I am sitting in the Black Diamond Library in downtown CPH. It is a stunning building right by the harbor and has places to study along with amazing exhibitions and a very classy atmosphere. I haven't explored much in the building though because my backpack was very heavy and I was anxious to just sit down.
Here it is! (picture it on a cloudy day with gigantic snowflakes falling all around)
The last few times it has snowed here it hasn't stuck very much. The city just becomes a snow globe of large white flakes that look pretty against my grey coat...and then within a few hours it is back to the bleak sky and howling wind. My host dad says this weekend will feel like spring. I'm crossing my fingers that he is right!!
So let's see, I think I'll give you a rundown of my last few days. Friday I got done with class at 11:30, so my friend Thuy and I went to the national museum. It is free and was actually way better than I expected. It has so many exhibits that we even got kind of lost of a few times. We didn't get to spend too much time there but I did take some sweet pictures :)
Inuit clothing...I think.
and Inuit...thongs?
Whaling suit!
Model of beautiful Japanese house
Insane palace model. How did they make this?? (the actual palace I mean, not the model. Obviously the model wasn't that hard to make)
Indian necklace. Birthday present for my best friend Jana? :)
It's a clock! How cool is that?? (It was 3:00, by the way)
Well, I finally found my knight in shining armor!
Oh hey it's a Rachel circle! :)
Personally I think 4 of me would be just a few too many...
And a kitty mask...for no other reason than because it is awesome.
After that super exciting adventure I went back home and that evening we had company (one of Karina's friends and her family came over). We had a yummy dinner and watched X-Factor (pretty much the Danish version of American Idol...complete with a somewhat rude baldheaded judge). It was very hyggelig. We had some Danish candy and I tried my first actual piece of lakrids (Danish salty licorice). I have to say it is not my favorite thing. And by that I mean my tongue was actually in pain, it was like tiny little jagged swords of salt were having a death match with my taste buds. Ok that might be a little harsh but you have to understand that this licorice is so strong it is not actually legal to sell in the US (I think). I am not sure how but the Danes really love it-- must be an acquired taste...a really acquired taste.
Anyway, Friday night was lovely and then Saturday I managed to do some homework and then we all went to Karina's work, which has an awesome recreation building, where we played table tennis, air hockey and foosball (and drank lots of hot chocolate because they have a free coffee/hot chocolate machine!)
Action shot! Andreas and Jesper
Table tennis!
Crazy game where we each hit the ball once and then run to the other side. Around the world: table tennis version. We really got our cardio workout in :)
I believe it was Saturday at lunch, after our couple hours of fun exercise, that I finally tried pickled herring! It was definitely not bad,mostly just a very strong fish taste (surprise, surprise, right?). I actually rather liked it on rugbrød with smør (rye bread with butter). I can begin to see why the Danes are so fond of herring. Not only do they have more than plenty of it, but it has so much flavor and can be manipulated in many ways (one of these being pickling). Yay for trying new things!
Saturday night my friend Devika came over to the house for dinner. She was my first friend to meet my family and we had a really nice time! I believe this means she owes me an invite to her house at some point and then I will get to meet her host family too! :)
Sunday I went into the city to do Zumba with my friend DeLayna...only to find out the instructor was on vacation. Oops, guess I should have signed up in advance so I wouldn't know that. We just spent the hour working out on our own and then I headed, sore and a little tired, back to my house.
Earlier I had told Jesper and Karina that I will soon be doing a project on a housing development called the Eternal 8-house, so the three of us went Sunday afternoon to see it! WOW. It literally blew my mind. Unfortunately I haven't uploaded the pics to my computer yet and I am still in the library so I don't have them. But I will post them soon! It is really an incredible building and it was so much fun to explore. You can make the judgement yourself once you see the photos but I don't think I would ever see something like this in America. Here is just one photo from google images to spike your curiosity.
We also drove over to a place along the harbor where the first harbor-side apartments were built in the early 2000s. Jesper worked on some of them with his company!! They are amazing. I am constantly surprised by the variety of design that you see from building to building. It is just so...cool (for lack of a better term) seeing such a mismosh of designs that somehow manages to work together so perfectly.
Yesterday and today I have been busy with classes and trying to focus on the work that needs to be done before our long study tour, which is coming up so quickly! We leave on March 5th (6th?...one of those) and will be in Milan for a week or so.
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In 20th and 21st century Danish Architecture yesterday we made a list of "Must See" places while in Copenhagen. It was so long! I knew there was a lot to see here, but I don't think I realized just how much CPH has to offer. That list makes me feel like I need to skip class everyday and go exploring just to have time to do it all! Don't worry, I won't actually do that, although I am considering taking one day once it gets nice to bike the coastline or something like that. I think it will definitely be worth it.
Quick update on family news: I was supposed to skype with Dad on Friday but got an email from my mom saying he wasn't having the greatest day so we should wait on the skype. I then found out Saturday night that he was back in the hospital. He had been having more confusion than "normal" and was very agitated and restless. At the hospital they did some tests and finally came to the conclusion that Abby and my mom had guessed: he was having a rough reaction to the steroids that were supposed to reduce brain swelling. I got to skype with Abby on Sunday and Dad just happened to get up from a nap and start walking the halls while I was on so we got to chat a little. He is definitely different but I know he was doing better than the day before. He was pretty groggy when we talked but I was able to understand him and we all had a laugh about how impressed he was with water and the fact that we all need water and he and I both had water bottles. I know things are very jambled still and we continue to have surprises and new things to deal with, but mom and Abby have such a positive attitude that it is hard for me not to (although I will admit it is getting harder and harder to be away from them and deal with this here in Denmark). I am currently trying to figure out if I can come home from towards the end of March for a few days, when DIS has a long "travel on your own" weekend. I would have to miss a few days of classes but my professors are very understanding and flexible. It is hard to make plans now though since we don't quite know where in treatment dad will be at that point. I will try to be patient and see what would be best. I am very thankful to the support from both DIS and Knox and especially my wonderful friends.
Now that I have an hour left here at the library before I go to my cooking class, I should probably try and get a little homework done. I heard it is snowing at home too...so we have something in common :) Enjoy it while it lasts...and hopefully it won't last too long!
Knus!
Hej hej.
I LOVE AROUND THE WORLD!
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