Saying Goodbye...

Another blog post… once again I apologize for the delay!

After a week of school work I decided I needed another adventure. I planned to head to Munich to meet up with Ashley Grosz, Erin Grossman, and Greer Brody! Unfortunately there was a little delay… The Icelandic Volcano decided that after 200+ years it wanted to erupt the day before I wanted to get on a plane and go to Munich. Not only did it erupt, but all the ashes headed toward Scandinavia leaving Iceland free and clear for airspace travel. Being the adventurous woman that I am (NOT!), I decided to catch a train for a total of 12 hours, standing room only, to get to Munich for this amazing event called Spring Fest. I only booked a train one way, because the airlines said because the ashes were moving so quickly that by Sunday I would definitely be able to catch my flight back to Copenhagen.

Once I was in Munich, it was totally worth the dreadful train ride. Spring Fest is a miniature version of Oktoberfest… and that is probably the next big trip I will be making (hehe). It is this giant festival/carnival with rides, games, and TONS of beer. The beer gardens open up enormous tents in this park venue that are filled with picnic style tables lined up in rows throughout this entire tent. The tent that I located my friends in definitely had well over 500 people inside. When I finally made it to the table, to my surprise, it was not only Ashley, Erin, and Greer, but Lauren Halpern came from Florence too! After quite a few beers and some jumping on tables to the amazing live band, we headed out to find a place to eat. On our way out of the park I hear my name being shouted from a not so far distance… Sam Lipsitz came out of the crowd! Not only was this a Green Trails/PCH reunion, but also Camp Sabra! Doesn’t get much better than those blasts from the past! After a few minutes of remonising, we went to a restaurant and had some dinner, then headed back to our hotel to call it an early night!

The next day, we got up and went to breakfast at a bagel place and got some Starbucks. After breakfast we walked around for a bit, then headed to Spring Fest once again! We didn’t spend too much time there, because that evening we had plans to go to one of Greer’s family friends homes for dinner and a

 night on the town! When we got to the Stenger’s home, we were welcomed by Jeri and 2 of her 3 boys, Ronald and Sebastian, and a bunch of Ronald’s friends. Not only was the home magnificent, but the food was too! We ate outside on their beautiful patio, and laughed and drank. It was so nice to be in a place where it felt a bit like home! After a ton of food for dinner, Ronald, his girlfriend Tina, and his friends took all us girls with them to a party that was being held to raise money for graduation. This was so weird, because we were expecting a high school party, but this was at a club, with a bar, and tons of alcohol. So much different than at home! After some time at this club, we left and went to McDonalds! After McDonalds, we walked around in search of another club, but everything was pretty much closed up, so we headed back to the hotel and went to sleep.

The next morning, Ashley, Erin, and Greer boarded a bus to take them back to Barcelona because their flight was cancelled. I checked on my flight and it was cancelled as well. The earliest train I could take was a night train, standing room only, on Wednesday evening. Luckily, Jeri

offered that if any of us get stuck that we should call her for help. Considering I was helpless and alone in Munich I took her up on her offer, and it was one of the best things I could have done. Jeri welcomed me into her home with open arms! She took care of me like I was her own daughter. I truly feel like I have another family now. Ronald took me under his wing and made sure that I was always having fun! I had the time to see different sites around the city, go to the castles, and even visit Ronald’s English class! That was so fun to talk to them about what it was like to live in the states and go to a university. The easiest description is that it’s just like the movies… literally! The togetherness was truly comforting! I love and can’t wait to return to Munich!

After an expensive flight home, and a ton of work to do for school, Sarah and Stephanie Callahan came to visit me! It was so much fun to have friends come and see where I have been spending my last few months! We went out on Thursday night… long night…chilled with celebrities, went on a canal tour, climbed the round tower, went to Christiania, saw Rosenborg Slot (castle!), and to Tivoli! I loved having them around, and wish they could have stayed longer.

The next weekend I attended a Danish birthday party for Susanne, my adopted Danish buddy! It was such a great time and was so nice to be included in a family event! We had a great time eating authentic Indian food, because her mom just returned from a trip to India, and drank a bit of wine. It was definitely the definition of hygge!

My last two weeks were filled with lots of paper writing, going out, enjoying time with friends, more celebrities (Third Eye Blind), and a little bit of relaxation too! Packing was a complete nightmare, but as I sit here in the airport, awaiting my 13+ hours of travel today, I reflect on this past semester. Being away from so many of the people I love was very tough, but I have never felt so at home in a place that wasn’t my home. The people and the traditions make the city of Copenhagen what it is. So many people say, “Studying abroad was a life changing experience for them.” I completely agree, but feel that those words have lost their meaning. That does not express, in the least, the impact that this experience has had on me. I am of course looking forward to seeing everyone at home, but will miss Denmark, the people I met, and the people I reunited with. Beautiful, though gloomy Copenhagen will forever and always be my second home!

The longest blog post ever written...

Hey everyone,

Sorry it’s taken so long (again) to get this posted. I have been so crazy with all the great things I have been doing!

As most of you know, the crazy Bikshorn family invaded Europe, and it really was the most incredible trip. We began our adventure in Paris where we stayed in an adorable boutique hotel right next to the Eiffel Tower. We explored together by taking my favorite form of transportation, a hop on hop off bus tour! I think it’s my Dad’s new favorite form of transportation as well! We went to delicious dinners and cute cafes. We explored the Louvre and had dinner on top of a modern art museum and could see the entire skyline of Paris. Although this trip was beautiful and a lot of fun, I could not wait to take the family back to “my” city of Copenhagen.

We arrived late on Sunday evening, and Benedicte met us at the airport along with her boyfriend Martin and some champagne to toast us all finally being in Denmark together. It really has been long overdue! We went to the hotel in the largest car that I have ever seen in the city, and called it a night. The next morning I went to my psychology class and brought my mom. That class has had a huge impact on me and I think my mom could see that. I think it impacted her a bit as well! After class, we met up with the rest of the family, Benedicte, au pair number 3, Nina, and her husband Jesper (who she met in the states)! Nina and Jesper traveled to Copenhagen from Norway just to see us for about 24 hours. It was so unbelievable to see them. Nina is still as beautiful as ever! They have 2 beautiful children and seem very happy. We all went to a café across the street from my apartment and spent a few hours just catching up.

Once we had enough in our stomachs, we did what we do best… SHOP, and went to the Round Tower! Once you were at the top you could see almost all of Copenhagen. The best part was being able to see to the ocean. More important than sightseeing was of course shopping! I took them down Stroget, which is the big pedestrian shopping street in Copenhagen, filled with hundreds and hundreds of stores! I had to leave the group to go to my next class, and everyone else continued shopping and walked around Nyhavn, which is Copenhagen’s port with all the colorful buildings. I met them later at the port for a traditional Danish meal! It was the best meal I have had is so long. I love Danish cuisine. After we finished dinner, we headed to a bar next door to my house that in English translates to “Happy Pig” and is so much fun. It looks like a dungeon, and it definitely would not meet electrical codes in the states, but they play great old music and serve good beer. After a couple drinks, we headed to the hotel and went to bed. The next morning everyone once again met me at my apartment, and we went to pick up gifts for Nina and Jesper’s kids, and then got traditional Danish hotdogs. After the hotdogs, I had to part from the group once again for classes, and Nina and Jesper left to catch a flight home. It was so wonderful to see them. While I was in class, the rest of the family took a canal tour of Copenhagen with Benedicte. More exciting than the tour, was that au pair number 4, Lone, came in town from Arhus with her husband and joined the party. After the tour, I met up with everyone at a small restaurant, where we had drinks and caught up on each other’s lives. Lone is a mom with twin boys and the pictures of them are so cute. Very beautiful little boys! I cannot wait to meet them. After drinks, we went to dinner at a restaurant where we once again had some traditional Danish food with an ice-cold Carlsberg beer! Lone and her husband had to leave to catch their train back to Arhus. It is over 3 hours by train, and it was so nice of them to come and see us! We had a great time catching up and I am glad they could make it! The next day, we met au pair number 1, Rebecca, and her husband Jesper at the same café from day 1. I had already seen Rebecca, but it was so great to see my parent’s reaction. She really was a lifesaver for our family! She is as beautiful as ever and has 2 absolutely adorable girls! I am really looking forward to visiting them in a couple weeks! After a few hours, au pair number 5, Christina, and her mom joined us! I had also already seen Christina, but it was wonderful to see her mother! She is a very sweet woman! Everyone talked and spent time together for a while. My mom brought Rebecca and Christina tons of Twizzlers, and they were sooo happy! After a while, the boys went to a pub (it was St. Patrick’s Day) called the Dubliner, and the girls went to revisit a store from the day before that my mom loved! After shopping we met the boys at the Dubliner, which was also the finish line of the 3-legged pub crawl! A ton of my friends were there, so I was happy that my mom got to meet some people! We then went to have lunch at a beautiful café that overlooked the crazy streets of Copenhagen. When lunch was over, we took a walk around the canal and saw the castle where the current queen and her family live. After our long walk, it was once again time to drink! We went to a pub near my apartment and drank and talked before it was time for everyone to go. The goodbyes were very sad to watch. I only wish my family had longer to explore this beautiful city that I can now think of as a second home. I may get lost once or twice a week, but I no longer feel like a complete outsider. I think my family felt at home as well!

The next day, I met the crazy Bikshorn family in London.

I didn’t get in until very late, and we were all very tired, so after a quick sandwich, we all went to bed in order to be fresh for a long day of sightseeing tomorrow. First thing in the morning we went to see the changing of the guard, and then took a tour bus around the city. After a long day of sightseeing we went to Her Majesty’s Theatre where we saw Phantom of the Opera. It really was incredible! The show was truly unlike any other! After the show we met up with Sarah Callahan and her friend from her program at dinner. It was so great to see her!!! After a late dinner, we went to bed and woke up the next day and went shopping! It was just nice running around with the family, although

the boys did not have a very good time! After shopping, Sarah met up with us again for some more shopping then back to the hotel to freshen up and finally went to a great Italian restaurant all together. Dinner was delicious, but the company was better! After dinner, Sarah caught the tube home and Lauren, Mason, and my mom headed back to the hotel. My dad and I went to a bar down the street for a beer. He also decided that it would be a good idea for me to sing karaoke! Although I was a bit nervous (like usual), it was a lot of fun, and the people in the bar seemed to enjoy the young American girl singing! The next day was a sad day, because it was the last day together. We all headed to the airport together and said our goodbyes. It was so hard to say goodbye, but made me that much more excited to reunite once again back in the states!

The next week consisted of tons and tons of work and preparation for my amazing boyfriend Kyle to come visit me in Denmark. I truly could not be luckier! Meeting him in the airport was just the most exciting experience! I have never felt so happy and nervous all at the same time. After 10 minutes everything was completely back to normal and we picked up where we left off! Unfortunately the weather was not very nice, so we spent most of the morning in my apartment, and I let him catch up on some sleep. I decided it would be a good idea to take a walk around in the main part of the city to show him my stomping grounds. I cooked dinner, and then we called it a night pretty early! When we got up the next day we went to the Round Tower and took a canal tour around the city. I had so much fun on the canal tour. It was pretty cold, but it was still pretty enjoyable! After about an hour or so on the boat, we went for a drink at Nyhavn, and went back to my apartment, where I made dinner again and we packed up our bags for our trip to Vienna. The next morning, we jetted off together to the beautiful city of Vienna. We got to our amazing hotel after a pretty scary taxi experience. The hotel is a historical place in itself. It is the Imperial Riding School of Vienna, and it really was beautiful. After getting settled, we headed out to attempt to find our way around the city. We went to an Italian restaurant for lunch after way too much tummy growling!

We then went to Belvedere Castle. When we got there, we realized it had been transformed into an art museum, which we were a bit disappointed about. We left that area and took the bus to a pretty busy area of Vienna. We located where a few things were so that we knew how to get there the next day, had a beer at a local bar, and went back to our hotel. We sat up and talked for a really long time, when we realized that it was pretty late. So, rather than a nice dinner out, we took a walk to Burger King at about midnight and ate in our room. The next day we set off to my favorite museum, the Sigmund Freud Museum, who as most of you know is the father of psychology (at least in my opinion!). I was so excited to be in the same place that he worked and lived. The museum was in his apartment. There was still a room with his couch that he treated patients on, and his chair, and a suitcase with his initials. I get goosebumps just thinking about it! After that museum, we went to an outdoor café for lunch because the weather was beautiful. Blue skies and a bit windy, but it was perfect for a day outside! After lunch we went to the Haus der Musik, which is a pretty hands on museum about all the wonderful composers that came from/had influence in Austria including Beethoven, Bach, and many others! After a pretty quick run through, we went back to the hotel to get ready for the Ballet in the State Opera House, which is the most grand Opera House/Theatre in Vienna. The building was beautiful and very old fashioned and elegant. Our seats were pretty terrible, so after not seeing too much of the first act, we left and went to dinner down the street at a very nice restaurant. We tried some authentic Austrian cuisine and then headed back to the hotel to get a good night sleep before a long traveling day home to Copenhagen. When we returned, we went to Christiania, which is

an area of Copenhagen that is considered a “social experiment from the 1970s” and is still going on today. After touring this odd place, we went and got authentic Danish hotdogs, and went back to my apartment for a movie night and an early night sleep. The next day we went to the Carlsberg brewery for the day. The tour was self guided, so we took our time and enjoyed ourselves, but the best part was the beer tasting at the end. I am pretty sure Kyle felt the same way! After the brewery we headed outside of the city to visit Benedicte. After a long afternoon of missing trains, and trains not working, we finally got there. When we made it, we sat around and ate authentic Danish food that would most commonly be made for Christmas in Denmark. It was delicious. Along with the food, came a lot of drinking and talking! We ate and drank all night! When we finally went to sleep at 1am, I was very ready! The next day, we woke up and once again had authentic Danish cuisine for breakfast and then got in the car with Benedicte and Martin and drove into the city. When we returned to the city we went shopping for souvenirs for his family and then just walked around for a while together. After a pretty short last day, I made dinner and we just sat around and talked. The next morning I took him to the airport. Saying goodbye again was very hard, but we just kept saying that I will be home soon!

Not too much in between time, because less than three hours later, I left my apartment to catch a flight to my next destination, Rome. In Rome, I met up with Scott Safron who was on spring break visiting Jason

 Keller who is studying abroad in Rome, and Adrienne Nelinson came in to Rome from Florence to visit which was so awesome! It was a Camp Sabra reunion, in Rome, on Easter! The first day, we just walked around and took pictures of some of the different sights, and then went to a delicious and authentic Italian dinner. The chicken parmesan was to die for! We had some good wine, and good conversation, then headed back to Keller’s apartment and called it a night.

The next day, due to the fact that it was Easter Sunday, we went to the Jewish district in order to get some food. I had the most spectacular cannelloni, and all I could think about while I ate it was how much my mom would love to try some! After lunch we headed out to sightsee a bit more. We went inside the Pantheon, and saw some sculptures that the Romans stole from Egypt. Not long after, we gathered our things and headed to the train station. Keller and Scott decided to join myself and my friend Hayley (who I met up with at the station) on a train to Naples last minute.

When we got to Naples we grabbed a cab and went to our hostel. The hostel was right next to the port which was perfect, because early the next morning, Hayley and I were going to catch a ferry to the lovely island of Capri! After a huge scare of not getting our tickets, we made it onto the ferry for a 2 hour trip across the beautiful turquoise blue waters of the Mediterranean. When we arrived, we were picked up by

our hotels driver, and taken to the hotel. It was so beautiful. Outside our window was a view of palm trees and water. I fell in love with this island immediately. After a little nap, we decided to go for a hike. Our driver took us into town and told us the best way to go. The hike was magnificent. A bit tough with all the stairs, but it was worth it for all the beautiful views. After our hike, we headed back to our hotel and got ready for dinner. That night, we went to dinner at a restaurant that was inside someone’s villa. There was no menu, everything they make that night was specific to that night, and it was the greatest and most flavorful food I have ever eaten. The next day we woke up and headed down to the marina, where we caught a boat to see the entire island. The boat took about 1 hour, and it was so beautiful to be right on the turquoise water. I loved every minute and took tons of pictures! After that final day of sightseeing, we took a ferry to Sorrento, where we were going to meet some friends to continue our journey through Europe. When we reached Sorrento we took a bus to a place called Nerano Cantone and found ourselves in a tower type living quarters

with no internet or cell service. Very interesting place to stay, but it was right on the beach and we spent the next 2 days lying out in the sun. It was then time for our final destination, where we headed to the lovely city of Positano. This city was without a doubt the most amazing city I have been to. It was beautiful and fun and so different from anything I had seen. The buildings were placed on a cliff, and the entire city looks out on to the Mediterranean Sea. I have never seen such beautiful sights. Being my last 2 days, a few of us decided to take it easy by doing a little sightseeing and walking around the town’s small shops and enjoying the beautiful beach weather! The final day of our trip we went to Naples, which is without a doubt the scariest place I have ever been. It is the “headquarters” of the Italian mob, and it is the dirtiest place I have ever been. I will NEVER go back for any reason other than to have another pizza. Naples is where pizza began, and it really was the most incredible pizza I have ever had.

I hope you all enjoyed this long post. I want to apologize for taking so long to get it up. There is another one on the way about my trip through Munich… so stay tuned!

All my love-

Alli

My Field Trip to Scotland... haha

After waiting for what feels like forever, I set off from Dublin for Scotland. I was so excited to meet up with my class. Each core class for the semester abroad goes on a week study tour through a country that possesses information regarding their class topic. I am in Positive Psychology, and we began our journey in Glasgow, Scotland. I wondered around the city that was just right around our hotel for a while alone, while I waited for my class to get in from Denmark. I was really looking forward to getting the week started! It started getting dark so I went back to the hotel to wait and ordered room service. Finally everyone got in and we went to the bar in the hotel for a drink to kick off our week!

After an early wake up, we headed out for our first academic visit to the University of Glasgow to hear about a research project being funded by the National Program for Improving Mental Health and Well-being in Scotland. This project is going to use influence of ‘modern’ culture on positive mental health and emotional well-being. This is all due to the fact that the World Health Organization predicts that mental illness will become the greatest global health burden during the 21st century, affecting one in four people. The reason Scotland has such strong focus on this is because in the UK there are more mentally ill people on incapacity benefits than the total number of people on unemployment benefits. One in six people suffer from depression or chronic anxiety, which affects one in three families throughout the UK.

After our academic visit a group of friends and I wandered around the university. It is so much different from Mizzou, and any other college that I have ever seen. This school had so much history. The buildings were so old and so beautiful. After exploring the school, we headed to an art museum that was very close to campus. They had paintings and sculptures from some of the most well known artists. I was looking at artwork from Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, and many more.

After exploring the museum we met up with our class again for afternoon tea at The Willow Tea Rooms. This is a world famous tea room that was created in 1904. We sat around at little tables with little sandwiches and cups of tea! It was so fun and so cute. I absolutely loved this. After tea we headed back to the hotel to rest, but soon after I got a knock at my door from my friend Katie who told me to get ready because we were going to try to get Lady GaGa tickets. Everyone had been talking about the concert prior to our trip, but I didn’t actually think it would happen. We caught a cab to the venue and waited in line for what felt like hours. Finally the box office opened with their leftover tickets and we got great seats for the show. All I have to say is that GaGa is even more ridiculous in person.

The next day we headed to Fife, which is a town between Glasgow and Edinburgh in the countryside, and went to the Playfield Institute. This is a place that can be used as a resource for anyone working with children and young adults. The main focus of this organization is to promote these people to focus on the importance of positive mental health and well-being of children. After a full day and a great traditional Scottish lunch, we set off toward Edinburgh. After checking into the hotel, I wondered the city in search of a pair of boots, because my boots are so worn out from walking the snow covered cobblestone streets of Copenhagen. They had enough! The fact that there are holes in the back of both shoes was definitely a reason to shop! After having no luck, I went to dinner with some girls at a little restaurant then headed back to the hotel. It was a very long day, so I called it a night.
The next morning, my class attended a lecture given by the Scottish Deputy Director of Mental Health. He spoke to us about the current state of Scottish mental health, and what the government and other organizations are working on in order to make mental health less of an issue throughout Scotland. I found it very interesting to hear his point of view as well as the studies and plans they have put into action in order to save Scotland from the public health issue of mental illness.

After the lecture, we walked around Edinburgh. We ended up at the ruins and they were so beautiful. It was on top of a hill overlooking the entire city of Edinburgh. We had a lot of fun taking pictures on top of the columns and enjoying the scenery. Later in the afternoon, we headed to a workshop called the Confidence and Creativity Workshop. This visit spent a lot of time focusing on using your creative skills to get in touch with yourself. Unfortunately, the visit did not have a ton to do with positive psychology, so to me it was like Kindergarten! Lots of crayons lying around, we got to play with clay, and put on a skit. Not exactly what our professor had in mind, but it was still fun to get in touch with the “child” within! That evening we went straight to a nice restaurant where we were served a stew made with venison, vegetables, and some kind of chocolate… I know it seems weird, but it was delicious. We had a really good time just hanging out with each other. The dynamic of my class is unlike any other. Everyone is so different yet when it comes down to the academics and our thoughts and feelings, we all mesh so well. The conversation and arguments are always so interesting and they make me excited to get involved. We got pretty lucky!

The next day we headed out to what we believed was going to be a hike through Sterling. Little did we know, DIS accidently booked us with a tour guide and a bus to drive us from place to place. It was really fun roaming Sterling Castle, going to the Trossachs, and Loch Lomond. When we finished with the exploration part of our day we all loaded back onto the bus and headed to Glengoyne Distillery. I was so tired, so I fell asleep in the back. When we arrived everyone seemed so discombobulated and rushed… I didn’t find out until after the distillery, that our bus driver got lost and took us to the wrong distillery, and it took us 2 hours to find the right one. Shows you how well everyone handled the situation! I didn’t even know! After the distillery, we went back into the city for dinner and a ghost walk of Edinburgh. We were supposed to have dinner on our own, but due to the mishap with the bus, DIS bought us dinner and we had to eat it in about 2 minutes in order to be on time. It sounds like it would be a terrible experience, but it was sooo much fun! When we finally made it to the Ghost Walk, it was totally worth it. Our tour guide was so funny, and took us on a tour of the underground chambers beneath the south bridge along the Royal Mile. These vaults were once used as storage, and then rented out for trades and legal businesses from the people that worked above them, and then when those people realized that the structure was not waterproofed, these vaults became the center of crime, violence, and drug tradethroughout Scotland. The stories were definitely pretty scary, but it was fun to be there with the whole group. After the tour, some of the group went to a pub that was situated in one of the vaults. It was cold and weird, but kind of cool to be a part of that.

After a good night sleep, we headed to Edinburgh Castle. It was very beautiful, and it overlooked the entire city. Definitely a great photo opportunity! I was not really interested in the recorded tour, so I looked around on my own for a while and headed to the Elephant Café with some friends. This is the place the J.K. Rowling sat and wrote Harry Potter. After two delicious bowls of soup, I headed out with a friend to explore a little more then went back to the hotel to catch the transfer to the airport. This was definitely an incredible trip that I wouldn’t trade for anything in the world. I learned so much and really enjoyed the bonding time with my class. It really is a group of amazing individuals. I am so happy that I get to be a part of the dynamic.

After a short flight I was back in my temporary home and met Benedicte at the train station and went to her house for 2 nights of fun and relaxation with her and Martin. They cooked for me and took me around their town. They live right near the water, so it is absolutely beautiful! Now I am back in the city trying to finish all my work before the rest of the Bikshorn’s invade Copenhagen. Seriously… WATCH OUT! This city won’t know what hit it! Luckily writing this is a good way to start my Psychology reflection that is due on Thursday! I am definitely looking forward to it all being done, and exploring this city along with Paris and London with my crazy family!

Hope all is well with everyone! Sorry it takes so long to write these, but as you can see, I am a busy girl!!!

All my love,
Alli

I have become a world traveler...

Hello everyone…



Sorry for the delay in blog posts. Also, I couldnt get my picturess to upload,  so check back in a day and i will hopefully have them up! Things have been very crazy over the past few weeks from illness to a crazy night on the town to a beautiful and exciting journey through Prague.


My illness just kept getting worse… very disappointing. It kept me inside for a while, but as soon as I was feeling better I was right back to running! A couple weeks ago was Copenhagen Fashion Week here in Copenhagen. There were models everywhere. The fashion shows were all over the city along with crazy private parties thrown for the designers, models, and other special guests. One night a group of friends and I went out on the town and myself and 2 others decided to take a detour to this club where all the “pretty people” go. Its one of those pretty exclusive places that always has a very long line. As we walked by, we decided to stop and check how much the cover would be… The bouncers just let us in. After dancing to the raging techno music, a man came up and started talking to my guy friend and we find out that he is the manager! So after a long conversation with him, we discovered we were at a private party for fashion week! It was sooo fun! I had been wondering why all the women were SOOOO tall!


Before my experience at the club, I met with Rebecca (the first au pair) for a really nice dinner in a café right next to my apartment. She was in Copenhagen for the week to buy all of the shoes for next winter for her shoe store in Hornslet, DK. I hardly recognized her! She is absolutely beautiful and I was so happy that even just being with me for one year when I was 5 years old, that she could know me as well as she did. It was pretty amazing to see how much of an impact being an au pair has had on her life, as well as the lives of the other au pairs I have seen. Rebecca and I sat together for a few hours and looked through a photo album from when she was my au pair. It was so funny to see us all from when we were so young. The next evening, I met Becca at the metro, and we went to dinner at a Chinese restaurant, and then headed to her brothers apartment in Copenhagen where she was staying. I met one of his sons, and we all sat around and talked about everything and everyone and ate candy! It was such a relaxing and wonderful night. It really made me feel happy to know that I had a place and people to be with that could make me feel so at home in such a different place. I also met with Christina Lindquist at a café after she finished with work. It was amazing to see her as well. She and Rebecca are both very happy. Christina is living just over the bridge in Sweden. It was so fun to reminisce with both of them.


On Friday, I left Copenhagen for a trip to Prague. All I can say is WOW! This is a very beautiful city with so much history behind every beautiful building that I saw. We stayed in a disgusting hostel in the very center of the city, and saw so many things. It was a very large group, but it still worked out very well. The first full day was spent sightseeing. We went to the castle, the incredible cathedral, and saw the most amazing view. In order to get to the castle, you have to climb tons of stairs, but you end up looking over the entire city. Every building is unique, yet beautiful in some way. The most amazing part of Prague, was the fact that the sun was shining! Not really used to the Vitamin D in Denmark, so I was instantly feeling energized and wanted to see everything. One of my favorite sights was the Lennon Wall. It is an incredible graffiti wall that began as a tribute to John Lennon after he was killed. Today, the wall is still standing, as colorful as ever.


The nightlife in Prague is out of this world. We went to this amazing sky bar on top of the Hilton in Prague. This place was clearly a very exclusive venue. Everything about it was phenomenal. The drinks that they served were known around the world. They have been talked about in the New York Times, and have won awards for being the most amazing drinks in the world. They were good, and beautiful with all of the interesting garnish, but the best part was how cheap it was. They were only about $8 USD… In Copenhagen, I probably would have cleared out my bank account for one! We also went to a 5-story club, which is the largest club in Europe. It was really fun with all of my friends. We stuck together, and felt like we were taking the place over. Us DIS people travel in packs… On the last day in Prague we climbed the clock tower in the center of the city. The view was fantastic. You could see the beauty from a whole different level (literally). This was a trip that I will never forget.






The next week, I met with Benedicte in the city, after she finished at the library for the day. We went to a café that is pretty much Denmark’s version of Starbucks, and just sat and talked for a long time about my plans for the rest of my Danish experience. The weirdest part is that it made me realize that I don’t have that much longer left here. I am traveling so much and I can hardly believe that it is the end of February. Benedicte and I made some plans to meet up at other times during my time here. I ended up meeting her at the library to do some studying last Tuesday. It was nice to get out of the apartment and have the quiet time to focus. I am now officially registered with the University of Copenhagen Library! Pretty cool!!! After some studying, we had lunch with one of B’s friends and then I had to head back to my area for class. After I finished with class, B came over to my place and I made her dinner. It was so delicious, I can hardly believe I can cook that well :-). I made salmon wellington, green beans, a mozzarella-tomato salad with balsamic dijon vinaigrette, and berry cobbler for dessert… pretty much the best meal I have had since I have been here. Soooo delicious!


After a long week of paper after paper being due for my classes, I finally made it to DUBLIN! This place is unbelievable. It is winter here and everything is still green! The people here are so friendly. Every Irish person just wants to help. Our hotel is connected to a restaurant and someone stands outside in the cold with a huge pot of soup and gives it to people for free to keep them warm! No one would ever do that in the US unless there was a catch! I came here with a very small group and it ended up being the best travel group I could have ever asked for. Everyone had such a great time together! The cherry on top was that my friends from Barcelona came to Dublin and I got to hang out with them. Ashley, Erin, Greer, and their friend Alex stayed in the same hotel as my friends and I and we went out the first night together. I really missed seeing familiar faces. It was so nice to see them, and so fun to hear about their experiences since they have been abroad!


The first day in Dublin, my group and I headed to the Guinness brewery. It was such a fun experience. The best part was at the end, we went up to the top to get a pint of Guinness, and look over all of Dublin. The bar was windows on every side and gave us a panoramic view of the city. After the brewery, we went out to dinner and then began our night on the town. I met up with the Barcelona girls and went to a club called The Palace. After the palace, I dragged Greer with me to meet up with my friends and we went to a place called Dandelion. That was the highlight of my evening. We danced the night away with a much older crowd. No matter the age in Dublin, it seems like they never forget how to party!


Yesterday my friends and I piled onto a hop on hop off tour bus and saw the entire city. We began the tour at St. Stevens Green which is so amazing. It is a huge park with ponds and waterfalls and gazebos. It was so beautiful. I wish I had enough time to just find a bench within the gates and read a good book. The green grass was so vibrant, and even though the weather was cold, it felt like it could be spring time. After the garden, we headed to St. Patricks Cathedral. The inside of this church was amazing. The gothic style was just breathtaking. So much history lies within the walls. It was truly incredible. After leaving the cathedral, we made our way to Kilmainham Gaol, which is an old prison that housed many political figures in Ireland. We took a tour into the jail, and it was really interesting to hear the history and how things worked back then. After a long day of jumping on and off a bus, we headed back to our hotel for dinner at the restaurant inside, and got to see some Irish dancing. Now I am sitting in my hotel room alone at about 6am Ireland time, because all of my friends had to catch an early flight to their study tour in London. I am going to go back to sleep and when I wake up I will be getting on a plan to my next exciting adventure in Scotland.


Hope all is well with everyone back in the States. Sorry it took so long to post again, but from the information, you can probably see why! Love and miss you!


-Alli
 

Traveling Through Denmark...

Hello Family and Friends,

Sorry it has taken so long for me to write another post, but that just means you will have a lot more to read! I have had quite a crazy week this past week! I am so excited to share it all with you!

My week started a little on the depressing side… I got sick with a cough and sore throat, so I did a lot of sleeping and reading in order to get better as quickly as possible. Unfortunately along with the sickness came a crazy week! I left on Thursday morning at about 7am for a short study tour through Western Denmark. As I am sure you can guess, I was completely dreading it! I went to the doctor before I left and have decided that I am not a big fan of the Danish heath care system, and have definitely learned to appreciate my doctors at home!

Well… I left on my tour, not knowing anyone, and feeling pretty crappy and slept the entire bus ride to Ribe. Ribe is a pretty decent sized town in Western Denmark about 5 hours from Copenhagen by bus. It is a very old town but absolutely beautiful. We attended an educational event at a Danish high school where we learned about a program created by a man to take children that have not been dealt the best cards and place them into an environment where they have the opportunity to succeed. Truly, I have never been so inspired in my entire life. I have a whole new perspective on so many things. I feel like I now have a direction that I am following. Typing out everything isn’t exactly something that I think everyone is interested in, but if you are interested in my experience and what I learned and my goals, please email me and I will send you a paper that I am writing for my class based on my experience and my findings of what I am now 100% driven to accomplish.

After we left the high school we were taken to a hostel in the center of the city, where we were the only people in the entire hostel. On the bus we signed up for rooms, and I just wrote my name down on a random room, because I didn’t know anyone… And I got really lucky! I ended up with 2 girls that have already been here for a semester and were so excited to listen to me go on and on about how amazing I believed the experience to be. Their names are Emily and Katie, and they are so great! From that moment on, we totally bonded and I fell in love with my class!

That evening we ate dinner in our hostel as a class with our amazing teacher Helle and the director of DIS who attended out trip with us, Anders. After dinner, Anders took us on a tour of Ribe, as the night watchman would have walked years and years ago. We saw beautiful sights, but I do not have any great pictures from there because it was dark. After our tour, I felt sick and tired and went right to bed, and got a great night sleep!

The next morning, at 7am, we had breakfast at the hostel. A very traditional Danish breakfast that I love!!! After breakfast we headed to a new city called Arhus. Arhus is the 2nd largest city in Denmark, after Copenhagen. Arhus is much more modernized because it is a college town, so we knew we would have a great time!

We had another educational visit to attend, that Katie told me I would love just as much as the first visit that we had the day before. This was a visit to a school called Kaospilots where people ages 21+ apply to go here for 3 years in order to learn how to become an entrepreneur. The true goal of this program is to teach you about yourself, and how to establish what your goals are and how to put them into action. This is a school for the creative type of person, and it took a lot for me to not submit an application. Don’t worry… I AM COMING HOME!

We went through a program for a few hours about learning about ourselves and establishing goals. I have never felt so in touch with myself and who I am before. It was truly an unbelievable experience to learn so much about myself in such a short amount of time. This event took the goals that I discovered the day before seem possible!

After our amazing trip to Kaospilots, we went to a delicious lunch at a beautiful Italian restaurant and ate so much food! It was the first great meal I have had since I have been in Denmark and I am still thinking about it! We had a fresh salad of different types of greens with roasted pine nuts and sundried tomatoes and balsamic vinaigrette dressing and for our entrée huge tortellini stuffed with portabella mushrooms and cheese with a delicious mushroom sauce on top with of course more cheese! I was in heaven!

After our 5 star lunch, we went to the art museum in Arhus. It was so beautiful walking in. It was all white inside with spiral staircases. The building in itself was a masterpiece. I saw a lot of beautiful art as well as a lot of frightening things that are considered modern art. After this trip, I have decided that I am not a big fan of modern art, but I learned something new so that is always a good thing! The most beautiful part to me was the view of the city from the windows of the museum. I love what the architecture is like here. Just colorful, old, and beautiful! Something that seems like it came right off a movie set!

After our experience at the Arhus Art Museum, we headed just outside of the city to our hostel that was pretty much in the woods. It was really old and really gross… a totally different experience from our first hostel stay. After we got settled into our rooms, we all piled on the bus and headed back into the city for a night of fun on our own… and it sure was fun! Myself, Katie, Emily, and 5 boys went to a little hole in the wall bar where we played a drinking game with dice, headed next door to a cheap pizza place where we ate some cheese pizza then met up with our fellow DIS-ers at a very typical college bar. We had a great time! Our psychology class bonded so much over this evening and had more fun that I have had since I have been here!

We took a cab back to our hostel, had a snow ball fight, and finally went to bed. There is no other way to explain it, but I could not wait to start the next day! I absolutely fell in love with psychology and the group that I get to share these experiences with! I know that our long study tour is going to be outrageous!

After a long night of fun, I woke up the next day, had a typical Danish breakfast again, and got on the bus to head toward Roskilde. Roskilde is a very old city, where lots of royalty is buried. When we got there we went right to a restaurant and had a delicious lunch of fish, shrimp, caviar, salad… YUMMM!!! The food we ate was just so phenomenal!

Roskilde is also the home of the Viking museum… It was a very cool place to visit. I was pretty tired, so didn’t pay too much attention, but I took loads of pictures and have attached a few! I will need to go back and pay attention to everything! The scenery of Roskilde is truly beautiful and I took tons of pictures, but we were not there very long so I did not experience too much of the city.

After our short trip to Roskilde, we got right on the bus and headed right back to Copenhagen. This was a very short trip, but I have gained so much from these few days, including new goals, new ideas, new friends, and have also seen more of Denmark! This trip made me so thankful for this experience, and I am so lucky to be here learning what I am learning!

I hope you enjoyed my very long post, but I promise I will try to begin writing more often! Hope everyone had a good week! Miss you all! Feel free to comment or send me facebook messages or emails if you have more questions!

Much love! -Alli

I have a full 2 weeks under my belt!...

Hello friends and family!

Here is my second update from my crazy experiences in Copenhagen! Things could not be going better. I have made a ton of new friends and we have become like a little family. We cook dinner together and go out together… way too much fun!

The past 2 weeks have been so jam packed with fun that it is hard to sit down and write everything but I will do the best that I can! The first week was a huge adjustment. Getting used to the time change was truly just the half of it! I live in a tiny little room with a girl named Ellie that goes to UVA… We introduce ourselves as “we are Alli & Ellie… if you call us either name, we will still probably both answer!” Week one was all informational meetings and “Surviving Denmark” classes, but it was interesting, I guess! The best part was just wondering the city. I live in the most amazing location… it is right in the center of the city. My street is called Skindergade (pronounced Skin-a-gill)… ya Danish is a really weird language, but everyone here speaks English so it helps!

We live in this beautiful, newly renovated, apartment complex that is now called “shared housing” and each floor sleeps 11 people plus an RA. We have a full kitchen, living room, bathrooms, etc. We literally live in a dream world. We were told that this building costs over 8 million dollars plus renovations that were made… It’s pretty ridiculous! I am going to do my best to attach pictures of our apartment to this post!
Being in the middle of the city really helps with getting acclimated because I can just go for a walk and end up somewhere that I have never seen before. A few days ago I went on a run (ya I know… big deal for me) for 2.5 hours and saw so much of the city! I love that, and think that will become part of my weekly routine!

Classes are going well. School is literally a 5 minute walk from my apartment and I love that! Everything is a lot more hands on, and I think that also has a lot to do with the size of the class and the type of teachers. Each of my professors works out in the field in which I am studying in their class and can give us the opportunity for real life, hands on experience. I really love my Marketing professor. He is so intelligent and I think I will really learn a lot for his class about how to set myself up for a successful future.

As for the au pairs… I have seen Benedicte a couple times and each time has been more and more wonderful. We spent yesterday shopping around Copenhagen and eating Danish hotdogs (amazing!) with chocolate milk! I have spoken with Rebecca, and am planning on visiting her and her family when they return from their vacation! I am really excited to travel to Norway to visit Nina and her beautiful family, and we are currently trying to find a time that will work out for the both of us! 

I unfortunately haven’t done too much sightseeing yet! I went on a trip last weekend to an Abbey that used to be occupied by monks so many years ago. It was pretty fun! I did a lot of physical activity out in the snow with my friend Meagan and we have never been so cold in our lives!

That was the coldest day that Copenhagen has seen in over 10 years… along with this being their coldest winter with the most snowfall… Just my luck, right?! Otherwise, I am just trying to get used to living so far away from everything that I am used to! I cannot wait for people to start visiting! If anyone wants to I have a beautiful place where you are all welcome to stay!!! I will be seeing the fam starting March 11th and Kyle on March 27th!!! AHHH cant wait to share this beautiful place with everyone! I will continue posting pictures on facebook and will try to figure out how to post them on this blog. Sorry if I am terrible at updating.. I am going to do my best to stay on top of it! If I remember anything else later I will add to this post! But I am going to call it a night!

Hope everyone is happy and healthy!