Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen...

Aha! Blog created! I have gone back and forth on whether or not I should do this. Today I made an impulsive decision to go for it (rather than continuing the ongoing packing process). We shall see if I keep it up throughout the the semester. I'm assuming my posts will be somewhat sporadic. Nevertheless, it will be fun to have an "official" place to share my experiences and send mass hugs back home to those I love! :)

I'm obsessed with this danish idea of "hygge". Sharmi Albrechtsen gives a wonderful description (click here) of this danish word or way of life...

"Hygge, loosely translated it can be considered “coziness” and includes the presence of and pleasure from comforting, gentle, and soothing things. Hygge is described as a deep sense of place & well-being; a feeling of friendship, warmth, contentment and peace with your immediate surroundings."

According to Sharmi, Danes recognize, label, and appreciate these moments of hygge! I feel like this is a very good sign that I'm going to feel right at home in Denmark. I definitely consider myself a lover of cozy things: hot drinks, candles, down comforters, dark chocolate, fires, quality chats, synchronicity, annnd hugs!

This week has consisted of much jumping up and down in anticipation of my departure. I got my housing assignment... meaning I received a incredibly sweet email from my host family and then preceded to communicate back and forth multiple times before I discovered them on facebook and we all became "friends".

I had an epic drive across the state of Maine earlier this week during which my father serenaded me with the song "Wonderful, Wonderful Copenhagen". A song dear to his heart due to his associating it with his childhood (and pub nights in Portland in the 70s). After his personal rendition, he found a youtube video of the original. Both my parents began singing along to Danny Kaye. It was quite amusing background music for my long drive east on route 2.

If you're unfamiliar with the song. Here's the original(?) with Danny Kaye:

I'm beyond excited. I've known I've wanted to go to this study abroad program in Copenhagen for two years now. I first found the program when I researching Bowdoin's off campus study programs over winter break after my first semester. It looked incredibly well put together and I couldn't help but get excited when I started reading articles claiming that Denmark is the happiest country in the world. :)

So close! Just got to finish packing...