Tavo's Adventures: Doubletime

So as you faithful readers surely noticed, I failed to brighten your day with a wonderful post about my experience. In case any of you were worried, it was not do to an encounter with one of these or any other mishap. No, I merely failed to keep you informed since I fell asleep at 7, which was significantly earlier than planned. So today you get a double dose!
Yesterday I had orientation day 1. Carsten, my host dad, came with me to make sure I did not start off by getting hopelessly lost during my commute. Stop #1 for the day was the Tivoli Hotel. It was the first time I really realized how many of us there are. There are over 1,000, I've heard. There might be people here whose schools are smaller than this program. The opening ceremony was nice, we heard from a few DIS people as well as one of the many (7?) mayors of Copenhagen, this one was mayor of culture etc. The evening before she had been handing out medals to those who completed the Copenhagen ironman triathalon. Including the Crown Prince. Pretty cool that he does that sort of stuff, but I guess that sort of engagement is not uncommon, as the royal couple are about to have an exhibit of there works in various media go up in an art museum. But I digress. There was also music from the "DIS Strings" a group of students from Copenhagen's Royal Music Academy. They played the Champagne Gallop, which was specially composed for the Tivoli Garden's second anniversary (in 1843 I think...Tivoli Gardens is an OLD amusement park. Second oldest in the world I think. The oldest is just north of the city, so I guess back in the day Danes really knew how to have fun). They also played a suite from West Side Story (European story set in America. I didn't find it that relevant, but good music, so I can't complain) and they finished with Ode to Joy, which is apparently the "national" anthem of the EU. I didn't like their arrangement too much.
That was to close, then came the swarm. 1000 college kids taking over the sidewalks as we made our way to the DIS buildings to get books. The line was really long, so I went and picked up my Danish cell phone first, then got the books I need for the semester (only five, many classes just post readings online). Then I had student affairs orientation where they told us about resources available to us, about how we are going to apply for residency permits and how to get health care cards, and most importantly that we should call home (already 40 calls in two days from freaking out parents). When that was all over, I decided to go back home. Allison, who I believe I mentioned before, was meeting her host mom and going home, and I decided to join them. Because friends on a commute is more fun than doing it alone. At home I tried to be social, but failed due to falling asleep at 7. But apparently everyone went to sleep pretty early, so I don't feel THAT bad.
Today I was on my own...for the 3 minute walk to the bus station. Allison and her host mom were on the bus I boarded, as was another DIS girl, Audra, who also lives in Svogerslev and is doing the same core course as I, but I think in a different section. We found even more DIS kids at the train station, and we all traveled together. Activity #1 was a housing orientation, where we were told some things we could expect from our experiences, ways to help it be good, and resources to use if it's not working out. Here I learned that living far away has its conveniences, as my public transportation pass will take me anywhere I want to go around the city and it's outskirts, while others with fewer zones on their passes have to pay closer attention to where they can go for free. After this meeting I had a little free time, which I used to go to the DIS free store (stuff students from last semester left behind) and managed to get a voltage converter, which I hadn't yet bought because they were pricey, so getting one for free was nice. But then came the bus to go an register for a residence permit. This was stressful. I did not want to mess something up and find out that unless I fixed it on my own, I'd get kicked out in the middle of November. There was also lots of waiting. When I stepped outside, I was very relieved. It was also beautiful out, so I decided to walk from Amager back to the center of Copenhagen. I took a roundabout route, stopping to eat at a nice little park before skirting the edge of Christiania, walking along the canal past the very scenic Nyhavn to see the Amalienborg Palace (where the queen lives), then on through the King's Garden (a very nice park) to Rosenburg Castle, home of the Crown Jewels, then finally along Stroget (the major pedestrian/shopping street) to City Hall then on to the train station, where I met up with Hannah and Matt, two more people who also take the train to Roskilde. That's about all I'm going to say, but here are some pictures from my walk today!