Mermaids and Danes

Today was definitely fun; Tali and I went to see the Little Mermaid statue in Copenhagen. She is my default picture, but I'm sure all of you already knew that.

We were up fairly early, and after enjoying a leisurely breakfast, Tali and I headed out via bike to Copenhagen - it's a really flat ride, so fairly easy. The weather was lovely when we started out but after around 30 minutes, the wind started to go against us, and was determined to slow us down. Biking in the city is somewhat frightening for me, as I've never really been much of a cyclist...okay, I've NEVER been a cyclist. The hustle and bustle of the busy city makes it difficult to navigate - around cars, other cyclists, and people wandering around. We ended up at the statue around noon, and hung out there for a little while. We managed to get there before a big group of tourists, so we were able to take some pictures of the famous mermaid.



Afterwards (bagefter - I'm studying Danish right now for my exam tomorrow), we went to grab something warm, because the sun had hidden itself (and has yet to reappear), and we had started to freeze. After a hot chocolate (varm chokolade), we went shopping for a little while, but ended up so tired, that we headed home - on the train.

Lene and Lars came home and we had dinner together, something that I don't do that often anymore because I'm usually with Stefan around that time. Tonight Lene made this amazing dinner - mashed potatoes (something-kartofler), rice (ris), and then this gravy-ish soup with peas, carrots (gulerødder), beef (kalvekød), hot dogs (hot dogs), meatballs (frikadeller), as well as a few other vegetables. Definitely satisfying after such a long day.

Ah, but yesterday. Yesterday was a lot of fun - meeting the family was great, but definitely nerve-wracking at first. I was petrified as we walked in the door (me wearing my purple cords, black and white converse, and a black short-sleeve v-neck teeshirt with the white scarf...this outfit took much time and consideration), but shortly after, my nerves eased into serenity, as I realized that Stefan's mother is just as wonderful as he is. She bought us a layer cake (lagkage, I think), and made coffee. As we sat around the table, we realized something - she spoke as much English as I do Danish. The language barrier was slightly difficult, and I'm sure, at times, frustrating for Stefan to have to translate, but it was fun. It definitely allowed me to use my Danish a lot more, even though I was really scared to do it. I started out self conscious, but I realized that Alice (his mother) didn't care how poorly my accent was coming across - she cared that I was trying.

She's so friendly, and I know that if we spoke the same language, we'd get along really well. Luckily, we can use it as kind of a bonding tool and a learning tool at the same time - while I attempt to teach her some English, she can attempt to teach me some more Danish.

Stefan's sister Nanna is also really cool - and her husband Andreas. Their apartment is totally Danish - soooo stylish. I can only pray that my future home will look just an eighth as cool as theirs does - topped with some baby pictures (pop-art style), amazing furniture, and modern kitchen appliances, I'm totally jealous. Nanna is, of course, yet another beautiful Dane - how can I even be surprised? And Andreas and Nanna's baby, Sylvester, is absolutely adorable. He's a very happy baby, and he even held my finger for a little while! I adore him...actually, all of them already. When I left, Alice gave me a big hug and held my hand for a bit before I left - making me feel all of the sudden right at home. They've also invited Stefan and I out to the zoo next Friday, so that should be fun. I'm already comfortable with them, despite this cross-cultural barrier.

They actually seem to be really used to this foreigner thing - Stefan's other sister, Bitten, married a German man, and Andreas's brother married an American girl. It gives me the slightest bit of hope that Alice didn't speak a word of German before she met Bitten's husband - and now she's doing much better. Hopefully her English and my Danish will be quick to improve.

Finally (til sidst), here's a picture of Stefan and I, for those of you who have yet to see my handsome boyfriend (who has been helping me with my Danish studying all night). It's not the best picture in the world, but rarely are we photogenic at the same time, so it'll have to do until you can all meet him in person!


But it's almost 1, and I have to be somewhat well rested for that Danish test tomorrow - and to take some photojournalism shots! Luckily H.C. Andersen class is canceled, so I have a little bit more time to try to make Anders (photojournalism professor) happy - which is apparently very difficult to do. I'll be very unhappy if the class I took for FUN turns out to be the hardest - ridiculous.

But also, because I need to sleep now, remind me to tell you about my amazing luck and skipping classes in the next entry!

(:

Lots of love! Farvel for nu!