Calm after the storm

Well London was obviously a ton of fun and a TON of running around being super busy trying to see as much as I can…. so when I got back to Copenhagen on Monday, all I wanted to do was rest. After my Danish class, I high-tailed it to the train station, almost fell asleep on the train back to my town, and walked the 1/2 mile from the station to my house as fast as my legs would let me while lugging around my bag from the weekend. As soon as I walked in the door, I grabbed lunch, put on my PJ’s (at 1:30 in the afternoon), and took a glorious 3 hour nap.

Then I had dinner with my host family, and oh yeah, I had a Health Economics paper due the next day that still needed to be finished. I actually was pretty much done already, just had a final discussion paragraph and the introduction to write. I was extremely exhausted when I was finally done with all of my homework, but of course I couldn’t fall asleep because I had just slept for three hours. Needless to say, I was basically falling asleep during my two morning classes on Tuesday. Oops.

Tuesday was also Gabi’s birthday, but she had plans with her host family at night, so I just got coffee with her in the afternoon. Then I had to run home quick so I could shower before wine tasting! I love wine tasting! I am actually learning something, and on Tuesday night we tried 2 pinot noirs from Austria and 4 from Spain. My teacher told us that awhile back (in the mid-80’s), there was this huge scandal where several Austrian winemakers were putting antifreeze in their wines, so no one would buy Austrian wine for 10 years after that. I liked the Austrian wines ok, but the Spanish ones were better in my opinion. I really liked the one that was 100% Tempranillo, but it is an expensive bottle of wine, so I doubt I will be having any again soon. However, I am sure it is actually cheaper in Spain, which is where I will be one week from today!

Wednesday, I had absolutely no plans, and I had just finished my two big papers. It was a much welcomed relaxing day, and I took a nice walk outside, did some laundry, and watched Tangled! I also started packing for my trip… I leave tomorrow night at 6:20 to Amsterdam on an overnight train. It is a 14 hour ride, but luckily Gabi and I can talk about anything and everything for hours and hours, so I don’t think we will get too bored. I’m also bringing along the Girl Scout cookies Bobbi and Grandma sent me, so that will make it more fun :)

Today I didn’t have my Public Health class, so in the morning, I went to the city to get some stuff for traveling next week. I also went to search for peanut butter because I have been out for almost a week!!! I thought I could live without it for a month and a half, but nope! I looked 4 stores until I finally found some organic peanut butter at the expensive supermarket. It costs me $6 for a jar, but it was worth it :) YUM.

Then I had my Danish Language and Culture final, which went really well! I am so glad I took this class, and I HIGHLY recommend it to anyone who comes to DIS. I have actually learned quite a bit, and while I can’t pronounce a lot of words I see, I can usually figure out the meaning. I have also loved learning about the culture and history of Denmark, and I usually really dislike history. It is just so cool to see how Danish history is reflected in their cultural traditions and values today, and I love to talk about it with my host family!

Now I have to do some last minute travel break stuff and a little homework! On the train today, I was thinking about how little time I have left in Denmark…

April 8-16: Amsterdam, Paris, and Barcelona with Gabi

April 17-22: Czech Trek and Prague with DIS

April 23-25: Easter with my host family at the summer house in northern Denmark

Then I have two weeks of classes, April 26-May 6

Finals week is May 9-13, but I only have on final on the 13th

May 14-18: Berlin with Gabi

May 19: Home to Iowa!

SO WEIRD! I really only have 3 weeks of being in Copenhagen, and I need to see the Little Mermaid Statue, visit Carlsberg Brewery, go to Tivoli, and see the Ballet before I leave! Once travel break is over, I just know the rest of the time is going to fly by. It’s a very bittersweet feeling. In one way, it feels like I just got here, but when I think back to the first few weeks, it seems like I have been here forever. I don’t even want to think about it anymore… I should be excited about all of the fun things still left to come! Seriously, I think the last 6 weeks are going to be the best… actually, I am going to make them the best!

Unfortunately, this will be my last post for awhile because I don’t want to carry my laptop around Europe with me and risk losing/breaking/getting it stolen. I am taking an small notebook though so I can record everything that happens and share it when I get back!

Hej hej!

Emily