Februar Kærlighed

[{(february love)}]

Nyhavn

It has been a busy, but exciting month :) February is the only month that I will spend completely in Denmark...craziness!

(apologies for the picture placements...i gave up with the ridiculous website)

delicious bakery

mango :)

HYGGE. One of my favorite places near DIS is Baresso, the chain coffee shop in København.  I love to grab some fresh dried mangos at the street vendor nearby and then take a book, do some homework, or skype from this wonderful cafe...such hyggelit! (hyggelit is coziness)

Amalie and I, hanging out

Christiania

EXPLORING. I have had the chance to explore some cool places while here too.  Kelly and I went to the botanical gardens and Nyhavn, it was freezing (unsurprisingly!) but definitely cool! 
I've been running with a girl who also lives in Smørum, which is fun and a good way to explore!  Michelle andI went to Christiania, which is quite a popular place. 

It's a "free town" within København...There, people pay taxes to their own smaller government, marijuana is sold on Pusher street, and pretty much anything goes.  There is a ton of graffiti artwork on many of the buildings, which is cool. 

Michelle's first gyro!

Definitely a place to visit while here. We walked around a bunch of the residential areas there too, and since the lakes were frozen "solid" (we were too nervous to go on them haha) there were kids playing ice hockey in the middle.

mural entrance to Christiania

restaurant on Nyhavn

FIELD STUDIES. So Wednesdays here are class-less, because each class takes two field studies throughout the semester to explore the application of all the things we're learning.  It's a really cool way to be taught, and definitely more engaging and exciting.

Christiania exit- "You are now entering the EU"

-For my public health class, we took a trip to the UNFPA head office  (the UN has 6 major offices in København!) It was so awesome to hear about their initiatives and the passion behind the whole system.  Their big push is to promote "the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity" (unfpa.org/public).  I love the quotes on their brochures too-

Kastellet - old Citadel in København, view of church nearby

*"Investing in women is not only the right thing to do, it is the smart thing to do.  I am deeply convicted that in women, the world has at its disposal the most significant and yet largely untapped potential for development and peace" ~Ban Ki-moon (UN Secretary General)

home in Christiania

*"We must always remember our most important partners-those who are most excluded.  This includes the woman living with HIV, the indigenous woman dying in childbirth, the family displaced by war or natural disaster, the woman who has been raped, the elderly who are neglected and even abused, the woman who is forced to trade her body as a commodity, and the girl who was married too young and now suffers from fistula" ~Thoraya Ahmed Obaid (UNFPA Executive Director)
..ahhh so legit!! As I've come to realize I don't want to be a doctor but want to be immersed in the public health field and possibly a PA, I feel like the opportunities for what kind of work I will or could be doing are endless!
I don't know, I feel like I believe so much in the causes that these two UN officials are promoting...perhaps too idealistic of me, but I just want to do something that makes people's lives better! I guess most of us want that anyway, but still haha

-For Developmental Neuropsychology, we went to Søgaardskolen, which is a school for children with disabilities in one municipality near København.  This school is for children with a wide range of disabilities, from ADHD to Down's Syndrome. 

snowy Maaløv train stop

While the students are separated into similar learning levels, this isn't separation between students of various disorders, because the school believes that there are things that the children can be learning from one another, regardless of the disability they have.  Cool philosophy I think, I can think of positives and negatives to this though. 

cool artsy doorknob in Christiania

While there, I got to talk to this girl Laura for awhile.  She is 16 and at Søgaardskolen because she has difficulty with Chemistry and Physics  (def can relate to that last one!). 
She was telling me how she has been at the school for a year and only has one left before Gymnasium (Danish version of 10-12 grade).  She was saying how its hard to be at this school because everyone is very different and it's hard to connect with friends, but she has friends from her home too.  She wants to go to NYC and shop she said...she asked me if everyone is NYC is the same as they show on Gossip Girl and I said thankfully no! It was really cool to talk to her and get a teenager perspective on Søgaardskolen!

view from a window in the Round Tower

cool shed in Christiania

Amalienborg- Royal Palace København

 -For Danish, we went to the Resistance Museum, which depicts Denmark during WWII.  Denmark was "peacefully occupied" by the Germans during the war.  When the Germans came into Denmark overnight, there was a 2 hour battle, and then the Danish government accepted German occupation.  At first, I was pretty frustrated to hear this- why didn't they fight for their freedom?  but after learning a bit more, it does make sense.  Denmark, such a small country, had no chance against huge Germany...submitting to occupation while still having parliament and the King in power (well, subject to "favors" by the German forces) was a way of protecting the lives and rights of its people. 
The museum pays tribute to those Danes who did fight against the Nazis, whether by housing Jewish refugees, or sneakily sabotaging German supply lines...there was a resistance to the occupation, and the Danish choose to focus on that point rather than the occupation itself when they look back and remember WWII.
PRACTICUM.  My core class, Human Health and Disease, is basically a practicum for every class!  We are learning all about diagnosis (symptoms/signs/testing) of different diseases.  We have gone through (only skimmed the surface really) the gastrointestinal system, cardiovascular system, and the respiratory system, studying diseases like hepatitis (A,B,C), cholera, heart disease, pneumonia, etc. etc.

prepping

nervous

success!

happy!

In this class, we've had the chance to do so much.  I've interviewed a neuro patient who had a seizure while in the room, performed an ECG on a medical student, seen more MRI machines than I can count, and oh yeah, LEARNED HOW TO DRAW BLOOD AND INSERT AN IV LINE. In fact, Rachel was my lucky first attempt at drawing blood!  She was a bit nervous, considering I just decided we'd go for it and not practice on the fake arm first, but all was a success.  It's so cool to have this hands on experience- never could this happen at Bucknell haha
 

creepy practice arms for the IVs

cooking stir fry

BIBLE STUDY. It's been cool getting to know people from different countries and cultures doing this Bible study.  We all went to La Fontaine, a little bar in town where they do a ton of live jazz performances...it was so chill! Jazz is sweet haha  Also, I was only apart of the Deer Run/Brookwoods family for a summer, but there's a BW guy here too, and it's been cool to have a "familiar person" here!  Two weeks ago, Jenn, Alex and I cooked dinner for everyone and it was an interesting experience haha we made chicken stir fry with peppers, onions, carrots, broccoli...yummm :)

pastries

PARENTS.  Yes, I had the privilege of being graced with some Alaimos in København.Unfortunately, Michael and Kelly couldn't come, but it was great to show my parents around. 

with Mom and Opera house

very very cold

parents with the Lego mural

We had traditional Danish food, many pastries, and explored the blistering cold city- with a wind chill of approximately 2 degrees Fahrenheit!! 

with Dad on Strøget (note lego mural above!)

parentals at Nyhavn

They experienced my wonderful commute to and from home in Smørum, and even walked the paths with suitcases in tow!  They stayed with my host family which was great :) 

1 of 5 pictures from Malmo

We went into Malmo, Sweden for a bit on Saturday, and on Sunday went to Helsingør- which is in the northern part of Sealand.  We went to Kronborg Castle there, which is the castle that Shakespeare's Hamlet is based on!

Kronborg Castle

Overall it was a good visit and great to see some familiar faces.

Helsingør

Dungeon of Kronborg

Christian IV symbol, He is perhaps the drunkest, most creative, most bankrupt king Denmark has had

canons pointed towards Sweden, of course

TRAVELING.  The next few months will be a ridiculous whirlwind!  Sunday I leave for Berlin and Poznan for 6 days with my core class!  Then between now and May, I'll be off to Ireland, Dublin and Cliffs of Moher, Stockholm, Italy again for Cinque Terre, Catania (more Alaimos =]), and Venice, Spain, Barcelona, Czech Republic, Prague, and DASHA :) :), Bornholm (Danish Island for biking!), Dusseldorf, and hopefully Bavaria to visit Melanie :)  Lots of busyness, but lots of fun and crazy experiences ahead. alrighty, that's all for nowwww.

Christina (mor), Bo (Far), Christian, Joachim, Amalie, and two friends :)

Favorite Danish Song- http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zSjg8p5F5So 

Danish Flag in Helsingør

Du har en godt dag, vi ses! 

(have a good day, bye!)