hej hej

It's hard to believe that my adventures in Denmark are actually coming to a close. In 12 hours, I'll be leaving DIS for the last time and heading to the CPH airport to catch a flight to Croatia. After those days in Croatia are up, we'll have one night at a hotel in København by the airport, so it won't really even feel like we're back. Crazy! Well, we've been checking off our lists and making sure we get the most important things finished before we head off to Hrvatska.

One of the things I really wanted to do was to see Nyhavn harbor by night...and to take some pictures of course. Kayla and I went down there Tuesday night for midsummer celebrations, but I didn't bring my good camera and when we got there we realized that both of our other cameras had died...therefore, we knew for certain that another trip was in store.

Last night, Kayla and I had an AMAZING dinner at the harbor with two girls from our class and we got the opportunity to take some awesome pictures. We decided that since it was our second to last night, we deserved to splurge a little...so we got fancy dinners and a bottle of wine. It was nearly $40, but for the dinner & atmosphere it was totally worth it!

The Harbor by night - 8:15pm

Kayla & me at dinner

My amazing dinner: Smoked salmon salad--with a honey dijon & sesame sead dressing.

After that, we grabbed some ice cream, another drink, and then went back to the harbor to take some night time pictures. It was stunning. The harbor is just beautiful every time of day, and again, I could not stop taking pictures.

I had to balance the camera on a flat-ish surface so that I could get some good nighttime pictures...this one turned out really cool.

This was at about 11:15pm

View past Nyhavn into Kongens Nytorv

Gorgeous boats

Today, we started the morning off right with some fresh pastries from our corner bakery. Then, Kayla and I went back out for a bit to grab lunch and finish up some shopping, and along the way we said goodbye to many of our favorite places. Then we came back to pack up the majority of our things so that they can be stored at DIS while we're on our study tour. Fortunately, I think i'm in good shape on weight this time...I hope, anyway! It was an interesting experience having to lug our huge wheeled suitcases down the cobblestone streets of København...but we succeeded. We came back tonight & enjoyed fixing our last dinner together. It was a good one, despite the fact that we were cleaning out the fridge.

Our morning pastries. Delicious!

My amazing sandwich from Vero Italiano--Smoked salmon, avocado, cucumbers, lettuce, tomato, & lemon pesto sauce on wheat bread.

Our last supper--whole wheat pasta with chicken & veggies.

It seems like our lives have revolved around food here...but at least it's been good food!

It still hasn't hit me yet that we're really done with Denmark because we're getting ready for Croatia. Every time I've left this apartment for a trip I've been able to come back and settle in for another night in my bed here. That's not the case this time. As I went through the motions of the day today, I kept thinking to myself that Kayla and I were doing so many things for the last time. We walked to Nørreport from DIS for the last time. We walked from our Amagerbro metro station to our kollegium for the last time. We fixed our last dinner in our little kitchen tonight. We're going to sleep in these little comfy beds for the last time. Tomorrow morning will be so strange to lock our very empty apartment's door and say goodbye to Øresundskollegiet for good.

But that's enough sappiness for one night, I believe. Tomorrow at 8:45 we're heading to the airport to fly Croatia Airlines to Zagreb. We'll stay in Zagreb for 3 nights, then go to Split for one night. Fortunately we'll have internet at our hotel in Zagreb so I'll definitely be able to update! I'm really looking forward to being in this country, mostly because it is going to be SO much different from both the US and Denmark. So, hej hej, goodbye, for now...my next post will be from Zagreb!

Snoezelhuset

Wow...it has been quite a week! With my "Children with Special Needs" course coming to a close, my love for adventuring and living the Danish life has come to bite me in the butt because I've been writing lots and lots of short papers this week (apparently the procrastination bug still bites in København). For the class, we had 8 short, 3-5 page papers. In all, it added up to 32 pages of writing! That's a lot for three weeks, and I still have one to finish, but I'm going to do that in the morning when I'm fresh...I mean, it's not due til 5pm tomorrow anyway!

So, here's a recap of the week since I became a blonde...

This is for Brittany: Monday, after the hair dying adventure, we had DIVINE tacos with nearly every topping imaginable for dinner. This was my first one:

Tuesday our class did some field study time, and we visited a Snoezelhuset (pronounced snoozlehoose), which is best described as a facility that provides a multi-sensory environment. Snoezelhusets provide a space for sensory integration and stimulation to individuals who have deficits or excesss in sensory stimulation. This particular Snoezelhuset has four rooms, each of which is meant to provide different types of sensory stimulation to its users. Marian, the Occupational Therapist (OT) who works at the Snoezelhuset, was clear in stating to our class that this facility is not Tivoli (an amusement park in København). Rather, it is an environment where they identify a problem for an individual and determine how they can provide the necessary sensory input. The idea of Snoezelhusets began in Amsterdam in the 1970s, which to me is no surprise with all the trippy & psychedelic features that are included in these rooms. After we heard about the facilities, we got to try out all four of the spaces and imagine what it would be like to have sensory integration issues that could hopefully be supported by the Snoezelhuset. It was very cool, and nothing like anything I had seen or experienced before. At the Meredith Autism Program we have had a couple girls who are pre-OT do basic studies, most notably involving a platform swing, but this facility was a complete extreme compared to that swing! Very cool!

Here are a couple pictures I shot at the Snoezelhuset. They really do not do the facilty justice, particularly since you can only use one sense to experience these rooms; however, they'll help to give you a bit of an idea.

The red room: This mattress has speakers in it, and this room had a very harsh, highly stimulating feeling, so the bass really made the bed vibrate! Very cool.

This is a giant waterbed which has speakers beneath the water. Therefore, vibrations from the music come through the bed, giving sensory input of both the vibrations and the water movement!

We got to test out the bed & relax a little! Sarah's on top of a huge mattress, used to give additional pressure to whoever is using the room.

The Ball Bath

The black room: When we were in here the overhead lights were off and only a black light was on. Everything glowed, so it was pretty cool!

After the visit to the Snoezelhuset, we were planning on going to Tivoli (ironic, huh?), but things didn't quite go as planned so we had lunch, did a bit of shopping (it's dangerous here, by the way), and decided that it was better that we weren't at Tivoli because it was POURING. So, Kayla and I headed back to our apartment and we both did a little work and took some nice naps in the gloomy afternoon. That night we fixed another DIVINE dinner and finished up some work before hitting the hay.

Inside City Hall, loving my Danish heritage!

Doesn't this look like great napping weather?

Dinner: Chicken breast on a bed of sauteed spinach topped with melted swiss and sauteed onions and mushrooms. YUM!

Wednesday most of us had our last days at our practicum sites. Because I was short on hours, I had to go back today, but I'm planning on going back before the next two weeks are up, mostly because I really love the place! After our days at our sites, (and after I walked back to DIS in a torrential rain storm with no hood...and got ghetto and dried my hair under a hand-dryer), we met up to go to Tivoli! Tivoli is one of the oldest amusement and entertainment parks in the world, and it is also home to the world's first rollercoaster--which we all rode!

Hey Tivoli, Hey!

Dinner was delicious...and we American girls got some Hidden Valley for our French Fries. Yum!

We got to ride the world's first Rutschebanen, Rollercoaster!

All 5 of us waiting at the "Rutschebanen"

The Meredith Girls

Looking regal in my flying shark!

Beautiful Tivoli

Downtown København by night.

So, tomorrow is the last day of class, which is very sad. I've really loved both my professors and the subject material. The danish school practices and ideals are absolutely fascinating to me, and it is definitely a subject I want to look into more in the future! Monday I begin my cross-cultural psychology class, which I'm also looking forward to, but I think it'll be very different from the hands-on learning I've been doing thus far.

Anyway, this weekend should be fun...except for the fact that Sarah, Allyson, and Brittany are heading back to the States...because my friend Tory from high school will be in København, so I'm going to spend the day wandering with him on Saturday. Then Sunday I'm going to meet John & Jenny, my relatives who live in Jyllinge, Denmark!

It's crazy that three weeks has nearly gone by, but I'm so happy that I chose to come here, and I'm definitely looking forward to more wonderful times!

Velkommen!

Velkommen! Welcome to my blog! As a true child of the online technology age, I decided that this was by far the best way for me to update you, my friends & family, on my excursions and whereabouts while I am studying abroad this summer. For those of you who do not know, I'll be studying Child Development & Psychology during my time in Copenhagen--and I could not be more thrilled to be learning more about these subjects (really, I'm a huge nerd...you'll see that more as you read more)! Better yet, I'll be living in a new culture and negotiating my way through life in this VERY foreign country whose language I do not know. Nonetheless I'm thrilled to have the privilege to spend this time abroad studying and learning. 

It's hard to believe that in less than two weeks, I'll already be in Denmark! Hopefully this blog will give you some insight into my life in denmark--don't worry, I won't just share the nerdy parts, and hopefully I'll share LOTS of pictures!

Here's a bit of my itinerary:

May 23  - depart from RDU

May 24  - arrive in Copenhagen

May 25  - begin child development class

May 30  - rock climbing in Sweden 

May 31  - Legoland in Billund, DK

June 13 -  begin psychology class

June 20 -  overnight bike trip to Bornholm, DK 

June 28 -  depart for Croatia, 5-day study tour

July 3    -  return home to RDU

Thanks for reading, thanks for your support, and please comment! I want to stay in touch as much as possible. Aside from the blog, you can get in touch with me on Skype (marie.lahaye.88) or by emailing me at mclahaye@gmail.com.

Farvel!