Survival Danish

Today I started off in a class on "survival Danish" which is basically words and phrases that are important to function in Copenhagen.  We learned how to ask a person's name, what they are studying and where they live.  Then we took a field trip to the local supermarket and spent an hour learning different types of foods... I was thrilled, haha.  Any of you who have taken Spanish with me in the past know how horrible my pronunciation and accent are, so you can only imagine how terrible it is in Danish.  I'm awful, but I'm trying.  My host family had me practice with them tonight and I think that helped.  

            Next, we had a break and I walked around with a few girls from my class. We ate lunch on a fountain in a square and then walked around an international festival where there were all sorts of tents each celebrating a different country.  There were plenty of samples of all sorts of good food and different types of ethnic clothing and music.  

            After our break, we went on a scavenger hunt of Copenhagen.  We were given a map and a series of questions to answer about six different sites including the Queen's Palace, the King's Garden, a beautiful old church with an observatory on the top, and the Danish Parliament building.  We saw their opera house and their ballet and the castle where the crown jewels are held and learned a lot about the city's history and culture.  It was great - I feel like I know more not only about the city but also about where I am going when I wander around.  I had some fun partners and we enjoyed going around the city together.

            Finally, we had an activities fair where we could sign up for clubs and things.  I found a club swim team I want to join and I also signed up to hopefully tutor students in English at the International School of Copenhagen.  I am really excited about both of these and hopefully they will work out! When the fair was over, I was standing around talking with two friends of mine and one of the DIS staff began talking to us.  In the middle of the conversation, he turns and says something to another DIS staff who was leaving.  We asked him what he said and he explained, "Thank you for coming."  With a slight smile he added, "Learn the phrase, it's what we say in bed, too!"  There is just a little taste of Danish humor... I know some of you would really really enjoy it, haha.