Copenhagen.

Touchdown! Arrived in Copenhagen yesterday at about 10:30 a.m. We met DIS people there who took us to a brief orientation session and then they took us to our living units. I live at Keops Kollegium, located in Norrebro, on the northwest part of town. My building is right next to a bus and train station. The building is not much to look at from the outside but the rooms are really nice--although with some differences from what I am used to. The shower is not separated from the rest of the bathroom, except by a curtain. Because of this setup, the floor is heated in the bathroom to help dry the water from the shower.

Although I didn't sleep well last night because of jet lag, I managed to sleep well enough to miss my living group leaving for the opening ceremony at 8 a.m. I make it there by myself via the bus, and was only a couple minutes late. The busses run every five minutes and are very reliable. After the ceremony I did some grocery shopping and tried to get more acclimated with the city. I took the bus back downtown for our Danish "survival course" from 1:30-4:30 p.m.

The city itself is very different the cities I know in the U.S. It has excellent public transportation-- and plenty of bikers. Cyclers have their own defined lane throughout the city, and vastly outnumber car drivers. Even high ranking government officials--including the Minister of Finance--ride their bikes to work. One has to be equally if not more cautious in avoiding bikers as they are in avoiding cars in Copenhagen.

It is interesting to see the cultural influences that a place like Copenhagen absorbs. The Danish appear to be a very diverse and distinct people. They obviously have their unique, Danish culture and values, I'm sure more than I can see after just a day and a half here. It is also apparent that they are drastically influenced by the English speaking world, particularly America. Some of us were walking in a group today, and some Danes, who noticed that we were staring at maps and probably easily recognized us as Americans, started chanting "Obama!" as we walked past them. Additionally, there was extensive coverage of Obama's train ride to Washington, as well as of the recent plane crash in New York in the Danish newspaper. Just about everything is in English as well as Danish, and some stores or advertisements are labeled only in English. Burger King's, McDonald's and 7-11 stores dot the area. I've seen several Danes wearing New York Yankee caps. I saw several ads today for Super Bowl parties at bars and restaurants. For as much as some Europeans gripe about our culture, they have had just as many opportunities to reject it--and haven't.

Nevertheless, it is not the American culture I am here for. I'm looking forward to exploring many different parts of Copenhagen. We had some great pizza from a local place last night, and I want to try the famous Danish Smorreboard (open faced sandwich). In the coming days, I am going to try to make it to the Sofiero Castle where Danish royalty reside, and the famous Cathedral of Lund.

More to come in the next few days, hopefully some pictures, too...