New post- week 2

Hi everyone,

Greetings, hope all is going well. Things are still exciting and new here. I'm now into my second week of classes and as of last Friday, I've started working by assisting with projects within the School of Global Health. To start, I'm helping with a proposal for a sanitation project that would take place in Ghana and also another project concerning mental health in Africa. We shall see from there.

The weekend was good, very low key. I picked up a cold in this weather so had a lot of quality time inside with Perro. I did get out to do some exploring and met the director of the Global Health program (the connector between this University and mine) and his family for dinner in Hellerup (just north of the city). His kids are incredibly cute and while they don't speak much English and I'm without Danish skills...there was a lot of smiling at the table. The youngest one apparently was worried I wouldn't like sushi and had picked out alternative options on the menu (how cute!). I was also shown around this area which is home to the World Health Organization (European regional office), UN and UNICEF offices (health nerds reading might appreciate this!)

From the past week:
Sightings - while I've not met an American yet in any of my classes, I spotted a GA bulldogs sweatshirt moving through the halls during a brief class break. I awkwardly pointed and stuttered at my hallway neighbor until I finally asked if she'd gone to Georgia. She did! Last year for a year on scholarship, we talked briefly about our love of Athens before heading back to class- how funny.

To do - heading to Sweden on Thursday with my precious neighbor. Malmo is Sweden's third largest city and only 40 minutes from Copenhagen by train, will take pics and report back!

Words of the week (dedicated to Rachel)
- mange tak - this means "many thanks" in Danish, a twist from the previous word tak, this adds a bit more emphasis to the "thanks"
- hygge - this is more than just a word, it's a whole concept. My guide book devoted an entire page to explaining the notion of "hygge." In short, it means "cozy" but my book goes on to say it's "so much more than that," it refers to a "sense of friendly, warm companionship of a kind fostered when Danes gather together in groups of two or more" but also "you can actually 'hygge' yourself if there is no one else around" (yay!)...interesting right?

Exciting moment- Laura T and Cristin are coming to visit the second week in March- confirmed today as Laura bought her ticket!! Bring your sweaters ladies, very excited!

Note: I realize my Danish vocab has yet to flourish. It's a wee hard to pick up an ear for this language, much easier to read. Most times it's difficult to repeat what's been said, especially when trying to learn people's names during introductions. For an unfamiliar name, if the situation's right I'll ask for a repeater. But you can only ask for one repeater, then it's just smiles. If I so choose and can fit it in my schedule, I can start taking Danish classes next week. It's time consuming but would be great for learning the basic sounds, reading menus and navigating stores.

More soon!