I've Moved!

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Final Post: Part Two

Hello all!

I'm sure if you are reading this you are a bit confused since I haven't posted in over a month. But I wanted to update you on my life now that I'm back at school and seriously in the swing of things. I also have a new blog and wanted to direct you to that page for future posts.

First, I have advice for those of you thinking about going abroad and how you will fit in once you get back. For me fitting back into my friend group was easy, because we all went abroad. What I found frustrating was the amount of rules and regulations my university has compared to DIS. I wasn't able to take amazing classes this semester, am forced to have an internship I hate because it's a graduation requirement, am too busy to do anything but work and sleep, and seem to have a stress level higher than when my laptop was stolen in late September in Copenhagen. I think it's good to remind yourself that abroad is amazing, but it's not reality. You will return to the US with hopes and dreams, hours of free time and travel plans. But then the homework comes, meetings get scheduled and soon you are right back to where you were before you studied abroad. It's not a bad thing, but it is something to keep in mind as you head back to classes.

Second, I wanted to let you all know I am happily back in DC at school. My sorority finished formal recruitment in January and we now have an amazing new member class. It was so funny to see all my friends from DIS running recruitment at their schools, too. We come from all different schools, but share that same connection. My internship I have is pretty dull, but I get credit out of it. I am back babysitting the AMAZING kids I worked with before I studied abroad, and now they have a five month old brother who was born while I was away in Denmark. My apartment is huge and great, I love living with my friends again, and I find my Lilly Pulitzer planner to be packed full of meetings, coffee dates, homework assignments and the like. Life as I know it is back.

Lastly, I want to leave my new blog info here as this is where I post now! It's actually from my freshman year of college, but I restarted it in about November and now post on it. It is on Tumblr, so some of my posts have nothing to do with what I'm up to, but it is me, so feel free to read! You can click right HERE and go to the page. Happy reading!

Well I guess this is it. I honestly loved writing this blog. I may post again here and there. I was shocked to see how many views I've had since I stopped posting! Welcome to all the new DIS students in Copenhagen, I'm sure you're loving it already. My advice: BUY A BIKE!!! It was the best decision I made, no joke. I hated my last two days in Copenhagen without one. Well I wish you all a wonderful end to your week and a fabulous weekend, I am off to stuff envelopes at the internship.

See you later!
Devon

The Last Post

Oh it feels so sad to be posting this. But the fact that I slacked off and didn't post for over a week should tell me it's time to end my blog. It's not that I haven't wanted to write about coming back to the US, it's that I've been entirely too busy to sit down and have enough time to write a solid post. And we all know I don't proof read my posts, so I'm afraid the results would have been scary.

Since I got back to the US (including a race through Dulles airport in DC and being picked up in Boston by my two best friends) I have been unpacking, visiting friends, celebrating holidays and working! Overall it's been a really great week and I can't believe only nine days ago I was still in Copenhagen! I guess what they say about going somewhere new is true: you think you've been there forever, but stop and think and you'll realize it hasn't been that long! When I arrived in Denmark I became extremely homesick after about a week. I felt like I had no friends and wanted to be in DC with my friends. My mom knocked some common sense into me and said I'd only been there a week. I needed to give it much more time before I could make such claims. She was right, and a few weeks later everything was fine.

For me the hardest part of coming back to the states has been seeing how normal everything is. I felt like an outsider many times over the past four months, and now to be immersed in my culture again seems really odd! Everything seems so normal! It is nice though, and I enjoy visiting people and places I love to go to. Even being back at work seems nice! I get to see coworkers I've become good friends with, and earn some money for when I go back to school!

In all I am very happy to be home, and want to enjoy every minute before I have to move back to DC. I don't know where my blogging future is going to go from here, being home and realizing how busy I am has made me think maybe long blogging isn't for me, but possibly something shorter will do. I wish everyone who read my blog who is headed to Copenhagen to study with DIS good luck and have an amazing semester! It is highly worth your time, but make sure to travel as much as possible! Plan trips in advance so you don't get caught up at the last minute, and go where the cheap flights are, you never know what you'll find! And last of all, buy a bike! My bike gave me so much freedom and opened my eyes to Danish culture like nothing else. Buy a bike!!!

So that is all from me, I may post again and contradict the title of this blog, but who knows! Have a wonderful holiday season and Happy New Year! I have really enjoyed posting and blogging about my semester abroad, and hope you all have enjoyed reading about it! Now onto new adventures in new places!

- Devon.

Last Minute Touristy Adventures: Part Two!

Hi everyone! I wanted to get this written and posted before I actually leave Denmark, as I feel that would be sad to have to write about all of my lovely adventures from home. So here we go!

First I went on a canal tour of Copenhagen with my two friends Stephanie and Jane. I had tickets from back in October when my mom and sister were here, but we never used them and I didn't want them to go to waste. So on Wednesday we headed out onto the water to see the city from a different angle! It was actually really fun because we knew about most everything we saw, and got a better sense of where in the city everything is. It also helped me cross a bunch of stuff off my list like seeing the opera house and Black Diamond again. The bridges our boat went under were so short, we were afraid we'd hit them! It was a really fun trip!

Jane and Stephanie enjoying the tour!

Royal Opera House

Then I went to the Little Mermaid again! My friend Amanda hadn't been yet and wanted to go before she left, so we rode our bikes over and had the whole place to ourselves! It was nice to have one last adventure with her before she went back to Chicago and we actually did something with our night other than packing!

Saturday I went to lunch with my visiting family for the last time (so sad!) and then walked around Copenhagen to do a little more Christmas shopping. The food markets (Torvehallerne) were open and full to the brim with Christmas spirit! It smelled so good, there were Christmas cookies to decorate, trees for sale, chocolates to sample and outside there was a fire pit to warm up next to. It was very festive! I bought a few last gifts and then headed home to pack!

This weekend wasn't very touristy for me, I helped take two of my friends to the airport. My roommate left to go home today, and I leave tomorrow morning. Our room is so empty it echoes! I'm pretty sure my bag is under 23 kilos (50 pounds) but if not I have some wiggle room in my carry on for a heavy thing or two. I honestly can't believe I'll be home tomorrow! It seems very strange to go back to the US, like it's a strange land or something. I'm sure once I'm there I'll feel right at home, but right now I don't know what to think!

It was snowing today!

Fingers crossed I make my connecting flight in DC tomorrow and get home safely! I will of course blog if I can and update you once I am home. I have loved my semester in Copenhagen and couldn't have asked for anything better!

- Devon

5,000 VIEWS!

Wow. Thank you all so much. I never thought I'd see a thousand, let alone FIVE thousand view on my blog! I remember when I was around 1,500 views I was hoping to hit two thousand, maybe three by the end of the semester. Now I'm heading home with more than five thousand views on my blog.

I just want to thank you all so very much. I started this blog as a way for me to remember my time in Denmark, and also to create an outlet for my thoughts and experiences. I don't ever edit my blogs, they are simply my train of thought. To see so many people enjoy and understand my long posts is incredible, sometimes I even loose my place! I hope you have learned things this fall and seen things you'd never even heard of. I know I have. I am entirely grateful and just can't thank you enough.

I leave Copenhagen in two days - on Monday. I have mixed feelings about leaving, but know it is time. Before I leave I promise to post the rest of my touristy adventures and conclude on my time here in Denmark. Thank you so much, and stay tuned!

Sending you my love!

- Devon

My Final Final!

Unlike many of my friends at DIS, I had a total of FIVE finals this week! Many classes have long papers or large group projects for the final assessment, but since I'm in all science classes I have five final exams! I realized this early on in the semester, but didn't actually know other students didn't have as many as me. Last week I was dreading having so many exams, but the week has actually flown by!

I honestly can't believe it's Friday, and I apologize for not blogging more this week! I really wanted to, and actually have a lot to talk about, so I'll try to include it all here and not forget anything.

First, I started my week with one of the most terrifying cell phone bills I've ever had. Over my two week travel break I had to call my bank for ten minutes to turn my card back on. Ten minutes cost me over one hundred dollars. It was an emergency, and my mom understood (usually I pay the bill but literally don't have that much money right now - ps going abroad makes you broke), but I still didn't like looking at the email...

Second, I have another blog coming on my touristy adventures, don't worry! I knew if I put "Part One" on that blog that I'd have to follow up with it, and here I am, not following up. This weekend I'm doing more things, and I did some on Wednesday so I have adventures to update you on, I just need some time to do it!

I am now four-fifths through my exams, having taken two on Tuesday (Complexity of Cancer and Medical Ethics) and then another two on Thursday (Human Health and Disease and HIV/AIDS), all of which went well (at least to a degree). It has really made this week fly by and I honestly can't believe it's already Friday here! On Monday I was really home sick and hated that I still had a week here, but now I'm shocked I'm leaving in four days and don't want to leave! Tomorrow I have one exam (Pregnancy, Birth and Infancy) which should be pretty straightforward. Then I'm done! Oh and if you want to learn more about any of my classes, look here!

And if having an exam tomorrow isn't enough, I also have to return my books and loaned laptop back to DIS. I honestly think my backpack weighs about 20 pounds right now. I think what I'll do is return my laptop before my final at noon, and then bike home, get my books, and return those after my final. It shall be interesting. Saturday I'm seeing my visiting family for a final lunch and returning my bike! My friend Amanda is going to the airport, so I have to work in helping her to the airport, too. Sunday I'm helping another friend, Kelsey, with her suitcases and then packing up!

I am still working on Christmas presents, but think I'll be done by the time I leave! Some people will be very happy! It's frustrating that on Sunday most everything will be closed because I would love to go shopping that last day and get everything finished, but nothing is open on Sundays in Denmark, so I'll just be sitting around at home. But it will be good to rest before traveling all day Monday (literally - I leave my housing at 9am and get home in Maine at 9pm, that's 3am Copenhagen time)! I have friends on my flight home too so that will be nice!

And then I'm home... and my adventures in Denmark are over I guess... no more blog, no more followers, no more documenting my crazy life online... NOT! Even though I won't be abroad anymore, I have decided to keep blogging! I love it so much, and actually currently have a tumblr but it's anonymous, so I won't post it here! But once I have my blog up and running I'll make a huge post about it and make sure everyone knows where I'm headed! Hopefully you will follow along!

Well I hope that's enough updating for all of you today, and for everyone studying for finals, I hope this was a fabulous study break/procrastination tool for you! I am off to study some before heading to bed and getting up early for my last exam. It really is bittersweet to be leaving Copenhagen so soon. On one hand I will miss it so much, leaving makes you realize all the small things you take for granted. But on the other, I can't wait to see my family and friends. I can't stay abroad forever, I have too much I love at home!

My post on touristy adventures part two will be up soon!
- Devon

My Danish High School Experience

Last week I talked about my visiting family and how amazing they are. They truly are some of the most wonderful people I've met here, and today confirmed that. Hanne, the mom, is a teacher (so is the dad, Jacob) and asked a while ago if Katherine and I would mind coming in to her school to talk about being American and about our experience here in Denmark. Of course we said yes, we were just as curious to talk to Danish students as they were to meet us!

This morning I woke up at six to go to the train station on time and go to her school. I don't know how I did that in elementary and high school... it was so early. My freshman year of college I woke up at 5:45 on Wednesdays to go to skating practice and I don't know how I did that either! But Katherine and I managed to stay awake today and had such a good time. It was interesting to not only see how the school was designed, but also to answer the students questions. In Denmark you learn English beginning in third grade, so by ninth grade they are pretty much fluent. These ninth graders looked like seniors in high school though, not fifteen!

Questions about the US were mostly about gun control, because in Denmark nobody carries weapons of any sort, not even pocket knives. When I told them I knew people who owned guns (being from Maine, most people own hunting rifles) they were shocked! They also asked about school shootings, as they had recently watched the movie Bowling for Columbine, and I assured them it's not something that happens every day! Politics and Obama were also hot topics, they wanted to know how I felt about politics in the US. Denmark is so liberal and has so many political parties it was really hard to explain our system to them, but I think they understood. I also talked about how sometimes politicians in the US vote a certain way to maintain popularity and to get re-elected, not because that's what they believe in. The students thought this was stupid... and I can't say I disagree.

One thing I thought was really funny was when I talked about how unhealthy Americans are compared to Danes. To be honest, I've only seen one obese Dane while here. And I've been here for four months. I talked about how large people are in the US most students didn't believe me. It shows some countries are getting it right when it comes to healthy lifestyles. They also thought it was weird that I liked peanut butter, but I told them it was weird they like liver paste!

Overall it was such a fun day and I loved learning more about the Danish school system. Katherine also loved talking to them and answering their questions. Being from New Jersey she got lots of questions about Jersey Shore, which she of course answered well. I can't believe I'm going home in a week, but I'm really happy I got to fit in this trip before I leave! Now onto my FIVE finals and packing up my things!

- Devon