I’ve been in Copenhagen just over ten days now, and it feels so much longer for all that has happened in that time. I tried to condense everything into 5 simple categories and a freestyle of interesting things at the end. Feel free to jump to a category of your interest. This post will probably be a bit longer than average, but if you’ve found yourself thinking, “Hm, I wonder what Allie Glinski has been doing with her life the past ten days?” Then, you have come to the right place.

Homestay: I live in a homestay in Viby Sjaelland (commonly referred to as Vee-Bew), a satellite town of the larger Roskilde. I have a host mom, two host sisters, and two host cats. I’ve learned there’s a few pros and cons to each living situation, and while catching the train and a 45-minute venture into Copenhagen can be cons at times, I’ll share some of the great parts about my homestay experience so far:

• My host mom cooks delicious meals every night, which are such a comfort. I get so excited for dinner time every day. I can be lazy when it comes to preparing proper food for myself, and I’m used to having a college cafeteria (that has its moments, sometimes doesn’t) at my disposal when I need to eat. I have some really long days during the week and it’s nice that dinner is one less thing I need to worry about. And it’s so good!!!! Dinner has been a great time to sit down and bond with my host mom, who also took me to dine at her friend’s house and meet her family. 
• I’m part of the Roskilde homestay network, which connects all the DIS students in the greater Roskilde area. Some of us were able to connect in advance and arranged to take the train together to DIS orientation, and I’ve made some great friends here through that. On the first day I met them, they all ventured with me in CPH about 30 minutes from DIS so I could get a new backpack, without asking them too! Last night, we celebrated the birthday of one of the students with cheeseburgers at the Halifax in Roskilde. It’s been great knowing I have some nice peers in similar situations to myself that I can reach out to, so early in the semester.
• I love cats, so I was so happy to figure out my host family has two. Their names are Felix and Misser (Danish for “cat”) and they’re really nice boys. They go in and out of the house throughout the day and night, and Felix meows very loud outside the door when he wants to come in. They’ll come running back home if my host mom whistles; they’re very smart and free! My cats back home could never… 

Academics: I’m so excited for all my classes this semester! I’m in the following classes: 

• A Sense of Place in European Literature (Core Course)
• Queer and Subversive Writers in European Cities
• Complexity of Cancer
• Epigenetics and the Environment
• Danish Language and Culture

All of them seem exceptionally interesting and suit my majors in Creative Writing and Biology. They seem to have a unique approach to the topics and my professors are great so far. My core course has been approaching literature in a fascinating way: by literally mapping books out and reading about such an approach. We’ve been reading a famous Danish novel to start, The Fall of the King, which primarily takes place in Copenhagen (at least for the first bit). It’s been a nice introduction to Copenhagen geography and Danish history all in one.

Transportation: I’ve gotten a lot of validation from successfully managing the transportation in Copenhagen (thanks in large part to the Rejseplanen app). Public transportation is quite organized here and it’s easy to catch a train due to the consistent times: one goes to and from my town every 30 minutes during the day. I successfully picked up my friend from the airport, brought her to the city via bus (trains had stopped running), and the next day we traveled an hour and twenty minutes to her Folkehojskole in a Northern suburb via train then bus, all without any help. (Though if our phones were dead, it’d probably be another story.) I have to walk fifteen minutes to and from the stations on both ends of my daily commute to reach my home and DIS, but I don’t think I walked enough before so I’m glad. At my small college in Illinois, I never have to walk more than 10 minutes anywhere.

Potatoes: A pleasant surprise here has been the potato. The first night I arrived at my homestay, my host mom made some well-seasoned chicken breasts on scalloped potatoes, that baked in a decadent sauce. The next night, I had something akin to a baked potato (also well-seasoned). Next night? Potato soup. Just the other day, she made a sauce with various good stuff cooked in, and we draped it over mashed potatoes. When I was out to dinner at my host mom’s friends, everyone encouraged me to dip potato chips in gravy. I don’t know if it’s because I don’t usually have chips in my house back home, but I find the potato chips here exceptional. I haven’t been disappointed by a french fry yet. The potatoes are a staple in almost every meal I eat without exception and I’m so happy. 

Coffee: Many students (myself included) have been desperately trying to evade jet lag and general fatigue from our new surroundings with coffee. The nice thing is, unlike Starbucks (that I embarrassingly endow on a regular basis back home), the coffee chains here are actually good. I frequently see an Espresso House, a Nordic coffee chain, on almost every corner. There is also Joe and the Juice. Amazingly, both serve a vanilla latte that is very *chef kiss*. Not amazingly, that latte is usually 45 kr… almost 7 dollars… *broken heart*. So again, too used to my home campus and the luxury of readily available free coffee… I’ve had to take on the task of making my own coffee for the day at home. Which is actually pretty easy thanks to Nescafe, my host mom’s coffee maker and espresso machine. I’ve only been using Nescafe, but I’m open to expanding my horizons. 

General things that caught me off guard:

Coins being worth more than $1 (50 kr coins are about $7.50 USD!)

Coins with holes in the middle

Actually stopping at red walk signals

Crossing signals counting down on red (not just green)

Watching out for bikers

Remembering not to walk in the bike lane

Beautiful bustling surroundings

Pressing a button if you want the door to open on public transit

Walking a lot 

Running for the train if I left my house too late

The train leaving the same minute it arrives

Leaving my house on time or forever holding my peace (until the next train 30 minutes later)

Waking up at 6:30 (!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

Not getting home until 7 pm twice a week

Paying $6+ for coffee

Making coffee at home

Making my lunch at home 

Warm home-cooked dinner

Being able to have candles in my room

Letting the cats outside

Cats meowing loud to be let inside

Very different college system (outside DIS)

Semesters (opposed to trimesters)

Military time

Being spoken to in Danish by strangers (sometimes nodding politely, sometimes admitting I don’t understand)

Accepting words’ pronunciations rarely match the spelling

Accepting that I may only pronounce a Danish word properly once in a blue moon

McDonalds having Chili Cheese Tops and Pepper Strips (in addition to fries)

Not knowing what Chili Cheese Tops or Pepper Strips are exactly

Nuanced McDonalds Menu in general

McDonalds being kind of expensive actually 😦

Underestimating the price of things even if I can see the price

Stick shifts

Making sure my phone doesn’t die so I can show my commuter card

Figuring out the best way to spend a 45 minute commute

Not using my data frivolously with Lebara

Phone numbers being styled (+45) # # – # # – # # – # #

People not walking like they’re being chased by dinosaurs in the city

Some ppl looking relaxed while walking in the city

A strong oou sound

Lots of flower shops

That’s all for now 🙂 Stay tuned