Blogging
From Abroad

I apologize for this very very overdue post. Between and intensive
amount of school work (yes, in the first week…I’ll explain later),
trying to find my way around (getting lost on nearly every venture),
and trying to adjust to my new time zone, I have no idea where to
start.

It’s seems I’ve fallen into what I was warned would be “culture
shock”. Yes, all the stores may be the same, and there’s still a
McDonalds and a Burger King, and everyone speaks English, but the
differences I’ve found were entirely unexpected.

Here are just a few:

Straight leg jeans and boots are a must have. No one here wears
flared pants, and i learned (the hard way) why: the rain and snow are
so unpredictable that it is impossible to keep the ends of your pants
dry. Perhaps flares are more fashionable in the summertime?

Quality items are also a must. In the states we tend to buy fake
leather and paper thin gloves to get us through the winter. Here,
these staple items are used every single day for months. They have to
be made to last. So I’ve learned to avoid H&M and instead of going to
the very expensive quality shops, I’ve found a wonderful thrift store
that donates all their profits to charity. It’s a win-win situation!

Everyone rides bikes. I have one that was left here for me by the
previous tenant, but since I haven’t been on a bike since I was in
elementary school, I’m very hesitant to try. Bikes are far more
popular than cars so there’s a far more complex system of bike streets
and signals and protocols that I’ll need to read up on before i give
it a go. (Also, you never know when it’s going to snow here, and
riding a bike in the snow doesn’t seem like a good idea)

For as obsessed as many Scandanavians seem to be about appearances,
not even the largest department stores carried mirrors. I finally
found a decent size one across the street at Aldi! Very strange.

The stereotypes seem true. Everyone has bleach blonde hair and tan
skin! I don’t know about the hair, but I’d credit the skin to the
tanning salons on every street corner. Tanning salons here are so
different from the ones in the states. They’re almost like
laundromats. There are no attendants, just coin machines. They
open at seven in the morning and don’t close until eleven at night.
There are no attendants, just coin machines. Very convenient!

The tanning beds, however, are the only businesses with convenient
hours. Everything else closes extraordinarily early. It gets dark
around 4:30 and that’s just about when everything shuts down (except
on Thursday when things are open until 5:30, and I really don’t know
why). After dark you’re lucky to find a place to buy anything, unless
you resort to the 7 Eleven or a couple grocery stores that are open
until around 6.

It seems every store always advertises and “udsalg” which I’ve come to
understand means something like “huge sale”. And these sales really
are huge. Most everything on sale is about 50% cheaper than it’s
original price. I suppose this is because stores are transitioning
into their Spring collections, even though it will be months until
Spring arrives here. So I’ve learned not to buy anything that isn’t
on “udsalg”.

Food shopping is the worst. Unless you are a gourmet cook and can
recognize products and ingredients just by looking at them, you’re in
trouble. Finding something as simple as sliced deli meat or baking
soda has been a real problem for me. I’ve so far managed to find some
gouda cheese (no American, very little cheddar), coca-cola light (same
as diet), miracle whip (cost me a fortune!), apple juice and some
frozen chicken; enough to survive on.

Shopping bags are something you are expected to already have. Few
stores give them out for free so if you happen to forget them or don’t
have large handbag, you’ll end up paying a fee for it.

This city is unusually safe. I feel as though I could walk around
downtown completely naked at midnight and be completely ignored!
People tend to leave their bikes unlocked, there are very few security
cameras to be found in department stores, and I have yet to hear a
“catcall” while walking. In fact, it’s quite unusual to even make eye
contact with any stranger. If you bump into someone on the street you
just continue walking. No apology necessary. I must admit, at first
I was offended, but now I’ve just learned to accept it as their
culture: a culture I am thrilled to be immersed in!

Coca-cola is a novelty. The stores and restaurants that serve it make
it a point to advertise it as much as they can. Even upscale
restaurants post huge signs on their windows and storefronts. And you
won’t find it in cans, and that’s a real shame. There’s nothing like
a cold can of Diet Coke in the morning. :)

Finally, at least 95% of the students at my school are bilingual. Of
those students about 70% speak at least one other language! I thought
I had a real advantage of being a native English speaker (since 99.9%
of Danes speak English), but that’s not the case. Academically
(because all my classes are in English) I have a huge advantage, but
socially the students tend to cluster themselves in groups based on
their alternative languages. I’m fairly fluent in Spanish but there
are really only a few students who speak it. I took one semester of
French at WVU and didn’t learn a single word (I got an A though!). As
far as Moldavian, Italian, and Portuguese goes, I’m fairly clueless.
But I’m here to learn! Danish classes start Saturday! I’ll let you
know how it goes.

I have so much more to say about the campus, and my apartment and
friends, etc…. but my time constraints are tight. I know you’re
sitting on the edge of your seats just waiting to hear from me! :) I
promise it won’t be long!

P.S. Since I wrote this post days ago and have had nothing but trouble
publishing it, here’s a fun note! Last night at the Erasmus Student
Network party they played and extended techno version of Country
Roads! How funny is that!