Pictures from the weekend!

Literally a bike parking garage. All Danes bike everywhere. Lizzy left Anja right.

Some beautiful flowers at a neighbors house

Tine and I wait for a ride at the bus stop in Roskilde on Sunday.

The part of the living room where they hung the mobile I brought them. Its hard to see the mobile though

Jon and Tine with my blackberry crepe and Elderflower juice

From the left, me, Ulrik, Tine, Jon, Laila, Flemming on their porch sunday afternoon

The flowers Lizzy and I picked on our Saturday walk

Laila's tomatoes

All the windows had these cools vases

The Living Room from where we were sitting

Lindsey (U-Seattle) and me in The Living Room Cafe (friday)

31 August 2010

So those pancakes that I thought were for after dinner were actually for an afternoon snack.  Laila made these crazy buttermilk crepes the size of dinner plates, along with some homemade jam from blackberries that she picked that morning at their sea cottage in the north. she also made some green plum jam from some plums she had just bought. the blackberry jam with a crepe was pretty much the best thing I have ever had, and I must say the plum jam was a unique treat. to drink we had elderflower nectar, which looks like white grape juice, and she made that too, earlier in the summer by steeping these flowers from their backyard with some sugar. crazy. and kind of an odd taste, but I really liked it.
       Despite this amazing meal, we still had a late dinner of pasta and meatsauce, and then Tine and I went for a bikeride. Denmark has paths, the size of two lane roads, just for the purpose of biking or walking. these paths go everywhere and provide a safe way for people to commute on bike. We took this path on bikes to Tine's school and walked all around. It was great to see how Danes set up their classrooms and schools a little differently than we do. They emphasize group work from the earliest age and cultivate students' ability to work together successfully including class presentations. Consequently, their desks are arranged in pods because nearly everything they do, they do in groups. Tine and I had a lot of fun biking too, and she bikes to school everyday.
      Monday morning I went to school at 10:13 to get there for my 11.40 class, but first I went for a morning run. there is a gravel path that goes through some woods nearly parallel to the bike path towards Tine's school, and I ran along this and back.  It was a beautiful sunny morning and a very refreshing experience, and I hope to make it more of a routine. When I got back and checked the bus schedule, I discovered that I had to leave much sooner than I thought. So while I rushed around, Laila so kindly made me a lunch. I can't believe how nice she is, and she even added some bread and cheese in case I didn't have time for cereal. Classes went well, and once they were over, my friend Chris and I went across the city to De Franske Cafe (the french cafe) to meet the rest of our Danish class for a sandwich dinner and drink. I sat next to my teacher Nina and ordered and amazing smoked salmon sandwich  with lettuce, yellow and red bell peppers, and some cool dill sauce with capers, and I had a beer to go with it. It was fabulous and the cafe is located right on a swan covered lake. On the way back to the station afterwards, I saw perhaps the most vibrant rainbow I have ever seen in my life. It was stunning, but naturally pictures didn't quite grasp it.
      Because I got home so late, bedtime did not come to early, and so I slept through my alarm this morning and missed my morning run. Oh well. Tomorrow I am going to the gym first thing with Laila. she talked to her gym (which has a 6 month waitinglist) and she convinced them to let me come with her because her son in the army isn't currently using his pass often, so it would kind of even out. Obviously I can go whenever I would like, with her and Tine, and I am actually really excited to have something so close by, in addition to spending more time with Tine and Laila.
   I was 15 minutes late to my first class today because the trains were crazy, and the one I was on informed us that they were stopped until an ambulance arrived and that perhaps we would like to consider taking a different train, which put me totally off schedule. Luckily my teacher of Muslims in the West was very forgiving. Between classes I had my little lunch of vegetables, fruit and a small sandwich with some friends by a fountain in the oldest square in København, which happens to be a block away from our classes. we also got some ice-cream! I got coconut and chocolate. my last class was 2 hours of learning what questions to ask a patient in a medical exam room and then a little bit about how to give a clinical examination. Quite interesting although a little intuitive.
  When I got home, a Danish soup was ready for dinner, and again, it was wonderful. I am not entirely sure what was in it, although it was a thin broth with celery, carrots, little meat balls, and then some sort of little balls of dough or something. maybe like tiny dumplings? not really sure, but it was delicious. and for dessert, we had homeade applesauce, which Laila made yesterday from the apples that grew in her backyard. She can do everything!  Otherwise I have been working on homework and thinking about where I would like to travel during my two week break in November. I will post pictures soon!

A cool street in Downtown Copenhagen

Anja, Lizzy, and Lindsey (left to right) Anja and Lindsey attend U Seattle and all of us are pre-med for now.  we are at a great cafe.

Laila's Roses

Our front door (they are letting me borrow the white bike : ) )

The view from my room. sorry about the glare. the windows don't open all the way.

My lunch, turkey sandwich on whole grain, a carrot, cucumber, some grapes, and a nectarine!

29 August 2010

It may be August, but it feels like late October. it is breezy and quite chilly and very cold at night. I have been here a week now, and it already feels like it would feel strange to be at Bowdoin. The cultures are so different but the differences are subtle and hard to place. But Bowdoin's small bubbling campus would feel very different from my life here where I commute 45 minutes from a little house out in the country to a huge city where my school has no particular campus but exists as lots of buildings and classrooms hidden in little doorways along busy shopping streets right in medieval downtown. The medieval area is really cool because it is the oldest and the streets are narrow and curvy with shops and food all around. it is a very happening area with lots of great and eclectic cafes around as well. And the hot chocolate here is the best I have ever had anywhere. they make it each time with realy kakao powder, and while its rich, it isn't too sweet. I love it
I had my classes in these buildings on friday, and between classes I went with some friends to a great cafe called the living room, where you  walk in and up a few stairs to order, but then you go into a secret downstairs room to hangout, and it has lots of different areas with different styles of furniture and colorful vases lining all of the window sills.. I will post a picture when I load my camera.  After classes, Lizzy and I went home with our friend Anja (from Idaho) and we had dinner with her very welcoming host family. Anja's host mother made a fantastic meat sauce and spaghetti, and we made some good chocolate cake for dessert. We also got to eat a peach from the peach tree in their garden! They had a beautiful house with high ceilings, hardwood floors, and not too much furniture. The walls were decorated with glass art and paintings that the mother makes as a hobby. she also runs marathons. it seems that Danes are extremely health conscious and also extremely environmentally conscious people. they are raised to take care of the environment. They have different buttons on the toilets, and they turn the shower off while they shampoo and soap up, and they never leave lights on if they aren't in the room. Its actually a great lifestyle and a much smarter way to live.
Anyway, we all eventually got dressed up and went to the discotec for our welcoming party from DIS, and it was a great setup, but kind of odd because there were so many americans, yet the music was an odd techno that was not particularly great for dancing. so we eventually left and went to a bar nearby, which had a great friendly atmosphere, enjoyable music, and lots of happy people. While we were there we got to see a couple (with beautiful tall woman in skinny jeans and heels) do some fantastic swing dancing. It looked like a blast, and their footwork was remarkable, especially in light of her high heels. I would really love to learn. but finally we decided to leave and we went to the train station only to discover that there was not a train for me for another 1.5 hours. (2.30 am) so we took a train to lizzy's house instead, and I stayed over with her, which worked out great. Her host family seems wonderful, and there we made some eggs and toast for breakfast, did some reading, and then headed over to my house, where we read some more, went for a wonderful walk, and had pasta for dinner. Their stove is very modern, and I accidentally boiled over the pasta everywhere, so that was a little embarrassing, and then they have a soda maker, so we tried that, and we didn't know to screw the bottle in, so the machine shot water out all over lizzy, which was pretty hysterical. and I think we have got it all straight now.
Today we had some Muesli and milk for breakfast and went into Roskilde to do a little shopping with Tine, and I have finally returned home to finish my homework. Laila is making some Danish pancakes for after dinner and they look fantastic (like crepes). I will try to post some pictures this evening.

First Day of Class!! 26 August 2010

  Laila was kind enough to drive me to the station this morning on her way into town so that I did not have to catch the bus, so my ride into the city was smooth and fast. I got to my first class, Danish Language and Culture,  and recognized a boy from my orientation class, and it was nice to see a familiar face. I was sitting next to an american professor, Craig and his wife Beverly, although everyone else in the class was a DIS student. Craig teaches at Santa Clara and had the opportunity to teach a biology class on biofuels at DIS, and so his whole family came along, and they are trying to learn some Danish too.
      Our teacher, Nina, was just full of energy and a ton of fun, and she was great at getting the whole class to participate and kept us from feeling too embarrassed about our terrible pronunciations. I think this will be a fabulous class. I can already say Jeg Hedder Hannah, (ya hilla Hannah is kind of what it sounds like) and Jeg kommer fra Tennessee,  and Jeg bor i Roskilde (ya buor eee  wrouskille). I have been practicing with my host sister Tine everyday and I still can't quite say Roskilde correctly, although she is nice and says I am pretty good. 
    My next class, Gender and sexuality in Scandinavia had about 3 boys in 35 students, and I think it will be a great class too. My teacher is young and very cool, and the topic will be very interesting considering that Europe and Scandinavia have a very different approach to the body, embodying a general lack of modesty and a more liberal and open minded view of relationships and sexuality. So the comparison of Scandinavia to the U.S. should be really interesting. my final class was a bit chaotic, Complexity of Cancer. we have two teachers who are like 25 and  oncologists and Cecilia is actually working on her PhD right now, while Joen practices medicine.  They go to 5 years of medical school instead of college and then med. school. They were hilarious and I don't think they had read the syllabus ahead of time. I would have thought they would have written it but apparently not. Therefore it was funny to watch them stumble over all of the introductions. 
    After I finished this class around 5.30 I headed home and tonight we had a fabulous dinner of pesto pasta, stir fried vegetables, a great salad with peanuts and other fresh vegetables, and hamburgers wrapped in bacon. Very tasty, but I am always the last one to finish, and I don't know how.  

I must go because it is late and I have to shower. Tomorrow night is our welcome party at a place downtown, a discotec/pub, I think that is what they call it. Should be a ton of fun and hopefully I will be able to navigate home afterwards in the dark. Luckily, Lizzy will be spending the night with me so we can figure it out together.

25 August 2010

This morning Flemming offered to drive me into Roskilde (where the station is) and as we went he told me about all the rain and how its ruining the harvest of the wheat, and then we talked about different kinds of wood (he manages a lumberyard) and then about his travels. very interesting perspectives actually.      
     I got into the city with even less trouble and had to go to a two hour discussion on living with a host family, which in the end was a little informative. Then I went with a new friend named Anja (goes to university of seattle) to a discussion on our core course, Human Health and Disease. They kindly had cake for all 80 or so students there, and it was delicious. after that discussion we were done for the day around 12.30, but it took us over an hour to get our books because the lines got mixed up and the space was too small. so to relax after this mess, Anja, Lizzy, Anja's friend Lindsey, and I went to a trendy cafe nearby with our 50 lb. bright blue plastic ikea bags full of books, and each bought a hot chocolate for 33 dkk. which is around 6 dollars. everything is expensive. but this hot chocolate may have been the best I have ever had. very delicious and rich, but not so much that I couldnt finish it. My host family though is very very healthy. For lunch today, I had a carrot, a small cucumber, 3 cherry tomatoes, a little tiny bag of almonds, a cracker, and a small turkey sandwich on a roll. plus a perfect plum.  Anyway we sat in the cafe for a while and got to know eachother, and then decided to go by paper and notebooks on the way home. well, they only have wide rule paper, which I really can't cope with for some reason, maybe its not efficient enough, so of course I ended up with a few really cheap "sketchbooks" from the discount store because I think no lines on paper is better than wide ruled.
         Finally I set off for home, and this time it took me an hour and a half because the i had to wait so long between the train and bus. Again, dinner was ready, this time of homeade 9-grain bread (amazing), fish cakes (with carrot and onion), a sauce, and a spicy pasta stirfry. By the way, I am a very slow eater, and I think they are also very fast eaters, so I am always eating long after they have stopped, and I am only eating equal to or less than they are. I got to spend some more time with just Flemming this evening, and it was really great to get to talk to him one on one, because he can be a little quiet in the group. My entire host family is very kind and they are all eager to make me comfortable. the Danes are very direct in their speech and instruction, so I always know what I can do and what I shouldn't do (mostly in relation to saving energy). I actually really appreciate this because then I don't have to ever be afraid to ask them anything.
    Classes start in the morning, first with Danish, then Gender and Sexuality, then Complexity of Cancer.

24 August 2010-Going Places!

Rosenborg Palace, the lion in the front was created in the image of what the artist supposed a lion would look like, before Danes had ever seen them.

       Yesterday (24th), was a much better day than the 23rd. I made it into copenhagen more easily, and I knew where I was going. However, I had to catch the bus to the train station, and when I hopped on, there was nowhere to sit because it was filled to the brim with tons of laughing little blonde children on their way to school. It turns out that Denmark has no school buses. The bus ride was fun, and we got to drive along with a huge bay on one side and wheat fields on the other. The weather in the morning and night is quite chilly, like late september/october at home, with crisp fresh air that requires a jacket and a windbreaker at least in the morning.
      I arrived in my classroom pretty early because I found it faster than I thought I would, and waited for the 17 others in my group to arrive. we had a 2 hour workshop about adjusting to denmark, and then were sent on a scavenger hunt in assigned groups of six to various prominent places in Copenhagen. At each station, a professor told us the history of the spot. It was beautiful, but the weather was totally chaotic. one moment it would be sunny and literally a second later it would be pouring, with the sun out. we had all combinations of rain, wind, clouds, and sun, and the showers never lasted more than 5 minutes, if that.                                                     

Mason (from Bowdoin) and me at the Royal Palace

Beautiful Dome near royal palace--left unfinished for 150 yrs.

      First we went to a very famous street in Copenhagen, with lots of colorful buildings along the harbor, and then we made our way to the royal palace and arrived just in time to see the very formal change of the guard ceremony, which was pretty cool.  next we found our way to the Rosenborg Palace (not at all pronounced the way it is spelled) which was in a beautiful park. The palace had a beautiful architecture and a rose garden, and the interior is used as a museum for all of the national jewels, new and very old. I would really like to see these, and my host sister Tine would like to too, so we might go in a few weeks.  we also went to the very historical roundtower and Lutheran church, which had a stunning interior and a tower that had no stairs but a circular brick ramp like the concrete ones in big parking garages (except smaller diameter).  Apparently some very famous people have been up the tower, including a czar on horseback or something like that. eventually we made it back to class for our last session, and when we got out early, Lizzy Tarr and I walked around a little more before heading to the train station. The ride home was much easier to figure out today too, even though my train is very discreet about its comings and goings. 
     When I arrived home  around 6 a beautiful dinner of chicken curry, red rice, and salad was already ready, so we sat down to eat. It was delicious!!! really really good. The yellow curry included apple and pineapple, and I am going to have to learn how to make it.

Round Tower Church

Lizzy at the Harbor

  After dinner I did some reading and preparation for my classes, and eventually went to sleep.

23 August 2010

my new host family has a beautiful lawn in the backyard, but the very back is full of standing water due to so much rain. after one little storm, they called to me to look out the window at three huge storks standing in the water. they must have been at least 3 feet tall. Laila told me that they are very rare and had almost gone entirely extinct but that recently their population has been gradually growing.
    For dinner they made me traditional homeade Danish Pork meatballs and sauce with a beautiful salad of lettuce, pasta, red pepper, tomatoes, corn, and perhaps a few more vegetables, along with some peeled potatoes and a very full glass of red wine. It was very delicious and I had the salad again for lunch today (monday august 23). I also had a turkey sandwich on a homeade rye roll and a nectarine.
      This morning I was expected to arrive at the national museum in downtown copenhagen in the morning to embark on a scavenger hunt of the area with 4 other students. So Laila kindly helped me with breakfast and then drove me by the bustop to the trainstation. she helped me orient myself, and then I was off!  I hopped on the train and nervously waited for my stop, hoping I wouldn't miss it since I could not understand what the intercom was saying. and luckily it was obvious, but where to go from there was not. I started off around the Tivoli Gardens feeling like I ought to be going in the right direction but really having no idea. after about 15 minutes of more walking and trying to orient my map, I found a landmark and decided I was on the right track. I thankfully found the musuem a few minutes later and promptly ran into ally and jordan, which was great!  We set off to discover DIS, which turns out is a cluster of a few large apartments or something like that off of a nearby street. they had little courtyards and narrow stairs, but large classrooms. altogether very european, and a little odd because there is no campus, just a few sneaky doorways.
   Around noon we went to the spectacular city hall for an opening ceremony where afterwords we were served traditional Danish Pancakes, which were really like delicious crepes with fig sauce and candied almonds on top. Laila told me that only the very elite are invited to eat these pancakes, such as when the national soccer team wins a big tournament, or a celebrity comes to visit. they served all 600 of us on fancy china and sterling silver forks. So it was a very very special treat and a wonderful welcome from the mayor. For the rest of the day, I wandered around the streets with Lizzy, Ally, Jordan, and some new friends from PA. 
    Getting home that evening was slightly less relaxing as I could not find my stop on any of the train listings and nor could  I read the signs to help much. I almost got on the wrong train but then went and asked for help and was pointed quickly in the right direction. Apparently my train and trainstop are not very mainstream and will usually be a challenge. when I arrived in Roskildje, which I still can't pronounce, I hopped on a bus and headed for our small town 15 more minutes away beyond the 20 minute train ride. I stood up before my stop, not really sure how the system worked, and the bus just flew past the stop. I called out to the driver, who didn't really speak english, and he pointed out a red button I am supposed to push when I want to get off. Having never taken a bus for public transportation before, I had no idea. But I won't forget tomorrow. And hopefully tomorrow will be easier.

Day 1, arrival

I arrived at 7.15 am sunday august 22, which is only 1 in the morning at home. I got a little sleep on the airplane but not much. my knees hit the seat in front of me, and the cushion on my seat kept sliding away from the back of the chair, but it wasn't too big a deal at all. There were tons of other DIS students near me on the plane and some girls from Elon knew some of my friends (like Libba!). the Boy in front of me goes to colby, and for once, many of them seemed to have heard of bowdoin! which was very exciting.

 I am now at my host family's house with mother Laila, father flemming, and daughter Tine. I met the sons Jon and Ulrik this morning, but they went out to hang out "with some girls." They went partying last night and came home around 5 in the morning, which is apparently pretty routine for the young people here. we had a great breakfast of all different kinds of bread (which they make) with butter, peanut butter, or several types of jam--plus swiss cheese along with some really good poppyseed danishes. I am pretty tired now, and I haven't seen a glimpse of copenhagen yet, but we will go in in the morning. their town is very sweet and small, and their house is very pleasant with a nice lawn in the back. and they have an extra bike for me! and apparently (close friend) lizzy lives nearby. I have a nice room to myself with a desk, a TV, and a window overlooking the backyard, and we all share a bathroom, which is pretty nice and spacious. the have a very light and appealing house overall, and I am very excited to live here.  they have 2 cats (but I have only seen 1) and a rabbit!!! the daughter Tine is tall and very fair with blonde hair and blue eyes, and Laila, like Tine is blonde, beautiful, and very welcoming.  Tine keeps singing Lady Gaga and Kay Perry. the sons are both tall and blonde, and flemming looks a lot like the guy in man on wire. also with blonde hair. i have the darkest hair here.  this little town isn't too far out of the city, and i think i saw some type of aspen growing along the side of the highway.  I have been told to try to limit water and electricity use bc it is very expensive, so they usually hang their clothes dry. I tried to get money, but the exchange in the airport was having trouble reading my visa, so hopefully better luck tomorrow.  its warm humid and rainy today, and for dinner we are having danish meatballs.

the school I will be attending is the study abroad program called DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad) and has nearly 600 students studying abroad. all of my classes are in English and are through the program.
I am taking: 
1.Human Health and Disease, a Clinical Approach (class held in the hospital and we will travel throughout denmark and also to berlin and poland.
2. The Complexity of Cancer (for my upper level biology class for my major)
3. Danish Language and Culture 1.
4. Gender and Sexuality in Scandinavia
5. Muslims in the West
6. Vienna: Capital of Classical Music (meets once a week for the first half of the semester and then we go to vienna for a weekend)

Bowdoin requires that we take at least 5 courses to equal 4 bowdoin courses and get the correct amount of  credits transferred, instead of the 4 courses DIS requires. Looks like I will be quite busy!
  Hannah

Pre-Departure August 10th

so I can't wait to find out who my host family is and discover the place I will be living for the next 4 months. I know only what a tiny book on DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad) reveals, which isn't a lot, but that is fine with me for now! I am a little afraid of fitting all i need for the next for months into 1 suitcase though, including my winter clothes and umbrella!