i think i'm in love

no, not with a boy. don't be alarmed ;)

i'm in love with my job. with my new friends. my host family. this amazing city. the "real, adult life." The fact that I wake up every morning feeling so happy I could burst! Maybe the fact that I haven't blogged since I started work is a good indicator of what a great time I am having.

Day two of my job we went to Kullen, Sweden on an "orientation study tour." I knew after about 3 hours that my new coworkers and I were going to get along just great. I remember sitting by the bonfire in a rural area of beautiful Sweden, asking myself, can this really be my job? So what do I actually do, you ask? Well, my proper title is "Housing and Student Affairs Assistant." Essentially, my department deals with pretty much everything that is non-academic related. Some of my responsibilities include: supervising the Student Activities Committee (kind of like a student council), counseling students, taking care of housing issues, helping coordinate Arrival Day, publishing the DIS-wide newsletter and a ton of other little tasks. Honestly, I could not ask for a more perfect position. The days go by so quickly because I'm so busy, but I am also having so much fun doing what I do. Needless to say, my busiest week is upon me....Arrival Day in ONE WEEK!! Pictures below are: Sweden, coworkers, Angie (the other housing intern) and me.




My housing has worked out perfectly. I am thrilled to say the apartment I blogged about earlier is officially mine now! It is perfect. Right on the famous Copenhagen lakes, a really great price, 5 minutes from work, huge!, furnished and with one Danish girl and one American girl (another DIS intern). I couldn't ask for better. I am so, so glad I waited, because it is truly my dream apartment. I will post pictures after I move in and get settled (August 20). My new roomie, Erika, and me!


I apologize for my lack of communication with all of you in the States. The time difference and working hours make it hard to catch some of you, but bare with me and know that I am thinking of you all.

Now I am off to go watch the "Copenhagen Challenge," which is similar to the Ironman. Going to be tired just watching them! Vi ses :)

just takes a smile.

how could you not love coming home to this smiling face?

and it all falls into place.

Do you ever have that feeling, that God is just placing everything in your life together like a puzzle? He may be slower than you had hoped in doing so, but in the end, it all works out to be a perfect picture.

This is exactly how I feel right now.

I arrived in Copenhagen two weeks early because I really wanted to get settled before work starts. Little did I know, about 5,000 exchange students would be needing housing in the city around early August. Thus began my fight in the housing war of Copenhagen. Email after email after email. No responses. Then, finally I would get a response, go see the apartment, then be told they had picked someone else. I knew I was being picky with my apartment selection, but I started to really feel like a failure. Nothing was working out and work was to start in only a few days.

When I went into the city the other day, I stopped by DIS and mentioned to my boss I was still looking for an apartment. He said he actually had a couple extra people apply to be a Danish Roommate (one of the housing options at DIS), and could forward them to me. Well I heard back from one of the girls, who has a huge, furnished apartment on the famous lakes of Copenhagen, which is a really great location! She is on vacation right now, but said she could show me the apartment on August 5th. Even though I don't have the apartment for sure, this is the most promising one I've had yet and I feel really good about it! Totally reminds me of the quote..."Good things come to those who wait."

I've also gotten the opportunity to meet up with a lot of my Danish friends, which has been great. It feels like I never left and I am so excited to continue those friendships.

So housing is looking up, most of the other interns are finally arriving, and work starts Monday!

the perfect danish summer day

When I woke up this morning and it was sunny outside, I decided it was time to go out and enjoy the nice weather! So my host sister Laura and I decided to bike into the city and explore.

Now biking in Copenhagen is quite the experience. It is definitely going to take getting used to. It's a little different than at home. And when I say little, I mean it is COMPLETELY different. I feel like I am 16 again, learning how to drive a car. People pass on the left, no right on red (okay, only if no one is looking), raise your hand to stop....and the list of unspoken rules goes on. You really learn how many "unspoken rules" there are in a culture when you enter one completely different than your own.

Our first stop was Assistens Kierkegaard, the park where many famous Danes are buried. We went to see the most famous Dane, writer HC Andersen--he wrote The Little Mermaid and The Ugly Duckling. We also saw the graves for the astronomer Niels Bohr and philosopher Søren Kierkegaard.

I decided I wanted to show Laura "my hood" in Copenhagen, so we stopped by the DIS building. I hadn't had a chance to go by the office yet, so we popped in and I got to meet some of my new colleagues and see the office I'll be working in! It was so exciting to meet everyone and show Laura what my work will be like. I also wanted to take her to my favorite spot in Copenhagen...a very hyggeligt cafe called The Living Room. It was so cool to go back there, since I spent many afternoons in there when I was a student.

Outside in the square, we found some of the painted elephants that have been placed around Copenhagen and enjoyed a nice stroll on the famous walking street in Copenhagen, Strøget. We even came across a sweet outdoor photography exhibit!



This has gotta be the good life.... :)

dette er min familie

So I thought I should introduce the people who I have spent most of my time with while I've been in Denmark...my host family :) They are one of a kind and so gracious to let me live in their home until I have found an apartment in the city (which is proving to be a feat in itself...).

The story begins when I was a student at DIS and people who didn't have host families could sign up for a "visiting family." You wouldn't live with them, but you could go to their home and experience Danish family life. I got my assigned family and all I really knew about them was from a picture they sent me of them standing in their garden. I was so nervous the first time I came to their home, not knowing exactly what was or wasn't polite in their culture. Over the course of the semester I came to their house 3 times, enjoyed meals and laughed about the little things. They seem to enjoy my mispronunciation of simple Danish words! We kept in touch over email after I left Denmark and when I found out I would be coming back, I emailed them to ask if it would be possible for me to stay with them while I looked for an apartment. They said, "selvfølgelig," my favorite Danish word---of course.

Meet Anders-mig far

He is the sweetest man you will ever meet. He always makes sure that I am comfortable and wants me to know that, "you live here, now, kelli." We always enjoy an afternoon coffee, eftermiddags kaffe, and conversate simply. He doesn't speak a ton of English, so he teaches me simple Danish words and I try to teach him English. We laugh at the silly things together because stupid things are a lot funnier when you can't entirely communicate in words. The most recent laugh was about my "Do it like DIS" shirt from work. He says..."Do it like DIZZZZZ." So great.

Meet Tove-mig mor

She is so kind and is always looking out for what is best for me. I love going to the grocery store around the corner with her and picking out what to eat for dinner. She teaches me Danish words for things I may need and translates people's conversations. She has been actively helping me with apartment searching, listening to my concerns and telling me what she thinks is the best. She is also an amazing cook! We have planned to go have a beer on Nyhavn (the famous harbor) when it is sunny this week.

Meet Kirsten-mig store søster
Kirsten is one of their older daughters who has been living with them for the past month, due to a recent illness. It is unfortunate circumstances that brings her home, but I am glad that I have someone else around the house while Tove and Anders are at work. We always joke around about how lazy we are and how we basically have sleeping contests of who can sleep in later. She has also been a big help in finding an apartment, always encouraging me to keep looking when I get frustrated. We made the best homemade chocolate chip cookies the other day after deciding we couldn't just keep laying on the couches. Since I don't have a sister, its so much fun to have host sisters!

Meet Laura-mig store søster

She is their youngest daughter and the sweetest girl ever! She doesn't live at home anymore, so I have only been able to see her once since I've been here, but we got to be friends when I was a student. I always have a great time hanging out with her and I am so excited to continue our friendship while I'm back!

They also have another daughter, Kirsten's twin, Mette. I haven't been able to meet her yet, but hopefully soon! This family is so amazing and I am so lucky to have them in my life.

my second home.

It feels so good to be back! Honestly, it feels like I never left. Once I stepped into the Copenhagen airport, I felt like I was coming back to my second home. Except now the weather is much nicer :)

The journey here was not bad at all. I had layovers in New York and Iceland, which actually turned out to be quite nice, so I could get up and move around and have a break from the plane. My smiling host dad, Anders, picked me up at the airport with a Danish flag in hand. That is a tradition in Denmark, when someone arrives, to greet them with a flag. It is so neat when you arrive at the airport and all the Danes are standing there waving their Danish flags as their loved ones arrive. Both of my bags also made it, contrary to the bad luck I had when I came before.

My family had a room all ready for me, to unpack everything and make it my own hyggelig space :) My host family is so, so great to me. They have given me my own key to the house and even a bike (which is a hot commodity in Denmark). I am loving the simple things about being back in Denmark.... Little Danish lessons with my family. Walking to the store and cooking with my mom. Having coffee in the living room with my dad. Searching for an apartment with my sister. And most of all, enjoying blue skies and 70 degree weather!

I am sad to report that the two apartment options I thought I had did not work out, but that just means there is something else out there better for me. Anders told me..."of course you stay here as long as you need to, until you find the right fit." So it makes me feel good that I won't be homeless! I just love the loyalty of the Danes. They live quite simple lives, but they hold such a strong loyalty to their friends and family.

I know I am exactly where I am meant to be right now. And that is such a great feeling! :)

en hyggelig eventyr

When I left Copenhagen in May of 2010, I just felt like I wasn't finished. I hadn't gotten to explore all the places that I had intended. I never got to have my picnic in King's Garden. I was getting around the city like a true Dane. I finally learned that you have to go to the grocery store almost every day. My relationships were growing and I felt like I was in the best place I had ever been in my life.

It was not until after I got home that I realized how much I really missed Copenhagen. I missed the fact that every day was an adventure. It sounds odd, but I feel like I am wired to be in an international community, whether it is living abroad or befriending foreigners in America. I decided to help out with the international students at Elon last fall, so I could still feel internationally connected. It was this experience that confirmed my feelings that international education may be the career path for me.

The rest of this story has formed like a puzzle, each little piece coming together to work out perfectly. I decided to apply for an internship at the school where I studied in Copenhagen, the Danish Institute for Study Abroad. I won't go into all the details in between, but I got an interview for the Housing & Student Affairs position, and found out on February 24th that I got the job!! Not many college grads can say they got their dream job right after college....but this is honestly a dream come true! One of my friends asked me the other day, if I could live ANYWHERE right now..where would it be? My immediate answer was Copenhagen.

It was fate that I was to move back to Copenhagen. Not only because I love the city and the people, but also because it would be the ideal stepping stone toward a career in international education. So here I sit, on July 14, just a mere three days away from moving day! I cannot believe it is finally here.

So let me say thank you to everyone who has supported me in this new adventure. I can't thank everyone enough for all the love and encouragement I have received. So follow me now on "en hyggelig eventyr"--a pleasant adventure :)