det kan jeg godt (tale dansk)

okay i can't really speak danish.. i lied.. only a lidt (little).

so i'm pretty much exhausted. the last couple of days have been unreal.

tues: all the logistics of setting up my bank account, cpr number (like a social security) -- you know the govt here provides everything for "free" here? from health care to the university to social security. but of course, i believe denmark has the highest tax rate in the world. 50%, i believe. i was just informed last night that taxes on a purchased vehicle can go as high as 180%

weds: for some reason everyone thought that international night started this day. i presumed that the international house was still closed, but everyone kept telling me to go, soo.. everyone was there and it was closed. thus there were about a good 30-40 of us in the city centre square with beers in our hands. some of us wandered around for about a good hour and a half looking for a bar. but who can find a bar when theres a group of about 20 kids? surely everyone inside would be intimidated. anyway, the group dwindled down to about six of us, and we ended up by the canal in the nyhavn district. beer and hot dogs at midnight, yessss.

it was during this time that for the first time since i've been here, i'd never been more ashamed to call myself an american. is that bad? i mean, we are already attached with the stigma that we are completely oblivious of the outside world.. and that we are essentially retarded. a couple of us (or them, rather) were talking about european politics, and this austrian dude (i forget his name) asked me what i learned in school about europe. i had to be honest.. nothing.

thurs: canal tour! mediterranean buffet at this really classy restaurant called rizraz. im getting extremely hungry just thinking about it. ugh the beers were so small.

fri: some english bastard in my danish class said that us americans were "good for nothing." because of everything that had happened at heathrow airport in london, and i had no idea, to be honest. it was a bit difficult getting myself informed when i don't have access to the internet, television, or english newspapers. i shouldn't have cared because he's an arrogant asshole anyway, but it somewhat just fueled the fire of all things american that i'd been pondering the whole week.

following the advice of a resident californian, i went to club rust last night. seriously, the club does not get filled until after 1230am, and it's still really weird to comprehend that most clubs dont close until 5am here in copenhagen. and get this: for those who can't stop partying, other clubs open up at 5am and last until the next day at 3pm. crazy. i'm going to have to get used to this life! anyhowwww, a bunch of international kids were there, so it was fun. josef, a fellow dane, started talking to me and i'd like to think that we hit it off. we danced (!), exchanged numbers, but i think he's gay.

sat (today): excursion to the frederiksborg castle north of the city. this place is truly out of a faery tale. i'll try to post pictures soon. then off to the louisiana museum of modern art.

i think this is it for now. i want to eat dinner or something, but i must first figure out what to make. it's been raining here a lot. if the weather lets up a bit tomorrow, hopefully i'll be able to catch the gay pride parade!

xoxox christina