Cultural differences between America and Denmark are still prevalent as ever throughout my daily life here in Copenhagen. Maybe not as frequent as they were my first month here, but new differences are always surprising me. For instance, pumpkin flavored treats and candles aren't a thing here... how disappointing... especially on national pumpkin day.
Last night I had the privilege of attending a Hillsong Connect group in Valby. Connect groups are Hillsong's way of providing a smaller, more intimate community to dive into the word. This connect group was one of the most diverse bible studies I have ever been in and it was such a sweet picture - full of young adults from all over the world including Switzerland, Scotland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Texas, Washington, California, and me from Maryland. And the other cool thing, is that all of us are studying at different institutions throughout the Copenhagen area. Here we go again with the cultural differences. My 'connect' groups at Elon consist of my close friends, who look just like me, attend the same school as me, and were raised with a similar upbringing. The Hillsong connect group consists of complete strangers, I imagine different upbringings all across the board, and lots of diversity, Yes, they each give a different light to different areas of my walk with Jesus. But the coolest picture in all of this, is that we are all Christians. We all worship the same God. And that is the bottom line for a giving and uplifting connect group. I walked back to the train station last night with new friends, and a deeper appreciation for cultural differences, The vastness of God is so evident, but sometimes, we just have to lift our eyes to see it.
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1. Under-rated. "You have to go to Austria," is not a common phrase heard in the study abroad grapevine - but it should be. This country has so much to offer, and you will not be disappointed! Salzburg and Vienna were the two cities I traveled too - both different feels, but both Austrian feels.
2. Beautiful. Old and striking architecture, low skylines, lots of white and just a charm that screams beautiful. This place during Christmas would be an absolute dream. 3. Clean. We were always pretty early in starting out days, but the mornings we spent walking the streets it was impeccably clean, which made the experience all the best. It was breathable, and classy! 4. Coffee Capital. Best. Coffee. Ever. Vienna is known for their excellent baristas and brews. I probably had 10 coffees total the whole weekend, and can honestly say all were great. Some of my favorite coffee shops were: phil, Café Sperl and Cafe Central. Beware, the size cup that comes with your coffee is small, really small. 5. Horse-Run. Horse-drawn carriages are everywhere! It's the coziest, most picturesque way to explore the city. 6. Homey. I am the biggest fan of big breakfasts, and Austria agrees. At the brunch places we ate, I felt like I was in Atlanta, exploring new trendy cafés. 7. Yummy. Continuing on the brunch topic, wow were the breakfasts good. In Vienna, we ate breakfast at The Breakfast Club and Café Sperl. For dinner we ate Bier and Bierli, casual bar. The Nasushmarket is also awesome, lots of free samples, and falafel. Best ice cream was at Eis Greissler - get the poppy seed, almond, or cookie flavor. Salzburg was the home of the greatest brunch, at Fingerlos. And also the greatest pizza, L'Osteria. I recommend all of these places! 8. Surprising. On our walk over a busy bridge in Salzburg, we heard a small group singing some great Christian songs, and we were taken back! We started talking to them, and they invited us back to their church for lunch. What a sweet depiction of God's love and his presence on this Earth! The same day, as we arrived at the metro station and the most beautiful angelic voice was singing his heart out at the metro entrance doors. He will be famous one day. Who knows how Austria will surprise you. 9. von Trapp. Salzburg is the home of everything Sound of Music. We were able to see many of the backdrops were the movie was filmed. The von Trapp house is better in person. 10. Historical. Many grand palaces and castles loomed over my head. I would by lying if I told y'all I know what all those buildings were, but they sure are beautiful. The Vienna Opera House is also a must-see. The Opera we attended was such an experience, we left after intermission because a four hour opera sung in a different language sometimes is too long, and will put you to sleep (I can attest to this). 11. Worthy. Go to Austria! This long study tour officially sets off my travel bug mentality. I left Copenhagen to visit Berlin and Prague this past week with my European Business Strategy core class, to set out on academic tours through European companies and to see a new side of Europe. First three days were spent in Berlin. My history-buff-self emerged and absolutely loved the history of Berlin. The combination of old and new buildings post communism and WWII, the Berlin Wall, and all the historical briefings from our bike tour brought the heart of war city to life. Standing where the Nazi regime started and seeing the building where the Nazi headquarters used to be was hard to wrap my head around. To be honest though, Berlin wasn't my favorite. Given it was rainy and cold, I just did not love this city at all besides the history. We had little time to go explore the city on our own, but my friend got her and I on the guest list of Benjamin Fancis Leftwhich's concert - my soul is still on edge and my heart still skips a beat when I think about this concert, it was that good. If you don't know of him, check him out!! So yeah, Ben was definitely the best part of Berlin. With my class, we visited BMW motorcycle, Deutsche Bahn AG, VDA Headquarters, and then we split up into five different groups to see smaller businesses on our own - I visited The Aspen Institute Germany. BMW was cool seeing the difference between the motorcycle and automobile departments under the automobile industry umbrella. VDA was engaging and eye-opening, but the others were eye-closing (super boring). ...and then it was tschüss Berlin, ahoj Prague. The last three days were spent in Prague. Prague is beautiful! The old building facades and cobblestone streets lead the way to Prague Castle, the John Lennon Wall, and the Old Square. DIS planned a cooking class for us the first night there where we cooked our own chicken and potato meal along with our Professional Chef instructor. The kitchen gave a Ratatouille vibe and the chef was a spitting image of Edna Mode from the Incredibles (it was the glasses). Prague also has these iconic dough and sugar sweets called Trdelniks, and they are heavenly. A big must when traveling to Prague. As a class, we visited SKODA and SKANSKA. At SKODA, we were able to see the cars created from a piece of metal to a functional car. This summer I was able to see Mercedes-Benz cars being produced through my MB internship, and it was so interesting to see the difference between car productions. Let's just say that MB screams luxury in production, and SKODA definitely doesn't. All in all, it was an amazing trip that offered a realistic picture of what working abroad would look like with meetings and the limited time to go sight-seeing. So maybe working abroad isn't number one on my list. It was sad to say goodbye to Prague, but nice to be back at my temporary home in Copenhagen!
Hillsong United's new album, Let There Be Light, comes out middle of October, and WOW. We have been worshipping to the new songs on the album, and this cd points to Jesus in every way and paves a straight path to lay down your heart right at the feet of Jesus.
There are three services: eleven am, one pm, and six pm. The first two services are in english and danish - who ever is preaching that morning, there will be an interpreter that will translate the english into danish. However, the six o'lock service is strictly in english, and it's a party - so many people around my age! Six o'clock is definitely my favorite service. I should be more precise - the past week and the future week. The PastFull of friend dates, movie nights, good food, and multiple cups of coffee - the last week of September has been sweet. The weather has been incredible - around 60 degrees and sunny skies. Apparently that isn't a normality for Copenhagen falls. Good weather sparks the curiosity in me, so in the past two weekends I have...
On an academic note, I went on a field study tour to the UN on Wednesday with my Development of Economics class. Members of the World Food Program and the United National Program gave my class a presentation on the most recent data and happenings within the selected departments. These field studies are part of the reason why I love DIS. We are currently reading about the UN in the textbook, and the opportunity we have applying the classroom to real life are the things that differentiate DIS from other programs. Later that night was International Career Night. This is an event where four young professionals talk about their experiences adjusting to the work world of Copenhagen, and moving to Europe in general. This didn't necessarily apply to me because moving across the world isn't in my current future plans, but it arose many possible opportunities for other students that Copenhagen has for an American young professional looking to start a career in Europe. FutureSo much to look forward too... wow.
Besides a typical week of classes and homework, I'm going to Berlin and Prague! My first real European trip! My core class has our long study travel week starting Sunday that will go until Friday. We'll spend three days in Berlin, and then the remaining three days in Prague visiting companies and different industries learning about European Business Strategies. As excited as I am for the academic purpose of this tour, I can't help but be just as excited for the adventure aspect. I don't yet know the itinerary for the week, but all I know is that it's gonna be sweet! |
Hi, I'm Paige. Welcome to my 'Blonde Eventyr'!
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