine this weekend – as it always does. It is simply crazy how a relatively dull week became stressful due to the coordination and preparation for different projects.

3.6-7.10 – A 50th Wedding Anniversary

After being gone for a week, one might assume that I would get the weekend to rest up at home and get ready for the week back to school. However, this weekend was a celebration for my “host grandparents” 50th wedding anniversary. The happy couple invited their two sons (one begin my host dad) and their families to join them on an overnight family retreat. It was kind of them to include me in these festivities as well.

On Saturday morning, I was able to sleep in because we didn’t have to leave the house until 12:30. At that time, we drove to the grandparents’ house, where Sofie and I joined them for the 1.5 hours drive to our weekend retreat. It was a nice little get away location. It was an old farm, which had been converted into a hotel and including a dining building, pool, and hiking trails on the grounds. We arrived a little before 3:00, unloaded our belongings into our rooms, and headed to the dining room for afternoon tea and coffee. Following that the girls (Sofie, Caroline, and host “cousin”) and I went to the indoor pool for a short swim. I didn’t stay in too long, but instead went back to the hotel room to shower and contemplate getting started on some of my homework, which desperately needed to get started. I wasn’t that successful at that task, but I did get a chance to check my email and did some short readings.

After a relaxing afternoon, we headed to dinner around 6:30. We had a wonderful three-course meal including a salad, beef with red wine sauce, and a pear & berry dessert with ice cream. During dinner, Klaus (host grandpa) gave a short speech – in Danish – to his wife recounting some of their adventures over the past 50 years. They were married in Nigeria & have since traveled the globe together. We then retired for after-dinner coffee and drinks for a little while. I decided to head back to my room around 11:00. I got ready and attempted to do some reading, where I subsequently dozed off (unfortunately so since I was going to try to talk to Tory who I hadn’t talked to for over a week at this point).

The next morning we woke up around 9:00 to check out of the rooms and head to breakfast, which included an array of choices. I had to limit myself with all of the bread, pastries, pancakes, fruit, etc. We then head back to Hillerod around 10:30 and got back home around noon where I finally began my homework.

Then around 5:00 we all piled back into the car to head over to my host mom’s parents house for the purpose of constructing a pine archway, which would be presented to the 50th anniversary couple the following morning. Apparently, a common tradition on the golden anniversary is to create this archway and deliver it to the couple’s house early in the morning on the actual day of their wedding and wake them up to congratulations from the family. In addition to the construction of this archway, we also had a nice dinner and watched a little television. We then headed home around 9:30, so that all of us could get to bed since we all were to be early in the morning – some of us going to school and others going to recognize a lifetime together of 50 years one more time.

3.5.10 – Back to Copenhagen

Today we left London. We did have a couple more things on our agenda though before we departed for the airport. We had a choice of going to the British National Museum or the Imperial War Museum. I think everyone (who was awake) decided to go to the British Museum. It seemed a little more interesting and was just around the corner from our hotel. On our way there, a group of us stopped at the nearest Tesco to grab some snacks. I actually purchased several boxes of granola bars. I know it sounds like a weird things, but I cannot find actual granola bars in Copenhagen. They are such an easy thing to carry with me throughout the day, so I decided to splurge. We then headed over to the museum. It had a wide variety of artifacts from ancient Rome, Greece, Egypt, and Europe. I think I enjoyed the Egyptian section the best mainly because they had quite a collection of mummies. Additionally, they had cat-scans of a lot of them so you could see what is inside them. This is also the museum, which houses the Rosetta Stone. That was neat to see simply because it is such an important part of history.

After the museum, we headed to our location for lunch, which was only about a 10 minutes walk from the museum. We once again had fish and chips, which were okay. However, the dessert was the best part of the meal in my mind. It was a warm apple crumble with ice cream, so good.

After lunch, we went back to the hotel to collect our luggage from the storage closet. We then got on the bus for our journey to the airport. Overall, I cannot believe how quickly the week went by and the fact that our Long Study Tour is over. I had such a great time being in London. I believe it was a combination of things really: being in a city I know, having wonderful weather, the existence of Starbucks on every street, having so many things to do and see, the diversity there, etc. It is simply so different from Copenhagen in a good way. I think it will be a little difficult to readjust to life in Copenhagen after this week

3.4.10 – Last Full Day in London

Today was our last full day in London, and it was a relatively full day. It began by heading to the Chelsea Football Stadium to get a tour of the facilities. We saw the press room, locker rooms, walked out onto the field through the tunnel, and saw the stadium. It was neat, however I don’t have much passion for “football” so I don’t think I appreciated it as much as a couple of other people would have. One fun thing they had was in the front of the stadium where they had life size photos where fans could stand or sit in on to make it appear like they were a part of the team.

After the visit and lunch at a BBQ place for ribs, we headed back into town. I joined up with a group heading to Harrods. We walked around a little, which included the chocolate, food, and toy department. We then had to be on our way because the group that I was in for the afternoon had to meet our teacher and tour guide at 3:00 for a walking tour of London’s East End. We also wanted to run back to the hotel beforehand because we needed to layer up since we were going to be outside for a couple of hours.

We then met up with our guide at the Liverpool Station. It was a little difficult finding her because the station is rather large and has several exits, but we managed all the same. We then began our walk around the East End. We didn’t see anything particularly special, she was simply pointing out different locations that were important to the waves of immigrants that inhabited the area throughout the years. Additionally, she pointed out different areas that were relevant to the Jack the Ripper murders. Most of the locations were sort of strange because the area has mostly been redone, so only a few of the buildings she was talking about were still standing. There were really two things that made this walk worth it, (1) we stopped at a coffee shop half way through where we all got coffee courtesy of DIS. It was good coffee, however it somehow failed to do the trick because after that stop, I couldn’t stop yawning. (2) Our guide for the afternoon was the same one who gave us the bus tour on the first day. She is absolutely hilarious because she is so random. I cannot remember half of the things she talked about on the tour because she constantly was changing subjects and adding in random facts. She definitely knows her history facts though (she is also pretty good with pop culture trivia too). Overall, it was a decent way to spend the afternoon.

After our tour, we went back over to Westminster because several people wanted to go on the London Eye. I decided not to go on it because it was dark outside by this time and I didn’t know how much I was going to be able to see, and I figured it could be an activity to save for this summer. While they were on the Eye, Heidi, Erica, and I walked along the Thames for a little bit, but then found a souvenir shop to look around in for a while.

Once the other girls got off the London Eye, we all headed over to Chinatown because we all decided Chinese food sounded good for dinner. It was a little bit of an adventure finding it, but overall it wasn’t too bad. We then began to determine which restaurant had the cheapest chicken dishes (that was what most people wanted). I didn’t really mind a cost issue, but I know the others were more concerned about that. It was an okay dinner. I did enjoy the fact that I was not completely stuffed when we left though, rather just satisfied. We then made our way back to the hotel to change – stopping at Platform 9 ¾ on the way (it was kind of funny because they are actually doing renovation on Platrforms 9 & 10 at King’s Cross, so the Platform had been temporarily “moved” to a different location) – and meet up with some other people from our class to go out for the evening.

I think it was about 2:30am when we finally left the club/bar to head back to the hotel. It seemed a little too far to walk, although Margot was determined to do so. The night buses were also a little tricky to figure out, so we simply decided to grab a cab. It was only like 8 pounds, and it ended up being fun to ride in one. Once, we got back at the hotel, Margot, Julie, Lisa, and I hung out a little bit (after we finally got a working key for Lisa). I then quite literally crashed on my bed to try to grab a few hours of sleep before I had to be up for the next morning.

3.3.10 – Lloyd’s of London

We had a choice for our first stop of the day, which included either going to the Tate Modern or the Globe Theatre. Since we could get a tour of the Globe, I decided to go there and see what it was like on the inside. Overall, it wasn’t that fascinating, but I definitely think it was interesting how it had been recreated in similar if not the same materials that it was originally built with. It is also a fun theatre because being circular; you can see any point on the stage regardless of where one is sitting. Additionally, I think it is fun that they continue to host performances there during the summer months. I am definitely going to try to go back for a show while I am London for the summer.


After the events of the morning, we all regrouped and headed to our lunch location (not too far from St. Paul’s), where we had a rather interesting lunch of soup, sausage, mashed potatoes, and carrots & peas. It seemed very British, however it was very filling as well. After lunch I joined up with a group of girls who were heading to Abbey Road – the crosswalk where the Beatles crossed. It wasn’t necessarily on my list of things to do, but I didn’t have any other plans. Additionally, this group was heading to the company visit (as was I) later in the afternoon, and I wanted to be with them so I would have less of a chance getting lost (although I do have a rather good sense of direction when walking around the city). Since Abbey Road, it literally just a crosswalk, we still had some time to waste before we had to get to our 4:00 company visit. We decided to head over to Oxford St. to walk around for a little.

After about 30 minutes there, we caught the Tube to head over to Lloyd’s of London, our company visit for the afternoon. It is housed in this really neat building, designed by the same architect who designed the Centre de Pompidou in Paris. Then once inside, you can just feel the pressure that people associates with a place of insurance and financial dealings. It was really cool though. Everyone’s workspace was pretty much in the open and different companies had little sectioned tables where their employees would complete their work. After witnessing this, we headed to a conference building, where a nice gentleman told us a little more about the business of Lloyd’s and essentially what they are trying to achieve. I think it is a rather interesting company considering it a non-profit organization that in simple terms provides a locale for broker and underwriter interaction, however they are still known worldly by their brand, which exudes a high standard for the business completed there. I just though the whole organization and workings of Lloyd’s itself was fascinating. Once when we were done in the conference room, we headed back out onto the floor, which was empty by that time, and got to look at some of the historical aspects that are housed within the building.

Once we were finished at Lloyd’s, the group of girls I was with and I headed back to the hotel to change out of our business attire and head out to dinner. We knew it was going to be a low-key evening, so we headed to an area a Tube Stop or so away called Covent Garden. We found a fun little restaurant and bar right on the corner. Once again a British vibe must have come over me because I decided to order a venison pie; it was so good. It came with carrots, cabbage and mashed potatoes, and I ate the whole thing! Then all six of us decided to split a piece of chocolate cake, which definitely did the trick. Once again, I was stuffed. We all then headed back to the hotel and had an early night.

3.2.10 – A View of London: Then & Now

Today began with a company visit to Transport for London; this is the company that helps to coordinate the activities of the Tube, buses, taxis, waterbuses, bikes, walking routes, etc. Ironically, on our way to the visit, the Jubilee line got backed up and we were stuck on the train for an extra 10 minutes. It was additionally ironic because the first gentleman who spoke with us was a manager in the public relations department; he continuously apologized for the delay throughout his presentation. The second gentleman who spoke to us was the head manager for the Games. His job is to integrate the transportation networks to ensure that the 2012 Olympics run smoothly in terms of getting athletics and viewers to Olympic sights on time. All the planning and coordinating of projects and time schedules is absolutely crazy, but it was still pretty cool.

After our visit there, we were given the remainder of the day until dinnertime to do what we wished. A group of us got on the Tube and headed in the direction of Tower Bridge. It is such a sight to see when it finally comes into view when walking around the corner. It was also beautifully lit by the full sun, since it also happened to be a gorgeous day outside. After taking a variety of photos, we finally crossed the Thames via the Tower Bridge.

For some of us, myself included, we ventured to the Tower of London. I hadn’t been there before so it was on my list of places I really wanted to visit. We walked around by ourselves to all the main areas including the Bloody Tower, the crown jewels (which were amazing), the Tower Walk, the armory, etc. There was so much to see in one place (including the building itself). I feel like while I have seen it, I could still benefit from a guided tour or simply more time there.

After the Tower of London, I departed on my own to head to St. Paul’s. Everyone else wanted to go to Buckingham Palace, which is understandable because they had not been there before. I walked along the Thames to get to the Cathedral; there were so many people simply sitting by the Thames relaxing or having a bite to it. It was very pleasant and a great walk.

Once I arrived at St. Paul’s, I walked around the Cathedral and back to the high alter, which is incredibly ornate. There was so much detail in the mosaics and on the alter; it is hard to explain. I didn’t dilly dally though because the second main reason I wanted to go to St. Paul’s was to see the view from the top of the dome; knowing it was going to be a lot of steps, I wanted to give myself more than enough time. Now, I am not scared of heights, but the staircases near the very top got rather steep and narrow that it became nerve racking. However, I think part of this was due to the fact that I was in my “business flats” from the company visit in the morning, so I didn’t exactly have the best traction. I did eventually make it to the very top and got a gorgeous view of the city. To repeat myself, it was a beautiful day, and I could clearly see everything. After spending some time enjoying the views, I slowly made my way back down to the Cathedral, where I sat, relaxed, and listened to the soft music for a little bit. (I need to mention that while I was sitting there, I did take a couple illegal photographs of the inside of the Cathedral – don’t worry I turned the flash off, so the offense went unnoticed). I then gradually made my way out via the crypt of the building.

Before heading over to attempt to meet up with some people before dinner, I treated myself to Starbucks as well as a travel mug (I have been looking for a mug in Copenhagen and cannot find one anywhere).

Since it was so warm outside and the sun was shining, I decided to go over to Green Park and see Buckingham Palace myself prior to meeting up with some girls from my class. There were not many people around, and many people were simply strolling through the park. It was very relaxing and calming. I then set out on my way to try to meet people before dinner, however in the process I ended up on Carnaby Street and decided to simply wander some more on my own rather than attempt to find my friends. I only had about an hour, so it wasn’t that bad.

I then tried to make my way to the address for dinner. However, I began to feel like I was Harry Potter searching for the Room of Requirement because I kept walking down and back on this one section of the street passing it every time because I couldn’t find the address numbers for the building. As it turns out though, the door I was looking for was simply street entrance to an office building, which housed the main offices of the restaurant we were going to, not the actual restaurant. Once we figured this out though, a nice gentleman from the restaurants corporate offices kindly took us on a ten minute walk to get to the actual restaurant.

We had to eat dinner relatively quickly because we had to get to the “Thriller LIVE” concert. To me it was a rather interesting show; I still don’t really know what to make of it. I think overall, if you are a really big fan of Michael Jackson’s music, it was enjoyable. However, there really wasn’t a “plot” to follow. It was still fun and a good way to start the evening.

After the concert, I quickly headed back to the hotel with a couple friends so we could change (yes I was still in my business attire from the morning), and then meet up with everyone else to head out to a club for the evening. We went a Tube stop down from our station and went to a place called Las Locas. It was a fun little place, and there were a decent number of people there. Mainly, we just danced for a got part of the evening and had a good time. I headed back to the hotel “early” with a group of people. Since the Tube had since stopped running, we actually had to walk back, but it was only about 10 minutes, so it wasn’t that bad. I then practically collapsed in my bed, since I was so tired from the day.

3.1.10 – Wimbledon & Fuller’s

Welcome to March! I cannot believe it. Anyways, today started with an early morning and a basic breakfast at the hotel consisting of cereal and grapefruit. Then at 8:00, our group congregated to depart for our first of two company visits for the day…WIMBLEDON! I was so excited I couldn’t wait to get there. On our way we actually got off one Tube stop farther down than we were supposed to, which meant we walked a rather circuitous route to get to the entrance of Wimbledon. However, our route was through a park and some other grounds in the area, and overall was rather pleasant. Additionally, it was an absolutely gorgeous day; there were clear blue skies and it must have been in the 40s – I couldn’t have imagined a better day to visit Wimbledon.

Once we arrived at or destination, we had a short talk by the CFO, who explained to us more about the revenues and operations of the club. Fun Fact: Wimbledon makes approximately 30 million pounds within the two-week tournament, which covers expenses for a majority of the year.

After this, we were given a tour of the grounds, which was brilliant – did I mention it was beautiful outside. Our first stop was at the Pony Rolling machine, which was the original machine that flatted the surface of the courts (which were originally croquet pitches). Another Fun Fact: the first Wimbledon Tournament was played to raise money to repair the Pony Roller, so that the pitches could be flatted so that club members could play croquet, not tennis. After hearing more about the history of the club, we made our way to the Number 1 Court. It was so cool to sit in the stands and see a stadium I have only ever seen on TV. At this point in the tour, we also learned a lot about the treatment of the highly important grass court. (They are reseeded every year with rye seed – a strong grain of grass. Additionally, each of the courts on the grounds undergoes testing prior to the tournament. This testing includes bouncing a ball to ensure that the court is even across its entirety and plucking grass seeds to ensure that the courts are approximately 100% rye seed. Now, if a court fails this testing, it is taken out of commission from the tournament. It seems sort of crazy, but all this testing ensures that all courts are equal and therefore players cannot protest about altered conditions from one court to the next.) Everything about the stadium is about caring for the grass whether it is ensuring the correct amount of sunlight for even growth or special gutters to refrain from getting the grass court too wet.

After No. 1 Court, we went over to the hill outside of the court, where thousands of spectators who didn’t receive tickets in the stadium stand and watch the match on a large TV screen, and then wound our way over to the press box. This was also cool to be in, and I got to sit behind the desk at the end. I sat in the same place that Roger Federer and Serena sat in less than 9 months ago! We then made our way to the Center court. Overall, it isn’t that different that No. 1 Court, just a little larger with the relatively new retractable roof, royal box – which the queen will only sit in if a British man ever makes it to the final match again – and once again a variety of features designed simply to maintain the grass court. They were actually testing growing the grass with artificial sunlight to experiment a technique, which may have to be used in 2012 for the Olympics.

After all of this, we had a short amount of time to look at the museum and shop that were on the grounds, until we had to make our way back to the tube to head to our next destination for the day – Fuller, Smith, & Turner Brewery. En route, we stopped for lunch on the go once we got into Chiswick, the town where the brewery is located.

For what was considered a “business visit” for us it was rather unconventional, aka we were simply there to tour the brewery and try the beer. I have never toured a brewery before (because I am still only 20 and not allowed to in the states), but it was kind of cool to learn more about the whole process. However, there isn’t much to see, since it is really just a collection of vats, which are home to different parts of the process. After our tour around the fact, we were allowed to taste all of the beers we had just heard about. This included an array of beers – at least 8 different ones. We were given a little taste of each one (maybe like the amount in a shot glass – and then got to pick the one we liked best for a full glass. They were definitely all different from each other, but it became difficult to discern one from another after trying all of them in a row. I decided to go with their organic, honeydew beer for my full glass choice though. It is lighter, which is what I needed after trying so many.

After the brewery, we all made our way back into London center. Most people went their own ways; I joined up with a group who was choosing to brave the chaos of Primark on Oxford St. For those of you who don’t know, Primark is a very cheap store, which sells primarily clothing items of low quality – as our tour guide put it, she has some friends who purchase items there, wear them once, and simply throw them away, since they are practically not worth washing and re-wearing. Regardless, the store is always jammed packed with people who are attempting to find a good deal. However, once we got to Primark we only had about 20 minutes to look around before we had to make our way to our location for dinner, so it was really just a preview of Primark, although some people were able to purchase a few random things.

We then took a series of about three Tube lines to eventually make it to the restaurant for dinner. It was surprisingly a really nice restaurant, and we were able to choose from a selected menu for a three-course meal. Additionally, a lot of us ordered drinks as well. Most people got a cocktail with dinner, however I was in the mood for a dessert drink with my toffee pudding. I ended up getting a Bailey’s Latte; it was really good. After dinner, I simply made my way back to the hotel with a group of people and decided to stay in after a long day and get rested for another adventuresome day tomorrow.

2.28.10 – Heading to London

Today, I finally made it to London! At the beginning of the semester, it felt like this travel tour was decades away, and now I cannot believe that I am actually here. My travels began very early this morning at 6:40 when my host mom and I left the house to drive to the train station. We also picked up my friend, Tatiana, who is in my class so that she wouldn’t have to take a cab to the station. We then caught the 7:02 train to head to the airport where we were meeting up with the rest of our class. We got our tickets, went through security, and a passport checkpoint rather seamlessly (although there were a handful of people who were late to the airport). Luckily, I was able to sleep on the plane a little bit, since I hadn’t slept much the night before.

We landed in Stansted Airport, which is about 35 minutes outside of London. There was a bus to take us into the city. En route to our hotel, we took a long bus ride all the center of London from the docks to Saint Paul’s to Westminster, to Trafalgar Square, to Harrods, to a bunch of squares…the list of locations goes on and on. Now we were on the bus for about 3 hours, which could get rather tedious, however we also had a tour guide who was pointing out sights to us along the way. Additionally, she was absolutely hysterical. In addition to talking about the historical and important facts, she rated the coffee at different locations for us around the city, talked about famous British actors, and her life as an extra in several films. Oh yeah, for some reason unknown, she hates Harry Potter. It is hard to explain but almost everything she said was random and funny in an obscure way. I am SO excited because she is going to be our guide again later in the week, and I know that it will make that excursion a good time.

When we finally got to our hotel, it took rather a long time to check in. There were many other groups approximately our size (like 30 people) checking in. Once we got to our rooms we quickly dropped our bags, and regrouped in the lobby to head out for some quick sight seeing before we had to meet for dinner. We all made it over to the Tube, which I felt really comfortable with. I have been on it many times before when I was in London last spring with Natalie, but it was kind of weird how my understanding of it returned to me so quickly. I have to admit though, it was kind of funny watching others trying to figure it out, but no worries, I was nice and directed them to which stops we had to go to and change line and get off at.

The first stop on our mini sightseeing trip was to Parliament where we could see Big Ben and the London Eye from the Parliament Bridge, which crosses over the Thames. It is definitely fun to be back in London and in that location because coincidentally that was the last place I visited when I was in London a year ago – Natalie and I went there at night after seeing the Phantom of the Opera, so I could see Parliament all lit up. It was weird to me because I started taking pictures all over again, however I soon was wondering what I was doing. I already have these pictures! It was then I finally realized that I was truly back in London, and some how it kind of feels like a second home. I was really only in London for 3 days last year, but I just feel like I know this city at least a little bit, which makes it all seem more familiar and accessible.

After seeing Parliament, as a group (there was probably about 10 of us), we wound our way past Westminster, up to St James Park, and over to Trafalgar Square. Once in Trafalgar, all I wanted to do was sit on the steps, think, and take in London all over again. However, our time there was abruptly cut short because out of no where it began to rain very hard, which quickly turned in hail – at this point everyone in Trafalgar scattered to this nearest cover – our location of choice was the Tube stop. From there, we made our way back to our hotel with about 30 minutes until we were congregating for dinner.

At 8:00pm, we made our way over to a diner in walking distance from our hotel, where we dined on traditional London cuisine, aka fish and chips. They were pretty basic and tasted really good, however my opinion here is a little biased because I was starving by that time and would have thought that anything tasted amazing. After dinner, we all went our separate ways. There was a group of about 8 of us, who went to a bar further down the street and simply got a drink and talked for a little bit. Once back at our hotel, I showered, got ready for bed, and crashed on my not-so-comfy bed, but I was also exhausted so it felt like heaven.