Assignment 1.

Friday was dedicated to Studio. All of the Architecture, Interior Architecture and Urban Planning students gathered together and were split up into groups for our first assignment. Each group was assigned a building that we will be visiting on our study tours. My group was assigned the Zollverein School of Business and Design in Essen, Germany. (Design by Sanaa Architects) In one week, we are to build a site model, a detailed and precise building model with interior and exterior detailing and views along with presentation materials giving information about the site and the building. Needless to say, I spent much of the weekend in Studio. Already.
The DIS Welcome party took place on Friday night at a local night club. Some friends and I continued the party at a local bar with some highly entertaining Danish students. The night concluded with a hilarious train ride home.

Saturday evening, my host family hosted a dinner party, sometimes called a “hygge (hoogah)” here. We ate delicious food and drank tasty wine to which we toasted “Skol!” and I was introduced to more friendly Danes. I still cannot pick up a word of Danish, but thankfully almost everyone speaks English.

First Day of Class.

Thursday was the first day of classes. It was almost time for my “Sustainable by Design” class to begin when a tall, gorgeous, young Danish man walked into the classroom. At first I thought 'Ooo some eye candy for class! Yum!' Turns out he’s my professor. Even better. After some discussion of his impressive portfolio, we hopped on the metro to visit a building designed by the architects of Vilhelm Lauritzen in the Copenhagen School of Business. My next class was Russian Literature with a very short, very enthusiastic Danish man that has an extreme obsession with Russia. That night, I went home to eat Lasagna, salad and smoothies with my family and then headed back into the city for a couple Carlsbergs with my new friend Alyssa and her Danish roommates.

New.

Walking in the streets of Copenhagen each day is a test of my patience. (I have close to none.) Often people bump into one another and these incidences are never followed by a “oh, sorry” or “excuse me, sorry.” Thus, it is a major cultural difference.
Another aspect of Danish life that varies greatly from American culture can also be seen while strolling the city’s streets: Danish people are nearly always on time, but never seem to be in a hurry.
Also, everything is extremely expensive here. I've already paid 65 Kroner ($12.34) for a latte and pastry and 45 Kroner ($8.54) for a Vodka Cranberry. Sheesh. Luckily most of my meals are provided by my host family and a few places offer 10% student discounts.

Scavenger Hunt

Tuesday's orientation challenged us to a city-wide scavenger hunt that put me on my feet from roughly 9 in the morning to 3 in the afternoon. The first photo is of the recently constructed Opera House and the second is of the Royal Theater. All of this is located just a block away from Amaliegade where the Queen resides. The third shows the buildings along the semi-frozen Nyhavn canal.

Independent Babies.

In Denmark, it is legal and common to leave your baby, carriage and all, outside on the sidewalk while you grocery shop, etc. This, of course, is completely illegal in the U.S. probably because we have people that are crazy enough to steal a baby. This particular carriage was parked outside a store near the harbor and the Royal Theater.

Welcome to DIS.

1.18.2010

Monday was the first day of DIS orientation. The opening ceremony featured live classical music and a speech from the head of the school who described the sound of the Danish language as "something close to a throat disease." The day continued with various orientation activities and friendly introductions. I took the train back into the city after dinner with my host family. (Claus was gone to Jutland on business.) Eva, a new friend from Chicago, and I made our way to an apartment to meet up with more fellow students. That evening, I had my first Danish beers: Tuborg and Carlsberg. (Carlsberg is better.)
Observation: The men wear much higher quality jeans here. Or maybe with all of the bicycling the country does, they just look better in them? Haven’t quite decided yet.

Meet the Rasmussens.

My host family:

Claus, my host father, is an engineer.
Helle, my host mother, is a teacher.
Christian (25), their oldest son, recently moved to Zurich, Switzerland.
Mikkel (23), their second son, lives in an apartment in Copenhagen.
Mette (17), their daughter, lives at home.
Laura, the dog, is a doschund.

The home where I am living is roughly a half hour outside of major Copenhagen. Here, it is very common for families to live outside of the city. I have a 10 minute walk to the train station and a 20 minute train ride to school each day. The home is quite modern and representitive of Danish Interior Architecture and Design. White walls allow colorful and textural art to sing. Pale wood flooring. Clean lines. Where we (Americans) would place a bookshelf on the floor and against the wall, their shelving units are always elevated at least 6 inches AFF. My room overlooks the garden and is complete with pale blue walls, wooden desk, single bed and a built-in closet/storage unit.

Fun Fact: Danish people generally sleep flat as a board. No five fluffy pillows here. One flat one will do.

Sweden

1.16.2010

Today Montana, her cousin and I took the ferry to Helsingborg, Sweden (a 20 minute boat ride). We checked out a Kärnan, a medieval tower, shopped and ate a fish lunch. Fun Fact: H & M originated in Sweden. It stands for Hennes & Mauritz, the company’s starters. Later, my host family picked me up and took me to their home to get settled.

Hej Hej U.S.A.

1.13.2010

A tearful goodbye preceded my flight out of Mosinee and into Chicago just as the sun was setting. My flight partner was a young commercial furniture salesman from San Diego. After establishing the interconnectedness of his field and mine, he assured me that Wisconsinites are much friendlier than Californians. Of course, I didn’t argue.

4+hours later:
I took my Dramamine and boarded my 10:05pm flight from Chicago to Copenhagen feeling anxious/nervous/nauseous. This time, my flight partner was a lawyer from Stockholm.

8.5 hours later (at 1:20pm):
I arrived in Copenhagen (23˚) where Montana was patiently waiting. We took the train out of the city to her grandparents’. Neither of her grandparents speak English (only Danish & Thai) so communication was a bit difficult. We walked to a local grocery store, Kvickly, where I enjoyed a delicious chocolate croissant. I fell asleep around 7pm (noon at home).

First Observations: Orangy-red roofs. The city is very broad, spread out. Many (naturally) blonde people.