Now that I have successfully completed my first week of classes I feel I can say with validity that I feel that I've made the right choice in coming to Aalborg University.
The first week was a bit hectic - there was the challenge of navigating around a new campus and dealing with room changes, learning the ins and outs of the local bus system (including the not-so-uncommon issue of bus drivers striking), avoiding getting run over by cyclists, deciding which courses to commit to taking, and of course having some fun! I was late on a couple of occasions but I've made some great friends (or what I hope will become friends) and I am really interested in the topics we're talking about.
After classes I also had a fair bit - I went on the city tour with some people from my program followed by a big dinner for the Humanities students. It was paid for by the school so it was a nice way to have some food, meet more people (international and Danish), and relax. Afterwards Julia, Luca, and I went for a walk along the fjord (a bay or harbor) and ended up talking to two Danes in the program, Lise and Astrid. The university operates a "student house" out of a building in the city center, just a seven minute walk from my place. Every Wednesday night is "International night" and so I had to check it out. Beforehand I went to Julia's for some dinner with her and her roommate Sarah from Italy. We couldn't stay long since we have an 8:00 class on Thursdays but it was nice to go out and see so many people... and boy were there a lot there!
Friday because errand day since I had no classes this week. It was a good thing, too because the bus drivers went on strike and it's a good 90 minute walk to school. Since I am going to be in Denmark for more than a few months I had to apply for the equilvalent of a social-security number, called a CPR. Fortunately the office is right around the corner from me and wasn't crowded. Having this number makes me official - it's my government issued id that confirms my age and residency, allows me to recieve free health care, get a bank card from my local bank, and sign up for a cell phone plan. I met with another student, Lauren to go cell phone shopping. I'm not sure why the US doesn't like selling phones with unlocked SIMS, but I wish they did. Since I don't have a phone already to use, it's quite expensive without buying a plan (the cheapest phone is still about $100). I haven't decided if I want a plan or not, but I can't get one without my CPR number anyway. I found a couple of Danes who have offered to give/sell me their old phones, which would mean I just have to buy a SIM card - a considerably cheaper option! I also had my first cafe experience in Aalborg. Lauren and I went to Cafe Chic and had lunch. We also had what I've come to understand (with my limited experience) as a rare encounter; the waitress expressed that she was happy that we were here in Aalborg and encouraged us to come back and practice our Danish on her!
The Danes are often stereotyped as being distant and cold. I've heard people explain this as "a lack of outward emotion" and "desire to build a relationship" but it's definitely something you encounter. Of course, I've run into a similar cultural difference while in Sweden so I'm not really phased by it. It's easier to feel comfortable for most Americans if people are nice, so when this waitress expressed her feelings Lauren and I were both inspired. Now we have another goal for when we're learning Danish.
There was the first big party of the semester on Friday night. There is an "official Aalborg party mailing list" that's been promoted to the students and this was their big shebang. I went with a classmate and her two Australian roommates. It was pretty fun and I think we arrived about the right time, 22:30. Although it had been going on for about two hours already, the Danes go out late and mixed with the variety of international students (which is whom the target audience was), nobody shows up on time! Jagoda and I danced a bit, although the live band wasn't the best for it, and we had some fun. I didn't stay too late - until about 2. I knew I had made the right choice when at 10 the next morning I saw the tired, hungover faces of so many students at the "Danish Language Bath."
The unviersity offers a free seven-week (30+ hour) Danish language course for students. Included are two "language baths" or immersion days that last for six hours each. The first session was a lot better than students who've been before described it as! We were broken into six groups of about 40 students and went to six 30-minute workshops. Each one covered a different topic: pronounciation, grammar, introductions, and more. For the most part I really liked the teachers - especially the non-Dane who made us get up and act out a poem that we learned without ever seeing it. Danish, although classified as a "Type I" language for difficulty, is rather difficult as far as pronounciation goes. The sounds you hear don't look like what you see written and there are some difficult sounds for English speakers (and others of course). For example, the "dd" sound is like an English "l" except you have to keep your tongue pressed down. If you're interested in Danish or languages in general, I encourage you to check out http://www.speakdanish.dk/ and take the free first course! It will give you a good idea about the challenge we're all about to take on. As the Germans have said before, speak as if there's a hot potato in your mouth.
The weather today was lovely - something I don't take for granted, especially after all the reports that Denmark didn't get a lot of nice summer weather this year. I cleaned the common areas of the apartment this morning (while my flatmates slept off their late night) and met up with some other students for a little excursion. We went to a museum right in the city center. If you've ever been to Denmark (or Germany, Sweden, Norway, etc...) you might be surprised about this. It was a Sunday afterall! 97% of things are closed on Sundays here, but this museum doesn't have any people working in it, so it's open every day of the week. For just 20DKK you can take an elevator one story below ground and visit the museum of the Aalborg Franciscan friary. It was built in 1300 but closed about 1530. The city of Aalborg excavated a large part of the friary starting in 1994. There isn't a whole lot down there, but you get a peek at some of Aalborg's history and it's a nice little trip for a Sunday. The price is also for the elevator ride and not per person, so since we were in a group of four people it was less than $1 each.
I have been attending some functions through a local group called "Aalborg International Friends" which is connected with the International Christian group here in the city. I went to the welcome BBQ before and tonight I went to another event (with considerably less attendees). It was the "Scoop of Denmark" which entailed a short game containing trivia about Denmark. My team, which was named after a small Danish town, didn't win but managed to answer one question. It was fun because your team had to be the first one to stand up and yell your name correctly to get to answer. Of course the Danes didn't pick easy to pronounce names. Afterwards there was ice cream and "hygge." Hygge is a very Danish thing - often translated as coziness. It involves being together with people, often eating, enjoying each other and being happy. I've been told that if you picture family and friends together inside with candles and laughter on a cold winter night, that's a good idea of hygge. So my team played a variation of the board game known in the States as Sorry and relaxed. It was fun because I wasn't aware of how widespread the game is, but the Polish and Romanian students knew it. Appropriately it's called "Brother, don't be angry" in Romanian!
Tomorrow's another day for errands since I have no classes. This week should be rather busy as well, especially since I start Danish lessons on Tuesday. I am looking forward to everything though and can't wait!
