backstreet boys, curling & sangria

Me at the Castle of the Moors

What do all those things have in common you might ask... well they all remind me of my wonderful trip to Lisbon, Portugal about two weeks ago. The last item on the list is pretty obvious, I had my fair share of this delicious drink (even though it's Spanish) at our cozy hostel - it was refreshing and cheap, perfect! We had some very musically talented people. Often we would end our day of sightseeing by having a drink in the courtyard while listening to fellow travelers play their favorite songs on the guitar. One favorite was backstreet boys... everyone knows the words and "I waaant it thaaat waaay!" It inspired me to make a boy band play list when I got home, perfect for singing in the shower. Lastly curling, next to speed-walking and badminton, it is probably one of the most made-fun-of sports in the Olympic Games. But it surprised me to learn that so many people did not know about it, both Europeans and Australians.

Okay that is it for my random rant. But I very much enjoyed my little get away to sunny and beautiful Lisbon. I had been there once before in 2005 with my family on our European cruise, but only for about eight hours. This time around I got a much better feel for the city, and it surprised me to see that it is exactly San Francisco. The street cars, numerous and thigh killing hills, Golden Gate-esque bridge and the street view that lead straight down to the water.

It was also nice to get a bit of sunshine and warm weather. But I had to lather up on the 50 spf sunscreen because my Danish skin had not see the sun in ages. And I believe that I was quite successful in not turning into a lobster, but I failed to protect the top of my feet which had been covered in sand - very awkward spot, it was painful and looked like I had red socks on haha!

Pena Palace

My favorite thing that we did was visit the town of Sintra, which was a 40 minute train ride outside the city. It was a very historic and beautiful little village that had many fairytale qualities, particularly because of the Pena Palace. I have never seen such a colorful and vibrant castle before and the furniture inside was amazingly crafted. It was built on top of a mountain in the 19th century and has some cool modern features like running water and a very old school telephone. I would have to say my favorite thing was the incorporation of sea life into the architecture and furniture. There was one archway in particular that looked like it was built of coral and had sea shells embedded in the facade, also there were numerous tables that had shells inlaid on the surface and even a little chapel made entirely of shells.

Me very tired from climbing

After thoroughly exploring the Palace we walked over to the Castle of the Moors (Castelo dos Mouros) on the neighboring mountain top. These are considerably older, being built in the 8th century during the time when the Moors controlled most of the Iberian Peninsula. It was an amazing strategic position for the Moors because from the towers you could see over the entire land and the ocean. I pity any soldier who had to patrol those walls though because they were a major bitch to climb! My friend Vanessa and I powered through the steep steps and were rewarded with breathtaking views of Portugal.

One last note worthy thing was the day we went to the Belém district of the city, it was there that I had one of the most amazing pastries. Pastel de Belém is an egg tart which has a flaky crust with a sweet custard like center - and the best thing was that it cost less than one American dollar! Dangerous. Fortunately we were able to go to the 160 year old pastry shop were they were first sold.

Over all it was nice break and escape, but I was glad to get back to Copenhagen which is feeling more and more like home. Additionally it was wonderful to see my dear friend João, who lives in Lisbon, and was able to show us a good time and give splendid advice on things to do, see and eat!

Well I better get ready to go to the airport to pick up my parents! Tomorrow we are renting a car and going for a road trip to Fyn and Jylland to see the cities of our Danish forefathers. It will be nice to see the rest of this country I have fallen so hopelessly in love with! Vi ses.

frustrations

A student hard at work at the Royal Library

If I had 20 danish kroners(crowns) for every time I became extremely frustrated and annoyed with the University of Copenhagen I would be a milliona... no wait this is Copenhagen we are talking about, well I would be one or two steps above a poor American college student.

I probably should not be blogging right now since I desperately need to go to the grocery store and get another million things done, but I needed to rant a wee bit!

Don't get me wrong, I have enjoyed my education at the University of Copenhagen immensely and this frustration is mostly due to the fact that I have not become acclimated to their foreign system. Well the frustration started this morning when I went to class and "Ahhhh!" there was no one there... apparently we did not have a lecture scheduled for today. Fair enough, and you might even ask "Isn't that a reason to be happy, no class and it's sunny outside!" That would be my mindset if I didn't have to get my professors signature on my literature list that is due on Friday.

Back story: When you write a final exam paper for a class at KU (Københavns Universitet) you must turn in a large bibliography that includes all the literature you plan on drawing your research from. In my case, as a bachelor student, this list is required to have at least 1.600 pages of research material.

So I spent the majority of my weekend getting this long list of citations together (brought me back to junior high and HID, thanks Mrs. Zapatka!). My grand plan was to go to class today get his signature of approval and then drop it off at the SAXO History Department. This plan was scuttled by the fact that my professor lives on Jylland (the peninsula of DK attached to Germany) and will only be in Copenhagen on Wednesday, which is the day I leave for Lisbon.

But thank god for Martin because he is going to get my prof's signature and turn it in for me... insert sigh of relief.

I am really glad that I have had the opportunity to experience a European University, but I will be glad to get back to a system that I am familiar with and which suits my style of learning better. Vi ses!

headaches & bruises

Are both a sign of a good night for Samantha. Last night was Tietgen's much anticipated Ladies Night. It was good fun dressing up in cocktail dresses and sipping drinks made by hired professional bartenders, at very very discounted prices I might add. In Copenhagen you can easily pay $20 for a good cocktail.

The dorm life in Copenhagen is much different from the dorm life at UCLA. I remember one time my freshman year for instance when we had a beer pong tournament in our common room... well root beer pong that is. Then my sophomore year my roommate Hannah I decided that we wanted to have candles in our room, but when it came time for room checks we had to make sure they were hidden away. I think there would be an all out violent revolt if Danish students were told that they could not burn candles... probably after beer, big windows, and hot dogs, candles have to be one of the most loved things by Danes.

My kitchen's Beer Fridge

And probably the most obvious difference is that every student dorm here in Copenhagen has some sort of bar or party room. Here at Tietgen, arguably the best student residence in Denmark and maybe even Scandinavia, we have contracts with Carlsberg, very smart business move on their part! Because of these agreements each kitchen has their own fridge stocked with any combination of drinks depending on the preference of the people living in the kitchen. Possibilities include an array of Coke products, ginger ale, tonic water (Danes love their gin & tonics), Cocio (heavenly Danish chocolate milk that is ideal for hangovers, definitely had one this morning), Tuborg Grøn, Tuborg gold, Carlsberg classic, regular Carlsberg etc. The Tietgen bar has then been outfitted with taps of various Carlsberg beers.

So it is safe to say that no one has ever gone thirsty in our fair dorm! Or broke for that matter because one beer from the beer fridge only costs about 5,50dkk or about $1, and at the bar all drinks are also cheap.

I think this is a really great style of student housing because instead of dangerously riding your bike home drunk, you can just stumble into the elevator and crawl into your bed... or if you have had a really good night, seek the solace of your toilet, nej tak!

Well this post was mostly just me putting off all this reading that I have piled next to me in the Tietgen study room. Ohh something else to touch upon (haha such a good procrastinator) in addition to facilitating our drunkness and party animal instincts, Tietgen also offers an array of both common and private study rooms which have proven very useful since my final exams are looming. Okie doke guess I better get to it, vi ses!