Day 111-112

Today I began my final week here in Denmark. As much as I wish to mourn that fact I must keep myself focused on the days ahead. I have decided to embark on a trip to the island of Jutland, the biggest island of Denmark, to meet some of the family I have heard so much about.

Waking bright and early I head to København central station to catch my train to Kolding at 8:20am. I am going to meet Anne’s parents, Ole and Birte, and her grandmother, Meta. When my sister came to visit Denmark about a year and a half ago, she spoke worlds of Meta especially so I was especially excited to meet her.

I sleep almost the entire way to Kolding and then get off the train to three of the most friendly looking people imaginable whose faces were dominated by the huge smiles they wore. They each give me a big hug and Birte tells me we are going to a museum for brunch, the Trapholt. Go figure that we end up at the same museum my class visited when I was in Kolding 3 months ago. I guess Kolding isn’t that big of a place after all. We get there and she has another surprise for me, she has gathered some other family members to meet me, including Peters parents and a couple that I met last summer when they visited California. I’m not going to lie, I was incredibly nervous but they were all so nice it was hard not to be grateful to be there nonetheless.

The rest of that day we spent at Lars’ house, another family member, for æbleskivers and hot glögg (my new favorite Christmas snack) and just talked for hours. It’s incredible how different time together is treated here. Getting together socially is expected to be an all day situation, never just an hour lunch or a half hour coffee meeting. It really allows you to settle in and really talk to the people you’re with, I hope this is a lesson I can bring back with me to the states.

The next day and a half I was with Birte, Ole, and Meta. They showed me around Hardeslev, the town they lived in, and Christiansfeld, the town my great great grandfather was from. Talk about getting to your roots! More than anything, the history or exploration of it all, it was so nice to just get to know some of my rather far extended family. I have never realized how quickly you can bond with some people, or how deep some family traits can run. My initial awkwardness dissipated had within moments and by the end of the two days I have spent with them we acted as though we had known each other our whole life. It was amazing how in sync our humor and interests were, almost all of each day was spent laughing about something or another. I can only hope that when I move along to my next place I will get along just as well.

Day 110

Today I am spending my last day with my home away from home, the family I have spent by far the most time with: Peter, Hanne, and Mike. These people have done so much for me over the past four months and I shall be incredibly sad to leave them.

They come to pick me up in Amagerbro and tell me that we are heading to Tivoli! This is incredibly exciting because I haven’t been there since they have changed everything from Halloween to Christmas. It was like walking into a Winter Wonderland.

We walked into the park and down the seemingly starlit path. Each lamp was adorned with pine wreaths and twinkle lights that were hung between. There were Christmas trees at every turn, each frosted white and strung with beautiful, shining ornaments. As we reached the end of the path we came to the huge castle-like restaurant. The intricate white swirls and flourishes of the facade fit perfectly with the winter theme along with the temporary ice pond that shone like glass. It was truly breathtaking.

The sights weren’t the only thing to bring joy to my senses. The smells were incredible. The warm, grapey scent of hot glögg and the freshly cooked æbleskivers filled the place with a cozy atmosphere that felt like home to me. Æbleskivers, which are essentially a spherical pancake, are danish tradition during the Jule season and in my household, a special breakfast treat.

During our walk through the park and all the small stands selling everything from roasted nuts to small Julemand (Santa Claus) ornaments and figurines, my uncle, Peter, gave me another small piece of history and my heritage to cherish. His father, along with several others of no relation to myself, helped build and maintain Tivoli. Peter remembers coming to help his father at work until he was old enough to get a job there himself. As we walked past all the roller coasters and rides he spoke of how he remembered having to fix certain parts of each one. He was so knowledgeable about the history of the park and it certainly gave me an entirely new perspective of the place.

After our time at Tivoli I went with them back to their place for my last dinner with them. It was so sad to say goodbye to them even if it was accompanied by good food and, of course, coffee. However, as far as days go, it wasn’t a bad one to leave things off on.

Day 109: Kulturtårnet Knippelsbro

Today is officially my last day of school. All my projects have been finished, my essays written, and my locker has been cleared. However, there is one last matter of business. We are going to go to meet Malthe and Lars to hear which designers the board has picked to work on the new Culture Tower project. My graphic design class has been waiting in earnest for over a month and a half now to hear their decision—truthfully it’s hard to believe it took them this long—and now the exciting moment is finally here.

We meet Malthe at the ever so hyggeligt restaurant on the second floor of the DAC—Danish Architecture Center. Then he along with Britt pop some champagne and after a few moments of excited chatting amongst the 10 of us he pulls out his computer. This is the moment we had been waiting for. He explains how excited himself and Lars had been to see all the work we had put into the project and then says that they had chosen 3 people to collaborate to combine their projects into the final identity. Finally he opens his computer to show the project of the first designer he has chosen. I am shocked when I recognize it as my own.

Have you ever wanted something so much that you convinced yourself that it could never happen? That’s where I had placed this whole project. In my mind I was finished with it when I had submitted it for grading over a month ago. My classmates work is just so good that there was no way I would be one of the ones picked, but somehow, it happened. Myself along with Lizzie and Eva, whose exceptional work was also chosen, would get to put out heads together for the final identity. What a challenge this was going to be!

I ended my already wonderful day with a Julefrokost with my floor and a pub crawl in Norrebrø— a part of Copenhagen I really wished I had explored more of. Overall, one of the most memorable days I have had here in this “fantastisk” city.

Day 107: Life of a Designer

Since Sweden, I along with the rest of the Architecture and Design department have been working through several long nights to finish our last projects all culminating in our final critique. This is bittersweet because all though I, as well as everyone else, am overwhelmingly relieved to finally be finished with this project after a month and a half, it also signifies the last assignment for our semester at DIS. The good thing about ends is that it also becomes an opportunity to shove as many fun things as possible into a small amount of time. The social we had after critiques was just the beginning.

Later that evening the entire Architecture and Design department got together at this really cool bar close to DIS and just spent the evening together. This bar is so unique because they provide hundreds of different board games to choose from. What better way to kick off one of your last nights with all your new friends than with a few board games right?

Day 103: Sweden

Since this is essentially the last free Saturday that I have, I made the decision to take a quick trip to Malmö, Sweden. The train ride is less than 40 minutes and about $15 so there was really no reason not to go. Not to mention, it serves as a good way to procrastinate from working on my final project for graphic design that is due on Monday.

I found that Sweden did not feel too different from Denmark itself, especially from the smaller country towns. It was an interesting mix of a few busy streets from city center Copenhagen with wide open spaces and parks near the harbor. I suppose if I had stayed longer I might’ve been able to see more of the differences as I’m sure there are many; but for now a day will have to make do. Plus, I’m told all the extraordinary things in Sweden are in Stockholm.

Day 101: Thanksgiving

Even though the entire world around me is screaming for Christmas already, the Americans and myself are acutely aware of a different holiday. Thanksgiving. As it is a holiday only celebrated by Americans there is no reason that the Danes should recognize it and yet there is this feeling of something amiss with the world because of it’s absence. Despite these strange feelings, my floor and some of my friends have decided to make a day of it anyways.

I start my morning by meeting one of my graphic design friends, Rachael, in Christianshavn to climb the tower of the Church of our Savior. This is something most people do way in the beginning of the semester but we have simply never gotten to it. The tower is high, with a staircase that spirals around the outside until it narrows so much that you can go no further. As we climbed towards the sky we could feel the tippy top of the tower sway slightly with the wind— we were within maybe twenty feet of the very tip of the spire. As we reached the point that we were too nervous to go forward we slipped our phones, with a death grip on them so as to not drop them, out of our pockets to snap a photo of the terrific view. The view of the city seemed to make the fear fade and I am reminded of how beautiful a city I get to live in. Even through a week of overcast, grey clouds and cold rain the sun managed to come out for this beautiful morning. How fitting a morning for Thanksgiving.

The day continues with a trip to Amager Strand beach and later, Superkilen park in Nørrebro. Maybe it does a disservice to see all of these places in one short day but in someways it was perfect. The day kept me busy, too busy to make me miss home during one of my favorite holidays. We ended the day with a traditional Thanksgiving dinner, each from my floor making a dish for the feast. I, of course, made my dad’s creamy garlic potatoes; my favorite dish of all time. It was a wonderful day.

To me, this Thanksgiving was God reminding me that this holiday isn’t necessarily always about the traditions. Sometimes it is about recognizing the good people and opportunities that He has given you that makes the day special.

Day 100!

I have now been here a whopping 100 days. It is truly amazing to me how the time has flown by. It is crazy to think that it was over 3 months ago that I stepped off that plane and took my first look at Copenhagen with no idea what was in store. Over the past 100 days I have seen more places than I thought I would see and have had better experiences than I could have imagined. But of course, none of this came without a little sacrifice.

Making the decision to leave California, all my friends and family and everything familiar to me was much bigger than I imagined. It felt like starting over and beginning a new life— very similar to what I felt when I left my small hometown of Atwater to go to college. I was reminded all over again how difficult it was to get situated and find your new friends— a whole new life essentially. Being gone for just four months meant finding a new comfort zone just in time to leave for home again. It meant forcing yourself to find your own great experiences even though you are never entirely comfortable.

The last 100 days have been a little harder than I anticipated but they are some of the greatest I have experienced. Going on this trip has been one of the greatest blessings I have ever received. As I review and reflect on my time here as I recognize the light at the end of the tunnel moving rapidly closer to me, I become very aware of the gift I have been given and realize just how lucky I am. Copenhagen, even though unfamiliar and a little uncomfortable at first, had become a second home to me and I will be truly sad to leave it in just 19 days from now.

Day 99

As the semester starts to wrap up our final project is also coming to an end, which means crunch time and little sleep. Similar to that project, my moment of inspiration hit a little late in the game but I am so happy to have finally gained momentum with this and I am very excited to see what the outcome will be! Cheers to little sleep and hopefully greater results because of it!

Day 97: Family Time

Today I went and had lunch with my great great aunt (?) Gunhild, along with several others of my family. We had a traditional Danish lunch followed by coffee. It was so delicious and I am again reminded of the value of being surrounded by family. I may have only met these people once or twice but it is so refreshing to be around people who also know your loved ones at home. I feel so blessed to have had these people to have as a sort of home base during my time abroad.

Day 96: Futbol!

Today I went to my first futbol game! DIS gave every student a free ticket, super nice right? We had a great time rooting for the win against Silkeborg IF. If we are being honest though, I wasn’t sure who we were playing most of the time. This was definitely more of a social outing than a chance to see Copenhagen’s team win!