To travel is to live

So, I am a little over half way done with my semester abroad but I wanted to recap where I've been and where I'm going...

January 17: Arrive in Copenhagen, Denmark
Feb 4-6: Vejle & Sønderborg, Western Denmark
Feb 28-March 5: Brussels & Brugge, Belgium
March 5-7: Amsterdam, The Netherlands
March 29-April 3: Rome, Italy
April 6-9: London, England
April 17: Malmö, Sweden
April 23-26: Böblingen & Munich, Germany
April 29-May 2: Paris & Giverny, France
May 8: Billund, Denmark (LegoLand!)
May 16-May 23: TBD, somewhere in Europe

Most of these dates are set in stone but there is always room for some change in the itinerary ! My hope is to have visited at least 10 countries while I am here... so during my last week in Europe, I am going to have to go to at least 2 new countries... but I doubt that will be very hard :)

Dansk Musik

Last night I went out with my host brother in Copenhagen and it was a night full of hygge, laughs and long waits for public transportation! The night began unexpectedly  (as I had no plans of going out) at a truly Danish band party hosted by a Danish college and ended with a not-so-happy-non-English-speaking-taxi driver and a lovely Danish couple that I shared a cab with since it was raining too hard to ride home (at 5AM, mind you). It's even a longer story than that, so I won't type it all out... but to my friends and family- feel free to ask me about it, it was pretty humorous :)

So tonight both my host sibs came over for dinner (they no longer live at home) which was great because I hadn't even met my host sister yet because she has such a crazy schedule of school and work this semester. She asked me tonight if I think it is weird or if it gets annoying that all the music over here is in English instead of native languages and honestly, after hearing Danish 24-7, it's kind of a relief to hear something familiar! My host family has introduced me to some great new Danish and European bands...

The Baseballs: A German-rock coverband that takes top-40 pop hits and turns them into rock-n-rock 1950's-esque songs. I love it! They are even coming to Copenhagen at the end of April but (un)fortunately, that's the weekend I'm going to Paris. It's a hard life, I know! (wink, wink!)

The Baseballs: Umbrella (Originally by Rihanna)

Alphabeat: A great Danish pop band with 6 members, both male and female and they take influence from retro 80's melodic pop with British influences as well.

Dúné: A Danish rockband that is inspired by 70s punk, 80s pop and 90s indie rock, and mixed all together, they call their style indielectrock.

For the first time ever, iTunes has completely disappointed me in my quest for Danish music. I usually don't go too far past mainstream stuff so that's probably why but I would have thought that they would still have some albums since these guys are so popular in other parts of the world! I guess that means I will just have to take it back to like, 2002 and actually go to a music store to purchase an Alphabeat album!

This post is kind of all over the place and I attribute that to my lack of sleep today, excitement for study break, and having too much to blog about!

Summer Nights

Yes, I am in Denmark.

Yes, I realize that it is barely spring here and that it is only beginning to get warm and I have many more wonderful things left to do in Europe.

However, I can't help but be excited for summer since I just bought my summer MegaTicket!

What is this, you ask? A series of 7 country music concerts throughout the summer.

This is the first year I have done it and I couldn't be more excited! Here is the line-up:

May 27th: Country Throwdown Tour
June 4th: Brooks & Dunn with Jason Aldean
June 26th: Rascal Flatts with Kellie Pickler & Chris Young
July 11th: Toby Keith
July 23rd: Tim McGraw with Love & Theft
August 27th: Brad Paisley with Darius Rucker
October 1st: SUGARLAND!!! (My personal fave!)

So, here's to future summer nights in the beautiful Carolinas!

Maryah & I at Sugarland in Charleston, SC

Meg, Cat & I in Morehead City, NC before an epic summer night

Fave sorority sisters at Sesh's going away party, Raleigh NC

Heath & I, Labor Day weekend in Charlotte, NC

Giverny Dream

Monet memories... My mom would always get me pictures and posters of Monet's work that took over my walls of my childhood room. Naturally, I had the book "Linnea in Monet's Garden," a book that helped children learn about the impressionism art movement.

I have the most vivid memory of watching my dad look at art in museums. My memory is of him, with reading glasses on and hands clasped behind his back, getting as close as possible to the paintings to observe the brushstrokes and movement of the paint on the canvas. I didn't really understand it until I saw my first Monet painting.

When other middle-schoolers had posters of boy bands on their walls, I had Monet's water lilies, trees, boats, poppies, weeping willows, and haystacks covering my room.

The brushstrokes that looked so blurry up-close create a masterpiece when you take a few steps back. Something about Monet's work has always given me a feeling that I've never had before- the way the paintings capture nature's beauty by blending colors and light has always made me feel like everything will always be okay. It gives me chills just thinking about it.  

Okay, so you get it now. I love Monet. What's the point of this post?

The point is that I am taking a class called Impressionism in Paris. I will be spending a long weekend in Paris at the end of April. The Saturday while we are there is a French holiday. Everything, literally, everything in Paris will be closed. The only thing open? Monet's house and garden in Giverny. We will be spending the day at Monet's house and gardens. I am so excited I can't even stand it! This is amazing!!! How did I get so lucky!?

Countdown.

Countdown until Spring Break begins: 9 Days
Countdown until the boyfriend arrives in CPH: 18 Days.

During the first week of SB, I am going to Rome with my Classical and Renaissance Rome class where I will be visiting the Vatican, the Sistine Chapel,  Forum Romanum, Colossum... the list goes on and on but those are just some of the highlights! I fell in love with Italy last fall when my family went to Tuscany and I can't wait to go again!

My bro & I in Cortona, Italy

The whole gang in front of the leaning tower of Pisa

Legend has it that if you throw a coin into the Trevi Fountain, you are sure to visit Rome again so of course I will be doing this!

Trevi Fountain at Night!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Fontana_di_Trevi_by_night.JPG

I will return from Rome on Saturday and will pick the bf up from the CPH airport on Sunday! I want him to experience where I've been living for the past few months so we will be spending part of the time he is here in Copenhagen and the other part in London.

I haven't decided exactly where I will take him, but a couple of things that I can't wait to show him are Nyhavn, CPH Zoo, National Museum, the Royal palace, and introduce him to the Danish culture that I've been talking about so much!

In London, I hope to do all of the classically English things like take a double-decker bus tour, eat fish and chips, ride the London Eye, go to afternoon tea, visit the British Museum and Tate Modern!

No matter what we do, I will just be happy to have him here with me... like having a piece of home with me for a week!

Heath & I showing our Wolfpack pride before a football game, Fall 2009

School Daze Soccer Break

This week and next week are absolutely filled to the rim with group projects, papers, and tests. This is because on March 26th, the two week spring break begins! I couldn't be more excited for the day to arrive... but that's another post all together!

Luckily, my Danish language and culture class provided me with a fun experience before all the madness began! A Sunday evening soccer match between F.C. København and Brøndby IF. DIS students tend to be fans of FCK and they won 2-0!

FCK Fans showing support before the start of the game

FC København fans spell out KBH in the stands

Brøndby IF fans setting off flares in the FCK stadium..

Glad I wasn't sitting over there! It looked intense!

Det lyder hyggeligt!

From what I understand, there is no true translation from Danish to English for "hygge" and everyone can experience it differently. Danes sometimes describe the term as "cozy." I truly experienced my version of hygge a few weeks ago...

A few Fridays ago, I met my host brother on the crowded train and we made our way to my host family's house. When we got there, my host brother started making dinner and we were all just drinking yummy red wine and chatting before dinner. We sat down to a delicious dinner of chicken and veggie stir-fry, and of course, more wine. After dinner, my host parents pulled out a new game they had just bought. The game was a music trivia card game and (naturally) it was all in Danish and the categories were 60's music, 70's music, 80's music, 90's music, Pop hits, Danish hits, and European hits. My host brother and I teamed up against my host parents and needless to say, I was the handicap of our team since my knowledge of most of the categories is extremely limited. My team didn't win but it was a fabulous night of great food, wine, and company. Everything about it was so happy and cozy and fun! Denmark is really cold and somewhat dreary at times so I think Danes use hygge to stay happy and content during the long, cold, and dark winter months.

My greatest and happiest moments in life have been with my family and friends- cooking, and laughing and just hanging out. I wasn't sure what I'd miss the most about the US but after being here a few months, I have  definitely  realized that I miss my loved ones more than anything else in the US! Being able to have a night of hygge with my host family helped me feel more comfortable here and understand the Danish culture better and I can't wait to experience more hygge while I am here!

Oh yeah, and "det lyder hyggeligt" roughly translates to "that sounds cozy" in English :)