Thats a good place to start. Wow. Its so beautiful here. The streets are so clean, the buildings historic or sleek and modern -- not a bad duality -- and life comfortable. I understand how the danes were rated one of the most content peoples in the world. While it continues to be gray, damp, and cloudy, life has a nice pace here. Everyone seems satisfied with their work, buying their groceries at the corner kiosk, and spending time with friends. And while Danes are not outgoing enough to introduce themselves, they are more than willing to help with directions. They just don't beleive in shallow conversations, so no chatting on the bus - you get weird looks (trust me).
I got into copenhagen a few days ago, and everything has been speeding by since then. After landing into the airport and an easy customs and money changing experience, I made my way to the Copenhagen City Danhostel, where I would be spending the night with my friend Claire from Rochester. The hostel is like no other I have stayed in, more like a hotel. It had 15 stories, and was very sleek and clean. With whitewashed walls and black furniture, I knew the design here was something special. And families stayed in hostels together! Danes prefer hostels to hotels for their relative comfort and affordability. While Claire and I caught up and had dinner and a beer or two at an Irish pub (hey, its the only kind of bar we saw - I'm assuming thats not what all the drinking establishments are like), we mostly just passed out, both being jetlagged.
The most striking thing from this day, however, was a memorial in a plaza to all those who had died in palestine. There are alot of immigrants here from the middle east, and the neighborhood I live in is multicultural - actually half the store signs are in Danish and the other half in Arabic. There were little covered platforms about a foot square covering the whole plaza, each with paper saying the name and age of the person the site was dedicated to. Candles were placed around them, and little boys were running around replacing candles and trying to keep them lit, battling the bonechilling scandinavian wind. Walking around, one couldn't help but notice that so many of the dead were under the age of fifteen. Seven year olds, three year olds, twelve year olds, all dead in a mostly one-sided war. I have to say that while their is alot wrong with all war and conflict, one where over 1200 soldiers and civilians die on one side, and less than 20 die on the other does not seem like war to me. Gaza is a country bordered on all sides, and has limited access to humanitarian needs. Seems more like shooting fish in a barrel.
I was sad to see such a display, but slightly reassured by the fact that displays such as this and protests have been popping up all over europe. The reaction in the United States has been muted, with much smaller protests and an Israeli-leaning media. If you want to get a better view of the situation, read Al-Jazeera. Don't get me wrong, I love the New York Times, but sometimes I don't want culture and social climate news on my front page.
Orientation thus far has been a breeze. Besides useless seminars about transitioning to Danish society, I have been spending lots of money. Apparently Copenhagen is one of the most expensive cities to live in in Europe, and costs more than spending time in London. I am remedying this by shopping and hope to eat most of my meals at the apartment, where I have three roomates!
Thus far I have met Elizabeth and Christel, both lovely blond Danish girls who are 20 and 21 years old. They both have good, dry senses of humor, and my sarcasm should go over just fine here. Anders, the other guy, is yet to show up after two days. I guess he is having fun and I could learn a thing from him. Our apartment is beautiful, and about a 20 minute bus ride from the center of the city. It has two floors, the first with an entryway and a fully loaded kitchen with a place to eat. Upstairs is a beautiful central room with high ceilings, revealed wooden beams, and skylights, which serves as a living room with all our bedrooms coming off of it. My room is a little small and the skylight wakes me up early, but it is already starting to feel like home.
And tomorrow is Inauguration! Im so excited to celebrate it here with other American students and Danes. Apparently there are parties all over the city, so adventure tales to follow. Stay tuned!
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