Before even leaving for Copenhagen I was excited to be 2 weeks into my semester abroad. I really wanted to be at my ‘settling point’, where I am comfortable where I am, have some sort of a schedule, but still a long list of things I want to do and see. Today was the day I have been waiting for.

I woke up and rode my bike to the beach where I went for a run as the sun just started to peak through. After I took a nice and slow bike ride home I washed some dishes and showered. Since both myself and my roommate don’t have any classes on Friday, we headed to a coffee shop called Bevars to get a jump on our homework before the weekend. Upon stepping into this coffee shop I was nervous because it seemed that it was filled with ‘regulars’ and also the whole menu was in Danish…BUT even though I felt like I didn’t belong I tried to make myself think that I did and just decided to ask the guy behind the counter what he would recommend for me because I can’t read a word on these menus. Then we took a seat by the window, I ate a ‘traditional’ breakfast of homemade bread, jam, and cheese (this was everything and then some!), and got down to work. I also listened to my favorite playlist Coffee House Blend– I highly suggest it for some instant ~hygge~

After the coffee shop I headed home and attempted to do laundry because with two weeks down it’s definitley time to refresh the wardrobe! Unfortunately, someone else was doing their laundry so I decided to watch a little netflix, which I have gone back and forth with here because on one hand I am like ‘I’m in a new country I should not be wasting time like this!!’ and then on the other hand I feel ‘But this is my home now and there really is only so much exploring one can do, so down time is important’. I still am up in the air with this, but that is what I did!

I then got myself ready to eat dinner with my visiting host family for the first time! Basically, since my first choice on my housing was in an RC with other DIS students, and that’s what I was placed in, I decided to click the button on my registration that said ‘Sign up for Visiting Host Family’ which meant my profile could possibly be matched with a family that signs up to have a student at DIS, and I did! My family is a mom, dad, and two sons that love to run/bike/hike and all that fun stuff (very good match!). After emailing back and forth, Ole, Lene, their one son Jacob, and their nephew Mikkel, and I went for dinner. They picked me up and we went to Christiania to explore this popular ‘freetown’. They told me a lot about the history and then we ate inside one of the cafes there called Cafe Loppen. This place was SO SO good and afterward we all went to the old meatpacking district and had drinks at a place called Pate Pate. Overall, this was a really nice time and super nice to be surrounded by a Danish family and learn more about this place and the people in it! We already talked about our next meeting time either going to the movies, or Tivoli, or dinner at their home which I am very excited about! It was nice to be able to take advantage of this opportunity I have and really jump all in, because what other time will I be able to eat in a freetown with a danish family?

Ole and Lene then dropped me off near Nyhavn where for the first time since being here, I did as the legal people do and went out on the town! I met some friends at a space that was celebrating the end of Art Week in Copenhagen. There was a super cool band and people everywhere and it was just overall a very cool experience that I definitley would never have done had I not been in a group project with a girl who told me about it and invited me!

A crisp air day with a blue and sunny sky where I filled my day with exercise, coffee, good food, finished to do lists, and good times with new friends–all of the things that make me smile!!