True Independence

This was my first weekend in Copenhagen where I really got to take in the city before a hectic next three weeks. It baffles me that I've been here about a month. It baffles me even more that I'm two weeks away from going on a trip of a lifetime that I read about with such excitement back in March (Istanbul, in case you haven't realized). I've grown to truly love and appreciate the people I've met here and I realized that being abroad has made me more open to meeting and having conversations with new individuals I might not have gotten the chance to know otherwise. From all of the conversations I've had with them and from all of the great experiences we've had together (and are going to have), I know picked the right city to study abroad in. That said, I've also learned many things about Copenhagen, culturally and academically.

Since we don't have classes on Wednesdays (they're dedicated to field studies for classes), Sydney and I decided to go out and explore a bit. We ended up watching a football game at one of the bars and then sitting down for some drinks with two other DIS kids, one being the very first person I met in the program at the airport in Newark. The next day I had a round-table discussion with a professor who spoke about cultural conflict. It was interesting but since the speaker was not very open-minded when it came to the opinions of others, he was hard to follow at time. Despite the fact that we had a full day of classes the next day, I ended up going out to get a drink with three other (great) people from my program. It was so nice and calming to just sit down and relax for a while amidst a hectic week. On Thursday I had a quintessential "Girl's Night Out" with some of my closest friends here that lasted for about four hours! We ended up just sitting around and talking about anything and everything. In Copenhagen, there's a term called "hygge," which literally translates to "cozy." It's the concept of lighting candles, whether at home or at a restaurant, and sitting around with close friends to eat, drink, laugh, talk, and just be together. It's nights like those that I always look really fondly on.

I didn't have class on Friday and since it was so gorgeous out I decided to take my camera and take pictures all throughout the city. I ended up walking for three and a half hours just taking as many pictures as I could. Being abroad has made me much more comfortable about being on my own and doing things on my own. It has not only made me more appreciative of the individuals I do have in my life but really lets me get out of my comfort level in a good way. If I'm alone, whether it's waiting for the bus or simply walking around, I no longer feel compelled to take out my phone to keep me occupied. I simply just take in every thing that is around me. I've also started to let the sounds of Copenhagen be my music instead of putting my headphones on while I walk. That night two friends from my program came over for some drinks and we went out around Copenhagen.

The highlight of my week and weekend was probably Saturday night. Sydney and I made plans at the last minute and had dinner at what is now one of our favorite restaurants in Copenhagen. We then spent the rest of the night walking around and talking, people watching, having a beer, and, at the last minute, sharing a cigar by candlelight (don't worry, it won't turn into a regular occurrence). We really took in the city that night. The weather was gorgeous and people watching in Europe might be one of my new favorite past-times.

The next three weeks and weekends are already so busy! This weekend I'm fortunate enough to have Shelby visiting. This week is pretty hectic with work so I keep telling myself I simply have to make it to Friday and it will all be worth it. I'm so excited for all of my new friends here to meet someone who is so important to me. I hope everyone else is having a great experience abroad!

Sweden, Copenhagen Night Life, and so much more...

I e-mail with my Mom pretty regularly. She's a beautiful woman who is absolutely in love with Europe and in one e-mail said to me, "Isn't Europe simply glorious?" Yes, Mama, it truly is.

I've been here for three weeks and have become more humbled and aware of my surroundings. In Boston/Medford I'd see something I like and walk past it. Here, I always have my camera on me to capture anything I can. Nights don't start at 9 or 10, they start at 12 or 1. Seeing the sun come up on a Friday or Saturday is normal. Life is (and should be) more simple. Here girls don't worry about how they look as much as we do in the States. A black sweater, jeans, and your hair in a ponytail is simple but beautiful. The nightlife is colorful and Danes are so social and want to get to know you, regardless of your nationality. Last Saturday Sydney and I went to a club called Rust and danced until 5 AM. As we waited for the bus the sun came up and I knew I'd never forget that moment and how great a night it was.

I've already had the opportunity to just hop on over to another country for a little visit: Sweden. DIS does a short study tour and long study tour to places that pertain to your program of study (Migration and Conflict for me) and this weekend our program went to Southern Sweden to study and get a firsthand look at immigrant life and learn about Muslim  culture. It was not only an amazing experience but pretty life-changing. Our group went to Sweden not knowing each other too well but left Sweden being so excited to go to Turkey in three weeks and feeling like a family. We left early Thursday morning and toured a mosque and Muslim private school in Malmo, Sweden. I was so taken aback by how "normal" the Muslim school was. It reminded me so much of my elementary school at home. The kids were happy and didn't have a care in the world, regardless of their religion. After our tour we had some free time in Malmo, which is such a beautiful city.

I have to say the highlight for me was the visit to the immigrant ghetto in Rosengard. We were greeted by individuals who run the social aspect of the community as well as another immigrant from Somali named Ishmael. He was so knowledgeable and insightful about religion. It really took my breath away. As we were touring the community, I told him that I'm the "product" of a Jewish man from Brooklyn and a Christian woman from a small and quaint Upstate New York town and he was so interested and delighted about the fact that two different religions could manage to find love. Aside from that discussion with him, I was blown away by how happy and joyous the kids playing on a beaten up playground were. I'm not sure if I'd ever to be able to live in their conditions or even merely as an immigrant in a foreign nation where I would be subjected to negative criticism. It was humbling to powerful to be a witness to all of it.

On Friday we visited the cultural museum in Gothenburg and had a round-table discussion with a Religion professor at the University in Gothenburg. It was a great discussion about Islam and the issue of Islamic immigrants coming to nations such as Sweden and Denmark. The more I'm here and the more I learn about the various issues within religion, the more I want my concentration to be Islam. It's such a controversial yet fascinating religion. We then took a boat tour around Gothenburg, which we luckily had amazing weather for. After we had a three and a half hour dinner together at an Italian restaurant as a group. At the end of the dinner I felt as if everyone in my program was like my family. We talked about any and all subjects over bottles of wine and had an amazing meal. Afterwards all of us (including our professors) went to a bar to celebrate a successful trip and toast to what I'm sure will be an amazing time together in Istanbul. The next morning we went kayaking in the Atlantic Ocean, which was tough but a great experience (when else will I be able to say I went kayaking in the Atlantic?).

There are already so many great things that are going on this semester for me to look forward to and a lot has to do with traveling and seeing those who truly mean a lot to me. In just eleven days, one of my greatest and best friends from Tufts, Shelby, is visiting for the weekend. I'm beyond excited to see her and just be able to spend a weekend with her walking around, shopping, talking, and going out at night. When you're away from your college friends you realize how many nights of talking and hanging out you took for granted. It's very small things too. I miss Hannah's random and hilarious remarks about any subject. I miss Shelby texting me about lunch or dinner. I miss Shauna giving me life advice. I miss simply being around A.G. and calling her my BRE. I miss Veronica's stories (enough said).  That said, I've made some amazing friends here who I'm blessed to know. I don't know how I'm going to be when I see Shelby at the airport. I'll either be smiling from ear-to-ear or crying out of sheer happiness. Next month I'm going to Istanbul and Amsterdam to see my best friends from Tufts. In November my family is coming for the first half of my travel break and I'm making plans to go to Madrid to see Shelby for the second half. Lastly, I get to spend Thanksgiving here with Dan which I'm so excited for. I can't wait for him to see Copenhagen.

I suppose that's all for now. This weekend Sydney and I are going to venture out to some flea markets around the city for a change of scenery and then see what adventures we'll go through on Saturday night. On Thursday night some of my good friends and I are having a typical "girl's night" in Copenhagen with some drinks and dinner at a great restaurant we found...

Europe is glorious.

The 10-Day Mark

Hej all!

Well I've officially hit the 10-day mark in Copenhagen even though I feel like I've been here for much longer. As each day goes on, I feel more and more comfortable in the city and less like I'm a tourist. So far the weather has been absolutely incredible and breezy (just the way I like it) and walking down the colorful streets every day has been unreal. I've started ordering coffee and saying hello, thank you, and good bye in Danish and have met some incredible people, both American and Danish.

I came to Copenhagen telling myself that I wanted to grow as a person, meet at least one person who will change my life, and gain new perspective on the world outside of America. Already I've made friends who have promised to be bridesmaids at my wedding, and have realized my passion for studying religion and wanting to major in it. When I initially told people I was majoring in religion, I got some crazy looks and even some "What the hell are you going to do with that?" Even many of my friends didn't understand it. Over the past week I've learned about how amazing religion and its history is and how it truly in my mind is one of the most important aspects of how our world functions and how we as humans interact. I feel confident knowing that I can continue to study something I love, even if it does not become a part of who I am in the future in the working world. Despite the fact that Denmark is not exactly known for being a religious state, already I can see how immigration conflict and religious conflict affects the country. I'm beyond thrilled to be able to go to Istanbul and see firsthand how they're dealing with religion and change. Most of the conversations I've had with Natasha late at night deal with our views on immigration and religion. It has helped so much having her around. Since we're both in school and doing different things we don't get to see each other during the day but it's great when we both get home and can talk about how our days were and laugh about the silly questions I have about Copenhagen (don't worry, BRE, you still hold your title).  All in all, if I leave at the end of the semester knowing that I'm 100% percent sure I'm confident about my major and still passionate about it, I'll be one happy girl.

My two favorite classes so far are Cultural Conflict (my "core" class) and Religion and Politics in Europe. Both of my professors are interesting, funny, and intelligent and it seems like they really have a passion for teaching and interacting with students. Though it's a month away, I'm beyond excited to go to Istanbul as part of my Cultural Conflict class and learn about the religious conflict going on in the country after having studied it so much sophomore year. I have yet to start my fifth class at the University of Copenhagen but I'm looking forward to it. I got elected class representative for my Cultural History of Travel class, which I'm also excited for. The professor is so knowledgeable and seems to know everything (he is also my professor for History of Jewish Life in Europe).

For my first weekend in Copenhagen, I did a lot of sightseeing and experienced the Copenhagen nightlife (which, by the way, is unreal). Since I don't have classes Friday I took the opportunity to just walk around the city by myself (I didn't get lost...A+) and breathe in the richness of Copenhagen. Friday night I went out with some great people to a bar/club in the center of the city and stayed out until 4 AM just dancing, at which point Syd and Meg decided to stay over. Saturday Syd and I shopped in Norreport (the main and great shopping area) and had a great meal at this small Thai restaurant. Saturday was more low-key since I was still exhausted and Sunday was spent doing work at a small cafe in the city.

I can't believe how much is already going on in the month of September. This weekend I'm going to Tivoli with a few people and then going out with Syd on Saturday. Next weekend I'm off to Sweden for a short study tour and kayaking. At the end of September Shelby is hopefully visiting (*finger crossed*) and then I'm off to Turkey! October holds a lot of great opportunities as well and I can't wait to start adventuring through Europe (though Copenhagen is pretty amazing already).

Alright, it's off to class for this girl. Hej Hej!