Monday, September 22, 2014
Tuesday, September 16, 2014
Monday, September 1, 2014
My Danish Home Away From Home
At first I was pretty bitter that I did not receive on-campus housing due to a shortage. Although calling it on-campus is pretty misleading. It's the law in Denmark that universities cannot own housing. The "on-campus" housing is actually privately owned although only students are able rent it. Danish students actually go to college for free and they can even qualify to receive money from the state while they complete their degree. (I would never graduate if that were the case in the States.) And I'm not talking money for textbooks, I'm talking part-time job level earnings. Too bad I can't take advantage of the free education and student pay. In fact, I still have to pay tuition to my home university even though my host university doesn't see a dime of it. Where is that money going again?
Although my apartment is not adjacent to campus, it is in a really convenient location with buses running right outside my window and the metro only a short walk or bike ride away. From my room I can hear the hustle and bustle of the street and American rap music blaring from car stereos. My neighborhood is filled with bike shops and kebab take-away joints. I am blessed with a full kitchen including an oven, something my on-campus counterparts don't have. My apartment complex has a great courtyard that is only accessible to residents. Picnic tables and shrubbery decorate the space. In the summertime it would be a great place to barbecue.
I couldn't be happier with my flatmates, both are sweet girls who don't mind me asking them tons of questions about life in Copenhagen. Sofie is Danish and Federica is Italian. Thank god I'm not the only one who does not speak Danish. Federica has lived here for two years, she moved here to complete her Master's degree in Video Game Design and she is equally as frustrated by the Danish language as I am. Sofie is a bookshop manager who just completed her first book and recently went back to school to study business.
My room came fully furnished and the whole apartment is gorgeously decorated. Even though almost everything in it comes from IKEA, it still looks like something out of an interior design magazine. The walls of my room are filled with photographs of David Bowie and the Rolling Stones and the shelves are filled with the biographies of every significant rock star of the past 35 years (in Danish of course). It's cozy and homey and there is a cat! Her name is Lille Skid, which is Danish for "Little Shit". She's definitely high maintenance as cats are known to be but she's sweet and adorable none the less. She greets us at the door and rubs against our legs while we cook.
One reason that I was bitter about my housing situation is that exchange students in school housing have the benefit of a built-in social network and pay less than I do in private housing. However, I still feel lucky to have found somewhere to live. After being here for two weeks now I've met many students who still don't have any accommodation. Students are staying in hostels, unable to find somewhere to live in the city at a reasonable price. Copenhagen is known to have a huge shortage of housing. Many people want to live here because the quality of life is so high and there are nice perks like a free education. But the city just doesn't have the space for it. I've lived off-campus my entire college career so might as well keep up the tradition during my time here in Copenhagen.
Although my apartment is not adjacent to campus, it is in a really convenient location with buses running right outside my window and the metro only a short walk or bike ride away. From my room I can hear the hustle and bustle of the street and American rap music blaring from car stereos. My neighborhood is filled with bike shops and kebab take-away joints. I am blessed with a full kitchen including an oven, something my on-campus counterparts don't have. My apartment complex has a great courtyard that is only accessible to residents. Picnic tables and shrubbery decorate the space. In the summertime it would be a great place to barbecue.
I couldn't be happier with my flatmates, both are sweet girls who don't mind me asking them tons of questions about life in Copenhagen. Sofie is Danish and Federica is Italian. Thank god I'm not the only one who does not speak Danish. Federica has lived here for two years, she moved here to complete her Master's degree in Video Game Design and she is equally as frustrated by the Danish language as I am. Sofie is a bookshop manager who just completed her first book and recently went back to school to study business.
My room came fully furnished and the whole apartment is gorgeously decorated. Even though almost everything in it comes from IKEA, it still looks like something out of an interior design magazine. The walls of my room are filled with photographs of David Bowie and the Rolling Stones and the shelves are filled with the biographies of every significant rock star of the past 35 years (in Danish of course). It's cozy and homey and there is a cat! Her name is Lille Skid, which is Danish for "Little Shit". She's definitely high maintenance as cats are known to be but she's sweet and adorable none the less. She greets us at the door and rubs against our legs while we cook.
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| The only time she sits still long enough for me to take a picture of her is when she's sleeping. |
One reason that I was bitter about my housing situation is that exchange students in school housing have the benefit of a built-in social network and pay less than I do in private housing. However, I still feel lucky to have found somewhere to live. After being here for two weeks now I've met many students who still don't have any accommodation. Students are staying in hostels, unable to find somewhere to live in the city at a reasonable price. Copenhagen is known to have a huge shortage of housing. Many people want to live here because the quality of life is so high and there are nice perks like a free education. But the city just doesn't have the space for it. I've lived off-campus my entire college career so might as well keep up the tradition during my time here in Copenhagen.
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