Impressions

Hellohello,

I've officially been in London England for 4 days now. This city is amazing in every way and I'm glad that we decided to come for a longer period of time. There's never enough time to do all the exploring and adventuring that I want!

Unfortunately, I didn't bring my camera --> laptop usb connector thing, so I can't post pictures...
But I WILL make a list:

1. Traffic is completely opposite to Canada... as in, people drive on the wrong side of the road! This makes crossing the street a bit of a challenge because I always look in the wrong direction. Silly.

2. Everything is in ENGLISH! woohoo! It makes life so much easier... in comparison to deciphering Danish signs and labels and being confused and lost half the time.

3. The tube system is massive. You can get to and from places so easily by using the MANY different lines.

4. There are security cameras literally EVERYWHERE. Up and down streets, traffic lights, in the tube system, on the buses, in the grocery stores, in the handwashing area of the public toilets... you name it. Basically, if you're in a public place, you can assume that you are being taped.

5. Living here is even more expensive than Copenhagen.

6. London seems to be really big on markets. There's markets everywhere. I quite enjoy looking up and down the aisles and exploring the different stalls of goodies. You can really put your haggling skills to good use.



Yeah... that's all I got for now. Actually, I'm a bit tired right now. Living abroad and traveling can be a bit overwhelming because you're constantly meeting new people and absorbing so much new culture and information. Of course, it's exciting.... but sometimes, I just want to see a familiar face or feel at home. You know what I mean?

Life of an Exchange Student

We eat A LOT.

We party.

We collect traffic signs.

We dress up as mice. 

Sometimes, we EVEN do homework! 

And if you haven't noticed, we also take a TONNE of photos. Or maybe that's just the photographer in me. All in all, I'm having the time of my life and I want to record as much of it on film as I can.

I have to go to danish language class in about half an hour. We had to write a paragraph introducing ourselves.

This is my paragraph:

Jeg hedder Sylvia Zhou. Jeg kommer fra Toronto i Canada. Jeg kan tale engelsk, kinesisk, og jeg kan også tale lidt dansk. Jeg er født i Tyskland, men mine forældre er fra Kina. Jeg er en udvekslingsstudent her i Danmark på Københavns Universitet. Jeg studerer sundhed på Center for Sundhed og Samfund. Jeg har omkring 15 timer om ugen. Jeg bor sammen med 5 andre udvekslingsstuderende i en lejlighed i centrum, så jeg cykel til universitetet. 

It may very possibly be full of mistakes, but I'm kind of proud of it.

: )

Tired of Cold Weather

When is Spring going to come?! It's been too cold for too long.

Last night, I had a Skype date with Elizabeth (one of my room mate in Canada). It really made me miss home. These gloves were a Going Away/ Christmas present from my room mates in Canada. They really "keep my hands and my heart warm". I put my trust in wool. They're essential for blocking the wind while biking. I wear them everywhere!

Last week, Jason, Stef and I spent the whole afternoon walking around Central Copenhagen and checking out cool little places. We played dress up in a little vintage store near Nørreport.

We explored the Copenhagen library. It was really big and modern.  The yellow CPR health insurance card also functions as the library card. I got mine registered with the library that day. Although I don't know if there was a point because really... the only thing I can read are children picture books. Which is already an accomplishment.

We stepped in from the Cold and had a drink in Cafe Retro. This place is amazingly cozy and has a definite charm: big squishy couches, artwork, nice mood lighting, and free wireless internet. By Copenhagen standards (the land of $8.00 CND coffee), the prices were actually decent. The best part is that all the employees there are volunteers. The profit is sent to India and Africa.

It's been a busy week so far. Today I walked around and applied for some jobs. It'd be really nice to be able to earn a little extra spending / travel money while I'm here. Life in Copenhagen is much more expensive than in Canada. Although I always try and go for the most economical choices (i.e. the cheapest)... things just seem to add up, and at the end of the week, I'm like WOW. How did I spend all that money??

I have class all day tomorrow and then I'm headed to the Studenterhuset for International night. It's the tradition to have a crazy party there on Wednesday nights. I really wish I had a smaller digital camera that I can take with me to different social events and parties.

THEN I'm heading off to LONDON and DUBLIN!!!!!

Valentine's day, Chinese New Years, & Fastelavn

Two weeks of school and two weeks of non-stop partying. There is ALWAYS something to do. In the first week was the Insomnia Tour - a week long event organized by a student group where there's a party every night at a different venue. This week was Copenhagen Fashion Week and the city was invaded by beautiful people and an array of different events. Life is exciting.

I've opted for a quiet Sunday of recovering and doing readings for my classes - which is ironic because today should really be the day for celebrating since:
a. It's Valentine's Day.
b. It's Chinese New Years.
c. It's Fastalavn (the traditional danish version of the Carnival holiday)

Three holidays in one!! ...Not to mention that it's also the start of Reading Week (a week long holiday) in my university back home.

I wish Copenhagen would warm up already. Every morning, I look out the window in the hopes that the canals wouldn't be frozen anymore. However, I did take this opportunity to walk across a frozen one:

Now that I'm pretty familiar with the downtown central part of Copenhagen, I've taken it upon myself to explore the other neighborhoods. Nørrebro and Vesterbro are the more multicultural alternative parts of town. I loved the vintage shops, turkish markets, trendy cafes and unique finds.

 There were so many little treasures that I wanted to buy, but I didn't give into the temptations. Firstly, an exchange student's budget is really tight and secondly, I wouldn't have room in my luggage to carry things back to Canada anyway.

HOWEVER, we did decide to get warmed up and treat ourselves to some amazingly delicious cafe delights. I had a chai tea latte with a chocolate muffin and Stef had a hot chocolate with whipped cream.

 By the way, this is pretty much the coolest little cafe of life. It's called the Laundromat Cafe. Why? Because while you do your laundry, you can sit back and enjoy some good coffee.

Anyway... I really have to get ready to leave... since I'm still in my PJs. I'm going to a Fastalavns party to make traditional danish pastries and celebrate the holiday with some friends.

Første Uge i Klassen

Picture this: Mondays and Wednesdays, 2 lectures each day, and less than 10 hours of class a week. I suppose I have more than enough time to read the some 200 pages of articles assigned each week and write 2 essays.

Not that I'm complaining, but I have so much free time that I don't even know what to do sometimes! My weekend starts on Wednesday! Sweet flippin' deal.

In Block 3, I am taking Medical Anthropology and Social Inequalities in Health.
In block 4, I am taking Health in Emergencies and Refugee Health.

So far, I'm loving my courses. I was super intimidated at first because these are all Master level courses, and I am a mere bachelor student. Both my classes are fairly small - about 40 students, and full of Danes (and a few exchange students). The classes are discussion based. I enjoy participating... but I always get really flustered and worry about saying something stupid and turning red. But so far, I've managed to raise a few good points while making just enough sense for people to understand.

I'm falling so in love with this city. It may be a bit silly, but whenever I'm roaming these old cobblestone streets... I like to listen to dreamy music and pretend that I'm starring in my own alternative artsy fartsy foreign movie complete with strange languages, cool accents and poorly translated subtitles................................

Possible scenes from my movie:

And the Winner is......

When I was in Canada last semester, I entered the Health Council Of Canada Innovation Award contest along with 3 other people (Davey, Sam, and Erica). Our innovative strategy is to reduce wait times by introducing the Quality Pays Initiative and a Patient Transfer Policy.

Anyway, we came in FIRST PLACE for the group category. You can check it out here:

http://healthcouncilcanada.ca/en/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=229&Itemid=22

http://communications.uwo.ca/com/western_news/stories/western_students_win_national_health_innovation_award_20100126445640/

Our submission is being featured on the website and an e-newsletter. It just so happens that the girl who won the individual category is ALSO from my home university.

It's really too bad that I'm in Copenhagen because I would love to go to the awards reception in Ottawa on the 22nd of February.

I designed the cover for our entry : )

Berlin, Ich Liebe Diche

Berlin was as cold as København (probably even colder), but it didn't stop us from having an amazing four day adventure spent exploring Germany's biggest city.  

I left for Berlin with my warmest clothes, my trusty camera, four good friends, and an open mind.
I came back with a backpack of dirty travel clothes, 146 pictures, and the BEST memories.

The city is so alive, even in the middle of winter. Just by looking at Berlin, you really get the sense that it's been through so much. It's in the state of constant reconstruction and change. The old buildings that have survived the wars are juxtaposed by the new modern architecture.

On the first day that we TRIED to explore the city, but everything was blocked off by policemen because it just so happened that the President of Israel also decided to visit Berlin that day. Checkout the security... it was like a movie or something:

 Anyway...
They've tried really hard to erase all traces of Hitler and the third Reich. We walked by the place where Hitler's chancellery use to stand. Today, a regular looking apartment complex is there instead.

But certain things stayed:

This was the Reich's Ministry of Transport. You can see the bullet holes on the left. 

The East Berlin Wall. There is actually 2 walls that are parallel. The space in between the walls is known as the Death Strip. That's pretty self explanatory. There was a shoot to kill policy for anyone who attempted to escape.

The Holocaust Memorial

The Berlin Wall East Side Gallery: 106 paintings on the wall by artists around the world in celebration of freedom.

We also visited the Reichstag. This is the Berlin parliament. It is an old building, but a giant glass dome was constructed on the top as a monument. It is open to the public. 

The glass represents the transparency of the government. The fact that it sits on TOP of the parliament symbolizes the fact that the government serves the people and not the opposite way around. It serves as a reminder to those in power to ensure that history doesn't repeat itself. 

I tried to do a panorama thing... but the pieces didn't line up.

History is such a heavy subject. We visited all the important monuments and the touristy locations. Then we dedicated ourselves to exploring the culture. I absolutely positively ADORED the street art and the graffiti found EVERYWHERE. Some people think it dirties up the place, but I think it's good eye candy.

 

 

It adds color and life to an otherwise gray city. We also visited a huge abandoned building that is now occupied by artists and squatters. I wouldn't say no to such a life style: to live freely, to dream and to make art.

I loved traveling with friends and staying in hostels. It's an awesome way to meet cool people from all around the world... sharing a drink, having a laugh, telling stories, going on adventures, getting lost, doing crazy things together. This is how memories and friends are made.

We also saw a show. It was called Soap and it literally rained on stage. Yeah, the audience definitely got wet.

This has been a long post.

Four days for Berlin was definitely NOT enough. There was so much more that I wanted to do!

However, I'm so glad to be home. Copenhagen is home now... at least for the next five months.