One week to go!

wan·der·lust 

[won-der-luhst]; noun

a strong, innate desire to rove or travel about.

rejselyst: Danish for "wanderlust"

So I really never thought I'd be one to write a travel blog, but after reading other people's blogs all day it doesn't seem like such a bad idea.  I always get excited about starting things but having trouble following through, so we'll see where this takes me.  What else am I supposed to do with my awful inability to fall asleep at night? Anyway, one week from today I will be boarding a plane to Copenhagen, or København (I might as well start calling it that), Denmark.  I will be studying abroad from January to May through a program called DIS (Danish Institute for Study Abroad).

I guess you could say I'm a little bit excited.

This (yesterday) morning I woke up to a phone call from my friend B, who happens to be in my sorority and also attending the same study abroad program (there are three of us, including J- expect to hear a lot more about them throughout this blog) telling me that the housing email had been sent out.  She said she was living in Keops, an international kollegium in Nørrebro. Upon checking my own email, a very sleepy me told her that I was living in Keops, an international kollegium in Nørrebro.  She thought I had just repeated what she said, but the excitement of living together quickly woke me from my sluggish state. We will be on the same floor, on opposite sides of our building! What are the chances!

Once I am told something about my future and I have the Internet at my fingertips (as well as a plethora of free time, as winter break at home has been dreadfully boring), there is no stopping me until I find out everything I possibly can.  Hours later, I have a pretty good mental picture of what will be my home  for over the next 4 months.

A kollegium is a cross between an apartment and a dorm. My particular kollegium, Keops, is made up of single bedrooms with kitchenettes and personal bathrooms as well as a giant window and a small balcony. My room is on the first floor though, so I'm not sure about how great my view will actually be.  Apparently there are no real hallways, but instead motel-style outdoor breezeways, making it a bit difficult to meet new people unless you really go out of your way to do so. The kollegium is made up of two buildings which together hold about 250-300 students, most of whom are international (primarily Austrailia, New Zealand, etc.). There are some Danes but they are supposedly difficult to find. Finally, there are about 50 DIS students, and we were given a listing of all their names as well as their room numbers. There are a few small common rooms and communal kitchens, where socializing takes place. Finally, there's a bus station just outside which is about a 20 minute commute from center city.  Not too bad for a living situation.

A picture I found of Keops Kollegium.

I keep reading mixed things about Nørrebro, the district my kollegium is in.  Some call it Nørrebronx, the Danish ghetto (but a safe one).  It's where all the riots used to occur.  It is supposedly very multi-ethnic, with a large Middle Eastern presence.  Who knew a year after traveling to Israel I'd be going to Denmark only to encounter falafel and shawarma again? Anyway, other people say that the neighborhood is hipster and trendy, with lots of bars and little shops and young people.  Most notably it is home to the cemetery in which Hans Christian Andersen, Denmark's pride and joy, is buried.  In any case, I'm eager to see everything for myself. Though I've read a lot about my future home, I'm going into it with a completely open mind.

I'm not even there yet and this is a super long blog post.  Just wait until my writing is also supplemented with pictures (taken with my brand new amazing DSLR camera- thanks Mom and Dad!). Hopefully whoever reads this enjoys it... if not, I guess it'll be a great way for me to look back and remember the trip of a lifetime.

One more week! Ahhhh!