So there is quite a bit to cover since my last post. I've definitely explored a lot more of Europe. I spent a week in London with my business class and we had an absolutely wonderful time. We had beautiful weather, which was a nice change from the cloudy skies of Copenhagen. We also had the opportunity to visit a few businesses, which was relatively interesting. My favorite visit was to Wimbledon. We got to tour the grounds and even the press room, which was pretty cool. I have a lot of other stories from London, but because my limited ability to blog I'm going to keep it relatively short.

After we returned from London I only had one week alone in Copenhagen before one of my best friends from school, Shannon, and my parents visited. I had a great time touring the city with Shannon and my parents, and Shannon and I also had the opportunity to celebrate St. Patrick's Day, with all of the crazy Australians, Brits, and Danes, the only ones that seemed to not really celebrate were the Irish, but I figure we don't really have that many Irish here. The weekend Shannon left my parents and I went to Stockholm. We had originally planned on taking the train, but it was sold out. So, because of my parent's desire to see the swedish countryside, we rented a car and drove all the way to Stockholm. My mom fell asleep almost immediately and so she unfortunately missed all the beautiful snow covered scenery. We had a great time in Stockholm. It is an absolutely beautiful city and the sweds are super friendly and outspoken, which is so different than the Danes. After we got back to Copenhagen my parents only had one last week. As the week continued the weather actually become quite nice. I was actually able to sit outside in the sun, which was a first. We all had a wonderful last week together and on Friday my parents headed home and I headed off to Greece.

After a few hours of delays and a long flight sitting next to a ridiculously terrible smelling man we were in Greece. It was nearly 3 am, but we were all really excited to be on vacation so after another hour and a half of public transportation into Athens, we had finally checked into our hostel and climbed into bed. The next morning we woke up around 8 am and quickly got dressed and ready to explore Athens. We explored all the most famous sites of Athens. I walked up the steps of the Acropolis and the Parthenon. Athens is a city where you can't go more than ten feet without running into ruins, they are literally everywhere you go. Athens, however, is a pretty dirty city. Trash liters the streets and the city is extremely smoggy.

We didn't really spend all that much time in Athens though, because the next day we went to Aegina, the closest island to Athens. It was absolutely beautiful, but the ferry ride there was crazy rocky. The ship was rocking back and forth so much that all the furniture would slide from one side of the room to the other every time the ship rocked. It was so rocky that at one time I even fell off the bench I was lying on. The old man in the cabin came up to me and told me that I should probably place pillows bellow in case it happened again! It was so funny. Everyone is the cabin was laughing.

So... I know I'm kind of in the middle of a story, but I'm a little tired of blogging so I will be back tomorrow for a more complete summary of my vacation.

Love you all!

Acropolis

A new post!

So... Due the popularity of my wonderful blog here! Yea right! I'm now writing a new post. So, there is a lot to cover since my last post because I'm pretty sure that it's been over a month since then. I'm sorry guys, I promise i've been busy and that now you're in for a few good stories, granted that I remember them.

Okay, I guess I'll start with a little introduction into my classes here in Denmark. I'm taking four elective classes and one core class. My core class is European Business Strategy and is comprised of about 35 business students from all around the United States, but most are from the East Coast and being a bit of a West Coast girl I didn't realize how serious some people are. It was definitely a little bit of a culture shock, but regards of our differences the students in my class are fabulous and I'm super excited to get to travel with all of them. See part of our program is a 3 day study tour, which took place in the beginning of February and a week long one that is coming up next week. Don't worry I'll go on to explain all about my short study tour later on in this post. I'm also taking Danish Language, Muslims in the West, Church and State, and Human Trafficking in Europe. Of all my classes though my Danish Language is actually my favorite! Not because I'm all that good with languages, but because the students are amazing and my professor is just about the most fabulous Dane I've met so far. To prove that I have actually learned something in Danish I'm going to spend the next few lines telling you all what my name is, where I'm from, what I'm studying, and where I live in Denmark. I am able to say a little more than that, but I don't want to bore you. So, here it goes... Hej! Jeg hedder Helen. Jeg kommer fra Flagstaff i Arizona. Jeg laese business og Jeg bor med en familie i brØnshØj. (sorry the Ø is so big, don't really know how to make it any smaller!). Well, there's some Danish for you!

Well, I haven't just been studying here, even though that's kind of what my dad secretly wishes! I've been discovering the great Danish culture! Which thankfully includes some pretty amazing foods! My friends and I have discovered this amazing bakery just a few blocks from our school and frequently visit it. They have a special that changes every day and for only 12 kroner, which is about 2 dollars you can purchase a freshly baked pastry! So far my favorite is wienerbrØt, which is similar to an American danish, but much better! Just imagine an American danish coated in butter and then baked! It's pretty amazing! Danish beer, however, is not as good as they advertise. However, my favorite tag line is "Carlsberg. Probably the best beer in the World".

A few weekends ago my core class went on a 3 day 2 night trip to western Denmark. And now that I've seen most of the Danish countryside I can honestly tell you that Denmark is COMPLETELY flat! We visited two businesses, but otherwise we just had fun. On the sunday we actually got to go paintballing! I've never been so sore!

This coming Sunday my core class will be visiting London for a whole week, which I think all of us are super super excited for. It should be absolutely amazing!!!! We get to do a lot of touristy things as well, which should make the trip a lot of fun! And then when I get back it's only one week till my parents and my good friend Shannon are here for their visit!

Well that's all for now! I'll try to post whenever I remember a good story! Hope all is well back at home and I miss you all a lot!

(Sorry if there are tons of typos!)

Beautiful Copenhagen

So.... I have to start off with a little plug. Copenhagen might be one of the most beautiful cities in Europe. This past week I've been riding the bus every day to and from the downtown (Medieval) area of Copenhagen for orientation and classes. The bus ride is relatively short, but can seem a little long when your forced to stand squished between two extremely tall (thankfully attractive) danish men while the bus is rocking back and forth due to the traffic and the bus drivers new york city cab driver's attitude. My first day the commute was a little intimidating. First my host mom, Doris, marched me to the bus stop. I couldn't help but laugh as this petite Danish woman marched in front of me and I was forced to run to keep up. To make matters worse it had snowed the night before the the roads were incredibly slippery. Once I got on the bus it was up to me to get off at the right stop. My host mom had merely told me that I should get off when I saw the amusement park.

I sat with my face glued to the window to ensure that I didn't miss my stop. Many are probably thinking that this was a relatively straightforward direction given that amusement parks tend to quite large and would therefore be difficult to miss. This, however, was not the case. I managed thankfully to get off at the right stop because I recognized two other students from my program on the bus and followed them off. I quickly chased them down and explained that my directions to the orientation were terrible and I initially felt relieved, however, this feeling didn't really last. The two guys looked at me and said that actually had no idea how to get there either. Given that none of us knew where to go we decided that we should stick together and hopefully we would be able to figure it out. I pulled out my map where my host mom and simply marked DIS with a giant X and we began to discuss which direction we should go. The map, however, was difficult to read, but thankfully a very friendly danish man, seeing that we were lost stopped to offer us directions. And yes, the rumor is true. EVERY DANE SPEAKS ENGLISH! Thankfully given this man's help we were able to locate the orientation building and were only a few minutes late.

The first day was pretty much a blur and I spent most of the day trying to fight off the symptoms of jet lag. In the afternoon I got the opportunity, however, to attend my first of two survival danish classes. I learned how to say what my name was where I was from and what I was studying. So, if you want to impress anyone. Jeg hedder (insert name) means I am named whatever. Jeg komme fra (town name) i (state). I am from where ever and Jeg lesser (field of study) means I study whatever. Word of caution. Do not pronounce the words as they appear because you will be saying them incorrectly. After my danish class I got back on the bus and rode it home. The rest of my evening was relatively boring. I was extremely tired so my host mom prepared dinner and I seriously passed out pretty much right afterwards.

On Tuesday I had another Danish survival class and explored the city. On Wednesday morning we were divided into groups and sent out to complete a 3 and 1/2 hour scavenger hunt. This was by far the best activity although it was bitterly cold and snowing my group had a wonderful time and it was great to get to know a few people a little better. That afternoon we were divided into our program groups and given the exact dates of our study tours and got an opportunity to meet all the students in our program. Our specific class of around 30 students were divided into 7 groups of 4-5 students. The students that were in our specific group would be the students that we would work closely with the entire semester. I had the pleasure of being put in a group with a kid named Christian and let me tell you. He's just a riot. Be sure to use to the traditional definition of the word riot. This kid is absolutely ridiculous. I know i'll have great stories to tell you about him as the semester continues.

I go a little lighter on the details now because I'm getting pretty tired of typing. Today, thursday, was the first day of classes and they were absolutely fabulous! I officially love copenhagen and goodbye in Danish is hej hej so...

LOVE YOU ALL and hej hej for now!

Helen

Officially Cruising around Copenhagen

I have officially landed in Copenhagen and have completely moved into my new home. My host family's house is absolutely beautiful and I love my new room. As you walk in there is a free standing wardrobe to the left and dresser on the right. The room has plenty of natural sunlight and my bed is lofted making the room appear quite large. I start orientation tomorrow morning and although it's only 7:44pm Copenhagen time I am tired beyond belief. So... this is will be a short post tonight. Hope all is well states side!

Leaving for Copenhagen

Okay everyone,

I'm leaving for Copenhagen tomorrow morning. I'll try to post pictures and details as soon as possible.

Hope to talk to you all soon!!