A Sunday Without Sun

This is the bridge connecting Christianshavn to central Copenhagen. 

I wish you could ride off straight into the sky and land anywhere in the world. 

The other picture is one of the Amager beach park. We biked there last week. There's a 2 km long artificial beach island that was added to the original shore line.

Goodbye Winter

Okay, so according to my mom... I haven't blogged for 3 weeks now. And she really wants to know what's going on in my life. So this is for you, mom:

 In these past three weeks, life has changed from winter to spring in Copenhagen. I didn't know that it was possible to love this city even more. The canals are no longer frozen, out door seating for restaurants have emerged, and all the city people have come out of hibernation. There's so much to do and so much to see. I've even stopped wearing tights underneath my pants!

 I would totally ride this crazy furry viking bicycle. Love it.

 At my new favorite cafe after visiting the little Mermaid again.

I have dinner together with my flatmates and friends multiple times a week. We take turns cooking up a storm in the kitchen. In celebration of Stef's birthday, we even had a "dessert dinner" where everyone had to make one dessert. We had banana bread, brownies, ice cream cake.... etc. It was AMAZING. I feel like I've gained so much weight, but I refuse to go on a scale.

Grocery shopping for yet another dinner : )

Last weekend, I went on a trip to visit Kronborg Castle, which is a little north of Copenhagen in a city called Helsingør. This castle is the setting for Shakespeare's Hamlet. Then we took a ferry over to Helsingborg in Sweden, where we walked around and had dinner together.

 In the courtyard of Kronborg Castle

In Sweden, climbing some stairs for a view of Helsingborg

Tomorrow, I'm going to Malmö (Sweden) with 2 friends just for the day. 

A brief summary of Dublin

I'm finally back in the CPH. It feels so good to be home again. I left Copenhagen when it had frozen canals and piles of snow. It's been 11 days. The ice is melted, the snow is gone, and the sun is out and shining. It's about TIME, weatherman.

My week long break from school is over and I head back to class tomorrow. But before that, let me just update you on my absolutely fantastically ragingly fun time of a trip to DUBLIN. Mode of transport? Train and ferry.

Stef & I stayed with my good high school friend, Kristine. I haven't seen her since... last summer I think? Anyway, she's studying at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland. RCSI for short.

In Dublin...........................

 We visited the Guinness Storehouse. It's this huge self guided tour and when you finish it, you end up on the top floor. This is where the Gravity bar is. It's got the greatest panoramic view of Dublin. See below:

Okay, truth is... I actually hated this beer and I'm only pretending to drink it to look cool. It's really bitter and heavy. I'm more of a Carlsberg girl. There, now you know my secret. Shhhh....

This is the Kilmainham Gao (jail). It's opened to the public as a museum now. Historically, there were some important people that were kept here.

Last words from condemned men and women. I can't even begin to imagine.....

On a brighter note, we took a train to a little fishing village outside of Dublin called Howth. The weather was beautiful. Other than the winds by the beach side, the whole place was still, quiet and beautiful. You really get a sense of inner peace. We spent a morning walking along the cliff side.

We only got 3 nights in Dublin. Our last night was spent at Kristine's College's event: ballad night. I was told that it would be a great party, but I really had no idea what to expect. Low and behold, it was a night organized by the school for student bands to perform in their lecture hall and for our future doctors to relax and let loose with cheap beer and good company:

Lecture hall by day... Stage and party room by night. Everyone was loving it. 

Me and Kristine.

Alright. That's all for now. 

Hello out there! 

How's Canada? (or where ever you are)
How were your midterms?
Does Columbus like his diet food yet?

What are you doing this summer?

Sometimes I'm torn between wanting to stay in CPH for ever and wanting to go home. Today was an important day. It's my one year anniversary with my boyfriend and I wish so badly that I could be home.

I need to do some readings + homework now.

At least biking to class will be so much easier now that the snow's gone. 

Toodles.

Update

Stef and I shared this single bed for 7 nights in London. It was pretty cozy and surprisingly comfortable.

This is our host  Zev and his awesome art.

This was dinner on our first night and yes, it was delicious. 

In Berlin, I did the whole stay-in-a-hostel-be-a-tourist thing. It was heaps of fun. 

However, I think you get so much more out of traveling if you are lucky enough to have friends already living in the city. You get to really experience what life is like in that particular corner of the world. It's so much more cozier than staying at a hostel.

In London, Zev was absolutely amazing and set us up with a map, directions and favorite places to visit. He pointed us to the nearest grocery store (Tesco!), let us use his kitchen and fridge, and left us his keys when we needed it.

Now, I'm in Dublin. Stef and I are staying with Kristine - a good high school friend of mine. She's been studying here for 3 years already. She has the cutest little apartment right near the center. More on that later...

Tomorrow, we're heading out of Dublin to explore Howth - a picturesque coastal line. 

 

Aussies in China town in London

I missed the funny story being told in this photo...

but them aussies really have a sense of humor and a knack for shortening words.

i.e. I'm devo (devastated), having some brecky (breakfast)

I really enjoyed the afternoon. It's always fun when you're in good company and having half price bucket sized cocktails during happy hour. It should be happy hour every hour.

Also, I finally got my bangs/fringe cut straight. I've always wanted to try this but I was too chickenshit to actually do it. There's something about traveling and living out of a backpack that's so liberating... so I thought... why not?

Tower bridge & me & blue skies & coffee in the morning... yum

The quintessential London photo

...rain, double deckers, and red phone booths...

Yup, this is London...

London Soho

Welcome to Carnaby Street.

This is the morning rush to work in Soho. Nine o'clock Monday morning.

The perfect weather for the first day of Spring..

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!!!!!