Falling in love with København

You just made it so easy to do. What with the luscious smells of freshly-baked pastries and your exquisitely delectable pølser kiosks meeting at every street corner. With your smorgasbord of understated-chic fashions beckoning at each exclusively independent boutique. With your populace of the ever elusive Danes who are mysteriously quiet to begin with, but so so much fun once you dig deeper. With every exhilarating bike ride whether thru wind or rain and with your seemingly never-ending collection of quaint character cafes - København, you are something I just can't get enough of. =)

I don't know how or when it happened. I thought I was upset at you for not issuing me a visa and for making me bike through wind and storm on a regular basis. But I was wrong. I am not upset at all. Instead I am so very sad to leave a place that I accidentally fell head over heels in love with over the course of four months time.

The End of This Short-Lived Viking Life

Above are just some select moments in the past weeks that made me want to cry at the thought of leaving this place. And while I fell in love with the more material aspects to København long ago (ie. hot dogs, pastries and fashion), it truly is the people that make the place. Initially, I only hung out with the other international students and they have become like my København family. But I knew that they were leaving like me and so it wasn't until exam time when I got to know a group of real Danes, that I got a taste for what it would be like to actually BE here. All of that combined is what makes me really sad to leave now.

And oh the regrets!! I wish I had taken more time to learn Danish. I know that it isn't the most useful language but I feel like I would have gotten more out of the experience had I tried harder. (plus grocery shopping and normal everyday things would've been so much easier!) I wish I had stayed on the football team too. Not only would that have helped to prevent my current accumulation of chocolate danish pudge, I would've met more Danes and earlier too. Who cares if I was the only one who only spoke English?

I've learned something else too: Some Danes I've met continued to speak a lot of Danish in front of me even though they knew I was a foreigner. At first I thought it was because they were snobby and rude. But as things turn out, they are neither. While their english pronunciation sounds great to me and I always assume their english is at a very high level, this is not always the case. Even though they may sound good, their confidence in the language is low and thus causes the constant lapsing back to their mother tongue. 

I think most people are excited to have their exchange end and to return home to the place where they really belong. And don't get me wrong, I am definitely looking forward to returning to some important standstills in my life too like my bed, my pet rabbit, my music, and my friends and family. But I've always been one of those suckers that hate when the movie or tv series comes to an end and my beloved characters are no longer a part of my everyday life. Like when I finished reading the Harry Potter series and realized there would be no more. Or when Ugly Betty ended and all her problems got fixed. WHY!! I just got so sad I wanted to rewatch/read all the episodes/books again but realized that was a waste of time so didn't and then just ended up sitting there feeling sad. Which is exactly what I am doing right now. =(

Anyway, I should focus on the positive and that is that I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in such an exchange. I can't wait to go home and tell all the students considering such an experience how great it was! Living in a place that is so different than home can be such an eye-opening and rewarding experience. I am grateful to all the people whose paths crossed mine to make my adventures so memorable!

I am thinking of joining the Danish Club when I return home. (that is, if they'll have me!) I just want to stay connected somehow to the culture that I was a part of for so brief a time - to make it seem real and not just a happy dream. And if for nothing else, a good monthly brunch, some æbleskiver, and to exercise the few Danish words I've learnt along the way: 'Tak!' and 'Hej Hej!'

But then again, who knows? If my friend Morten Østergaard, Danish Minister of Science, Innovation and Higher Education, takes my gløgg-inspired words to heart, perhaps visa processes can be streamlined thereby encouraging a better career and future in Denmark for quality international graduates such as myself. Here's counting on you Morty!! =P