DAY 10, MONDAY, JANUARY 21st
Today was a not super exciting school day! I relaxed and did some reading/work in the morning until I had to leave for my 1:15 class. In Holocaust and Genocide, my first class, we discussed more about ways that genocide has been defined and analyzed text from a convention on genocide as well as some academic readings. At 2:35 I had a break where I just worked on some readings due Tuesday. Then I had Cybperpsychology at 4:25. In cyberpsychology we discussed a little more about cyberspace and features/characteristics of it. After class I headed home for dinner which was some pretty good takeout Indian! Amalie is still at home so we were all home for Søren’s last dinner before he leaves- he heads out tomorrow for a 4 month trip to South America. After dinner we watched another handball game- Denmark did not play great but they still pulled off the win against Egypt. One of Søren's friends came over to say farewell and we all enjoyed some sorbet together, which is one of Søren's favorites.
DAY 11, TUESDAY, JANUARY 22nd
Today was an early day of classes- I left the house at 7:20 to get to my Danish class at 8:30. We learned a few new phrases in Danish (can confirm that Danish is impossibly hard to learn and pronounce) and discussed some danish culture- the focus being on happiness, hygge, and taxes. After Danish I went straight to Criminology and Criminal Justice class where we discussed some basic differences between the US criminal justice system and Scandinavian justice systems. Some interesting differences: in Denmark there is no bail, no juvenile detention, no juries, and no requirement to inform employers on job applications of previous convictions. After class I met up with a friend at studenterhuset to eat lunch and then I just did some work and hung out there. At 2:30, after my friends finished their last class we went to the Glyptoteket museum since admission is free on Tuesdays.
Officially called the Ny Carlsberg Glyptotek, it is an art museum that contains the personal collection of the son of the founder of the Carlsberg breweries (very famous/popular here in Copenhagen). The museum contains sculptures, paintings, and archaeological artifacts from ancient Rome & Greece.
It was a super large museum so we really only made it through the sculptures and paintings- I plan on coming back another Tuesday to see archaeological artifacts as it seems there is a pretty large collection there! At about 5 we left the museum and stopped in a chocolate shop, Hotel Chocolate -- I bought a Flødeboller which was delicious -- before heading home.
DAY 12, WEDNESDAY JANUARY 23rd
At DIS, on Wednesdays we don't have any normal classes! You either have the whole day off or some weeks you may have field studies with one of your classes. Field studies are basically field trips that you take with your classes where you explore Copenhagen/Denmark in some way related to your class. On this first Wednesday I had a field study in the afternoon! I had a slow morning before taking the bus into the city to meet my class and my professor at the central station. We took the train, along with another DIS class, about an hour north of the city to Hillerød. We got off the train and walked for about 5 minutes until we entered a really cute square- we then turned a corner and saw a STUNNING view.
See: the Frederiksborg Castle. We walked on a path around the lake and see some great views and met some friendly ducks.
January is off-tourist time, and quite cold, so we were pretty much the only people there once we arrived at the castle! The other class we went with was focused on Danish royalty and so their professor was pretty much an expert; he was able to give us an amazing private, guided tour of the castle making sure to point out certain things. The tour really focused on the castle itself and the royalty that lived in it. King Christian IV was born in this area of Denmark and loved it so much he built this magnificent castle here. You can definitely see Christian IV symbols everywhere, propaganda was real. The castle burned down in 1859, the only surviving portion being the castle, and since was repaired to be used as a museum and to commemorate Christian IV. The castle was originally used for events, parties, and most importantly- coronations. Although ostentatious, this castle was definitely different from others I've seen throughout Europe as it was a little more meaningful and a little less extravagant. King Christian IV's architecture can be seen throughout Copenhagen in many other castles and buildings- he had a lasting impact on the area.
It was an impressive castle and was made much more meaningful by the private tour. After the tour I took the train back into the city for the DIS activities fair a 5:30. I'm not quite sure if I will join an organization but it was nice to see some options. Once I finished walking through the fair I headed home for dinner and later handball- Denmark beat Sweden (of course a big rivalry) to make it to the semifinals!
DAY 13, THURSDAY, JANUARY 24th
Today was a normal class day. I went in late for my first class at 1:15. In Holocaust and Genocide today we discussed the Armenian Genocide which I didn't know much about. In cyberpsychology we discussed more about impacts of technology. I went home after my class ended at 5:45; for dinner, we had lasagna. After dinner, Helle's sister came over to drop their dog off. Their family is going away for the week so we're watching their dog. We had some coffee, fruit, and cookies for a bit and then I had to work on some Danish homework.
DAY 14, FRIDAY, JANUARY 25th
Today I started early with Danish at 8:30 and then as always straight to criminology after- both classes were pretty interesting! After that class I hung out in a lounge for a bit and then I met up with people from my homestay network for lunch. I was not pleased with the restaurant choice lol, so next time I'm picking. After lunch I met up with a friend again to walk around. We just wandered around for a while and eventually made our way to the canals and stopped in a popular library- Black Diamond library- to check it out.
Eventually I headed home where we watched the handball semifinals at 5:30- Denmark had a huge victory against France so now on to the finals! For dinner we had poke bowls which were delicious. After dinner we watched a bit of Danish X Factor which has apparently produced some good talents in the past, but definitely did not seem to have the overall talent that the US version does. It's supposed to snow this weekend so if it snows enough we might do cross country skiing which would be fun!
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