So i’m an international student?

Any photo’s taken in my second week are… here (click).

I’m not quite an idiot and I did not just wake up and realise this. Its just when I sat down to look at my student card it says in quite bold letters “International Student”.

Talk about labels.

I suppose I can fully understand why some int’ls find it hard now, I don’t speak Danish (aside from a casual -phonetic- Tak, Hej or Unskol Mein. With that limited a knowledge of the natural language it is quite hard to feel comfortable – even if everyone does speak English here, you never really feel at ease speaking in English when you know you’d prefer to speak Danish. I suppose it is different because our entire course is taught in English here, so we’re not expected to have any knowledge of the mother tongue.. but I ‘get it’ now. My little ambition is to be able to buy something entirely in Danish, and ask where something is in Danish. I imagine it may be hard to meet Danes becaue of this… but I have had a few erm encounters shall we call them…

• On the second night with this lovely girl called Eda, who had just moved back to the CPH after spending three years abroad farting around the world and now she’s going to Uni. Skillfully befriended after leaving the Metro before my epic quest of a walk home. Really should have attempted to get her number so i’d know someone who is Danish, but I didin’t. Ah well. (The guys toilets are clearly the best place to make new friends anyway haha)
• Random sketchy possibly homeless pissed people on the train. Don’t fancy bonding with them.
• These two stoned girls who kept telling Will and I to go to some bar called “floss” because it’s really cool but they couldn’t quite tell us why. Needless to say we found out that it does two beers for 25kr. INCREDIBLE PRICE. Maybe we’ll meet them again at somepoint inside? They also insisted we go Christiania so I imagine we’ll see em stoned at some point…
• And then there is the obvious ones, my mentors.

I really wouldn’t mind meeting some who are actually in my year though, maybe they’ll crop up once term starts? This all began to dawn on me when I was at an international night (yeah I know) at Studenterhuset (25kr a pint, good price here… but thats still £3). That said, the place may be the easiest place for me to meet Danes as they offered me an application for a job working behind the bar, it’s not paid but so what… bar experience and it’s something to do? I’d be FAR too chuffed if I got it…

But anyway.

Since I last could be arsed to write something… I have done quite a bit, I think. My memories a bit naff hence half the reason I write so forgive me if this gets a bit rambling. I finally managed to make it to Christiania. It’s a freetown of sorts, a city within a city with its own status and autonomy. It used to be famous for Pusher Street, where drug dealers openly uh, deal you drugs. It’s now ironically named Copper street, after the constant police sweeps that happen in the area, and its now not legal for dealers to sell you drugs (mind you it is astonishingly easy to buy if you want some). So yeah, its a really easy going, chilled out place. No camera’s allowed mind. Gutted.

Anyway, we went in for a wander, there was a really random exhibition on the issue of yesterday (caus’ we’re all about the Credit Crunch now…) – Tibet. Was pretty interesting and there was even a pic of my idol hero Obama with the Dali Lama. Obviously I was impressed. One thing about this place is how unique every building is here, because people literally make them themselves, you can’t buy and sell houses here, you are given and must give away. Interesting concept. Then we went off into this Jazz bar that played really really cool music. I mean really cool, go click.

Though we did leave a bit earlier than I wanted to because Lee was getting sketched out by this pissed/fucked dude getting slightly agressive, least the beer was cheap (19Kr a bottle)… Next up was some really dodgy place that looked like an American diner, but sold beers and had random computers, and according to the girls “really horrible toilets”. I didn’t try them out.

We’ve also visited the National Museum which was wicked. There’s not much I going to say about it, but i’m a History student, of course i’m going to go. Oh look, a dinosaur. It is huge though, and it’ll take at least 5 visits to see everything haha, something to do at least, and its FREE.

Another thing we did is goto the Zoo. Oh wait. We didn’t. Not really too happy about that but I suppose we’ll attempt to go another time… when there is less of a queue? Gah, I really don’t mind queueing at all, and don’t mind crowds but oh well. Just I really wanted to see Lions, Tigers and Bears. Instead we went on a Canal Boat Tour of the city which was actually pretty cool, we saw alot and learnt random facts that I can’t quite recite now but i’m sure i’ll be able to at a later date haha. Adding to it being a really nice day it was pretty cool. And also we learnt about DEMOCRATI.

Different to democracy in that if you are Danish and can’t pronounce it this is how you say it. But some random woman outside of what I think was the Danish Parliament building gave us a massive lecture talk on Frederik and Democracy and how important it is to them. I assume that once i’ve read more of our epic compendium i’ll understand a bit more, but I managed to perfect the nod-and-agree, whilst the rest of the group became experts in the stare-intensely-and-look-interested. Quality. The awesome weather kept up a bit as well we got to visit one of the beaches in Copenhagen. Initially I was sceptical because I don’t really bum beaches.

The tan is doing fine.

But it was really quite breezy and cool. So I was (sorta smugly) buzzing, and got quit a bit of my reading done. I cannot understate how much reading we have bare minimum, like 100 pages a week or something. At least it’s only this we’re reading for, gives me time to go SWEEDEN and LEGOLAND. All caps because of how important they are to me. Everyone played with Lego as an ickle child and I want some more. I’ll prolly end up buying some too…

The picture, by the way, is St Albans Church in Copenhagen. Lovely place, and interesting fact… it’s the only English church in Copenhagen. And OMG I SAW THE MERMAID. Apparently everyone has to, and is similarly dissapointed by how small it is. But it is cool and I have the picture to prove, etc heh…

One final thing. Beer is too cheap here. And wine for that matter. Every occasion seems to be marked with a ceremonial crate. 48kr (around a fiver…) will buy you a create of beer. Twenty four bottles. It’s dangerous I swear, one of the only places in Europe that binges more than the Brits do. No wonder I see everyone constantly drinking. And one of the only place in the world where you can’t blame the homeless for doing it.

It’s cheaper than milk.
And wine is cheaper than toothpaste (17kr versus 22kr).

That is all.

ps Please. Explain. This. Shoe’s in a tree? Just for shits and gigs?!

pps This is my first Easter away from mother and I’m distraught I have no Easter Eggs. Or an Easter meal. I suppose in the spirit of Easter every meal I have will contain egg? Fried eggs.. the boiled… then scrambled?