Kelsey Cahill '09

The time has finally come! I have been eager and anxious to start my experience in Copenhagen since about four days in to winter break and Saturday's flight is no longer a distant mark on my calendar. Now that my upcoming semester is becoming to set in as a reality, as opposed to simply the reason my inbox is always full and my to-do list seems to have no end, I have really started to think about all of the things I am going to get the opportunity to do and how best to utilize them.

Or I guess I should say Welcome to Copenhagen since I would be kidding myself if I said I knew how to pronounce that. While this language still confuses me like crazy (the Danes thought it would be funny to add three additional vowels to the alphabet even though they don't pronounce half the letters in words anyway), I am beginning to feel like I know Copenhagen a bit. And from what I know, I absolutely love it!

Now that I've finally gotten a chance to settle in, sleep, and explore a bit, I figured I would share some observations I have made so far about Danish lifestyle and culture.

I can't believe I've only been here two and a half weeks. I have established a routine that feels so natural and even got to play tour guide for one of my best friends from Bucknell who was visiting these past few days. While I'm continuing to find new places and figure out where everything is in relation to each other, I am also really feeling like I'm getting the hang of life here.

I'm writing this entry for two main reasons: 1) To publicly enjoy the fact that while the temperature at Bucknell was in the single digits, it was in the low 40s here and I got to explore some really beautiful parts of the city without my winter jacket; and 2) Because I imagine when I get back from my short study tour this weekend I will have too much to write about at once.

This last week has been amazing! I feel like I've said that a few times before, but I guess there could be much worse things than having multiple great weeks. I got to see Danish countryside, bond a whole lot with my News Media class, have substantial conversations with a few Danish students, get hands on experience in the media industry, and celebrate my 21st birthday!

I have heard from numerous people that Prague is their favorite city they visited when in Europe, and after spending last weekend there I can definitely understand why. It was unbelievably gorgeous, a whole lot of fun, and if I didn't love Copenhagen so much I would wish I were studying in Prague.

Three written exams, one oral exam, and two papers later, it's finally time for spring break! While the last week has been a whirlwind of studying, internship phone interviews, travel planning, and transferring all my perishable groceries from my refrigerator to my stomach, I finally get to relax for the next three weeks and really enjoy everything that Europe has to offer (not to suggest that I didn't enjoy the whole food transfer thing..)

22 days, eight cities, and probably about 35 pounds later, I'm back in Copenhagen! While I had an absolutely unbelievable few weeks of travel and was in a continuous state of shock that I am fortunate enough to do all the things I got to do, I must say that I am really glad to be home. And weird, I just called Denmark home...

While I've done my fair share of traveling before, with a cross-country road trip from Virginia to Seattle and countless trips to soccer tournaments or to visit family and friends, the European travel with its plush EuroStar trains, frustrating RyanAir scams, and Venetian water taxis was a whole new arena.

Monday afternoon my friends all flew out of Pisa (after nearly an hour of arguing with RyanAir employees) back to where they're studying in Barcelona, and I began what would end up being one of the most miserable nights I can remember.

These past few weeks have been flying by and it's terrifying to think that I only have just over a month left here! As much as I don't like to think about it like that, it's good motivation to get me to do and see all the things I have yet to experience here. The last week or so has been a good start to that, as I found myself doing things very typical of Danish life that I had previously missed out on.

Even though I have been in Copenhagen for nearly four months and feel very much at home here, I'm getting to learn the city all over again now that the weather is gorgeous. Everywhere I go people are sprawled out sunbathing in parks, most of which I had never even realized existed. The sun rises around 5 a.m. (or so I hear, you can be quite sure I have yet to experience this firsthand), and it's light until at least 9 p.m. Instead of hurrying around or avoiding the wind and rain of the outdoors, we now walk around all the streets with shops, sit outside cafes, and barbecue.