Field Studies: Movie & Copenhagen Zoo

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In between all my homework, I had my first field study experiences this past Wednesday. DIS is unique in that DIS students like myself normally don’t have any classes on Wednesday. Instead, we either have scheduled field studies or have the day off. Field studies are when our classes schedule “field trips” outside of the classroom that complement what we’ve been learning in class.

I had two field studies this past Wednesday. First, my “Law from a European Perspective” class took a trip to a Danish movie theatre where we watched a film called “Dobbeltspil.” This film was about corruption in the UN Oil-for-Food Program, and it complemented our class readings and discussion regarding corruption and bribery from a legal perspective. After watching the movie, I took a bus to my second field study at the Copenhagen Zoo for my “Biology of Marine Mammals Lab” class. I worked in a team with two other students to observe and record stereotypic behavior in sea lions, seals, and elephants. Unfortunately, it was a rainy day, so there weren’t too many animals out, and we didn’t get to see the polar bears. Nevertheless, it was really cool to watch the sea lions, seals, and elephants. When you sign up for your DIS classes, keep in mind that your classes will schedule some fantastic opportunities outside of the classroom.

The Daily Grind

Contrary to popular belief, studying abroad is not the same as taking an extended vacation. Yes, you get to explore new areas, meet new people, and visit tourist attractions. However, you also have to dedicate a substantial amount of time to your academic courses, homework, household chores, and transporting to and from downtown Copenhagen. While I have included a ton of glossy pictures on my blog so far, it’s important if you are a prospective student to recognize that you won’t be wandering through the halls of an old Danish castle or walking along a beautiful beach every single day. I recommend working hard Monday through Friday (and maybe even get started on your homework for Monday) so you can dedicate time for amazing adventures on the weekends. It really is about creating a balance and finding what works for you to be able to divide your time between your obligations and taking advantage of all that Copenhagen and Denmark has to offer.

In general, this past week has consisted of a lot of homework, reading, studying, and writing papers. Don’t get the wrong idea, the subject matter in my classes is interesting. Nevertheless, you might find that there are times when you’re bogged down in your studies. I recommend taking a couple minutes to think about what you enjoy and what your coping strategies for stress are before leaving to study abroad. For example, I like to listen to music and take occasional study breaks to stretch and perform push-ups. A handful of simple, quick activities or things you can do at the same time you’re finishing your homework work best.

If you ever find that you’re down while you’re in Copenhagen, recognize that DIS has some helpful resources including a “Coping in Copenhagen” workshop and the “Planning for Your Health Abroad” page on the DIS site.

Saturday in Malmø

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I made a last-minute decision this past Saturday that just might have been one of the best decisions of my life. My friend Will suggested we take a day trip to Malmø, Sweden, since it’s only about a 40 minute train ride from Copenhagen. Normally I’m the type of person who likes to plan everything out well in advance, but I decided this was just too good of an opportunity to pass up. It was relatively easy to buy a train ticket to Malmø from Copenhagen central station. Before I knew it, Will and I had officially crossed the bridge into Sweden.

We didn’t have any sort of planned itinerary. Instead, we simply wandered around the city and tried to take in our surroundings. The architecture of the buildings was absolutely stunning (see the photos in the slideshow at the top of this post). When we stopped by a small restaurant for lunch, it was incredibly entertaining to watch Will attempt to ask the shop owner if he sold any sandwiches because the Swedish restaurant owner just kept emphasizing that he made really good soup…so naturally Will and I ordered the soup. The restaurant owner wasn’t lying; the soup was perhaps the best soup I’ve ever had. After lunch, we continued to explore the streets and shops in the downtown area. We spent some time inside a LEED certified mall, peeked inside a science fiction bookstore, and spent over an hour in a Swedish design shop (I confess this is where I probably spent a little more money than I should have…).

One interesting fun fact about Malmo is that there aren’t really any public bathrooms anywhere. Will discovered this fact the hard way as we prepared to head back to the train station. The only nearby bathroom we could find was the one at the Malmø train station. However, apparently they make you pay to use the bathroom. Will found this fact absolutely unacceptable and refused on principle to pay to use a bathroom. He spent the next half an hour wandering around trying to find a free public bathroom. He was unsuccessful. If you ever travel to Malmø, consider yourself warned.

Our day in Malmø was truly unforgettable, and I would highly recommend anyone studying abroad in Scandinavia to take full advantage of the excellent public transportation network to explore as much of Europe as possible.

The Settlers & Smørrebrød

 

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Last night I asked Bent and Irene (my host family) if we could play a Danish board game after dinner. They looked through their board games to find one simple enough for me to understand. They decided we would play a board game called “The Settlers.” The game board consisted of hexagon shaped pieces each representing a different type of resource that you could harvest (lumber, minerals, bricks, wheat etc.). Early on in the game, you wanted to harvest a lot of the “lumber” and “brick” resources. This was because you needed one “lumber” and one “brick” resource in order to build a road. By building a road, you could expand your territory and gain access to more resources to harvest. The ultimate goal of the game was to be the first person to reach 10 points. You gained points for building houses (requiring more advanced resources) and for being the player with the longest continuous road.

“The Settlers” was a surprisingly fun yet simple Danish board game. It was extremely funny when I had a slight oversight and thought I was about to win the game. Basically, I offered almost all of my resources to Bent in exchange for one mineral resource (since I only needed one more mineral resource in order to build a large house). Since I had 8 points and a large house counted for 2 points, I thought a generous trade wouldn’t matter since the one additional mineral resource was all I needed to win. Unfortunately, I didn’t realize that you had to build a large house on a spot you already built a small house. Thus, building a large house worth two points on a position of a small house worth one point actually only results in a net gain of one point. Hopefully that explanation wasn’t too confusing! If it was, just know that I made a slight mistake that all three of us found very funny. In the end, I was lucky enough to have had a strong enough lead where I was able to win despite my mistake.

In addition to the new experience of playing a Danish board game, today was the first time I experienced Smørrebrød. This open face sandwich is a typical Danish food. Bent and Irene intentionally gathered the necessary ingredients so we could have it for lunch. They had ingredients for two types of Smørrebrød. The first consisted of placing salmon and egg on top of the dark rye bread. The second consisted of placing liverpostei, mushrooms, and bacon on the dark rye bread. They were both delicious, and I learned that one was supposed to make one or the other (for example, one should not have salmon and liverpostei together). Bent and Irene also explained to me that Smørrebrød was traditionally a very common Danish food, especially among Danish farmers because the farmers had easy access to the necessary ingredients. They also taught me that Danish “high society” proper etiquette mandates that one switch to a new plate when eating a different Smørrebrød recipe. For instance, if I had just finished a salmon and egg Smørrebrød, then I would need to switch to a new plate before eating the liverpostei Smørrebrød. Fortunately, Bent and Irene reassured me that they were not quite so formal.

Birthday, Åarhus, & Den Gamle By

 

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I experienced so much this past weekend (January 20-21) that I knew I would need to dedicate an entirely separate post for it. My host family invited me to celebrate Bent’s sister’s 60^th birthday. We left Hvidovre at 9 am on Saturday, drove for a little over an hour, and then took a ferry to Århus. Since Markus (one of my host family’s sons) has an apartment there, we stopped by his apartment for lunch and to bring him along with us. We proceeded to drive to Struer where the birthday celebration was taking place in a building called Humlum Kro. All the members from the extended family were present, and I felt incredibly overwhelmed and grateful to be able to take part in the birthday celebration. There were a few family members who spoke English, so it was nice to be able to speak with them and ask them to translate the “speeches” family members were making. The birthday celebration was really special and included a number of songs and piano music.

One interesting and ironic thing about the party was that the building, Humlum Kro, featured some artwork that included nudity of the female form. I asked my host family about it, and they explained that the family did not know that was the type of artwork that would be displayed in the building when the space was reserved. Thus, some of the family members were laughing during some of the songs because the songs mentioned Jesus Christ and the artwork of the room seemed to contradict the religious character of this family gathering.

After the birthday celebration, my host family and I stayed at the Helnan Marselis Hotel, a 4-star international hotel in Århus. My hotel room was REALLY nice and had literally the best view imaginable. The hotel was right along the coast, so my room had a clear view of the beach just down below. You could even hear the soft crash of the waves against the beach. In the morning, we enjoyed breakfast then took a walk down by the beach. We saw a winter swimmer (someone who went into the water despite it being 2 degrees Celsius) and some teenagers who dared to briefly enter the water. We also spent a little time in nearby Jægersborg Dyrehave, a forest park with a ton of deer.

We then spent the first half of the day in Den Gamle By. This translates to the old city, and it’s basically a history museum comprised of a lot of different buildings depicting the history of Århus over time. After our time in Den Gamle By, it was time to drive all the way home to Hvidovre. Once we were home, we had pizza for dinner. Yum. Overall, it was a very enjoyable (albeit exhausting) weekend in which I got to see and experience different parts of Denmark outside of Copenhagen.

First Week in Copenhagen

 

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I’ve officially completed my first week in Copenhagen, and I’m finally finding a little time to reflect on my time here so far. To continue where I left off with my last post, I flew overnight to Copenhagen and arrived on Jan. 13. My parents took a long time to say goodbye to me at O’Hare airport in Chicago, but that was to be expected. I had a connecting flight in London, and it was fun to hear the British equivalent of a TSA worker say “right this way gents” when going through security since I had never been called a “gent” before or, for that matter, ever heard anyone use that word back home. Once I arrived at the airport in Copenhagen, we (the DIS students) were directed to a hotel across the street where we waited to meet our host families.

My host family consists of Irene and Bent.  Irene is a psychologist specialized in child psychology and works near the Danish Parliamentary Ombudsmand. Bent is a medical doctor working at Hvidovre Hospital. They also have two sons, Markus and Janus. Markus is a medical student living in Århus. Janus is also a medical student, but he also has degrees in music and mathematics. Janus lives with his girlfriend, Marie, in Copenhagen. Both Janus and Markus have grown up and live outside of the home, but I did have the chance to meet both of them.

I met Irene and Bent at the hotel near the airport, and then we drove to their home in Hvidovre. Their home is very nice and modern. The kitchen is the focal point of the house, they just got new floors in their living room, and the furniture is typical Danish design. I have my own room complete with a bed, closet, drawers, and a bookshelf.

I’ve been adjusting well during this first week. Public transportation makes it really easy to commute to Copenhagen each day—I simply take the train from the station less than 5 minutes away from the house and then arrive in downtown Copenhagen in no more than 15 minutes. Irene and Bent helped show me around Copenhagen during the first couple days. They took me to the Rundetaarn, or the Round Tower. They showed me the major streets and areas like Nyhavn and the Queen’s residence. They also took me to the statue of the little mermaid, or den lille havfrue. They were also nice enough to take me out to lunch at a buffet-style pizza place after we had a chance to explore a bit. There are a lot of cool aspects to Denmark significantly different from the US—but there’s also a lot that’s not all that different. Case in point, the local supermarket called Føtex carries Snicker’s ice cream bars (food familiar to my family) in addition to Danish fare.

This week is the first full week of classes (I only had classes on Thursday and Friday last week). Nevertheless, I’ve been settling in to my class schedule. Practically all of my DIS classes are in the same building, so I’ve gotten very familiar with one street in particular (Vestergade) and the local cafes and shops. Yesterday, I felt guilty about buying a chocolate soufflé from one of these local cafes—until I ate it, that is.

Anyway, the point is that I’ve been settling in and beginning to establish my daily routine. I’ve used the resjeplanen app and website to get my travel times down to a science and waste no time, and I’ve even established a nice jogging path for myself in the neighborhood that goes past a local lake.