Submitted by Robert Ley on the 2015 spring semester DIS (Denmark’s International Study Program) program in Copenhagen, Denmark…
Right now, I am sitting in the common area of my Residential Community, enjoying the natural sunlight (there isn’t much of it this time of year), writing a blog, trying to comprehend my surreal situation of living here for the next four months. My experiences so far have been nothing short of amazing. Although I did not get my first choice for my type of residence, I could not have been placed anywhere better. I live with six others in an apartment-esque building in the middle of beautiful Copenhagen. My roommate Dan is a fine bloke (lols). Other students live on different floors and I’ve had so much fun spending time with many of them. Class is only a 5 minute walk, which is great considering they start at 8:30 every morning. Overall I couldn’t be happier. I am writing this post with a huge grin on my face, hoping my words can successfully translate to the reader the scale of awesomeness this experience will be for me.
My first week consisted of exploring the city, hopping on random trains, practicing pronouncing their extra funky letters: Ø (oer?), Æ (ael?), avoiding looking too American and overall getting to know Copenhagen and Denmark. The cobblestone streets are lively with people and shops. I see more bikers then cars. Copenhagen has a balance of old and modern architecture, which is really interesting and is inherent to its charm. Below is a picture I took atop of the Round Tower, a building I don’t really know anything about, but likely has history and significance to Copenhagen, that I believe exhibits Copenhagen’s beauty with some justice.
My friends and I were planning on exploring a Viking village one of our SRA’s (social residential adviser) told us about. We could not figure out how to get there however, so we decided to hop on a random train and see where it took us. Doing this was surprisingly fun, and a good way to explore Denmark. Glancing out of the train window, my friends and I noticed we were close to what I presume was the North Sea, so we decided to get off and check it out. In the distance was a beautiful horizon. I could see ten or so of their many windmills that account for about 42% of their power. The beach was snowy and the water was extremely clear. If the water is warm enough in the spring, swimming will be put on my to-do list.
Anticipating leaving for Copenhagen, one of the things I was really bummed about was Norwegian Airlines no-guitar-carry-on policy. My family and past roommates know very well that playing around on my guitar is a daily activity. Walking in the common area for the first time was followed with a sigh of relief when I discovered my SRA has both a guitar and piano that he leaves in this room for him and his residents to play with. This has led me to meet my friend Elijah, who is a piano wizard. We have already had three or so jam sessions, consisting mostly of Beatles songs since there is a complete Beatles sheet music book on the piano stand. Another popular song we’ve been jamming with is none other than Justin Bieber’s Love Yourself” which is a hit with the roommates.