this is part two of this week’s post. i have had so much exposure this week i decided to turn to two different posts. as we left off last week, i hadn’t even started my classes, was feeling very overwhelmed, and struggling with public transit. well, every one of those things has changed for better or for worse. currently, i am in a temporary host family as my permanent host family is going to america for two weeks. it was a scary thing when they told me they would be leaving, but i feel supported to have a temporary host, and another DIS student is living with me so we get to talk about our classes and commute together. 

 

i am making adjustments when it comes to communicating. my Danish class is certainly helping with that. having a gigantic scooter, i can typically say “undskyld” (danish for i’m sorry/excuse me) and get away with being thought of as a local. still struggling with other ends of the language but it is definitely slowing down when i hear words being spewed out now. the good news though is that i have mastered the metro, except for copenhagen central station. i do not enjoy that place and several tears have been shed there before.

 

 

as i have now stayed in two different host families, i think it is really hard to prepare to live in one if i am being honest. that is not to say it is a bad idea, at all. stay with me here. i just think both experiences have been so different. the temporary host family is bilingual and both parents taught their kids english and danish at a young age and moved to Denmark in 2012. my permanent host family all grew up speaking danish and only learned english in school and from me I assume. there are just so many differences between food, culture, and language which makes me really grateful to be having these opportunities to engage with people like this with DIS. 

 

before, i had told you i was signed up for a social welfare class, well i changed it! i am now taking european democracy which i find very interesting and engaging. we discussed what “western” means when it comes to defining countries which is very interesting. all my other classes are very exciting too. i will say trying to change classes was very difficult though trying to balance all of the whitman requirements with having to take 5 classes, as well as having to take danish, and needing three classes here (three credits each) to count as two classes at whitman (four credits each). very confusing but please reach out for more clarification. 

 

probably the best app i have downloaded while i have been here so far is called “Too Good To Go”. chef jon, i believe this should be a thing across all of campus and the world, to be honest. it is an app where you pretty much order a surprise bag of food for a low price. i have gotten so many pastries for just five dollars before. the purpose of this app is to give people food for a low price, that would’ve been wasted anyway being thrown out. apparently, there are some places to do it in the united states but it is so smart and i really want to bring it to walla.

 

i said in my second blog post that i was nervous about where i wanted to travel. currently, we have some plans in the works so i don’t feel as anxious about it. as of now, i am planning to go to greece for my study tour, berlin, italy, the netherlands, and finland. who knows though, berlin I planning to travel to with a program DIS uses called “slow travel”, where you travel using trains, cars, etc. as a way to be more eco-conscious. DIS is paying for accommodations and we are just applying to go for fun. i am very excited about all my plans and am very excited to see what happens next.

 

the last comment I want to make is about emailing. last semester, I had a good friend do this exact program. we emailed back and forth and it was a great way to stay in touch and tell each other about our weeks. please send me an email at moek@whitman.edu and i will write back with the most happiness and gratitude. 

you will never catch me alive Nadir