So this is a list of my top ten favorite things so far:
1. By far my favorite thing is the bicycles. I can probably count the number of cars on a street with one hand, but I'd need a very large abacus to keep track of how many bicycles go by. The city is really quiet, there's no honking of car horns (only a few bus horns - but they kind of beep not honk, so polite!), only the quiet clicking of bicycles as the go down the bike lane. I'm still undecided on getting a bike or not...
2. Danish pastries are not like American danishes. For starters, their pastry dough is beyond anything I've had in the US. I'm not a fan of super flaky pastries that crumble apart. In Denmark they are flaky but soft, so you can bite into them and taste the buttery layers of dough, but then it smushes together and is absolutely heavenly. I had a round pastry with chocolate and vanilla frosting in the middle (I'm talking like almost a half inch thick and the size of your palm) Monday and it was to die for. And I needed lots of water, it was so sweet. But I'll have to ration my pastries or I'll eat one every day.
3. The people are so friendly. I had one student who came early say on the first day, "Danes are quiet and keep to themselves and would never approach you if you looked lost, but the moment you ask they treat you like family and make sure you're on the right path." This is so true. When I got my books yesterday, the bag weighed almost 30 pounds (I'm guessing) so I took the bus home for the first time. Well there's construction on our street so I had to get off a stop past ours and get back on going the other way. Not a good plan when you have no idea which stop is the one after yours (which is nonexistent due to the road having a huge hole in it). I walked around completely lost, and then went to another bus stop and asked a woman for directions. She was extremely helpful and got me to exactly where I needed to be, and repeated the directions four times to make sure I understood. Five minutes later I was home.
I'll keep these next few short!
4. I am legal here. I never really thought I'd be happy about this, but I realized last night how much better it is when they don't question your age or treat you like you're immature and too young for alcohol. I'm not a huge drinker, but it's nice to be able to go out with friends for a change.
5. Everything is natural. There is real sugar in the soda, real ingredients in the food (I think, I can't read most ingredients, but it tastes good), and always fresh produce on the street. America really needs to think about this way of life, it is so much healthier and you feel happier!
6. My class at the hospital is next to the Ikea. Yes. I know. I'm so happy. I can go there for dinner every night. Yay! One good thing of that class being 20 minutes outside of Copenhagen.
7. The weather's not that bad! Think Maine in early fall (early September weather) or DC in late October/early November and you'll get the idea. Cloudy but not dreary. The whole city seems happy and light, so even on a bad day you don't mind walking around (those kind of days are coffee and pastry days...).
8. Tourism? What tourism?! I haven't seen a single street vendor selling "I <3 Copenhagen" shirts in all of the parts of the city I've been to. Even the most touristy areas are pretty normal. I like that I chose somewhere a little more off the beaten path, the culture is so present.
9. Ugh these last two always kill me. Think, think, think!!! OH. The people are gorgeous. So casual but classy. I'm pretty sure Europe is the only place that straight men can get away with wearing tight fitting jorts (jean shorts). Honestly, I have never seen so many in one day. Ok so that's not classy, but everyone else is. Women in short dresses ride bicycles without a mishap (think 9 months pregnant with a basket of groceries and a short dress with no leggings). Men in fitted suits with skinny pants ride around like they're in sweats. Their hairstyles are unique but beautiful, and I have never seen blonde hair like this before. Also as a pale person, I am very happy to finally fit in! (Although nobody has freckles.)
10. Hmm my last favorite thing? Probably that their money is mostly coins, so I can easily have 100 kroner in the bottom of my bag without realizing it ($20). It's just kind of heavy and I need a change purse for all of it... But I forget how much I have! It IS expensive here, I can't say it isn't, but if you are careful I think it's fine.
Ok well that's all, sorry it's so long, I just have so much to say about everything!!!!
More soon! dwh.
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