They shall grow not old, as we that are left grow old:
Age shall not weary them, nor the years condemn.
At the going down of the sun and in the morning
We will remember them.

… Lest we forget.

F*#% DIG WORD PRESS!!!

THIS IS SOOO INFURIATING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

But back to the point, another difficulty I have faced is that of housing … now before I begin my rant, let me first of all point out that housing is really a luck of the draw kind of thing and I have heard many different stories/views in regards to other exchange student’s experiences. Essentially, there are 4 different housing situations you can find yourself in once you arrive in Copenhagen:

1. Living with landlord/landlady (be it solely the LL or the LL & family)
2. Living in a dorm/kollegium
3. Living in an apartment (be it through your an agent or one in which the landlord does not reside)
4. Living in a hostel searching desperately for accommodation!!!

Of these 4 potential situations you may find yourself, I have found that option 2 (living in a dorm/kollegium) has been the most pleasurable. Unfortunately, having not been able to secure a dorm I can only speak from the experiences of my friends, but generally dorms are great because you have your own room/independence yet you still also get lots of socialising/friendly interaction with students due to the inevitable hall parties, kitchen dinners and kollegium parties that are held. Further, you also can have friends over and not have to worry about whether you have permission or if you are inconveniencing anyone! One downside of a dorm is that in some kollegiums you actually have to buy things that you don’t actually budget for (such as a couch or kitchen utensils etc) but this is only applicable for some kollegiums! – another potential hazard is that some dorms are located very far out and some are in the ‘not so nice’ areas of Copenhagen!

In regards to option 3, I would have to say that this is also a great option but not quite as good as option 2 due to the fact that the apartment you may be living in can be quite isolated and also the fact that there is not as much socialising with like minded exchange students!!! However, the benefits of an apartment are perhaps most pronounced in the fact that you will most likely have a lot more room than a dorm and also more privacy too! Either way, an apartment is still a highly recommendable option!

Option 4 is perhaps the worst case scenario as you have to live in a hostel for an indefinite period of time and the future is clouded in mystery! Mind you, I guess it all depends on the type of person you are and personal preferences (as well as the luck you have!). I have been fortunate enough to hear stories from friends who have arrived in Danmark (with no accommodation) and have been lucky enough to secure housing within the first couple of days. However, I have also met people who have been not so lucky in and have been stranded at hostels for an extended period of time (this is both quite expensive and also inconvenient due to the ‘constraints‘ of hostel life!) and thus I would have to strongly recommend against this option 4 if it is at all possible!!!

Finally, option 1 is fraught with danger yet it can also be quite a good option too – again, it all depends on the luck of the draw! I have many friends who are living with a landlord/lady and they have had no problems whatsoever as their LL’s are either fellow Danish students or young professionals! and thus there are no real dramas and they get along quite well (some even have regular weekly dinners with their LL’s). Alternatively, other exchange students I have spoken to have been placed with LL’s & their families, and they have actually had an enjoyable time (one of my friends were even provided with a free bike, by their host family, to use whilst in Copenhagen!) – mind you, I only know a few students in this type of situation so I can’t claim that this type of situation is ideal!

On the other hand, you can find yourself in the situation where you are placed with a live in LL that is ‘older’. I myself have been placed in such housing and well I can’t say it is ideal. Further, I have spoken with quite a few students who have also been placed in a similar predicament and they too share the same negative view. Admittedly, I have not had the worst experience – some of my fellow students have to abide by borderline ridiculous house rules (ie: specific shower time periods, specific times in which they can use the kitchen and also having their internet connection cut off whenever the LL feels like it etc!!!) and are recipients of ‘daily to do lists’ when they open their doors up every morning! So in that respect, I am not doing too badly!

As for my personal housing situation – I am living with a LL (who is 40 years my senior) and aside from the obvious generation gap, I find that my LL views me as a ‘walking, talking rent payment‘ and only speaks to me when she a) wants something or b) just needs to talk as she is lonely. Other than those two moments, I pretty much don’t exist to her and I can’t help but feel I am inconveniencing her by simply being there (which is not entirely her fault). I think it is partly due to the fact that the older LL’s are so ingrained in their ways of doing things that change is simply not an option and there is no such thing as a better way of doing anything! The other reason would have to be the fact that I have lived out of home prior to arriving in Copenhagen and as such I am used to a household where your opinion matters, diversity is embraced and everyone has equal rights to how the household should run.

I think it is the fact that I am not accustomed to being told (to within an inch of my life) how things are meant to be done and why everything I do is not the ‘proper’ way to do things. Essentially, I think the main problem is the fact that I pay the majority of the entire house’s rent yet I am left with no rights whatsoever and I am left having to agree to everything my LL requests, be it reasonable or unreasonable and I am also confined to my ‘shoe box’ of a room as being anywhere else in the house is usually met with a deathly glare from my LL (despite the fact that I ‘suposedly’ have free access to the tv room and balcony!)  – significant unequal footing would perhaps best surmise it – so yes, if you have lived out of home before then I would strongly recommend pursuing option 2 or 3 in order to avoid the potential frustrations/lectures I and other exchange students have experienced for simply being there!

From my experience when applying to come to KU, I know that I had no idea what kollegiums were available and how to apply to them so I thought I would just list a few of them that are pretty good: Tietgen (approx 3200dkk per month), Keops (approx 4000dkk), Handvaerkollegiet (approx ?), Rasmus Nielsen Kollegium (2500dkk) and Egmont (approx 1900dkk). If you simply google these names then you should find it pretty easy to get the information on how to apply to them directly (and if you find that you are having trouble then feel free to post a comment and I can perhaps get some more information directly from the places for you!)

One final point that I wanted to stress was that the international housing office has an epic task and workload and I am very grateful, despite the negatives I have encountered, for the housing offer they provided me. Again, it is pretty much  a luck of the draw thing but that doesn’t mean you can’t try to pursue options 2 or 3!!! So all in all, CHEERS TO THE INTERNATIONAL OFFICE for the help they provide !!!

Well today, after a rather boring and poorly structured class (won’t go naming names until AFTER the exams !), I ventured back to Fisktorvet for round 2 (my first visit was with a friend and we just ended up eating!). Fisktorvet is basically a large shopping centre/complex located more or less near the Central station … I took the 1A from Kogens Nytorv … for any potentional Queenslanders reading, it is something akin to Indro but not as good. Anyways, as for range of shops offered at Fisktorvet, I must say that it was rather limited and Stroget is a better place to go for shopping needs as the prices between both facilities were comparative but the overall feel of Fisktorvet was actually quite dull (mind you I did go there at 2pm … not traditionally a peak period for shopping!). The one redeeming factor was that at the Fotex within the centre I (finally) found peanut butter!!! (not of the Kraft variety but hopefully still good!). It is kind of suprising how such a little thing can brighten up your day and it is also suprising to realise how much you miss the little everyday kind of things back home!!!

What else? I have just booked and paid some flights for November – Amsterdam and Barcelona be warned!!! – and, when considering the fact I am intending on doing the Scanbalt trip to Latvia, well I realised that I will actually be, cumulatively, out of Copenhagen for more days than actually in!!! (did that make sense?). It is pretty crazy (some would probably argue stupid too!) to think that I will be off galavanting around Europe for the majority of the month and totally missing class – arh the perils of being on exchange!!! Having said that, I am rather sad to think that my days left here in Copenhagen are quickly dwindling and I have still so much more to see and do!!!

Quick mention about last Friday night, we went out ot the Diskotek In and, I don’t know if it is a European thing or specifically a Danish thing, but to get into clubs all you need is your student id! Haha yes, the KU id that has no birthdate on it and you’re in! If only Brisbane were like this!!! Also thought that it might be worth mentioning that many bars and clubs have some pretty cool drink deals – this Diskotek In offered us all you can drink Beer, Wine & Champers for 150dkk (only 75dkk for girls!!) from 11pm- 6am -  it was brilliant! and the Kolurbar offers free beer from 23-1 for 60dkk and 5dkk for the shots! – also brilliant!!!

I am going to have to leave it at that for the moment as study calls – actually it’s probably just the fridge humming but I just thought I would try and appear to look like a studious exchange student!!!

beviset er i budding

(tak google translate!)

• Have (hopefully) caught up with the 5 weeks of university readings that, being a naughty (or is that good?) exchange student, I have neglected! (it is actually really bad – I postponed a trip to Norway so that I could catch up on everything as I am almost completely booked out in November and exams begin in December!!!)
• Give myself one full day where I just explore and experience a new part of Copenhagen/Denmark – it doesn’t have to be something famous – I just want to have that day where I can just be carefree and enjoy this place as the, ‘semi-Danish  Singaporean/Japanese looking lad who speaks with an American accent yet still feels true blue Aussie mate‘ at heart! (haha this is deduced from the fact that I have a CPR, have been repeatedly asked if I come from Singapore/Japan, had my [alleged] accent continually mistaken for being American and I am still craving vegemite and cheese sangas!)
• Book accommodation for our (unofficial) KU tour to Amsterdam!!! (bought the tickets through sterling.com … surprisingly ryanair.com just failed to produce the goods this time! – but both these sites are very good for finding cheap flights) and organise the tickets for the (also unofficial) KU tour of Spain!
• Resurrect (somehow) the crumbling Aussie dollar… (haha for instance, when I arrived here 1 AUD = 4.41DKK … now it is something like 1 AUD = 3.54DKK – but I suppose at least I can take some consolation in the fact that I am not from Iceland – it has just gone nuts over there!)
• Get back into the rhythm of things by waking up earlier and not procrastinating! One way or another I will overcome this excessive need to sleep and I will start doing productive things again!!! (bahaha I thought it is rather ironic that I am vowing to do productive things whilst I type on an internet blog that presumably nobody reads!!!).
  

In other news, my landlady, her nephew and I attended the ‘Kulturnatten‘ (culture night) last week and I must say it is a really good initiative – basically many of Copenhagen’s cultural institutions (some of which aren’t usually open to the public) and venues open their doors for one night to the general public and you can visit as many sites as you so desire for the small flat fee of 75dkk (which includes free public transport!) -  we visited quite a few sites and I was able to tick off a few things on my ‘things I need to see in Copenhagen before I die‘ list! Admittedly, it was a bit ‘hit & miss‘ with some attractions but on the whole it was still quite fun! So I highly recommend it if you happen to be in Copenhagen during this time as it is a very cost effective way of seeing what Copenhagen has to offer! and afterwards you can hit the bars and clubs (hahaha that or pop into the local 7/11 for a 6 pack and drink the night away by the fountain on Strøget- bahaha gotta love Copenhagen!!!). By the way, you are able to skip ahead of some of the queues  – I found this out when one guide asked me if I wanted to join the English speaking tour which, conveniently, was at the front of the very long queue – haha I guess looking like a tourist isn’t all bad!!!)

(L-R: Various sites from the night including the Royal Stock Exchange, Parliament, Kogens, Somods Bolcher and the Posties band)

(Hopefully) Pretty self explanatory! …