Language is a barrier...who knew?

One of the reasons I picked Denmark was because there was no language prerequisite to the program and because most people can speak english. And while it is certainly true that most speak english (it's incredibly impressive how quick people can transition between fluent languages), the language does definitely present its own challenges. Two sundays ago we played Runbold with some Danes. The second floor RA brought a bunch of her friends together to challenge us to a game that mildly resembled a baseball/mat-ball combo. The first half was an American/Danish face-off which involved a lot of laughter on the side of the Danes. We clearly had no idea what was going on but at least they enjoyed our confusion. (Meanwhile, I was busy shaking off gym class flashbacks...I'm not one for organized sport as we all know).

Sidenote: During our "break" nearly every American whipped out a snack they had brought and one of the Danes asked if we were diabetic. Nope. Just weak.

Last night my roommate and I explored Norrboro a bit, which is a neighborhood just outside the inner medieval city. We came across a cute bar that was having an open-mic night. What's a better way to immerse than some beer and entertainment? That was until we realized this open-mic comedy night was all in Danish. We were three people in a sea of laughing Danes and had absolutely no idea what was going on. We couldn't help but laugh at the ridiculousness of it. So we sipped our organic beers and laughed along with the best of them.

My Danish classes have been focusing more on the "culture" aspect than the "language" which is totally fine by me! But I don't think a day goes by where I haven't wished I could understand even a single sentence people spoke to me in a cafe. I was bonding with a Polish exchange student over how hard the language was and we were wondering whether the Danes did it intentionally so no one else would be able to learn it. A nearby Dane laughed and confirmed the suspicion. He then went on to say that it's even harder if you're dyslexic so be grateful for something.

Here are some pictures from my weekend!

 Saturday morning I dragged one of my roommates on a walk and didn't tell her the destination I had in mind (which is always fun when you're the only one with a sense of direction!) Hello little mermaid! About time I made your acquaintance. 

 Finally went to Tivoli, an amusement park/garden, in central Copenhagen. So beautiful! There are concerts every Friday and it opens again for Halloween and Christmas! (That's me justifying the season pass I bought). 

 On Sunday two of my roommates and I biked to a small village called Dragør. It was about an hour bikes ride away. Basically we googled "Copenhagen day trips" and went on our merry way. We rode past industrial parks and car dealerships and under an airport runway before finally making it to this beautiful idyllic village. We picnicked on the dock to the right (picnic on the Baltic Sea? Check!). Every sunny day in Copenhagen is bitter sweet because you know it won't last long. This was definitely one of those days but we definitely made the most of those UV rays.