So today is off to a disappointing start. For some reason, I thought that I was meeting with my visiting host family today, but unfortunately I mixed up the dates, and I'm actually meeting them next week. My baddddd. I'd be lying though if I said I haven't been eagerly anticipating this meeting all week. Wait, I'm actually so sad, and it just hit me. I was pretty busy this week so homesickness hasn't really been an issue, but it definitely comes in waves. Like right now, I just want to sit around and mope, but I will not! Gotta explore this city! Ya feel me? Or I might just watch The Godfather, I haven't decided yet.

This past week has actually been pretty decent, and I'm excited for the rest of the semester. I feel like I've bonded with my roommates which makes my living situation a lot easier. My classes are really interesting, so I really lucked out in that department. My class schedule is as follows:

Core Course: European Memory and Identity - Germany (So interesting)

Scandinavian Moods in Cinema (I have never felt more at home)

The Guilty Pleasures of Pop Culture (Sooo far ehhhh)

The Meaning of Style (My professor reminds me so much of Grace Coddington but younger and prettier)

European Cinema (Pretty basic)

Just realized that's not really a schedule, but that's okay. One of my floor mates always comments on how I have "such fun classes." I know he thinks it's a genuine compliment, but it just really irritates me. Like sorry I'm not a neuroscience major. I'm not trying to live that life..

Anyways, one of the most stressful aspects of living in Denmark, is not having a meal plan. Well technically we all have a "meal plan" it's just in the form of $600 dollar stipend which is around 3390 dkk. I feel like I'm constantly running to the supermarket buying more and more food. So far, I'm really bad at putting my food back in the fridge. I've already spoiled a bag of frozen peas and a bag of fresh green beans which really upsets me. So unfortunate, but ya know, c'est la vie. My floor mates seem to be impressed with my cooking which is flattering, but then I remember that half of them have trouble boiling water. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Now I guess I should talk about some cultural excursions I participated in. This past week I went to the Copenhagen Harbour Baths with my friend Celeste and her Kollegium friends. Essentially, the Harbour Baths are just recreational pools built into the Copenhagen waterfront. I think there are several around the city, but the one I went to is the most famous. The pools were so awesome, but oh my god, the water was so cold. Here are some pictures:

On Wednesday, I went to a couple of art exhibitions with the other members of my LLC. It was so much fun. A lot of the #art didn't really make sense to me, but it was really interesting seeing the artist community in Copenhagen. One of my favorite exhibits was in an old warehouse where the artist had just essentially taken garbage that had been left in the building and placed it in an aesthetically pleasing manner; I was digging it. We also went to the old Carlsberg factory which is being converted into a community of sorts for trendy wealthy people. The factory really reminded me of the old Heinz factory in Pittsburgh which brought things closer to home. We also got a lot of free beer at this event so that was pretty awesome. 

Well, that's all I have to say. Thanks for reading!

Clara

Here are some iPhone quality pictures

This is Nyhavn one of the more touristy parts of the city.

Kim teaching us how to catch pigeons. She caught four once.

(Future guest blogger)

My little nook. Kinda reminds me of HP.

hoooootttdawgss

Danskos on the dance flooo courtesy of Ms. New

 (future guest blogger)

Carlsberg is such a presence in the city.

Gettin situated in CPH

Sup Bitches! So since I'm going to be in Copenhagen for the next four months, I figured it would be a good idea to blog about my adventures and daily routines as corny as that sounds. First of all, I want to give a big shout out to anyone actually taking the time to read this blog! That's very kind and very much appreciated. I'm going to do my best to keep up with blogging, but I can't promise that I'll post everyday, in fact, it would be pretty exciting if I blogged more than once a week to be honest... Anyways, this is what happened on my arrival day/ first day in Denmark.

Day 1
So on Saturday August 17, I began my journey to Copenhagen after tearfully hugging my parents goodbye. I flew out of the Pittsburgh International Airport and made my way to the notoriously confusing Charles De Gaulle International Airport in Paris, France. I usually love sleeping on planes, but I was wide awake pretty much the whole time which was kinda annoying. I watched Tina Fey's movie, Admission, which was ehhh and a couple of episodes of Jamie Oliver's show "Jamie Takes America" (or something like that) which was awesome.

*Okay, I'm going to go on a little bit of a tangent, but Jamie Oliver is literally the best, and I love him. Everyone should look into the lifestyle he's living cause he's doing it right! He's so passionate about eating and preparing fresh natural food, and he travels all over the world trying to learn/cook/eat while educating and helping others. Jamie loooooovesss food and is such of a presence in the culinary world. Ughh he is really just setting such a good example for food lovers/ good human beings, and I love that about him. Also, I'm trying to hang out with him in London.

Anyways getting back on track, I landed in Paris earlier than I expected, and quickly made it to my gate. When I arrived at my terminal, I met a bunch of other students who were also traveling with DIS. I was super tired at this point and not enjoying all of the bullshit topics people were pulling out of their asses. Like I get it, you're excited that we're going abroad, me too, but we don't have to struggle with getting to know each other cause we're not going to hang out. DIS is a huge program with almost 1000 applicants during the fall semester, so it was beginning to feel like freshman year orientation all over again which I was not feelin.

Even though all the chitchat was a bit frustrating, our arrival in Copenhagen was exciting if not exhausting. After grabbing our luggage, we ended up being shuttled to our housing communities. Now what's interesting about my housing community is that, I was not expecting to live in the Arts and Culture Living and Learning Community house because I didn't actually apply. Here's the thing, I was going to apply to live in this house because I self-designed my own Film Studies major and figured that it would be a good idea, but I missed the application due date because I was on vacation and didn't really think much of it after that. I didn't even realize I was living in the Arts and Culture LLC house until my roommate asked me about. I'm still trying to figure out how and why I got in.. but hey, I'm not complaining, the house is saaaweeeeet.

I have three roommates who all seem nice. It's kind of weird to be living in a quad again; I haven't lived in a quad since my junior year of high school. My room is really nice (even though I'm sharing it with three other people) and we have our own kitchen and lounge area. Our house is almost 300 years old, amazing, and HUGE. I found the architecture and recent renovation aesthetically pleasing by combining old and new. The Greenhouse, which is a different LLC house and the mirror opposite of the Arts and Culture LLC, used to be owned by a wealthy merchant, so I'm assuming my house had a similar past.

Overall, I met most of the other students living in my house at dinner, and we traveled to a Danish grocery store which was small but nicely kept (don't forget to bring your own reusable bag). The most exciting part of my day was getting to see all of the attractive, healthy, fashionable Danes in action. I was so impressed with their style. Bright Nikes and New Balance shoes are really in. I especially loved seeing women in sleek neutral outfits with a pair of Nike Frees on their feet. Ughh I'm trying to get on that level.

I pretty much passed out around nine with the sun still up. It's a pretty amazing being in another country, but I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss home. Even my cat misses me! I know this cause my mom told me this in an email (the important part is at the end, sorry I couldn't highlight it):

EL OH EL. My mom thinks it's cool/ practical to abbreviate everything..  I'll be sure to blog more later, but I thought it was good to just give ya a little taste of my journey to come! I'll post more once orientation is over and I really start getting immersed in my new Danish lifestyle!

Thanks for readin yall!
Clara