Introduction Week

After spending nearly a week in Denmark, it was finally time for Marnie and I to begin the Introduction Week hosted at our University, Danmarks Tekniske Universitet (DTU). The introduction began on Tuesday 1/26 and upon arrival we were divvied up into groups and each assigned a "buddy". It amazed me how many different cultures were present in my group - Irish, Korean, Finnish, German, Spanish, Italian, Swedish, and another American from the state of Wisconsin. I was shocked to learn that all of the people in my group spoke English - although a couple doubted and questioned their grammar at times. One thing I find quite frustrating is when others start talking in their native tongues and I'm unable to understand them. I am thoroughly convinced that they are talking crap. Although I took Spanish for 5 years, I've lost my ability to hold a conversation. Marnie and I have decided we are going to come up with our own language so we can talk about people secretly, just as we think they do to us. 

As a whole, Introduction Week consisted of excessive alcohol consumption and an infinite number of handshakes. One of the strangest things I found about DTU's campus is that it has 7 bars scattered throughout, some of which actually reside in the academic buildings. At the bar located in the environmental department, we took a group selfie!

Focusing on the campus of DTU - it is the complete opposite of Clarkson. First off - it's about four times the size, and is split up into 4 quadrants for the simplicity of navigation. In numerous buildings there are full size trees scattered throughout the seating areas, which makes for a tranquil ambience. A couple other fun facts about my DTU experience so far are:

1) I didn't have to purchase any books - all my professors provided pdf's of the text.
2) People are shocked when I tell them how much Americans spend on education. Denmark provides free schooling for all citizens, as does most of the EU, they even give stipends to students for participating in higher education.
3) Most European Bachelor programs are completed within 3 years instead of the typical 4, as in the US. 
4) Four hour classes aren't that bad, especially when the professors provide breaks every hour or so. 
5) I have no finals - i repeat - NO FINALS. Going from 5 finals to 0 finals is beyond surreal. 

The choice to participate in Introduction Week was a wise one. It was not only a wonderful experience, but it also expanded my horizons and awareness of cultures extensively. In summary - the highlights of the whole introduction week were our trip to the Australian Bar on Australia Day with our new "squad". The Australian Bar had numerous photos of the late Steve Urwin plastered randomly on the walls. It also had a statue alligator in front of the DJ Booth that provides a wonderful photo op. for visitors. The music that played at the bar intrigued me. The majority of it was typical American clubbing music with Danish techno songs randomly intertwined.

Another one of my favorite parts of the week was going into Copenhagen and doing a scavenger hunt with our buddy group. We were instructed to take creative group pictures in front of various tourist attractions in Copenhagen we found using the hints given to us by the coordinators. Our group took 3 pictures total, 2 of which were taken in the wrong spot. The only picture that was taken in the correct spot is shown below and is pretty legendary if I do say so myself. I call it "Straight Outta Norreport".

We have had some ridiculous stories and things happen to us already. One night we were in the Cellar Bar and Marnie and I had consumed a fair amount of drinks. Trying to get home slightly intoxicated on bikes proved to be both challenging and amusing. As we walked outside Marnie insisted on getting on her bike first. While I chased after her, encouraging her to stop and remove herself from it, she continued laughing and dangerously swerving. Finally I convinced her to get off the bike and she got on the back part of the bike while our Italian roommate, Mattia, took over steering responsibilities. I proceeded to bike myself home. I was a ways ahead of Marnie and Mattia when I tried stopping and somehow fell off my bike. As the pair passed me, I remember seeing Marnie point at me and begin laughing uncontrollably. Luckily when I fell I was going equivalent to a turtles pace so I was not harmed. When we finally got into our room, Marnie realized that she had forgotten her purse on campus. My instincts then kicked in, and I started checking that I had all of my possessions. Come to find out my wallet was missing. I quickly ran outside, hopped back on my bike, and went all the way back to campus. After searching around I found Marnie's purse, but could not find my wallet. I decided the most logical thing to do at that point was to call my parents and have them cancel my credit cards. Prior to leaving campus I checked to see if my wallet was in Marnie's purse and found only her wallet and house keys. As I was biking home I had an epiphany. I questioned how we got into our room if Marnie's keys were in her purse. Please note at this time that our door was locked, i keep my house keys attached to my wallet, and Marnie's keys were left on campus in her forgotten purse. As one might assume at this point, upon my arrival back home I walked up to the door to find my keys in the door with my wallet, now containing two deactivated credit cards, hanging from it. I felt incredibly foolish. 

Now this wouldn't have been the biggest deal if the Danish postal system wasn't absolutely horrible. My cards were lost on 1/28. Anything that could have possibly gone wrong trying to mail new credit cards to me - went wrong. My mom first had trouble getting the credit card company to send the correct cards to our house. Then, the process of mailing the cards to Denmark was no simpler. The first attempt was made through DHL, and the cards didn't even make it out of the US. My mother then tried using Fed-Ex, and the path of the cards were Binghamton -> Memphis -> London -> Memphis -> Paris -> Copenhagen. I finally received the package on 2/15. Going without credit cards in a foreign country for over two weeks was an experience to say the least. But nonetheless, my ability to use a piece of plastic to make purchases has returned, thanks to many phone calls to mail curriers, an immense amount of patience, and incredibly understanding parents. 

On the Friday of Introduction Week, also the last day, DTU hosted a big party in Oticon Hall which had astounding similarities to a middle school dance, with the exception of alcohol. We danced to throwback jams such as "I Want It That Way" and a remix of Justin Bieber's "Sorry", that was in half English and half Danish. At the bar there was 10 for 100 dkk tequila shots (about $15), and Marnie took full advantage. Every time I went over to the bar, she was back for more with different people accompanying her. It was on this night that we met our British friend Harry, that has the most entertaining laugh I have EVER heard. It is quite contagious. He also insisted that "American's raped the English language". After meeting many new people, and losing track of time, I ended up walking in my door at 7:30 am following a 3 mile walk home because I was too impatient to wait for the bus. So that was fun :). 

On Saturday night we went into Copenhagen to a surprise birthday party for an Italian named Gianni, that we hadn't met previously. The house was composed of over 50 Italian people, our Icelandic roomie Siggi, and two Americans (us). Naturally, we returned to the Australian Bar, which we are quickly becoming regulars at, for round two. 

The following day we finally met our Slovakian neighbors. Marnie and I had intended to go over for a couple of minutes to say hello and introduce ourselves. Our plans were quickly altered when Ivan pressured us into trying his Grandpa's homemade moonshine. Next thing we knew it was 3 am. To summarize the night - it consisted of listening to the national anthems of various countries, the Slovakians trying to teach us the Danish language, and a weird Icelandic Christmas fist bumping song that is actually the most painful thing my ears have ever had to experience. In case you don't believe me, I provided a link to the song: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=djIdZC6Fitk 

After a full week of partying and introductions, it was time to begin the semester. Picking the right courses proved to be more challenging than I expected. I have been in and out of over 8 classes. For example, on Tuesday afternoon we went to a class called Surface Water Hydrology. The lecture part of the class was incredibly boring and the professor went through over 100 slides in under 2 hours. Following the lecture we went to the computer lab to do some programming, and long story short - Marnie and I left the class and immediately dropped it, because of the difficulty and our lack of knowledge of these foreign computer programs. Not to worry though! We finally have our schedules all figured out and are both taking the required amount of credits. I am enrolled in Project Management, Urban Planning and Sustainable Urban Development (6 credit course), and Health, Environmental and Life Cycle Impacts in Different Assessment Frameworks - all of which seem quite interesting so far.

Marnie and I spontaneously made the decision, during one of our less intriguing classes (we are good students I swear), to book our first flight. We went on google flights, selected dates, and picked the cheapest flight we could find - Brussels, Belgium. Because after all, rewarding ourselves with a European excursion seemed necessary after our strenuous first week of classes!

Expanding my horizons - one country at a time,
R-