Rubicon Crossed
Here I am, unpacked in a single dorm room in downtown Copenhagen. It feels like I restarted an old video game and got a new spawn spot, the geek in me thinks to himself as I walk over to my open window and gaze down at the traffic, cyclists, joggers, and walkers that all circle around Pebble Lake.
The DIS program was wonderful. Young DIS employees met us at the airport and directed us to a hotel meeting room. We were then shipped off on busses to our residencies where we met our SRAs, Anna and Harald, helped us sign into our rooms and carry our luggage up the stairs. Everyone was so kind and helpful and I couldn’t have asked to be put in a better program. Even still, I was exhausted and feeling a little lost. I guess that’s how new travelers are suppose to feel ¾ a little out of wits. A long nap cleared it up.
Early afternoon was rather lonesome. Residents were still moving in and, other than the SRAs, there was no one to hangout with. Back at home I would be fine with just watching Netflix, but not here, not in Copenhagen. I felt obligated to start making the most of my abroad experience. I took a walk around the lake I would so often gaze at. I walked past old couples sitting together on the benches and families of swans grazing by the shore. The Danes are always out and enjoying their most prized city. Parks, gardens, palaces, canals, and museums all make it a place for aesthetic pleasures. Unlike the gems of nature and history so coveted by other cities, the most beautiful things here are not displayed for profit, but the free-giving enrichers of Danes and travelers alike.
I returned to my residency in time for an on-the-house pizza dinner. Finally, we were all out of our rooms at the same time breaking the cold ice of separation and warm bread of unity. Unfortunately, togetherness lasted only as long as the meal and tiered travelers returned to their rooms of quiet serenity. Now is not the time for resting! I berated in my head, there is a whole city to explore! Fortunately I was not the only one in need of a night in the city.
Michael and his parents vacationed a week before the DIS move in day and he knew the city much better than I did (I knew relatively none of it). He was more than happy to show me around and get a little lost. Ok, very lost. Our casual stroll through parks and city streets led us far beyond a tourist’s scope of the city. After two hours of wandering through the city we stumbled back across our house, to our pleasant surprise.
Sometimes the easiest sleeps are the hardest to wake up from; I forcefully pulled myself out of bed and into a cold shower. I didn’t want to miss the 11:00 scavenger hunt. The hunt itself was very rewarding. With the three girls on my team, I learned how to ride parts of the metro, buy groceries, and find my way around a bit better. In the middle of our scavenger hunt we stopped at the glass market, an open-air market with some of the best produce, for lunch. I think I had the best sandwich of my life there. After a few more stops we retuned to our house and for the first time a large gathering of us met in the common kitchen and hung out together. It felt like we were all finally present to each other.
A little while later, a small company of us headed out again to rent bicycles for the semester. I eagerly tagged along. The five of us talked about our home colleges and things we enjoyed as we walked through the heart of the city. An Iron Man race was in full motion in the blocked-off streets of Copenhagen. We watched and applauded as we found our bike shop.
The day’s adventures continued and included my first Danish bike ride on Excalibur (of course I named my bike), time to rest in my dorm, and a city stroll to a café that lead to an imposing raw salmon sandwich and wonderful company. The entrapments of friendships.
That night when I returned to my house, a friend from home asked me if being in Denmark has hit me yet. I replied that I’m not in Denmark yet. What I meant by this was that I am still viewing Denmark. My perspective is outside looking in. But with each experience, I enter further and further into the country that I am beginning to call home.
