Hej hej from AMERICA. Can you believe it? Four months of cultural immersion, biking, Netto trips, and blogging have come and gone, forcing me to bid one last 'farvel' to the Happiest Place on Earth (NOTE: I am aware that this title is typically reserved for Disneyland in Anaheim, CA, but seeing as Denmark was named by Forbes as the Happiest Country in the World, I feel this title can and should be shared).

 

Disneyland

Copenhagen

Before signing off permanently, I would appreciate the opportunity to fill you in on the interesting events that were my last three weeks(ish) in Europe. As you may remember, my parents came to the Copes at the end of November and the three of us traveled to Stockholm, Sweden and Helsinki, Finland, both of which, as far as weather is concerned, made Copenhagen look like Miami Beach. It was a lovely time, though, and my mom and I both got some lovely faux fur ear muffs out of the adventure, which was exciting to say the least. Save for the fact that mine look not unlike a dead cat perching on my head [See "Cat Muffs" image below.] After my parents and I returned to the Copes, it was time to celebrate Thanksgiving. As a means of making us feel as much at home as possible, our SRA organized a "Fakesgiving" feast for Ravnsborggade which included but was not limited to grilled chicken (which is almost like turkey but different), sweet potatoes, cranberries, caramelized carrots, apple pie, green beans, bread, etc. etc. I contributed the cranberries and carrots and therefore links to recipes for both of these traditional Thanksgiving accutraments are provided below. The event was quite hygge, especially because some of our international roommates were in attendance, this being their very first Thanksgiving celebration. 

Cat Muffs

 

 

 

 

Cranberry Orange Sauce
Brown Sugar Glazed Carrots

The following day, it was time for me to head off to Krakow, Poland for my Auschwitz: From Genocide to Memorial study tour. I was admittedly nervous about visiting Auschwitz, as I was not sure what sort of emotional response to anticipate. I had been to the Holocaust museums in both D.C. and Jerusalem in the past, but I had a feeling this trip was going to be unique in its academic approach to a subject I had always understood as a religious and emotional one. However, I was so far from being disappointed in the nature of my Poland trip, as our teacher, Torben, is one of the most intelligent and eloquent men I have ever met. He took us to Schindler's old factory (which inspired Liza and I to watch Schindler's list on the floor of the fire exit room upon my return to CPH), the old and new synagogues of Krakow, and of course, Auschwitz I and Birkenau. Visiting Birkenau was incredibly surreal and so immensely moving. Imagine the sets of every Holocaust movie you have ever seen - the train tracks, the barbed wire, the barracks - and that is exactly how Birkenau looks. But this surprising similarity to a Hollywood set is not what made this place so unbelievable but rather the shocking beauty and calm that characterized the camp. I have only included a few pictures in this post out of respect to the memories of camp prisoners and their families. 

 

After my return from Poland, I came to the realization that my trip was definitely on the downhill slope - the final leg, the last hurrah, and so on and so forth - and therefore decided to spend my remaining days frolicking about the city with my friends on a plethora of adventures that included the following [Photos included]: 

1. Watching movies in the common room 

2. Dancing with Santa

3. Icebar V2.0

4. All you can eat sushi bar

5. Going to my visiting sister's gymnastics recital 

6. Christmas formal

7. My bike key breaking off in the lock (Fortunately, the resourceful man at the front desk of the gym just so happened to have brought a pair of pliers with him to work that day, which was quite fortuitous to say the least)

8. Falling off my bike in front of Irma (The excitement induced by an organic grocery store was too much to bare)

9. Visiting the Christiania Christmas market 

10. Attending the Nutcracker at the Royal Theater with my visiting family

11. Turning in my bike deep in the heart of Norrebro (and then missing my bus stop on the way home)

12. Cheering at a Danish soccer game (and then missing two buses and being refused cab service in the 30 degree night air) 

13. Saying a sad goodbye to the Copes and all my new friends. 

 

 

 

 

 

I am sure there are things I have forgotten, as this last month was quite the whirlwind. However, should I recall an event that is significant and blog-worthy, I will be certain to add it in as an addendum to this post. 

Well, I suppose the time has now come for me to sign off one last time. I thank you all for your patronage and support over the last four months and hope our paths will cross once more somewhere else in the blogosphere. I appreciate you tuning in to read about the many adventures that where my wonderful study abroad experience and I sincerely hope you enjoyed reading about them as much as I enjoyed sharing them with all of you. 


Upon my return home, I have come to see the following: I have realized that I am a completely different person now than I was four months ago and that I have made wonderful friends with whom I was fortunate enough to grow and change. I realized that I am scared ... scared that I will never be able to fully articulate what my experience meant to me in a way that does it justice and I am scared that I will never again have the opportunity to be the person I was whilst on this great adventure. And I have realized the importance of being open to frightening journeys and unknown experiences ... to 'strange' new places and 'strange' new people ... new people who have proven to be the best of friends. 


And after reflecting on all of this newfound insight, I have decided that were I given the chance to talk to the girl I was four months ago, I would tell her this: Living in Copenhagen will teach you that it is never to late to grow and change and that questioning the way you are most certainly does not mean sacrificing who you are. Embrace every day – take the long way on your bike, stop and stand by the lakes for a minute on your way home from school – because these next four months will be the best days of your life. 
 

Thank you, readers, thank you, Copenhagen, and as always ... Farvel! 

Ord af semesteret (word of the semester): "eventyr" = "adventure" (As in, "I spent the last four months in Copenhagen and it was a big, fun, scary, exciting, and hysterical 'eventyr.')