An Aussie Student's Guide To Copenhagen

HAPPY BELATED NEW YEAR!!!!

To answer your question no i haven’t died- i will post soon on why i’ve been away so long. Speak soon.

Hey everyone-

I know it’s been a while since i’ve blogged (that’s become a repetitive opener i’ve realised…) but a lot has happened since my last post. As the title of this blog suggests, i have now officially ridden inside a Danish Ambo and i am please to announce i have also seen the inside of Amager Hospital’s Emergency Room – Pause for reaction :O . I had a pretty bad flu for a little while and during that time i failed to continue eating and drinking water so i collapsed in my friend’s apartment and hit my head pretty hard which in turn required me to get stitches. All in all it was a pretty stressful week because i had a friend coming from England to stay with me and then i was also flying to Paris in 4 days so it all came at a pretty bad time.

Firstly, i know i STILL have not posted the pics of the kollegium up- i WILL do that in the coming week once i get my bearings together.

I shall update soon- until then here are some pics from last couple of weeks from a variety of events and social gatherings i have attended both pre and post ambulance ride.

Talk soon

P.S- Alot of people have been emailing in asking questions and i’m more then happy to help. If you’re reading this blog and have any questions please don’t hesitate to ask me. Just leave a comment and i’ll get back to you as soon as possible.

Cya.

Hey all, sorry i haven’t blogged in a while but i’ve been really swamped with Uni work for the last couple of days and well it’s been really hectic for a little bit. It’s strange, i’m only at uni here in Denmark 2 days a week for 1 hour but there still seems to be so much stuff to do in between yet at the same time i feel like i’m wasting most of my days away.

Firstly, let me start by apologising for not posting the pics of the kollegium up yet- i know i promised in my last blog i would update but i just haven’t had a chance to take some nice photos yet. Rest assure that within the upcoming week i shall post a new blog entry entirely devoted to the kollegium and what you guys should expect- I’ll also put up photos from the halloween party that the kollegium is having as well as the one that my flat is throwing so you guys can get a batter idea of what to expect.

Speaking of parties, there has been plenty going on here over the past few weeks ever since i got back from Germany. My friends and i actually go to this really cool club called B41- One of our friends who also lives in the kollegium  works there and recommended it to us so we decided to check it out and ever since then it has become one of our regular spots to go to. B41, right next to Norreport Metro Station is the place to be on Thursday nights- ladies get in for free (and if they pay 50 Kroner extra then they get 3 free strawberry daiquiri’s) but for guys there’s a 50 Kroner entrance fee which is about the average entry price for clubs in Kobenhavn. Last Thursday i went with a group of about 13 people and that seems to be the last memory from the night that i have. My friends have shared some rather colorful photos from the night with me and i’ve posted some of the more tame ones below. Either way, B41 is one club that you must check out while here in Copenhagen as well as RUST and Vega. The last 2 are a little more expensive to get into but from what i’ve heard it’s worth it.

As the year comes to a close many of the international students have gone away for Break-week. This tends to be the time for people to go travel around the rest of Scandinavia as well as other parts of Europe such as France and Spain. This is also when the majority of students also start work on their final papers and as i am one of them, i’ve already started to feel the stress of it. Coming from Australia and only in my second year of university, the longest paper i’ve ever had to write has been 3000 words in length and i almost died while writing it, so arriving in Copenhagen and learning that i need to write a 15 page paper on Soren Kierkegaard was sort of a kick in the guts for me. A lot of my friends have already started working on their’s and a few of them have even started writing them so i’ve now started to do research and do the readings i was meant to do 3 weeks ago in preparation for the due dates. I hope i’ll be able to maintain my 5 day weekend (Wednesday-Sunday) of non-stop partying (and recovery) but something tells me my sanity, my body and my grades will all beg to differ.

And speaking of recovery, today i finally found peanut butter! It’s so strange how happy it made me (it’s no where near as good as the Kraft stuff we get back home but it will do). My advice is bring a large jar of peanut butter and nutella with you because the peanut butter has taken me 7 weeks to find and the nutella will make you pay through the ass (it’s expensive).

Well that’s pretty much it for this blog. I’ve put some more pics on the bottom as a space filler so take a look.

Hi All,

Sorry that i haven’t blogged in a while, but i was swamped with uni work last week and then i spent 4 nights in Germany (Tyskland in Danish) and it was amazing. This is one other advantage of coming on exchange at a european university- the ability to travel to different countries is a whole lot more accessible and is so much more easily done then say in Australia. It’s a simple train ride or a one hour flight and bam, your in a new country with a totally different cultural history and language.

My trip to Germany was amazing- photos below - and really cheap; a one way train ticket was 29Euro which is about $AUD 60. Alternatively you can fly but depending on when you book it can be a bit pricey- my advice is to use Norwegian Airlines or SAS- They seem to be the most affordable airlines that i’ve found.

I just booked a flight to Paris for 68EURO return which, according to my German friends and roommate is a bargain. I would advise that you fly when travelling within Europe as train rides can be a bit too long but if your travelling with a friend the time does tend to pass more quickly. Even alone, your bound to strike up a conversation with a stranger at some point.

I went with my friend F and out German friend M and it was heaps of fun- definitely a must see if your here in Europe.

For cheap accommodation check out these websites:

www.booking.com
as well as
www.hostelworld.com

Amazing websites with great prices ( some even in Aussie Dollars)

I’m gonna post again right now with some pics of my room and the kollegium itself like i promised in the last blog

Gummi Bears!

L’s place

K showing us around her home town- This is a piece from the Berlin Wall.

I’m going to Paris in 2 weeks so i’ll be updating my blog with pictures from that trip as well. Will post soon

It’s only been 7 weeks here in Denmark but already my body feels like i’ve just put it through boot camp. I’ve turned into the typical uni student- sleeping in to about midday and staying out until 4.30 in the morning all seem to be apart of the norm. Yesterday i tried to sleep early (11.30pm) and my body clock just didn’t match up- i ended up staying awake until 6.30 in the morning and sleeping in until about 12.30 and thus running late for class.

The dorm parties here in Denmark are amazing- we’re missing out  in Australia. The kollegium parties are a great way to catch up with friends, meet new people and just get so blind that you find it difficult to walk in a straight line. This has now happened to my friends and i several times in the last couple of weeks and the dorm party here at my kollegium on friday night was no different. It took me 10 minutes to open my front door because i kept dropping my key.

Right now i can say that during your stay here in Denmark you must go to at least two of the kollegium parties- even if they don’t sound like your thing they are a must for all students- the parties at Tietgen Kollegium and Egmont. These kollegiums usually have a party at least once every two weeks and the drinks are pretty cheap (in comparison to what you would pay in a bar here in Copenhagen) and their all located close to Metro/bus/s-train services which means you can drink at your place before hand or at a bar or at the student house and turn up later. The parties all advertise that they start at about 9.30 – 10 but things don’t usually start to happen until about midnight so my advice is to get some mates over and have a few or 50 pre-drinks ad make your way over then.

I’m gonna put up some photos of the dorm party from the Signalhuset at the bottom- sadly i don’t think that there will be another one for a while- from what i was told, sometime in the early morning while the party was coming to a close, a water pipe which had been clogged exploded thus flooding the entire party room.

In my next blog i’m gonna post some pictures of my room and the kollegium itself so you can get a better idea of what to expect. Right now i’m heading back to bed so get some more sleep… before that party at CSS tonight. Ah the joys of youth!!!

My roommate and her opinion on Jagger Shots.

I don't know who these people are and i'm obviously too drunk to really care...

When i first applied for exchange back at the beginning of the year (yes it’s quite a long-ass process) i couldn’t wait to leave for Denmark. I pictured the insane partying, the friends i would make and the large amounts of alcohol i would consume. However as the days rolled closer to my departure i started to feel more and more anxious. I had a number of different feelings which all seemed to conflict with each other and all my mates who also went on exchange in the same semester as i did to different parts of the world have now admitted to me that they had similar feelings.

I think it’s normal for almost every exchange student to have moments of doubt or insecurities- i’ll admit that i’ve asked myself sometimes why in the name of all that is holy did you do exchange but these moments of doubt will pass. They suck and it must sound kind of depressing that i’m talking about it but these are real feelings that EVERYONE on exchange has at some point during the trip. 7 weeks in so far and i’ve had at least 2 major homesick moments but the people you meet here and the close relationships that you form help to pull you through it.

If i had known that exchange would have been like this, i guess i wouldn’t have wasted so much of my time obsessing over the little things. It doesn’t matter where you’re going, it’s the people that help make your experience. I met some people here that i will never forget and i’ve also had some experiences here that i will never forget (Christiania anyone?) During my time here so far, i’ve met so many awesome (and a few not so awesome) people and each of them has brought something new to my trip. Don’t let your jitters make you think twice about coming on an adventure like this- they might be a bit daunting and seem relevant but at the end of the day you just need to experience it and as my friends all told me back home- if it sucks, make it better. If it’s boring, make it fun. And if it’s dull …. get drunk.

I’ve attached some pictures of just some of the awsome people i’ve met here so far- and i’m more then positive that there’s plenty of others to come. I’ve got to start my paper now which is due at midnight tonight and then there’s a dorm party at my mate’s place so will post some pics of that up later. Cya

We fell into the water....

Don’t get me wrong, being here in Copenhagen is fucking amazing. The Danes are amazing people, very friendly. And the new mates i have are an awesome bunch of people. Yet somehow i still miss home. I’ve talked to my friends at least 2 or 3 times a week since i’ve arrived and the person who invented Skype needs to be given a medal-yet the homesickness is like a disease; it keeps coming back in waves, each one stronger then the last. I suppose there’s no real way to combat against it except to just focus on the now.

It’s amazing, because even with the large amounts of people i’ve met, it’s taken me quite some time to realise that i’m not alone. When you arrive at first it seems like your the only real person standing in the middle of a crowd. The only real advice i guess i have is to take a breath and just take it one moment at a time but be warned- it doesn’t always work. I still miss my folks and my all my friends back home in Oz but these feelings are all apart of the main experience.  It just sucks cause these moments tend to come from nowhere and make you feel like absolute shit.

I think (rather i hope) everyone’s been havin’ these moments. Maybe it’s easier for others because this is my first time away from home for such a long period of time. Australia will always be my home and holds everything i care for. It’s just hard starting again- even if it is for such a short amount of time. Our lives continue even though we feel so much and i often think how much of a miracle that is- emotions have the ability to cripple us, yet in most of our lives there’s no time to breakdown.

Chatting with friends hasn’t always been easy. Seeing them back home makes me realise just how large the gap between us is and while we can skype and chat and do everything but actually physically greet each other, it doesn’t make it any easier. I miss everyone back home in Australia…. but life goes on i guess.

Farewell Party

Maybe it’s just one of those days, but i suppose as long as you have some kick ass friends around and some booze then at the end of the day it’s all good.

Sedative

In my last post i wrote how i would talk about the pre-semester danish language course in greater detail and hopefully this post will help to properly prepare you. I should say that my view upon the course is a little biased because i was placed with the most rude and incompetent teacher i have ever met but i must admit that i don’t regret doing the course at all because i met some of the coolest people which made my transition into Copenhagen a whole lot easier.

The majority of people i met have all had generally positive things to say about the course and while i too enjoyed myself in most parts, overall i thought the course was poorly planned and some of the content was unnecessary. You could probably do without knowing how to say i like chocolate and i can almost guarantee that by the end of the course you are going to hate Stine and Ivan.

Some tips to get you through the course:

1) Bring at least 300 Kroner on your first day as that is how much the beginner text book costs.

2) Bring a translation dictionary- they are always a helpful secondary source

3) Sit next to a German person- they have a sixth sense when it comes to speaking Danish and their often very friendly people

4) If your sharing with a Dane ask them for their help.

5) Don’t be put off when your teacher asks you a question in Danish- the instruction language of the course is in Danish and your not the only one thinking what the hell is going on. There are generally 4 or 5 people who are lost as well.

While i didn’t enjoy all of my time in the course, i must say that i would recommend the course to every potential incoming exchange/irasmus student as it’s an excellent way to meet new people and have a good time. It’s funny because on the first day almost everyone is going through the same thing- no one knows anyone and so everyone awkwardly looks around the room just waiting for someone to come to them. At the end of the day someone has to bite the bullet and if your a shy person, well then what a better way to work on your confidence then to introduce yourself to a complete stranger

Learning any new language is difficult, and with Danish that is especially true. It’s funny though when your walking down the street and someone asks you a question in Danish and you can actually reply!- a helpful sentence is Jeg Kan Ikke Tale Danske- I can not speak Danish. Be prepared for lot’s AND lot’s of weird noises and strange oral movements… well stranger then usual.

Well i’m gonna start working on my next blog now otherwise i’m going to lose my scholarship so enough about the Danish course. I’ve attached some photos of my awesome classmates sans my un-awesome teacher.

A, F & M on one of our unscheduled night outs.

The Beach

L & M

F and Me

Mange Tak

A big hello to all my blog reader’s out there, and a special hello to all those Aussie’s who are looking to study at KU for a semester, a year or longer. The major reason this blog exists is because i want to provide all future international students with some helpful advice that will hopefully make your transition to both Denmark and KU much easier.

It’s been 5 weeks since my arrival here and for the most part i’ve been having a blast. The classes have been awesome, the people have been extremely accommodating and exploring this city has been fantastic. For someone who has never been to any part of Europe before, this has been an amazing experience.

Arriving in Copenhagen from Sydney is a tough journey- 29 hours on a plane is not my idea of a good time but rest assure that once you arrive, it is well worth it. I advise that you try to come at least a few days before your classes start. If you are doing the pre-semester danish language course, then try to come around the 30th of July- classes tend to start around the 3rd of August and if you arrive a little earlier, it gives you the opportunity to scope out where everything is. More information on the Pre-Semester Danish Language Course will be included on my upcoming blog entitled How I Survived 3 Weeks of Hell.

Some advice for arriving in Copenhagen:

-Firstly, when you recieve your acceptance package, make sure you send of your ID-Card form off straight away. With over 1000 international students attending KU each semester there are a lot of cards that need to be printed and and the sooner you send it in the better. It is also a good idea to bring some spare passport sized photos with you- the international office has a tendency to lose several of them.

-Do not pack all cold clothing if you are here for the autumn semester- be sensible. Bring some shorts, t-shirts etc- it really isn’t that cold over here during the beginning of Autumn and the beach at Amager Strand is nice- nothing like Bondi or Manly of course but still nice.

-Be sensible about how much your going to pack and bring over here. I know that QANTAS charges over $78 Australian Dollars for every Kilo you are over the weight limit.

-Get your friends and family acustomed to Skype- it’s a cheap and failry reliable way to keep in contact.

Arriving in Copenhagen, public transport is your best bet- taking a taxi like i did is a mistake when you first arrive. I was enrolled in the pre-semester danish language course so i arrived on the 30th of July staying at a cheap hotel in the heart of the city. A 10 minute taxi ride from the airport (Lufthaven in Danish) to the city cost me 238DKK – that’s about $60 Australian Dollars. You best bet is the metro- cheap (21DKK for a 2 zone Adult Ticket), reliable, and generally will get to where you need to go- or the suburb next to it at least. For all you Sydney residents, forget your misconceptions about public transport- the Danish will show you how it’s done.

Another really important issue is accommodation- i have meet a lot of exchange people here and everyone has their own opinions about their housing. I was extremely lucky- i was put in a fairly new Dorm. The housing office really only offer three various types of housing:

1) Landlord/Landlady

2)Dorm/Kollegium

3)Apartment

-A few of my good friends are living with a landlord/landlady and generally their fairly cheap- anywhere between 2000-2800 DKK per month. Some of them really enjoy it, having weekly meals with their landlords, fully furnished rooms and kitchens including microwaves, ovens etc. Others however think it’s a bit strange, and i’ve heard that some landlords are a bit strange. Overall it seems like most of the people i have talked to enjoy it so it really doesn’t seem to be a bad option.

-Option 2, in my opinion, is the best form of housing the international office can offer you. Kollegium’s are a fantastic way to meet new people, crash parties and are, in most cases fairly affordable. My housing offer at the Signalhuset Kollgeium, for example is fantastic. It’s right across to the largest shopping centre/mall in Scandinavia (to get there just take the metro to Orestad and walk to the big grey building with the word Field’s written on it), it’s fairly new and the rooms are nice and spatious. The apartment is shared by 4 people, each person has there own bedroom, there are 2 bathrooms and one fairly large, shared common are which generally includes a lounge and a kitchen. The rooms are furnished by the international office which means you get a bed, a desk, a small table, curtains if your lucky, a light and a cupboard to put your clothes in. The only real problem that you can have with Kollegium’s are if you don’t like your roommates- i have seen some apartments where the rooms are filthy but these sort of issues can be worked out. The rent for the Signalhuset is about 3200DKK per month- about $800 Aussie Dollars per month. Some other kollegium’s you should check out are Keops Kollegium, Egmont Kollegium, and the pride and joy of all the Kollegium’s here in Denmark- Tietgen kollegiet. This Kollegium is extremely popular- beautifully furnished, each person has their own bedroom and bathroom, and a large common area which includes a flat screen TV, a large spacious kitchen shared by 11 other people (it may sound strange but this is actually a great way to meet new people) and a beautiful courtyard and party room. You should google some of the pictures, but be warned- it is extremely popular therefore the rent is somewhere between 4000-4500 DKK per month.

The final option is also a good option- you are given your own apartment which usually comes fully furnished as well. I have only met one other person who has this housing and all they told me was that it was affordable. This is also a very nice option however it can get a little boring at times if your continually by yourself, but this may appeal to you if you prefer having some alone time.

The international housing department at KU work continually to make sure that everyone gets an offer- do not panic if you don’t get an offer until mid-july; semester has already started here and there are still about 100 international students who haven’t received housing here in Copenhagen. In your housing application you can put down any specific requirements that you wish and i know a few people who specifically put down Kollegium and that’s what they received- but be warned- housing offers are all about luck.

Well that’s all for this first blog- i hope that at least some of your questions have been answered and please feel free to ask any questions or email me if you want to know anything specific.

Cya