TIA HERE with our latest video! Now that we're back in Ithaca, Victoria and I decided we'd finally do our gift exchange. I grabbed some goodies while in Europe, and Victoria got some from while in South Korea, and this is a short video showing what we decided to give one another.
Tragically, my camera shut off before we could record our outro so expect an abrupt ending. Regardless, I hope you enjoy! Maybe you'll even learn a little about our experiences and the countries we visited along the way.
ALANNA HERE: If you are like me, you may have heard some pretty scary stories about students racking up extraordinary cell phone bills while studying abroad. Also like me, you may have vowed that this would never happen to you! This is why, prior to studying abroad in Denmark, I got a study abroad plan with AT&T.
TIA HERE with a full heart. I have now been away from Copenhagen for a week, but some of this was written during my last few days in the city. It's my final love letter to Denmark, to the people I met, and to the experiences I had while abroad. I never knew a single journey could affect me so tremendously, but it has, and I am glad that four years ago I decided to undertake it, and last spring I made it happen.
TIA HERE with my second to last post on Denmark. If you're thinking of studying abroad (or not), or thinking specifically of studying abroad in Copenhagen (or not), or are even more specifically thinking of studying abroad with DIS in Copenhagen (or not), this post is for you. Here are all of the reasons why I think you should study abroad in Denmark (through the Danish Institute for Study Abroad):
TIA HERE with a different sort of video. I went to Netto (a common grocery store in Copenhagen) and bought one of almost every type of candy I came across, using my DIS stipend. Then, I wrangled a bunch of willing American participants from my LLC to try out all of the candies, rate them, and discuss. This is the result.
TIA HERE with a quick list of some tips that I think may help future DIS students prepare for arrival in Denmark! There's also some info for those who are thinking of applying but are not sure yet. Hope you make a decision that you are happy with in the end, after considering all of the factors.
TIA HERE with a short visual tour of my living quarters for the past four months. When I first heard I was going to be in a triple, I imagined a cramped space with beds practically piled on top of one another. I could not have been more wrong! My triple with roommates Kayla and Robin was enormous with wood paneled floors and large, beautiful windows facing Vestergade. Being in the apartment above DIS offices gave us excellent wifi privileges and easy access to classes (a two minute walk, tops). I could not have gotten a better room in the entirety of DIS. Even my roommates and housemates were a perfect match!
TIA HERE with one of my favorite travel videos I've done so far! This time I went to London, England, for a class trip that involved checking out all of the most interesting cultural spots and touristy areas in the city through an academic lens. Check out the video if you want to see the National Portrait Gallery, the London Eye, the Globe Theatre, the Churchill War Rooms, high tea at the Dorchester Hotel, the Victoria and Albert Museum, platform 9¾, Daunt Books, and the East End. There are also some other fun sights thrown in there, from Buckingham Palace to the London Millennium Footbridge and much, much more. Because you can see most of the trip in the video (happy viewing!), I'm going to use this post to talk more about the class for future DIS students interested in taking it.
TIA HERE with the longest title I think I've ever had for a blog post. To see the cities and get the deets, watch the video above! Below is the breakdown of what it covers. First of all, let's lay down the basics: My housemate Alanna and I went to Vienna, Austria, for four days. In that time, we visited Bratislava, Slovakia, on the first day and Budweis, Czech Republic, on the second day, while remaining in Vienna for the third and final day. On the last day we left pretty early, so there's nothing much to report from then.
TIA HERE with the grandest and most tragic of first world problems—the lost (or should I say stolen) phone. When it comes to smartphones, losing a cell means losing an alarm clock, all your music, games to pass the time, and a camera, in addition to losing the ability to contact people through Facebook, texting, calling, tweeting, tumbling, and whatever else you use. If you have an iPhone like I did (my dad's, as we traded phones before I left for Denmark), you can still count on backups or iCloud to save the majority of your stuff, but having no hardware to carry all of these tools that you don't realize you use a thousand times a day feels a lot like missing a third arm (one you didn't even know you had). Here is the layout of my immediate, phone-less breakdown, as one of those people who is constantly on their phone:
TIA HERE with a long video in which I attempted to include all of the pictures I took in the area known as Southern France (Nice, Fayence, Cannes, Monaco). It may not be the most professional video on the planet, but I thought it would be more important to showcase all of the photos, since below I'll only be including a few from the trip!
For those potential DIS students looking at optional study tours for their many travel breaks, I highly recommend "Culinary Southern France." Not only were the people who led the group fantastic, but the experience was amazing and has completely altered my opinion of wine (from meh to YES). You spend the five days eating amazing food, wine tasting, olive oil tasting, exploring markets, and traveling freely. It's both a structured and casual program, with plenty of free time in addition to really neat activities (and meals). I'll try to break down the trip with some pictures!
TIA HERE sporting photos and video from my trip to Amager Strand (name of the metro stop), where you can find the nearest beach around Copenhagen. Per usual, I feel as if the video and photos speak more to the experience than I ever could, simply because beaches are much the same everywhere and the only difference between a Copenhagen beach and a Florida beach is the holistic feeling you get from being there. Nonetheless, I'll try my best to capture it.
TIA HERE with photos from the end of August (wow talk about a late post!). During this time, it was Copenhagen's Pride Week, complete with a parade, musical performances, and more. While I ultimately missed the parade—make sure you go at the right time of day if you want to be a part of it—I still managed to get some pictures of neat and relevant things around the main square in the inner city. Enjoy!
TIA HERE with some sweet pics of Copenhagen's famous theme park "Tivoli Gardens," which, believe it or not, is the second oldest amusement park in the world (and Denmark). What's study abroad in Copenhagen without a little visit?
TIA HERE with a story I never thought I'd live to tell: 1) because I didn't know there were cat cafés in places that are not Asia and 2) because I am allergic to cats (or, at least, I thought I was). But despite all odds, here in Copenhagen, Denmark, there is a cat caféthat is aptly called Café Miao. What's a cat café? you might be wondering. It's exactly what it sounds like: a typical café with the addition of cats roaming around at their own leisure. It's like eating in a pet shop, minus the cages, but also minus the concern that the animals will take your food--cats have more dignity than that, and they also are forbidden from eating the food so they are more used to just hanging around while people eat. If you don't want to eat anything, for just 50 DKK ($8.50) you can step inside the cat room for as long as you like and just pet cats. Or, if you're like me and my friends Alanna and Katya, you can buy some food at a minimum of 50 DKK and have a nice meal in addition to petting cats.
TIA HERE with a word of warning: don't walk into a Danish grocery store without a plan. You think, like any common fool may think, that things will be similar to the way they are in America, and to some extent they are. But more likely, you will find yourself wandering the halls of Netto with a dazed look on your face as the foreign words pop out at you with mocking faces. Not to worry! For all of you Americans new to Copenhagen, I have some advice that will make you look like a real Dane in your nearest Netto, Fotex, etc. etc.
TIA HERE and this week I did a little interview/panel/open discussion with four of my LLC-mates, asking them all kinds of questions revolving around our apartment, the Living Learning Community we're a part of, and what it's like to live in Copenhagen through DIS in general. Meet Joey, Katya, Alanna, and Kayla (from left to right). All five of us, in addition to nine other people (and our Social and Residential Advisor) stay together in a six bedroom apartment in the center of Copenhagen. Our LLC is the "Creative Writing" LLC, meaning that we all have a similar interest in writing and hope to continue exploring that interest abroad. Here are the nine short videos covering some questions I posed that should hopefully give future DIS students a better idea of what it's like to live in Copenagen, an LLC, and/or our specific LLC. There's also an outtakes/blooper reel for those wanting a little more info and a better sense of what we're like as people. Enjoy!
First up! I ask everyone what their first impressions of the LLC and Copenhagen were, and how they may have changed since being here for a month. My first impression, unlike theirs, revolved more around the living space than the people. I couldn't believe how big the room was! Even though it was a triple, it was nothing like one of the forced triples I was used to seeing in the U.S. My roommates and I all got a corner of the huge room, and we all received a desk, chair, trashcan, table lamp, floor lamp, magnetic whiteboard (with three to four magnets), cubby, closet, power strip, and clothing drawer. The room has wood-paneled floors and three large windows that swing open to welcome in a view of the street below. Talk about a dream apartment!
TIA HERE and I can't believe it. This is only my fourth day in Denmark and I already feel completely at home. You think things moved fast freshman year? Try studying abroad and you'll feel as if a century has passed in the span of an hour--that you've known the people around you for weeks and that you're ready to move in to the city you're now afraid to leave. But it's only been four days--and I'm four months from leaving.
TIA HERE with some of my pre-Denmark thoughts and experience thus far with DIS. Currently, I'm sitting in the Jacksonville airport (I'm writing this on August 16th, for your reference), ready to fly to JFK in New York City (the irony) then head off to Copenhagen. I thought, for anyone interested in going to Denmark through DIS or just interested in studying abroad in general, it may be interesting to just log how I feel before the semester starts and then write one of these again when I'm on my way back home in December.
TIA HERE with our very first post! This will be a little intro-of-sorts about us (the authors and creators). Check out the video above for the basics, and read below for more!
