Saturday, January 31, 2009

A great week...






So far, it has been a blast.  Our introduction week is over.  I'm  sad about that because all we've been doing is partying.  Our group became very close.  Once classes start on Monday, I'm not sure we will see each other much again, but, we've created a facebook group and we will try to stay together.  

Thursday we all got up and walked into the town of Lynby to fill out some paperwork.  I stayed in the town and did some shopping  in a mall.  In the afternoon, we toured a famous brewery in the city called Carlsburg.  At the end of the tour was a beautiful bar and everyone got two free beers.  Then, we partied on campus that night.

Friday was lectures on how to be successful in Denmark.  It was all day but I only went to half of them because I needed to catch up on some sleep.  I'm glad I did because we were out till late last night, on campus again.

I'm cooking a chicken right now (beer can chicken) to have for the next week or so.  When that finishes, I'm meeting my group at the train station to go into the city.

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Orientation: Day 2







Today we went into the city, Copenhagen.  Busses were provided for us.  We stayed in our groups of 15 as we toured the city, led by our guide Anders, from DTU.  The city is beautiful.  It was very old, but, very busy and clean.  The city is full of history; there are a ton of commerative statues and plaques.

We began by visiting some of the most famous sites of the city, including the Little Mermaid and the Queen's Palace (including gaurds).  







Next, we went to the Danish National Museum for a history lesson.  That 
was a nice touch, as we learned a little about danish history from 1660 (the start of the monarchy) to today.  It was free to enter and I plan on going back because that was only a small exhibit in the museum.  I want to see the rest of it.

After that, we had time to ourselves.  We walked around the city and did more sight seeing.  It was cold so we stopped in an Irish bar.  


Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Orientation Day 1




Today was the first day of Orientation.  The day began at 9am.  I got up at 8 and showered.  I have a good shower.  I proceeded to orientation where we were divided into groups.  In total, there are 170 international students, 28 of which are from RPI.  In my group of 15, there are no other RPI kids.  Instead, we have a few kids from France, Germany, Lithuania, Brazil and Spain.  Pretty cool.  
The day consisted of a tour of campus and team building activities.  It was very fun and I got to know my teammates very well.  I feel smarter than everyone (although I know that is not the case) because we are all speaking in English and they are constantly asking me how to say things.  I don't mind at all.  




Everything involves beer.  Most of our activities do and the nights always end at a bar.  It is very different to see people in the library reading while drinking beer.
So far, it seems like DTU is a very rich campus.  The buildings are HUGE and gorgeous.  The entire campus gives me a sense of "big money."  

Monday, January 26, 2009

Arrival

Wow.  What a long day, but, we made it.  Here's how it went:

We left home at 10am and made good time getting to the airport, arriving at 2pm.  We checked in my baggage and waited for Sara to arrive.  20 min later she did and we were on our way after a reluctant but excited goodbye.  
 






























Getting through security was a piece of cake.  it was the quickest I'd ever gotten through.
Once sara and I found our terminal, we sat down at the Sam Adams bar and had some drinks while waiting for everyone else.  In no time, more and more people arrived, until we had a group of 6.  After two drinks, we were boarding.  







 





 

































The plane was not full, so we got to arrange it so that wewere sitting closer together.  I had window seat right over the wing.  It was a huge plane.  The plane ride was long.  Each seat had its individual tv and you got to choose from about 60 movies of what you wanted to watch.
I watched The Firm and The Mummy.  I couldn't sleep.  I tried, but, it did not come.  
Upon arriving, we all grabbed our luggage, exchanged some money, and then proceeded to the cabs.  I fit in a van with 5 others and all our luggage.  It costed us about 600kr total, or $100, for the 15 min ride from the airport.  There is no snow on the ground here but it looks very similar to home.  the trees and the buildings are the same.  It is nice.  The taxis are all beautiful cars.  No taxis like back home.

 






























We each went to the International Affairs desk when we arrived at DTU and received keys to our rooms.  I then went to my room, unpacked and slept for 3 hrs.  I woke up and went grocery shopping then.  I wanted to before it began getting dark (~4:30pm). I met up with another RPI student who had similar plans so we went together. The store we went to was "Super Best" 
a major grocery market in Denmark.  It did not remind me anything of our huge, open, grocery markets from back home.  This was small, had low ceilings, and a limited selection.  But, it had everything.
As the day progressed, I met two of my neighbors, John and Ian.  They were very nice and helped me a lot.  I spent about two hours with them around dinner time.  It seems we are the only ones in our hall around of the 17 that will live on my floor and share a kitchen.  More to come...  

Friday, January 23, 2009

Leaving Soon

Now, I'm getting anxious.  I'm a little overwhelmed because I have a lot of organizing/packing to do.  I can't wait.