An Practical Education in Marijuana

Happy first day of classes to everyone at Georgetown! At DIS, there are no classes on Wednesdays so that we can go on "educational study tours." Today, I went on a field trip with my Danish class to Christiania. It was, by far, the strangest and coolest place I have ever visited. It is a community started out as a social experiment in the 70's, and is now basically a compound with no rules where hippies go to get high. There are 900 residents, and they get millions of tourists every year. The biggest draw to the spot is the fact that it is legal to buy and smoke marijuana. There is a street called "Push Street" that is casually dotted with jewelry stands, shwarma vendors and drug dealers. They don't sell any hard drugs (they were banned in the 80's after a 16 year old girl OD'd on heroin) but they sell weed in many different forms. It was beyond strange to see people buying joints and lighting up in the middle of the street. Our tour guide has lived on the land for 23 years, and told us all about the LSD he used to do. He was the man. It was really cool to get a tour because it definitely helped me to understand exactly how the community operates. I want to go back on the next sunny day to shop around a little bit (for jewelry not drugs! god.) and eat Shwarma.

After we left Christiania, we had some time to kill so we went to the mall. So 90's. In case anyone was wondering, the malls in Copenhagen are just as cheesy as the ones in Warwick, Rhode Island. And 4 times as expensive.

Tonight, we had a "cafe night" for Danish class. We took the train (which I will NEVER be able to navigate) to La Brasserie. There were about 40 DIS students, a few Danish people and our BEAUTIFUL teacher Ditte Marie. So Danish. So hot. They gave us heapingggg portions of Lasagna, which I devoured (somebody actually commented on how much of it I ate!) and I came home exhausted, full and happy.

Tomorrow night is open bar at Kulor Bar, so hopefully there will be stories to tell!

XX

Z

Touring and Tequila

Yesterday was the first of many "Touring and Tequila Tuesdays" (copyright pending.) After class, Lindsay, Meg, Charlotte and I packed lunch and headed over to the nearby Bottanical Gardens to meet Taylor and her boyfriend (who is visiting) for a picnic. The weather was beautiful all morning, but by the time we got our lives together and made it out of the house it had taken a turn for the worst. The minute we sat down, it started pouring. Typical Copenhagen.

We opted to stay and stick it out, and passed the time by feeding our soggy sandwiches to the (aggressive!) ducks that were quacking and pecking at our feet. When it finally stopped raining, we walked around the gardens for a little while and went into the greenhouse. It was disgustingly humid inside and I actually felt like I was in a rainforest. We got to climb up to the ceiling so we were basically in the canopy of the trees, which was pretty cool. I tried to take pictures, but the lens kept getting so foggy!!

The weather was pretty clear when we headed back outside, so we decided to walk down to the famous New Harbor. I was really excited to see it because it is the picture that comes up when you type "Copenhagen" into Google Images, and was really the only place I knew in the city before I arrived here. It was just as pretty as I had imagined. I stopped and got Gelato on the way back, which I had been craving for a week. The waffle cone was one of the best I have ever had, and they put fresh whipped cream and jam on top which I have never seen before. It was delicious. We window shopped a little on the way back, and went into a store that has really cool posters of Danish scenery. I hoped to find something to decorate my bare room, but based on the prices it looks like I will be stuck staring at white walls for the rest of the semester.

Last night, we pregamed and went out with some of the Danish guys we live with. They are moving out on Friday, so we are trying to get in as much fun bonding time as possible before they have to go. We had planned to go to LA bar for tequila, but the line was crazyyyy long so we went to Zoo bar instead. I met some (cute!) Italian guys who I hung out with for a little while, but it was a pretty quiet night and I went home early. Hopefully I will get a friend request from the boys today!!

Now I'm off to a study tour at Christiania -- will let you know how it goes!!

XX

What a Weekend.

Friday evening, my communications program had a social in Copenhagen's "ultra chic meatpacking district." Sound familiar, New Yorkers? It was set to begin at 4:30, and my friends Lindsay, Taylor and I thought we would take advantage of the situation and get to know the public transportation. We got off of the first of the two buses we were supposed to take, and were immediately lost. We spent 45 minutes looking for the second bus, which we of course never found. We did get to do a little bit of site seeing, and I got my first look at the famous Tivoli Gardens and Copenhagen's central station. We finally arrived (an hour late) and were in definitely need of the two complimentary drinks we were offered. After 20 minutes of talking with some of the other students in the program while simultaneously throwing back white wine and pretending to know about Danish politics, the bartender announced that he had bought too much alcohol and was giving it away. CHA CHING! The three of us filled our cups and stashed a few beers and a bottle of wine in our bags for the trip home. There is no open container law in Denmark, so you can drink in public on the street! Pretty cool. Instead of braving the bus system again, we decided to try and walk back to our apartment. Of course, we eventually realized we were less than a mile from home. In a straight line.

On Saturday we went to dinner with our new roommate Meg, her boyfriend Chris and some of his friends from his Kollegium. It was definitely a nice opportunity to make some guy friends. We had a hard time finding a place that served both alcohol and cheap food, but we eventually found a place called "Kras Bar" next door to DIS. They had amazing happy hour specials (2 cocktails for $10) and good food (I had pesto pasta-- not quite Danish food but I'm making progress) , so we will definitely be back there soon. We then came back to our apartment and had a huge pregame where we played American drinking games and a Danish drinking game. The Danish game was similar to American "Quarters"-- but demands that you drink much more frequently. As the third most alcoholic country in the world, they go hard here. Once we were all sufficiently inebriated, we went to a Danish club called "Rust." It was a long walk in the pouring rain, but it was definitely worth it. We were seemingly the only American people in the entire bar, and I of course bopped around the place making friends with people from Dubai and Istanbul. I also made friends with the bouncer (of course.) and got free drink tickets, so that will definitely come in handy. Around 3:30, we decided to head home. But not before a quick pitstop at McDonalds. We walked an extra half mile in the rain (with no coats!) to get there and waited in line for a half an hour. I ate TWO big macs (!!!!!) and finally felt full for the first time since my arrival.

Sunday morning, I thought it would be a good idea to wake up early to work off the alcohol and disgusting amounts of food I consumed the night before. I made my way to Palmfitness (the amazinnnnnng gym I joined) for 10am spinning. The class was impossible, and entirely in Danish. I clearly did not think this through very well, as I should have known that in a city where people bike EVERYWHERE the spin classes must be intense. I then met Meg, Katherine and Meg's friend Carina for brunch at the cafe on our corner. It is so cute! The food was delicious and it was really nice to be able to go out for Sunday brunch. It was no Booey's or Butcher Shop-- but it was amazing. Then, we met the boys and we all went to Tivoli, the oldest amusement park in the world. It is beyond beautiful, and we bought season passes so we can go back as often as we want. We went on a swing ride that gave us an amazing view of the city, though my fear of heights made it quite challenging to keep my eyes open. Nevertheless, I am definitely glad I did it. We walked around through the gardens and took a million touristy pictures:

This bitch has the best job ever.

I survived one week in Copenhagen.

Greetings from Vonderful, Vonderful Copenhagen! It has been a crazy first week, but apparently nothing compared to the earthquake and hurricane that I am missing out on back at home. I arrived last Sunday with 4 enormous bags in tow, which seemed to be more than anyone else in my entire program. Trying to navigate my luggage cart through Newark airport was not an easy feat, and was comparable to Snooki upon her arrival in Florence. People were staring -- typical. After a 12 hour trip and a brief layover in the Oslo airport (which, by the way, is beautiful), I made it to my new home. I live in a single room on a floor with 6 American girls and 2 Danish men. We share a bathroom and a kitchen, which is more than a little bit awkward.

The first night was very casual-- we had pizza with an RA (who was completely unhelpful) and tried to go out to some of the bars around town but we were all just too tired. The next day we had the "Opening Ceremony" for DIS students which took place at the Copenhagen Performing Arts Center. It was a lovely ceremony, but between the dim lights, warm room and classical music performed by students from one of the city’s top conservatories, I struggled to stay awake. At that point, the jetlag was truly unbearable. From there, I met with my orientation group and we embarked on a sort of scavenger hunt throughout the city. We saw Trinity Church, the Parliament Building, Rosenbourg Slot and the Royal Palace. I forgot my camera, so I will certainly be visiting all of these places again before it gets too cold.

So far, we have gone out to a few different bars and clubs. I have tried to stay away from places that are primarily American students because I want to interact with as many Danes as possible, but it has proven to be difficult because most of the DIS students flock together. The most popular spots are A bar (very confusing when you ask people where they are and their response is “A bar” – could you be any more specific?), LA bar and Kulor bar. Kulor bar is the big spot on Thursday nights, and it is exactly what I would expect from a European Discothèque. They offer unlimited beer for $12, which we definitely took advantage of last week. We also danced in a cage until 4am, so we really got the full Euro experience.

All in all, it's been a big adjustment but a great first week. I am so excited for what's to come!

XX