Caltech

Last words from Copenhagen

Hello everyone,

This is my last blog from Copenhagen. I hope I have shared some good stories and managed to relay what a great time I have been having here.

I will be back at Caltech in January, starting my second term of junior year. It will probably be hard to readjust and get used to being at Caltech again, but at least the warmth and the sun will be there to help me! I haven’t been in Caltech since June (when I left home for the summer), and I am excited to go back to see all my finally friends. I feel that I’ve been gone way too long now. However, it will probably be hard to get used to Caltech classes and life style. Everything was just so different here.

I will definitely miss the life in the city, and the amount of social life that occurs out there. I will miss biking in rain and snow, and I will miss all the people I’ve met here. And most importantly, I will miss the chocolate milkshakes at Robert’s café and the cozy hours I spent there chatting with friends.

Nevertheless, I hope that I will bring something back from me. I think that being here has changed me in a few different ways. I’ve seen lots of things and have had many new experiences. I would easily recommend the study abroad program to anyone. Wherever you go, you will most probably love it and have a really good time.
 

So I say good bye for now. See you at Caltech!

Christmas in Copenhagen

While everybody back home prepares to eat the big Turkey meal for Thanksgiving, we are already entering the Christmas season here in Copenhagen. From what I can see, Christmas is the biggest, most important holiday here, and the Danes start celebrating very early on. Being an international student here, it is fun to observe and take part in the different Danish holiday traditions. It was only mid-November when I first started seeing the word “Jul” (Christmas) almost everywhere I went. In the next month, I will observe the whole city of Copenhagen dress up in lights and decorations, eagerly waiting for the special day to come.

Probably the biggest tradition that everyone here follows is attending multiple “Christmas lunches.” I think I mentioned these in my last entry. But now that I have myself attended one, I can write more about it. These lunches are opportunities for everyone to get together with their close friends, family, work colleagues, extended family, old friends from highs school…in other words everyone they know. Of course, since this adds up to a very large amount of people, each Dane will attend anywhere from 5 to 15 of these lunches. So, this is the reason why the Christmas season is so busy around here. There is just never enough time to hold all these parties. So, the Christmas season extends all the way to November, and as I was told – sometimes even lasts till February. As I said earlier, the Danes love to have a good time.

During a typical Christmas lunch, the Danes prepare very traditional Danish dishes that they all love. No matter how many of these lunches they attend, they eat pretty much the same meal every single time. They really enjoy their “marineret sild,” “leverpostej,” roast pork, and potatoes.

These lunches take place in the months before and after Christmas. When Christmas day comes, however, the Danes celebrate with their families. Just like in the US, Christmas is time to spend with your family in a nice, cozy environment. As I have experiences here, the Danes work hard to make their homes very warming and “hyggelig” – the Danish word for cozy or comfy.

Even just walking on the streets of Copenhagen now – you would think Christmas is just around the corner. The major pedestrian streets have already been decorated with ornaments and lights. Most importantly – the famous attraction park – Tivoli has reopened for the winter season. The park is now decorated with thousands of lights, and is noticeable from very far away. There are fireworks, parades, light shows that take place there every week. All the rides are of course also open, and a variety of Christmas goodies is available in the little stands all around the park.

In addition to all this – it has finally snowed in Copenhagen! Seeing snow on the ground makes me feel even more like Christmas, even though I know there is still a whole month left. In fact, we don’t even celebrate Christmas in my family, but being here still makes me very excited for the holiday season. I just love being here and getting into the holiday mood along with all the Danes. I really think they do a good job maintaining a festive mood in the whole city of Copenhagen. I have heard that the Danes consider themselves to be the happiest people in Europe (if not everywhere). After living here for a couple of months, I can really see why. They always like to focus on the good things in life, and take every opportunity to enjoy them. Being here, I can easily see how the Danish culture is pretty unique and different from anything I have experienced before. I am happy to be here now, and hope to bring back some of the Danish festivity when I return!

Danish Food

Food is definitely a big part of every culture. The authentic foods you can find in different countries usually reflect the habits and lifestyle of that particular culture. I’d like to devote this week’s blog to Danish food. Danish cuisine is not as exotic and different as various kinds of Asian and Middle Eastern foods that I have had before. What people regularly eat here is not very special at first sight. However, there are many typical Danish dishes that I have discovered to be quite specific to this country.

            First of all, one of my first pleasant surprises here was that the food served in the University cafeterias is a lot better than what we have back at home. In place of the pizzas, sandwiches, and burgers that we get in the US, there is a variety of more healthy, well prepared food. It is possible to have a very good, tasty meal even just at the University campus, which reflects the fact that the Danes take their food seriously.

            This relates to something else I noticed about Danes in relation to food. I rarely see anybody in the kitchen eating pasta for dinner every single day. It seems that all the Danish students are very comfortable with cooking large, elaborate dishes. Some people go as far as making their own bread to go with their meals. So, there is always a wonderful aroma of really good food in the kitchen at dinner time.

As I said, what they eat everyday is not so specific to Denmark. It is normal to eat meat, fish, rice, vegetables - just like anywhere else in Europe. There are, however, smaller things that are Danish specialty. For example, the grocery stores always have a wide selection of marinated herring (marineret sild). Most people have never heard of this dish, and then only reason I know about it is because there is a similar dish in Russia. Herring is a type of fish. Here, in Denmark, it is sold in jars, marinated in different kinds of sauces like curry or pickled beet. It is eaten cold and goes well with Danish dark rye bread (rugbrød).

The dark, dense bread is also something that is specific to  Denmark. There are many varieties of this bread. I happen to really like it, and so I have never bought white bread here because the dark one is a lot cheaper and tastier, in my opinion. This bread is used in another typical dish, called smorrebrød – or an open face sandwich. Though it is a sandwich, it is eaten with a fork and knife, and is often served hot. Basically, it is Danish bread with a wide variety of toppings. The toppings can include herring, cheese, meat, vegetables, salads, and pretty much anything else you can wish for.

One typical topping is something called leverpostej. It is spreadable liver paste. It can be eaten hot or cold, and it often served topped with mushrooms and bacon. Although this might sound disgusting to some of you, I think it is actually pretty good. In general, I really like all these Danish dishes, but I know many international students who would disagree with me. I guess it’s just a matter of taste. Many of the foods here are similar to Russian food. So, it might just be that I acquired the taste for them when I was growing up in Russia.

I am sure there are many other types of salads, and other dishes that are also very Danish. However, I have not had that much experience with this type Danish food here. These typical dishes are mostly eaten on special occasions and holidays. For example, during the Christmas season (now) the Danes like to hold many “Christmas lunches” – where they prepare and enjoy these typical dishes. I will participate in one of these lunches tomorrow along with my hallmates.  I am actually signed up to prepare some sort of Danish sweet potatoes, although I have no idea what I am supposed to do. So, I am looking forward to learning more about cooking from the Danish students in my hall!

Where is the sun?

It is now the end of November, which means we are getting closer and closer to winter here in Copenhagen. In the past week, the temperature has been dropping down to single digits (in Celsius). Combined with severe winds and rain, this weather is at times very unpleasant.

The climate in Copenhagen is very different from California. Before I left, I was told that I was going to a place where it was going to rain every single day for most of the year. While it is not nearly as bad as expected it to be here, the weather does surprise me every single day. One characteristic of weather in Copenhagen is that it is almost impossible to predict it. The weather forecasts are wrong half of the time, which makes it hard to plan ahead and dress accordingly when you leave the house in the morning. Even if the sun is shining when you wake up, there is always a chance of a rain storm later in the day. So, one thing I learned to do here is to always carry a rain jacket or an umbrella in my backpack.

A couple of days ago, I woke up to find the sun shining brightly into my window, with almost no clouds in the sky. It is not so common to see weather like this in November, so I was really excited for the nice day. I got up and made my way to the kitchen for some lazy breakfast. While I was preparing my meal, something drastic has happened outside. The next time I looked out the window – I saw a completely covered, dark gray sky, with no signs of the sun ever being there. In a split second, it started to rain so hard, I couldn’t believe my eyes. I was in shock, and sadly continued to eat my breakfast. In the next half an hour – the weather continued to change. When I finished washing the dishes, the sun was out once again. If no one else were around to share my surprise, I would have thought that I imagined the rain storm earlier. I was ready to forget the strange incident and enjoy the rest of the sunny day. However, not half an hour later, it started raining once again. This was probably the most extreme case of weather changes in Denmark that I have seen so far. However, it shows how crazy it can get here.

Apart from these strange weather fluctuations, the climate here really isn’t so bad. It is not hard to get used to the cold and the rain. All it takes is some warm clothes and waterproof gear. Rain just becomes a small part of your daily life in the months of August (the wettest month of the year) and November. I don’t know what December is going to be like, but I expect more rain and overcast skies. The only bad thing is that sometimes you miss seeing the sun out for long periods of time. In addition to many clouds, the days are also very short here. Right now, the sun rises around 8 in the morning, and sets around 4 in the afternoon. And even when it is supposedly day time, it is hard to find the sun in the completely gray sky.

Last week, we were discussing weather in my Danish class. Our teacher told us the in the month of December, we will see the sun shining for only 40 hours. That’s 40 hours out of the whole month! But who knows, maybe this statistic is just as wrong as all the other Danish forecasts. The weather man predicts snow in Copenhagen this weekend! Should I believe him? I sure hope so, because seeing snow here would be amazing. In a little over a week, an open air skating ring will open right in the city center, and it would be great to go skating and play in some snow. But for now – it’s raining, and I am sheltered in my warm, cozy room. I hope the weather does something crazy and listens to the weather man this time.

Life in Copenhagen

When I come to study abroad in Copenhagen, I experienced a huge change in my lifestyle. My normal weekly routines that I was used to did not fit into the Danish way of life, and I had to adapt to a more European lifestyle. One major change was that I was no longer constricted to a single university campus (like in Caltech). The University of Copenhagen is located in the City Centre, and has multiple campuses for each of the departments. Contrary to what I was used to, these campuses consist only of classroom buildings and libraries. Unlike colleges in the US, the Universities here do not own any dorms and are not so enclosed in their own campuses.

Students who study in Copenhagen may choose to live in one of the privately owned collegiums (dorms), rent a room or an apartment, or live at home if their parents live nearby. If you are a student coming from Caltech you will be placed in the newest and best dorm in all of Copenhagen. I am very grateful to Caltech for that, since I have the best room and facilities out of anyone I know (see picture to he left). I have a lot of space in my dorm, and am able to invite all my friends over for dinners or other get-togethers. However, most of the time, my social life is not centered around my dorm. Coming from Caltech, I was used to living in the house with all my friends, and spending most of my time around my room. Here, however, I quickly learned that my dorm was not going to be the center of my social life.

All of my friends that I usually spend time with live in very different parts of the city. However, we still manage to meet up and have fun every week. First of all, the key to European life is the vast amount of bars and cafes where you can chat, relax, and drink some coffee, milkshakes, or whatever you like. In the first month, we found one such café that we really like, and now we go there all the time when we have no better plans. If we find ourselves outside in cold, rainy weather, we always know that Robert’s café will have warm cozy atmosphere, and delicious drinks for us to enjoy.

There can never be a time in Copenhagen when there is nothing for you to do. The Danish students really enjoy partying and having a good time. So, you can always be certain that there are multiple parties going on somewhere in Copenhagen on probably every day of the week. In the beginning, I was very surprised with this amount of partying, and went to more of these events. After I had formed a good group of friends, however, we usually find a lot more exiting things to do outside of plain partying. There are many interesting places in Copenhagen that are worth exploring, and many fun places to go to.

I said earlier that my dorm is not the center of my social life. However, there are still a lot of opportunities to have a good time here. First of all, our dorm has its own bar and a café that are open on Saturday and Tuesday nights. Often, we hold parties at the bar on Saturdays. In addition, there are activities that I can do with my hallmates. I share a kitchen with twelve other students who study in various places in Copenhagen. Once a month we have hall dinners, and occasionally we have more themed events. Next weekend, for example, we will hold a “Christmas lunch” – a Danish traditional meal that they eat in the weeks before Christmas. So, I am looking forward to trying the Danish specialty foods, and maybe practicing my Danish a bit more.

Also, I invite my friends over to my dorm very often, since I have so much more space than anyone else. Everyone loves my dorm for its spacious and modern setup. I can easily have up to 10-15 people over, which can be very convenient for birthday celebrations. But more often, I will have just a couple of people over to cook dinner together and just hang out.

I hope that what I wrote here gives you an idea of what it is like to live in Copenhagen for a bit. It is really a great city, and I like it very much. In addition, when living here, there are many opportunities to take trips on the weekends and visit many beautiful places outside of the city. I am afraid that it is not possible for me to completely convey everything I like about being here in this short blog. Also, everyone who comes here has a chance to create his/her own unique experience, so you just need to come see for yourself!

Studying in Copenhagen

The greatest thing about studying in Copenhagen is that you are able to do a lot more things with your time than back at Caltech. Even with a full schedule of classes here, you will still find time every week to leave your room and go on some kind of an adventure. I am not saying that studying here is necessarily way easier than in Caltech. However, the way classes are set up, and the kind of independent work you have to do is at times very different in a way that makes it easier to enjoy your time outside of studying.

Overall, the Danes themselves like to live in a very relaxed atmosphere. Just looking at their calendar, one can see that they really enjoy taking time off for vacation. For example, a student taking classes at the life science department of the University of Copenhagen may have up to a full month of break from classes in October. The fall semester is divided into two blocks – each is six weeks long. You can take one or two classes at your faculty each block. Since the block is only six weeks long, the classes will meet more regularly for longer periods of time, so that the amount of instruction you get is about equivalent to taking a semester class at Caltech. The first block classes end in the beginning on October, after which there is a one week vacation period. After the vacation, there are two weeks allotted to studying and taking exams for these classes. This is the time when a lot of studying takes place, but still, there are no classes. After you take your exams, you have at least another week of break (to recover from the exams) until block two starts.

Of course, this system only applies to those studying at the science faculty at the University of Copenhagen. And if you choose to study at DTU (Danish technical University), your schedule will be a little different. Also, if you come here as an international student, you will be taking Danish language and Culture courses for the whole time, with only one week of break. But in any case, this shows how much the Danes like to take vacations. They of course also have vacation for Christmas, then I think some time off in January, then vacation in February, then vacation for Easter, and finally summer.

Another interesting thing about how classes are conducted here is that there are many breaks, with opportunities to get some coffee and relax a little. In fact, as I found out yesterday, many classes begin with a fifteen minute break! Yesterday I went to the first lecture of my second block class. It was scheduled to be from one to four in the afternoon. So, I walked into class about five minutes to one, and saw just a couple of other people already there. Then, at one, the professor looked at all of us, and said “you guys know that class always starts at 1:15, right? We’re on the quarter-hour system here.” And then he left for some coffee. While all the Danish students seemed to know what was going on, I was a little disappointed, since I had rushed to get to class on time, and didn’t know I had an extra fifteen minutes to myself. Also, I realized that I have been coming to my Danish cinema class fifteen minutes too early. And its not that everyone else was coming late, it’s just that the class is actually supposed to start on the quarter of an hour. It is still unclear to me why they don’t just put down the starting time as 1:15 instead of 1:00, and start class then.

Ok, so I have wandered off from my original topic. I was going to write more on some of the things you could do here in your free time, but I guess I will save that for my next entry. Some more things about classes here: if you are scheduled to have a three hour class – that means you have three sections of 45 minutes each, with 15 minute breaks in between. In addition, depending on the type of class that you are taking, one or two of these sections are used for going over homework and problem solving. I found this to be very useful, since it is not always easy to get together with your classmates because we all live in different parts of Copenhagen. So, it is good to be able to solve problem sets in class, with the professor there to help if needed.

In conclusion, studying here is definitely a completely different experience. I think that it can be very helpful and refreshing to go to a different place and learn in a new environment. There are things in and outside the classroom that I think everyone needs to experience at least once by studying in a foreign country. And college is the best time to start!

Copenhagen - the city of bikes

One very useful thing that I learned from living in Copenhagen is how to fix a bike.

Probably the first thing that you would notice about Copenhagen is that pretty much everyone owns a bike. Though there is a great system of public transportation in this city, biking is the most preferred way of getting around. It is a lot cheaper than taking the buses or owning a car, and also a lot more convenient in many ways. (The picture here shows bikes parked at one of the major metro stations. You can see how many there are)

On every stop light there are three sets of lights: one for the cars, one for the pedestrians, and one for the bikers! Most streets have special bike lanes that are wide enough for a couple of bikes to ride side by side. Just like with car traffic, there are “rush hours” when there are lots of people pedaling their way to school or work. And it is really true that this way of transportation is not only for the young students. Biking in Copenhagen, you will find yourself among people of all ages, dressed for any occasion. It is not surprising to see women bike in dresses and high heels, or men dressed in formal suits. I have many times seen my professors lock up their bikes at the school’s bike parking lot.

For a long time after I arrived here, I was shocked to see so many bikes always on the streets. I am not sure about this, but I wouldn’t be surprised if the bikers actually had the right of way over the pedestrians, because there really are just so many bikers everywhere, at any time of day and night. And actually, in this city – drinking and biking becomes more of a problem than drinking and driving. People who take their bikes to go out in the evenings often face difficulties going back. But at least biking under the influence is usually not as dangerous for the others around. It may only do you good having to walk your bike home after a night out.

Seeing that biking is such a popular thing in Copenhagen, it only took me a couple of weeks to get one myself. I bought a used bike off of another international student who was leaving the country. If all goes well, I will resell this bike right before I leave, and hopefully get my money back.

  Another thing that I forgot to mention is that there is a possibility of biking without actually owning a bike. There are many places around the city where you can get yourself a “city bike.” With a deposit of 20 Danish crones (about 3-4 US dollars), you can get yourself a not-so-good but working bike and ride it anywhere within Copenhagen. You are required to return it to one of the assigned places at the end of the day. However, I have seen way too many of these bikes lying around in places they are not supposed to be in. So, when needed, its ok to “borrow” one of these bikes for the night or until someone else decides to “borrow” it from you.

One of my friends took one of these bikes home one night when the metros weren’t working so late. He said he kept riding it around for a couple of days after, until one day someone else must have taken it from where he last left it. So, these bikes get around the city and may be very useful on different occasions.

Once you get a bike, there are many accessories that you can also get for it. Bike lights are required by law. You may get fined riding around without a light in the front and the back of your bike. Another useful thing to have is a bell, since it helps navigate your way through the large bike traffic in the mornings. And I am always grateful when other people ring their bell to let me know they are behind me. I feel that people having lights and a bell on their bikes helps keep biking safe and prevents accidents from happening. Among other things that you can get for your bike are a basket to carry your bag or groceries, a rain cover for your seat (very useful), oh, and most importantly – a lock! Even though there are so many bikes in Copenhagen that everyone seems to have one, bike theft still exists. I know many people who had their bikes taken from them. Most of the time, this happens when the bike is left unlocked in the evening, even just for a couple of minutes.

There is one funny story I heard about a bike theft. Since Copenhagen is not a very large city, it is not uncommon to see your bike in someone else’s hands after it is stolen. Someone I know fond his “stolen” bike locked to another bike a couple of days after the theft. Since there was no other way to get his bike back, he just took both of them home. In any case, that other bike was probably also stolen. Now he has his own bike back and another one to use as he pleases.

As I said in the beginning, it is also very useful to be able to fix your own bike. Riding around in the city, there is a big chance of puncturing your tire, and you don’t want to be paying 10-20 dollars every time you have to fix it. During my three months here, I already had to fix my own bike about five times. If you are not inclined to fixing your own bike, however, there are many bike shops throughout the city. So, if your bike breaks on your way to school, it is very easy and not too expensive to get it fixed at any of these shops.

   In conclusion, I have very much enjoyed living in this “city of bikes.” I do not only ride my bike around the city, but I have also gone on multiple excursions outside of Copenhagen. There are very nice national bike routes spanning all of Denmark, going through pretty countryside and many sight seeing spots. So, there are many opportunities for day or weekend trips for those who are adventurous enough. (This picture is from one of my bike trips)

Finally, I have also concluded that biking adds to the very healthy life style that most Danes lead. I think that getting in this extra exercise on the bike makes the Danes overall very fit and energized. The typical stereotypical Dane is blond, tall, and skinny. I’m not sure where the first two are coming from, but the skinniness is probably from all this biking!

Jeg kan ikke tale Dansk

Jeg kan ikke tale Dansk - the most useful phrase I have learned in Danish! It means "I don't speak Danish." I think I have used this phrase more than anything else when talking to the Danes. Thankfully, this magic phrase causes them to quickly switch over to English, after which we can carry on a normal conversation.

I actually came to Copenhagen a whole month before regular classes started for everyone. I chose to come early so that I could take the Danish language crash course offered by the university to the international students. I was really excited to learn this new language. All I knew about it was that it was somewhat similar to German and maybe Dutch. Since I did not speak any of those languages, however, I had no idea what to expect.

After a couple weeks of class, I realized that learning Danish was going to be very painful. Not only is it almost impossible to predict the pronunciation of every single word, it is also unclear to me how one can manage to produce all these strange sounds that make up the language. When studying for my exam at the end of August, I had a cup of warm water always at my desk, to help relieve the pain in my throat from trying to pronounce all the words correctly. In fact, even now, after learning Danish for three months, I have no clue about most of the pronunciation. In class, I will just try to imitate what my teacher is saying, without really knowing what’s going on most of the time. To give you an idea: the Danish word for “very” is written “meget”. When saying this word, however, the Danes will just omit the last three letters (more than half the word!). So, when you hear someone say this word, you hear something like “mael”. This sound is difficult to describe in words, but trust me, it is not so much more clear how to make it even when you have a teacher demonstrate it to you.

So, learning Danish has turned out to be a very interesting experience. It is definitely very difficult. But most of the time, its just funny to see yourself trying to say something, and then seeing the confused face of the Dane that you are attempting to speak to. Most of my international friends still do not even know how to pronounce the name of the street that they live on. And actually, I am not completely sure of the correct way to pronounce my metro station - “Islands Brygge”. There have been times when I was trying to explain to someone where I live. I kept saying Islands Brygge to them, but failed at making them understand. Only after a couple of minutes would they realize and say “Ah! Islands Brygge! Of course!”

However, the difficulty of learning Danish does not at all result in any inconveniences in terms of living here. While it is fun and interesting to try and understand the language, it is not necessary to be able to speak it. Almost every Dane in Copenhagen can speak English very well. So, when going to the store, asking for directions, or talking with Danish students – using English is the best way to go. And of course, all my classes are taught in English, even if there are Danish students in the class. Sometimes the teacher will switch to Danish to explain something to those who are more comfortable in Danish. However, he/she will quickly switch back to English and repeat the same thing so that everyone understands.

During my time here, I have mostly made friends with other international students from all over the world. And I have been very impressed with how well they can all speak English. I know people from France, Germany, Greece, Spain, Lithuania, Switzerland, and other places, and they all are very good English speakers. All of them learned English in school, just like we learn French or Spanish. However, they definitely have a very good knowledge of the language, since they can take advanced classes and communicate here just in English.

Meeting all these international students is probably one of the best things about this study abroad experience. In my short time here, I have made very good friends with many people, and they are the ones who make my time here so enjoyable. Even after I return to the US, I know that I will stay in touch with these people. I know that the next time I decide to visit Europe, I will be welcome in many countries, with a place to stay and a friend to show me around. And actually, this is true not only of Europe, since I have also made friends with students from other places, such as Singapore. Being abroad, its fun to learn about other cultures and also share your own. And as I said earlier, going abroad is definitely the most exciting thing I have ever done until now.

First steps towards Copenhagen

Studying abroad was something I was sure I wanted to do at some point during my four years in college. Even when I just began looking at schools, I always made sure to check what study abroad options they offered, and if there was anything I liked. I guess it sounds ironic now that I picked Caltech as my place of study, because we do not get nearly as many choices to go abroad as in other schools. But do not be fooled by the lack of options! As I am about to describe here, the Caltech study abroad programs are in my opinion among the greatest things our school offers to undergraduates for many different reasons.

To be honest, I was initially a little disappointed with the limited choice of just three countries to pick from: Scotland, Denmark, and England (now, I hear that two other programs have been added in France and Australia, but these were not available when I was applying). When I was in high school, I always dreamed of going to study in Spain because I was really interested in the Spanish culture and language. But since that option was not available to me, I faced what I had to pick from and realized that what Caltech does have is not bad at all. The best advantage of all the programs was that they were all in English speaking countries. When studying at Tech and going abroad, you want to be able to enjoy your time in a different place, but also don’t want to fall behind in your classes. So, I realized that while going to a place like Spain would be culturally very interesting, it would have been more difficult for me to take high level biology classes there with my limited knowledge of the language. Studying in Denmark or Scotland, on the other hand, would pose no problems since classes would be taught in English most of the time (in Denmark – most people are fluent in both Danish and English).

So, I applied for the programs in Scotland and Denmark, since those countries seemed a little more culturally different from the US than England. In reality though, I did not know much about either place, and had no strong opinions for or against either country. I just wanted to go some place in Europe and hopefully find myself in a new and exciting environment with different people and many things to discover. After going through the pretty straightforward application procedures, and a couple weeks of anxious waiting, I was very pleased to find out that I had been accepted to go study in Copenhagen!

I would be studying at the University of Copenhagen, where I would take classes that would count towards my major back at Caltech. Since I was going to Denmark, I would also be taking classes in Danish language and culture, which sounded very exciting to me. I did not know a word in Danish, but was warned that it is one of the strangest languages in Europe, at times impossible to pronounce or understand. Intrigued by this small unknown to me country, I was set to go in the fall of 2008, not really knowing what to expect. I was ready for meeting new people, learning new things, and living life the European way.

I must say, it is not that I was extremely happy to leave Caltech and rush away to Europe. There were still things that I did not want to leave behind, and it was not so easy to make the decision to leave. Of course, I was leaving all my friends, family, (and my beloved cat) behind and going to a foreign country with no one familiar there. In addition, I would be missing out on running with the Caltech cross country team for the whole season, which I was also not very happy about. However, there were a lot more things urging me to go on to Copenhagen, and have the biggest adventure of my life. I was ready to see, explore, and experience something completely different, and knew that I would always be back for the things I missed back home.

So, on August 1^st 2008, I got on a plane with two big suitcases and headed towards Denmark.