Wednesday, January 16, 2013

When lost, just ask.

What a day. I woke up at 6:45, ate cornflakes and bread with nutella for breakfast around 7, left for the train around 8:10. This was my first time going alone. I made it to the station fine, I didn't get lost with my map in hand. But I got there at 8:33 and my train left at 8:30. So I waited in the covered sitting area for the next train. I saw a huge fat brown rat! Ewwww. I moved to waiting outside in the cold. The train came at 8:50. I got to Copenhagen at 9:20 and still had to walk to DIS which took more than ten minutes so I was a little late. Oh well. It wasn't the best start to my day but it will get better.
I was in the housing meeting where a very quiet, tall Danish woman explained to us what we should expect from our host families. It then became this weird sharing of what everyones host families were like and what problems they were having.
One kid was mad because the dog didn't know English.
Another girl was freaked out at the black cat in the bathroom that watched her shower.
A girl was mad that her mom wouldn't let her have a trash can in her room.
A girl wasn't sure if sarcasm or cursing was alright.
Another girl's mom was never home and so she wasn't sure how to ask for more food.
A guy said he always eats breakfast on the go and wasn't sure how to tell his family that.
It was kind weird to hear all these little things people are struggling with. None of them (except the wanting more food) is an actual problem, in my opinion. Just issues that could be solved with good communication.
She divided us into nine groups and we went on a journey through the city to compare food prices. Our group did coffee and snacks so we learned 7/11 is expensive, Baressso doesn't offer student discounts, and Studerhuset has cheap food and drinks. I actually loved my group. It was the polar opposite of my group from yesterday. I tried a lot harder to be friendly and they were friendly back.
We ate lunch in the classroom. This was the first time we were given time for lunch. Then we learned a little about how to use the public transportation (a little late, now.) and how to budget our time. They gave us a time tracker paper that was helpful in budgeting our time. They told us not to travel every single weekend. Roger that.
When that ended, I didn't want to just sit by myself for three hours so I asked a nice girl from my group if she wanted to go to Tiger with me. She said sure. Another kid overheard us and asked if he could come. That's pretty much how it works. ("Oh are you going to __? Can I come with you?") It's great. So a group of us went over to buy notebooks and folders. It's an amazing shop. I can't wait to go back and buy more. Hahaha. I restrained myself and just bought two folders, two notebooks and a mini notebook.
Then me and Shannon (the girl I met) went to the DIS main building. While she made some copies, I went over to a group of girls who I recognized and asked if I could sit with them. They looked a bit startled but said yes. I introduced myself and asked the usual. "Where you from? What College? What program? Stance on abortion? Pepsi or Coke?" (Guess which two were a joke.)
They were really nice. One girl had to leave for her program session and Shannon took her seat. We chilled for two hours there.
At 5, all of us met to go to the buses to take us to the Immersion activity fair. We took a double decker bus and rode on top! I sat next to Blake who I met at the table. We had a lot in common and both admitted we liked each other (as friends, you pervert.) We went around the fair as a group, signing up fro 4 activities so we could get a free hot dog. Yum!
When we were done we slowly and coldly made our way to Norreport station. My friend went on her train and I almost did too but I didn't recognize anything so I decided best not to get on. I went back up and found the entrance I recognized. I went down there and wasn't sure which train to take. I asked two different women who helped me make sure I got on the right train. If you ask, the Danes will help you. I think it also doesn't hurt that I'm a sweet innocent lost American girl.
I got off at the Espergadle stop and walked home. I used my map again. I made a wrong turn, walked back, walked the wrong direction, walked back, walked the right way, wasn't sure which way to go and asked a man on a bike which way to go. I told him I was lost and he said, "No you can't be lost." haha. He pointed me the right way. So I wasn't lost, just turned around.
I ate leftover pasta for dinner. I asked my host dad if I could take it for lunch tomorrow. He said no. I thought he was kidding. He said they only reheat things twice because of bacteria. They are very afraid of it. Good to know.
My host sister showed me her horsejumping competition videos that were set to One Direction songs. I loved them.
Man, that was a lot of typing.

No comments:

Post a Comment