Gorgeous views of Sweden

I went on a weekend trip with 40 other students in my program to Sweden, and it was breathtakingly beautiful. To get to Sweden, we took a 20 minute ferry-ride from Denmark. We didn't need our passports. That idea is so foreign to me. The border policies in this part of the world are far more lax than in the US, it's actually quite nice.

We started the day with 3 hours of canoeing through the countryside and through a small town. The architecture there is so quaint and interesting and their landscaping is absolutely incredible. Green is even greener in Sweden! Unfortunately, it rained, so I do not have any pictures except right before we set off.













 Then, we went to our hostel and had a nice, warm meal of chili (which had been made before we got there).
The owners of the hostel were a very sweet older couple. They made our stay very nice and the place was cozy. It was out in the countryside right next to a tree nursery.
They even had a cute little sauna.







From there, we left to go hiking to see what was described to us as driftwood sculptures on a beach. That description did not prepare me for what we encountered.

We started with a steep climb down to the beginning of the sculptures. Then, we climbed through and down these massive, precarious-looking structures to the beach, where there were more towers to explore! It was like an adult jungle gym!

 I found a humorous warning about Sasquatch ->
















The site is called Nimis, and I definitely will tell everyone I ever meet that it is a must-see in Europe!
Fun fact: The artist, Lars Vilks, actually proclaimed the area the micronation of Ladonia so the Swedish government wouldn't tear down his work!















The next day, we went to Kullaberg national park for a day of repelling down cliffs at the ocean-side and hiking.

We repelled from these cliffs

The park was on this peninsula

Some hikes were very intense, and there was an embarrassing video of me (I do not have the clip, sorry) sliding down a steep incline we were trying to walk down, completely unable to stop myself.

While we hiked, we completed little "missions" like building a rock tower and making certain knots in rope. The views at the park were absolutely mind-boggling. Also, our sweet hostel owners brought us sandwiches and chocolate halfway through the day!








We also found a cute little beetle with a fuzzy tummy.









 

On the way home, we stopped at this adorable little cafe in the country-side for coffee and pastries. They served us  these little custard-filled hearts and some delicious raspberry cake. The raspberries on top were so perfectly tart and the cake at the bottom melted in your mouth. The cafe was called Flickorna Lundgren, and I undoubtedly want to go back to it someday.

For those interested, here is the hostel info:
    STF Vandrarhem Jonstorp
    Gamia Södåkrvägen 127
    26392 Jonstorp
    Telephone: 46 4212 1413

A day at CEKU

Today I had class in a place called CEKU, which is a center used to train Danish medical students. We were shown how to and got to practice (on dummies) different medical techniques.

IV access

Bronchoscopy (sending a camera into the lung's airways. Also using attached tongs to remove an item blocking the airway)

Suturing

Laparascopy (doing abdominal surgery using small incisions, a camera probe, and tony tools in the incision) We practiced this with the same small tools they use in surgery to do activities while looking through a camera. The activities were things like cutting cotton off from around a balloon without damaging the balloon to simulate cutting tissue away from a nerve or vessel.

I don't have any pictures, but we also did ultrasounds.

It was a lot of fun, and I learned a lot of valuable information and basic medical skills! I am definitely on the right career path.

“Um, does this say cream?”

I have already found myself saying “I’m sorry, I don’t speak Danish” quite a few times. It is definitely (and understandably) the default language in Denmark.

Last night, I left a bar, and the security at the door said a word to me in Danish. I wasn’t sure if I was in trouble for something, so quickly explained I don’t speak Danish, and he explained to me that he was saying something along the lines of “I hope you had a good time at our establishment, that you enjoy your night, and thank you for coming here.” All of that in one word. I find that pretty incredible. I now have the urge to learn Danish.

Also, restaurants. I frequently have to get up the courage to ask what something means on a menu or explain to a waiter that I only speak English. A few restaurants near my classes actually have menus in English, since there is a full street of almost entirely American students. I also stumbled upon a hotel today (quite nice-looking from outside) called the Palace. There was a Burger King and a KFC right next to it and a few Cafè’s with English menus. I almost went to KFC, but convinced myself that I will adjust and this whole language thing will get much easier. I do want to check out KFC sometime though, for comparison’s sake.

I also had an instance in the Netto (grocery store). I needed heavy cream for making dinner that night. I found the fridge full of what definitely looked like milk products.  Then, I stood there staring for 15 minutes trying to use packaging clues to figure out which was cream. I saw a package that looked convincing, but it was very tiny, and I needed more. I saw a larger package with what looked like the same word, but what I assume was a brand name started with “Egg…” followed by stuff I will probably never be able to pronounce accurately. I was worried that perhaps it was some sort of egg milk or substitute? Cue me standing and staring for five more minutes. Finally, I decided to ask a worker. Then, I lost my courage and started perusing the store even though I had already grabbed everything else that I needed. 10 minutes of convincing myself to ask the clerk, I finally did, and lo and behold it was in fact cream and he was very kind and understanding about the whole thing.

Lessons learned. The Danes are all incredibly kind and understanding, even when you don't speak Danish. Also, I should trust my gut. Apparently my deduction skills based on packaging are rather good. 

On a side note, that is rather humorous. At the store, I bought shampoo and conditioner... At least I thought I did. I actually bought shampoo and body wash. The best part? The packaging was in English, I just wasn't paying attention.  

A few first impressions

1. The Krone - I feel like I have so much money in my wallet because one USD is equal to 6.8 krone. However, things end up being about the same price when you convert it out because Denmark is a rather expensive country to live in. Also, their coins have little hearts on their backs, and I find that absolutely adorable. I feel like it reflects the Danish personality really well. Everyone is rather reserved compared to Americans, but everyone is also very kind. You just have to look on the back side of the coin instead of just looking on the surface.

2. Wooden spoons - I went to a coffee shop and ordered a latte (quite delicious). This coffee shop had wooden spoons instead of plastic, and I knew at that moment that I will be falling in love with this country in a heartbeat. Environmentalism has always been important to me, and I love that the spoons were made of a biodegradable material rather than just plastic.

3. Always a good view - I mean it. Always. There are no huge skyscrapers blocking everything, and the buildings are so quaint with such varying architecture and color. Here is the view from the street, right outside of my apartment.

4. Getting lost is a lot of fun - So far I have only walked around and gotten lost with other people, and we got lost for about an hour. We finally found someplace we recognized and found our way back, but we saw so many interesting stores and buildings on the way that we never would have seen otherwise! If it weren't for classes starting, we probably would have explored even longer. I fully intend on exploring the city on my own and letting myself get lost, I think it will be a fun adventure where I could learn a lot, and possibly find my new favorite study spot or cup of coffee.

5. The Danes and fashion - The Danes are very fashionable and nearly all of them wear dark colors like black. With a wardrobe like mine, with lots of color, I am prepared to stand out. It makes me kind of nervous, but I'm also excited to find out of it will be a good, bad, or neutral thing.

6. The language - Don't worry, everyone speaks English, but most people will usually speak in Danish. It is a gorgeous language to listen to, but confusing and a bit disorienting to look at. Considering all signs and such are in Danish, here's hoping I pick up enough to read a menu!

A brief introduction

Hello,

My name is Katie. I am a rising senior studying neurobiology at Purdue University. This summer, for 10 weeks, I will be studying in Copenhagen, Denmark. I chose to come to Copenhagen because this program offers a very interesting clinical health course that I feel will help me prepare for medical school. Once I started to research the city, I became very excited about coming here! The city is beautiful, has a rich history, and is full of good beer!

I will be taking a clinical health course, a renewable energies course, and a European genocide course. My latter two courses will have one-week trips to other countries (Germany and Poland, respectively).

I am a bit of an introvert and easily get lost so navigating my way both physically and socially will prove to be interesting, but I hope to make incredible memories and learn a lot.