Hygge. Every table in Denmark has a candle on it!
Hello Humans,
Can you believe it?! One month ago today, I began my journey to Copenhagen! I can't believe how fast time is flying. I am trying to savor every minute, because I know the next three months are going to go by even faster. It seems like it was just yesterday that I was jetlagged, totally lost, and terrified of public transportation. These days I am just normal tired, in a perpetual state of kind of lost... kind of found, and terrified of only two of three types of public transportation. Leaps and strides! Just kidding. Really, Copenhagen has become very homey. I have never been a real city girl, but I really do love it here. There is so much to explore. Every twisty, turny little side street in the center city has a cool bakery, bar, cafe, thrift store, boutique, or museum tucked in it. Every day is a new adventure. In addition, this month has forced me to be *way* more independent than ever before. Maybe by the time I get home, I'll almost be like... like... an adult?! Just kidding. All grown up's are pirates.... and we kill pirates!
Speaking of being a child for the rest of forever, I have some crazy stories for you guys. As you may or may not know, I spend every Thursday here hanging out with the most adorable children on the planet. Last Thursday, my (insert Danish word for kindergarten thing that I cannot spell, say, or really explain very well here) went on a field trip. Where do Danes take field-trips? Oh.. the middle of the forrest, obviously. Who built to fire? The five-year-olds, obviously. Not only did they build a fire.. they built a better fire than I could have. Now... a lizzy fire is pretty much spraying an absolutely dangerous amount of lighter fluid on a burning little twig and hoping it catches... but still! FIVE YEAR OLDS. Think that is crazy? Guess what the youngest ones were doing while some of the older ones were making the fire. Oh, just.. whittling.. using HUGE KNIVES. In Danish schools they not only allow children to use knives, they flat out encourage it! Guess who almost cut herself while trying to help one of the four-year-olds? THIS GIRL. By the end of the day (which was, all joking aside, awesome), I am convince the children thought I was the biggest DUNCE in the entire world. As I have mentioned in just about every post... my Danish is absolutely horrible. However, the kids are too young to really grasp the concept of my language barrier. Therefor, throughout the day, they were chatter away at me, stare up at me expectantly, and then give me a look that just screamed, "Wow lady.. I asked you if you like to play tag. What are you...a moron?" Answer: Yes. Even with the language barrier, my interactions with kids here have been such an incredible learning experience. When you take away your ability to talk to kids, you are reminded of all of the ways that we communicate non verbally. Essentially, snow-ball fights, weird faces, and crazy sound effects were the name of the game, that day. (Err... well, let's be realistic. That's a pretty standard day in lizzy-land.)
Unfortunately, the rest of my week has not been all that exciting. I think God (or the aforementioned evil gypsy witch) was reading my blog last week and went "Ah ah ah... not so quick!", when I declared myself plague-free. Tuesday night, after I posted my last update, I came down with plague round two. I spent all day Wednesday in bed. Thursday, I knew I had to visit my site and play with the small children in the woods, so I shlupped my butt to the drug store/pharmacy in search of some cold medicine. Here is my word of advice to you folks: WORSHIP AMERICAN COLD MEDICINE, because it is the nectar of the gods. The cold medicine here is made for babies and people who hate fun. Who doesn't like the loopy knock-you-on-your-ass high (not to mention the blissful decongestion) you get from Mucinex? Apparently, the Danes. I settled for some nasal spray and cough syrup, and managed to make it through Thursday. I kept the rest of the weekend pretty low key. Nap time is the happiest time of any day, so I just kind of made all the day time nap time. I caught up on lame chick-flicks and not lame cool movies I'd missed, and had some pillow talk skype with my puppies. I could probably write a whole book about how obsessed I am with my puppies, but I will spare you the pet-owner bragging. You should know, though, that my puppies are the cutest, smartest, (errr, well, one of them anyway), and most lovable little monsters on the planet. Here, I will insert to obligatory shout out to Mara and Bill, and tell you that I ALSO had a wonderful skype date with my parents this weekend. If I don't, Mara will guilt trip me about how I like the dogs more than her. She doesn't lick the phone when she hears my voice. It's pretty hard to compete! (Just kidding. Love you Mom & Dad!)
The absolute best part of my weekend was Saturday night, when I ventured to a friends apartment for dinner. Having conquered the scary Netto, I am actually capable of whipping up some culinary delights here. However, cooking in my own kitchen is roughly akin to sticking your hand in a blender on high. I don't think I realized just how spoiled I was in my beautiful Riverview kitchen last semester. I think my "kitchen" here is the size of my mini-fridge my freshman year. My friends apartment has a REAL kitchen with a REAL oven. It was absolutely magical. We made two different kids of pizza and apple crisp. Last semester, I saved my parents a therapist bill or two with apple crisp, bubble baths, and naps. Needless to say, I am losing a few marbles without crisping or bubble-bathing abilities. The second best part of my week was my AWESOME sign language group. I forget if I've told any of you about this, but I managed to find a bunch of fellow DIS students who are native signers/ASL students/are super interested in learning more about ASL. I didn't realize just how much I would miss it, here, and I was so happy to find some people who shared my passion. I found an awesome group of people to laugh, sign, and drink coffee with in the super "hyggely" (pronounced Hue-glee) meaning cosy, student cafe. Much like silent coffee did in the US, it keeps me going through the week. Horray!
Reading this post was probably something like watching paint dry. Not too much to report, this week. The next few weeks are full of super exciting adventures! I promise I'll post some more pictures next time. Love you all!
143,
Lizard
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