It's already Feb 17?

I had a very fun and exciting (and busy) weekend. Here are the highlights:

On Friday, I did a fair amount of baking and cooking. After school, I baked Red Velvet Cupcakes. They turned out sort of strange because they looked pink and were very dense and moist. It is frustrating to bake when the ingredients are in another language and you only have a 1 cup measuring cup that doesn't even have measuring lines. I was never sure if I was adding the right amount or the right ingredient. It was still enjoyable, nevertheless.

For dinner, I helped make Macaroni and Cheese. It also came out strange, for the same reasons as the cupcakes. My host family said they liked it, so that was all that mattered.

Friday night I went to the Folkehøjskole to meet up with a friend. It was a fun night. Kind of short but still enjoyable. 

Saturday, I had a required International Reporting workshop at DIS from 9am to 4pm. All of us were so exhausted that it wasn't much fun. He brought us pastries and hot tea but we still just wanted to go back to bed. He lectured to us for an hour or two and then we divided into groups to brainstorm story ideas. I was that kid in my group who reminds everyone to stay on task and stay focused.  

We went to Soupanatural for lunch. I'd already been there once before so I knew I liked it. After lunch, me and a partner set out to ask people their opinion of Denmark reducing the educational stipend. We found three nice people to interview and then wrote our article together in an hour.
The finished article is here.  


I took the train and a bus to visit a friend in a DRC. She invited me to a pub crawl with her dorm. It was very fun, I met a lot of nice people, tried some new drinks, and made it home safely.  

Fun fact: When blogging or writing for the Internet, it is helpful to include links throughout your writing (according to my International Reporting professor). So that explains why this blog is covered in hyperlinks. 

I'm Legal for Less

Tuesday

My host mom took me to the Helisngor Kommune where I applied for my free healthcare card. I got my letter in the mail with my CPR card (I have to carry it with me at all times, because it says I'm legally allowed to be here. When I go back to America I have to mail it back.) When we got to the Kommune, we took a number (you always take a number here. In the bakery. At the bank. Take a number and sit.) and they called us in two minutes. I had to make sure I had all the right papers with me and then sign some sort of form. It was surprisingly quick and painless.
This afternoon I got my CPR number so I'm registered legal with DIS.

I'm currently looking for a photojournalism subject because I found out we can't do anyone related to DIS so that means no host siblings or host parents. If I can't find anyone, I'll do my host parent's friend or cousin. But I think our professor wants us to find a stranger and photograph them. I'm on the lookout for nice strangers for Friday. So if you know any Danish people who want to be photographed for my class, let me know. Hahaha.

Cheng and I went exploring in the city together. It was snowing and very cold but it was a nice trip.

For dinner, we had pizza from a local pizza shop. It was much thinner and lighter. I had like 4 slices and was fine. I had a spicy pepperoni pizza with bacon, a potato pizza with onion, and a pizza with ham and gorgonzola blue cheese.

Monday

In my creative travel writing class, we were workshopping five or six essays in class. One guy wrote in his essay, "I was excited to travel to the land of sexually promiscuous women." When I read that last night, it bothered me but I shrugged it off as that guy being stupid. In class, an Asian girl raised her hand and told the class that that line really bothered her because it made women seem like sex objects. Right after she said that, Mr. Douchebag with a Speech Impediment says, "Well aren't they?" Oh I wanted to strangle him. The whole class (well, mostly the girls) gasped and our professor was just like, "Okay...moving on..." After class, I stayed around and told the Asian girl that I was so glad she spoke up about that line in his paper because it bothered me too. She seemed surprised that I said that to her, but I wanted her to feel proud for standing up for her beliefs and know that that guy was an asshole to her. So that was my excitement for the day.

I needed to find a place to chill and get wi fi, so I went to Baresso which is like Starbucks. I stood in line for ten minutes just to get a small coffee. The place was packed. The longer I stayed, the more little kids (with no parents) came in and the louder they screamed and cried. This week is like a winter holiday so everyone doesn't have school or work. So I guess that's why all the kids in Copenhagen were out and about today, choosing to annoy me. I left, went back to DIS, and was more productive.

Blake came home with me today and we booked our travel plans to Italy. We're flying to Vienna, Austria and then taking a train to Venice. From Venice we take a train to Florence and then to Rome where we fly back to Copenhagen. We booked our hostels for each city too. It was difficult and eye opening to make my own travel plans.