Not Turkey:

While the 'Krogerup-linje' and Crossing Borders students explore the wonders of Turkey, 'Verden Brænder' takes on Bolivia, and the Africans study climate change in Brussels, the Americans are still back at Krogerup. The building is a lot quieter and steadily getting messier. Thankfully, the kitchen is still making us food and still saying 'Go'morgen' to us as we stumble in before class, but everyone living at the school now fits around one table. A fort appeared in Lille Sal one night, but was taken down the next day when we found out we'd used the wrong sheets for it. The candles keep shrinking, but there's fewer people around them.

I, along with 11 others, are studying at the Danish Institute for Study Abroad (DIS) in København while living at Krogerup. Instead of Krogerup courses, we attend classes in the city during the day for subjects ranging from architecture to the European Union to biotechnology. There's around 600 Americans studying at DIS, and we're distributed among many host families, kollegiums, roommates, and højskoles. We're the luckiest ones, I think. It's a long commute to and from class, 55 minutes if everything goes right, but Krogerup is a great place to come home to at the end of the day. Good food in the kitchen, a fire in the 'pejsestue', a game of foosball in 'Natkassen'. I could talk for ages about all the fun we've had in 'Natkassen', actually, or about how good a distraction it is from our homework.

At first, I was worried that the Americans would have a tough time fitting in, since we weren't taking the same classes as the other højskoler. It hasn't been a problem at all; we moved in on the same day back in August, so everyone was looking for new friends anyway. All of the Americans have different course schedules, but we can always find someone to save dinner for us if we're coming home late. Nights and weekends are good times for us to mix together, and I've had lots of great conversations with the people here. Morten has helped us find good jazz clubs in København, and most of the girls had intricate braids for a few days after Signe's hair-braiding lesson. Half of us are in Danish language classes, and Krogerup is a great place to clumsily practice what we've learned.

I wasn't sure what to make of Krogerup the first night, when we sang traditional songs, told stories, and held hands and folk-danced in a room with lots of candles. It seemed like enough "hygge" to choke a horse (then again, the concept of choking horses is inherently "uhyggeligt"...). Not every night has been as traditional, but it's still a great way to get to know Denmark, especially Danish youth life. It seems like everyone is at Krogerup for different reasons, so it's interesting to find out why people chose to come here. Saturday night political discussions in the Spanish Kitchen when we need a break from the party are fun; one night, we even made it all the way back to the 1980s. Poul Schluter! About half of the Americans are also in the Krogerup Choir, which meets weekly just after we've made it home for the night. I expected traditional højskole songs, but we have a great time singing music in English and African languages.

Not everything has been sunshine and roses, of course. Since we're not around during the day, there's been trouble communicating rules and expectations now and then. Perhaps we don't clean as much as we should. Some days, it feels like we spend as much time waiting for and on the regional train as we do actually in København. Just as the other people get back next week, we go on a two-week travel break, so the whole family won't be back together until mid-November.

The sign-up sheet for this blog in the hallway, which doesn't have any signatures on it yet, asks for "An American Perspective". I'm absolutely certain that we have twelve different perspectives, as we don't do the same things or hang out with the same people. I usually get lost running in the woods, but some people manage it successfully. However, I can't imagine a better place to get an introduction to Denmark. Our classes can get stressful, but Krogerup is a great place to de-stress while still learning about ourselves and the world. From the 'kulkraftværk' protest to the Wild West party to philosophy over the fire, Krogerup has been fantastic, and I'm thankful to the great people I live with -- Danes, CB, Africans, and Americans alike -- for making it so.

Jeg elsker Krogerup, fordi jeg kan godt lide snakke med mine venner og synge med Rikke. Om lørdagen plejer vi at danse, og vi spise og gøre rent sammen. Danmark er rigtig sjovt!

(I apologize if any of that is actually incorrect Danish. We're still learning. Tak for mad.)

Matthew