en hyggelig eventyr

i think i'm in love

2011-08-14T00:45:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-07-30T03:23:00.000-07:00

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

and it all falls into place.

2011-07-29T01:47:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-26T13:19:00.001-07:00

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

2011-07-24T05:08:00.000-07:00

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.

2011-07-20T10:51:00.000-07:00

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

2011-07-14T18:56:00.001-07:00

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 :)

its a busy, busy life.

2010-12-12T11:18:00.000-08:00

I sit here, in Mcewen School of Communications-my second home-and study for my last final of the semester.

Wow.

I am 5 months away from graduating from college. Now that is a hard pill to swallow. Yet I find myself more and more excited everyday for what lies ahead. Perhaps going back to Denmark, moving to Europe with Sarah Nierste, or relocating to the windy city of Chicago with Carolyn. Who knows where I will actually end up, but I know wherever I go it will be the start to an amazing new chapter in my life.

Never thought I would say this, but I am ready for real life. I am ready for a big girl job. With a big girl apartment. In a big girl city. On a big girl salary. It's true. Real life is coming and I cannot WAIT.

I want to highlight some of the awesome things of the semester on my next posts. A montage of senior year memories, if you will.

memories.

2010-09-30T10:37:00.000-07:00

Well, tomorrow marks the beginning of October. *enter my favorite month EVER*

October is filled with fun and surprises around every corner. Every weekend is full of plans with friends and family and I am SO excited for this month to begin. Here is a short run down of my plans for October:
October 1-3 Parents Weekend
October 8-10 Beach Retreat (I have to give a senior talk this year...eek!)
October 15-19 Fall break trip to NYC with Helen and the amazing Turner Family
October 22-24 Homecoming! Yay alumni!
October 27 My 22nd Birthday! Wow...I'm getting old.
October 28-30 Chaperone the Atlanta trip with the freshmen Communication Fellows
October 31 Experience the craziness that is UNC Franklin Street on Halloween

Despite the fact that October holds much promise, senior year has already proven great times. Quick snapshot:

-Being hypnotized by Tom Deluca at one of the welcome back events by the Student Union Board
-Getting to know the amazing international students at Elon this year, who have named me "international mom"
-Playing BINGO with the international students and being the first out of 200 people to get BINGO, which came with a prize of chips and salsa *they know me too well*
-Having awesome Bible studies of Isaiah with my amazing small group, Naps with Nehemiah
-Planning out our senior CRUISE for Spring Break
-Getting a baller group, Mack Communications, for my Strategic Campaigns course
-Having random dance parties in Little Gray
-Lunch with the Communications Advisory Board, network network network
-Finding gems at the thrift store for the 90s party

-Studying notecards with Carolyn for loooong hours for media law
-Supporting an AOII sister with leukemia through various fundraisers with all of my sisters

-Getting a visit from one of my great friends, Suz, who lived in Denmark with me

Sadly, an Elon freshmen passed away last week when she collapsed on her way to class and then died in the ambulance on the way to the hospital. It is such a sad story, but reminds us all that life is precious. No matter how insignificant the day may seem, it is another day alive. Another day to be thankful for everything that you have been given. Another day to live to the fullest, because life is precious and full of great memories.

senior year.

2010-08-30T12:20:00.000-07:00

Holy shenanigans, today is my last day of summer before SENIOR YEAR OF COLLEGE, therefore, my last technical day of "summer" ever in my life. Wow. This is my best hand sign for 2011.

The start of senior year has been awesome! I got back to Elon on Wednesday to immediately start helping with the international student orientation. After my experience abroad, I knew I wanted to get more involved with the international community at Elon and I got the opportunity to help with their initial orientation into the University. There are students from Kenya, Ghana, Syria, China, Switzerland, Sweden, Poland, Spain, Italy, Canada, and even Afghanistan. It was so awesome getting to know them and it made me feel like I was still abroad :)

Little Gray is finally complete! Victoria and I are still living here and we added two of our best friends and suite mates from sophomore year, Lauren and Sarah. I am so blessed to have always had such great living arrangements and I am so excited about our house this year!

So with only 3 classes, meaning 12 hours that begin at 10:30 at the earliest, here is to sleeping in and senior year!

eat pray love.

2010-08-18T20:28:00.000-07:00

It's all the hype now. The book, turned movie, is definitely a hot topic with the recent movie release. So with the recent excitement, I decided I should finally read the book, which has been recommended to me by several of my friends for a couple years now.

SERIOUSLY, READ IT!!!

Literally, I have connected with this book. It sounds weird, but I feel as though her journey is almost identical to my recent self-reflection (sans all the meditation and yogic theology). After spending 4 months abroad, I can appreciate her travel diaries and self discoveries so much more. There is honestly something about being abroad that brings about a new reflection.

Being in Denmark and traveling around Europe taught me SO much. Not only did it teach me more about the world in which we live, but it taught me so much more about myself. I notice the changes in myself so much more now that I'm back in my own environment.

Maybe it is being a senior in college and really thinking about where I want to go and what I want to do with the rest of my life as well. All I know is I have been thinking about a lot of things lately and I find it so ironic that I am reading this book at the same time. So maybe I'm not crazy with all of my thoughts and this is a sign that it is just another stage of my life.

What a divine sign it is.

august.

2010-08-02T13:04:00.000-07:00

Sunday morning arrives, I check my phone and what do I see......AUGUST 1, 2010. WHOA, WHAT?! It's August???

Maybe some of you had similar reactions to mine when you woke up to find that the summer months are quickly coming to an end. I literally feel like I left Denmark yesterday, much less two months ago.

This summer has been quite monotonous compared to my crazy four months abroad, but enjoyable nonetheless. I have kept my days busy livin' in my sweet maroon polo as a tour guide in the Elon Office of Admissions which brings fun stories everyday. I love meeting perspective students and families and talking about how much I love Elon.

People always ask me, why did you choose Elon? If you could do it all over again, would you? Honestly, I can answer this with a big YES! I have had sooo many amazing experiences at Elon and I know a lot of them wouldn't have been possible unless I had attended this University. From my internship experience, to study abroad, to my service learning class, to going to LA for "class" my freshmen year, it really has been unforgettable.

I never thought I would say these words, but I am so ready for class to start. Yes, yes I know, what student ever wants summer to end? But honestly, I do. I cannot wait to start my senior year, get back into my Elon classes, and see all my friends who I haven't seen since last December!

So the countdown now begins for August 31, the first day of my last year at Elon......*gasp*

reality check.

2010-07-06T13:11:00.000-07:00

This past weekend I took a road trip with my good friend Sarah Foushee to see our other friend from school, Catherine Pearson. Catherine graduated in 2009 and has a job down in Atlanta, so she invited us to come stay with her for the weekend.

It was a great weekend filled with a Braves game, a farmers market the size of Sam's Club, beautiful fireworks and plenty of pool time--not to mention plenty of "mericuh" references. Yet not only was the weekend enjoyable because I got to spend it with two great friends, but it was also the first time I have really taken the opportunity to think about where my life is headed in the near future.

REALITY CHECK: I am a SENIOR in COLLEGE?! Whoa. When did this happen?? A lot of people go into senior year depressed that the best four years of their life are about to end. While this can be true, the ending is only the start of a fabulous new beginning. I hope that I can enjoy my senior year to the fullest, but I also pray that I can remain excited and hopeful for the rest of my future.

The world is literally at my fingertips and I am SO pumped for that!!

on to the next adventure.

2010-06-03T12:37:00.000-07:00

I have begun a new chapter in my life--and my blog for that matter. With this big change, I struggled with the fact that I would probably need to change the title of my blog. Could I really leave my title "Denmark: Adventures Abroad" forever? Or should I move on and delete those letters which have encompassed the past four months of my life.

Moving on is hard. I am the kind of person who doesn't like to move on when I have a good thing going. Adjusting back to life in America has been a lot tougher than I thought it would be. I miss every little thing about my time in Copenhagen, especially the people. But should I really spend my entire summer being depressed about leaving Copenhagen? As much as I want to meddle in my own self-pity, I know this is not the way I need to spend my time.

Therefore, I am learning (very slowly) that life does go on and different parts of life may be more exciting than others, but that doesn't mean you can't enjoy them all the same. They are just different kinds of enjoyment, and that's okay.

I know this doesn't really make sense to most people, but its a hard thing to describe. In essence, this summer is starting off bitter-sweet, but hopefully it will be more sweet than bitter. One amazing chapter in my life has ended, but that just means another door has opened.

Therefore, I have changed my title to "life is beautiful," because it is. I pray that I can make the most of mine.

Here are some pictures of friends and family since I've been home!

last night.

2010-05-17T13:02:00.000-07:00

Well, it is officially my last night in Copenhagen. I don't think it has hit me yet, nor do I think it will until I finally reach American soil. This has been such an unbelievable experience and I wouldn't change it for the world.

To all my new American friends that I met in Copenhagen, I know we share a bond that no one else can understand. To all my new international friends from Keops, thanks for teaching me more than I ever thought possible. To all my Danish friends, thanks for welcoming me and making me feel at home in Copenhagen. I will definitely be back at some point in the future. To all my friends at home, thanks for keeping up with me and making me feel loved even across the world. I cannot wait to see you all! To my family, thanks for supporting me through the past 4 months. Thank goodness for Skype. To all my blog readers, thank YOU so much for following my adventures and caring about my life. I have had such a great time writing this blog, and even if my adventures will never be as awesome as the past 4 months, I hope to continue posting because writing it has been so enjoyable.

Here is to the best four months of my life! Vi ses Copenhagen, hello America!

Quick sidenote: Margot and I hit up Tivoli on Saturday and then Troels and I biked to Amager beach yesterday. Therefore, I officially completed 9 of my 10 bucket list goals. The only one I did not achieve was the picnic in King's Gardens.....weather still sucks. But 9/10 is pretty good if I do say so myself :)

last night in keops.

2010-05-15T16:42:00.001-07:00

Tonight is officially my final night in my room in Keops and it is such a sad feeling.

I really hate goodbyes and I have already had to do a lot of them in the past two days.

Therefore, this is not goodbye, just see you later, Copenhagen.

You have taught me many things the past 4 months and I will truly leave a part of my heart with you here.

13.

2010-05-13T09:54:00.000-07:00

It is May 13th.

My roommates, Caroline and Victoria, made me a stack of index cards, one for each day I was abroad, before I left. I promised myself I wouldn't look ahead, so each day I am surprised by a new quote, funny memory or crazy challenge. May 13th says "Think of your 13 favorite things about your time in Denmark." So I am going to go David Letterman on you and countdown:

13. Burger Monday's at Peder Oxe
12. Cheap avocados=lots of guacamole
11. My precious visiting family
10. Frikadeller
9. Beautiful Danish people
8. Crazy nights at Kulør Bar
7. 7:30 Dinners with Keops Family
6. Challenging myself on a daily basis
5. Hang gliding in Interlaken
4. Traveling all over Europe
3. Snails & The Living Room
2. Hygge
1. The absolute amazing people I have met.

one week.

2010-05-11T15:02:00.000-07:00

I can't believe it. Can I really be leaving in a week? I feel like I just stepped off the plane yesterday!

Today was a great day. I finished my last two finals, Virtual Worlds and Copenhagen History. I feel like I did well on both, which is a satisfying feeling :) It's hard to believe I won't be in school again until September. AND I will be a SENIOR IN COLLEGE?! WHAT?

After finishing my finals, I headed to Vanløse to have my final dinner with my visiting family. Their daughter Laura even came home again to say bye to me. They are absolutely precious and have been so sweet to me during my time in Copenhagen. I got to show them pictures from my travel break and from my recent DIS Adventure trips to Sweden and Bornholm. They also made me a traditional Danish dinner with pork, red cabbage, brown sauce and potatoes. It was delicious as always! We even sat on the porch for a while, despite the still cold weather. Tove and I made a deal at the beginning of the semester that we would sit on the porch before I left, and a Dane never breaks their promise!

They are thinking about coming to America sometime in the near future and I told them they definitely should. It would be so neat to show them my home in America. My two families could meet!

It was hard to say goodbye to them; the first of many hard goodbyes this week. Although the end is near and I am starting to feel quite sad, I am still trying to make the most of my last week in Copenhagen--checking things off my list! So far, I have been to the Danish Design Museum and the Glyptotek and gotten all my souvenirs. Tomorrow is Tivoli, Wednesday Snails and The Living Room!

ten days.

2010-05-08T03:01:00.000-07:00

With ten days left in Copenhagen, here is my list of the ten things I want to do before I leave:

1. Go on a canal tour.
2. Have a picnic in King's Gardens.
3. Go to Amager beach.
4. Ride a bike through the city.
5. Go to Tivoli.
6. Go to the Danish Design Museum.
7. Get souvenirs.
8. Stay out until 5 am like the Danes.
9. Go to the hyggeligt Living Room at least 2 more times.
10. Spend quality time with all of my amazing friends.

I will keep you updated on how many of these I achieve :)

adventure phase 2.

2010-05-02T15:42:00.001-07:00

As a continuation of my last post on adventure, I shall tell you a little about my latest adventure....biking on the island of Bornholm!

Bornholm is an island located off the southern tip of Sweden, but it is actually owned by Denmark. The island is painted with beautiful fields and colorful houses. It really is the quintessence of serenity. The "Bornholm Bike Trip" is one of the many adventure trips that DIS offers, one of my favorite things about the program. It affords students like me the opportunity to escape the city and take on adventures we wouldn't normally have the chance to.

Despite the beauty of the island and the awesome sights we got to see, I think the best part about this trip were the 5 other Keops members who went on the trip with me. SHOUT OUTS to Emily, Margot, Maddy, Brittany and Mike. We literally laughed the entire four days about so many different things and it was great to spend time with each and every one of these fun people. Keops people have truly become my family here :)

We started the weekend off on the overnight ferry on Thursday night that would depart from Køge at 11:30 p.m. and drop us off at Bornholm at 6 a.m. It was a rough night of "sleep" on the hard floor, to say the least. After breakfast and a quick power nap in an actual bed at the hostel, we decided to go on "The Wilderness Route," which we essentially tweeked to our own liking. We battled a flat tire, 20 mph winds and pouring rain, yet still got to see the sun, beautiful round churches and old windmills (and ate delicious ice cream). It was a great day of biking, but definitely physically challenging by the 30th kilometer.

Day Two we decided to bike to the local glass blowing studio and then we indulged in another picnic lunch by the water. We also got the chance to go see some cliffs by the coast and lay in the grassy field, while basking in the sun. We enjoyed more ice cream after we had to turn in our bikes and then waited at the hostel until the bus came to take us back to the overnight ferry for our return to Copenhagen.

Beautiful weekend with beautiful people in a beautiful place, making memories that I will never forget.

adventure.

2010-04-21T11:50:00.001-07:00

Adventure. I love it. Hence the subtitle of my blog and the crazy adventures I have been on in the past three months.

This past weekend I decided to participate in a little different adventure on one of the DIS adventure trips to Sweden to go canoeing and hiking. After being in cities for the past 3 months, it was nice to finally enjoy a peaceful weekend in the countryside of Sweden.

To start off the trip we went canoeing down the Ronne A. Despite the cold weather and cloudy skies, my great friend Meg Banker and I still had a blast steering in zigzag lines and playing mental games to keep our mind off the weather. We even found a random hanging bridge over the river, so we decided to follow suit of some of the others in our group and take a pit stop to try out the bridge. Stupid decision? Maybe. Was it fun? Of course.

After canoeing we headed to the hostel, owned by a very sweet Swedish couple, and enjoyed a yummy beef stew that was exactly what my stomach desired. We all grabbed a much needed nap after a 6:00 a.m. wake-up and 3 hour paddle. Around 3:30 it was time to hike to Nimis. Nimis is a really cool construction of driftwood and sticks, begun in 1980 by the artist Lars Vilks. It is situated on the peninsula of Kullaberg in the south of Sweden, but is actually its own independent state Ladonia. It was one of the neatest things I have ever seen, essentially being a large playground for adults.

Our night ended with a yummy BBQ and time to get to know some of the other DIS students I hadn't met before. It was great to meet other DIS students, because once you get situated with your friends here, which is usually those you life with, its hard to stretch out beyond those boundaries and meet other students.

The next day we went rappelling on a cliff over the water and then ended the day with orienteering around the reservation. Being in nature is so refreshing and it was amazing to see Europe through a different lens. Sometimes I feel as though Europe is only defined by hustling cities with tourists everywhere, but there is so much more to it and I really got to experience that on this trip.

Yet even though this adventure is a little more extreme than others, studying abroad is a new adventure every single day. Whether it is learning a new word in a different language or finally figuring out a different way to get home, adventure is there. If I were to describe study abroad in one word it would definitely be, adventure.

hangglidinginterlaken

2010-04-15T02:00:00.000-07:00

A little advocacy for my friends at Hangglide Interlaken!

Have you ever had a dream that you’re flying? And then comes the unfortunate second where you open your eyes and realize that it was just a dream. Well this dream became an exciting reality when my friend Emily and I decided to go hang gliding with Hang Gliding Interlaken, owned by two pilots, Bernie & Ed. They picked us up at our hostel and within minutes I trusted them with my life and knew I was about to experience an unforgettable flight. From start to finish, they explained how everything worked--even letting us help put the glider together, all while continuing to crack jokes that helped ease our nerves.

The flight itself was absolutely breathtaking. I remember telling Bernie, “I feel like a bird!” We took crazy pictures, did some dives that made my stomach drop and then ended with the smoothest landing I could ever imagine. I believe my words were “that is the coolest thing I have ever done!!” Bernie and Ed congratulated Emily and I on our flights and even gave us a cold Swiss beer to celebrate! We got some really amazing photos and an even better video to show all of our friends and family what an awesome experience we had.

Therefore, if you EVER have the chance to go hang gliding in Interlaken, I have two words for you: DO IT! These guys were very professional and I felt 100% confident with their abilities. This was honestly one of the greatest things I have ever done in my life. Carpe Diem—Seize the Day! Go to www.hangglidinginterlaken.com!

my copenhagen is...

2010-04-15T00:12:00.000-07:00

Ever think about whipping out your cell phone camera and making a film? In my Virtual Worlds & the Digital Consumer class at DIS we learned how to make "pocket films," which is called a lommefilm in Danish. The founders of Lommefilm in Denmark came to our class and gave us a quick lesson on how to make such a film--which is actually quite easy.

We were assigned the topic "My Copenhagen is..," but we could spin it in any creative way we desired. We were given two days to capture video on the cell phone and then a workshop was held last night to upload all the clips, edit them together and produce the final 90-second movie.

For our film, I came up with the idea to film about 40 different people each saying what Copenhagen means to them in one word. My group filmed a variety of different people, from DIS students to local Danish residents.

At the end of the workshop we had a little contest and all showed our short films and Kasper, the owner of Lommefilm, and our professor Marie chose the winner. Drumroll please..........our group won! :)

Unfortunately it's too big to fit on here, so check it out on my Facebook page!

"I can now say that..."

2010-04-13T10:01:00.001-07:00

Well, after two weeks of AMAZING adventures in Europe, this is what I have to say.

"I can now say that I have..."

1. Been to Spain, France, Italy and Switzerland.
2. Spent more consecutive hours with Emily Adams than I have anyone else in my life.
3. Been to McDonald's in all of my visited countries (Switzerland was the best and most expensive).
4. Figured out the way to the middle of Madrid from the airport all by myself!
5. Eaten true tapas and paella and drank Sangria.
6. Seen paintings by Picasso and Salvador Dali in the Reina Sophia in Madrid.
7. Been to the chocolateria in Madrid featured on the travel channel and eaten delicious churros and hot chocolate.
8. Been to the Spanish Royal Palace.
9. Walked on the sandy beaches of beautiful Barcelona on a tour led by some pretty beautiful Australian men.
10. Been to the Sagrada Familia, the still unfinished 200 year old church designed by Gaudi in Barcelona.
11. Walked down Las Ramblas and been asked 50 times whether I want to buy the most annoying noisemaker alive.
12. Taken more than one true "siesta" in Spain.
13. Learned the trains in Europe will always be more advanced than in America.
14. An Armenian man asked to marry me.
15. Arrived on a train in Nice with 50 French children singing a "Nice" song...one threw up on the way there, too. Great.
16. Climbed the citadel in Nice and seen an amazing panoramic view of the city.
17. Eaten REAL crepes in France. Delicious!
18. Hung out with one of my favorite people, Sarah Nierste, in her current home in Florence.
19. Climbed the 463 stairs of the Duomo and seen the most amazing view of Florence.
20. Seen the David statue!
21. Eaten gelato more than 2 times in a single day.
22. Worn shorts in Europe and not frozen to death!
23. Boughten real balsalmic and olive oil in Italy.
24. Been back to Rome and loved it just as much as the first time.
25. Seen the Pope. okay, not really :) But I saw the window to his apartment!
26. Walked two miles to McDonald's in Rome. Long story.
27. Eaten the BEST guacamole in a random Mexican restaurant in Interlaken, Switzerland.
28. HANG GLIDED THROUGH THE SWISS ALPS! Caps are necessary, because it was definitely the coolest one.
29. Gotten bracelets in all countries as I had planned.
30. Gained more independence and street smarts than I ever thought possible.
31. And finally, I have learned that traveling really is the best classroom. I wrote in my journal while I was sitting in front of the Colosseum in Rome that I had to promise myself one thing: No matter what I do in my lifetime, I want to promise to always keep traveling. You learn more about yourself and more about the world around you than you could ever imagine. It is truly life changing!

Here are a few of my favorite photos from the trip. Check out the rest on Facebook!

a heck of a week!

2010-03-27T16:24:00.000-07:00

This past week has been exciting, fun, stressful and very busy all at the same time. My roommate and one of my best friends from home, Victoria, came to Copenhagen for the week for her Spring Break. It was so much fun to introduce her to Copenhagen, my friends here and the life I have been living for the past 2 and a half months. It is so hard to describe to people the true essence of my experiences here, so it was so exciting that she could see it for herself!

We went and saw many of the touristy Copenhagen sights: Round Tower, Little Mermaid, Kings Gardens, Christiansborg, Changing of the Guards, Carlsberg Brewery and several others. I also introduced her to some of my personal Copenhagen favorites: Wednesday cinnamon snails at Saint Peder's, The Living Room Cafe, Kulør Bar and Monday burger night at Peder Oxe. She even got the chance to meet my visiting family and eat their delicious frikadella (like meat balls).

It was so fun to show her around and we ended up having a week of great weather! On Friday Copenhagen really turned into a new city when it was finally above 50 degrees. Everyone was in the squares eating and enjoying the outdoor cafes. It makes me sooo excited for the weather to really start getting warmer once we get back from travel break!

Yet despite all the fun adventures with Victoria, I still had class all week, with 2 major presentations and a big midterm. Luckily, I got most of it done before she got here, but it was still stressful trying to get all of it done. But I made it through!! :)

Tomorrow, Victoria flies back to the States and I am heading off on my European Spring Break with Emily. We are traveling to Madrid, Barcelona, Nice, Rome, Florence, and Interlaken to go hang gliding. I am SO PUMPED.

Can't wait to recap my crazy EuroSB2010 for you in two weeks!

victoria.

2010-03-19T10:28:00.000-07:00

We met our freshman year in small group.
We decided to room together within only a few months of knowing each other.
We have shared a room the past two years.
We have so many memories together.
And we are about to make many more in the next week!

That's right. My roommate...my curly haired, easy going, beautiful, smart, best friend is coming to COPENHAGEN! She will be here in exactly 18 hours! Here is a video of us before I left the States for nostalgic purposes :)

little things.

2010-03-14T04:27:00.001-07:00

I am struggling to come up with a theme for this post. There hasn't been any trips or big stories since my last post.

Yet this makes me think in a different way. Is life always about the big things? The extravagant vacations, the life-changing revelations or the big events?

Or is life about the little things? The little pieces of each day that make up our life and who we are.

Here are some little things that have brightened my life little-by-little in the past week:

- Going on a night run by the famous Copenhagen lakes with Emily and Suz, even catching a glimpse of water under the ice!
- Getting the same sandwich at ChiliMilli that I had on the first day of school in Copenhagen, nostalgic.
- Skyping with my friend Sarah in Costa Rica and finally hearing hear voice, not to mention being jealous of her suntan!
- Cooking a delicious meal with my Australian friend Tom, more like watching him cook.
- Meeting Margot's sister, Shannon, and learning more about Margot....I feel like meeting someone's family always tells you more about a person.
- Receiving an email from the internship coordinator at Weber Shandwick Chicago about a possible internship this summer!
- Playing Keops Olympics at the grand planning of Maddy and Miriam
- Having lunch with my visiting family and finally trying Smørrebrød, an open face sandwich..Danish classic.
- Finally booking all our hostels for travel break...Spain, France, Italy, Switzerland... HERE WE COME!

home.

2010-03-09T05:39:00.001-08:00

What does home mean to you?

I love how throughout our lives home means different things.

Everytime I come back to Copenhagen, I love it that much more. I finally feel like I am coming home.

I love living with people that I know care about me, even if we have only known each other for a short time. I love the fact that I know what bus takes me home. I know the understood "rules of the bus." I know how to get to the grocery store. I know that dinner is downstairs at 7:30. I know how to get to my classes. I know what time the gym closes and opens. I know what cafes are the best and which ones are too expensive. I know where to find notebooks. I know where the best pastries are.

I have been here almost 2 months and it finally feels like home. I like this a lot :)

london? check.

2010-03-07T02:49:00.000-08:00

I actually saw the RED TELEPHONE BOOTHS. The real ones. I've seen them in Disney World Epcot and at Universal Studios in LA, but this time I saw the real ones. Yes, ladies and gentleman, I became a Brit for the past week. Here is a re-cap of my long study tour in London with the DIS Communications & Mass Media program:

Sunday
-Left for London from CPH airport at 12, we even got to check a bag!
-Arrived in London for a bus tour with a British man-got to see all the sights
-Checked into hotel, Holiday Inn Kings Cross and group dinner at a really nice restaurant called Bertorelli's (DIS always hooks us up with AWESOME food!)
-Jourdan, Emma, Kellye and I found a local pub to go watch the USA v. Canada hockey finals...we were surrounded with Canadians, but still showed our American pride :)

Monday
-Delicious English breakfast at the hotel- eggs, tea, croissants with jam, ham, cheese, cereal, yogurt
-We were given three choices of museums and I chose the Saatchi Gallery, which had contemporary art exhibitions. My favorite exhibit was a wall covered with tiny squares, each square with a drawing of everyone that has been killed in the Iraq war. Some of the squares had descriptions on them about the person. It was a very touching illustration.

-After the museum visit we decided to use our free time and go to Buckingham Palace. We arrived exactly in time to see the changing of the guards, which was SUCH a cool thing. There were tons of people, so it was hard to get good pictures, but here is a little video of the band marching in.

-We met up with my professor Jonas and some other people from our group to visit 3 fish in a tree, a creative agency in London. We met with one of the directors, who was actually a man dressed as a woman, but I guess that is just part of the creative industry? It was awesome to see how creative people can really get and see some of the things they are producing for their clients. I left thinking "if ONLY I were THAT creative!"
-Kellye and I took the rest of our free time to wonder around Piccadilly Circus, London's version of Times Square, and got coffee at Costa, London's version of Starbucks.
-We met our class at an outdoor place called Cafe 1001 for yummy burgers and potato fries and then we went to Short & Sweet, London's only weekly short film evening. Each and every week, a program of the very best in short films is shown, giving new artists a chance to display their work and old artists a chance to keep playing theirs. Some of the films were super trippy, but others were awesome!
-We ended the night celebrating Kellye's 21st birthday at this HUGE club called TigerTiger. The club was almost overwhelming because of the size and amount of people, but luckily Kellye got treated to VIP wristbands for all of us, so we hung out in the VIP lounge for the night.
-At about 1:30 a group of us decided to head back to the hotel because it had been such a long day. Little did we know that we had about an hour journey ahead of us to figure out how in the WORLD to get back to the hotel. To our surprise, the tube closes at 12 (still don't understand this reasoning). Public transportation then switches entirely to buses, which may be useful if you know which ones go where, but unfortunately we did not have this privilege. After asking about 10 different people which bus went where, we finally got the right one after a couple of tries. When we arrived back in King's Cross we still had a 15 minute walk to the hotel, and were pretty creeped out by the guy who had followed us off the bus. Needless to say, we RAN. Literally ran from him. I was so thankful to finally cross the threshold of the Holiday Inn at 3 a.m.

Tuesday
-We started Tuesday off with an academic visit to a public relations agency, mine being Edelman. They are an amazing firm and I was familiar with a lot of their work, so it was neat to see their chic office, clad with colorful chairs, Mac computers and mini-bars everywhere. We chatted with a lady named Vicky who worked with their technology team and she answered a lot of the questions that we had about PR at Edelman and the field in general. Everything she said went hand-in-hand with what I have been learning at Elon and in my time here at DIS, so that was affirming.
-We decided to go back to the hotel and grab a quick nap before the rest of the day continued
-Met up with Jourdan at Harrod's (what a sight!) and then made our way to King's Cross College campus where we discussed our PR interviews with the class and Kellye, Emma and I gave our presentation on how convergence and new media is changing the landscape of the PR industry
-We had dinner at Brown's in Covent Garden, ending my steak meal with an absolutely delicious Sticky Toffee Pudding
-I braved the tube on my own and made a trip to the Elon flats to visit my dear friend Mary Catherine. It was SO great to see hear and hear about her experiences in London and share mine from Denmark. It was definitely the face from home that I was needing :)

Wednesday was our day to travel outside of London
-We started our day at Stonehenge, the 5,000 year old monument that is now a World Heritage Site, thought to have been built by people of the late stone age
-Made our way to the city of Bath where we visited the famous Roman Baths and Sally Lunn's House, the oldest house in Bath that serves the infamous Sally Lunn Bun (DELICIOUS)
-We got a chance to roam around the beautiful little city, which ended up being my favorite place on the tour! It was such a quaint British town.
-We stopped for dinner on the way home at The Pear Tree, a place that reminded me of Kate Winslet's house in The Holiday. Great food, great people, great conversation.

Thursday
-Started off with a lecture by Mads Qvortrup, who previously served as the Spin Doctor for Tony Blair's administration. Unfortunately, since I am not that interested in political media it didn't hold much relevance to me.
-Visit to the LONDON EYE..probably the coolest thing we did! It is kind of like a ferris wheel that looks out over all of London--great for pictures!
-Spent the rest of the afternoon in Camden, a younger, hipster part of London that reminded me a lot of Canal Street in New York...I got a really cute hat at a vintage shop for 3 pounds!
-Met up with the rest of the group at 7:30 for Billy Elliot the Musical....good show, but not the best I've seen. New York Broadway is definitely better..
-Got a chance to see Kelsi and Janelle (its been about 10 years since I've seen them), two of my best friends from when I lived in Missouri for kindergarden through 3rd grade...we had SO much to talk about and they are just as I remember! Ironically enough, we are all majoring in communications and want to go into PR!
-Unfortunately after I left them I couldn't get in touch with my group who had gone out with our professor, so I just got in a taxi and headed home.

Friday
-We paid a visit to The Daily Telegraph, the highest selling British broadsheet newspaper
-Ended the trip with lunch at SeaFresh where everyone was served fish and chips, but I claimed to be "vegetarian" for an hour so I wouldn't have to muster the energy to force down my most hated food.
-Hopped on a plane at London Gatwick back to CPH and arrived home at 9:30

FINAL THOUGHTS:
I really enjoyed visiting London. It is such a beautiful city with a lot to see. But in all honesty, I didn't like it as much as I thought I would. I guess everyone had built it up to be the greatest city on Earth and nothing can compare, and I just didn't feel that. It was a great city, don't get me wrong, but it just wasn't AS great as I thought it would be. The transportation wasn't superb, I felt very unsafe on more than one occasion, and there were SO many tourists everywhere. I guess I have started to compare every city I visit to Copenhagen, since I consider it home now. I've learned that I like more of the small, big city feel and that I feel safer here than I do anywhere else. Maybe its because I know the transportation system and I know my way around, but nevertheless I am more thankful I chose to study here everytime I return :)

berlin? check.

2010-02-27T12:48:00.000-08:00

This post is LONG overdue....my apologies. Its been a long week.

Maren, Emily, Suz, Margo, Julie and I took on the city of Berlin last weekend. Needless to say, we are travel GURU'S now :)

We left on our journey around 6:30 from Keops and made it to the airport with plenty of time to spare. Since we took EasyJet, a really cheap airline, we were forced to watch the screens with departure gates up until about 5 minutes before we were actually going to depart. We FINALLY found out what gate we were at and were on our way to Berlin!

It was my first time out of Denmark, other than Malmo, Sweden which is only 30 minutes away, and it provoked so many different emotions. Excitement. Adventure. Exhaustion. Thrill. I honestly felt like I grew up just a little bit more, planning my own trip and figuring out how to get there, booking the hostel and tours.

We arrived in Berlin about an hour after our scheduled time and found our way to the hostel with some other DIS students who were also traveling that weekend. We got on the train that went to our Hostel, The Generator, and were greeted with a very interesting/scary man. He was clearly overly intoxicated and was passed out on the floor of the train. After about 5 minutes he woke up and started trying to speak to all of us saying random things like "I only talk to highly intelligent people" and "just call them and tell them to take me to the hotel so I can be there right now." He had a bottle of vodka in his hand with about 1/4 of it left and I watched him literally chug the rest of it and then fall completely on the ground. Needless to say, I was terrified and I think that is the first time I have actually felt unsafe while abroad. It was scary and sad at the same time and its those kind of people that really show you how blessed you are.

After that experience we arrived at the hostel, went to the bar for a short while, chatted with some guys from Holland and then crashed so we could get up early and start exploring Berlin the next morning.

We woke up to absolutely amazing weather! We are talking blue skies, sunshine that requires sunglasses, and over 40 degree temperatures. I felt like I was in Hawaii, haha! We hopped on the metro and made our way to the TV tower where we were meeting for our bike tour. Please note, Berlin's metro system is genius AND we made it the whole weekend without buying a ticket, yes!! We did an amazing bike tour with Tom from Wales and got to see all the great spots in Berlin: the Reichstag, the Berlin Wall, Potsdamer Platz, Hitler's bunker, the Jewish Memorial, Museum Island, Brandenburg Gate, Checkpoint Charlie, the hotel Michael Jackson dangled his baby from and lots more. Berlin is an amazing city and it was SO neat to see all the places I've seen in pictures in real life!

After our tour Margot, Emily and I got traditional German food (yum!) and then met back with the other girls to go on a pub crawl. It was the first pub crawl I've ever done, but it was tons of fun. We met some Irish guys, some Australians, and a couple people from America.

The next morning we headed back to the Reichstag (Parliament) and went up in the spiral dome where you can see all of Berlin. After that we went to the East Side Gallery, where they let painters paint on part of the Berlin Wall that is still standing. It was definitely a sight to see. We decided to go back towards the part of town we were familiar with and grab some food and McDonalds (or as Tom says..Mackers). It was my first taste of American food...DELICIOUS. We bought some souvenirs, laughed a lot at making funny accents, grabbed ice cream, frolicked in the sun and then made our way back to the airport.

Unfortunately when I got back I had 2 midterms, 3 papers and 2 projects waiting for me in the next week, hence my absence in the blog. But I MADE IT and now I am off to London for the week for my long study tour. Vi ses København!

one month.

2010-02-17T10:05:00.000-08:00

I woke up this morning feeling like P-Diddy, grabbed my glasses, hit the door, I'm gunna hit this city.

Today is a big day. I have officially been living in Copenhagen for ONE MONTH and MAN it has gone by fast. I can't even believe it. I definitely want to post about what I have learned in my first month, but I will leave that for next time.

As for the past couple days, here are a few highlights:

Sunday a group of us from Keops decided to celebrate Valentine's day with lunch at a local place called RizRaz. It was so nice to go out to eat and the best part was FREE REFILLS ON DIET COKE!!!!

Monday I decided to officially assimilate a little more into Danish culture and joined the Fitness World Gym 2 minutes from my kollegium. Working out is something that I have always really enjoyed and it is a chance for me to get away and have some Kelli time. The first time you go into a gym is always a little intimidating. You don't know where the machines are. You aren't sure what weight to do yet. In this case, you don't know that water fountains don't exist here. Despite my nerves, I walked around and figured out what machines they have and which ones they don't. It is a little more difficult to figure out everything here since all the machines are in Danish, but I think I will get the hang of it once I get into my routine. Another shocking thing was the locker rooms. Call me sheltered, but I have honestly never been in a locker room where all the women walk around in the nude and shower in front of everyone else. I was not expecting this either, so was a little culture shocked when I walked into the locker room.

TuesdayI had my Copenhagen History class and International Advertising. I got my first test back in History and was happy to see that I got an A! The test was on a Scavenger Hunt assignment where we had to go all over the city and learn different landmarks. Basically, I can now tell you most all of the landmarks, where they are on a map and what century they were built in. Cool, right? After class I came home and caught up on my Bachelor episodes. Team Tenley!! :) I headed to the gym to have a, fortunately, smoother second round. Then last night we had a CMM Social at one of the local theaters. We watched a movie and then were treated to drinks and snacks by DIS! When I got back to Keops some people were heading to Bar 7 downtown. I was already dressed to go out, so I decided to tag along. Since Facebook had told the world about Bar 7 drink specials that night, it was PACKED. We decided to head over to a smaller pub called Heidi's. I played some foosball (sp?) with some Albanian guys and then all of us were hit on by old Danish men...woof.

Wednesday (Today) a couple of us didn't have a study tour so we decided to get out of our rooms and go exploring! We hopped on a random train feeling liberated to just go wherever. We ended up in Frederiksberg were we grabbed a delicious lunch. I had an amazing cheeseburger and fries (MAN, I miss American food SO much). We then wandered to find Frederiksberg Have (gardens) and the castle. It was so beautiful and there were little kids sledding down the awesome hills. Once we could no longer feel our toes, we decided to head back into DIS part of town, grab the Wednesday special cinnamon buns from St. Peder's Bakery and take a lounge at The Living Room.

The Living Room is this great little cafe that definitely has the Danish hygge (look back to a previous post for the description). They have living room furniture and candles everywhere. I would LOVE to have a place like this at Elon. It is times like these were I really miss all of you back home!! I wish I could bring each and every one of you to this place. Yall would love it :)

Tonight is consisting of laundry, dinner, catching up on reading and doing some research for BERLIN this weekend. Cant wait.

a very danish evening.

2010-02-14T03:03:00.000-08:00

Jeg havde en meget hyggelig aften med danskerne...translating to I had a very nice evening with the Danes.

To be honest, it has taken me a while to warm up to the Danes and the Danish culture. Keep in mind, I come from South Carolina where everyone talks to everyone, you wave to strangers just because, you smile at people when you pass by and you make new friends wherever you go. The Danes are the exact opposite. The bus is silent everyday and no one ever really looks you in the eye. They will not approach you and don't find it necessary to meet new people. DARE you smile at someone when you pass by.

Yet then again, this may just be "city life," and not necessary the Danish life, that I am not used to. But last night I really began to understand the Danes a little more.

On Friday night I received a call from my "visiting family." DIS sets up different cultural immersion programs such has Danish buddies and visiting families. This allows students not living in host families the opportunity to immerse into the Danish culture and get to know Danes. My family, Tove and Anders, said they would like to have me over for dinner the next night and they would pick me up at the Metro.

I was so excited and so nervous at the same time. Would they like me? What housewarming gift should I bring? Could I find my way there? What if I couldn't understand them?

I set off on my first journey alone and made a quick pit stop at one of the great bakery's in Copenhagen to grab a cake to take with me. I was relieved to find out that their Metro stop was in Zone 2, meaning I didn't have to buy an extra clipcard. The Metro was very easy and I got off at the last stop, Vanløse, just like Tove had told me. She and Anders had the car waiting for me when I got there! They showed me around their cute house (very Danish) and then Anders made his special meatballs, called Frikadeller, a Danish favorite, with a great salad, mashed potatoes and rye bread. It was absolutely delicious.

There were candles everywhere in their house--another Danish tradition, hygge. It is explained as

One of the fundamental aspects of Danish culture is "hygge", which, although translated as "coziness" is more akin to "tranquility". Hygge is a complete absence of anything annoying, irritating, or emotionally overwhelming, and the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is often associated with family and close friends.

I LOVE this about the Danes and I really felt it last night. They even gave me two glass candles designed by a famous Danish designer, Piet Hein We had a nice conversation over dinner about our families, religion and Danish politics. After dinner they made coffee and we sat in the living room and had coffee and the cake I brought with this precious little tea set. I told them I was going to Berlin next weekend and Tove got very excited, Berlin being one of her favorite cities. She brought out a big scrapbook of things from Berlin and even gave me a book of maps to take with me! I had such a great time with them, even though it was a different experience than I have ever had before.

After that I went to go hang out at one of the Dane's flats that I had met a couple weeks ago at the DIS party. It was fun to go from a Danish family setting to a younger Danish crowd, seeing that it is pretty much the same as in the US. There were about 14 or 15 of us, me being the only girl for most of the time until 1 more came. But hey, I am not complaining :) It was very unusual for me, because usually the ratio is WAY more girls (at Elon and in the DIS program). Again, we talked a lot about politics (Danes LOVE to talk about politics). They played a bunch of Danish songs and all sang together (video on Facebook soon). At about 1:30 they decided they wanted to go out finally, WHEW. Way too late for me, so I made my way home.

It was my first time really venturing out into the city by myself and spending time with the Danes--an accomplishment if I might say so myself. I'm glad I can now say I really enjoyed the Danes!

digital natives.

2010-02-11T09:57:00.000-08:00

A blog I wrote in reference to my Virtual Worlds and the Digital Consumer class:

My parents always ask me how in the world I can text so fast. My response? I don't know, I just can. My aunt wonders how in the world I can figure out how to upload pictures from any digital camera. My response? Honestly, I don't know. I just can. My teachers find it amazing that I can listen to music on YouTube, talk to my peers, and write a news article all at one time. My response? It seems easy to me, I don't know. Its just something I can do.

To turn the tables, I often wonder a similar question: Why can't you? And with this question I bring forward the discussion of Digital Natives and Digital Immigrants.

In John Palfrey and Urs Gasser's book, Born Digital, they discuss the idea of two kinds of generations, the digital natives and the digital immigrants. Digital natives being those "born after 1980, when social digital technologies came online. They all have access to networked digital technologies. And they all have the skills to use those technologies." (1) Digital immigrants, on the other hand, "learned how to email and use social networks late in life . You know them by the lame jokes and warnings about urban myths that they still forward to large cc: lists." (4)

In short, Digital Natives are the young people and Digital Immigrants are the, well, older parents. As part of the Digital Native community at a fairly young age, I was often blinded by the fact that I belonged to such a community, rather I assumed that the skills were inherent in all people. Yet as I have gotten older I have come to learn that there is a wide gap between the two generations. Maybe even worthy of a large, MIND THE GAP, sign.

I do think it is critical that both the natives and immigrants learn to understand the inverse. Natives must learn to have patience with those who struggle to understand technology and be willing to teach them the little tricks that make technology so readable to us as natives. Immigrants, on the other hand, must make the effort to learn the technologies, or at least try to understand why digital natives do the things they do. This mutual understanding will lead to a more cohesive movement forward into this digital reality.

So Digital Natives: Next time you encounter a Digital Immigrant having trouble working something on the computer or turning on the DVD player, take a second away from your cell phone and Facebook and YouTube and your homework, and teach them a little something!

And Digital Immigrants: Don't get mad when your son or daughter is texting while you are trying to tell them something or Facebooking and doing homework simultaneously...we grew up this way and don't know anything different! Learn to understand this lifestyle.

Cheers to a world where there is digital democracy for all.

an unfortunate morning.

2010-02-09T03:53:00.000-08:00

As some of you may of heard, I was hit by a biker yesterday morning in a pretty nasty accident.

To paint the picture for you: There were about 20 of us waiting for the 6A bus to school at 8 am. One bus came and it was too full so it wouldn't let us on. Another empty bus passed by and didn't even stop. We were all pretty worried because it was creeping up on 8:15 and class was to start in 15 minutes and still no bus in sight. In Copenhagen, there are 3 lanes. The sidewalk for pedestrians, the bike lane for bikers and then the actual road for cars (in that order). To get on a bus, you have to cross the bike lane and stand at the end of it so the bus will stop. Some people were already standing on the edge to get in line for the next arriving bus. I was standing on the edge of the sidewalk with my back toward the bike lane and turned slightly to begin to cross the bike lane, and the next seconds are somewhat of a blur, but a guy on a bike coming very fast hit me from behind and next thing I knew I was on the ground with a nose gushing with blood and my entire face was stinging.

People ran over to help me, but all I could hear was Danish and I had no idea what they were saying. I kept trying to listen for one of my friends and I finally heard my friend Mike speaking English. I know I sat there for a few seconds honestly in shock over what had just happened. They got me up and sat me on the bench by the bus stop and got me tissues for my nose and face. There was a man there and he called the ambulance. I found out later that this was the guy who hit me, so it was very nice of him to stick around and make sure I got help.

It was then that I really started to feel the pain and kept going in and out. I couldn't hear anything and then I started feeling like I was going to throw up. I told my friend Mike I was going to pass out and just hoped that the ambulance would come soon. Unfortunately, it did not. 25 minutes later (which seemed like an eternity) the ambulance came. My friend Mike came with me to the hospital (Mike- you are amazing!) where they really didn't really do much to help me, unfortunately.

I am somewhat frustrated with the Danish healthcare system after this experience. Honestly though, I think that is just how the Danes are. They are a very minimalist society and it transgresses into their medical practices. They said I could have possibly broken my nose and gotten a minor concussion, but I would have to wait a couple days to get an x-ray after the swelling went down. So they told me to go home, meaning Mike and I walked home from the hospital. Their healthcare practices are just totally different than in America and it is hard for me to get used to.

This is a picture...

Needless to say, everyone has been extremely supportive. To everyone who has helped me, cooked for me, called me, messaged me--I am more than grateful. To Mike who was my first rescuer and took me to the hospital, I literally don't know what I would have done if you weren't there. You are a lifesaver. To my Australian friend Tom who was the only one at Keops since all my other friends were at school, thanks for the tea, cookies, and coffee and for sitting with me for 3 hours- you are a lifesaver. To Maren who brought me chocolate, such a sweetheart. To Julie and Margot who came home on their lunch break and sat on my floor and ate their lunch (love you both). To Emily who brought me medicine, made me dinner, brought me breakfast and took me to the doctor today- I don't know what I would do without you. To Suz who came over as soon as she got home and raged about their healthcare with me (you are my other half). To my Little who can make me feel better even if she is halfway across the world- I am so lucky to be your big. To Vic who will run home to Skype to talk to me at the drop of a dime--thanks for always being there. To my parents for sitting on Skype with me and making sure I am getting taken care of--love and miss you. And to everyone else who has sent me messages, texts, and phone calls. I really feel like I have a family here and it means so much.

some firsts. short study tour!

2010-02-07T02:14:00.000-08:00

I experienced a couple of firsts in the past three days.

My first time leaving Copenhagen overnight.
My first time not eating 730 Keops dinner two nights in a row (sigh).
My first time ever staying in a hostel.
My first time being away from the "keops crew."
My first time eating a traditional Danish meal.
My first time meeting Finnish boys.
My first time I felt like returning to Keops was returning home.

There were a lot of firsts and some were good, some not so good. So where did all these firsts come from? Well, on Thursday morning at 5:45 am I awoke to go on my first "short study tour." Within DIS there are different programs, most of them being some kind of major, and students choose a program they are interested in. For instance, since I am a Strategic Communications major at Elon, I chose to be in the Communications & Mass Media (CMM) program so that I could learn more about international communications. It is a great way to focus study tours and classes so that they are specific to your interests. Each program then goes on a short and long study tour during the semester. Our short study tour took us to Ebeltoft, Kolding and Ødense, all different parts of Denmark.

After arriving at the crack of dawn on Thursday, we took off to visit the Jelling Stones. The Jelling stones are massive carved runestones from the 10th century, raised by King Gorm (the first King of Denmark) and his son Harald Bluetooth, to celebrate the Danes conversion to Christianity. They are kind of like the "birth certificate" of Denmark. We then went to lunch at an Inn and this is where I had my first traditional Danish meal. I hate to say it, but I really don't like Danish food. At all. I feel as though the Danish cuisine is made up of everything that I don't like. Nevertheless, it was nice to be fed rather than cook and get to know the people in my program a little better.

Our next stop was The European Film College in Ebeltoft. We were welcomed with coffee and bread & jam, which was wonderful. We listened to a lecture by Søren Høy, a film journalist, writer, and former TV host and also the principal of the college. He gave us a lot of great tips and really stressed that experience is key in a career, rather than education. After that we had dinner at the school and watched Twilight: New Moon in their big theatre.

Then came my next first: the hostel. The Ebeltoft hostel was struggling. The room was TINY and 4 of us were smashed together. I slept on the top bunk and didn't really sleep a wink. To say the least, my first hostel experience was not the greatest.

Friday we headed to Ødense, a town that I had actually been to before for my Hans Christian Andersen field study. Here we visited Brandts, a center of art and culture that had an Art Hall, Photo Art and Danish Media museum. We also visited TV 2, which is a Danish government-owned television station. We heard a presentation by one of the chief editors, then one of the anchors of the crime show came and spoke to us. We also got to meet "the Anderson Cooper of Denmark" but unfortunately they didn't tell us this until after he left so I didn't get a picture.

We arrived at our new hostel in Kolding and it was AWESOME. It definitely revived my view of a hostel from the previous night. After dinner at the hostel all of us went out to a pub called "Lanteern" with our new Finnish friends. The Architecture students were also staying at the same hostel, so all of them were there too. Needless to say, the bar was filled with Americans, something I have found is hard to get away from cause there are SO many DIS students. After a late-night pizza eat (very common here in Denmark, pizza places are EVERYWHERE and they stay open all night usually), we went back to the hostel and crashed after not getting much sleep the night before.

Saturday, our final day, began at Trapholt, a museum for art, design and handicraft. We got to see an awesome exhibition displaying the work of Peter Callesen called "Out of Nothing," an exhibit where everything was cut from paper. Here are some pictures from that:

We also got to hear from Trapholt's PR director, Trine Nissen, so it was neat to see what she had to say about her job there. After that we went over to Koldinghus, a royal castle built in the 13th century.

We finished off the trip with a great lunch in Kolding at a place called Lucca, where we got Turkey sandwiches with cheese, bacon, cucumber, lettuce, tomato and this sauce that was kind of like a mixture of ranch and thousand island. Great way to finish off the tour!!

Overall, it was a good trip. It was definitely hard being away from Copenhagen and Keops, where I feel comfortable now. Nonetheless, it was a good opportunity to get back out of my comfort zone and learn more about Denmark and about myself!

For now, hej hej!

i know.

2010-02-02T08:06:00.000-08:00

17 days down and it is starting to feel like a lifestyle. I have often heard that the first couple weeks, maybe even months, of study abroad can feel like a "vacation." Whether it is figuring out what bus to take, or which grocery store has the best bargains, it is hard NOT to feel like a tourist in a whole new culture with only 2 days of "survival danish" under your belt.

Yet I am proud, and lucky, to say that we are 17 days in and I no longer feel helpless in this city. I'm learning the bus system pretty well and am beginning to feel well acquainted with the metro and the S-Train. I know that "bus stop Netto" is a shorter walk to Keops than Føtex and nicer than "ghetto Netto," but the best deals are at the "cheap place" next to Fitness World. (The names are great, right?) I know that I have to get on the bus at least 30 minutes before class just in case the bus breaks down (which totally happened the other morning). I know that at 7:30 I can walk down into our common room and see at least 10 smiling faces to eat dinner with. I know that Digestive cookies are great with not only peanut butter, but Nutella as well.I know that you can't turn the shower on too high or it will soak the entire bathroom. I know that I really can make 3 meals a day for myself. I know that laundry really isn't as hard as it may seem and that the heater in my room can dry snow-covered pants in less than an hour. I know that even though many of my peers are extremely intelligent, I still have a lot to offer. I know that sometimes the impossible really is possible.

Each day brings new opportunities to learn and more things to fit into my new Copenhagen lifestyle. Today I joined the gym and tomorrow I will venture into a new part of the city to visit a PR agency for my Advertising course. Who knows what the next day will bring?

Yet with all this, I do know one thing for sure. I know that I made the right decision to study abroad. I know that I was meant to come to Copenhagen, take classes with DIS and meet all of the amazing people I have met thus far.

I know I am right where I am supposed to be.

sweden? check.

2010-01-31T01:30:00.000-08:00

I love going out to eat. Unfortunately, in Copenhagen that happens very rarely due to exorbitant prices. BUT WAIT. The Keops family dinner crew decided that we would treat ourselves once a month while we are here to a nice dinner out. So we ventured out in the blizzard on Friday night for our January dinner. It was so nice to be able to go out and have someone else make my food and just be able to simply enjoy each other's company. We played my favorite "question game" to get to know each other a little better with my usual questions that I have taken from other people over the years.."if you could do one thing and not fail, what would it be?" and "if you could walk into a room full of people, what is one thing you could do better than everyone else?" (Thanks, Nico!). It is so fun getting to know a whole new group of people, and the more I find out about everyone, the more I love them! I am so blessed to be surrounded by such an awesome group of people here.

On Saturday, the girls and our new Aussie friend Tom decided to take the plunge and go to another country! We decided to go to Malmo, Sweden, which is actually only a 30 minute train ride from Copenhagen. It was a nice test-drive for future travel endeavors. We didn't really have a clue what we were going to do when we got there, so we basically winged it. Once we got off the train we just walked around and found the city square. I honestly thought Sweden would look really different than Denmark, but it actually didn't. Maybe that is just Malmo, though. We found a great spot for lunch in this tiny little cafe and enjoyed a healthy, hot lunch. After lunch we ventured out to find the spiral tower (not without stopping to make snow angels, of course), a really neat building in Malmo.

After getting on the wrong bus and just riding for a while, who knows why, we got off and found a cute little walkway. We ended up stumbling upon a boot shop, where 4 of us found boots we were looking for!! Mine were actually 70% off, so they were only 179 Swedish Kroner, equivalent to about $27 USD. BARGAIN!!

By this time we were all pretty cold/exhausted so we headed back to CPH to get ready for our kollegium's party. There ended up being TONS of people in our really small common room, but it was tons of fun. It was so nice to not have to wear 10 layers, get all bundled up, pay for coat check, pay for entrance, and then buy super expensive drinks. You really find out what to appreciate over here, haha! It was cool to meet some more people that live in Keops!

Today, I am off to complete yet ANOTHER scavenger hunt. This is my third of the program so far. At least I will know Copenhagen like the back of my hand. Pictures will be up soon :) xoxo kelli

biking in a blizzard.

2010-01-28T08:36:00.000-08:00

Picture hundreds of people biking in an insane blizzard. Yes, BIKING. That's Copenhagen for you.

Wednesday morning I woke up to heavy snow falling from the sky. (The snowflakes here are HUGE) I fought my excitement as a South Carolinian who rarely sees snow as I thought about the bus ride and walking tour we were about to take to Ødense, the hometown of the most famous Dane, Hans Christian Andersen. It was to be an adventure, to say the least.

DIS is an awesome program in the sense that they want to keep students engaged in their learning, much like Elon. Therefore, we never have class on Wednesday's and it is a designated time for professors to take their students on "study tours" to various locations that hold meaning to what they are studying in the classroom. So this Wednesday, I went with my Hans Christian Andersen Literature class to see the birthplace of the writer himself.

We finally made it to Ødense after 2 hours on the bus, ideal napping opportunity might I say. First, we went to the Hans Christian Andersen Museum, commemorating the fairy teller's life and stories. It was neat to see the time that he lived in, all the cities that he traveled to, and how many of his tales are translated all over the world. He really made a huge impact during his lifetime. For those of you who may not be ringing a bell, he wrote stories like The Little Mermaid, The Steadfast Tin Soldier, Princess and the Pea, The Ugly Duckling...and many many more.

After walking around the museum, we got a chance to walk around Ødense for about an hour, then it was back to the bus! We left at 2 p.m. (remember this time, it will be important later). I was anticipating another 2 hour bus ride, yet little did I know. When I woke up from what seemed like a quick moment of shut-eye, I realized that we were going verrrry slow. The snow that was falling earlier had now turned into an intense blizzard. The thoughts going through my head were, "I am in a DOUBLE decker bus right now, in a blizzard, in the middle of Denmark." I know, right, WHAT IS MY LIFE?! After making many twists and turns to get around accidents, as our busdriver Carsten announced over the loudspeaker, we made it make to DIS at 5:15. Yes, 5:15. Yet this was not the end of the journey! We still had to catch the 6A back to Keops. After waiting about 15 minutes, we saw the beautiful yellow bus in sight. The bus pulled up and it was absolutely PACKED. Supposedly Denmark does not get snow like this often, therefore many of the people who had biked to work this morning were now opting to catch the bus. WHO KNEW? I thought it snowed a lot in Denmark, guess I was wrong! Yet even though many were on the bus, there were still many brave souls biking home. The Danes are dedicated bikers, to say the least. So after feeling intense claustrophobia on the bus home, we were finally graced with the presence of beautiful KEOPS. It felt good to be home.

After we thawed out, we joined together for dinner at our usual 7:30 and met a couple more new residents of Keops, from Germany, Australia and Ireland. How cool is that?

Today has been less eventful. I had three classes this morning and then just came home. I finally decided to brave the laundry room, with the guidance of my friend Maren. I actually think I figured it out!! It will be nice to have clean towels :)

That's all for now. Hej Hej!

peace.

2010-01-26T11:56:00.001-08:00

PEACE. No, not like peace out. Not like peace signs at Woodstock. And not like peace tie-die shirts. More like, peace, defined by Webster as the freedom of the mind from annoyance, distraction, anxiety, obsession---tranquility, serenity.

I feel so at peace here. It is honestly amazing to me. Maybe I had to come half way across the world to truly find peace in myself and my independence. I am the kind of person that loves to be around people 24/7. I just hate being alone. When I'm at Elon I struggle daily with the fear of being alone, even for a simple grocery run or quick lunch. It just scares me and I can't really figure out why. The first day I was in Copenhagen, I felt more alone than I ever have in my entire life. I stepped off the plane and saw one familiar face, Emily, and thank goodness for that or I might have caught a plane back to the States without even leaving the airport.

When the bus brought us back to our dorm, I walked into a lonely room with a desk and a bed. The bare white walls seemed to be caving in on me as I realized how many miles I was from home. With sadness and confusion, I cried myself to sleep.

Yet honestly, within a few days, I have had a complete turn around. Maybe it is our Keops family dinners at 7:30 every night, or the new friendly faces that I meet in my classes everyday, or the sweet messages that I get on the daily from friends at home. I really do feel at peace. I am okay walking taking the 6A by myself and enjoying a nice quiet ride to school in the morning. I feel empowered going to my room and simply writing in my journal and debriefing from the days activities by myself. I thought having a single room would be my biggest challenge, but it has become one of my biggest blessings. It is teaching me that I am okay by myself. I can be happy without being around people every second of every day. I find my happiness from God and the power that he gives me. I am so glad that I can finally say this.

Yet I think my peace about being physically alone comes from the fact that I know I am not mentally alone. I have an AWESOME group of new friends here in Copenhagen that I am so blessed to have. They astound me every day with their encouragement, support and constant laughter. I also have amazing friends back at Elon and at home that have continued to keep in touch with me and love on me even though I am miles and miles away. I have a great family who supports me through everything I do. And last, but definitely not least, I have a God who watches over me and loves me more than I can ever fathom.

I could not ask for anything more. Peace. What a blessing it is! :)

i feel like someone with no game.

2010-01-24T09:06:00.001-08:00

This weekend was full of adventures! Friday night DIS hosted a welcome party for everyone in the program at Discotek "In." There were soo many people there, but it was a lot of fun!

On Saturday, we went on one of the optional DIS trips to Kronborg Castle in Elsinore, which is famous for being the castle in Shakespeare's Hamlet. We got a chance to walk around Elsinore and eat some lunch before we toured the castle. I had my first hamburger and fries since I left the States. It was heavenly.

The Castle was amazing! It is so crazy to realize that you are actually standing somewhere that you have heard so much about! The Castle is also located on the point of Denmark that is closest to Sweden, so we actually see the coast of Sweden!

Last night, some of the girls and I went to the nightclub Rust, in Nørrebro. It is so expensive to go out. We paid 80 kroner for entrance and coat check, so about $16. It was crazy packed! Drinks are extremely expensive here too, like $10 and above. The music is hilarious, either techno or rap jams from like 6 years ago. The dancing is out of this world, NOTHING like in the States. It's so funny because since you don't know what the culture is here, you feel so helpless. The only way I can describe it is I feel like someone in the States who has no game at all, if you know what I mean. You are dancing and you're like "I wonder if when I do this I look like a total dork or I actually look cool?" It's a hilarious concept. Yet its cool in a way, cause it forces you to just be yourself and not do what you know is socially acceptable, because who in the world knows what is socially acceptable in this country! Your guess is as good as mine!

Today we decided to be tourists and check out the Little Mermaid statue and walk through Nyhavn (pronounced "New-hawn'), which means New Harbor. It is the part of Copenhagen that is always on postcards and tourist pictures. It was absolutely beautiful! Freezing, but beautiful.

Now, time for some reading and then trying to go to sleep early tonight to prepare for the first full week of classes! Love and miss you all, xoxox Kelli.

the list.

2010-01-24T08:33:00.000-08:00

What I Have Learned About Living in Copenhagen and the Danes thus far:

1. it is REALLY freaking cold.
2. never talk on the 6A bus. no one does that here.
3. a dane will never come up to you.
4. if you go up to a dane, they will be super nice to you.
5. they think america is HUGE.
6. they think if you're an american, you are from hollywood.
7. they dance really, really weird.
8. anything cheap does not exist in denmark.
9. the whole country is closed on sundays.
10. they don't understand why you would come to denmark.
11. the sun never comes out. maybe 5 minutes a week, if you're lucky.
12. fotex (kind of like their walmart) rocks.
13. hamburgers DO exist here.
14. you can pretty much wear whatever combination of any color/style of clothing and still look fashionable.
15. take a water bottle wherever you go. never pay for drinks.

I'm sure this list will continue to grow more every day.

we did a scavenger hunt and then i hit a wall.

2010-01-21T22:58:00.000-08:00

WEDNESDAY
On Wednesday we got the opportunity to explore the city, which was so much fun! DIS set up a scavenger hunt for us with different points throughout the city. It was snowing heavily in the morning, but we made it through! The hunt took us to different locations such as the Royal Garden, the Royal Palace, the Royal Theatre, the Trinity Church and Christiansborg Castle Square (the Danish Parliament). The sights were amazing and it was nice to walk around Copenhagen a little more and get my bearings. Luckily, one of my group members was basically a human GPS, so we only got slightly lost one time. We actually took the wrong ferry in the harbor, so we ended up just going in one giant circle, but hey, it was warm on the boat.

The square in front of my school

While we were at the Royal Palace, my professor casually said, "oh there comes the queen now." I was like WHAT?! And then the queen drove by. NO BIG DEAL. I was so excited!! DIS also provided us with free coffee/hot chocolate at that stop. The hot chocolate was literally the best thing I have ever tasted. It was magnificent.

So many colorful houses!

In the Royal Garden...so beautiful!

The Queen is in the first car!

Once we got done with our Scavenger Hunt (which ended up being about an hour late), my group stopped by this cute sandwich stop on a side street and grabbed a quick bite. I got the best sandwich, with carrots and fresh mozzarella, tomato and arugula. Definitely not something I would ever think to eat in the states, but delicious at that. We then went to our program orientations. I am in the Communications & Mass Media program and there are about 38 of us, one of the smaller programs. It definitely sounds like it will be an informative and out-of-the-box learning experience. Not to mention my program director is a hottie!

The Keops crew did our normal 7:30 dinner in the common kitchen, which has been awesome! It is nice to have one place to come all together since our rooms can get pretty lonely. We have started meeting some of the other international students in our kollegium, coming from Australia, France, Germany, Holland and America. They are literally some of the most friendly people I have ever met. Still no Danes though......

Some of the Keops girls!

Some of the girls from Keops were bartending at this bar downtown called Student House, so they invited us to check it out. About 15 of us went and it was the best time ever! Literally, nothing like it in the States. A bar filled with 200+ students from ALL over the world. Dancing, drinking, and socializing. It was awesome. We met some guys from Spain and talked to them for a while and then danced to the sweet techno jams, haha. We decided to go home around 12:30 since most of us had class at 8:30 the next morning.

THURSDAY
Class begins. Whew. Not only was this a shocker to my system for lack of sleep, but it was also a shock since I haven't been in class since early December. My first class was Current Trends in News Media, my core Comm class. It seems like it will be interesting, definitely not anything like any of my comm classes at Elon. My second class is Virtual Worlds and the Digital Consumer. I think this will be my favorite class. It is all about social networking and how the Internet is a revolution in Generation Y. We watched this awesome video clip. Check it out...it will shock you. My third class on Monday/Thursday is Hans Christian Andersen Literature. My teacher sounds like a legitimate old English story teller and she is precious. We will be learning all about the most famous Dane of all time, HCA, and all about his life and his tales. So glad I decided to wait to go abroad to take my literature.

After class I met up with Emily and Skyler from Keops in a cute lounge upstairs for lunch. We all bring our lunch since Copenhagen is so expensive. I was nervous about doing this every day, but since everyone else does it too, it makes it a lot easier.

Emily and I decided we needed to go get our CPR cards, which grants us healthcare and banking rights under the Danish government. We ventured out to find the "kommune" and got slightly lost, but finally found it. It only took about 15 minutes once we got there, so we decided to indulge in our first experience of the Danish hot dog stand, which is common on street corners in Copenhagen. Delicious.

We traveled back to DIS at 6, for our visiting family meeting. A visiting family is a program that DIS to help students immerse in the Danish culture. They give students not living with host families the opportunity to get to know a Danish family. I am so excited to find out who mine is! They said they would let us know by next week.

THEN CAME THE WALL. No. I did not actually physically run into a wall, even though it may seem likely. I ran into a straight brick wall of exhaustion. I could barely keep my eyes open on the way home on the 6A bus. I'm pretty sure after 5 days of getting up at 7 am and before, waking up every hour at night, and my extensive jet lag had finally caught up with me. I convinced myself to eat dinner, and then I literally CRASHED.

With all of that said, each day is getting better and better. Everyone is SO nice here and we are all in the same boat. I was utterly terrified the first day and all I wanted to do was get back on the plane to the US. But now, I feel the complete opposite. I am loving the people I am meeting, becoming more familiar with Copenhagen every minute, and learning how to survive like the Danes do. I cannot wait to see what the next 4 months have in store!

PS. Sorry for the SUPER long posts. They won't be this long for much longer, promise! (For you, Aunt Fave)

looking up.

2010-01-19T13:55:00.000-08:00

Today was a better day, and for that I am very thankful. This morning we attended a session with Anders Larsen, one of the DIS staff, about the Danish culture and everyday living in Copenhagen. It was a very informative session and I really learned a lot about how to adapt to life here. It helped calm my overwhelming fears of cooking every day and meeting the Danes, which is known to be somewhat difficult.

After that session we went to our second Survival Danish course. Man, I thought Spanish and Italian were hard, but they are NOTHING compared to the Danish language. It is beautiful when the Danes speak it, but it honestly just sounds like a lot of weird gagging noises when I try and speak it. I learned how to say my name is Kelli: Jeg hedder Kelli. and I come from: Jeg kommer fra South Carolina. NOTE: It is not pronounced ANYTHING like it looks.

After that class, a group of girls from Keops and I went to the Immerse Yourself Fair, where DIS offers many different extracurriculars, from a Danish Cooking Class to Yoga to a Christian Fellowship Organization. Even though a lot of them sounded really interesting, I am selfishly not signing up for much because this is my semester away from all the extracurriculars. I get so bogged down at Elon that I begin to not enjoy any of them, so I am enjoying having the semester to do what I want to do without so many commitments.

Finally, tonight we decided to be BRAVE and go eat in the common kitchen!! I know it sounds simple, but this was a huge hurdle. The kitchen in a kollegium is the "social spot" and the Danes and students that have been here for a while all know each other and hang out in here. It is definitely intimidating to walk into a situation where everyone else knows one another AND in another country. Yet we did it, and I am so glad we did. We ended up meeting a couple Australians and another American girl and a girl from Holland. They were all very nice and welcoming, so that made me feel a lot better about Keops. One Aussie girl, Lauren, actually lives on my floor so she came by my room and we chatted for a while. It was cool to talk to someone not from DIS!

So tomorrow we have our Scavenger Hunt, so I will be posting pictures with that! I hope you all are doing well. I miss everyone from home A LOT. But know that I am thinking of you often. From København---Hej Hej!

i'm really here.

2010-01-18T14:56:00.000-08:00

I am here. I am actually here. Honestly, it is just now hitting me that this is actually happening. The past 3 days have been the craziest, scariest, most exciting days of my life thus far. And that is a pretty bold statement.

I woke up early Saturday morning to make it to the airport in Charlotte around 11:30 to catch my first flight to Newark. My roommate, Victoria, came down from Elon to say bye, so it was really nice to see her again right before I left. When I went through security they had to pat me down and do the wand and all that, I'm guessing because of my insulin pump. It was a smooth flight to Newark and that is where I began to spot other DIS'ers.

The first girl I met (Jill) in the security line and we ended up clicking immediately. As soon as we got to our gate we saw tons of other students going to DIS, so that was comforting. When we got on the plane there was a seat next to Jill, so I just sat there hoping that the person who was actually supposed to sit there would trade with me, and luckily, they did!

The flight was....kind of miserable. I couldn't get comfortable. I couldn't sleep a wink. I had so many thoughts and emotions running through my mind that I just wanted it to all be over. Thank goodness I had Jill to laugh with, or I might have had a break down. The big disappointment came when we landed and I came to find out that my luggage was still back in the States....bummer. Unfortunately, about 20 of us didn't get our luggage from Newark, leaving me with nothing but my pack of Spearmint Extra Gum and some books about Denmark. Both worthy of sacrifice for a toothbrush or contact solution. Yet unfortunately, it is what it is. Luckily, I have awesome people in my dorm who let me borrow a few of the necessities.

The DIS staff bussed us all to a short orientation at a building downtown where we got money for our transportation passes, our class schedule and a Danish cell phone. After we finished with that, they bussed us to our various housing locations. My kollegium, or dorm, is called Keops and it is in the borough of Nørrebro. We got settled in to our rooms and then gathered with everyone from the dorm for a pizza dinner in the common room. After dinner, Chance (a student at University of Copenhagen that helps students at Keops), took us around town to show us the grocery store and various places we may need to go. Then, it was pass out time.

My body definitely has not adjusted yet though, so I woke up every hour, sometimes laying awake for more than an hour. It was not a good night to say the least.

Yet today has been better. We went to DIS downtown this morning for our opening ceremony and Survival Danish course. We got a chance to walk around downtown a little more and I really like it! It is definitely much more lively than Nørrebro. The best thing was MY LUGGAGE ARRIVED!!! Definitely took a lot of stress and worry off of my mind. Some of my awesome dorm-mates helped bring my luggage back to Keops by the 6A (the bus I take to school). We decided it was about time to get some food for our dorms, so we headed to the local Netto and got some of the essentials. What an experience that was...They have no carts, only carry baskets. Nothing was in English. And we had to buy plastic bags to put the food in. Cooking is going to be a challenge, to say the least.

After cooking dinner with Emily, my friends Lindsey and Izzy and I decided to walk around town a little more and see what our new home has to offer. We found this hole-in-the-wall bar and walked in to find a Danish woman, Neena, running up to all 3 of us, hugging and kissing us and telling us how much she loves us. Welcome to Denmark! Her "mate" Neils started speaking to us in English since Neena couldn't. They were awesome and very very nice to us. They decided to take us to their other favorite bar down the street so we headed there with them for a while. We had a great discussion with Neils about America and different views he had on things. They were a great taste of culture, to say the least.

That is basically my summary of what has gone on thus far. I'm honestly still in that adjustment stage of "what in the HECK am I doing here." I'm not going to lie and say that is amazing, because it will definitely take adjustment, but I am safe and I know I have a lot to look forward to, so that is what I am going to set my mind on. But I must go to bed before I fall asleep typing...Hej Hej!

where and what.

2010-01-13T22:02:00.000-08:00

I realized that I haven't given much insight into where I am going and what I am doing while I'm there. This will serve as my informational post for those who don't already know :)

I will be attending the Danish Institute for Study Abroad and I will be participating in the Communications and Mass Media program (CMM). DIS has already proven to be an amazing program, culturally and academically. Not only do you learn about the Danish culture, but you also gain a valuable global perspective on your area of study, mine being communications. I was immediately attracted to the program by its unmatched organizational skills, engaged learning, awesome study tours, high quality of academics and hope that all students may have a unique cultural experience. DIS has also been extremely helpful to me with all of my Diabetes questions (I am Type 1 Diabetic) and anything else that has concerned me. I am so blessed to have the opportunity to attend such a great school abroad!

I am enrolled in 5 different classes (15 hours/3 credits per course). The 15 hours will actually transfer back to my home institution, Elon University, as 20 hours because we have 4 hour credit courses. I will be taking Copenhagen History and Contemporary Issues, International Advertising in a European Context, Virtual Worlds and the Digital Consumer, Hans Christian Anderson and the Danish Golden Age (Literature), and Current Trends in News Media, which is my core CMM class. I am really pumped about these awesome classes! What an opportunity it is to study international communications in a different country!

My program also has two different study tours. One week we will go to London for our long study tour then later in the semester we travel to a different part of Denmark for our short study tour. I am also participating in two "Adventure Trips" that DIS sets up: the Bornholm Bike Trip and Sweden Canoe & Hiking. I'm sure those will be adventures to never forget.

I will be living in a Kollegium (the Denmark version of a US dorm). The name of my Kollegium is Keops and it is in the town of Nørrebro. Luckily, one of my friends Emily was also placed in Keops in the room right next to mine, so it will be nice to have a familiar face around!

That is just a brief overview of what I will be doing this semester. Only 2 more days until I leave! I laid out all my things tonight so I can start putting everything into my suitcases tomorrow! Hej hej!

"live it up"

2010-01-12T12:00:00.001-08:00

As I sit in the library at my school, I look around and wonder what I will miss out on during the next semester. Spring formal, recruitment, long nights in Belk, bowling intramurals, late nights at Little Gray, random Cook-out runs and hiking adventures. I, unfortunately, have the common fear of missing out on things. I hate not being right where the action is and I always want to be included in what is going on. Maybe this is why I am going into a field surrounded by breaking news and constant communication?

Yet even though I will miss out on things at Elon, I know that I will experience SO much more than I could ever imagine possible. Instead of all the little things that go on here at school, I will be experiencing new friends, interesting classes, late nights in Keops (my dorm) with Emily, train rides to Amsterdam, learning how to cook, traveling around Europe, hiking trips to Sweden and biking trips to Bornholm and so, so much more. I have much to look forward to and I am getting very excited for this great adventure!

The past two days at Elon have been perfect. I've gotten to spend one-on-one time with some great friends that I will miss dearly. Yet every single one of them has encouraged me to "have a wonderful time and live it up!" I hope I can do just that.

4 more days and I am ready to "live it up." Time to say goodbye to Elon for a while.

bracelets.

2010-01-07T10:50:00.000-08:00

Bracelets are kind of like memories you can carry on your arm. Now I am not talking about fancy gold chains or Tiffany heart bracelets, I am talking about the little braided ones, sometimes hemp, sometimes string. Bracelets that carry meaning, even if they are a little piece of string, or a twisted part of a handkerchief. For the past year, my best friend Katelyn and I have worn matching "friendship" bracelets on our left arm. Even though it may seem cliche, this friendship bracelet holds powerful meaning to me.

We found this bracelet at a kids carnival. I know you're thinking, "really? A kids carnival?" Well one Saturday during last Spring semester my Business Communications professor at Elon told us we could come help out at her kids' school carnival for extra credit. This was the only free weekend Katelyn could come visit me, so I asked my professor if she could come help out too. So being the amazing friend she is, Katelyn came to the carnival with me and was a great sport the whole time. So at the end of the carnival we rummaged through the prize bucket and came across these multicolored bracelets and immediately looked at each other and said "dude, lets wear these for a long time!"

Needless to say, I am still wearing it today and have yet to take it off once. Regardless of its monetary and physical insignificance, this bracelet means a lot to me. Wherever I am, I can look at it and think of the wonderful friendship I have with Katelyn and all of the great memories we have shared.

So what do these bracelets have to do with studying abroad at all?? Well, I heard once that a girl who studied abroad tried to collect a bracelet from every country she visited, so by the time she was coming home, she had a ton of bracelets on her arm, signifying her travels. So this is definitely going to be one of my goals in the next four months! Katelyn got me started out right with my first bracelet with a peace sign on it so any time I feel uneasy, I can look at it and be reminded of all the great things in my life!

Here is a picture of my starting point. I can't wait to add more bracelets to my arm and more memories to carry with me :)

13 days....is this reality?

2010-01-03T17:21:00.000-08:00

13 days. Equally meaning 312 hours, or 18,720 minutes, until I am officially stepping onto a plane to Copenhagen, Denmark. Although the first few days may feel like a normal vacation, this trip is a little different. Rather than just a 2 week vacation, I will be living and learning in this new world for 4 months. I feel like I have been talking about this for months now and it is starting to become reality. All of my fellow classmates at Elon are heading back to school tomorrow to begin winter term, and here I am counting the days until my world becomes something completely different than I have ever known.

At first thought, I wish I was back in Elon, NC, with my great friends at a school that I love so dearly. Yet the more I think about what is to come, I know that I am taking the opportunity to do something that I will never have another chance to do. So bring on the shopping and packing and whatever else I need to get done before my once-in-a-lifetime trip finally begins!!